Solid material comminution or disintegration – Apparatus – With means to protect operator from injury
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-21
2001-02-13
Husar, John M. (Department: 3725)
Solid material comminution or disintegration
Apparatus
With means to protect operator from injury
C241S100000, C241S199120
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186425
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an accessory for a food processor, which accessory is provided with a tool, a support in which the tool is rotatably journalled, a coupling member by means of which the tool can be coupled to a drive member of the food processor, and a container which is detachably coupled to the support.
The invention also relates to a food processor comprising an accessory in accordance with the invention.
An accessory and a food processor of the types mentioned in the opening paragraphs are generally known and widely used. The known accessory can suitably be used to subject ingredients present in the container, such as vegetables, fruit or meat, to a processing operation such as cutting, chopping or mixing, for which purpose the accessory can be coupled to a housing of the food processor, and the tool can be driven by the drive member of the food processor. The container and the support jointly constitute a closed chamber for the tool and the ingredients, so that in operation soiling of the environment of the food processor is precluded. The container can be detached from the support so as to enable the support and the container to be cleaned and/or introducing and removing ingredients.
A drawback of the known accessory resides in that said accessory can also be coupled to the housing of the food processor if the container is not coupled to the support. When the accessory is coupled to the housing of the food processor, also the coupling member of the accessory is coupled to the drive member of the food processor, so that the tool of the known accessory can be driven by the drive member of the food processor when the container is not coupled to the support, as a result of which a user of the food processor may be injured by the rotating tool.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an accessory and a food processor of the types mentioned in the opening paragraph, in which the above-mentioned drawback of the known accessory and the known food processor are prevented.
To achieve this, the accessory in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the accessory is provided with a safety member and a locking device which co-operates with said safety member, the safety member being displaceable relatively to the coupling member from a first position, in which the safety member precludes coupling of the coupling member to the drive member, to a second position in which the safety member permits coupling of the coupling member to the drive member, while the locking device locks the safety member in its first position if the container is uncoupled from the support, and releases the safety member if the container is coupled to the support. If the container is uncoupled from the support, the locking device locks the safety member in its first position in which the safety member precludes coupling of the coupling member to the drive member. In its first position, the safety member is arranged relatively to the coupling member, for example, in such a manner that the coupling member cannot contact the drive member of the food processor. If the container is coupled to the support, the locking device releases the safety member, so that the safety member can be displaced to its second position, for example manually or by contact with the housing of the food processor, in which second position the safety member permits coupling of the coupling member to the drive member. As a result, the tool can only be driven by the drive member of the food processor if the container is properly coupled to the support, so that a user of the food processor cannot be injured by the rotating tool. A particular advantage of the accessory in accordance with the invention resides in that all parts, which are necessary according to the invention to achieve the above-mentioned object, are arranged on the accessory, while the food processor to which the accessory can be coupled does not require special adaptations. By virtue thereof, the accessory in accordance with the invention can suitably be coupled to existing food processors.
A particular embodiment of an accessory in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the safety member is annular and surrounds the coupling member, said safety member being displaceable, in a direction parallel to an axis of rotation of the coupling member, from its first position to its second position. In this particular embodiment, the safety member is given a very practical construction, whereby, in the first position of the annular safety member, the coupling member is entirely surrounded by the annular safety member, and in the second position of the annular safety member, the coupling member projects from the safety member. If the user of the food processor tries to couple the accessory to the housing of the food processor, the safety member comes into contact with said housing. If the container is not coupled to the support, the safety member is locked in its first position, so that the coupling member remains surrounded by the safety member and cannot be coupled to the drive member. If, however, the container is coupled to the support, the safety member can be displaced, either manually or by contact with the housing of the food processor, in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the coupling member, to its second position, so that the coupling member can be coupled to the drive member of the food processor.
A further embodiment of an accessory in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the locking device is provided with a closing member, which can be displaced relatively to the support, by a user of the accessory, from a first position in which the container can be detached from the support to a second position in which the closing member couples the container to the support, and a locking element which is provided on the support to co-operate with the safety member, said safety member being displaceably guided, relatively to the closing member, between its first position and its second position, while the locking element locks the safety member in its first position if the closing member is in the first position, and releases the safety member if the closing member is in the second position. By displacing the closing member from its first position to its second position, the user can couple the container to the support. Since the safety member is displaceably guided relatively to the closing member and co-operates, in the manner described above, with the locking element, the desired locking of the safety member in its first position if the container is not coupled to the support, is achieved in a practical and reliably manner.
Yet another embodiment of an accessory in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the locking device is provided with a further locking element which, with respect to the closing member, can be displaced from a first position, in which the further locking element locks the locking member in its first position, to a second position, in which the further locking element releases the closing member, the further locking element co-operating with a displacement element provided on the container, which displacement element displaces the further locking element to its second position if the container is in a position relative to the support in which the container can be coupled to the support by means of the closing member. By using the further locking element and the displacement element, it is achieved that the closing member can only be displaced to its second position by the user of the accessory if the container is in a position, with respect to the support, in which the container can be properly coupled to the support. In this manner, it is precluded that the user can release the safety member, either intentionally or unintentionally, by displacing the closing member, if the container is not properly arranged with respect to the support.
A particular embodiment of an accessory in accordance with the invention, in which, betwee
Bartlett Ernestine C.
Husar John M.
U.S. Philips Corporation
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