Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – Intercontrol or safety control
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-14
2002-02-12
Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
Intercontrol or safety control
C099S281000, C099S285000, C099S286000, C099S288000, C099S348000, C099S453000, C099S456000, C099S483000, C099S510000, C366S146000, C366S249000, C366S251000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06345572
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a soybean milk maker, and more particularly to a household soybean milk maker with improved operational convenience and safety.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1
of the drawings illustrates a conventional soybean milk maker comprising a transparent main body
10
, a cover
20
mounted to an open upper side of the main body
10
, and a motor
30
mounted in a central portion of the main body
10
. An output shaft
301
of the motor
30
is connected to a connecting portion
40
by force fitting. A cutter shaft
50
has an upper end force-fitted to the connecting portion
40
and a lower end to which a plurality of blades
60
are mounted. A sieve-like container
70
surrounds the cutter shaft
50
for receiving soybeans that have been pre-immersed for subsequent breaking. Soybean juice as a result of breaking the soybeans by the blades
60
is heated by a heating element
80
. The boiled soybean juice is called soybean milk.
When making soybean milk, an amount of water is added into the sieve-like container
70
after an appropriate amount of soybeans has been placed into the container
70
. Then, the cover
20
is mounted to the open upper side of the main body
10
. However, the blades
60
will be impeded by the soybeans when mounting the cover
20
. A solution is to shake the main body
10
and the container
70
to assist in moving the blades
60
through the soybeans to a position nearby the bottom of the container
70
. A control panel on the cover
20
allows the user to preset the time for breaking the soybeans and the time for boiling the broken soybeans.
However, the cover
20
must be removed before adding soybeans and water, and it is inconvenient and troublesome to place the cover
20
in position, as the blades
60
will be impeded by the soybeans
60
. In addition, it was found that the connecting portion
40
for interconnecting the output shaft
301
of the motor
30
and the cutter shaft
50
tends to malfunction after a period of time. Furthermore, caution must be taken so as not to touch the control panel on the cover during removal of the cover after making soybean milk.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a soybean milk maker with improved operational convenience and safety.
A soybean milk maker in accordance with the present invention comprises:
a main body having an upper opening;
a cover releasably mounted to the upper opening of the main body, the cover including a passage having an upper end communicated with outside and a lower end;
a filter/receiver mounted in the main body and attached to the cover, the lower end of the passage being communicated with the filter/receiver, the passage being provided for adding soybeans and water into the filter/receiver;
a power device mounted in the cover, a driving shaft mounted in the filter/receiver and having an upper end operably connected to and thus driven by the power device and a lower end to which a plurality of blades are attached; and
a heating element for heating soybean juice as a result of breaking the soybeans by the blades.
The cover further comprises a hidden type safety switch such that an open circuit is formed when the cover is removed from the main body, thereby improving the operational safety. The driving shaft is an integral shaft to provide a reliable transmission
The soybeans can be added into the soybean milk maker without removing the cover. The filter/receiver and the cover can be securely mounted together by turning the cover through an angle relative to the filter/receiver. A hidden type safety switch is mounted in the cover to prevent injury resulting from inadvertent touching of the control panel on the cover. The driving shaft to which the blades are mounted is an integral shaft extending from the power device mounted in the interior of the cover, thereby providing a reliable transmission.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2517073 (1950-08-01), Alvarez
patent: 2827845 (1958-03-01), Richeson
patent: 3871273 (1975-03-01), Hsieh
patent: 4534283 (1985-08-01), Nakamuta
patent: 4771681 (1988-09-01), Nagata
patent: 4817516 (1989-04-01), Chikarashi
patent: 4996916 (1991-03-01), Miyawaki et al.
patent: 5058494 (1991-10-01), Hayashi et al.
patent: 5109759 (1992-05-01), Asahara
patent: 5249513 (1993-10-01), Ueda
patent: 5363753 (1994-11-01), Ueda et al.
patent: 5669291 (1997-09-01), Kazuyoshi
patent: 5701810 (1997-12-01), Nakai
Baxley, Esq. Charles E.
Simone Timothy F.
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