FOODSTUFF-GRINDING ATTACHMENT FOR A KITCHEN
MACHINE
This invention relates to a foodstuff-grinding attachment for a kitchen
machine, which may be either a dedicated, stand-alone grinding machine
driver unit or a multi-purpose kitchen machine (such as a stand mixer)
configured as a host device for the attachment.
Such attachments are well known, and are typically made to be driven, by
means of an electric motor incorporated into the host device, to grind
foodstuffs such as meat and associated products. These attachments
comprise a strongly made main body part that houses the working grinder
components, which typically include a scroll-type elongate screw,
configured as an extruder, that rotates within a specially shaped cavity in
the main body part, crushes the meat and transports the crushed meat to
and through an apertured end plate affixed to the main body part. The
meat is introduced into the cavity in the main body part via a feed-tube
and is usually pressed into engagement with the screw by means of a
pusher tool that is pushed by a user into the feed-tube. Often a hopper
device is provided for insertion into the open end of the feed tube, so as to
facilitate the adding of meat to the grinder.
Attachments of the kind just described operate satisfactorily in most
respects and, in particular, are well adapted to cope with the high forces
and pressures generated within the main body during operation of the
meat grinding process. Difficulties arise, however, in cleaning the
attachment, and in particular the cavity within the main body, and the
invention aims to facilitate such cleaning without unduly compromising
the ability of the attachment to resist the aforementioned operationally
generated forces.
According to the invention there is provided a foodstuff grinding
attachment for connection to a rotary drive outlet presented by a host
device; the attachment comprising a main body part having a generally
tubular hollowed portion for attachment to the host device; a rotatable
scroll-type extruding tool capable of rotating within a cavity formed in
said tubular portion of the main body part and provided with means to
couple with said rotary drive outlet when the main body part is attached
to the host device; means permitting foodstuff to be introduced into the
cavity of said tubular body portion and into engagement with the
extruding tool for grinding and transport towards an outlet port of the
attachment; wherein said main body part comprises first and second
separable components configured to be secured together for operation of
the attachment and wherein said components are adapted to be separable
from one another to provide access to said cavity for cleaning.
In some preferred embodiments of the invention, the first and second
components are configured to be slidable relative to one another in a
direction substantially parallel to the axis about which said extruding tool
rotates; said slidable movement of said components being made in one
direction for securing them together and in the opposite direction to
separate them.
In other preferred embodiments of the invention, the first and second
components are hingedly mounted to one another. In such circumstances,
the hinge arrangement may be configured to apply pressure to a joint
between the components.
Preferably, abutting edges of the first and second components are formed
with connection means whereby the two components are latched securely
together. In some such embodiments, the connection means comprises
means co-operative tongue and groove configurations.
In some preferred embodiments, the first and second components further
bear respective portions of an external screw thread for engagement with
an internal screw thread of a nut used to secure the components together.
In some preferred embodiments of the invention, joints between the first
and second components are provided with sealing means adapted to resist
the expulsion of liquids therethrough. Alternatively, or additionally, said
joints may be of labyrinthine configuration.
The invention also encompasses a dedicated, stand-alone grinding
machine driver unit hosting an attachment according to any embodiment
of the present invention. The invention further encompasses a stand
mixer hosting an attachment according to any embodiment of the present
invention.
The invention extends to an attachment substantially as described with
reference to and/or as shown in the accompanying drawings. The
invention also extends to a stand mixer substantially as described with
reference to and/or as shown in Figure 1.
The invention extends to methods and/or apparatus substantially as herein
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The invention also provides a computer program and a computer program
product for carrying out any of the methods described herein and/or for
embodying any of the apparatus features described herein, and a
computer readable medium having stored thereon a program for carrying
out any of the methods described herein and/or for embodying any of the
apparatus features described herein.
Any apparatus feature as described herein may also be provided as a
method feature, and vice versa. As used herein, means plus function
features may be expressed alternatively in terms of their corresponding
structure, such as a suitably programmed processor and associated
memory.
Any feature in one aspect of the invention may be applied to other aspects
of the invention, in any appropriate combination. In particular, method
aspects may be applied to apparatus aspects, and vice versa.
Furthermore, any, some and/or all features in one aspect can be applied to
any, some and/or all features in any other aspect, in any appropriate
combination.
It should also be appreciated that particular combinations of the various
features described and defined in any aspects of the invention can be
implemented and/or supplied and/or used independently.
In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Figure 1 shows, in exploded and perspective view, a conventional meatgrinding
attachment and potential host devices therefor, comprising a
stand mixer and a dedicated (stand-alone) meat grinder drive unit
respectively;
Figure 2 shows, in similar view to Figure 1, an attachment in accordance
with one example of this invention; and
Figure 3 shows the attachment of Figure 2 assembled for use.
Referring now to Figure 1, a multi-purpose kitchen machine comprising a
stand mixer of a kind manufactured and sold by the applicants is shown at
100. The invention, of course, can be hosted by many different kinds of
multi-purpose kitchen machine and the appliance 100 of Figure 1 is
shown by way of example only.
The machine 100 presents a relatively low-speed, high torque rotary drive
outlet 102 at the front of a head portion 104 thereof; the drive outlet 102
being normally concealed, when not in use, behind a removable trim
panel (not shown). Other drive outlets having different characteristics
(e.g. speed, torque and/or fixture configuration) are provided, in this
example, behind trim panels 106 and 108 on the upper surface of the head
104, and on the underside of the head 104, as indicated by the arrow 110;
this latter outlet being typically a planetary drive outlet for a beater or
mixer tool which is suspended for use into a bowl 11 . Other outlets may
be provided instead of, or in addition to, those just described.
Figure 1 additionally shows an arrangement comprising a dedicated meat
grinder driving unit 150 housing an electric motor (not shown) and
presenting a relatively low-speed, high torque rotary drive outlet 152. Of
course, the unit 150 can take any desired form and be provided with any
suitable control and switching arrangements without departing from the
scope of the invention.
It will be appreciated that each of the drive outlets 102 and 152 provides a
rotary drive executed about a horizontal drive axis, and this is convenient
for use with attachments 200, such as meat grinders, by means of which
meat can be ground and extruded to emerge forwardly from the
attachment 200 through an apertured die 202, and fall into a bowl or other
receptacle placed beneath the forwardly-facing outlet formed by the die
202. The individual connections of attachments such as 200 to host
devices such as 100 and 150 may be the same, allowing attachments to be
used at will with either type of host device, or they may differ in which
case, of course attachments, such as 200 will be made to fit only one or
other of the host devices.
The attachment 200 shown is constructed as a meat-grinding attachment
and comprises a main body 204 in the form of a generally tubular, hollow
housing 206 provided at one end thereof (the rearwardly-facing end in
this example) with a fixture 208 which is configured to be complementary
to that presented by the outlet 102 and/or the outlet 152, enabling the
housing 204 of the attachment 200 to be releasably secured to the host
device 100 and/or 150, and enabling a scroll-like screw extruder device
210 to be rotated by the rotary driver provided at the outlet 102 and/or the
outlet 152.
The device 210 is mounted for rotation within a processing cavity 212 in
the housing 206, so as to extrude forwardly, and through the die 202,
meat and associated products introduced into the processing cavity 212 in
the interior of the housing 206 by way of a feed-tube 214 which is usually
associated with a removable hopper 216. It will be appreciated that the
feed-tube 214 is integrally formed with the housing 206 and thus forms a
part of the main body 204 of the attachment 200.
Typically, several dies such as 202 are provided, each formed with a
respective array of apertures, and a die 202, selected to suit the required
texture or another characteristic of the ground meat, is fitted to the
housing 206.
The extruder device 210 and the selected die 202 are retained for
operation within the housing 206 by means including a nut 218 which is
internally threaded as at 220 and can thus be screwed onto an external
threading 222 formed on the forwardly-facing end of the housing 206.
Nut 218 may be knurled or otherwise treated to facilitate its turning to
fasten the aforementioned components properly in place within the
housing 206. Bearing in mind the stresses and strains that can be
imparted to various components during extrusion of relatively viscous
materials, however, it is sometimes preferred to form the nut 218 with
external driving indentations or protrusions designed to be engaged either
by a dedicated spanner or by a general purpose spanner (neither shown),
to facilitate loosening of the nut 218 from the housing 206.
As mentioned earlier, a pusher device (not shown) of any convenient
design may be provided to enable a user to push meat products through
the feed tube 214, thereby to encourage their engagement and interaction
with the extruder device 210.
The surface of the cavity 212 which, in use, surrounds the extruder device
210 is, as is known, profiled to encourage the desired interaction between
the device 210 and the meat products being ground, and to assist in
directing the ground meat products towards the die 202 and hence out of
the attachment 200 and into a bowl or other receptacle (not shown)
positioned to collect it.
A cutting blade 224 may, in some configurations, be provided in close
association with die 202, and configured to rotate with the extruder
device 210 whilst the die 202 remains stationary.
It will be appreciated that, whilst the internal components of the
attachment 200, such as the extruder scroll 210, the die 202, and the blade
224 (if used), can readily be removed for cleaning once the nut 218 has
been removed, the cavity 212 in the main body 204 is difficult to clean,
and this is not ideal, bearing in mind that a primary intended usage of the
attachment 200 is to grind raw meats.
Figure 2 shows, in similar view to Figure 1, an attachment 300 in
accordance with one example of this invention. In Figure 2, components
similar to those shown in Figure 1 are given reference numbers increased
by 100 over those assigned to their counterpart components in Figure 1.
Importantly, it will be seen that, in Figure 2, the main body 304 is split so
that the cavity 312 is made readily accessible for cleaning by a simple
disassembly procedure.
As shown, the main body 304 (comprising the housing 306 and the feed
tube 314) is split into two parts 330 and 340, with one of the parts 330
retaining the rearwardly-facing end form including the fixture 308, by
means of which the attachment 300 is attached to the stand mixer 100 and
picks up the rotary drive from the outlet 102 and/or the outlet 152. Both
parts 330 and 340 bear matching threaded regions 332 and 342
respectively, to receive the internal threading 320 of the fixing nut 318 to
secure the forwardly-facing ends of the parts 330 and 340 together.
The pressures involved in the grinding process militate against the use of
a simple separable butt-connection between the two main body parts 330
and 340. Accordingly, in this embodiment of the invention, the adjoining
edges of the two body parts 330 and 340 are formed with mating tongues
T and grooves G; the arrangement being such that the part 340 is aligned
with and then slid, relative to the part 330, in a direction parallel to the
axis of rotation of the extruder device 310, to engage the tongues T into
the grooves G. Figure 3 shows the attachment 300 assembled and ready
for use when connected to the outlet 102 of the stand mixer 100 and/or to
the outlet 152 of the unit 150.
It is most desirable that the procedure for securing the two body parts 330
and 340 together should not involve the use of tools, as these are
inconvenient for the user and could easily become separated from the
remainder of the attachment 300 and mislaid.
It will be appreciated, however, that, even bearing in mind the need to
avoid the use of tools for securing the parts together, the process of
temporarily securing the two body parts 330 and 340 together could
alternatively be achieved by any of a number of different mechanical
means, such as over-centre clamps or similar locking systems.
Additionally or alternatively, the two body parts 330 and 340 can be
joined together by a hinge or similar arrangement along one of their
outside edges; such an arrangement having the benefit that, from the
user' s standpoint, an attachment such as 300 so modified then comprises
no more separate components than the attachment 200. Furthermore, and
beneficially, the use of a hinged arrangement means that the two body
parts 330 and 340 always remain together when stored.
As the food products that are processed through the meat grinder 300
often have a high fluid content, there is the potential need to keep the
fluids contained, and thus the two body parts 330 and 340 are preferably
provided with a suitable sealing arrangement. In one example, the
required sealing is achieved by the provision of flexible seals, for
example of rubber, along the main joints between the two body parts 330
and 340. These seals can be provided on the mating faces of the two
body parts 330 and 340, or incorporated into the tongue T and groove G
system shown and used for securing of the two body parts 330 and 340
together.
Depending on the particular design of the tongue and groove system used,
the seal may be alternatively be achieved by the design of a labyrinthine
sealing joint, thus obviating the need for a flexible sealing component. If
flexible (e.g. rubber) seals are required, they can be formed by overmoulding
onto the tongues T, for example, thus making them permanent
attachments to the body parts 330 and 340, or they may be provided as
separately made attachments that can be slidably attached to and removed
from the tongues T.
The main body parts such as 204 of current meat grinding attachments
such as 200 are typically made in die cast aluminium or stainless steel,
and the main body 304 of the attachment 300 can be made likewise.
Alternatively, however, the main body 304 of the attachment 300 can be
made from a moulded plastics material, in which case the fluid sealing
means can usefully be incorporated into the design of each of the two
body parts 330 and 340.
In the event that a hinge device is used to join the two body parts 330 and
340, it can be advantageous to employ a moulded "living" hinge type
design, which is configured to apply pressure to the joint between the two
body parts 330 and 340 during closure and whilst closed.
The split between the two body parts 330 and 340 could be, as shown in
Figure 2, about an axis through both the cylindrical components 306 and
314 or could be just about an axis through the main processing chamber
306 and at an angle to the horizontal. The split could be along straight
lines, as shown, or it could be stepped or curved as necessary.
It will be understood that the present invention has been described above
purely by way of example, and modifications of detail can be made
within the scope of the invention.
Each feature disclosed in the description, and (where appropriate) the
claims and drawings may be provided independently or in any
appropriate combination.
Reference numerals appearing in the claims are by way of illustration
only and shall have no limiting effect on the scope of the claims.
CLAIMS:
1. A foodstuff grinding attachment for connection to a rotary drive
outlet presented by a host device; the attachment comprising a main body
part having a generally tubular hollowed portion for attachment to the
host device; a rotatable scroll-type extruding tool capable of rotating
within a cavity formed in said tubular portion of the main body part and
provided with means to couple with said rotary drive outlet when the
main body part is attached to the host device; means permitting foodstuff
to be introduced into the cavity of said tubular body portion and into
engagement with the extruding tool for grinding and transport towards an
outlet port of the attachment; wherein said main body part comprises first
and second separable components configured to be secured together for
operation of the attachment and wherein said components are adapted to
be separable from one another to provide access to said cavity for
cleaning.
2. An attachment according to claim 1, wherein the first and second
components are configured to be slidable relative to one another in a
direction substantially parallel to the axis about which said extruding tool
rotates; said slidable movement of said components being made in one
direction for securing them together and in the opposite direction to
separate them.
3. An attachment according to claim 1, wherein the first and second
components are hingedly mounted to one another.
4. An attachment according to claim 3, wherein the hinge
arrangement is adapted to apply pressure to a joint between the
components.
5. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein abutting
edges of the first and second components are formed with connection
means whereby the two components are latched securely together.
6. An attachment according to claim 5, wherein the connection means
comprises co-operative tongue and groove configurations.
7. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein said first
and second components are securely latched together, for foodstuffgrinding
operation, by means including one or more over-centre clamps.
8. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein the first
and second components further bear respective portions of an external
screw thread for engagement with an internal screw thread of a nut used
to secure the components together.
9. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein joints
between the first and second components are provided with sealing means
adapted to resist the expulsion of liquids therethrough.
10. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein joints
between the first and second components are provided with sealing means
of labyrinthine configuration.
11. An attachment substantially as herein described with reference to
and/or as shown in Figure 2 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
12. A dedicated, stand-alone grinding machine driver unit hosting an
attachment according to any preceding claim.
13. A stand mixer hosting an attachment according to any of claims 1
to l l .
14. An attachment substantially as described with reference to the
description and/or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
15. A stand mixer substantially as described with reference to the
description and/or as shown in Figure 1.
AMENDED CLAIMS
received by the International Bureau on 25 March 201 5 (25.03.201 5)
CLAIMS:
1. A foodstuff grinding attachment for connection to a rotary drive
outlet presented by a host device; the attachment comprising a main body
part having a generally tubular hollowed portion for attachment to the host
device; a rotatable scroll-type extruding tool capable of rotating within a
cavity formed in said tubular portion of the main body part and provided
with means to couple with said rotary drive outlet when the main body part
is attached to the host device; means permitting foodstuff to be introduced
into the cavity of said tubular body portion and into engagement with the
extruding tool for grinding and transport towards an outlet port of the
attachment; wherein said main body part comprises first and second
separable components configured to be secured together for operation of
the attachment and wherein said components are adapted to be separable
from one another to provide access to said cavity for cleaning; wherein the
first and second components are configured to be slidable relative to one
another in a direction substantially parallel to the axis about which said
extruding tool rotates; said slidable movement of said components being
made in one direction for securing them together and in the opposite
direction to separate them.
2. An attachment according to claim 1, wherein the first and second
components are hingedly mounted to one another by a hinge arrangement.
3. An attachment according to claim 2, wherein the hinge arrangement
is adapted to apply pressure to a joint between the components.
4. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein abutting
edges of the first and second components are formed with connection
means whereby the two components are latched securely together.
5. An attachment according to claim 4, wherein the connection means
comprises co-operative tongue and groove configurations.
6. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein said first
and second components are securely latched together, for foodstuffgrinding
operation, by means including one or more over-centre clamps.
7. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein the first
and second components further bear respective portions of an external
screw thread for engagement with an internal screw thread of a nut used to
secure the components together.
8. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein joints
between the first and second components are provided with sealing means
adapted to resist the expulsion of liquids therethrough.
9. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein joints
between the first and second components are provided with sealing means
of labyrinthine configuration.
10. A foodstuff grinding attachment for connection to a rotary drive
outlet presented by a host device; the attachment comprising a main body
part having a generally tubular hollowed portion for attachment to the host
device; a rotatable scroll-type extruding tool capable of rotating within a
cavity formed in said tubular portion of the main body part and provided
with means to couple with said rotary drive outlet when the main body part
is attached to the host device; means permitting foodstuff to be introduced
into the cavity of said tubular body portion and into engagement with the
extruding tool for grinding and transport towards an outlet port of the
attachment; wherein said main body part comprises first and second
separable components configured to be secured together for operation of
the attachment and wherein said components are adapted to be separable
from one another to provide access to said cavity for cleaning; wherein the
first and second components are hingedly mounted to one another by a
hinge arrangement adapted to apply pressure to a joint between the
components.
11. An attachment substantially as herein described with reference to
and/or as shown in Figure 2 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
12. A dedicated, stand-alone grinding machine driver unit hosting an
attachment according to any preceding claim.
13. A stand mixer hosting an attachment according to any of claims 1 to
11.
14. An attachment according to claim 2 or claim 10, wherein the hinge
arrangement is a living hinge.