Claims:I/We CLAIM:
1. An improved Nano wet grinder, comprising:
an upper body portion operatively configured with an electric motor unit, a ventilator, direct drive spindle upper unit, a control unit and a handle; and
a lower body portion operatively configured with lower body casing, a shank assembly, direct drive spindle lower unit and a frustoconical grinding stone unit wherein the upper body portion and lower body portion are connected through a locking mechanism to form a Nano wet grinder that can be used on universal containers thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device.
2. The device as claimed in claim 1 comprising a handle accommodating a rechargeable battery unit that can be operated via a control switch and a ventilator for evacuating the heat generated inside the grinder device.
3. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lower body portion is configured with the frustoconical grinding stone unit that is configured with a primary grinding wheel and at least two secondary grinding wheels housed into a safety shield/stand and connected to the lower body portion via a lock nut cum stirring blade.
4. The device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the primary grinding wheel can be “Frustoconical” shape.
5. The device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the primary grinding wheel and at least two secondary grinding wheels is made of any one of the following materials: a stone material, a stainless steel material and a food grade plastic material.
6. A heavy duty Nano Grinder device with improved capacity for heavy duty applications, comprising:
splines which are set of slot grooves provided in lower part of the direct drive spindle to transmit rotation motion to sliding gear wherein the splines will also help to provide up and down movement to sliding gear within the gear housing;
a sliding gear introduced to transmit rotary motion from direct drive spindle to secondary gears wherein the sliding gear is loosely fitted with direct drive spindle and able to move up and down freely along with gear housing;
a secondary gear added to all secondary grinding wheels to power up their performance during mass and coarse grain grinding purposes which will be tightly fitted at top end of the secondary grinding wheel shaft to receive power transmission from sliding gear wherein the sliding gear, secondary gears and guide for sliding gear are assembled within a housing and fitted with shank assembly.
7. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the gear housing is a water-tight assembly equipped with self-lubricating soft pushes for all rotating shafts and moving parts.
8. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the guide for sliding gears is a separate part assembled within gear housing to aid sliding gear’s up and down movement along with the gear housing.
9. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the support arm provides integrity to secondary grinding wheels and grinding functions where it’s one end is assembled with gear housing and other end is used to hold end of secondary grinding wheel shaft.
10. The device as claimed in claim 1 and 6 comprising an anti-slip silicon mate used under the universal container that helps in reducing the friction and movement in the universal container while grinding the food material.
, Description:NANO WET GRINDER
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention generally relates to home/kitchen appliances and devices. The present invention is additionally related to wet/dry grinder devices for grinding wet/dry food stuffs including, but not limited to, rice, grains, nuts, beans, coconut and meat. The present invention also relates to a compact wet/dry grinder devices that can be used on universal containers without limited to a standard drum unit thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device. The present invention specifically relates to a Nano wet grinder device for wet/dry grinding of food stuff on universal containers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Fermented cereals, pulses and meat are popularly consumed throughout the world both as means of preservation by identifying their texture, aroma and flavor in addition to their health benefits. Also, there is an increasing interest across the world in traditional foods, in particular, in South Asian Countries in the recent times. A critical step in the making these traditional foods is wet/dry grinding of cereals, pulses and meat for example, in the process of making Idli (one of the most common traditional cereal-pulse based fermented breakfast product is consumed mostly in the southern part of India and Sri Lanka), soaked rice (Oryza sativa) and black gram (Phaseolus mungo) are wet grinded to achieve batter for making Idli.
[0003] Wet grinding involves both physical and chemical changes while dry grinding is a mere size reduction operation. Further, wet grinding gives a fine product that is free from dust and does not pose oxidation problems. In wet grinding of cereals, the protein matrix holding the starch is destroyed, releasing the starch from the protein network.
[0004] Traditionally the pestle and mortar type gadget was the first known implement used for wet/dry grinding. In the modern wet grinders introduced in 1960s, the mechanical arrangement of providing rotation to the mortar instead of the pestle nearly simulated the grinding action of the traditional mortar and pestle. Such conventional grinder devices are used for grinding pre-soaked grains and food materials such as for example, but not limited to, rice, grains, nuts, beans, coconut and meat to prepare food for generations across the world. The grinders are alternatively used for grinding dry food stuff, such as nuts, beans, coconut, meat etc. Grinding batter and dough of various grains and cereals at home is increasing in popularity with people who want the nutritional benefits of whole grains, and also want their flour to taste good.
[0005] In one embodiment of prior art, a wet/dry grinder includes a stainless steel drum. Inside the drum, there is a grinding mechanism that involves two natural stone rotors. The stone rotors rotate about a vertical axis, and which causes the feed material to be flung outwardly towards an impact surface. The stone rotors may be conical or just a thick disc. In either case, the food is crushed in a gap of 1 millimeter between a flat surface and the stone rotor. This minimizes any wear and tear on the stones. In another embodiment of prior art, a three-stone rotor unit is alternatively used for grinding the food. With slight change in the mechanical setup of the wet grinder such as, by replacing the steel drum with a circular plate, the wet grinder can be used to dry grind food stuff.
[0006] There were significant attempts in the development of new types of grinder devices suitable for the domestic kitchen applications. CN201644138 teaches a hand operated grain grinder for kitchen use which is used for manual grinding of food stuff. US20140138465A1 teaches a portable grinder device which is used for shredding of food stuff and other materials such as, tobacco. CN205700887 teaches a detachable meat grinder device for grinding meat. However, such prior art devices are unable to render a comprehensive and user friendly solution for various grinding needs in a domestic kitchen. On the other hand, the market is witnessing batter and other foods being sold in pouches showing that there is a clear demand for compact, easy-to-use wet/dry grinding systems, which could help in handling a variety of batter making requirements in domestic kitchens.
[0007] The traditional wet/dry grinder devices form a drum unit (standard stainless drum) and a top grinding stone which limits the application of the wet/dry grinder devices. Also, the grinding capacities of the wet/dry grinder devices are standard and do not have a flexibility and operating convenience of a wide range of grinding application in kitchen use. Also, the natural stone can add considerable weight to the prior art wet grinders which makes the user to feel cumbersome to use. The prior art wet grinders produce excessive heat while grinding the material which shall lead to loss of nutritional properties of the grains. The mechanical principal behind existing wet grinder involves use of a belt for connecting the grinding unit to an electric motor. The conventional belts used in the wet grinders may lead to wear and tear.
[0008] Based on the foregoing a need therefore exists for an improved universal compact wet/dry grinder device for grinding of wet/dry food stuff. Also, a need exists for an improved Nano wet grinder that can be used on universal containers thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device, as discussed in greater detail herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiment and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
[00010] Therefore, one aspect of the disclosed embodiment is to provide for an improved wet/dry grinder device that is compact and flexible to use.
[00011] It is another aspect of the disclosed embodiment to provide for an improved compact wet/dry grinder device that fit universal containers.
[00012] It is further aspect of the disclosed embodiment to provide for an improved Nano wet grinder that can be used on universal containers thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device, as discussed in greater detail herein.
[00013] The aforementioned aspects and other objectives and advantages can now be achieved as described herein. An improved Nano wet grinder that can be used on universal containers thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device, is disclosed herein. The Nano wet/dry grinder device comprises an upper body portion and a lower body portion wherein the upper body portion and lower body portion are connected through a locking mechanism. The lower body portion comprises lower body casing, a shank assembly, direct drive spindle lower unit and a frustoconical grinding stone unit. The upper body portion comprises an electric motor unit, a ventilator, direct drive spindle upper unit, a control unit and a handle.
[00014] The handle accommodates a rechargeable battery unit that can be operated via a control switch. The electric supply can be connected to an electric port (220V) for operating the device on electric power source. A ventilator for evacuating the heat generated inside the grinder device. Note that the control switch should be constituted in any limited sense, the control switch can be an electrical switch used to control the electric motor and thereby the grinding device. The control switch can alternatively be a remote control unit to control the operations of the device remotely. The LED lights indicate the working status of the grinding device.
[00015] The lower body portion is configured with the frustoconical grinding stone unit that is configured with a primary grinding wheel and at least two secondary grinding wheels housed into a safety shield/stand and connected to the lower body portion via a lock nut cum stirring blade. The grinding device can be used on any universal container thereby making the grinding device a compact and flexible grinding device for use in a wide range of wet/dry grinding application without any limitation on the container and quantity of grinding material.
[00016] The primary grinding wheel can be “Frustoconical” shape. In one aspect of the invention, the primary grinding wheel and secondary grinding wheels can be of stone material. In another aspect of the invention, the primary grinding wheels and secondary grinding wheels can be of food grade plastic material in order to reduce the grinder device weight and the manufacturing cost of the material. Anti-slip silicon mate is used under the universal container that helps in reducing the friction and movement in the universal container while grinding the food material.
[00017] In an additional embodiment of the present invention, a heavy duty grinding device with improved capacity for heavy duty applications such as, for use in restaurants, weddings and mass events is disclosed. The device includes splines which are set of slot grooves provided in lower part of the direct drive spindle to transmit rotation motion to sliding gear. Splines will also help to provide up and down movement to sliding gear within the gear housing.
[00018] A sliding gear is introduced to transmit rotary motion from direct drive spindle to secondary gears wherein the sliding gear is loosely fitted with direct drive spindle and able to move up and down freely along with gear housing. Its bore comprises slot holes to accommodate pin for assembling purpose at splines in direct drive spindle. Angle of its gear teeth will follow secondary grinding wheels’ orientation. A secondary gear is added to all secondary Grinding Wheels to power up their performance during mass and coarse grain grinding purposes. This will be tightly fitted at top end of the secondary grinding wheel shaft. This gets power transmission from sliding gear.
[00019] The gear housing is a water-tight assembly equipped with self-lubricating soft pushes for all rotating shafts and moving parts. Sliding gear, secondary gears and guide for sliding gear are assembled within the housing. This will be fitted with shank assembly. The guide for sliding gears is a separate part assembled within gear housing to aid sliding gear’s up and down movement along with the gear housing. The support arm provides integrity to secondary grinding wheels and grinding functions where it’s one end is assembled with gear housing and other end is used to hold end of secondary grinding wheel shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[00020] The drawings shown here are for illustration purpose and the actual system will not be limited by the size, shape, and arrangement of components or number of components represented in the drawings.
[00021] FIG. 1 illustrates a Nano wet grinder device 100 that can be used on universal containers (18) thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device 100, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.
[00022] FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the triangular grinding stone unit (130), in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;
[00023] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the triangular grinding stone unit (130) in a free position of the grinding wheels (13) and (14), in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;
[00024] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the triangular grinding stone unit (130) in a grinding position of the grinding wheels (13) and (14), in accordance with the disclosed embodiments; and
[00025] FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a heavy duty Nano wet grinder device 500 that can be used on universal containers (18) thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device 500, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00026] The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limiting examples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate at least one embodiment and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.
[00027] FIG. 1 illustrates a Nano wet grinder device 100 that can be used on universal containers (18) thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device 100, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. The Nano wet/dry grinder device 100 comprises an upper body portion (110) and a lower body portion (120) wherein the upper body portion (110) and lower body portion (120) are connected through a locking mechanism (9). The lower body portion (120) comprises lower body casing (10), a shank assembly (11), direct drive spindle lower unit (12) and a frustoconical grinding stone unit (130). The upper body portion (110) comprises an electric motor unit (1), a ventilator (4), direct drive spindle upper unit (8), a control unit (6) and a handle (5).
[00028] The handle (5) accommodates a rechargeable battery unit that can be operated via a control switch (3). Note that the handle (5) can be a detachable device used when required wherein the handle accommodates rechargeable battery unit that can be used during power failures. The electric supply (2) can be connected to an electric port (220V) for operating the device on electric power source. A ventilator (4) for evacuating the heat generated inside the grinder device 100.
[00029] Note that the control switch (3) should be constituted in any limited sense, the control switch can be an electrical switch used to control the electric motor and thereby the grinding device 100. The control switch (3) can alternatively be a remote control unit to control the operations of the device remotely. The LED lights (7) indicate the working status of the grinding device 100. The control switch (3) can also comprise of alarm clock, timer and other status indicating LED lights.
[00030] The upper body portion (110) and the lower body portion (120) are equipped with thermal, acoustic and waterproof insulation material. The control switch (3) is provided with ON/OFF control to control the operations of the motor unit (1) by increasing/decreasing the speed of motor during various stages of batter making or grinding process. It can also be used to control the servo motor to actuate the shank assembly (11) for its vertical movements.
[00031] The electric motor unit (1) is designed to run at variable speed for the specific requirement of grinding process and is designed to with standard approved safety and performance parameters. The ventilator (4) is provided to remove the excessive heat from the upper body portion (110) and is equipped with thermal, acoustic and waterproof insulation.
[00032] The lower body portion (120) is configured with the frustoconical grinding stone unit (130) that is configured with a primary grinding wheel (13) and at least two secondary grinding wheels (14) housed into a safety shield/stand (17) and connected to the lower body portion (120) via a lock nut cum stirring blade (15). The grinding device 100 can be used on an universal container (18) thereby making the grinding device a compact and flexible grinding device for use in a wide range of wet/dry grinding application without any limitation on the container and quantity of grinding material.
[00033] The primary grinding wheel (13) is directly connected with the motor unit (1) through the direct drive spindle (12&8) which operates as a driver mechanism. The secondary grinding wheels (14) are driven by the driver wherein the secondary grinding wheels (14) are loosely fitted to the shank assembly (11).
[00034] In one aspect of the present invention, to initiate the grinding process, the shank actuator (9) is used to move the shank assembly (11) towards the spinning primary grinding wheel (13) to facilitate a close contact of the secondary grinding wheels (14) with the primary wheels (13) and induce self-driven motion at the secondary grinding wheels (14). Due to the rotary motions and surface finish of grinding wheels (13) and (14), the grinding material (e.g., grains) can be pulled and crushed in between the grinding wheels (13) and (14). The specific gap between primary and secondary grinding wheels (13) and (14) can be maintained through shank actuator (9) for specific grinding purposes such as for example, but not limited to fine, course, half broken, etc. The control switch (both switch and remote) 6 is used to stop the motor unit (1) and the shank assembly (11) will be moved back to it actual position.
[00035] The spindle has two parts the upper part of spindle (8) is configured at the upper body portion (110) where one end of the upper part of the spindle (8) is coupled with motor unit (1) and other end is left to connect with direct drive spindle lower part (12). The spindle (12&8) is the vital part of power transmission to the primary grinding wheel (13) without any need for a belt.
[00036] The shank actuator (9) is configured at the bottom of the upper body portion (110) to provide up and down movements to the shank assembly (11) for grinding purpose. The shank actuator (9) is designed to function with the help of rack and pinion gear mechanism. Alternatively, it can be designed with servo motor which can be controlled either by the control switch (6) to obtain the vertical movements of the shank assembly (11). It is to be noted that it is equipped only with up and down linear motion, no rotary motion. It is also designed with lock mechanism to achieve the required clearance between primary and secondary grinding wheels (13) and (14) to get a specific texture of batter such as fine, coarse, half broken etc., while grinding.
[00037] The shank assembly (11) to provide up and down movement to the secondary grinding wheels (14) to move toward or away from the primary grinding wheel (13). The action is required to induce the self-grip and rotary motion of secondary grinding wheels (14) while touching the primary grinding wheel (13) and to start the grinding process. Its top end is provided with Rack and Pinion Gear mechanism and bottom end is fitted with the secondary grinding wheels (14). It houses direct drive spindle lower part (12) with soft push which is self-lubricating to allow rotating the spindle. The direct drive spindle lower part (12) is housed within the shank assembly (11) and is detachable from the upper body portion (110). Its lower end is fitted with the primary grinding wheel (13).
[00038] The primary grinding wheel (13) is in frustoconical shape fitted rigidly with the direct drive spindle (12&8) using the locknut cum stirrer blade. The primary grinding wheel (13) is detachable by unscrewing the locknut and can be replaced with different types of grinding wheels for different grinding purposes. Its surface is knurled to improve the grinding process. The shape of primary grinding wheel (13) may vary from time to time depending on the grinding application. A narrow Plastic wiper will be added to remove the accumulated grains or batter in the primary grinding wheel (13).
[00039] The secondary wheels (14) can be cylindrical grinding wheels with angled direction in alignment with the angle of the primary grinding wheel (13). The secondary wheels (14) can be fitted with a shaft by using lock nut which in turn is assembled with the shank assembly (11). The secondary grinding wheels (14) are detachable by unscrewing the locknuts and can be replaced with different types of grinding wheels for different grinding purposes. Its surface is knurled to improve the grinding process.
[00040] The secondary grinding wheels (14) will develop a self-spin motion when in contact with the primary grinding wheel (13). The grinding process will be initiated through the secondary wheels (14) by moving the shank actuator (9) towards the primary grinding wheel (13) to crush the grinding material. A support frame is introduced for secondary grinding wheels (14) for heavy duty purposes. Please note that the secondary wheels (14) shape and orientation should not be limited to any sense. The shape, configuration and orientation of the secondary wheels (14) can vary depending on the design requirements within the scope of the proposed invention. A person skilled in the art can appreciate other forms of shape and orientations within the scope of the proposed invention.
[00041] A safety shield cum stand is attached with the lower body portion (12) which houses the primary and secondary grinding wheels (13) and (14) which can act as a safety shield and be used as a stand within the container (18) for hands free operation. The stand comprises a number of legs to maintain gap between the secondary grinding wheels (14) and the wall of batter container (18) to avoid rubbing each other. A lock nut cum stirrer blade is designed to hold primary grinding wheel (13) with direct drive spindle lower part (12) rigidly. This is used to replace the primary grinding wheel (13) for various grinding purposes. It is also designed with stirrer blade for agitating purpose for even grinding. The lock nut holds the secondary grinding wheels (14) with their spindle loosely and is used to replace the required type of secondary grinding wheels (14) for specific grinding purposes.
[00042] FIG. 2-4 illustrates various views 200-400 of the frustoconical grinding stone unit (130), in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. The primary grinding wheel (13) can be “Frustoconical” shape. In one aspect of the invention, the primary grinding wheel (13) and secondary grinding wheels (14) can be of stone material. In another aspect of the invention, the primary grinding wheels (13) and secondary grinding wheels (14) can be of food grade plastic material in order to reduce the grinder device weight and the manufacturing cost of the material. An anti-slip silicon mate (19) is used under the universal container (18) that helps in reducing the friction and movement in the universal container (18) while grinding the food material.
[00043] FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a heavy duty Nano wet grinder device 500 that can be used on universal containers (18) thereby introducing a greater flexibility and usability of wet/dry grinder device 500, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. The device 500 includes splines (20) which are set of slot grooves provided in lower part of the direct drive spindle (12&8) to transmit rotation motion to sliding gear. Splines (20) will also help to provide up and down movement to sliding gear (21) within the gear housing (23).
[00044] A sliding gear (21) is introduced to transmit rotary motion from direct drive spindle (12) to secondary gears (22) wherein the sliding gear (21) is loosely fitted with direct drive spindle (12&8) and able to move up and down freely along with gear housing (23). Its bore comprises slot holes to accommodate pin for assembling purpose at splines (20) in direct drive spindle (12&8). Angle of its gear teeth will follow secondary grinding wheels’ orientation. A secondary gear (22) is added to all secondary grinding wheels (14) to power up their performance during mass and coarse grain grinding purposes. This will be tightly fitted at top end of the secondary grinding wheel shaft. This gets power transmission from sliding gear (21).
[00045] The gear housing (23) is a water-tight assembly equipped with self-lubricating soft pushes for all rotating shafts and moving parts. Sliding gear (21), secondary gears (22) and guide for sliding gear (24) are assembled within the housing (23). This will be fitted with shank assembly. The guide (24) for sliding gears (21) is a separate part assembled within gear housing (23) to aid sliding gear’s up and down movement along with the gear housing (23). The support arm (25) provides integrity to secondary grinding wheels (14) and grinding functions where it’s one end is assembled with gear housing and other end is used to hold end of secondary grinding wheel shaft.
[00046] The nano wet grinder device 100 and 500 can also optionally have a wide range of accessories including, but not limited to, wall mount stand, mounting frames and clips which can be used to support different installation and operation parameters for the wet grinder device 100. The wet grinder device 100 & 500 can alternatively also have multi-purpose blades for supporting various functions such as, blending, grinding and crushing applications.
[00047] It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also, that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.