Blender and sound-dampening enclosure
Contents
1. 46 as shown in FIGS 5 7A the enclosure may be selectively opened and closed between the positions shown in FIG 1 and FIG 2 respectively to access the space inside for installing and removing a blender jar 58 When the enclosure 10 is closed it dampens noise created by the blender blade moving relative to food or other ingredients being blended 0027 Another aspect of the preferred embodiment relates to the function and control input output system In a first embodiment schematically illustrated in FIG 9 a control panel 60 on the front of the blender base 46 has a first paddle switch 62 and a second paddle switch 64 The first paddle switch 62 is movable between three positions hi low and off respectively The first paddle switch 62 is connected through conventional logic circuitry to control the speed of a conventional blender motor that drives blender blades positioned through the bottom of the jar 58 The hi and low modes of operation denoted by the first switch 62 refer to relatively high and low rotational speeds of the motor driven blender blade The second switch 64 is movable between two positions pulse and off The pulse position will cause the blender blade to rotate while the second switch 64 is held in the pulse position if the first switch 62 is in the off position The switch 64 is a spring biased momentary contact switch that is biased toward the2. E FIG 5 US 2005 0152215 A1 Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 3 of 9 y il Afi Cape FIG 7B Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 4 of 9 US 2005 0152215 A1 FIG 8C Blender Base with Jar FIG 8B FIG 8A Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 5 of 9 US 2005 0152215 A1 FIG 9 Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 6 of 9 US 2005 0152215 A1 FIG 10 Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 7 of 9 US 2005 0152215 A1 FIG 11 US 2005 0152215 A1 Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 8 of 9 l Old INVHOOMd MAN aav SANIYA JIHLOOWS HOS peynsn 48789 0 4 SYUUQ etqoouss 104 4 86 0H it WYY90Yd MAN suelBoly Nou Buppy HE SyNING INV3HO 3d X04 001 Q3aas 801 jednd MO paynsnp 47 8 0 Syuug Weald 39 104 3 aaavs WvsibDONd MIN asig HOT j SJNIYG 0 i ti delg eadey 9 AO LI peylsnr 48 2g 04 e SHUG u2014 04 Q zi days jeaday c doygmels T SANIYA WNVHOOSWd JAVYS OL aino Y Os NMOG dN SS3Hd Q33dS ONILLAS Fol Y paygsnf yor aq 0 Syuug pinbr 104 2 UMO MOLY HH AWILLS sucks Es iral Ae TEES NO LLNG ANY Saud ONLLL3S of paynsnf 487 8q o puejg o uopng uy ssalg g 133dS 13S lll OL NMOG dN ASN 001 1 Qddds TVIOH3IAWOO 3MOd XVIN SNIHVM l 91 espd
3. FOR FROZEN DRINKS In a similar man ner the user may select this selection or move on to successive prompts that include FOR ICE CREAM DRINKS 7 and FOR SMOOTHIE DRINKS For each of the selections the numerical code assigned to a selection is indicative of a particular blender speed setting suitable for the type of blending operation indicated in the descriptive prompt The user makes a selection from one of the foregoing choices and the blender will operate at the respective speed If desired the blender may be programmed to run for a specified duration corresponding to one of the selections in addition to a specified blender speed Alterna tively either one of speed or duration can be set constant for all of the selections with the other varying according to the user input selection 0031 When the pulse button 88 is activated it speeds up the blender blade rotation rate to 150 that of the normal high setting Correspondingly the display screen 81 will read MAX POWER SPEED 150 If desired instead of using on of the pre set selections referred to in the preceding paragraph a user may simply activate the start stop button 92 to cause the blender blade to rotate The display screen will read SPEED 100 to indicate that the blender blade is rotating at full speed If the user desires to change the SPEED or SPEED buttons 94 96 buttons are used to scroll up or down and t
4. off position so that if released the switch 64 will revert back to the off position If the second switch 64 is moved to the pulse position while the first switch 62 is in the low position the blender blade speed will increase and maintain an increased speed as long as the second switch 64 is held in the pulse position If the second switch 64 is released while the first switch 62 is in the low position the speed resumes to the condition prior to activating pulse Operation is stopped if the first switch 62 is positioned to the off position 0028 In another embodiment shown in FIG 10 a control panel 66 has touchpad buttons on off to turn power on to the blender high low and stop to run blender speeds respectively at a relatively high rotational speed a relatively low rotational speed or no speed timer 73 and 75 to program a run time upon which at expiration of a selected time the blending operation will automatically stop and pulse 77 which when pressed and held operates the blender if it is an at rest condition or speeds up the blender if it is already operating at low speed The control panel 66 also includes a display screen 68 that displays the run time remaining if the timer feature is activated The display screen 68 is preferably an LED but may also be an LCD US 2005 0152215 A1 0029 Yet another control panel embodiment is shown in FIG 1
5. uin 9 paynsnr J8 U89 aq o JeroJeuuuo Buen Y Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 9 of 9 US 2005 0152215 A1 um mum mm ac c FIG 13 US 2005 0152215 A1 BLENDER AND SOUND DAMPENING ENCLOSURE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 0001 None BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0002 1 Field of the Invention 0003 The present invention relates to food and beverage blenders and more particularly to a multiple feature blender having a sound enclosure that is adapted to be installed to or removed selectively from or to retro fit existing blenders and to a blender operating system that includes novel operational sequences and programming capabilities 0004 2 Description of Related Art 0005 Various food and beverage blenders for home or commercial use typically include a base that houses an electric motor and drive assembly including blades that rotate at very high rates in order to chop mix or blend food or beverage ingredients contained in a jar attached to the base The noise generated by the blender while it is operating is often substantial and can be irritating to people in close proximity to the blender This problem is significant to a home user as well as in a commercial establishment where customers are subject to the sounds of the surrounding environment 0006 At least one known blender design incorporates a sound dampening enclosure The enclosure incorpora
6. 1 where a control panel 70 has touchpad buttons that operate and are arranged essentially the same as the embodiment of FIG 10 and hence like reference numerals are indicated in the illustration but does not include the timer function and its associated input buttons or display screen 0030 Another embodiment of the present invention relates to an interactive screen display with user prompts for various functions Referring to the schematic of the control panel 72 shown in FIG 13 and the flow chart diagram of FIG 12 when the blender is initially powered up using the on off button 74 a first message 76 greets the user with for example the blender manufacturer name After a specified time out period the greeting is replaced with a prompt 78 on the display screen 81 stating PRESS ANY BUTTON TO BLEND The button choices are from among four pre programmed sequences 80 82 84 86 maximum pulse 88 or normal pulse 90 The user then presses any button to bring up the next display prompt FOR LIQUID DRINKS where HP is representative of a particular number that the user enters using either numerical buttons 80 82 84 86 or alternatively a scrolling button not shown to select the proper number to make this selection If this selection is not desired the user presses another button which may be pre programmed from among one of the present buttons to advance the display to the next message
7. AOU MOY BEL UE CDL UELLOLLLLL US 20050152215A1 aos United States a2 Patent Application Publication co Pub No US 2005 0152215 Al Stuart et al 43 Pub Date Jul 14 2005 54 BLENDER AND SOUND DAMPENING Related U S Application Data ENCLOSURE 60 Provisional application No 60 524 818 filed on Nov 76 Inventors Jerry E Stuart New Hartford CT 25 2003 US Frank R Chi tta Woodb is QS ous d A Rutiolno aid Publication Classification Ridgefield CT US 51 Int CA cecssssssnsnsesestnseintnsnteseete A47 43 046 GUn spordeneccAddress 52 US CL inten 366 205 366 206 STEVEN A GARNER 57 ABSTRACT CONAIR CORPORATION ONE CUMMINGS POINT ROAD A blender has novel sound dampening enclosure system that STAMFORD CT 06902 US is selectively and conveniently attached to and detached from a blender or retro fitted to a blender utilizing a bottom 21 Appl No 10 997 027 wall portion for engaging a blender jar base in a fixed manner Another aspect of the blender includes a simplified control logic using a minimal number of input buttons and 22 Filed Nov 24 2004 using user prompts Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 1 of 9 US 2005 0152215 A1 Top View Bottom View FIG 4 FIG 3 Sound Enclosure Opened Sound Enclosure Closed FIG 1 FIG 2 Patent Application Publication Jul 14 2005 Sheet 2 of 9 US 2005 0152215 A1 FIG 7A FIG 6 Blender Base with Sound Enclosure
8. aging section comprises a generally flat portion adapted to rest on said base 18 A blender according to claim 17 wherein said generally flat portion is received between said base and a flexible base cover 19 A blender according to claim 17 wherein said generally flat portion forms a generally C shaped flange 20 A blender according to claim 16 wherein said base engaging section comprises fastener holes adapted to receive fasteners therethrough for attaching said enclosure to said base 21 A blender according to claim 15 wherein said control panel further comprises a plurality of timer buttons adapted to program a duration of time that said blade rotates 22 A blender according to claim 21 wherein said control panel further comprises a display screen for displaying the amount of time remaining 23 A blender according to claim 22 wherein said display screen is an LED 24 A blender according to claim 22 wherein said display screen is an LCD 25 A blender according to claim 15 wherein said control panel further comprises a plurality of pro gram buttons adapted to rotate said blade at a prepro grammed speed 26 A blender according to claim 25 wherein said plurality of program buttons are adapted to rotate said blade at said preprogrammed speed for a prepro grammed duration of time 27 A blender according to claim 15 further comprising a display screen for displaying information about the operation
9. closure that is adapted to be retro fitted to existing blenders of varying sizes that do not have originally existing sound dampening enclosures and that is Jul 14 2005 easily attached or detached from a blender for use either with or without the sound dampening enclosure and that pro vides superior sound dampening and that has a low exterior profile It is also an object of the present invention to provide a multi function programmable blender that has logic con trols and input and output means that prompts a user in a manner sufficient to eliminate the need for a user manual and that requires little control panel space These are other objects are achieved by the present invention described herein 0009 The present invention is directed to a blender having novel control logic and input and output means and to a blender sound dampening enclosure system that is selectively and conveniently attached to and detached from a blender 0010 Ina preferred embodiment of the present invention the sound dampening enclosure comprises two parts The first part has three sidewalls a partial top wall and a partial bottom wall The partial bottom wall is a flange like pro jection that extends from and along the length of all three side walls and that has a relatively narrow width so that it forms a square cornered C shape The partial bottom wall being of a general C shape is adapted to be placed on top of a blender jar base while
10. d switch is adapted to be depressed to rotate said blade at said first speed when said first switch is in said first position and at said second speed when said first switch 1s in said second position 14 A blender according to claim 7 wherein said second switch further comprises a spring adapted to bias said second switch away from said depressed state 15 A blender comprising a base a blade for processing food ajar above said base adapted to hold said food to be processed motor within said base for driving said blade a control panel said control panel comprising a first button for providing or shutting power to said blender a plurality of secondary buttons for controlling the rotat ing speed of said blade and Jul 14 2005 a pulse button adapted to increase the speed of said blade for the duration of time that said button is depressed and an enclosure for said blender comprising a first section a second section a hinge for connecting said first section to said second section wherein said second section is adapted to selectively pivot relative to said first section about said hinge and a fastener adapted to selectively secure said first section to said blender 16 A blender according to claim 15 further comprising a base engaging section on said first section adapted to engage an appliance base and support said enclosure thereon 17 A blender according to claim 16 wherein said base eng
11. enclosing from three sides the central portion of the jar base where the blending blade and spindle project The first part is held to the jar base by one or both of screws or fasteners directly attached to the partial bottom wall and by positioning the partial bottom wall underneath a portion of the blender assembly such as a jar pad which is commonly a rubber pad that sits on top of the blender jar base and beneath ajar that is attached to the base The second part of the sound dampening enclosure is shaped similarly to the first part but without the partial bottom wall and is hingedly connected to the first part and adapted to be swung between an opened and closed position 0011 Another aspect of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to a control system having an electronic display and one or more up down arrow buttons for scrolling to various selections after being prompted by a visual indication on the screen By using an electronic display and buttons in combination to communicate numer ous prompts and inputs a relatively large number of opera tions commands and programming steps can be performed with a relatively small and uncomplicated control panel BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0012 FIG 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodi ment sound dampening enclosure according to the present invention shown in an opened position 0013 FIG 2 is a perspective view of the sound damp ening enclosu
12. he display screen 81 will display percentage of the original speed indicative of the speed relative to full speed e g 80 50 etc 0032 Preferably if the SMOOTHIE DRINKS option 98 is selected from one of the pre set buttons 86 for example the user is prompted 100 102 to sequentially set speed and time using for example the arrow keys 94 96 and then prompted to save the settings 104 An indication of a saved program 106 followed by a confirmation 108 enables users to create and store new programs The blender may be provided with pre installed programs such as for Jul 14 2005 example a set time and speed of operation If a user wishes to replace any one of the programs with a custom program the user scrolls on the display screen 81 to a display that reads ADD NEW PROGRAM 110 The display then reads USE UP DOWN TO SET TIME 102 prompt ing the user to use up down buttons to scroll to a numerical entry indicative of time that will display in the digits The user is then prompted to save the program 104 by pressing a button such as an up down button A message will read NEW PROGRAM SAVED 106 and it will indi cated which program number or address is assigned to the new program so that the user may call it up and activate it by name 0033 While the preferred embodiment has been herein shown and described it is understood that modification can be made wi
13. ion it does not interfere with a spindle 47 and blender blade not shown that protrude from the center of the base 46 The jar pad 48 is preferably a pad made of rubber that rests upon the blender base 46 top surface 45 and provides a secure resilient seat for a blender jar 58 such as that shown in FIGS 8A 8C A cut away portion 43 of the pad 48 accommodates the presence of the bottom wall 22 of the enclosure 10 For illustrative purposes the views of FIG 8A 8C are shown without the enclosure 10 mounted on the base 46 In use the enclosure 10 is mounted to the base 46 as shown in FIGS 5 7A in a manner in which it surrounds and encloses a blender jar 58 Jul 14 2005 A central hole 56 in the pad 48 facilitates a spindle a rotating blender blade The blender base 46 and bottom wall 22 may be provided with cooperating screw holes 50 52 that can be lined up and fastened with screws 54 underneath the jar pad 48 After fastening the screws 54 the jar pad 48 can be positioned over the bottom wall 22 The two portions 12 30 may be constructed of any suitable material that provides sufficient structural integrity to sup port itself and hold up to repetitive opening and closing and that provides sound insulation In the preferred embodiment the two portions 12 30 of the enclosure 10 are made of transparent molded plastic 0026 When the enclosure 10 is mounted to a blender base
14. of said blender 28 A blender according to claim 27 wherein said display screen is an LED 29 A blender according to claim 27 wherein said display screen is an LCD
15. own in FIGS 1 4 The enclosure 10 comprises a first portion 12 having a rear wall 14 two side walls 16 18 a top wall 20 and a bottom wall 22 The bottom wall 22 is made of three sections a rear section 24 and two side sections 26 28 The rear section 24 extends from the rear wall 14 in a bottom wall plane The two side sections 26 28 extend from the side walls 16 18 respectively in the same plane so that the bottom wall 22 generally forms a C shaped section in the bottom view of FIG 3 The enclosure 10 further comprises a second portion 30 having a front wall 32 two side walls 34 36 and a top wall 38 The first and second portions 12 30 are pivotally connected to each other by hinge connections 40 42 on respective sides of the enclosure 10 The hinge connections 40 42 may be of any one of a variety of types that may be molded directly into the respective side walls 16 18 34 36 that mate or that may be pinned using separate hinge components A handle 44 may be molded directly into the front wall 32 of the second portion 30 or a separately constructed handle may be attached 0025 In use the enclosure 10 is mounted to a blender base 46 as shown in FIGS 5 7A Referring to FIG 7B the bottom wall 22 of the first portion 12 is preferably positioned underneath ajar pad 48 on the blender base 46 Because the bottom wall 22 is of a generally C shaped sect
16. re according to the present invention shown in a closed position 0014 FIG 3 is a bottom view of the sound dampening enclosure according to the present invention shown in a closed position 0015 FIG 4 is a top exploded view of the sound dampening enclosure according to the present invention 0016 FIGS 5 6 and 7A are respectively front side and perspective views of the sound dampening enclosure US 2005 0152215 A1 according to the present invention shown assembled to a blender base and in a closed position 0017 FIG 7B is an exploded view according to FIG 7A 0018 FIGS 8A 8C are respectively front rear and perspective views of a blender jar assembled to a blender base according to the present invention 0019 FIG 9 is a schematic view of a first embodiment control panel according to the present invention 0020 FIG 10 is a schematic view of a second embodi ment control panel according to the present invention 0021 FIG 11 is a schematic view of a third embodiment control panel according to the present invention 0022 FIG 12 is a flow diagram illustrating operational sequences according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention 0023 FIG 13 is a schematic view of a fourth embodi ment control panel according to the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 0024 A first embodiment of the present invention is directed to the sound dampening enclosure sh
17. tes a three dimensional generally rectangular box that surrounds and encloses a blender jar mounted to a base The enclosure is opened or closed by lifting a movable section of it that is hinged to the remaining portion The sound enclosure is designed to exclusively fit the particular base and is thus dedicated to a particular model Due to its mounting design the enclosure cannot be conveniently or quickly attached or detached to or from the base 0007 Other known aspects of blenders include variable speed controls countdown timers pre set programs user defined programs automatic start and stop and user input controls For instance known blenders provide pre pro grammed selections for running a blender at a specific speed for a predetermined time Certain known blenders enable a user to modify such pre set programs using push button inputs Among such blenders are a variety of control panels that include touchpads buttons knobs and LED or LCD displays By adding various controls and functions the complexity of operation programming and use sometimes requires that a user refer to a manual during operation In addition numerous buttons and controls on a control panel take up large amounts of space OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0008 Itis desirable to provide a blender that overcomes the shortcomings of known devices and thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a blender having a sound dampening en
18. thout departing from the scope of the claimed invention What is claimed is 1 An enclosure for an appliance comprising a first section a second section a hinge for connecting said first section to said second section wherein said second section is adapted to selectively pivot relative to said first section about said hinge and a fastener adapted to selectively secure said first section to said appliance 2 An enclosure according to claim 1 further comprising a base engaging section on said first section adapted to engage an appliance base and support said enclosure thereon 3 An enclosure according to claim 2 wherein said base engaging section comprises a generally flat portion adapted to rest on said base 4 An enclosure according to claim 3 wherein said generally flat portion is received between said base and a flexible base cover 5 An enclosure according to claim 3 wherein said generally flat portion forms a generally C shaped flange 6 An enclosure according to claim 2 wherein said base engaging section comprises fastener holes adapted to receive fasteners therethrough for attaching said enclosure to said base 7 A blender comprising a base a blade for processing food ajar above said base adapted to hold said food to be processed a motor within said base for driving said blade a control panel comprising a first switch having a first position at which said blade remains stationar
19. y a second position for rotating said US 2005 0152215 A1 blade at a first speed and a third position for rotating said blade at a second speed that is faster than said first speed and second switch adapted to be depressed to increase the speed of said blade for the duration of time that said switch is depressed and an enclosure for said blender comprising a first section a second section a hinge for connecting said first section to said second section wherein said second section is adapted to selectively pivot relative to said first section about said hinge and a fastener adapted to selectively secure said first section to said blender 8 A blender according to claim 7 further comprising a base engaging section on said first section adapted to engage an appliance base and support said enclosure thereon 9 A blender according to claim 8 wherein said base engaging section comprises a generally flat portion adapted to rest on said base 10 A blender according to claim 9 wherein said generally flat portion is received between said base and a flexible base cover 11 A blender according to claim 9 wherein said generally flat portion forms a generally C shaped flange 12 A blender according to claim 8 wherein said base engaging section comprises fastener holes adapted to receive fasteners therethrough for attaching said enclosure to said base 13 A blender according to claim 7 wherein said secon
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