US-12616340-B2 - Blender

Abstract

An apparatus, such as a blender, has a food container including an inner wall, a food processing tool configured to be rotated in the food container, and a scraper disposed in the food container. The scraper is movable within the food container and is configured to wipe down the inner wall towards the food processing tool.

Inventors

• Binyumen Itzkowitz
• Meilech Friedman
• Kalman Wertzberger
• Robyn De Luca
• Wenhui HUANG
• Joseph Deutsch

Assignees

• THE STEELSTONE GROUP LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20231213

Claims (19)

1. 1 . An apparatus, comprising: a food container including an inner wall; a food processing tool configured to be rotated in the food container; and a scraper disposed in the food container, the scraper being movable within the food container and configured to wipe down the inner wall toward the food processing tool, wherein the inner wall includes a first section having a first height and having a substantially consistent cross section across the first height, such that the scraper has a size and shape compatible with the substantially consistent cross section and is movable within the first height of the first section, and wherein the inner wall includes a second section located below the first section and not below the food processing tool, the second section having a cross section smaller than the substantially consistent cross section of the first section, such that the size or shape of the scraper is incompatible with the cross section of the second section.
2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the scraper is in contact with the inner wall along a circumferential direction of a rotation axis of the food processing tool.
3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the scraper includes: a squeegee in contact with the inner wall; and a squeegee holder that holds the squeegee, the squeegee being disposed between the squeegee holder and the inner wall.
4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the squeegee includes a different material than the squeegee holder.
5. 5 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the squeegee is made of a flexible or elastic material.
6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the squeegee includes a ring shape enclosing the squeegee holder.
7. 7 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the squeegee holder is provided with a hole.
8. 8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the squeegee holder includes an inner ring portion defining the hole.
9. 9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the squeegee holder includes: an outer ring portion holding the squeegee, wherein the inner ring portion is disposed between the hole and the outer ring portion, and at least one connecting portion that connects the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion and is disposed between the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion.
10. 10 . The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a lid configured to cover the food container, the lid being provided with a hole, wherein a central axis of the hole of the lid coincides with a central axis of the hole of the squeegee holder, and wherein the hole of the lid is greater in area in a plan view than the hole of the squeegee holder.
11. 11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the lid includes a funnel shape terminating at the hole of the lid.
12. 12 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the food processing tool is configured to be rotated about a rotation axis extending through the holes of the lid and the squeegee holder.
13. 13 . The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising a pressing tool configured to be inserted through the hole of the lid and engage with the hole of the squeegee holder.
14. 14 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the food processing tool is fully contained within the second section, such that the scraper is prevented from contacting the food processing tool by the smaller cross section of the second section.
15. 15 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the inner wall comprises a transition section between the first section and the second section, wherein the cross section of the inner wall tapers towards the second cross section, such that the scraper is obstructed within the transitional section and is prevented from entering the second section.
16. 16 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a pressing tool configured for translating the scraper along a vertical axis of the scraper, such that use of the pressing tool translates the scraper while maintaining contact between the scraper and the substantially consistent cross section of the first section of the inner wall.
17. 17 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the food processing tool comprises at least one blade configured to be rotated in the food container.
18. 18 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is a food or beverage blender.
19. 19 . An apparatus, comprising: a food container including an inner wall; a food processing tool configured to be rotated in the food container; and a scraper disposed in the food container, the scraper being movable within the food container and configured to wipe down the inner wall toward the food processing tool, wherein the scraper includes: a squeegee in contact with the inner wall; and a squeegee holder that holds the squeegee, the squeegee being disposed between the squeegee holder and the inner wall, wherein the squeegee holder is provided with a hole, wherein the apparatus further comprises a lid configured to cover the food container, the lid being provided with a hole, wherein a central axis of the hole of the lid coincides with a central axis of the hole of the squeegee holder, and wherein the hole of the lid is greater in area in a plan view than the hole of the squeegee holder.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/434,326, filed Dec. 21, 2022, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates to an apparatus with a rotatable processing tool. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a blender. BACKGROUND As a household device, a blender is often used to blend or mix drinks or liquids. Blender operation normally requires the user to remove a lid of a blender, insert ingredients into a container of the blender. Then, the ingredients are blended or mixed in the container by rotating a blade in the container. During usage of a typical blender, some portion of the contents being blended will splash onto and stick to the inside walls of the blender. As such, after initially blending the contents of the container, the lid is typically removed and the contents of the walls are scraped into the blended content. The lid is then replaced and the blender is operated again to incorporate the scraped content. Sometimes, for viscous or sticky contents, this process may be repeated several times to ensure that the contents of the container are fully blended. Typically, the lid of the blender cannot or should not be removed while the blender is operating, both to avoid risk due to the rotating blade of the blender, and to avoid contents splashing out of the container. There is a need for a blender that can be scraped during blending, so that contents can be fully blended without repeatedly opening and closing the blender. SUMMARY In some embodiments, an apparatus, such as a blender, is provided that comprises a food container including an inner wall, a food processing tool configured to be rotated in the food container, and a scraper disposed in the food container. The scraper is movable within the food container and is configured to wipe down the inner wall towards the food processing tool. In some embodiments, the scraper is in contact with the inner wall along a circumferential direction of a rotation axis of the food processing tool. In some embodiments, the scraper includes a squeegee in contact with the inner wall and a squeegee holder that holds the squeegee, the squeegee being disposed between the squeegee holder and the inner wall. In some such embodiments, the squeegee is formed from or includes a different material than the squeegee holder. In some embodiments, the squeegee is made of a flexible or elastic material. In some embodiments including a squeegee, the squeegee includes a ring shape enclosing the squeegee holder. In some embodiments including a squeegee, the squeegee holder is provided with a hole. In some such embodiments, the squeegee holder includes an inner ring portion defining such a hole. In some such embodiments, the squeegee holder further includes an outer ring portion holding the squeegee, where the inner portion is disposed between the hole and the outer ring portion, and at least one connecting portion is provided that connects the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion and is disposed between the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion. In some embodiments in which a squeegee holder is provided with a hole, the apparatus further includes a lid configured to cover the food container, the lid being provided with a hole. A central axis of the hole in the lid then coincides with a central axis of the hole of the squeegee holder and the hole of the lid is greater in area in a plan view than the hole of the squeegee holder. In some such embodiments, the lid includes a funnel shape terminating at the hole of the lid. In some embodiments in which a hole is provided, the food processing tool is configured to be rotated about a rotation axis that extends through the holes of the lid and the squeegee holder. In some embodiments in which a hole is provided, the apparatus further includes a pressing tool configured to be inserted through the hole of the lid and engage with the hole of the squeegee holder. In some embodiments, the inner wall includes a first section having a first height and having a substantially consistent cross section across the first height, such that the scraper has a size and shape compatible with the substantially consistent cross section and is movable within the first height of the first section. In some such embodiments, the inner wall includes a second section located below the first section, the second section having a cross section smaller than the substantially consistent cross section of the first section. The size or shape of the scraper is incompatible with the cross section of the second section. In some such embodiments, the food processing tool is fully contained within the second section, such that the scraper is prevented from contacting the food processing tool by the smaller cross section of the second section. In some embodiments having first and second sections, the inner wall further i