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US-20260124589-A1 - BLENDER ASSEMBLY

US20260124589A1US 20260124589 A1US20260124589 A1US 20260124589A1US-20260124589-A1

Abstract

A blender assembly includes a base, a heater assembly selectively coupled to the base and having a heating element and a biasing feature that biases the heating element away from the base, and a jar assembly selectively coupled to the heater assembly and having a jar and a heat transfer element coupled to the jar. Coupling the jar assembly to the heater assembly prompts the heat transfer element to contact the heating element, such that the heating element moves toward the base against the bias of the biasing feature.

Inventors

  • Samuel James Bradley
  • Rebecca Katherine Kasner

Assignees

  • WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251218

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A collar for a blending appliance, the collar comprising: an upper annular component that is coupled to a lower annular component; a heating element operably attached to the upper annular component and biased away from the lower annular component by a biasing mechanism; and a coupler having an upper coupler that is configured to receive a jar assembly and a lower coupler that is configured to engage a base having a motor, wherein the heating element is adapted to be biased toward the lower annular component when the jar assembly is engaged with the upper coupler to engage the heating element with a portion of the jar assembly.
  2. 2 . The collar of claim 1 , wherein the coupler is secured within an intermediary annular component that is secured between the upper annular component and the lower annular component.
  3. 3 . The collar of claim 2 , wherein the heating element is disposed within an annular puck that is operable within the upper annular component.
  4. 4 . The collar of claim 3 , wherein the biasing mechanism extends between the intermediary annular component and the annular puck.
  5. 5 . The collar of claim 1 , wherein the biasing mechanism includes compression springs.
  6. 6 . The collar of claim 1 , wherein the lower annular component includes at least one guide recess that is configured to rotationally secure the lower annular component within a heater assembly-receiving dish of the base.
  7. 7 . The collar of claim 1 , wherein the upper annular component includes at least one rib that is configured to define a twist-lock engagement with the portion of the jar assembly.
  8. 8 . The collar of claim 3 , wherein the heating element includes a heater coil that extends through the annular puck.
  9. 9 . The collar of claim 3 , wherein the biasing mechanism biases the annular puck toward an elevated position, wherein the heating element and an upper surface of the annular puck are positioned above a top surface of the upper annular component.
  10. 10 . The collar of claim 3 , wherein the annular puck and the upper coupler are positioned within an upper aperture of the upper annular component.
  11. 11 . The collar of claim 2 , wherein the coupler is axially secured within an intermediary aperture of the intermediary annular component.
  12. 12 . A heater assembly for a blender assembly, comprising: an upper annular component and a lower annular component that cooperate to define an interior space; an annular puck having a heating element that is axially operable within at least a portion of the interior space; and a biasing feature operably coupled with the upper annular component and configured to bias the heating element away from the lower annular component, wherein the heating element is biased through an upper aperture of the upper annular component and to an area outside of the interior space.
  13. 13 . The heater assembly of claim 12 , further comprising: a coupler having an upper coupler that is configured to receive a jar assembly and a lower coupler that is configured to engage a base having a motor.
  14. 14 . The heater assembly of claim 13 , wherein the coupler is secured within an intermediary annular component that is secured between the upper annular component and the lower annular component.
  15. 15 . The heater assembly of claim 14 , wherein the coupler is axially secured within an intermediary aperture of the intermediary annular component.
  16. 16 . The heater assembly of claim 14 , wherein the biasing feature extends between the intermediary annular component and the annular puck.
  17. 17 . The heater assembly of claim 12 , wherein the heating element includes a heater coil that extends through the annular puck.
  18. 18 . A blender assembly, comprising: a base; a jar; a collar that is coupled to the base and selectively receives the jar; a coupler axially attached to the collar and rotationally operable to rotate a blade of the jar; and an annular puck having a heating element that is biased to an elevated position that places the heating element outside of an interior space of the collar, wherein the annular puck and the heating element are moved toward the base when the jar engages the coupler.
  19. 19 . The blender assembly of claim 18 , wherein the collar comprises: a lower annular component that defines a lower aperture; an upper annular component that defines an upper aperture and is coupled to the lower annular component; and an intermediary annular component that defines an intermediary aperture and is positioned between the upper and lower annular components, wherein the upper, lower, and intermediary apertures cooperate to define the interior space.
  20. 20 . The blender assembly of claim 19 , wherein the coupler is positioned within the lower aperture, the upper aperture and the intermediary aperture.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/937,807, filed Oct. 4, 2022, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/253,289, filed Oct. 7, 2021, both entitled “BLENDER ASSEMBLY,” the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure generally relates to a blender assembly, and more specifically, to a blender assembly that includes a heater assembly that is selectively coupled to a jar assembly. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a blender assembly includes a base, a heater assembly, and a jar assembly. The heater assembly is selectively coupled to the base and has a heating element. The jar assembly is selectively coupled to the heater assembly and has a jar and a heat transfer element coupled to the jar. The heat transfer element contacts the heating element when the jar assembly is coupled to the heater assembly. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a heater assembly for a blender assembly includes a collar that defines an interior space, a heating element disposed at least partially within the interior space, and a biasing feature operably coupled with the collar and the heating element and being configured to bias the heating element in a first direction. In the first direction, the heating element is operable to move relative to the collar in a second direction that is opposite the first direction against the bias of the biasing feature. According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a blender assembly includes a base, a heater assembly selectively coupled to the base and having a heating element and a biasing feature that biases the heating element away from the base, and a jar assembly selectively coupled to the heater assembly and having a jar and a heat transfer element coupled to the jar. Coupling the jar assembly to the heater assembly prompts the heat transfer element to contact the heating element, such that the heating element moves toward the base against the bias of the biasing feature. These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present disclosure will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims, and appended drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a blender assembly; FIG. 2 is an exploded front elevational cross-sectional view of a blender assembly illustrating a jar assembly, a heater assembly, and a housing assembly; FIG. 3 is a partial top perspective view of the jar assembly and the heater assembly of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is an exploded front elevational view of a blender assembly illustrating a jar assembly, a heater assembly, and a housing assembly; FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the housing assembly of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the heater assembly of FIG. 4; FIG. 7 is an exploded front elevational view of the heater assembly of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a front elevational cross-sectional view of the heater assembly of FIG. 6, taken through line VIII-VIII; FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the jar assembly of FIG. 4; FIG. 10 is a front elevational cross-sectional view of the jar assembly of FIG. 9, taken through line X-X; FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of a blender assembly illustrating a jar assembly in a disengaged condition with a heater assembly; FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of the blender assembly of FIG. 11 illustrating the jar assembly in an engaged condition with the heater assembly; FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the blender assembly of FIG. 11, taken through line XIII-XIII; and FIG. 14 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the blender assembly of FIG. 12, taken through line XIV-XIV. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present illustrated embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus components related to a blender assembly. Accordingly, the apparatus components and method steps have been represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Further, like numerals in the description and drawings represent like elements. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the disclosure as oriented in FIG. 1. Unless stated otherwise, the term “front” shall refer to the surfa