GB2231774A

GB2231774A - Electric domestic appliance for chopping solid-flesh fruit and vegetables, and meat products

Info

Publication number: GB2231774A
Application number: GB9009242A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Leo Bertram; Hugo Schemmann; Romuald Leander Bukoschek
Original assignee: Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken NV
Current assignee: Koninklijke Philips NV
Priority date: 1989-04-29
Filing date: 1990-04-25
Publication date: 1990-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 2010-04-25
Also published as: FR2646338A3; FR2646338B3; GB2231774B; IT9021079V0; ES1013673Y; GB9009242D0; ES1013673U; IT219501Z2; IT9021079U1; DE3914372A1

Description

:2 2 3 iL -7 -7 --1 PHD 89.066 1 05.04.1990 Small electric domestic

appliance for chopping solid-flesh fruit and vegetables, more specifically onions, and meat products.

The invention relates to a small electric domestic appliance for chopping solid-flesh fruit and vegetables, more specifically onions, and meat products, comprising a counterblade locked against rotation in a jugshaped container and rotating blades fixedly 5 arranged on a shaft driven by an electric driving motor.

A device of this type is known from German Patent No. DE-PS 12 19 641. It discloses a jug-shaped container in which blades rotate which are driven by an electromotor. The material to be chopped is fed to the container and chopped by the blades rotating at high speed. A counterblade is arranged on the blade shaft and its end is positioned in a vertical groove of the container wall.

In the prior-art devices high-speed universal motors are used having noload speeds of approx. 10,000 - 20,000 r.p.m. and power consumptions of approx. 100 W. Accordingly, they are bulky and expensive. Recently, also high-speed brush motors with permanent-magnet excitation have been used. The no-load speed of these motors is around 10, 000 r.p.m.

The prior-art devices have in common that the blade is directly coupled to the shaft of the motor so that the blade has the same high speed as the driving motor. This results in the fact that, for example, when chopping onions in a small container, a pulpy mash is created which soon loses its taste and becomes unsavoury. If a larger container is used, the chopping result will be better. Small pieces of onion will be obtained as desired, but they are slung against the container wall by the blade and are hard to collect for further processing.

When chopping fruit and vegetables one should take care that the material is not moved along ahead of the blade or stuck between the container wall and the blade. This requires adequate blade speed. If the foodstuff is desired to be chopped into small pieces and not mashed, however, the blade speed should not be too high.

For practical reasons the container should be large PHD 89.066 2 05.04.1990 enough for fruit and vegetables such as apples and onions of normal size to be fed to the container uncut. This leads to a container diameter of approx. 10 cm.

When chopping meat, the object is to obtain a pasty substance of highly homogeneous consistence. This is only possible if the blade speed exceeds approx. 1,000 r.p.m. In combination with the required torque a minimum power output of the motor shaft is therefore approx. 25 to 30 W with a container diameter of approx. 10 cm.

It is an object of the invention to provide a small handy domestic appliance of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph, with which fruit and vegetables such as apples and onions as well as meat products can be processed and with which the motor output is reducible.

According to the invention the object aimed at is achieved in that the shaft rotates at a speed of 500 - 1,000 r.p.m.

The arrangement of an additional counterblade provides that a fruit to be chopped can no longer be moved along ahead of the rotating blade; the fruit is pressed against the stationary blade by the rotating blades. Also with meat products the counterforce of the counterblade improves the chopping process because the meat products cannot be pierced and taken along by the cutting blades. With fruit and vegetables as well as meat products the speed of the rotating blade can thus be reduced. The full cutting speed of the cutting blade is effected in this manner. So far one has not recognised the possibility of reducing the operating speed by means of a counterblade to obtain well- cut pieces.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the counterblade is pivoted to the shaft and on the inner wall of the container a stop is provided for the counterblade, which stop restricts the free rotatation of the counterblade to a maximum of 3600. The counterblade can thus be taken along for no more than one full turn and will then remain stationary.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the counterblade is arranged on the inner wall of the container. This variant of the embodiment has the same effect as a counterblade which is pivoted to the shaft and stops against a stop on the inner wall of the container. The pivoting to the shaft may be omitted.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, in an 1 1 PHD 89.066 3 05.04.1990 arrangement comprising blades positioned in a mutually displaced manner along the axis of the shaft and driven by this shaft, the counterblade is located between the blades driven by the shaft. Thus, a two-sided cutting of the fruit or meat products is realised, as a result of which the cutting effect is improved. The stationary counterblade retains the material to be cut and the rotating blades cut through the material above and below the stationary blade.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the counterblade is an unsharpened blade. Such an unsharpened blade retains substance to be chopped better than a sharp counterblade.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the driving motor drives the shaft via an inserted drive unit at a speed of 500 - 1,000 r.p. m. If the driving motor does not drive the shaft directly, the motor may rotate at a higher speed and it is possible to work with a motor having less driving power.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the driving motor is a bipolar single-phase synchronous motor having a permanent-magnet rotor. Such a single-phase synchronous motor having a permanent-magnet rotor provides sufficient power at very small dimensions. Since this motor has no preset direction of rotation, either a symmetrical arrangement with double-sided sharpened blades or the use of a return stop is necessary.

A specific embodiment of a compact and attractive form can be realised if, according to a further embodiment of the invention, the driving motor is constructed as a bipolar single-phase synchronous motor that has an output power of 15 to 20 W if two blades are used that rotate together with the shaft and one counterblade in a container having an inside diameter of approx. 10 cm. The rotational speed of the shaft is then preferably adjusted to approx, 750 r.p.m.

The invention will be further explained with reference to the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a small onion and meat chopper comprising a non-rotational additional counterblade; Fig. 2 shows a variant of the arrangement of the counterblade.

In the embodiment of the invention as shown in Fig. 1 the drive of a small onion and meat chopper is provided by a bipolar single- PHD 89.066 4 05.04.1990 phase synchronous motor 1 which is arranged in a motor housing 3, fitted into a cover of the chopper. The cover of the chopper can be put on a container 7.

The single-phase synchronous motor having a bipolar permanent-magnet rotor drives a shaft 10 by means of a drive unit 9 that has a step-down ratio of 1A, to which shaft two blades 11 are centrally fixed. The blades 11 have a mutual distance along the axis of the shaft. Between the clamps 12 of the blades 11 a counterblade 13 is pivoted to the shaft 10. For simplicity the pivoting is shown as a plane bearing 13a. On the inner wall 14 of the container 7 a stop 15 is provided against which the counterblade may be retained. The stop 15 retains the counterblade after no more than one rotation of approx. 3600.

Between the shaft 10 and a gearwheel 16 of the drive unit 9 driving this shaft a freewheel clutch 17 known per se is provided enabling the motor 1 to start running before the shaft is engaged. A return stop 18 allowing the driving motor 1 to start rotating in only one direction acts on the gearwheel 16. If the two blades 11 are sharpened on both sides, the return stop may be omitted. 20 In the embodiment of the invention as shown in Fig. 2 the counterblade 13 is fixedly attached to the inner wall 14 of the container by means of a stop 19. The counterblade is thus rigidly arranged in the container. The domestic appliance has a particularly favourable design when constructed in the following manner: the driving motor is an a.c. powered single-phase synchronous motor having a bipolar permanent magnet rotor operating at 3,000 r.p.m. The container has an inside diameter of approx. 10cm. The motor output power is designed to be approx. 15 W. The speed of the shaft is adjusted to approx. 750 i.p.m.

Such an electric domestic appliance used as an onion and meat chopper is very small and handy.

i 1 PHD 89.066 5 20.04.1990

Claims

CLAIM(S)

1. Small electric domestic appliance for chopping solid-flesh fruit and vegetables, more specifically onions, and meat products, comprising a counterblade locked against rotation in a jug-shaped container, and rotating blades fixedly arranged on a shaft driven by an electric driving motor, characterised in that the shaft rotates at a speed of 500-1000 r.p.m.

2. Domestic appliance as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the counterblade is pivoted to the shaft and on the inner wall of the container a stop is provided for the counterblade, which stop restricts the free rotation of the counterblade to 3600.

3. Domestic appliance as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the counterblade is arranged on the inner wall of the container.

4. Domestic appliance as claimed in Claim 1,2 or 3, characterised in that in an arrangement comprising blades positioned in a mutually displaced manner along the axis of the shaft and driven by this shaft, the counterblade is located between the blades driven by the shaft.

5. Domestic appliance as claimed in Claim 1,2,3 or 4, characterised in that the counterblade is an unsharpened blade.

6. Domestic appliance as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the driving motor drives the shaft via an inserted drive unit at a speed of 500-1000 r.p.m.

7. Domestic appliance as claimed in Claim 6, characterised in that the driving motor is a single-phase synchronous motor having a bipolar permanent-magnet rotor.

8. Domestic appliance as claimed in Claim 6 or 7, characterised in that the driving motor has an output power of approximately 15W if two blades are used that rotate together with the shaft and one counterblade in a container having an inside diameter of approximately 10cm.

C _.

PED 89.066 6 20.04.1990

9. Domestic appliance as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the rotational speed of the shaft is adjusted to approximately 750 r.p.m.

10. Small electric domestic appliance for chopping solid-flesh fruit and vegetables, more specifically onions, and meat products, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Published1990atThe Patent Office. State House. 66 71 High Holborn, LondonWC1R4TP. Further copies maybe obtainedfrc)MThePatentedficeSales Branch. St Mary Cray. Orpington. Kent BR5 3RD. Printed by Multiplex techniques ltd, St Mary Cray, Kent, Con. 1187