Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
DESCRIPTION
This invention relates generally to a safety
device to prevent accidental access to -the cutting
blades of a food processor.
The invention relates more particularly to an
electrodomestic appliance used to cut, slice, mince,
reduce, centrifuge and so on fruit vegetables and similar
foods, the appliance having a safety feature to prevent
involuntary, accidentalr unwitting access to that
part of the appliance where a tool for performing one
or more of the functions mentioned is operating. A
food processor of this kind comprises a container, a
funnel-shaped passage having an open end disposed in
the container and an entry accessible outside the same',
an implement or tool borne in the container near the den
end of the funnel-shaped passage and a motor for driving
the tool or implement.
One of the main safety requirements for food processors
is o-f course to ensure that the user cannot contact the
tool, for example, the cutting blades, of the appliance
during operation , yet can introduce into
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the appliance the or each product to be processed (by
slicing, mincing and so on).
The known systems and constructions for meeting
thus re~uirelllent are complex, expensive and bulky; also, as
well as being difficult to manipulate they often make the
processor difficult to use. These disadvantages may cause
the user of the appliance to "forget" to operate or use the
safety feature and thus work in a hazardous situation which
is not always clearly apparent.
It is the main object of this invention to provide
an electrodomestic appliance of the kind herein before no-
furred to, the appliance having a safety device or feature
whose constructional and operational characteristics are
such as to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
The above object is met by the present invention
which broadly provides an electrodomestic appliance come
pulsing: a container and associated lid; a passage in the
form of a funnel having an open end disposed in the con-
trainer and an entry accessible outside the same; implement
means operative in the container near the open end of the
passage; an electric motor for driving the implement means;
an interceptor element movingly guided on the appliance
from a first position partially closing the entry of the
funnel-shaped passage to at least one second position away
from the entry; and a micro switch forming part of a supply
circuit for the motor, the micro switch being adapted to be
closed by a portion of the interceptor element in the first
position thereof.
advantageously and preferably, the interceptor
i 30 element comprises a substantially bar-like part having one
end rotatable mounted on a pivot pin disposed on the
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lid and extending parallel to and laterally of the funnel-
shaped passage, at least one portion of the bar-like
part being substantially coplanar with the passage entry
and having the switch-actuating portion.
The main advantage of an electrodomestic appliance
according to the invention is that the interceptor
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element not only effectively prevents access to the tool
of the appliance in operation but also inhibits operation
of the appliance unless positioned near the entry of
the funnel-shaped passage (safety position). Another
important advantage is the simplified construction and
simplified operation of the safety device of the appliance
according to this invention.
Other features and advantages will become more
clearly apparent from the description of an embodiment
of an appliance according to the invention as given
hereinafter with reference to the pow explanatory
drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is a view in elevation and partial section
of an electrodomestic appliance having a safety feature
according to the invention, and
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the appliance ox
Fig. 1.
Referring to the drawings, an electrodomestic
appliance 1 according to the invention is preferably a
food processor adapted, when fitted with appropriate
tools or attachments, to perform a range of operations
such as slicing, mincing, dicing, centrifuging, mixing,
beating and so on fruit, vegetables and similar foods.
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A processor of this kind comprises a body 2
having a chamber 3 receiving an electric motor 4,
disposed laterally of the chamfer 3 is a base plate 5
on which a container 6 is located and secured removably
by conventional means which are not shown. A driven
shaft extends into the container 6, the same being
closed at the top by a lid 7; the shaft 8 is borne by
the base plate 5 within which a terminal part of shaft 8
is connected to a transmission (not shown since it is
known per so) driven by the motor 4.
The container 6 can be loaded through a funnel-shaped
passage 9 with fruit, vegetables and other similar
foods it is required to process. Preferably but not
imitatively, the passage 9 is integral with the lid 7;
when the same is in position on the container the passage
JO disposed in the more outwards part of the lid 7.
ye passage 9 has an open end 10 in the container 6 and
has an entry 11.
Purely by way of example a cutting blade 12 is
so secured by conventional means (not shown) to the shaft
8 as to rotate solidly therewith; the blade I extends
radially of the shaft 8 and rotates in a position very
near that end 10 of toe passage 9 which is disposed in
the container I
The appliance herein before described has a safety
feature to prevent accidental access by any user through
the passage 9 to the cutting blade 12 while the
appliance is in operation.
The safety feature mainly comprises an interceptor
element 13 and a micro-switch 14 which in known and
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conventional manner forms part of the electrical supply
circuit (not shown) of the motor 4.
lore particularly, and with reference to a standby
condition of the appliance according to this invention, the
interceptor element 13 comprises a substantially U-shaped
member 14 having two unequal bolt parallel and bar-like arms
15, 16 and an intermediate bar-like part 17. The arms 15,
16 extend parallel to one another and on opposite sides of
the passage 9 while the part 17 is substantially coplanar
with the passage entry 11. The arm 15 has its bottom end
pivotal disposed on a pivot pin 18 borne by the lid 7, the
pin 18 extending parallel to and laterally of the passage 9.
The arm 16 has a bottom portion aye extending through a slot
19 in the chamber 3 of the appliance body 2, the slot 19
being concentric of the axis of the pin 18. The bottom
portion aye or exposed end of the arm 16 is inside the
chamber 3 and intercepts and actuates the micro switch 14
when the intermediate part 17 of the U-shaped member 13
extends transversely of the passage entry 11 in a position
substantially central thereof.
Clearly, in this position the intermediate part 17
of the member 13 (interceptor element) makes it impossible
for the user or any one else to insert a hand into the
passage 9 and gain access to the cutter 12 while the apt
pluckiness is in operation. However, as seen in Figure 2, the
intermediate part is narrower than the passage entry 11 and
hence it does not prevent insertion of long, narrow pieces
of food such as carrots or celery while the machine is in
operation since the interceptor element has only partially
closed the passage entry. Clearly too, immediately the part
17 moves away from its interception position the bottom free
end of the arm 16 of the member 13 moves away from the
micro switch 14 and thus stops the motor 4. Consequently,
the interceptor element 13 prevents the appliance according
to this invention
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from operating unless the interceptor element 13 is
in the safety position.
In a preferred but non-limitative embodiment,
the lid 7 is of the kind having means enabling the
motor 4 to operate only when the lid 7 is properly in
its closure position on the container 6, for instance,
the lid 7 on have a tooth (not shown) which extends
through the slot 19 herein before referred to to engage
a respective micro switch (not shown) disposed in the
chamber 3.
he dimensions of the member 13 more particularly
the length of its arms 15, 16, will of course vary in
dependence upon the height of the passage 9 relatively
to the lid 7, and the length and width of the intermediate
part 17 of the U-shaped member 13 will vary in
dependence upon the transverse dimensions of the entry
11 of the funnel-shaped passage 9.
