Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
130239g
--1--
AN AGITATOR F`OR A ~OOD MIXER
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to an agitator for a food
mixer, such as a mixer of the type which will blend candy
other condiments into ice cream, milk shakes or the like.
More particularly, this invention relates to an agitator
blade which is disposable insuring sanitary conditions
without having to clean the agitator between usages.
BACKGROUND ART
For many years mixers with agitator shafts
extending downwardly have been used to mix food items, such
as milk shakes, right in a cup. More recently, similar
mixers have be~n used to mix solid food chunks, such as
candy and the like, into soft serve ice cream and other
foods of similar texture. Since such mixers have permanent
agitator shafts, frequent cleaning, most often between each
use, is required because it is highly likely that each user
will be blending different materials. Such cleaning is
quite time consuming ~or the commercial establishment which
blends the product for the customer and is virtually
impossible for the commercial establishment which invites
the customer to blend his own product.
To date no one has developed an agitator assembly
for such mixers which will not be in need of this frequent
cl@onlng.
DISCLOSURE OF ~HE INVENTION
It is thus a primary object of the present
invention to provide a disposable agitator for a food mixing
device.
1302399
-- 2
It is another object of the precent invention
to provide an agitator, as above, which can be readily
utilized by the consumer himself.
It is a further object of the present invention
to provide an agitator, as above, which i6 in the shape
of a spoon so that the consumer can utilize the same as a
utensil to eat the food product.
It is still another object of the present
invention to provide an agitator, as above, in which the
~owl of the spoon is axially offset from the shaft
thereof to increase mixing action.
These and other objects of the present
invention, which will become apparent from the
descript~on to follow, are accomplished by the
improvements hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, a disposable agitator is designed
for engagement with a rotatable shaft having coupling
means associated therewith. The agitator has a hollow
stem adapted to fit over and rotate with the shaft, there
being an agitator blade on the end of the stem. ~he stem
is pxovided with means to engage the coupling means of
the 6haft to position the stem longitudinally on the
~haft.
According to a broad aspect, the invention
relates to a disposable food mixer agitator for use by a
consumer, the agitator being engageable with a rotatable
elsngate shaft, the ~haft tapering downwardly from a
larger cros6 section to a smaller cross section and
including coupling ;mean~, the agitator comprising, an
elongate plastic ste~, said stem being hollow along its
entire length and being adapted to fit over substantially
the entire shaft and be strengthened thereby, said stem
tapering downwardly from a larger cross section to a
smaller cross section corresponding to the taper of the
shaft, hlade means on the lower end of said ste~
configured to induce the consu~er to remove ~aid stem
~13023~9
.,~ ,~
from the 6haft ~nd use the agit~tor to con~ume the food,
said ~lade means being in the 6hape of a bowl of a spoon
and closing the lower end of 6aid stem to prevent
contamination of the 6haft, and means on 6aid stem to
temporarily engage the coupling means of the shaft to
temporarily position 6aid hollow stem longitudinally on
the shaft and permit rotation of said stem and said blade
means with the shaft so that 6aid blade means will mix
the food after which time the consumer is induced by ~aid
blade means to remove said stem from the shaft and
consume the food with the agitator thereby preventing
contamination of the shaft from exposure to different
food items.
According to a further broad aspect, the
invention relates to a disposable agitator for use by a
consumer with a food mixer having a rotatable shaft of a
generally polygonal cross section and tapering downwardly
from a larger cross section to a 6maller cross section,d
the shaft having a generally annular flange thereof, the
agitator comprising, a hollow ~tem of a plastic material
- being hollow for substantially its entire length and
having a generally polygonal cross section and taper
corresponding to the taper of the shaft ~o that said stem
can be fit over the 6haft by the consumer, be
strengthened by the shaft, and be rotatable with the
~haft, means on the end of said stem to agitate the food
and to induce the consumer to remove 6aid stem from the
6haft, ~aid means on the end of said stem being of a
plastic material and configured in the shape of a bowl
of a spoon 80 that the con6umer may consume the food
product with the agitator, 6aid mean6 at the end of said
stem closing the lower end of ~aid stem to prevent
contamination of the shaft, and clip ~ean6 near the upper
end of eaid stem to engage the flange on the ~haft 80
that the consumer can temporarily secure ~aid stem
longitudinally on the shaft, said clip means including a
~302399
,'l' `
resilient shank portion attached to the outside of said
stem and extending upwardly above 6aid stem, and a barb
portion on the upper end of said shank poxtion to engage
the flange.
According to a still further aspect, the
invention relates to a method for enabling a user to mix
a food product in a food mixer for subsequent consumption
by the user, the food mixer having an elongate rotatable
shaft with a flange near the top thereof, the user having
been provided with a disposable agitator having an
elongate hollow stem with a clip carrying a barb near the
top thereof and the bottom thereof being configured like
the bowl of a spoon c~mprising the steps of reinforcing
the hollow stem by sliding the hollow stem upwardly over
the ~haft of the agitator, snapping the barb over the
flange by di6placing the clip to thereby secure the
agitator on the shaft, mixing the food product with the
agitator, displacing the clip to disengage the barb from
the flange, 61iding the hollow 6tem downwardly away from
the shaft, and using the agitat~r as a utensil to consume
the fo~d product.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA~INGS
Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a food
mixer having a disposable agitator according to the
concept of the present invention.
Fig. 2 i8 an elevational view of one embodiment
of a rotatable drive shaft of the food mixer adapted to
receive a disposable agitator.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view through one
embodiment of a dispo6able agitator designed for u6e with
the shaft æhown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 i6 a sectional view taken sub6tPntially
along line 4-4 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken ~ubst~ntially
along line 5-5 of Fig. 3.
~3
1302399
Fig. 6 is an elevational view of another embodi-
ment of a rotatable drive shaft of the food mixer adapted to
receive a disposable agitator.
Fig. 7 is an elevational view of another embodi-
ment of a disposable agitator designed for use with theshaft shown in Fig. 6.
Fig. 8 is a partial elevational view of the
disposable agitator of Fig. 7 attached to the rotatable
drive shaft of Fig. 6.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially
along line 9-9 of Fig. 8.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING O~T THE INVENTION
A conventional mixer 10 is shown schematically in
Fig. 1 and includes a rotatable shaft 11 which carries the
disposable agitator indicated generally by the numeral 12.
Mixer 10 is equipped with a mOtol^ which, when activated by
switch 13, rotates shaft 11 and agitator 12. Positioning a
cup of ice cream or the like, mixed with candy or other
condiments, so that agitator 12 is in the ice cream results
in a smooth blended product when shaft 11 is rotated.
One embodiment of shaft 11 is shown in detail in
Fig. 2 as having an annular recess 14 near the top thereof
and having a flat end 15 at the bottom thereof. As will
hereinafter be described, recess 14 and flat end 15 serve as
devices which enable coupling of shaft 11 to agitator 12 to
prevent longitudinal and rotational movement of agitator 12
with respect to shaft 11. Shaft 11 can be constructed out
of any durable material, such as stainless steel, and while
it is shown as being somewhat tapered, it can take on an
essentially cylindrical shape if desired.
The embodiment of agitator 12 used with the
embodiment of shaft 11 shown in Fig. 2 is best shown in
Fig. 3 and is preferably made of an inexpensive material,
3~ such as many common plastics, so that it can be economically
discarded after use. Agitator 12 includes a hollow sleeve
stem portion 16 at one end and an agitator blade portion 17
1302399
at the other end. Stem 16 is shown as being tapered to
correspond to the tapel shown for shaft 11 although it will
be appreciated that if shaft 11 were not tapeled, stem 16
would also not be tapered but would rather correspond in
configulation to that of shaft 11.
An annular detent 18 is provided internally of
stem 16 near the top thereof for locking engagement with
recess 14 of shaft 11 to secure agitator 12 longitudinally
of shaft 11. A lug 19 is provided internally near the
1~ bottom of stem 16 generally at the point where stem 16
connects with blade 17. Lug 19 makes a dog-like engagement
with flat 15 of shaft 11 so that agitator 12 will rotate
with shaft 11 in a non-slip fashion.
While blade 1~ could take the form of any well
known agitating type configurations, it is shown as being in
the shape of the bowl of a spoon having reinforcing webs 20
to strengthen the transition between stem 16 and blade 17.
Being so configured as a spoon, the agitator can serve the
additional function of enabling the consumer to use it as a
utensil for eating the product.
It should also be noted that the center of gravity
of blade 17 is shown as being axially offset from the
centerline of shaft 11 and stem 16 which has been found to
enhance the agitating action. However, a blade 17 in line
with ~he axis of rotation of shaft 11 could be constructed
without departing from the spirit of this invention.
From the above description it should be appreci-
ated that the disposable agitator 12 can be readily
attached to shaft 11 by sliding the sleeve stem 16 over
shaft 11 until detent 18 snaps into recess 14. Upon
rotation of shaft 11, flat end 15 will engage lug 19 and the
sleeve stem 16 will rotate with the shaft so that blade 17
will mix the product in a cup held by the user. After
completion of the mixing process, agitator 12 can be removed
and discarded or, if blade 17 is in the form of a spoon, as
shown, it can be utilized as a utensil by the usel- to
consume the product. It should be appreciated that during
~02399
the mixing process, sleeve stem 16 has protected shaft 11
from contact with the product and therefore no cleaning of
shaft 11 is necessary preparatory to the next use.
Another embodiment of a rotatable shaft is shown
in Fig. 6 and identified generally by the numeral llA.
Shaft llA has an upper cylindrical portion 21 attachable to
the drive mechanism of mixer 10 and a lower portion 22
designed to receive the alternate embodiment of the agitator
indicated generally by the numeral 12A in Fig. 7. An
annular flange 23 is provided at the junction of portions 21
and 22 of shaft llA which, as will hereinafter be described
in more detail, enables the coupling of shaft llA to
agitator 12A to prevent longitudinal movement of agitator
12A with respect to shaft llA. Shaft llA, like shaft 11, is
normally constructed of a durable material, such as stain-
less steel, with lower portion 22 of shaft llA being
generally square in configuration, and while it is shown as
being tapered, such is not critical to the spirit of this
invention.
Agitator 12A, like agitator 12, is preferably made
of an inexpensive plastic material and includes a hollowsleeve stem portion 24 at one end and an agitator blade
portion 25 at the other end. Blade portion 25 can be
essentially identical to blade portion 17 of Fig. 3, that
is, in the shape of a bowl of a spoon so as to serve the
additional function of an eating utensil. Stem 24 is shown
as being square in cross-section to conform with lower
portion 22 of shaft llA and likewise, if desired, can be
tapered, as shown. Stem 24 will thus rotate with shaft llA.
The upper end of stem 24 of agitator 12A is
provided with a collar 26 which mates with flange 23 of
shaft llA. A clip member indicated generally by the numeral
27 in Fig. 7 includes a resilient shank portion 28 extending
outwardly from stem 24 of agitator 12A and terminating at
its upper end as a barb portion 29. Barb 29 engages flange
23 to secure agitator 12A longitudinally of shaft llA.
Thus, disposable agitator 12A can be readily
1302399
G-
attached to shaft llA by sliding the hollow sleeve stem 24
over lower portion 22 of shaft llA. As barb 29 passes
upwardly over flange 23, shank portion 28 of clip 27 will
flex outwardly until barb 29 is above flange 23 at which
time shank portion 28 will snap inwardly so that barb 29
engages flange 23 and longitudinally locks agitator 12A to
shaft llA. The user can then conduct the mixing process in
the identical manner and with the same advantages as
described with respect to the embodiment shown in Figs. 2-5.
1~ From the foregoing it should be evident that a
disposable agitator constructed as described herein will
accomplish the objects of the present invention and other-
wise substantially improve the food mixing art.
2G
