Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
- 2139606
A GRINDER-TYPE JUICER
The present invention relates to a juicer which
extracts juice from vegetables, etc., by means of the
compression method, and specifically to a grinder-type
juicer which extracts juice by grinding and squeezing
vegetables between upper and lower plates.
Squeezing-type juicers are used to extract juice
from vegetables, tubers or fruits by the compression
method. Such squeezing-type juicers have been initially
proposed by the Applicant of the present invention (for
example, in Utility Model Registration Application No. 86-
17672), but in the past centrifugation has been the main
method of juice extraction used. The centrifugation method
is suitable for use in juicers for extracting juice from
fruit, etc., but in the case of extraction of juice from
vegetables or tubers, which are high in fiber but have a
low water content, the materials must be sliced, and even
at a considerably high rotation speed, the extraction rate
is not very favorable, moreover, materials such as heavy
metals are discharged together with the residue due to
centrifugal force, among other problems.
In contrast, the juicer proposed by the Applicant
of the present invention, i.e., a squeezing-type juicer
which uses a pair of gears, has the advantage of being
designed so that the material may be sliced and then
squeezed or simultaneously sliced and squeezed in order to
extract the juice, the juice extraction rate is several
times higher than in juicers using the centrifugation
method, and heavy metals do not become mixed in with the
juice. Such dual-gear squeezing-type juicers currently
account for the majority of market demand.
Having thus generally described the invention
~ 21396~6
reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings
wherein:
Fig. 1 shows a summarized sectional-view of the
dual-gear type juicer previously registered by the present
Applicant;
Fig. 2 shows a summarized sectional view of the
grinder-type juicer previously applied for by the present
Applicant;
Fig. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the basic
structure of the grinder-type juicer of the present
invention;
Figs. 4(A) and 4(B) are a plane projection and
plane view respectively showing the composition of the
upper and lower plates in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is an explanatory conceptual diagram
showing the principle of action of the upper and lower
plates shown in Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 shows the composition and comparison
examples of various residue discharge m~h~n;sms which can
be applied to the upper and lower plates, with (A) through
(D) and (E) through (H) showing pattern diagrams of the
composition of the lower plate;
Fig, 7 is a conceptual diagram showing another
composition of the grinder-type juicer of the present
invention;
Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing a preferred
practical example of a grinder-type juicer based on the
composition shown in Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 is a projected plane view showing the
composition of the upper plate in Fig. 8;
Fig. 10 is a plane view showing the composition
of the lower plate in Fig. 8;
Fig. 11 is an oblique view showing the structural
principles of another slicing device appropriate for use in
the grinder-type juicer of the present invention; and
.
2139~0~
~_ 3
Figs. 12(A) through (C) are summarized sectional
views and projected plane views showing examples of various
compositions of the grinding device used in the present
grinder-type juicer shown in Fig. 11.
In the drawings reference numeral 10 represents
an upper plate; 20 a lower plate; 30 a (material) insertion
opening; 40 a grinding device (grinder protuberances); 50
a (juice) discharge outlet; 60 a filter net; 11 a (spiral-
shaped) guide groove (or elongated guide land); and 21
represents a juice-squeezing groove.
-
Fig. 1 shows a completed juicer which expands onthe above-mentioned proposal of the Applicant of the
present invention and embodies the device of Utility Model
Registration No. ~9191.
In Figs. l(A) and l(B), by means of a drive gear
group (T) from a drive motor (M), a pair of mutually
interlocking rotary grinding gears (K) grind inserted
material (I) inserted via a hopper (H), and when the ground
material is moved into a juice-squeezing net (D) and
squeezed, the squeezed juice (J) drops into a receptacle
(V) via a juice-squeezing guide (Gl), and the residue (R)
is discharged via said residue guide (G2).
However, in this type of juicer, as grinding and
squeezing of the inserted material (I) is carried out by
means of grinding gears (K), a considerable load is placed
on the grinding gears (K), making a comparativèly high-
output drive motor (M) and drive gear group (T) necessary.
Moreover, as the grinding gears (K) must be in the form of
helical gears comprising a spiral-shaped cutting edge (E),
high-precision mach;n;ng is required, and in order to
prevent abrasion of the cutting edge (E) with use, special
2139606
high-quality material of considerable strength must be
used.
Furthermore, in the case of inserted materials
cont~;n;ng large amounts of fiber such as pine needles or
arrowroot, unless the material to be inserted is divided up
into small amounts, it is not only impossible to carry out
proper squeezing of the juice, but the residue ground up
between the grinding gears (K) or juice-squeezing net (D)
becomes jammed, giving rise to the risk of damage to the
mech~n;cm, and the use of the juice-squeezing net (D)
causes various problems in handling and washing.
On the other hand, at household appliance and
health food stores where squeezing-type juicers are used,
as grains or nuts such as soy beans, adzuki beans or adlai
must be soaked in water or cooked before they can be used
for producing juice by means of conventional juicers or
other kitchen purposes, this has an adverse effect on
grinding efficiency.
In order to solve the above problems, the
Applicant of the present invention proposed a grinder-type
juicer as shown in Fig. 2 in Patent Application No. 93-
10436 (6-14-93). This grinder-type juicer is equipped with
various cutting lands (L1, L2) and it is designed so that
inserted material (I) such as vegetables can be inserted
and ground between the grinding surfaces of an upper plate
(P1) and a lower plate (P2) which rotate relative to each
other.
This kind of grinder-type juicer is relatively
easy to manufacture, shows high durability, and can
efficiently grind and squeeze juice out of high-fiber
inserted materials or grain, but it does have one
21396~6
structural problem. Specifically, in this type of juicer,
the grinding surface between the upper plate (Pl) and the
lower plate (P2) faces upward and is in the shape of a
convex cone. The juice and the residue from the ground
inserted material cannot be separated and thus drop
together under their own weight. For this reason, in order
- to separate the juice from the ground material (I') , a
filtering sieve (S) or another independent separating
device such as a centrifuge (not shown) becomes necessary.
In the final analysis, therefore, no matter how favorable
the grinding efficiency of the upper and lower plates (P1,
P2), the juice- squeezing efficiency of conventional
grinder-type juicers depends on the efficiency of the
separating device used.
In order to resolve these problem areas, the
inventor of the present invention conducted research in a
wide variety of areas in order to provide a grinder-type
juicer which was capable of separating the juice and
residue without reguiring an independent separating device.
As a result, the inventor of the present
invention arrived at a grinder type juicer characterized by
having a grinding surface between its upper and lower
plates which faces upward and is designed in the shape of
a concave funnel.
In the juicer of the present invention, the juice
and residue are separated from each other by means of the
characteristic separating device of the invention, the
squeezed juice drops through the center of the grinding
surface under its own weight and is discharged, and after
extraction of the juice, the residue moves to the outer
edge of the grinding surface and is discharged.
2139~06
The following is a detailed explanation of the
structural principles and preferred practical examples of
the grinder-type juicer of the present invention, referring
to the attached drawings.
As shown in Fig. 3, the grinder-type juicer of
the present invention has an upper plate (10) and a lower
plate (20) which rotate relative to each other between its
upper and lower grinding surfaces, which face upward and
having a convex conical shape. In the upper plate (10),
there is an insertion opening (30) through which material
to be ground up such as vegetables is inserted, and either
the upper (10) or lower plate (20), or both, may be
equipped with a grinding device composed of multiple
protuberances (40), etc. The center of the lower plate
(20) is equipped with a discharge outlet (50) having a
filter net (60), and in the figure, the broken line/dotted
arrows indicate the discharging of the juice. On the other
hand, the grinding surface between the upper and lower
plates (10, 20) is equipped with the separating device
which is characteristic of the present invention, and as
- the juice and residue are separated, the residue is
discharged at the outer edge of the grinding surface as
indicated by the dotted arrows.
As the separating device of the present
invention is based on the structural principle of oblique
spiral operation, we will now discuss this principle and
action based on Figs. 4 and 5.
First, Fig. 4(A) shows a projected plane view of
the upper plate (10), with a spiral-shaped guide groove or
elongated guide land (11) which acts as a residue guide
mec-h~n;sm being installed on the grinding surface on the
underside of said upper plate (10). In the figure, in
2139606
~_ 7
order to avoid confusion concerning the relationship to the
lower plate (20), the guide groove or elongated guide land
(11) is shown projected from the upper surface of the upper
plate (10). The guide groove or elongated guide land (11)
of the upper plate (10) extends outward from the insertion
opening (30); for example, it may have the shape of an
Archimedes' screw, have a specified tangent angle ((0) in
Fig. 5) with respect to an imaginary circumference having
the center of the upper plate (10) as its center, and may
extend outward in a clockwise direction.
Fig. 4(B) shows the grinding surface of the lower
plate (20). This grinding surface is equipped with
multiple juice-squeezing grooves (21) which extend radially
outward from the filter net (60) at its center, and said
grinding surface is equipped with multiple protuberances
(40) for grinding up the inserted material. The juice-
squeezing groove (21) is in the shape of curved line having
a specified curvature in order to make squeezing and
discharging of the juice more convenient, and in the
practical example shown, the juice-squeezing groove (21) is
designed so that its end rotates counter-clockwise.
The juice-squeezing groove (21) may have the same
width and depth from the center to its end, i.e. it may
show an identical section, but it should preferably be
designed so that either the width or depth gradually
decreases in order to further increase efficiency.
The fiber is gradually thinly ground, which is
effective in getting the full nutritional value from the
fiber.
Thus the upper and lower plates (10, 20), rotate
relative to each other, and when the inserted material is
21~9CO6
ground up by means of the grinding protuberances (40) on
the grinding surface between said upper and lower plates,
by means of the action of a separating device formed by the
guide groove or elongated guide land (11) of the upper
plate (10), and the juice-sgueezing groove (21) of the
lower plate (20), the juice and residue are separated from
the ground materia~. Looking at the direction of
relative rotation of the upper plate (10) and lower plate
(20), the upper plate (10) rotates counter-clockwise as
shown in Fig. 4(A), or the lower plate (20) rotates
clockwise as shown in Fig. 4(B). Looking at the direction
of this rotatlon, the device is designed so as to rotate in
a direction such that the guide groove or elongated guide
land (11) of the upper plate (10) pushes the ground
material outward while squeezing out the juice along the
juice-squeezing groove (21) of the lower plate (20), i.e.
the direction opposite to the direction followed by the
guide groove or elongated guide land (11) of the upper
plate (10) when it describes a spiral. In the practical
example shown, as the guide groove or elongated guide land
(11) of the upper plate (10) rotates in a clockwise
direction, this condition is met if the upper plate (10)
rotates in a counter-clockwise direction or the lower plate
(20) rotates in a clockwise direction.
We will now investigate the principle by which
squeezing of the juice and discharging of the residue takes
place by means of this separating mechanism consisting of
the guide groove or elongated guide land (11) and the
juice-squeezing groove (21), with reference to Fig. 5. In
the figure, the solid arrows show a case in which the upper
plate (20) rotates clockwise, and the broken-line arrows
indicates a case in which the upper plate (10) rotates
counter-clockwise. In either case, the principle of
operation by which the juice and the residue are separated
21~960~
~ g
through the oblique action of the spiral is identical.
In Fig. 5, the guide groove or elongated guide
land (11) of the upper plate (10) and the juice-squeezing
groove (21) of the lower plate intersect with each other
diagonally. Material to be ground by means of the grinding
protuberances (40 in Fig. 4(B)) (I') is positioned between
the guide groove of the upper plate (10) and the juice-
squeezing groove (21) of the lower plate (20), or it is
positioned on the juice-squeezing groove (21) of the lower
plate (20), and it is pushed against the side wall of the
guide groove of the upper plate (10) or the wall of the tip
of the guide protuberances. (In the following, we will
proceed with our explanation assuming that the guide groove
is installed in the upper plate (10)).
Due to the relative rotation of the lower plate
~20), the juice-squeezing groove (21) which was positioned
on the solid line (I), after having received the ground
material (I'), moves to the position of the broken line II.
At this time, the ground material (I'), which was in a
specified position in a radial direction in the juice-
squeezing groove (21), moves along the guide groove (11) of
the upper plate (10), which has a specified tangent angle
(e)~ and taking Sl as the direction of movement on the
circumference of the juice-squeezing groove (21), it moves
outward in a radial direction along the juice-squeezing
groove (21) by the approximate distance of rl = Sl x tan ~.
At this point, as the ground material (I') is compressed
against the side walls of the two grooves (11, 21)j the
juice contained in the ground material (I') flows inward in
a radial direction along the juice-squeezing groove (21).
This process takes place due to the relative rotation
between the upper plate (10) and the lower plate (20), and
the squeezed juice is continuously extracted under
2139606
`~- 10
pressure, it then flows into the discharge outlet (l5), and
the more the residue of the ground material (I') can move
outward along the juice-squeezing groove (21), the more
solid components are left. It is finally discharged at the
outer edge of the lower plate (20). As shown in Fig. 4(A),
the guide groove or elongated guide land (11) follows a
spiral for approximately three turns, and when the upper
plate (10) and lower plate (20) have completed three
revolutions relative to each other, when the extraction of
the juice is completed, the residue the ground material
(I') containing solid components only is discharged at the
outer edge of the lower plate (20).
In a case where the upper plate (10) rotates in
a counter-clockwise direction, the above action is carried
out in the same manner. Specifically, in Fig. 5, if the
guide groove (11) which was positioned on the dotted line
II of the juice-squeezing groove (21) moves by distance of
S2 in a counter-clockwise direction along the
circumference, then the ground material (I') moves by a
distance of r2 = S2 x tan e along the juice-squeezing
groove (21) in a radial direction. As in the above
mentioned case, the action of separating the juice and the
discharged residue is carried out in the above mentioned
manner. In this manner, concerning the separating
m~ch~n;sm which is characteristic of the present invention,
the guide groove (11) or elongated guide land installed in
the upper plate (10) carry out squeezing of juice~from the
material to be ground and discharging of the residue by
means of an oblique action in which the guide groove (11)
or elongated guide land installed in the upper plate (10)
diagonally intersect with the juice-squeezing groove (21)
installed in the lower plate.
On the other hand, Fig. 6 shows examples of
213~606
11
various groove patterns which may be selected for the
grinder-type juicer of the present invention.
First, Figs. 6(A) through (D) show examples of
spirals which may be selected for the guide groove (11) or
elongated guide land of the upper plate (10). These
- spirals are defined by the following general formula.
r = am . e ...... ..(1)
where r = distance from the center in a radial direction,
a and m are constants, and 0 is a central angle from a
specified baseline. Here, a case were m = o is equivalent
to a unit circle having a radius of 1, and a case where m
= 1 is applicable for an Archimedes' screw.
In the composition of the grinder-type juicer of
the present invention, the condition required for the guide
groove (11) or elongated guide land of the upper plate (10)
is as follows:
am > 1 .......... (2)
Accordingly, the radius r must increase as e increases.
Moreover, the upper plate (10) equipped with a guide groove
(11) or guide protuberances must rotate in a relative
manner with respect to the lower plate (20) in a direction
opposite to the direction of expansion of this spiral,
i.e., a direction -0 which is opposite to the direction in
which ~ increases.
Figs. 6(A) through (D) show cases the spiral has
1 to 4 arms. In this case, an upper plate (10) equipped
with a guide groove (11) or elongated guide land has
spirals which corresponds to the above equations (1) and
(2), and it rotates relative to the lower plate (20) in a
counter-clockwise direction -e, which is opposite to the
clockwise direction in which ~ increases.
2139606
~ 12
On the other hand, Figs. 6(E~ through (H) show
various ~h~peC of the juice-squeezing groove (21) of the
lower plate (20), and by means of the oblique action with
respect to the guide groove (11) or elongated guide land of
the upper plate (10), the ground material is compressed,
and as long as the squeezed juice and residue are induced
to move in opposite directions, any appropriate arrangement
may be used. Figs. (E) through (H) show various juice-
squeezing grooves (21) having spirals which develop in a
counter-clockwise direction, and Fig. (H) shows a juice-
squeezing groove (21) composed of straight radial lines.
-
Thus the grinder-type juicer of the present
invention, as shown in Fig. 7, can also contain an
additional slicing device. Specifically, on the underside
of the insertion opening (30) a slicing device (70) may
also be installed which rotates at a speed greater than the
relative rotation speed of the upper and lower plates (10,
20), and when inserted material such as vegetables inserted
through the insertion opening (30) is finally cut, by
inserting such material into the grinding surface between
the upper and lower plates (10, 20), the actions of
grinding and separation are promoted, as shown from Fig. 3
onward. This type of design always allows effective
action, particularly in cases where the material inserted
is of the bulk type, such as fruit or tubers or vegetables
cont~;n;ng long fibers or high amounts of fiber.
Figs. 8 through 10 show practical examples
embodying the composition shown in Fig. 7 in particular.
In the figures, a lower plate (20) eguipped with a juice--
squeezing groove (not shown in Fig. 7) and grinding
protuberances (40) is connected in a detachable manner to
a gear ring (22) which is connected to a drive motor (M) by
means of a drive me~h~n;cm such as a gear train, and on its
213960~
13
central lower part, it is equipped with the slicing device
of a high-rpm cutter (71) which is driven by the drive
motor (M) using drive me~-h~nicms such as pulleys and belts
(T2).
This cutter (71) is roughly cone-shaped, and it
is equipped on its outer periphery with multiple cutting
edges (72). For example, it is preferable to form this
cutting edge (72) into a conical plate by means of lancing
or sheet metal processing into a V shape.
In~the central part of the lower plate (20), a
round opening is formed which allows the cutter (71) to
protrude, this opening is equipped with a ring-shaped
filter net (61), and its inner part is attached to the rim
(71a) of the outer edge of the cutter (71). This ring-
shaped filter net (61) plays the role of filtering juice
which drops into the lower plate (20) under its own weight,
and it is equipped at the bottom with a ring-shaped juice-
receiving gutter (52) which guides the juice which drops
along the circumference of the filter net (61) into the
discharge outlet (51). On the lower part of the discharge
outlet (51), a container (V1) which receives the juice is
located. Preferably, the juice should enter and be
discharged from a cavity formed on one side of the casing
(1), and the outer wall of this cavity should form part of
the outside of the casing (1).
The lower plate (20) extends at a specified
upward angle of inclination from the outer edge of the
cutter (71), and according to the characteristics of the
present invention, it forms a concave upward shape which is
approximately funnel-shaped, and on the surface of the
grinding surface, which forms the upper surface of this
plate, there are multiple grinding protuberances.(40) and
2139606
multiple juice-squeezing grooves (21). At this point, the
grinding protuberances (40), as needed, can also be formed
in the upper plate (10), or they may be formed in both the
upper and lower plates (10, 20). On the other hand, on the
outer edge of the lower plate (20), the unit is equipped
with a ring-shaped residue receiving gutter (23) which
receives the accumulated residue discharged from this area,
and there is at least one squeegee (S1) installed on the
outer edge of the lower plate (20), and the residue formed
on the bottom of one side of the residue-receiving gutter
(23) is pushed out through the residue discharge outlet
(24). In order to guarantee smooth discharging of the
residue with respect to the residue-receiving gutter (23),
the outer edge of the iower plate (20) is bent downward,
and the outer part of the opening inside the lower plate
(20) should preferably be bent downward in order to ensure
smooth discharge via the juice-receiving gutter (52). On
the lower part of the residue discharge hole (24) of the
residue-receiving gutter (23) there is a residue receptacle
(V2), and this residue receptacle (V2) should preferably be
designed so that it can be inserted in or removed from the
casing (1), as is the case for the juice receptacle (V1).
- On the outside of the residue receptacle (V2) and the juice
receptacle (Vl), there should preferably be a holding
recess (H) or handle, etc., as shown in the figure, in
order to make holding convenient for the user.
An upper plate (10) corresponding to the shape of
the lower plate (2) and the cutter (71) is installed above
said lower plate, and its center protrudes upward in a
convex shape in order to conform to the conical shape of
the cutter (71), thus forming a cone portion (lOa). Around
the circumference of this cone portion, there is a grinding
portion (lOb) having a convex funnel shape so as to conform
to the shape of the lower plate (20), and along its
2~39606
~_ 15
underside, which is the grinding surface, there is a
spiral-shaped guide groove (1}) or elongated guide land as
shown in the projection of Fig. 9.
Sweeping of the filter net (61) of the lower
plate (20) is carried out in the curved area between the
cone (lOa) and the grinding area (lOb) in order to
facilitate the downward movement of the juice. The unit is
equipped with at least one squeegee (S2) which guides the
ground material on the filter net (61) into the juice-
squeezing groove (21), and with respect to a flat surface,
this squeegee (S2) should preferably be designed so as to
have a specified inclination in a radial direction relative
to the guide groove (11) or elongated guide land.
As a result of this, sludge (fiber) accumulating
on the net is scraped off by the grinding plate, causing it
to be more finely ground, preventing the net from becoming
plugged, and ensuring continuous operation.
Moreover, there is an insertion opening (30) for
the insertion of materials such as vegetables in the side
of the conical portion (lOa) of the upper plate, and so
that the cover (2) can be conveniently installed, this
insertion opening (30) has a sleeve (31) which extends
upward. This sleeve (31) should preferably be designed so
that it can be connected to the sleeve (3a) of a hopper (3)
located in the cover (2).
In the composition described above, after the
inserted material is sliced by the cutter (71), it is
ground up between the lower surface of the upper plate (10)
and the upper surface of the lower plate (20), i.e. between
the protuberances (40) of the grinding surface and the
corresponding plates. For this purpose, the upper plate
2139606
16
(10) and the lower plate (20) should preferably come into
contact with each other at a specified and adjustable
pressure. In order to provide this adjustable pressure,
the upper plate (10) should preferably be connected to the
cover (2) with a specified degree of elastic strength. The
outer edge of the upper plate (10) has a rim (lOc) and
springs at the ends of multiple adjusting screws (4)
fitting into screw bosses (2a) located in the cover (2) are
used to hold the rim (lOc) of the upper plate (10) in
=- 10 place. In order to prevent the springs (5) from comingloose, the ends of the springs (5) should preferably be
attached to~protuberances (lOd) on the rim (lOc). By
turning the knobs (4a), the user can adjust the repelling
force of the springs in order to adjust the compression
strength between the upper plate (10) and the lower plate
(20).
The following is a summarized presentation of the
action of the above-described grinder type juicer of the
present invention.
The user inserts material to be juiced such as
vegetables into the hopper (3) in the cover (2) and then
puts the juicer into operation. The material inserted
through the sleeves (3a. 31) is sliced up by means of a
cutter (71) rotating at a high speed, and it is then moved
to the grinding surface of the upper and lower plates (10,
20) by means of the centrifugal force of the cutter (71)
and the guidance of the squeegee, where it is ground up by
the grinding protuberances.
The juice is squeezed out of the ground up
material between the guide groove (11) or elongated guide
land of the upper plate (10) and the juice-squeezing groove
(21) of the lower plate as shown in Fig. 5, the squeezed
2139606
17
juice moves downward under its own weight, the juice is
squeezed out of the residue by means of the oblique action
between the two grooves (11, 21) and the residue is pushed
upward toward the outer edge of the grinding surface.
The juice drops down and is filtered through the
filter net (61), it drops into the juice-receiving slot
(52), is discharged through the discharge outlet (51), and
is then collected in the juice receptacle (V1). On the
other hand, the residue which has been pushed up to the
outer edge of the lower plate (20) falls into the residue
receiving slot (23) and is then pushed by the squeegee (Sl)
through the discharge outlet (24), falls into the residue
receptacle (V2), and is discharged outside the unit.
This type of arrangement not only makes it
possible to effectively grind husked grain, nuts, and high-
fiber vegetables, but also to carry out separation of the
juice and residue during this grinding, allowing the juice
and residue to be separated and discharged by different
routes. This makes it possible to effectively squeeze out
the juice without requiring an independent separator.
In the preceding, we have described the grinder-
type juicer of the present invention by means of one
specific practical example, but this example was used only
for the purpose of a simple explanation and does not
restrict the invention in any way. The grinder-type juicer
of the present invention can be of various types as needed,
and it may contain a slicing device as shown in Fig. 11,
for example. The slicing device shown is particularly
well-suited for the grinder-type juicer of the present
invention, but because the device features a new
composition proposed by the inventor, it can be considered
to constitute a separate characteristic of the invention.
213960~
~ 18
Fig. 11 shows the two components of the slicing
device, which move towards each other: a cutter array (80)
consisting of multiple cutting blades (81) and a supporting
plate (90) having multiple slits (91) through which the
cutting blades (81) of the cutter array (80) can pass.
When the cut material is placed between the cutter array
(80) and the supporting plate (90), as the cutting blades
(81) of the cutter array (80) pass through the slits (91)
of the supporting plate (90), the material is cut into
lo slices having a thickness equal to the width between the
cutting blades (81) or slits (91).
Figs. 12(A) through (~C) show examples of the
grinder type juicer of the present invention equipped with
a slicing device.
First, Fig. 12(A) shows an example of the slicing
device shown in Fig. 11 installed in the juicer shown in
Fig. 3. The device has a cutter array (80) with multiple
cutting blades (81) and a corresponding supporting plate
(sO) with slits (91) installed between the upper plate (10)
and the lower plate (20), arranged so that the material
inserted via the insertion opening (30) is sliced as the
upper and lower plates (10, 20) rotate relative to each
other. In this case, the supporting plate (90) is
installed on the upper plate (10), and its tip should
preferably be equipped with a squeegee (9Oa) which sweeps
the filter net (60) of the lower plate (20).
.
On the other hand, Fig. 12(B) shows an example of
an arrangement in which the juicer shown in Figs. 7 through
10 is equipped with the slicing device shown in Fig. 11.
In this arrangement, instead of cutting edges, the unit is
equipped with one or more supporting plates (90), and the
cone section (lOa) of the upper plate (10) is equipped with
2l396o6
19
a corresponding cutter array (80). In this arrangement,
the cutter (73) can be driven at high rotation speeds
independently of the lower plate (20), or can move
continuously with the lower plate (20) at relatively low
rotation speeds.
In the practical example shown in Fig. 12(B), the
arrangement shown in Fig. 12(C) may be more suitable.
Specifically, slits (91) having a specified pitch are
formed in the cutter (73), which is also equipped with one
or more supporting plates (so)~ and the upper plate has
multiple cutter arrays (A, B, C) located on its conical
portion. The various cutter arrays (A, B, C) are set up
with the pitch between the cutting blades (81) and their
position in various arrangements. Cutter array A has the
cutting blades (81) arranged with a pitch of 2, while
cutter array B has the cutting blades (81) arranged with a
pitch of 2 so as to intersect with cutter array A. On the
other hand, cutter array C has the cutting blades (81)
arranged with a pitch of 1. By means of this kind of
arrangement, the material inserted through the insertion
opening (30) is pushed into the supporting plate and sliced
as it successively passes through cutter arrays A, B and C.
This design can be expected to improve slicing efficiency.
As we have seen in the pr~cP~;ng, this invention
provides a highly effective grinder-type juicer which can
be easily manufactured, is highly durable, can effectively
grind high-fiber materials, grains, etc., and allows
simultaneous separation of the juice and residue without
requiring an independent separator.
