A dispenser for a first solid flowable material and a second flowable material, including an actuator for providing rotational motion on a shaft. A first reservoir holds the first material, and a second reservoir holds the second material. A metering unit selectively passes at least one of the first material and the second material. A grinder grinds the at least one of the first material and the second material passed by the metering unit.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and apparatus for grinding spices and grains. One system includes a mill for grinding a spice or grain material, comprising a body and a handle rotatably coupled to the body. The handle is also coupled to an input of a speed boost assembly. An output of the speed boost assembly is coupled to a grind assembly, which includes a rasp. The speed boost assembly is configured to cause the rotational frequency of the rasp to be greater than a rotational frequency of the handle.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and apparatus for grinding spices and grains. One system includes a mill for grinding a spice or grain material, comprising a body and a handle rotatably coupled to the body. The handle is also coupled to an input of a speed boost assembly. An output of the speed boost assembly is coupled to a grind assembly, which includes a rasp. The speed boost assembly is configured to cause the rotational frequency of the rasp to be greater than a rotational frequency of the handle.

The present disclosure is also directed towards systems and methods for grinding a spice or grain material wherein a mill is comprised of a turn knob, a mill body, and a grind assembly and the turn knob is rotatably and slideably coupled to the mill body and sliding the turn knob relative to the mill body adjusts a grind setting of the mill and rotating the turn knob relative to the mill body grinds or mills the spice or grain material.

The present disclosure is also directed towards systems and methods for grinding a spice or grain material wherein a mill is comprised of a turn knob, a mill body, and a grind assembly and the turn knob is rotatably and slideably coupled to the mill body and sliding the turn knob relative to the mill body adjusts a grind setting of the mill and rotating the turn knob relative to the mill body grinds or mills the spice or grain material.

A grinder assembly removably connectable to a container of a spice dispenser includes a stationary grinder component and a rotatable grinder component associated with said stationary grinder component to define a grinding chamber between a portion of said stationary grinder component and a portion of said rotatable grinder component. The rotatable grinder component is rotatable relative to said stationary grinder component about a grinding axis. The grinder assembly additionally includes a first feature for coupling the grinder assembly to said container and a second feature movable to selectively decouple the grinder assembly from the container.

In a grinder, inner and outer burrs are used for grinding condiment solids into fine grains with a grain size controllable by an inter-burr distance. The grinder has a first body part aligned with a second body part. A separation between the first and second body parts is adjustable by at most a predetermined limited distance, allowing a user to select the grain size by compressing the first and second body parts to alter the inter-burr distance. An undulating ring that is non-metallic and compressively resilient is positioned between the first and second body parts to push the two body parts away from each other after the user stops compressing the two body parts, avoiding the inter-burr distance to be stuck at a most-recently used value without a need of using a metallic spring to rebound the two body parts. A manufacturing cost of the grinder is reduced.

The grinder includes a container having a discharge opening for material to be ground; first and second grinding tools, the first tool rotatable relative to the second grinding tool about a rotation axis for crushing the material in a gap between the tools. The second tool has an inlet channel limited by a wall section around the axis for supplying material into the gap and is moveable relative to the first tool axially to the axis. A collar seal between container and second tool has a through-channel for discharging material into the inlet channel and is stationary relative to the container so that a first annular collar seal section limiting the through-channel contacts the container and overlaps the second tool wall section toward the axis. The collar seal includes a second annular section connected to the first annular section via an elastic spring and supported on a contact surface.

The grinder includes a container having a discharge opening for material to be ground; first and second grinding tools, the first tool rotatable relative to the second grinding tool about a rotation axis for crushing the material in a gap between the tools. The second tool has an inlet channel limited by a wall section around the axis for supplying material into the gap and is moveable relative to the first tool axially to the axis. A collar seal between container and second tool has a through-channel for discharging material into the inlet channel and is stationary relative to the container so that a first annular collar seal section limiting the through-channel contacts the container and overlaps the second tool wall section toward the axis. The collar seal includes a second annular section connected to the first annular section via an elastic spring and supported on a contact surface.

A coffee grinder has a housing that includes a ring burr, a shaft extending through the ring burr, a frustoconical burr, and an interlocking plug. An internal bore of the frustoconical burr has an upper cylindrical surface adjacent the top end, an interlocking portion adjacent the bottom edge, and a tapered side surface. The interlocking plug is shaped to extend through the internal bore of the frustoconical burr, and includes an upper cylindrical portion that fits through the upper cylindrical surface, and a lower portion that includes a sidewall surface which is also tapered such that the sidewall surface interlocks with the side surface of the frustoconical burr.