APPLIANCE FOR PREPARING AND/OR COOKING FOOD, SUCH AS A FOOD PROCESSOR WITH INTEGRATED WEIGHING DEVICE

Abstract

An appliance for preparing and/or cooking food, such as a food processor, including at least: a bowl including at least one internal cooking and/or preparation volume, a base on which the bowl is arranged in its operating state, the base including at least one bottom and at least one sidewall extending from the bottom in an intersecting direction, the bottom and the sidewall defining an internal volume, a weighing device configured to weigh at least the contents of the bowl and includes at least two weighing sensors, wherein the weighing device is arranged in the internal volume of the base, and the appliance includes a support plate that's separate from the base and is arranged facing the bottom of the base, the sensors comprising at least one first portion positioned on the bottom of the base and at least one second portion positioned on a part of the support plate.

Claims

1. An appliance for preparing and/or cooking foodstuffs, such as a kitchen food processor, comprising at least: one foodstuffs preparation and/or cooking bowl including at least one cooking and/or preparation inner volume, one base on which the bowl is disposed in the operating state of the appliance, the base comprising at least one bottom and at least one sidewall extending from the bottom in a substantially secant direction, the bottom and the at least one sidewall delimiting an inner volume, one weighing device configured to weigh at least the content of the bowl of the appliance comprising at least two weighing sensors, wherein the weighing device is arranged in the inner volume of the base, and in that the appliance comprises a support plate distinct from the base and arranged opposite the bottom of the base, each of the weighing sensors comprising at least one first portion positioned on the bottom of the base and at least one second portion positioned on a portion of the support plate.

2. The appliance, according to claim 1, wherein the weighing device is positioned on the bottom of the base in one or several dedicated housings and arranged on the bottom of the base.

3. The appliance according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the weighing sensors is a strain gauge sensor.

4. The appliance according to claim 3, wherein the weighing device comprises four weighing sensors whose strain gauges are connected in a Wheatstone bridge.

5. The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the bottom may be formed integral with the at least one sidewall of the base or else distinct from the at least one sidewall of the base.

6. The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sidewall comprises a peripheral edge forming a fillet at the periphery of bottom of the base.

7. The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the bowl comprises a lower portion shaped so as to cooperate with a stand arranged on the base of the appliance.

8. The appliance according to claim 1, comprising a controller configured to drive at least the weighing device.

9. The appliance according to claim 8, wherein the controller comprises a display member configured to display weight information of the content of the bowl measured by the at least one weighing sensor.

10. The appliance according to claim 1, comprising at least one foot arranged on the support plate irrespective of the position of the weighing sensors.

Description

[0056] The invention will be better understood, thanks to the description hereinafter, which relates to an embodiment according to the present invention, provided as non-limiting example and explained with reference to the appended schematic figures. The appended schematic figures are listed below:

[0057] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appliance according to the invention,

[0058] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, according to a cutting axis A-A illustrated in FIG. 1, of the appliance according to the invention,

[0059] FIG. 3 is a sectional view, according to a cutting axis B-B illustrated in FIG. 1, of the appliance according to the invention,

[0060] FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the appliance according to the invention,

[0061] FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the appliance according to the invention,

[0062] FIG. 6 is a sectional top view of the base of the appliance according to the invention,

[0063] FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of a detail of the base of the appliance according to the invention,

[0064] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of FIG. 7.

[0065] The appliance 1 according to the invention is a foodstuffs preparation and/or cooking appliance such as a kitchen food processor. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the appliance 1 comprises a foodstuffs preparation and/or cooking bowl 10, a base 20 on which the bowl 10 is disposed in the operating state of the appliance 1, a weighing device 30 configured to weigh at least the content of the bowl 10 of the appliance 1. The appliance 1 according to the invention further comprises a lid 40 configured to at least partially seal the bowl 10, a column 50 including a heating member 51 and a tub 52. The appliance 1 according to the invention further comprises a controller 70 illustrated for example in FIG. 3. The appliance 1 according to the invention comprises a drive motor 60 connected by a transmission 61 and a drive shaft 62 to a cutting and/or blending member (not represented) disposed in the bowl 10 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0066] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the bowl 10 includes an inner volume 11 of bowl 10. The bowl 10 may comprise a cooking basket (not represented) fitted to the inner volume 11. The bowl 10 is closed with the lid 40. The bowl comprises a lower portion 12 shaped so as to cooperate with a bowl stand 55 arranged on the base 20 of the appliance 1, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0067] As illustrated in particular in FIGS. 2, 3, 7 and 8, the base 20 comprises a bottom 24 and at least one sidewall 22 extending from the bottom 21 in a substantially secant direction, the bottom 24 and the at least one sidewall 22 delimiting an inner volume. In the example illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, the base 20 has a rectangular shape; nevertheless, the latter may have another shape without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the base 20 may have a polygonal or cylindrical or frustoconical shape.

[0068] According to the invention, the bottom 24 of the base 20 is substantially parallel to the appliance 1 stand 55. In addition, the at least one sidewall 22 comprises a peripheral edge 22a forming a fillet at the periphery of the bottom 24 of the base 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 8.

[0069] In accordance with the invention, the inner volume of the base 20 is closed partially by the bowl stand 55 and partially by an upper face 23 as illustrated in FIG. 4 for example. The bowl stand 55 and the upper face 23 may consist of two distinct parts or an integral part. Advantageously, the upper face 23 extends in a plane substantially inclined with respect to the plane in which the bowl stand 55 extends, which improves the ergonomics of the appliance 1.

[0070] As represented in FIG. 5 in particular, the bottom 24 is preferably arranged beneath the bowl stand 55 and the upper face 23. The bottom 24 may be formed integral with the at least one sidewall 22 of the base 20 or else distinctly from the at least one sidewall 22 of the base 20. In the example illustrated in the figures, the separator support 24 is distinct from the sidewall 22.

[0071] According to the invention, the appliance further comprises a support plate 21 arranged opposite the bottom 24 of the base 20. The support plate 21 comprises a first face 21a placed opposite the bottom 24 of the base 20 and a second face 21b opposite to the first face 21a. The appliance 1 comprises a plurality of feet 80 arranged on the second face 21b of the support plate 21 irrespective of the position of the weighing sensors 31, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, 7 and 8.

[0072] In accordance with the invention, the weighing device 30 is configured to weigh at least the content of the bowl 10 of the appliance 1. The weighing device 30 comprises at least one weighing sensor 31 and preferably four identical weighing sensors 31 as illustrated in particular in FIG. 6. The weighing device 30 is positioned in the inner volume of the base 20, on the bottom 24 of the base 20.

[0073] In the example illustrated according to the invention, the weighing sensors 31 consist of strain gauge sensors. Each sensor 31 comprises a flange 31a covering the strain gauge 31b. Each strain gauge 31b is connected in a Wheatstone bridge. The sensors 31 are connected to each other by a wired connection 32.

[0074] As shown in particular in FIG. 6, the sensors 31 extend in a plane substantially parallel to the plane in which the bottom 24 of the base 20 extends. More particularly, each sensor 31 comprises at least one first portion positioned on the bottom 24 of the base 20 and at least one second portion positioned on a portion of the support plate 21 as illustrated in details in FIGS. 7 and 8. Each strain gauge 31b cooperates with a stud 21c of the support plate 21 and rests partially on the bottom 24 or the lateral portion 22 of the base 20, and more particularly on the edge 22a of the sidewall 22. As shown in FIG. 6, the sensors 31 are advantageously arranged at a distance from one another and preferably at the corners of the base 20. Of course, the number of weighing sensors 31 is determined by the overall geometry of the base. For example, when the base is quadrangular, the weighing device preferably comprises four weighing sensors each arranged preferably at each corner of the base.

[0075] In accordance with the invention and as illustrated in particular in FIG. 3, the controller 70 is housed in the column 50 beneath the tub 52 and the heating member 51. Of course, this arrangement is not restrictive and the controller could surely be arranged in another portion of the appliance 1 for example in the base 20 yet without departing from the scope of the invention. The controller 70 comprises several components including at least one circuit board 71 and a memory 72 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0076] In accordance with the invention, the controller 70 is configured to control the operation of the appliance 1 by an actuator 73 in the form of a pushbutton, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. Furthermore, the controller also controls the drive motor 60.

[0077] According to the invention, the controller 70 comprises a display member 74 configured to display temperature information and/or speed information and/or weight information of the content of the bowl and/or the progress of previously stored recipe programs, etc. Moreover, the controller 70 comprises at least one and preferably a plurality of control elements 75 in the form of buttons which enable the selection of control modes or points such as the tub temperature, the cooking time, the rotational speed of the cutting member (not represented), the cutting/mixing or blending time, etc.

[0078] In accordance with the invention, the temperature information is measured by a temperature sensor (not represented) present in the bowl 10 or in the tub 52 for example, said temperature sensor communicating with the controller 70 and being monitored by the controller 70 so that when the tub or the bowl reaches a selected temperature or a threshold temperature, the temperature sensor sends the temperature information to the controller 70 which displays it and which depending on the action to be carried out, either switch off the heating member or prolongs the operating time of the heating member, for example.

[0079] In accordance with the invention, the information on the rotational speed of the cutting member is collected by the controller 70 depending on the rotational speed of the drive shaft 62 driving the cutting and/or blending member and driven by the motor 60 and the transmission 61.

[0080] In accordance with the invention, the weigh information is measured by the weighing device 30, collected by the controller 70 and can be displayed on the display member 74.

[0081] In accordance with the invention, the recipe programs are stored in the memory 72 of the controller 70, each program comprises a sequence of actions to be carried out which may for example consist of, activating or switching off the drive motor 60 at a determined speed for blending or cutting the content of the bowl 10; the activation or switching off of the heating member 51 of the appliance 1 to cook the content of the bowl 10; the activation of the weighing device 30; the pouring of a preparation into the bowl 10 or the removal of a preparation from the bowl 10, etc. The sequence of actions to be carried out may be performed automatically and/or manually depending on the type of action to be carried out: for example, a foodstuff is manually poured into the bowl and the cutting of said foodstuff is manually initiated, the speed is automatically adjusted depending on the foodstuff and the motor is automatically switched off according to a determined time.

[0082] In accordance with the invention, the column 50 is hermetically closed by a plug 53. The column 50 is positioned on the base 20 next to bowl 10. The column 50 may be made integral with the stand 55 of bowl 10 or distinctly. Advantageously, the tub 52 is intended to be heated by the heating member 51 and configured to receive water to be boiled by means of the heating member 51. The tub 52 is preferably in fluid communication with the bowl 10 as shown in FIG. 2, the steam passing through a conduit 54 connecting the column 50 to the bowl 10. Advantageously, the heating member 51 is driven by the controller 70, that is to say, the controller orders the activation or switching off of the heating member 51, and it may control, in an optimized version of the appliance 1, the heating power of the heating member 51.

[0083] Indeed, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and represented in the appended figures. Modifications remain possible, in particular with regards to the constitution of the various elements or by substitution with technical equivalents, yet without departing from the scope of the invention.