ROTATIONAL RESTRAINT METHODOLOGY IN A FROZEN MIXING SYSTEM AND CONTAINER
A container for containing food and/or beverage ingredients is described. The container is of a type which may be supported in a support while the ingredients inside the container are processed, such as by a rotating blade or other mechanism. The container includes anti-rotation elements positionable in anti-rotational contact with a corresponding protruding portion in a container support in a manner which restricts rotational movement of the vessel relative to the container support.
Latest F'REAL FOODS, LLC Patents:
The present application is a continuation of and claims benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/265,397 filed on Nov. 5, 2008, which is hereby incorporated by reference in the entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to the field of food and beverage containers and specifically to containers for holding foods and/or beverages during blending, whipping, stirring, etc.
BACKGROUNDPreparation of certain foods and beverages can involve blending, whipping, stirring, etc. the food or beverage using a rotary blade or mixer.
Methods and systems for making frozen drinks are described in patent numbers U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,377, U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,060, U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,047, U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,034, U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,862, U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,207 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,150, which are commonly-owned with the present application and which are incorporated herein by reference. These patents describes an apparatus which allows milkshakes and other frozen drinks to be quickly made by breaking up pre-frozen blocks of ingredients into small frozen particles using a rotating blade, and blending them with an added liquid also using the rotating blade. The ingredients to be frozen into frozen blocks are pre-mixed in liquid form, placed into serving cups which are the same serving cups in which the finished milkshake or frozen drinks are to be served, and then frozen into blocks conforming to the insides of the serving cups and stored.
According to the prior patents, when a milkshake or other frozen drink is to be made, a serving cup containing the frozen block is positioned in a cup holder which forms a part of the frozen drink machine. A rotating blade is lowered into the cup and bores through the frozen substance in the cup, grinding it into small frozen particles. Milk, water, or another liquid is added to the cup and is blended into the frozen substance by the rotating blade. The rotating blade also whips air into the frozen particle mixture in order to give the milkshake or frozen drink its proper volume, texture, and flavor delivery.
In this and other contexts, it is desirable to provide a container for a frozen drink (or other food or beverage) which may be supported in a cup holder while the ingredients the container inside are processed, and which is restrained against rotation which would otherwise be caused by the action of the rotating blade or other processing tool. It is further desirable to provide a container having an anti-rotation feature and which container is further suitable for serving directly to customers after its removal from the cup holder.
Various solutions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,961 ('691 patent), which is also commonly owned with the present application and incorporated herein by reference. In one of the illustrated embodiments, that patent shows a cup bottom having an anti-rotation pattern extending from its lower surface. The patent shows in
In a further modification put into commercial use, the number of anti-rotation elements on the cup support (not shown) was reduced to two members 48 or ribs spaced 180° as shown in
On occasion, the prior art cup of
Anti-rotation pattern 18 is formed in the cup bottom 16. Pattern 18 includes outwardly protruding vanes 26 positioned to engage with a corresponding anti-rotation feature (described below) in a corresponding cup holder. In the
Referring to
Vanes 26 radiate from the recessed center portion 24 and extend downwardly from the bottom surface of center section 20. Trailing edges 28 extend from each arcuate ridge 26 into the beveled circumferential section 22. Each vane 26 preferably includes a substantially triangular cross-section, formed by first and second side walls 30, 32 which meet along ridge 33. In the illustrated embodiment, the wall 30 is vertical or near vertical relative to center section 20, and the surface wall 32 is angled or curved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the bottom of the cup as in
The triangular configuration of the anti-rotation pattern enhances the rigidity of the cup during use by creating a triangular structural element and by allowing the cup's ingredients to freeze down into the groove 34 created by the angled/curved wall 32 to form a frozen, rigid backing for the anti-rotation pattern. The other side wall 30 is approximately straight up and down so that as it resists rotation by pressing against a corresponding cup holder member, there is no upward force created, as would be the case if it were angled like the other side. In fact, by bringing this face 30 past vertical, a downward force can be generated which helps to keep the cup seated on the cup holder as torque is applied.
It should be noted that shapes other than a triangular cross-section, such as a rectangular cross-section, would also be quite effective in preventing rotation and (as with the triangular cross-section) would have the benefit of added strength due to their wide cross-section at the point where they meet the cup bottom. They would also posses the advantage of allowing the cup's ingredients to freeze down into the rectangular or other shaped groove created by the cross-section to form a frozen, rigid backing for the anti-rotation pattern.
The cup holder 40 has an interior 42 for receiving the container 10 and a connector 44 that couples the cup holder to the blender or other type of food/beverage processor. Referring to
During use of container 10 with the cup holder 40 of a corresponding machine, the container is inserted into the interior of the cup holder as shown in
In an alternate embodiment of a holder 40, the anti-rotation features within the holder 40 are modified to eliminate one of the fins 48 on the bracket 46, leaving just a single fin (and thus a single anti-rotational contact) laterally offset from the center of the bracket 46. This holder is suitable for use with a cup having any number of vanes (whether even or odd), including vanes that are spaced 180° apart.
It should be recognized that a number of variations of the above-identified embodiments will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited by those specific embodiments and methods of the present invention shown and described herein. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
Any and all patents and patent applications referred to herein, including for purposes of priority, are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Claims
1. A method for rotationally restraining a vessel on a holder during processing of the contents of the vessel, comprising the steps of:
- providing a vessel having a side wall and a bottom wall having a first plurality of anti-rotation features laterally offset from the longitudinal axis of the vessel;
- providing a support having a least one second anti-rotation element;
- positioning the vessel on the support such that only one of the first plurality of anti-rotation features and only one of the second anti-rotational elements are in anti-rotational contact with one another; and
- processing ingredients within the vessel using a rotating element, wherein contact between the first plurality of anti rotation elements and second anti-rotation features prevents rotation of the vessel relative to the support.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the support is provided to have only one second anti-rotation element.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the support is provided to have only two anti-rotation elements.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein positioning the vessel positions the vessel such that the second anti-rotation element is laterally offset from the longitudinal axis of the vessel.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein no two of the first plurality of anti-rotation elements are offset from one another by an angle of 180°.
6. A method for providing a food product and rotationally restraining a cup containing the product against a torque generated by a food preparation device used to prepare the food product, the method comprising:
- providing the cup, the cup comprising a cup wall that defines an interior and a cup bottom, the cup having an opening through which a blade may pass to prepare the food product;
- providing the food product in a frozen state within the interior of the cup; and
- providing an anti rotation mechanism formed within the cup bottom, the anti rotation mechanism configured to mate with a cup holder of the food preparation device, the anti rotation mechanism comprising: a first structural element having a first pattern and formed in the cup bottom of the cup wall to engage the container product within a cup holder associated with the food preparation device so as to prevent rotation of the cup during processing; a second structural element within a volume formed by the first pattern and comprised of the frozen food or beverage material within the interior,
- the first pattern comprising a plurality of vanes, the plurality of vanes comprising a greater number of vanes than a group of one or more stationary mating elements of the cup holder, the first pattern arranged such that only one of the plurality of vanes makes contact with a stationary mating element of the cup holder.
7. A method for providing a food product and rotationally restraining a cup containing the product against a torque generated by a food preparation device used to prepare the food product, the method comprising:
- providing a cup having an open top, a sidewall, and a bottom; and
- providing a group of vanes formed within the bottom of the cup, the group of vanes configured to seat within a cup holder that comprises two or more elements radiating from a central point,
- the vanes of the cup arranged such that only one vane of the group may seat against and contact a radial element of the cup when the cup is inserted into the cup holder.
8. A method for providing a food product and rotationally restraining a cup containing the product against a torque generated by a food preparation device used to prepare the food product, the method comprising:
- providing the cup, the cup comprising a cup wall that defines an interior and a cup bottom, the cup having an opening through which a blade may pass to prepare the food product;
- providing the food product in a frozen state within the interior of the cup;
- providing an anti rotation mechanism formed within the cup bottom, the anti rotation mechanism comprising a plurality of vanes radiating from a central location; and
- providing a food preparation machine comprising: a cup holder having a plurality of ridges extending radially from a central location; and a rotating blade that enters the cup to blend the frozen food product, wherein the blade creates a torque upon the cup, and wherein the rotation of the blade causes a single vane of the anti rotation mechanism to contact a single ridge of the plurality of ridges of the cup holder.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the vanes of the anti rotation mechanism are spaced approximately 120 degrees apart.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the ridges of the cup holder are spaced approximately 180 degrees apart.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein no two of the vanes are spaced 180 degrees apart.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising rotating the cup no more than 65 degrees before a vane of the cup makes contact with a ridge of the cup holder.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the vanes of the cup provided allow no more than 65 degrees of rotation before a vane of the cup makes contact with a ridge of the cup holder.
14. A method for providing a food product and rotationally restraining a cup containing the product against a torque generated by a food preparation device used to prepare the food product, the method comprising:
- providing the cup, the cup comprising a cup wall that defines an interior and a cup bottom, the cup having an opening through which a blade may pass to prepare the food product;
- providing the food product in a frozen state within the interior of the cup;
- providing an anti rotation mechanism formed within the cup bottom, the anti rotation mechanism, the anti rotation mechanism comprising a first plurality of vanes radiating from a central location; and
- providing a cup holder of the food preparation device comprising a second plurality of ridges radiating from a central location, the second plurality of ridges configured to sit between the vanes of the first plurality and to prevent rotation of the cup when a vane is rotated into a ridge, wherein only one of the plurality of vanes may seat upon one of the plurality of ridges when the cup is inserted into the cup holder.
15. A method for providing a food product, the method comprising:
- providing a cup, the cup comprising a cup wall that defines an interior and a cup bottom, the cup having an opening through which a blade may pass to prepare a food product within the cup;
- providing the food product in a frozen state within the interior of the cup;
- providing an anti rotation mechanism formed within the cup bottom, the anti rotation mechanism, the anti rotation mechanism comprising a first plurality of vanes radiating from a central location;
- providing a cup holder comprising a second plurality of ridges radiating from a central location, the second plurality of ridges configured to sit between the vanes of the first plurality, the first and second pluralities arranged to allow no more than 65 degrees of rotation of the cup before a vane of the first plurality is rotated into a ridge of the second plurality, and thereafter to prevent rotation of the cup.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 13, 2011
Publication Date: Oct 6, 2011
Applicant: F'REAL FOODS, LLC (Orinda, CA)
Inventors: James J. Farrell (Orinda, CA), Clayton Gardner (Alamo, CA)
Application Number: 13/159,322
International Classification: B01F 15/00 (20060101);