JP2025029435A - Kitchen appliances - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a kitchen appliance that allows a cooking cup to be correctly attached, fixed, and held in place on a main body.
[Solution] The kitchen appliance 10 of the present invention is a kitchen appliance in which a cooking cup 50 containing a food item is attached to a cup attachment portion 21 of a main body 20 from a predetermined approach direction, and has a holding portion 30 that is biased to protrude from the cup attachment portion in a direction perpendicular to the approach direction, and the cooking cup has a recessed held portion 60 into which the holding portion fits when the cooking cup is attached to the cup attachment portion.
[Selected figure] Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to kitchen appliances such as mixers, juicers, and food processors that are used with a cooking cup attached to the main body, and more specifically, to kitchen appliances that allow cooking to be done with the cooking cup properly attached to the main body.

In kitchen appliances such as blenders, juicers, and food processors, ingredients are crushed, minced, grated, crushed, chopped, or mixed using a rotating tool inside a cooking cup. For example, in a typical blender, the cooking tool is placed with its axis of rotation perpendicular to the bottom of the cup, and the cooking cup is attached and detached vertically to a main body that contains a motor that rotates the axis of rotation (hereafter referred to as a "vertical blender").

In Patent Document 1, the applicant proposes an inclined mixer in which the rotation axis of the cooking utensil is inclined at an angle. In an inclined mixer, the cooking utensil is inclined, so that the food to be cooked rotates not only horizontally but also diagonally or vertically, thereby improving the cooking efficiency of stirring, etc.

International Publication No. WO2022/211034

In an inclined mixer, the cooking cup can be attached to and detached from the main body horizontally or at an angle, rather than vertically, allowing for greater freedom in the direction of attachment and detachment. However, because there is greater freedom in the direction of attachment and detachment, if the cooking cup is oriented poorly, it may not be able to be attached properly to the main body.

In addition, because the cooking utensil rotates on an inclined surface, the rotation direction of the food includes not only horizontal components but also diagonal and vertical components, as described above. Therefore, the impact of the rotation and rotation of the cooking utensil and food may cause the cooking cup to wobble during cooking.

For this reason, it is desirable to fix the cooking cup to the main body when it is attached, but if a locking mechanism that the user must operate to fix and hold the cooking cup to the main body or a locking mechanism that is electrically operated is provided, it would be inconvenient for the user to be required to perform one or more additional actions when attaching or detaching the cooking cup.

The object of the present invention is to provide a kitchen appliance that allows the cooking cup to be properly attached, fixed, and held in place on the main body.

The kitchen appliance according to the present invention is
A kitchen appliance in which a cooking cup for containing food is attached to a cup attachment part of a main body from a predetermined approach direction,
The cup mounting portion has a holding portion that is biased to protrude in a direction perpendicular to the approach direction, and the cooking cup has a recessed held portion into which the holding portion fits when the cooking cup is attached to the cup mounting portion.

The holding portion is biased so as to be able to protrude inward from both the left and right sides of the main body,
The held portions are recessed inward on both the left and right sides of the cooking cup.

The holding part has a head into which the held part fits, and the head is formed with a guide part that guides the holding part.

The held portion is located on the upper end side of the cooking cup, and the main body has a guide recess formed therein that holds the lower part of the cooking cup.

The cooking cup has an operator protruding in the approach direction,
The cup attachment portion has a detection portion that is turned on by the operator when the cooking cup is attached to the cup attachment portion.

The cooking cup has a cup portion in which the food to be cooked is contained and a lid body that closes the cup portion,
The held portion and the operator are formed on the cover.

The main body has a horizontal portion on which the cooking cup is placed and a vertical portion extending upward from the horizontal portion, and the holding portion is formed on the vertical portion.

The cup portion has a cooking utensil that cooks the food by rotation,
The axis of rotation of the cooking utensil is inclined in a non-vertical direction.

The approach direction of the cooking cup is a non-vertical direction.

According to the kitchen appliance of the present invention, by attaching a cooking cup to the cup attachment portion of the main body, the holding portion of the main body that protrudes due to bias fits into the non-holding portion of the cooking cup, holding the cooking cup. This prevents the cooking cup from wobbling due to impacts caused by the rotation of cooking utensils or the rotation or turning of food during cooking. In addition, since the holding portion can be made to protrude and retract due to bias, when removing the cooking cup, the held portion is released from the holding portion by simply pulling the cooking cup. Therefore, the user does not need to take any additional action to release the held state, and there is no hassle.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an inclined mixer, which is a kitchen appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a cooking cup is attached to the main body. FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the inclined mixer showing the state in which the cooking cup has been removed from the main body. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3 as seen obliquely from behind. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the main body. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main body. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the circled portion C in FIG. 5, and is a perspective view of the holding portion of the main body. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the cooking cup viewed diagonally from the front. Figure 9 is a front view of the cooking cup. Figure 10 is a plan view of the cooking cup. Figure 11 is an enlarged oblique view of the held portion of the cooking cup. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, showing the state before the cooking cup is attached to the main body. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a rectangular area D in FIG. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, showing the state in which the held convex portion of the cooking cup abuts against the holding portion of the main body. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, showing the state in which the holding convex portion of the cooking cup is forcing the holding portion of the main body to retract. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, showing the state in which the holding portion of the main body fits into the held portion of the cooking cup and the cooking cup is attached to the main body.

The kitchen appliance of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the kitchen appliance will be described using an inclined mixer 10 as an example, but the kitchen appliance is not limited to the inclined mixer 10 and may be a cooking appliance that cooks food by rotating cooking utensils in a cooking cup, such as a vertical mixer, food processor, juicer, soup maker, mill, or blender. In addition, the kitchen appliance of the present invention may be a cooking appliance that does not have cooking utensils in the cooking cup, such as a coffee maker, Japanese tea maker, or air fryer.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, an inclined mixer 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, simply referred to as "mixer 10") includes a main body 20 and a cooking cup 50 that can be attached to and detached from the main body 20. Figs. 1 and 2 show the cooking cup 50 attached to the main body 20, and Figs. 3 and 4 show the cooking cup 50 in the process of being attached to the main body 20 or after being removed from the main body 20. In the mixer 10 of this embodiment, the cooking cup 50 can be attached to the main body 20 by approaching it at an angle to the main body 20 in a non-vertical direction (for example, a horizontal direction or a direction inclined to the horizontal direction of about 75° or less) as shown by arrow B in Figs. 3 and 4, rather than in a vertical direction, and the cooking cup 50 can be removed from the main body 20 by pulling it in the direction shown by arrow B'. In this embodiment, for the sake of explanation, the right side of Figs. 1 to 4 is referred to as the "front" and the left side is referred to as the "rear".

The main body 20 has a vertical section 23 that extends forward to approximately the same height as the cooking cup 50, and a horizontal section 24 that extends rearward from the vertical section 23 and is formed directly below the cooking cup 50. The top surface of the horizontal section 24 is formed with a mounting guide surface 25 on which the cooking cup 50 rests, and the upper side of the mounting guide surface 25 is the cup mounting section 21 on which the cooking cup 50 is attached.

The cup attachment section 21 has an inclined portion 26 between the vertical section 23 and the horizontal section 24, as shown in Figs. 3 to 6. The inclined portion 26 is inclined at an angle of about 45° in the figure, but is not limited to this. A main body side coupling 27 that is connected to a cooking utensil side coupling 59 (see Fig. 9) of the cooking utensil described later protrudes from the inclined portion 26. The main body side coupling 27 is connected to the rotating shaft of a motor (neither is shown) provided below the vertical section 23. The main body side coupling 27 shown in the figure has multiple blade-like protrusions protruding obliquely in the rotation direction (clockwise). The motor is driven by an operating section 22 provided on the rear surface of the horizontal section 24 to rotate the main body side coupling 27. In this embodiment, the motor is connected to the operation unit 22 via a switch 41 (see FIG. 12, etc.) of the detection unit 40, which detects that the cooking cup 50 is correctly attached to the main body 20, and is configured to be driven by the operation unit 22 only when the cooking cup 50 is correctly attached to the main body 20.

A mounting guide surface 25 is formed on the upper surface of the horizontal portion 24, behind the inclined portion 26. The mounting guide surface 25 is an inclined surface 25a that is slightly inclined upward at the rear end, and is configured to have a nearly horizontal surface 25b from the center to the front. By providing the inclined surface 25a, the cooking cup 50 placed on it can be prevented from moving backwards, and the cooking cup 50 can be held stably on the mounting guide surface 25.

In addition, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, guide recesses 28 are formed on the left and right sides of the inclined portion 26 into which the lower tip 53 of the cooking cup 50 (see Figures 4, 8, and 9) fits. When the cooking cup 50 is attached to the main body 20, the guide recesses 28 fit into the lower tip 53 of the cooking cup 50, guiding the cooking cup 50 to be attached in the correct orientation.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a holding recess 31 is formed on the upper end of the vertical portion 23, recessed toward the front on the rear side facing the cooking cup 50. A holding portion 30 for holding the cooking cup 50 is formed in the holding recess 31. The holding portion 30 is a mechanism that engages with the held portion 60 of the cooking cup 50 to prevent the cooking cup 50 from coming off the main body 20 due to vibration or impact during cooking. In this embodiment, the holding portion 30 is disposed on the left and right of the holding recess 31, and has a head 35 that appears and disappears in a direction perpendicular to the approach direction (arrow B) of the cooking cup 50 or in a direction perpendicular to one vertical plane including the approach direction. Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the circled portion C in Fig. 5, and in the figure, it can be seen that the head 35 constituting the holding portion 30 protrudes from the inner surface of the holding recess 31.

The main body 20 also includes a built-in detector 40 that detects whether the cooking cup 50 is correctly attached. The structure of the detector 40 will be described later, but as shown in FIG. 5, a detection hole 43 is provided in the front bottom surface of the holding recess 31, through which the operator 63 of the cooking cup 50 that operates the detector 40 can enter.

Next, the cooking cup 50 that can be attached to and detached from the main body 20 will be described. The cooking cup 50 can be configured to include a cup portion 51 and a lid 55 that covers the cup portion 51. The cup portion 51 is open at the top, and ingredients are added through the opening at the top. The cup portion 51 is formed with a handle 54 at its rear end for the user to grasp. The cup portion 51 itself is a cylindrical body that extends vertically above approximately the center, and the lower portion is bent diagonally downward toward the front, with a bottom hole (not shown) formed on the inclined bottom side into which a cutter die 57 is attached.

The cutter die 57 can be attached and detached by screwing it into the bottom hole of the cup part 51. Figures 5 and 6 show the state in which the cutter die 57 is attached to the cup part 51. The cutter die 57 is a base on which cooking utensils such as blades and cutters according to the cooking contents are rotatably arranged. Although the cooking utensils are not shown, by attaching the cutter die 57 to the cup part 51, the cooking utensils are exposed inside the cup part 51. The cooking utensils are connected to a rotating shaft 58 that rotatably passes through the cutter die 57, and a cooking utensil side coupling 59 is disposed at the base end of the rotating shaft 58. By attaching the cooking cup 50 to the main body 20, the cooking utensil side coupling 59 is connected to the above-mentioned main body side coupling 27 (Figures 3 to 6) and can rotate together.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4 and 8, a cup bottom surface 52 is formed on the bottom side of the cup portion 51, which conforms to the shape of the mounting guide surface 25 of the main body 20. The rear side of the cup bottom surface 52 has a surface shape that is inclined obliquely upward, similar to the inclined surface 25a of the mounting guide surface 25. The cup bottom surface 52 has a horizontal bottom edge shape from the center to the front, and extends upward from the bottom edge in a skirt shape to surround the left and right sides of the cutter die 57. The left and right lower tip portions 53 of the cup bottom surface 52 that sandwich the cutter die 57 fit into the guide recesses 28 (Figs. 4 and 5) of the main body 20 when the cooking cup 50 is attached to the main body 20.

The opening on the top surface of the cup portion 51 is closed by a removable lid 55. The fixing structure of the lid 55 and the cup portion 51 is not shown, but can be, for example, a screw-fit structure, but is not limited to this.

As shown in Figures 4, 8, 10, etc., the lid 55 has a finger hook 56 protruding toward the rear at a position that is on the front side when the cup portion 51 is closed. The finger hook 56 is a protrusion on which the user hooks their finger when rotating the lid 55. When attaching the lid 55, the user simply rotates the lid 55 until the finger hook 56 overlaps the handle 54 vertically.

The lid body 55 has a held portion 60 formed on the front side opposite the finger hook portion 56, which engages with the holding portion 30 when the cooking cup 50 is attached to the main body 20. The held portion 60 can be formed as a held protrusion 61 that fits into the holding recess 31 (see FIG. 5, etc.) of the main body 20, for example, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. In this embodiment, the held protrusion 61 protrudes forward of the lid body 55. The held protrusion 61 can also be formed on the cup portion 51.

In the illustrated embodiment, the retained protrusion 61 is in the form of an arc-shaped protrusion in the range of approximately 60° to 80° on the front side of the lid body 55, and the retained portion 60 is formed on both sides. As best shown in the enlarged view 11, the retained portion 60 is a vertically elongated groove 62 provided on the left and right of the retained protrusion 61 and recessed inward. The retained portion 60 may be a recess in a shape into which at least the retaining portion 30 of the main body 20 fits, for example, a hemispherical recess when the retaining portion 30 has a hemispherical head 35 as shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the retained portion 60 is a vertically elongated groove 62 so that when the cooking cup 50 is removed, the retaining portion 30 can be easily removed from the groove 62 by pulling the cooking cup 50 so that the retaining portion 30 slides along the groove 62. For this purpose, the upper left and right edges of the retained protrusion 61 are rounded as shown in Figures 8 and 11, and the upper end of the groove 62 is extended to reach the rounded upper edge of the retained protrusion 61, so that the upper end of the groove 62 opens diagonally forward.

The held convex portion 61 is also formed with an operator 63 that enters a detection hole 43 (see FIG. 5) formed on the rear surface of the holding concave portion 31 when the held convex portion 61 is engaged with the holding concave portion 31. When the cooking cup 50 is properly attached to the main body 20, the operator 63 enters the detection hole 43 and turns on the detection unit 40 located at the back of the detection hole 43.

The configuration of the holding unit 30 and the detection unit 40 described above will be explained in more detail. The holding unit 30 is shown in Figures 3 and 7, and the internal structures of the holding unit 30 and the detection unit 40 are shown in Figures 12 and 13. Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 1, with the front side of the main body 20 facing up. Figure 12 shows the state when the cooking cup 50 is in the process of being attached to the main body 20, i.e., before the held convex portion 61 enters the holding concave portion 31. Also, Figure 13 is an enlarged view of the rectangular area D in Figure 12.

As shown in Figures 7, 12, and 13, the holding portion 30 has a head 35 that can be inserted and removed from a horizontal hole 32 formed on the left and right inner surfaces of the holding recess 31. For convenience in assembling the head 35, the horizontal hole 32 cannot be shaped as a hole through which only the head 35 can protrude, and is formed to extend to the front side of the holding recess 31. The head 35 can be a substantially hemispherical protrusion as shown in Figure 7, and in the illustrated embodiment, the head 35 is formed with a guide portion 36 for smoothly guiding the held protrusion 61. For example, the guide portion 36 can be shaped by cutting the rear side of the head 35 at an angle.

As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the holding portion 30 can be a plunger 37 with a head 35 arranged inwardly and retractable by a coil spring 39 in a frame 33 formed on the inner rear side of the left and right inner surfaces of the holding recess 31. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 13, the head 35 is integrally formed with a stabilizing plate 38 that suppresses the tilt of the head 35 on the front side of the head 35. Coil springs 39 are fitted into the head 35 and the stabilizing plate 38, and the coil springs 39 are fitted into pins 34 that protrude inward from the frame 33.

The operation of the holding part 30 will be described later with reference to Figures 14 to 16, but in the process of attaching the cooking cup 50 to the main body 20, after being pushed back by the holding convex part 61 of the cooking cup 50 (Figure 15), when it faces the held part 60, the head 35 protrudes and fits into the held part 60, holding the held part 60 (Figure 16). Note that when the cooking cup 50 is removed, the stabilizing plate 38 is configured to cover and conceal the horizontal hole 32 that extends to the front side of the holding recess 31, thereby preventing foreign objects from entering the main body 20 through the horizontal hole 32.

The detection unit 40 is a mechanism that detects that the cooking cup 50 is correctly attached to the main body 20. The detection unit 40 can be configured to be turned on by the operator 63 of the cooking cup 50 shown in Figures 8 to 11. As shown in Figure 12, the detection unit 40 houses a switch 41 in the space in front of the holding recess 31 of the main body 20. The switch 41 is electrically connected to the motor and the switch 41, and turning on the switch 41 allows current to flow to the motor. In other words, if the cooking cup 50 is not correctly attached to the main body 20, the switch 41 remains off, and no current is passed through the motor even if the switch 41 is operated.

The switch 41 can be exemplified by a push-type switch. In this embodiment, the switch 41 is disposed on the front side (rear side) of the holding recess 31. The pusher 42 for turning the switch 41 on and off is provided on the detection hole 43 side. A slider 44 that is biased forward by a coil spring 47 and can slide back and forth is disposed between the switch 41 and the detection hole 43. The slider 44 is slid forward by an operator 63 of the cover body 55 to operate the pusher 42 of the switch 41. The slider 44 has a push piece 45 formed on the front side for operating the pusher 42 of the switch 41, and a cap 46 is formed on the rear side that enters the detection hole 43 and is pushed in by the operator 63. The cap 46 covers the detection hole 43 and prevents foreign matter from entering through the detection hole 43.

The operation of the detection unit 40 will be described later with reference to Figures 14 to 16, but in the process of attaching the cooking cup 50 to the main body 20, the operator 63 of the cooking cup 50 enters the detection hole 43 and pushes in the cap 46 of the slider 44. This causes the slider 44 to move forward and the pushing piece 45 turns on the pushing piece 42 of the switch 41.

The mixer 10 configured as above can be used as follows:

First, as shown in Figures 8 to 10, with the cooking cup 50 removed from the main body 20, the lid 55 is opened and the ingredients to be cooked are placed in the cup portion 51. As shown in Figures 2, 8, etc., the cooking cup 50 has a cup bottom surface 52 with a straight bottom edge portion, so by placing this portion on a table or the like, the cooking cup 50 can be placed in a stable state. The lid 55 is then fitted into the cup portion 51 and rotated to close. The cooking cup 50 is rotated until the handle 54 of the cup portion 51 is aligned with the finger grip portion 56. As a result, the holding convex portion 61 of the lid 55 of the cooking cup 50 faces the front side opposite the handle 54.

In this state, the cooking cup 50 is attached to the cup attachment portion 21 of the main body 20. The cooking cup 50 is brought close to the cup attachment portion 21 of the main body 20 as shown by arrow B in Figures 3 and 4, with the holding convex portion 61 facing forward and the handle 54 facing backward. The cooking cup 50 is then pushed forward while sliding the cup bottom surface 52 on the mounting guide surface 25 of the main body 20. This causes the lower tip portions 53 of the cooking cup 50 to be inserted into the guide recesses 28 of the main body 20, allowing the cooking cup 50 to be adjusted to the correct orientation.

When the cooking cup 50 is further pushed in in this state, the cooking utensil side coupling 59 of the cooking cup 50 engages with the main body side coupling 27. The held convex portion 61 also moves in the direction indicated by the arrow E in Figures 4, 12, 14 to 16 and enters the holding concave portion 31.

Figure 12 shows a state in which the retained convex portion 61 has not yet entered the retaining recess 31. When the cooking cup 50 is pushed in the direction of the arrow E from this state, the retained convex portion 61 enters the retaining recess 31 as shown in Figure 14, and first, both ends of the retained convex portion 61 abut from the front against the head 35 of the holding part 30. Since the head 35 of the holding part 30 has a guide portion 36 formed thereon as shown in Figure 7, the retained convex portion 61 is smoothly guided along the slope of the guide portion 36, and the head 35 is pushed by the retained convex portion 61 and retreats laterally against the biasing force of the coil spring 39 as shown by the arrow F in Figure 15. A stabilizing plate 38 is provided next to the head 35, and these are biased by two coil springs 39, 39, so that even if the retained protrusion 61 collides with the head 35 in the direction of arrow E, which is perpendicular to the direction in which the head 35 appears and disappears, the head 35 retreats straight without tilting.

By pushing the cooking cup 50 further in the direction of arrow E from this state, as shown in FIG. 16, the head 35 of the holding portion 30 faces the left and right grooves 62 (see FIG. 11) of the held convex portion 61. Then, due to the biasing force of the coil spring 39, the head 35 moves inward as shown by arrow G and fits into the groove 62, which is the held portion 60. As the head 35 of the holding portion 30 fits into the groove 62, the held convex portion 61 is pressed down and held from the left and right by the heads 35, 35 biased by the coil spring 39. This prevents the cooking cup 50 from wobbling.

When the cooking cup 50 is pushed in the direction of arrow E, the operator 63 provided at the tip of the held protrusion 61 enters the detection hole 43 as shown by arrow G in FIG. 16. The entered operator 63 pushes the cap 46 of the slider 44, moving the slider 44 forward. As a result, the pushing piece 45 of the slider 44 pushes the pushing piece 42 of the switch 41 as shown by arrow H in FIG. 16, turning on the switch 41. This allows electricity to be applied to the motor when the operating unit 22 (see FIG. 1, etc.) is operated.

As a result, the cooking cup 50 is attached to the cup attachment portion 21 of the main body 20 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The cooking cup 50 has its upper end side pressed by the head 35 of the holding portion 30 of the main body 20, which is the groove 62 that serves as the held portion 60 of the held convex portion 61, so that wobbling to the left and right and front and back is suppressed. In addition, the cooking cup 50 has its lower end tip lower portion 53 inserted into the guide recess 28 of the main body 20, so that wobbling to the left and right is suppressed. In addition, the main body 20 has the rear end of the mounting guide surface 25 on which the cooking cup 50 is placed inclined upward, and the cup bottom surface 52 of the cooking cup 50 is also shaped to follow the mounting guide surface 25, so that the backward movement of the cooking cup 50 is suppressed. In addition, the cooking cup 50 is also suppressed from moving upward due to the weight of the cooking cup 50 itself, or the fact that the held convex portion 61 is fitted into the holding recess 31, etc. In other words, the cooking cup 50 is attached to the main body 20 in a state where movement in any direction, including forward/backward, left/right, and up/down, is restricted.

According to the present invention, in the process of attaching the cooking cup 50 to the main body 20, the cooking cup 50 is correctly guided into the main body 20 and can be attached in the correct position without the user having to take any additional action or even being very conscious of it. Furthermore, when attached, the cooking cup 50 is positioned and held in the main body 20.

Then, with the cooking cup 50 attached to the main body 20 as described above, cooking is started by operating the operating unit 22. Because the switch 41, which detects that the cooking cup 50 is correctly attached, is in the on state, operating the operating unit 22 drives the motor, rotates the cooking utensils in the cooking cup 50, and cooks the ingredients by stirring, etc. During this cooking, the cooking cup 50 is subjected to impacts in the front-back, left-right, and up-down directions due to the rotation of the cooking utensils and the rotation of the food (ingredients), but because the cooking cup 50 is restricted from moving in any of the front-back, left-right, and up-down directions relative to the main body 20, there is almost no wobbling, and the cooking cup 50 does not come off the main body 20.

Even if the lid 55 is not attached to the cup portion 51 and the cooking cup 50 is attached to the main body 20, there is no operator 63 for pressing the switch 41. Therefore, even if the operating portion 22 is operated, no electricity is applied to the motor and cooking will not be performed by mistake.

In addition, if the lid 55 is attached but not closed properly, the retaining projection 61 of the lid 55 will not enter the retaining recess 31, or even if it does enter, the operating element 63 will be misaligned with the detection hole 43 and the switch 41 will not turn on. Therefore, even if the operating part 22 is operated, no electricity will be applied to the motor, and cooking will not be performed by mistake.

After cooking is completed, to remove the cooking cup 50 from the main body 20, the user can grasp the handle 54 of the cooking cup 50 and pull the cooking cup 50 toward himself, for example, diagonally upward and backward, as shown by the arrow B' in FIG. 4. By pulling the cooking cup 50, the lower tip 53 of the cooking cup 50 slides forward on the mounting guide surface 25 while the lower tip 53 comes out of the guide recess 28. In addition, the upper end side of the cooking cup 50 tilts backward with the lower tip 53 as a fulcrum. As a result, the cooking cup 50 moves backward while the groove 62 in which the head 35 was fitted remains slightly tilted forward. As shown in FIG. 11, the upper end of the groove 62 opens diagonally backward, so the groove 62 releases the head 35 upward, and the head 35 comes out of the groove 62. In addition, the retained convex portion 61 is pulled out of the retaining concave portion 31. Then, by pulling the cooking cup 50 further forward, the lower tip 53 is pulled out of the guide recess 28. This disengages the cooking cup 50 from the main body 20, and the cooking cup 50 can be removed from the main body 20.

According to the present invention, the process of removing the cooking cup 50 from the main body 20 does not require the user to take any additional action and is not something the user is particularly aware of, so it does not bother the user.

After removing the cooking cup 50 from the main body 20, it can be moved to the desired position and the lid 55 opened to remove or pour out the food.

The above explanation is for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and should not be interpreted as limiting the invention described in the claims or narrowing its scope. Furthermore, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the technical scope described in the claims.

For example, the configuration of the holding part 30 and the configuration of the held part 60 are not limited to the above embodiment. In addition, the switch 41 of the detection part 40 is not limited to a push-type switch, and may be an infrared sensor, a magnet sensor, or the like.

The present invention is particularly suitable for application to kitchen appliances such as vertical mixers, food processors, juicers, soup makers, mills, and blenders that cook food by rotating cooking utensils in a cooking cup. As mentioned above, the cooking utensils and food vibrate during cooking, and the cooking cup may be subjected to impact and come off.

10. Tilting mixer (kitchen appliance)
20 Main body 21 Cup attachment portion 23 Vertical portion 24 Horizontal portion 25 Mounting guide surface 26 Inclined portion 28 Guide recess 30 Holding portion 31 Holding recess 35 Head 36 Guide portion 37 Plunger 40 Detection portion 41 Switch 43 Detection hole 44 Slider 50 Cooking cup 51 Cup portion 52 Cup bottom surface 53 Lower tip portion 55 Lid body 60 Held portion 61 Held convex portion 62 Groove 63 Operator

Claims (9)

A kitchen appliance in which a cooking cup for containing food is attached to a cup attachment part of a main body from a predetermined approach direction,
The cup mounting portion has a holding portion that is biased to protrude in a direction perpendicular to the approach direction, and the cooking cup has a recessed held portion into which the holding portion fits when the cooking cup is mounted on the cup mounting portion.
Kitchen appliances. The holding portion is biased so as to be able to protrude inward from both the left and right sides of the main body,
The held portion is recessed inward on both the left and right sides of the cooking cup.
The kitchen appliance according to claim 1. The holding portion has a head into which the held portion fits, and the head is formed with a guide portion that guides the holding portion.
The kitchen appliance according to claim 2. The held portion is disposed on the upper end side of the cooking cup, and the main body has a guide recess formed therein for holding a lower portion of the cooking cup.
The kitchen appliance according to claim 3. The cooking cup has an operator protruding in the approach direction,
The cup attachment portion has a detection portion that is turned on by the operation device when the cooking cup is attached to the cup attachment portion.
The kitchen appliance according to claim 4. The cooking cup has a cup portion in which the food to be cooked is contained and a lid body that closes the cup portion,
The held portion and the operator are formed on the cover.
The kitchen appliance according to claim 5. The main body has a horizontal portion on which the cooking cup is placed and a vertical portion extending upward from the horizontal portion, and the holding portion is formed on the vertical portion.
The kitchen appliance according to claim 6. The cup portion has a cooking utensil that cooks the food by rotation,
The rotation axis of the cooking utensil is inclined in a non-vertical direction.
The kitchen appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The approach direction of the cooking cup is a non-vertical direction.
The kitchen appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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