Flexible whisk and method of assembling same

• US 20050128864A1
• Filed: 12/10/2003
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chef'n Corporation (Lifetime Brands Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Chef'n Corporation (Lifetime Brands Incorporated)
• Inventors: Holcomb, David A., Stewart, Joshua R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,213,964 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 366/129
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 43/1093 the wires being of the closed-loop type mounted at the end of a shaft
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49885 with coating before or during assembling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4998 Combined manufacture including applying or shaping of fluent material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49982 Coating

Abstract

A kitchen whisk having a whisk-head attached to a grippable handle by a coupling, the handle having a flex zone for enhancing the “whipping” action of the whisk-head. A cable can be embedded within the flex zone region of the handle for reinforcing the same, the ends of the cable being disposed between and encased within a handle core and an inner plug core, the inner plug core being located within the coupling. In addition, the coupling captures the ends of the wires for attachment to the handle.

Claims

1. A kitchen whisk comprising:

a whisk-head having a plurality of wires segments configured to function as a whisk;

a handle having a cover formed about a core, at least a portion of the handle forming a flex zone for biasly permitting deflection of the whisk-head and urging the whisk-head back toward its natural position while in use; and

a coupling connecting the whisk-head to the handle, the coupling having a cable disposed between the core and the coupling, the cable encased within the flex zone for reinforcement thereof, and the coupling having a capturing means for attaching the whisk-head with the coupling.

2. The kitchen whisk of claim 1 wherein the whisk-head is made from looped wires having a tear dropped shape.

3. The kitchen whisk of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of each of the wires are covered with a flexible material.

4. The kitchen whisk of claim 1 wherein the cover and flex zone are made from an over-molded thermoplastic elastomer such as Santoprene®

or Tekbond®

.

5. The kitchen whisk of claim 1 wherein the core is made from a molded plastics material such as nylon, polypropylene, or ABS.

6. The kitchen whisk of claim 1 wherein the cable is made from stainless steel.

7. The kitchen whisk of claim 1, further comprising a grommet at each end of the cable, a first cable end encased in the core and a second cable end encased in an inner plug core.

8. The kitchen whisk of claim 7 wherein the inner plug core is made from a molded plastic material such as nylon, polypropylene, or ABS.

9. The kitchen whisk of claim 7, further comprising an inner plug and an outer plug configured such that the wires are captured therebetween, and the inner plug configured to receive the inner plug core.

10. The kitchen whisk of claim 9 wherein the inner plug and outer plug are made from Stainless Steel.

11. The kitchen whisk of claim 9 wherein the outer plug is comprised with a plurality of holes for insertably receiving the whisk-head wire ends.

12. The kitchen whisk of claim 9 wherein the inner plug is configured with a gear-like cross section such that the whisk-head wire ends nest between vertically oriented gear-like protuberances of the inner plug and the outer plug.

13. The kitchen whisk of claim 12 wherein the whisk-head wire ends are spot welded to at least one of either the inner or outer plugs.

14. The kitchen whisk of claim 1, further comprising a collar attachable around the coupling and made from stainless steel.

15. A kitchen device comprising:

a whisk-head adapted to function as a whisk;

a handle adapted for manual manipulation; and

a coupling positioned between the whisk-head and the handle, the coupling configured to attach the whisk-head to the handle and to be resiliently flexible for allowing the whisk-head to deflect and spring back toward its natural position during use.

16. The kitchen device of claim 15, further comprising a cable disposed between the handle and the coupling.

17. The kitchen device of claim 15 wherein the cable is made from Stainless Steel.

18. The kitchen device of claim 15 wherein the whisk-head is retained by the coupling.

19. The kitchen device of claim 15, further comprising a core embedded within the handle to reinforce the attachment of the handle to the coupling.

20. The kitchen device of claim 19 wherein the core is made from a molded plastic material such as nylon, polypropylene, or ABS.

21. The kitchen device of claim 15 wherein the handle is made from an over-molded thermoplastic elastomer such as Santoprene®

or Tekbond®

.

22. The kitchen device of claim 15 wherein a durometer range of the handle is in the range of about 40-60 shore A.

23. The kitchen device of claim 22 wherein the durometer range allows about 10-15 degrees of deflection while permitting the whisk-head to spring back to its natural position.

24. The kitchen device of claim 15 wherein the coupling is further configured to permanently connect the whisk-head to the handle.

25. A method for assembling a kitchen whisk comprising:

attaching at least one grommet to a portion of a cable;

molding a core over a first portion of the cable and molding an inner plug core over a second portion of the cable with a gap therebetween;

coupling a plurality of whisk-head wires to the inner plug core; and

molding a handle over the core and the gap between the core and the inner plug core, thus forming a flex zone.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising attaching a collar substantially around the outer plug.

27. A method for producing a whisk-head assembly comprising:

obtaining a wire;

bonding a flexible material onto at least a portion of the wire;

manipulating the wire into a desired configuration; and

attaching at least the ends of the wire to a handle of a kitchen whisk.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein bonding a flexible material onto the portion of the wire includes molding the flexible material onto the wire and then manipulating the wire into the desired configuration, the portion of the wire bonding with the flexible material.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein bonding a flexible material onto the portion of the wire includes manipulating the wire into the desired configuration and then molding the flexible material onto the portion of the wire, the portion of the wire bonding with the flexible material.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

applying primer to the wire.