High volume grinder
First Claim
1. A grinder for grinding materials to produce a ground substance, said grinder comprising:
- a cabinet, a grinder motor retained in said cabinet, a grinder mechanism coupled to said motor for grinding said material, and a hopper communicating with said grinder mechanism to deliver said material for grinding therein;
a discharge assembly positioned proximate to said grinder mechanism having a chute extending therefrom for discharging ground substance therethrough;
a container retaining assembly attached to said grinder for retaining a container in close proximity to said chute from which said ground material is dispensed from said grinder mechanism, said container retaining assembly including a cam body positioned between said grinder mechanism and said chute and pivotable away from and toward said chute between a releasing position and a retaining position, in said releasing position a container may be positioned between said chute and said cam body, in the retaining position, the cam body is pivoted towards said chute for retaining the container between said cam body and said chute;
an activation switch assembly attached to said grinder in close proximity to said container retainer and coupled to said grinder motor to selectively control said grinder wherein said grinder is activated when a container is placed and retained proximate to said grinder and said grinder motor is deactivated when said container retaining container proximate to said grinder;
a substance settling assembly attached to said grinder in proximity to said container retaining assembly for moving a container retained by container retaining assembly to setting said substance as it is dispensed from said grinder mechanism into said container, said substance settling assembly having a shaker plate attached to said grinder inside said cabinet and included an agitating device for acting on said shaker plate, said agitating device being positioned in said cabinet;
a chaff retaining plate pivotably positioned proximate to a grinder discharge passage for maintaining chaff in a ground substance;
a clean-out member attached to said grinder and selectively engageable with said chaff retaining plate for pivoting said chaff retaining plate to allow chaff and ground substance to be exhausted from said grinder;
a magnetic collection device positioned in said hopper for capturing magnetic pieces to prevent such pieces from entering said grinder mechanism; and
an active ventilation system providing passages in an upper portion of said cabinet and a fan in a lower portion of said cabinet for moving air through said through said cabinet and out through said passages for actively and controllably removing heat from said grinder.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A grinder for grinding materials to produce a ground substance. The grinder includes a cabinet, a grinder motor retained in the cabinet, and a grinder mechanism coupled to the motor to grind the materials. A hopper is positioned in communication with the grinder mechanism to deliver materials for grinding. The container retainer is attached to the grinder for retaining a container in close proximity for capturing ground material dispensed thereby. An activation switch assembly is included with the grinder to selectively control the grinder and activate the grinder when a container is placed in a desired location. A substance settling assembly is included with the grinder for removing a container retained by the grinder to settle the substance as it is dispensed from the grinder to the container. A chaff retainer is provided for maintaining chaff included with the ground substance in mixture with the ground substance. A clean-out member is operatively attached to the grinder and selectively engageable with the chaff retainer for removing chaff from the grinder. A magnetic collection device is positioned in the hopper for capturing magnetic pieces which may be deposited in the hopper. An active ventilation system is also included with the grinder for actively and controllably removing heat from the grinder cabinet.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A grinder for grinding materials to produce a ground substance, said grinder comprising:
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a cabinet, a grinder motor retained in said cabinet, a grinder mechanism coupled to said motor for grinding said material, and a hopper communicating with said grinder mechanism to deliver said material for grinding therein; a discharge assembly positioned proximate to said grinder mechanism having a chute extending therefrom for discharging ground substance therethrough; a container retaining assembly attached to said grinder for retaining a container in close proximity to said chute from which said ground material is dispensed from said grinder mechanism, said container retaining assembly including a cam body positioned between said grinder mechanism and said chute and pivotable away from and toward said chute between a releasing position and a retaining position, in said releasing position a container may be positioned between said chute and said cam body, in the retaining position, the cam body is pivoted towards said chute for retaining the container between said cam body and said chute; an activation switch assembly attached to said grinder in close proximity to said container retainer and coupled to said grinder motor to selectively control said grinder wherein said grinder is activated when a container is placed and retained proximate to said grinder and said grinder motor is deactivated when said container retaining container proximate to said grinder; a substance settling assembly attached to said grinder in proximity to said container retaining assembly for moving a container retained by container retaining assembly to setting said substance as it is dispensed from said grinder mechanism into said container, said substance settling assembly having a shaker plate attached to said grinder inside said cabinet and included an agitating device for acting on said shaker plate, said agitating device being positioned in said cabinet; a chaff retaining plate pivotably positioned proximate to a grinder discharge passage for maintaining chaff in a ground substance;
a clean-out member attached to said grinder and selectively engageable with said chaff retaining plate for pivoting said chaff retaining plate to allow chaff and ground substance to be exhausted from said grinder;a magnetic collection device positioned in said hopper for capturing magnetic pieces to prevent such pieces from entering said grinder mechanism; and an active ventilation system providing passages in an upper portion of said cabinet and a fan in a lower portion of said cabinet for moving air through said through said cabinet and out through said passages for actively and controllably removing heat from said grinder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A coffee settling assembly for use with a coffee grinder, said coffee grinder including a grinder mechanism and a discharge assembly coupled with said grinding mechanism for directing the discharging of a ground substance from said grinding mechanism, said coffee settling assembly comprising:
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a shaker arm retained by the coffee grinder proximate to said discharge assembly, said shaker arm having a portion thereof spaced from the grinder abutting a container positioned proximate to the discharge assembly, which container is positioned for receiving ground coffee from the discharge assembly; an agitating device positioned proximate to said discharge assembly for acting on said shaker arm for moving said shaker arm to facilitate settling of ground coffee dispensed into a container positioned against said shaker arm; and a container retaining assembly for retaining a mouth portion of a container proximate to the discharge assembly and abutting said shaker arm for translating movement of said shaker arm to move the container positioned proximate to and abutting said shaker arm. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A grinder for grinding a material to produce a ground substance including a grinder motor for driving a grinder mechanism, a discharge assembly is positioned proximate to said grinder mechanism and includes a chute extending therefrom for discharging ground substance therethrough, said grinder further including:
a container retaining assembly for retaining a container proximate to said discharge assembly to receive a ground substance therefrom, said container retaining assembly including a cam body positioned between said grinder and said chute and pivotable away from and toward said chute pivotable between a releasing position and a retaining position, in said releasing position a container may be positioned between said chute and said cam body, in the retaining position, the cam body is pivoted towards said chute for retaining the container between said cam body and said chute. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A coffee grinder having a motor, a grinding mechanism coupled to said motor and said motor and grinding mechanism being retained in a cabinet, said coffee grinder further comprising:
an active ventilation system having a fan retained in a lower portion of said cabinet and vent passages in an upper portion of said cabinet, a thermostatic device retained relative to said grinder, said fan moving air through said cabinet in response to said thermostatic device for removing heated air from said cabinet through said vent passages to facilitate operation of said grinding motor and said grinding mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A coffee grinder having a grinder motor and a grinder mechanism coupled thereto, a discharge assembly is positioned proximate to said grinding mechanism for receiving and directing ground substance dispensed from said grinding mechanism away from said grinder, said grinding mechanism having a passage therein for moving ground substance from said grinding mechanism to said discharge assembly, a chaff retaining plate positioned over an end of said passage for retaining chaff in the ground coffee produced by the coffee grinder, a clean-out member attached to said discharge assembly for selectively engaging said chaff retaining plate to move said chaff retaining plate away from said passage in order to facilitate dispensing of chaff from said grinding mechanism and said passage;
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a channel chute attached to said grinder, a pivot cover positioned over an open portion of said channel chute for directing ground coffee therethrough, said clean-out member moving said chaff retaining plate and rotating opposite relative to said chaff retaining plate for abutting and moving the pivot cover for removing chaff therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification