This document describes a patent for improvements to food mixers. It discloses a mixer with an elongated spinner shaft that carries a spinner on one end and connects detachably to the power take-off of the mixer on the other end. A stationary guide receives and steadies the spinner shaft near the spinner to prevent whipping. The spinner shaft connects to the power take-off shaft through a longitudinally movable connector urged away by a spring to form a combined journal and thrust bearing and running seal.

1. * GB780144 (A)
Description: GB780144 (A) ? 1957-07-31
Improvements relating to food mixers
Description of GB780144 (A)
PATENT SPECIFICATION
Date of Application and filing Complete Specification: Sept. 9, 1955.
7809144 No. 25907155.
k ar k- Application made in United States of America on Sept. 10,
1954.
/J Complete Specification Published: July 31, 1957.
Index at acceptance:-Class 86, C(8:185F).
International Classification:-B01j.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements relating to Food Mixers We, HOOVER LIMITED, a Company
registered under the Laws of Great Britain, of Perivale, Greenford,
Middlesex, do hereby declare this invention, for which we pray that a
patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be
performed to be particularly described in and by the following
statement: -
This invention relates to' food mixers comprising a power unit having
a power take-off and is concerned with the use of such a mixer with a
high speed spinner for purposes such as mixing drinks.
According to the present invention such a mixer has an elongated
spinner shaft whereon one end carries a spinner while the other end is
adapted to be detachably connected to and driven by the power
take-off, and a stationary guide having one part adapted to be
detachably received by the power unit and another part adapted to
engage and steady the spinner shaft at a point near the spinner. The
guide is conveniently in the form of a tube surrounding the spinner
shaft and affording a bearing for the shaft.
In one arrangement the spinner shaft is connected to the power
take-off shaft through a connector which is longitudinally movable
relatively to the spinner shaft and is urged away from it by a spring.
The connector may be detachable from the spinner shaft. Conveniently a

2. shoulder carried by or formed on the spinner shaft engages a
co-operating shoulder formed by the bearing and the spring serves to
maintain the shoulders in engagement to form a combined journal and
thrust bearing and running seal.
It has hitherto been found that where a spinner shaft is of the
required length and is directly connected to the high speed armature
shaft of a portable mixer power unit, the lower end of the shaft has a
tendency to whip, that is to say the axis of the shaft tends to move
in a circular path at the same time as the shaft rotates. As a result
the function- - - - - ing of the spinner is unsatisfactory. The
present invention overcomes this difficulty by providing a guide for
the spinner shaft without appreciably complicating the use of the
mixer and, in particular, the insertion and removal of the spinner
assembly.
Moreover the arrangement may provide a seal so as to prevent liquid
from entering the space between the guide tube and spinner shaft. 55
The invention may be carried into practice in various ways and one
specific embodiment will be described by way of example, with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;- 60 Fig. 1 is a side
elevation, partly in section, of a mixing container supporting a
portable mixer embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of
part of the mixer, shown in section; and 65 Fig. 3 is a perspective
view of a detail.
The mixer comprises a power unit 10 having a handle 11. Power
take-offs, not shown, are provided in the side of the unit opposite
the handle for driving a pair of food mixers 70 for ordinary mixing
operations. For mixing drinks the power unit is provided with a
spinner assembly in accordance with the present invention, indicated
generally at 12. The end of the handle 11 is formed to fit into a 75
socket 13 formed in the top of the handle 14 of a mixing cup 15, so as
to support the power-unit 10 with the spinner assembly 12 extending
vertically down into the centre of the cup 15. 80 As shown in Fig. 2
the spinner assembly 12 includes a guide tube 16 the upper end of
which is detachably received in a socket 17 formed in the casing 18 of
the power-unit 10. The casing 18 has in it a recess 19 to 85 receive
the lower transversely extending arms of a latch 21, the upper end of
which engages beneath a protuberance 22 formed near the upper end of
the guide tube 16. The latch 21 is received in a recess 23 in the
cas780,144 ing 18, and the upper end of this recess forms a shoulder
24 against which the protuberance 22 can abut to limit the movement of
the spinner assembly into the socket 517.
Within the guide tube 16 is a spinner shaft the lower end of which is
guided by a combined journal and thrust bearing 26. The shaft has a
shoulder 27 which abuts against the upper end of the bearing 26 so as

3. to form a running seal between the bearing 26 and the spinner shaft
25. The bearing 26 is formed from nylon and is a tight fit in the bore
of the tube 16 and a running fit on the reduced portion 28 of the
shaft 25. The reduced portion 28 is undercut at 29 to provide for the
expansion of the material of the bearing. The bearing is held in place
by a tang 30 struck inwardly from the lower end of the wall of the
tube 16 and entering a recess in the bearing.
The upper end of the shaft 25 is arranged to be driven by the armature
shaft 31 of the power-unit through a connector, generally indicated by
the reference numeral 32. As shown in Fig. 3, the connector is
provided with a hemispherical portion 33 which fits into a central
hole 33' in the end of the armature shaft 31, and a transverse lug 34
to fit into a slot 35 in the shaft 31 to provide a driving connection.
The connector is received inside the guide tube 16 and has in it a
bore 36 fitting over a reduced portion 37 of the spinner shaft 25.
35To transmit a drive from the connector to the spinner shaft, the
wall of the bore 36 has in it longitudinal grooves 38 to receive
protuberances 39 formed in the reduced portion 37 of the spinner
shaft. A spring 40 is interposed between the end of the spinner shaft
and the end of the bore 36, so as to press the connector 32 upwards to
keep the transverse lug 34 in engagement in the slot 35, and at the
same time press the spinner shaft downwards to keep the shoulder 27 in
contact with the upper end of the bearing 36 to form a running seal.
The lower end of the spinner shaft is internally threaded to receive a
screw 41 which holds in place a flexible spinner 42, a washer 43 being
interposed between the spinner and the lower end of the bearing 26.
In order to insert the spinner assembly 12 into the power-unit it is
only necessary to place the end of the guide tube 16 in the socket 17
and press it in. The protuberance 22 will snap past the upper end of
the latch 21 and be held by it. If the lug 34 is in line with the slot
35 it will enter it, but if not the 60spring 40 will be compressed and
will press the lug 34 into the slot 35 as soon as either the armature
shaft or the spinner shaft is turned to bring the lug and slot into
alignment. At the same time the hemispherical 65portion 33 of the
connector will be pressed into the hole in the end of the armature
shaft so as to centre the spinner shaft, and render it unnecessary to
provide an upper bearing for it.
If for any reason the spinner should become stalled the lug 34 can
readily snap off.
thereby avoiding any harm to other parts of the device. To replace
such a broken connector it is only necessary to withdraw the spinner
assembly from the power-unit, pull 75 out the broken connector from
the open end.
of the guide tube 16, and replace it by a new connector after first

4. transferring the spring from the old connector to the new connector.
To fit the new connector over the 80 spinner shaft the protuberances
39 must be aligned with the grooves 38.
The arrangement described provides a spinner ssembly which is easily
attached to and withdrawn from a portable mixer powerunit and which
prevents the free end of the spinner shaft from whipping. The spinner
shaft is automatically aligned with the armature shaft and it is
unnecessary to provide an upper bearing for it, nor to provide ago
separate seal at the spinner end of the shaft.
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