Blender jar lid with tortuous airflow path
View Patent ↗A blender for blending foodstuff comprises a base enclosing a motor, a jar for containing foodstuff that is removably mountable to the base, and a lid removably mountable to the jar to selectively close off the top end. The lid comprises a main body having an opening defined therein, and a cap removably mountable to the main body to selectively close off the opening. When the cap is mounted to the main body and the lid is mounted to the jar, a tortuous airflow path is provided between the main body and cap to allow airflow into or out of the jar.
1. A blender for blending foodstuff, the blender comprising:
(A) a base enclosing a motor;
(B) ajar for containing foodstuff, the jar being removably mountable to the base in an operating configuration, the jar having an open top end for receiving foodstuff to be blended; and
(C) a lid removably mountable to the jar to selectively close off the top end, the lid comprising:
(i) a main body having an opening defined therein, the opening being defined by a main body ledge projecting inwardly toward a center of the opening, the main body ledge having a peripheral portion and a central portion, the central portion being in a stepped-down arrangement from the peripheral portion, the central portion having one or more keyholes defined therein; and
(ii) a cap removably mountable to the main body to selectively close off the opening, the cap comprising (a) an outwardly extending cap flange, (b) a grasping portion above the cap flange, and (c) a lower wall below the cap flange, one or more air channels being defined in a bottom surface of the cap flange, the lower wall of the cap being insertable through the main body opening when the cap is mounted to the main body;
wherein, when the cap is mounted to the main body, at least a portion of the bottom surface of the cap flange contacts at least a portion of a top surface of the peripheral portion of the main body ledge and the bottom surface of the cap flange does not contact a top surface of the central portion of the main body ledge such that a gap exists between the bottom surface of the cap flange and the top surface of the central portion of the main body ledge;
wherein air can flow into or out of the jar through (1) the one or more air channels, (2) the gap between the bottom surface of the cap flange and the top surface of the central portion of the main body ledge, and (3) the one or more keyholes; and
wherein, when the cap is mounted to the main body, none of the one or more air channels is aligned with any of the one or more keyholes.
2. The blender of claim 1 , wherein the central portion of the main body ledge has two opposing keyholes defined therein;
wherein the lower wall of the cap has two opposing outwardly projecting keys with a space defined between a top surface of each key and the bottom surface of the cap flange; and
wherein the cap is mounted to the main body by aligning each key with a corresponding keyhole, inserting each key into its corresponding keyhole, and rotating the cap such that at least a portion of the main body ledge is sandwiched between each key and the bottom surface of the cap flange.
3. The blender of claim 2 , wherein the top surface of each key has a slope corresponding to a slope of corresponding portions of a bottom surface of the portion of the main body ledge.
4. The blender of claim 1 , wherein the bottom surface of the cap flange and the top surface of the peripheral portion of the main body ledge are each generally horizontal.
5. The blender of claim 1 , wherein the main body further comprises a wall extending downward from the main body ledge.