Granted Patent B2

US 12,733,657 · App. 18/415,817 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Inventors: Michael Lerman (Providence, RI); Macrae Benziger (Dedham, MA); Alexander Mularski (Auburn, MA); Ryan Michienzi (Cumberland, RI); Vipul Mone (Brighton, MA); Joyce Tu (Melrose, MA); Cameron John Auger (Watertown, MA)

Assignee: SharkNinja Operating LLC

A23G9/22A23G9/045

Abstract

Claims (37)

1 . A drink maker comprising:

a housing;

a mixing vessel;

an evaporator configured to be received within the mixing vessel when the mixing vessel is coupled to the housing; and

a collection tray comprising:

a collection chamber for receiving liquid from an external surface of the mixing vessel; and

a handle,

wherein the collection chamber is configured to be removably inserted into a slot in the housing, the slot underneath at least a portion of the evaporator and external to the mixing vessel, and the collection chamber external to and directly below the mixing vessel.

2 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein the collection chamber is vertically spaced from a bottom of the housing when inserted into the slot.

3 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein the collection chamber comprises an evaporator-facing surface, the evaporator-facing surface having a shape at least partially corresponding to an outer surface of the evaporator.

4 . The drink maker of claim 3 , wherein the shape is semi-cylindrical.

5 . The drink maker of claim 3 , wherein the handle and the evaporator-facing surface at least partially define the collection chamber.

6 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein the collection chamber has a liquid volume capacity of 16 ounces.

7 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein the collection tray is made from a dishwasher-safe material.

8 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein a user-facing surface of the handle is configured to be flush with a user interface of the housing when the collection chamber is fully inserted into the slot.

9 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein an underside of the handle comprises one or more ribs for adding structural integrity between the handle and the collection chamber.

10 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein the slot is defined between at least one rail and a top surface of the housing.

11 . A method of using a drink maker, the drink maker comprising a housing, a mixing vessel, an evaporator configured to be received within the mixing vessel when the mixing vessel is coupled to the housing, and a collection tray comprising a handle and a collection chamber for receiving liquid from an external surface of the mixing vessel, the method comprising:

before the mixing vessel is coupled to the housing, inserting the collection tray into a slot in the housing adjacent the evaporator, the slot being external to the mixing vessel when the mixing vessel is coupled to the housing;

after the collection tray is inserted into the slot, coupling the mixing vessel to the housing, the collection chamber of the collection tray being external to and directly below the mixing vessel when the mixing vessel is coupled to the housing; and

receiving the liquid in the collection chamber from the external surface of the mixing vessel.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising, before removing the collection tray from the housing, removing the mixing vessel from the housing, wherein removing the mixing vessel from the housing comprises removing the mixing vessel and an attached dispenser assembly from the housing.

13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising, after the mixing vessel is removed from the housing, removing the collection tray, wherein removing the collection tray from the housing comprises pulling the handle toward a user.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein pulling the handle toward the user comprises sliding the collection tray along the slot in the housing toward the user.

15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising fully disengaging the collection tray from the slot in the housing.

16 . The drink maker of claim 11 , wherein the liquid received from the external surface of the mixing vessel travels from at least one side of the mixing vessel, through a channel formed between the external surface of the mixing vessel and the housing, and into the collection chamber.

17 . The drink maker of claim 16 , wherein the collection chamber has a curved bottom surface, wherein the slot is formed at least partly by a curved upper surface of the housing, and wherein a shape of the curved bottom surface of the collection chamber at least partially corresponds to a shape of the curved upper surface of the housing.

18 . The drink maker of claim 17 , wherein the collection chamber is vertically spaced from a bottom of the housing when inserted into the slot.

19 . The drink maker of claim 18 , wherein the handle and an evaporator-facing surface at least partially define the collection chamber.

20 . The drink maker of claim 19 , wherein the collection tray is made from a dishwasher-safe material.

21 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein the collection chamber has a curved bottom surface, wherein the slot is formed at least partly by a curved upper surface of the housing, and wherein a shape of the curved bottom surface of the collection chamber at least partially corresponds to a shape of the curved upper surface of the housing.

22 . The drink maker of claim 1 , wherein a curvature of a user-facing surface of the handle is configured to correspond to a curvature of a user-facing front edge of the mixing vessel.

23 . The drink maker of claim 1 , further comprising:

a dispenser assembly configured to dispense product from the mixing vessel; and

a drip tray configured to collect product from the dispenser assembly when a receiving vessel is not present to receive the product.

24 . The drink maker of claim 23 , wherein the collection tray is spaced horizontally from an output of the dispenser assembly.

25 . The drink maker of claim 1 , further comprising a compressor, wherein the compressor is positioned in an area of the housing below the collection tray.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (400)