[DESCRIPTION] [Invention Title]

FONDUE APPARATUS [Technical Field]

The present invention relates to a fondue apparatus wherein viscous fluid like chocolate or cheese is made to flow like a waterfall into which fresh fruit or bread is dipped before eating. [Background Art]

The conventional fondue apparatuses have been proposed as disclosed in the patent publications like CN2888887Y, US2006081720A1 , US2007007273A1, and US2007204910A1.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, a conventional fondue apparatus comprises; a container (100) in which a motor (300) is installed, a lower cup dish (200) that is installed at the top of the container (100), a screw (500) that is connected to the rotating shaft (310) of the motor (300), a screw case (410) that encases the screw (500), a plurality of cap dishes (430) (440) that are installed at the circumference of the screw case (410), and an upper cup dish (420) installed at the upper end of the screw case (410).

A hub (510) into which the motor shaft (310) is inserted has been formed at the lower end of the screw (500).

The connecting projections (201) that are engaged into the bracket

(450) formed at the lower end of the screw case (410) are provided in the lower cup dish (200).

In the conventional fondue apparatus comprising as described above, the fluid that is contained in the lower cup dish (200) is lifted up from the lower end (510) to the upper end (520) of the screw (500) via rotation of the screw (500). As the fluid is getting stored temporarily in the upper cup dish (420) and becomes full, it overflows and cascades down like a waterfall along the cap dishes (430) (440). As this process is repeated, the waterfall continues.

Fresh fruits are dipped into the waterfall that flows as previously described before eating.

However, as the motor shaft (310) protrudes a little above the bottom of the lower cup dish (200), the motor shaft (310) becomes immersed in the fluid (11).

Therefore, a retainer for sealing is used to prevent the fluid in the lower cup dish (200) from getting leaked into the motor (300) side. However, after long use or even with a minor mistake after disassembly and assembly of the apparatus for cleaning, the sealing becomes ineffective, causing often some strange materials getting into the motor (300) and thus resulting in the motor damage.

Further, there is a risk that the screw (500) is wobbling as it rotates and is lifted upward to come out of its position because the upper end (520) of the screw (500) is free end and not stable enough. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem]

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a fondue apparatus that prevents the motor from getting damaged through a secured sealing without the use of the retainer. [Technical Solution]

The above object can be accomplished by a fondue apparatus as described in claim 1 of the present invention comprising: a lower cup dish with a through-hole in the center; a pipe which is installed to be connected through said through-hole and through which a drive shaft transferring the rotation power of the motor runs; a screw that is connected to said drive shaft which protrudes through the upper end of said pipe; a screw case that is connected by means of threads to said pipe and encases said screw, wherein a feature is that the upper end of said pipe is located above the maximum level of the fluid that is contained in the said lower cup dish.

According to this configuration, the leak of the fluid to the motor

side can be completely prevented because the upper end of the pipe is located above the maximum fluid level of the lower cup dish.

A fondue apparatus as described in claim 2 of the present invention comprises: an upper cup dish that is installed at the top of said screw case! cap dishes that are installed between said upper cup dish and said lower cup dish; a support member that is added to support the upper end of said screw. Said support member consists of a bearing that supports the upper end of said screw, and a support piece that supports said bearing to said upper cup dish.

According to this configuration, the screw is supported at both ends and thus can rotate stably. [Advantageous Effects]

In accordance with the fondue apparatus of the present invention, the leak of the fluid to the motor side can be completely prevented because the upper end of the pipe that guides the drive shaft is located above the maximum level of the fluid that is contained in the lower cup dish.

Further, the assembly and disassembly of the screw case is very convenient because the screw case is connected to the pipe by means of threads.

In addition, the stable rotation of the screw can be realized because both ends of the screw are supported as a bearing supports the upper end of the screw. [Description of Drawings]

FIG. 1 is a brief cross-sectional view of a fondue apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of major connection areas of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lower cup dish and the pipe in a disassembled state.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lower cup dish, the pipe and the drive shaft in an assembled state.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional fondue apparatus in a

disassembled state.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 in an assembled state. description of the reference numerals of main parts in the drawings>

1: fondue apparatus 3: driving part

5: operating part 11: fluid

20: lower cup dish 21: through-hole

25: upper cup dish 30: screw

31: hollow screw 33: tapered guide groove

35: connecting projection 40: cap dish

50: Screw case 60: drive shaft

61: connecting groove 70: pipe

71: hollow disc 73: connecting part

75a: external threads 75b: internal threads

80: support member 81: bearing

83: support piece 100: container

300: motor 310: motor shaft [Mode for Invention]

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are given for the same parts as in the conventional art and the detailed explanation for those parts is to be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a brief cross-sectional view of a fondue apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention while FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of major connection areas of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lower cup dish and the pipe in a disassembled state, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lower cup dish, the pipe and the drive shaft in an assembled state.

As shown in FIG.l through FIG. 4, the fondue apparatus (1) of this embodiment comprises largely a driving part (3) and an operating part (5).

The driving part (3) includes a container (100) and a motor (300) that

is installed inside the container (100). Further, a heater (not shown) is installed inside the container (100) to heat up after-mentioned lower cup dish (20), which is good in case the fluid needs to be prevented from getting solidified.

The operating part (5) includes first of all a lower cup dish (20) that is installed at the top of the container (100).

The lower cup dish (20) is a cup-shaped dish and functions as a main bowl that can contains the fluid (11).

The fluid that is contained in the lower cup dish (20) is moved upward along with the screw (30).

A through-hole (21) has been formed in the center of the lower cup dish (20), as shown in FIG. 3.

The rotating shaft (310) of the motor (300) comes out through the through-hole (21).

Furthermore, a pipe (70) is extended or separately installed at the through-hole (21).

Therefore, the pipe (70) encases the rotating shaft (310) and protrudes upward to be connected through the through-hole (21).

The upper end (77) of the pipe (70) is located above the maximum level of the fluid (11). Presuming that the fluid (11) stays within the maximum level, it is good to place the upper end (77) of the pipe (70) practically at the same level as or a little higher than the upper end (23) of the lower cup dish (20).

This configuration of the pipe (70) fundamentally blocks out the penetration of the fluid (11) to the motor (300) side and thus improves the durability of the motor by preventing the motor damage.

The pipe (70) is configured to be inserted into the screw (30). In other words, a hollow screw (31) has been formed at the bottom part of the screw (30) .

The screw (30) is joined to the drive shaft (60) that is connected to the motor shaft (310)).

The upper end of the drive shaft (60) protrudes above the upper end (77) of the pipe (70) when joined, as shown in FIG. 4.

Because the motor shaft (310) is short in length, it is joined to a separate drive shaft (60) to transfer the rotation power to the screw (30). Of course, only one shaft will be required for both motor shaft and drive shaft in case the motor shaft (310) is made longer. It is self-evident that the drive shaft in this embodiment and the accompanying claims includes both a single shaft and two joined shafts.

A connecting groove (61) has been formed at the upper end of the drive shaft (60), and a connecting projection (35) has been formed on the screw (30). Furthermore, the motor shaft (310) and drive shaft (60) can be joined together in one of usual ways; key-in, press-in, etc.

Therefore, the connecting projection (35) is inserted into the connecting groove to be joined each other (61) as the screw (30) is pushed down from the top.

At this time, it is desirable to form a tapered guide groove (33) in a trapezoidal shape so that the connecting projection (35) is well guided into the connecting groove (61).

On the other hand, a screw case (50) is installed on the circumferential surface of the screw (30).

Additionally, it is desirable to connect the screw case (50) to the pipe (70) by means of threads.

In other words, the internal threads (75b) of the screw case (50) are engaged with the external threads (75a) of the pipe (70).

It is desirable to form the external threads (75a) on the side of the hollow disc (71) that has been formed at the bottom of the pipe (70) and has almost the same diameter as for the screw case (50).

The hollow disc (71) has a connecting part (73) at the lower part that is built onto or fixed by welding to the through-hole (21) and has the external threads (75a) formed on the upper part.

In this way, the assembly and disassembly of the screw case (50) is

very convenient because the screw case (50) is connected to the hollow disc (71) of the pipe (70) by means of threads.

Also it is desirable to have the upper cup dish (25) mounted on the upper end of the screw case (50).

The upper cup dish (25) functions as an ancillary bowl that holds temporarily the fluid (11) lifted along the screw (30).

Furthermore, it is desirable to mount cap dishes (40) between the lower cup dish (20) and the upper cup dish (25).

The cap dish (40) is of a turned-over cup dish shape and functions not as for holding the fluid (11) but as for diverting the fluid like a waterfall .

It is good to arrange the cap dishes (40) from the top to the bottom in the order of smaller diameter (41) to larger diameter (43).

The number and sizes of the cap dishes (40) can be different depending on the type and size of fondue.

On the other hand, it is desirable to add a support member (80) that supports and enables the upper end (37) of the screw (30) to rotate.

The supporting member (80) consists of a bearing (81) that is joined at the upper end of the screw, and a support piece (83) that supports the bearing (81) to the upper cup dish (25).

It is desirable to make the support piece in band shape or net type so that the fluid (11) in the upper cup dish (25) can flow over.

Therefore, the screw (30) is of a structure that is supported at both ends and is able to rotate stably.

Although the present invention herein has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made to the above described embodiments, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. [Industrial Applicability]

The present invention can be applied to a transfer apparatus that

lifts up fluid by means of screw as well as a fondue apparatus.