Kitchen appliance with a safety interlock

A kitchen appliance with a safety interlock for processing foodstuff comprising:

• a housing including a motor therein, the motor including a motor shaft that rotatably drives a drive shaft, the drive shaft extending from the housing along a drive axis, a drive pin comprising at least a portion of the drive shaft, the drive pin being movable along the drive axis between a retracted position and an extended position;
• a switch positioned in the housing, the switch being in an operative relationship with the motor;
• a bowl including a mouth, the bowl being removably mountable to the housing such that the drive shaft extends into the bowl in a working position;
• a bowl lid removably mountable over the mouth of the bowl when the bowl is in the working position, the bowl lid including a feed tube with a feed mouth, the feed tube extending from a top bowl lid wall, a lid shaft being movably mounted to the feed tube, the lid shaft being movable between an operative position and a safety position;
• and
• a feed tube lid movably mounted to the feed tube adjacent the feed mouth, the feed tube lid including a tab extending therefrom, the feed tube lid covering at least a portion of the feed tube mouth in a closed position, the tab urging the lid shaft into an operative position and the lid shaft urging the drive pin into the retracted position to close the switch and enable electric power to flow to the motor when the feed tube lid is in the closed position and the bowl and bowl lid are in the working position.

A safety interlock for a kitchen appliance that renders the kitchen appliance inoperative when the safety interlock is in an open position, the safety interlock comprising:

• an electric motor mounted within a housing of the kitchen appliance;
• a switch mounted within the housing, power being able to be provided to the motor when the switch is closed;
• a drive shaft driven by the motor and extending from the housing along a drive axis, the drive shaft including a drive sleeve and a drive pin, the drive pin being movably mounted to the drive sleeve, the drive pin being movable along the drive axis between an extended position and a retracted position, the switch being closed when the drive pin is in the retracted position;
• a bowl removably mountable to the housing;
• and
• a bowl lid removably mountable over a mouth of the bowl, the bowl lid including a lid shaft, the lid shaft contacting the drive pin and moving the drive pin to the retracted position when the lid shaft is in an operative position and the bowl and bowl lid are in a working position.

A kitchen appliance with a safety interlock for processing foodstuff comprising:

• a housing;
• a motor mounted within the housing, the motor including a drive shaft that extends out of the housing, at least one portion of the drive shaft being movable along a drive axis;
• a switch mounted in the housing;
• a bowl removably mountable to the housing such that the drive shaft extends into the bowl in a working position;
• and
• a lid removably mountable over a mouth of the bowl, a lid shaft actuating the at least one portion of the drive shaft to close the switch such that power is able to be provided to the motor when the bowl is in the working position and the lid is mounted over the bowl.