US 12,108,913 B2
Coffee grinder
Jeremy Kuempel, Brisbane, CA (US); and Jake Miller, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to Fellow Industries, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Appl. No. 17/782,961
Filed by Fellow Industries, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
PCT Filed Dec. 6, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/063520
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 6, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/113790, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 10, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/945,054, filed on Dec. 6, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0017935 A1, Jan. 19, 2023
Int. Cl. A47J 42/42 (2006.01); A47J 42/16 (2006.01); A47J 42/40 (2006.01); A47J 42/44 (2006.01); A47J 42/46 (2006.01); A47J 42/56 (2006.01)
CPC A47J 42/42 (2013.01) [A47J 42/44 (2013.01); A47J 42/46 (2013.01); A47J 42/56 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus, comprising: a housing configured to receive coffee beans; a grinding component located within the housing and configured to grind the coffee beans received in the housing into coffee grounds; a removable container located beneath the grinding component and configured to receive the coffee grounds dispensed from the grinding component, wherein the removable container includes one or more sides, a bottom, and a first magnetic component, and wherein the first magnetic component is embedded within the removable container beneath a bottom outer surface of the removable container that is substantially flat in all directions; and a base located beneath the grinding component and configured to support the removable container at an upper surface thereof, wherein the base includes a second magnetic component that is configured to interact with the first magnetic component to align automatically the removable container with respect to a dispensing region when the removable container is placed atop the base, wherein the upper surface of the base is substantially flat in all directions, wherein the second magnetic component is embedded within the base beneath its substantially flat upper surface, and wherein the removable container and the base define geometries that facilitate the ability of the removable container to slide across the flat upper surface of the base horizontally in all directions.
 
18. An apparatus, comprising: a housing configured to receive coffee beans; a grinding component located within the housing and configured to grind the coffee beans received in the housing into coffee grounds; a removable container located beneath the grinding component and configured to receive the coffee grounds dispensed from the grinding component, wherein the removable container includes one or more sides, a bottom, and a first magnetic component; a base located beneath the grinding component and configured to support the removable container at an upper surface thereof, wherein the base includes a second magnetic component that is configured to interact with the first magnetic component to align automatically the removable container with respect to a dispensing region when the removable container is placed atop the base; an auger configured to rotationally drive the grinding component, wherein the auger includes an outer thread that forces the coffee beans through the grinds chamber when the auger rotates; and a grinds chamber housing around at least a portion of the grinds chamber, wherein the grinds chamber housing includes a protective shoulder that covers a lead-in portion of the outer thread such that the coffee beans do not contact the lead-in portion during a grinding process.
 
19. A coffee grinder, comprising: a grinding component configured to grind coffee beans received therein into coffee grounds; a removable container located beneath the grinding component and configured to receive the coffee grounds dispensed from the grinding component, wherein the removable container includes one or more sides, a bottom having a bottom outer surface that is substantially flat in all directions, and a first magnetic component embedded within the removable container at the bottom surface; and a base located beneath and spaced apart from the grinding component and configured to support the removable container at an upper surface thereof that is substantially flat in all directions, wherein the base includes a second magnetic component embedded within the base beneath the upper surface, wherein the removable container and the base define geometries that facilitate the ability of the removable container to slide across the flat upper surface of the base horizontally in all directions, and wherein the second magnetic component is configured to interact with the first magnetic component to align automatically the removable container with respect to a dispensing region when the removable container is placed atop the base.