A control method for an ice cream machine

Abstract

The application discloses a control method for an ice cream machine. When the ice cream machine is working, the ice cream machine enters a working state and controls the motor to drive the upper machine body to move from a first position to a second position according to a pressure value F and a weight value G, at least performs a descending whipping stroke and an ascending mixing stroke once, and the cutter head not only whips the ice cream material in a cup, but also reversely mixes after ascending after the whipping, so that the whipped ice cream material is fully mixed with air in the mixing process, the air saturation of the ice cream material is improved, and the taste of the ice cream is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a control method for an ice cream machine. Background Technology

[0002] The prior art, disclosed in publication number CN216674577U, discloses a micro-purifier comprising a housing, a platform, a position motor, and a drive motor. The platform is movably positioned within the housing between a first position and a second position. The position motor is mounted on the housing and coupled to the platform, allowing the position motor to move the platform between the first and second positions. The drive motor is used to rotate a power shaft relative to the platform. The drive motor is mounted on the platform such that the drive motor and the power shaft move together with the platform between the first and second positions in response to the position motor.

[0003] Based on the above, in the prior art, the platform is moved up and down by a position motor. The purpose of the platform movement is to drive the cutter head downward to churn the ice cream material located in the bowl assembly. However, in the prior art, the cutter head moves directly from the first position to the second position under the drive of the position motor during operation. This results in the ice cream material not being fully mixed after churning, and the air saturation of the churned ice cream material is uneven, resulting in a poor taste of the churned ice cream. At the same time, the motor moves directly from the first position to the second position, and the motor churns downward without any release or buffering, which can easily lead to motor damage.

[0004] Furthermore, in the existing technology, it is impossible to control the movement and rotation of the blade head according to the weight of the ice cream ingredients. As a result, the blade head still runs at the machine's preset speed under different weights of ingredients, which results in slow mixing efficiency and needs further improvement.

[0005] Meanwhile, in existing technologies, a position motor drives the platform to move up and down, while a drive motor drives the power shaft to rotate the cutter head. This drive method uses two drive sources, resulting in high production and maintenance costs. Furthermore, under the drive of the position motor, the platform moves the power shaft up or down. During this process, the power shaft moves from inside the housing to the outside to agitate the material, and then returns to the housing. This movement causes material remaining on the power shaft during agitation to move into the housing, easily leading to bacterial growth and foul odors. Additionally, with this structure, the cutter shaft is located inside the housing when the machine is off, making cleaning difficult. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, this invention proposes an ice cream machine control method that employs lifting and stirring mixing to improve the air saturation of ice cream ingredients through stirring and mixing.

[0007] A control method for an ice cream machine designed for this purpose, the ice cream machine including a lower body and an upper body, the upper body being movable relative to the lower body, an installation area for mounting a container being provided between the lower body and the upper body, a cutter shaft being rotatably mounted on the upper body above the installation area, and a cutter head being provided at the lower end of the cutter shaft;

[0008] The ice cream machine is equipped with a screw lifting mechanism for driving the upper body to move up and down relative to the lower body;

[0009] The upper body is equipped with a motor, which has a first output shaft and a second output shaft. The first output shaft is connected to the cutter shaft, and the second output shaft is connected to the lead screw lifting mechanism.

[0010] The lower body is provided with a weighing module for contacting the container. The weighing module is used to sense the weight of the container and output the weight value as G.

[0011] A cup lid that can be slidably placed on the cutter shaft is provided, and a pressure spring is sleeved on the cutter shaft. The upper end of the pressure spring is connected to the upper body. A pressure sensor that fits against the pressure spring is provided on the upper body above the pressure spring. The lower end of the pressure spring can fit against the upper surface of the cup lid and transmit pressure to the detection end of the pressure sensor in real time. The pressure sensor is used to detect the real-time pressure of the pressure spring and outputs a pressure value of F.

[0012] The control method of the ice cream machine includes: the ice cream machine entering the working state and controlling the motor to move the upper body from a first position to a second position according to the pressure value F and the weight value G, wherein the movement of the upper body from the first position to the second position includes at least one downward churning stroke and one upward mixing stroke.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the ice cream machine of this invention performs at least one downward churning stroke and one upward mixing stroke during operation. The blade not only churns the ice cream material in the container, but also rises and reverses to mix after churning. During this mixing process, the churned ice cream material can be fully mixed with air to increase the air saturation of the ice cream material and improve the taste of the ice cream.

[0014] This invention employs a dual-axis motor to simultaneously drive both the cutter shaft and the lead screw lifting mechanism, achieving single-motor drive. This reduces production costs and lowers replacement costs when components fail during future maintenance. Furthermore, the movable upper body ensures the cutter shaft remains exposed, facilitating the cleaning of residue and preventing bacterial growth and material buildup that could cause unpleasant odors. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the upper body in its first position.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of the upper body in the first position;

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the upper body in the second position.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper body in the second position.

[0019] Figure 5 This is one of the partial structural schematic diagrams of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 6 This is a second partial structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 7 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the planar structure of the cutter head in this invention;

[0022] Figure 8 This is a second schematic diagram of the planar structure of the cutter head in this invention;

[0023] Figure 9 This is a graph showing the movement trend of the upper body between the first and second positions;

[0024] Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating the operating principle of ice cream making. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0026] See Figures 1-9 A control method for an ice cream machine, the ice cream machine including a lower body 10 and an upper body 20, the upper body 20 being movable relative to the lower body 10, an installation area 100 for installing a container 50 being provided between the lower body 10 and the upper body 20, a blade shaft 30 being rotatably provided on the upper body 20 above the installation area 100, and a blade head 40 being provided at the lower end of the blade shaft 30;

[0027] The ice cream machine is equipped with a screw lifting mechanism 80 for driving the upper body 20 to move up and down relative to the lower body 10. The screw lifting mechanism 80 includes a screw 801 fixedly installed in the lower body 10, the screw 801 extending upward into the upper body 20, and a screw nut 810 rotatably installed in the upper body 20. The screw nut 810 is threadedly connected to the screw 801, and the second output shaft 620 is drivenly connected to the screw nut 810.

[0028] The upper body 20 is equipped with a motor 60, which has a first output shaft 610 and a second output shaft 620. The first output shaft 610 is connected to the cutter shaft 30, and the second output shaft 620 is connected to the lead screw nut 810.

[0029] The motor 60 is used to drive the upper body 20 to move relative to the lower body 10 between a first position and a second position and to drive the cutter shaft 30 to rotate in the forward or reverse direction.

[0030] The ice cream machine is equipped with a first micro switch 710 and a second micro switch 720. When the upper body 20 is in the first position, it is in contact with the first micro switch 710, and when the upper body 20 is in the second position, it is in contact with the second micro switch 720.

[0031] The lower body 10 is provided with a weighing module 530 for contacting the container 50. The weighing module 530 is used to sense the weight of the container 50 and output the weight value as G.

[0032] The cutter shaft 30 is provided with a cup lid 310 that can cover the container 50. A pressure spring 90 is sleeved on the cutter shaft 30. The upper end of the pressure spring 90 is connected to the upper body 20. A pressure sensor 910 is provided on the upper body 20 above the pressure spring 90, which is in contact with the pressure spring 90. The lower end of the pressure spring 90 can be in contact with the upper surface of the cup lid 310 and transmit pressure to the detection end of the pressure sensor 910 in real time. The pressure sensor 910 is used to detect the real-time pressure of the pressure spring 90 and outputs a pressure value of F.

[0033] The control method of the ice cream machine includes: the ice cream machine entering the working state and controlling the motor 60 to drive the upper body 20 from the first position to the second position according to the pressure value F and the weight value G, wherein the movement of the upper body 20 from the first position to the second position includes at least one downward churning stroke and one upward mixing stroke.

[0034] Based on the above embodiments, during the descending agitation stroke, the upper body 20 moves downward relative to the lower body 10 and the cutter shaft 30 rotates in the first direction; during the ascending mixing stroke, the upper body 20 moves upward relative to the lower body 10 and the cutter shaft 30 rotates in the second direction.

[0035] Based on the above embodiments, during the descent agitation stroke, the rotational speed of the cutter shaft 30 is V1=K1*F, the descent speed of the upper body 20 is V2=X*V1, and the descent time is T1;

[0036] During the upward mixed stroke, the rotational speed of the cutter shaft 30 is V3=K2*F, the upward speed of the upper body 20 is V4=X*V3, and the upward time is T2;

[0037] Where K1 is the forward rotation coefficient, K2 is the reverse rotation coefficient, X is the movement coefficient, and F is the pressure value, both K1 and K2 are inversely proportional to G. This inverse proportional setting ensures that the larger the weight value G, the smaller the K value. In other words, the heavier the ice in the 50-liter container, the slower the rotation and descent speed of the blade shaft. This allows for intelligent churning and descent based on the weight of the ice, improving the texture of the ice cream while effectively protecting the motor.

[0038] See Figure 10 The working process of the ice cream machine;

[0039] S1. The motor 60 drives the upper body 20 to perform the first stage of descending and stirring stroke;

[0040] During the first downward stirring stroke, the upper body 20 moves downward relative to the lower body 10 and the cutter shaft 30 rotates in the first direction. During this rotation, the ice-shaving blade of the cutter head 40 comes into contact with the ice material and grinds the ice material.

[0041] S2. After completing the first downward stirring stroke, execute the upward mixing stroke;

[0042] During the upward mixing stroke, the upper body 20 moves upward relative to the lower body 10 and the cutter shaft 30 rotates in the second direction. During this rotation, the cutter head 40 moves upward and the mixing blade breaks up the ice material that has been shaved off, so that the ice material is fully mixed with the air in the container.

[0043] S3. After completing the upward mixing stroke, execute the second downward stirring stroke;

[0044] During the second downward stirring stroke, the upper body 20 moves downward relative to the lower body 10 and the cutter shaft 30 rotates in the first direction. During this rotation, the ice-shaving blade of the cutter head 40 comes into contact with the ice material and grinds the ice material.

[0045] S4. Repeat steps S1 to S3 until the machine body 20 moves to the second position. Then, control the motor 60 to drive the upper machine body 20 from the second position to the first position and rotate the cutter shaft 30 in the second direction to mix the ice again, thus completing the operation.

[0046] In this invention, the first output shaft 610 is connected to the cutter shaft 30 by a belt 630, and the second output shaft 620 is connected to the lead screw nut 810 by a planetary gear set 640.

[0047] Furthermore, X is set to 0.03 to ensure that the moving speed of the upper body is slower than the rotation speed of the cutter shaft, so that the cutter head moves slowly during high-speed shaving to achieve thorough ice shaving.

[0048] See Figure 6 An installation shell 800 is fixedly installed inside the upper body 20. The lead screw nut 810 is rotatably disposed inside the installation shell 800. The installation shell 800 can be assembled into the upper body 20 by screws.

[0049] See Figure 2 A guide column 110 is provided inside the lower body 10, and the upper body 20 is slidably connected to the guide column 110. When the upper body 20 is raised or lowered, it moves relative to the guide column 110.

[0050] In this invention, the cutter shaft 30 and the cutter head 40 are magnetically connected.

[0051] See Figure 2 and Figure 7 The lower end of the cutter shaft 30 is provided with a coupling cavity 301, and the cutter head 40 is provided with a coupling part 420. The coupling part 420 is inserted into the coupling cavity 301, and a magnetic attracting member 300 is provided in the coupling cavity 301 that is magnetically attracted to the coupling part 420.

[0052] See Figure 8 The cutter head 40 includes a cutter disc 400, and the coupling part 420 is disposed on the cutter disc 400. The cutter disc 400 is arranged with a plurality of blades 410 along its circumference. Each blade 410 is provided with an ice shaving blade 44 and a mixed blade 430, and the ice shaving blade 44 and the mixed blade 430 are arranged on opposite sides of each other.

[0053] During the descent of the blade 40, the blade 40 rotates clockwise, and through the shaving blade 44, it grinds and shaves the ice cream material in the container 50, so as to grind the upper surface of the ice block into fine ice pieces. When the blade 40 rises and reverses, the mixing blade 430 comes into contact with the ice pieces. During this process, the mixing blade 430 can effectively break up the ground ice pieces, so that the ice pieces are fully mixed with the air in the container, making the ice pieces more dense and improving the texture of the ice cream.

[0054] The installation area 100 is equipped with a third micro switch 520 and a fourth micro switch 510 for detecting the container 50.

[0055] The contents not described in detail in this specification are existing technologies known to those skilled in the art.

[0056] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention. The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated.

[0057] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention as claimed. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A control method for an ice cream machine, characterized in that: The ice cream machine includes a lower body (10) and an upper body (20). The upper body (20) is movable relative to the lower body (10). An installation area (100) for installing a container (50) is provided between the lower body (10) and the upper body (20). A blade shaft (30) is rotatably installed on the upper body (20) above the installation area (100). A blade head (40) is provided at the lower end of the blade shaft (30). The ice cream machine is equipped with a screw lifting mechanism (80) for driving the upper body (20) to move up and down relative to the lower body (10). The upper body (20) is equipped with a motor (60), the motor (60) is equipped with a first output shaft (610) and a second output shaft (620), the first output shaft (610) is connected to the cutter shaft (30) in a transmission connection, and the second output shaft (620) is connected to the lead screw lifting mechanism (80) in a transmission connection. The lower body (10) is provided with a weighing module (530) for contacting the container (50). The weighing module (530) is used to sense the weight of the container (50) and output the weight value as G. The cutter shaft (30) is provided with a cup lid (310) that can be placed on the container (50). A pressure spring (90) is sleeved on the cutter shaft (30). The upper end of the pressure spring (90) is connected to the upper body (20). A pressure sensor (910) that fits against the pressure spring (90) is provided on the upper body (20) above the pressure spring (90). The lower end of the pressure spring (90) can fit against the upper surface of the cup lid (310) and transmit pressure to the detection end of the pressure sensor (910) in real time. The pressure sensor (910) is used to detect the real-time pressure of the pressure spring (90) and outputs a pressure value of F. The control method of the ice cream machine includes: the ice cream machine enters the working state and controls the motor (60) to drive the upper body (20) to move from the first position to the second position according to the pressure value F and the weight value G. The movement of the upper body (20) from the first position to the second position includes at least one downward stirring stroke and one upward mixing stroke. During the descent and agitation stroke, the rotation speed of the cutter shaft (30) is V1=K1*F, the descent speed of the upper body (20) is V2=X*V1, and the descent time is T1; During the upward mixed stroke, the rotation speed of the cutter shaft (30) is V3=K2*F, the upward speed of the upper body (20) is V4=X*V3, and the upward time is T2; Where K1 is the forward rotation coefficient, K2 is the reverse rotation coefficient, X is the movement coefficient, and F is the pressure value. Both K1 and K2 are inversely proportional to G.

2. The control method for an ice cream machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: During the downward agitation stroke, the upper body (20) moves downward relative to the lower body (10) and the cutter shaft (30) rotates in the first direction; During the upward mixed stroke, the upper body (20) moves upward relative to the lower body (10) and the cutter shaft (30) rotates in the second direction.

3. The control method for an ice cream machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cutter shaft (30) is magnetically connected to the cutter head (40).

4. The control method for an ice cream machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The lower end of the cutter shaft (30) is provided with a coupling cavity (301), and the cutter head (40) is provided with a coupling part (420). The coupling part (420) is inserted into the coupling cavity (301), and a magnetic attractor (300) is provided in the coupling cavity (301) that magnetically attracts the coupling part (420).

5. A control method for an ice cream machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cutter head (40) includes a cutter disc (400), and the coupling part (420) is disposed on the cutter disc (400). The cutter disc (400) is arranged with a plurality of blades (410) along its circumference. Each blade (410) is provided with an ice shaving blade (440) and a mixed blade (430), and the ice shaving blade (440) and the mixed blade (430) are arranged on opposite sides of each other.

6. A control method for an ice cream machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The installation area (100) is provided with a third micro switch (520) and a fourth micro switch (510) for detecting the container (50).

7. A control method for an ice cream machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The lead screw lifting mechanism (80) includes a lead screw (801) fixedly installed in the lower body (10), the lead screw (801) extending upward into the upper body (20), and a lead screw nut (810) rotatably installed in the upper body (20). The lead screw nut (810) is threadedly connected to the lead screw (801), and the second output shaft (620) is drivenly connected to the lead screw nut (810).

8. A control method for an ice cream machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The ice cream machine is equipped with a first micro switch (710) and a second micro switch (720). When the upper body (20) is in the first position, it is in contact with the first micro switch (710). When the upper body (20) is in the second position, it is in contact with the second micro switch (720).

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