Ice cream machine
By integrating hot and cold airflows into the popsicle machine using vortex tube technology, the energy for heating and cooling during the popsicle making process is self-coordinated, solving the problems of energy waste and equipment complexity in traditional popsicle machines, improving energy utilization efficiency and reducing operating costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- NINGBO FOTILE KITCHEN WARE CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-06-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-10
AI Technical Summary
Traditional popsicle machines rely on compressors or liquid nitrogen for refrigeration, which has low energy efficiency, high operating costs, and the waste heat generated during the refrigeration process is not effectively utilized. The equipment is also complex and occupies a large space.
Employing vortex tube technology, it generates both hot and cold airflows through a single vortex tube unit, integrating cooling and heating functions. The hot and cold airflows generated by the vortex tube are used to solidify the ice pop liquid and heat the food, respectively, replacing traditional independent refrigeration and heating equipment.
It significantly improves energy utilization efficiency, simplifies equipment structure, reduces equipment components and floor space, lowers operating costs, and solves the problems of energy waste and environmental heat load associated with traditional popsicle machines.
Smart Images
Figure CN224473942U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of popsicle machine technology, and in particular to a popsicle machine with high energy utilization efficiency. Background Technology
[0002] Traditional popsicles are made using compressors or liquid nitrogen refrigeration, which is relatively resource-intensive. Specifically, traditional methods rely on compressors (consuming large amounts of electricity) or liquid nitrogen (requiring specialized production, storage, and transportation, resulting in high costs and being a consumable resource). Both methods inherently require a significant external energy input (electricity or the purchase of liquid nitrogen) for refrigeration, leading to relatively low energy efficiency and high operating costs. Traditional compressor refrigeration systems inevitably generate a large amount of waste heat during the refrigeration process, which is usually directly released into the environment, not only wasting energy (failing to recover and utilize it) but also exacerbating the environmental heat load during hot seasons. On the other hand, existing technologies focus on the single "refrigeration" stage (freezing the popsicle liquid) while neglecting the "heating" requirement (cooking the raw materials into the popsicle liquid) that exists simultaneously during the production process. This necessitates additional independent heating equipment (such as electric heaters or gas stoves), further increasing equipment complexity, space occupation, and energy consumption (electricity or fossil fuels).
[0003] Therefore, existing popsicle machines still need further improvement. Utility Model Content
[0004] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide an ice pop machine that is simple in equipment, occupies little space, and has high energy utilization rate, in light of the current state of the technology.
[0005] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is: an ice pop machine, comprising:
[0006] The vortex tube heating unit has both a hot air outlet and a cold air outlet.
[0007] The cooking and heating module includes a pot and a base. The base is provided with a hot air inlet, which is connected to the hot air outlet of the vortex tube heating unit. It is used to introduce hot air into the bottom of the pot to heat the ingredients for making popsicle liquid.
[0008] The cooling module includes an ice pop tray for holding ice pop molds and a cold air delivery pipeline. The cold air delivery pipeline connects the cold air outlet of the vortex tube to the inside of the ice pop tray and is used to inject cold air into the ice pop tray to solidify the ice pop liquid in the ice pop mold.
[0009] As an improvement, the vortex tube heating unit includes:
[0010] An air compressor is used to compress air.
[0011] The air handling unit is connected to the air compressor outlet and is used to filter, dry, and stabilize the pressure of compressed air.
[0012] The vortex tube, whose inlet is connected to the outlet of the air handling unit via an air pipe, is used to separate the input compressed air into cold and hot air streams. The aforementioned air handling unit ensures that the input gas is dry, clean, and at stable pressure, optimizing the separation efficiency of cold and hot air streams. Furthermore, it reduces the corrosion and clogging of the vortex tube and piping by moisture and impurities, extending the equipment's lifespan.
[0013] As an improvement, the air handling unit includes an air filter drying tank and a pressure stabilizing tank connected in sequence. The air filter drying tank contains a polypropylene (PP) cotton layer, a compressed activated carbon layer, and a desiccant layer. The pressure stabilizing tank buffers and stabilizes the output compressed air pressure. This structure enables graded processing: the PP cotton layer filters particulate impurities, the activated carbon layer adsorbs oil mist and odors, and the desiccant layer removes moisture. Furthermore, it stabilizes the air supply, and the pressure stabilizing tank buffers pressure fluctuations, ensuring the stability of the vortex tube operation.
[0014] As an improvement, the cookware is also equipped with a high-level sensor and a low-level sensor for automatically controlling the amount of pure water entering the pot. The cookware is also equipped with a pure water inlet and a drain valve. The high-level sensor can stop adding water to prevent overflow, and the low-level sensor can trigger water addition to prevent dry burning. In addition, it can also quickly perform cleaning, and the drain valve facilitates the emptying of wastewater.
[0015] As an improvement, the cookware includes a pot body and a lid that covers the pot body. A magnetic induction safety device is also provided at the joint between the lid and the pot body to automatically stop the mixer when the lid is opened. The magnetic induction device cuts off the mixer's power supply the instant the lid is opened, preventing personnel from contacting the rotating impeller and protecting personal safety.
[0016] As an improvement, the cooking heating module also includes a mixer. The motor of the mixer is fixed to the pot lid, and the stirring rod of the mixer extends into the pot. An impeller is provided at the end. This can ensure uniform heating and also ensure that the stirring rod drives the impeller to rotate, forcing the fluid to circulate at the bottom of the pot, thus avoiding local overheating and scorching.
[0017] As an improvement, the cooling module further includes: a rotary motor connected to the ice pop tray, used to drive the ice pop tray to rotate at a set angle to achieve multi-stage liquid injection;
[0018] The first temperature sensor is located at the cold air inlet and is used to monitor the temperature of the cold air.
[0019] The first control valve is used to regulate the flow of cold air.
[0020] The multi-stage liquid injection molding process ensures that the rotating motor drives the popsicle disc to rotate in stages, achieving multi-layer liquid injection and reducing air bubbles; on the other hand, the first temperature sensor is linked with the control valve to ensure a uniform solidification rate.
[0021] As an improvement, the air inlet of the vortex tube is equipped with a beveled structure at a set tilt angle, allowing compressed air to enter the vortex chamber in a spiral pattern. The cold airflow generated by the vortex tube is led out through a central orifice plate, while the hot airflow is led out through an adjustable second control valve. This beveled structure allows the airflow to enter the vortex chamber tangentially, enhancing the swirling intensity and improving the cooling efficiency ratio. Furthermore, an adjustable valve can control the proportion of hot air flow, enabling dynamic adjustment of the cold airflow temperature.
[0022] As an improvement, the cold air outlet of the vortex tube is also connected to the cookware via a branch pipe to inject cold air into the cookware to accelerate the cooling of the popsicle liquid. This allows for the recovery and reuse of excess cold air, guiding the excess cold air from the vortex tube into the cookware to rapidly cool the liquid and shorten the cooling time.
[0023] As an improvement, the hot air inlet of the base of the cooking heating module is equipped with a second temperature sensor and a third control valve for real-time adjustment of the hot air temperature, which can realize closed-loop temperature control. The second temperature sensor monitors the inlet temperature in real time and adjusts the hot air flow through the control valve to maintain a constant temperature at the bottom of the pot.
[0024] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this utility model are as follows: This utility model utilizes a single vortex tube unit to simultaneously generate both cold and hot airflows, replacing the traditional independent compression refrigeration system and external heating equipment. It eliminates the need for separate heating furnaces found in existing technologies, significantly reducing the number of equipment components and the overall structural complexity. The cold and hot functional modules are integrated into a compact system, greatly reducing the equipment's footprint and meeting miniaturization requirements. The energy of the compressed air input into the vortex tube is efficiently separated into cold and hot effects. This application recovers and utilizes the hot airflow, traditionally considered waste heat, directly for cooking and heating food, replacing the independent heating process that consumes additional electricity or fossil fuels. It avoids energy waste by fully utilizing the byproduct—heat—generated during the refrigeration process, turning waste into treasure and solving the energy waste and environmental heat load problems caused by waste heat emissions from traditional compressor refrigeration. It reduces external energy input; cold air is used to solidify ice cream liquid, and hot air is used to heat raw materials, achieving efficient bidirectional utilization of input energy, significantly reducing overall operating energy consumption and improving the system's comprehensive energy utilization efficiency. In summary, this application achieves energy self-coordination between heating and cooling in popsicle making through the innovative application of vortex tube technology. This simplifies the equipment structure, reduces space occupation, and, more importantly, significantly improves energy utilization efficiency and fundamentally reduces operating costs by efficiently recovering and utilizing waste heat from refrigeration for cooking and heating. Attached Figure Description
[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the popsicle machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] Figure 2 This is a top view of the popsicle tray according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0027] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
[0028] In the specification and claims of this utility model, terms indicating direction, such as "front," "rear," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "side," "top," and "bottom," are used to describe various exemplary structural parts and elements of this utility model. However, the use of these terms is merely for the purpose of explanation and is based on the exemplary orientations shown in the accompanying drawings. Since the embodiments disclosed in this utility model can be arranged in different orientations, these terms indicating direction are for illustrative purposes only and should not be regarded as limitations. For example, "upper" and "lower" are not necessarily limited to directions opposite to or consistent with the direction of gravity.
[0029] Figures 1-2 This illustration shows a preferred embodiment of an ice pop machine according to the present invention. The ice pop machine includes an air compressor 11, an air filter drying tank 13, a pressure stabilizing tank 14, a vortex tube 15, a cooking and heating module, a mixer 40, and an ice pop tray 44. The air compressor 11 is powered on, drawing in air through its inlet and outputting compressed air through its outlet. The compressed air enters the air filter drying tank 13 through an air pipe. The air in the air filter drying tank 13 continues to enter the pressure stabilizing tank 14 through an air pipe. The outlet of the pressure stabilizing tank 14 is connected to an air pressure regulating valve through an air pipe. Air from the air pressure regulating valve enters the inlet of the vortex tube 15 through an air pipe. Compressed air at 0.6MPa-0.8MPa enters the vortex chamber at a 30° angle from the inlet, causing the compressed air to form a free vortex within the vortex chamber and rotate in a spiral pattern, thereby achieving separation of hot and cold airflow. The cold airflow temperature can reach 10°C to -30°C and is delivered to the ice pop tray 44 through the cold air delivery pipe 45 for cooling the ice pops. The hot airflow can reach 100℃-130℃, which is used to provide heat to the popsicle ingredients in the pot and cook them. In the specific design, the cold airflow generated by the vortex tube 15 is led out through the central orifice plate 150, and the hot airflow is led out through the adjustable second control valve 153.
[0030] The air filter canister in this embodiment is equipped with a polypropylene (PP) cotton layer, a compressed activated carbon layer, and a desiccant layer (not shown in the attached drawings). These filter layers can filter impurities and moisture from the compressed air, ensuring that the compressed air is clean and dry. Clean and dry compressed air is beneficial for the cooling and heating of the vortex tube 15. The pressure stabilizing tank 14 buffers, stabilizes, and stores the compressed air, ensuring a continuous supply of compressed air at a stable pressure to the vortex tube 15.
[0031] The cooking and heating module includes a pot and a base 37. The base 37 has a hot air inlet 370, which connects to the hot air outlet 151 of the vortex tube 15 heating unit, used to guide hot airflow into the bottom of the pot to heat the ingredients. The pot is placed on the base 37, and an appropriate amount of purified water is added inside. The grains or ingredients for making popsicles are then placed inside the pot. Hot air at 100℃-130℃ continuously enters the vortex tube 15 through the inlet of the cooking appliance base 37 and exits through the outlet at the top of the base 37. The hot air conducts heat to heat the water in the pot to boiling point, used to cook the popsicle ingredients.
[0032] In some embodiments, a stirrer 40 is mounted on the lid of the pot. The drive motor 41 of the stirrer 40 is fixed to the lid of the pot. When the drive motor 41 is powered on, it rotates and drives the stirring rod 42 to rotate. The rotation of the stirring rod 42 drives the impeller 43 at the bottom of the stirring rod 42 to rotate, which is used to stir the popsicle ingredients being cooked. The bottom of the pot has an adjustable flow discharge valve 35 for discharging popsicle liquid in a metered manner. When the discharge valve 35 is opened, the cooked popsicle liquid, which has cooled to room temperature, flows through the pipe into the molds of the popsicle pan 44. The popsicle pan 44 has several popsicle molds. The bottom of the popsicle pan 44 has a rotary motor 46. The motor is programmed to rotate at a certain angle at regular intervals so that the first mold is filled with popsicle liquid before the second mold is filled. After all the molds are filled with popsicle liquid, the cold air end of the vortex tube 15 outputs cold air at 10°C to -30°C and injects it into the mold from the cold air inlet of the popsicle pan 44. There are pipes connected to the cold air inlet inside the mold. The pipes surround the mold to facilitate rapid cooling of the liquid popsicle. Once the popsicles reach 0°C and form a solid-liquid mixture, a buzzer will sound to indicate the addition of popsicle sticks. Popsicle sticks are then placed into each mold, ensuring they are above the liquid surface. The vortex tube 15 outputs cold gas at -30°C to further cool the mixture until it freezes and forms solid popsicles. After production, the popsicles are sealed and stored in a cold storage facility.
[0033] The cookware is equipped with a high-level sensor 331 and a low-level sensor 332. It also features a pure water inlet 34 and a drain outlet. The low-level sensor 332 is used to add water when the level is low, while the high-level sensor 331 stops water intake when the water level reaches the designated line. The pure water inlet is used to introduce clean pure water, and the drain outlet is used to discharge the cooked popsicle liquid. The cookware includes a pot body 31 and a lid 32. A magnetic induction safety device 36 is located at the junction of the lid 32 and the pot body 31. The magnetic induction safety device 36 can employ a component structure using a sensing magnet and a Hall element in existing technology. When the sensing magnets separate by a certain distance, the stirrer 40 stops stirring to ensure safety; when the magnets are within a certain distance, the stirring function is activated.
[0034] In this embodiment, the hot air inlet 370 of the base 37 of the cooking heating module is equipped with a second temperature sensor 371 and a third control valve for real-time adjustment of the hot air temperature. The third control valve and the second control valve 153 mentioned above can be the same control valve.
[0035] The popsicle tray 44 is fixed to a corresponding rotary motor 46, which is fixed to the popsicle base 37. The motor can be set to rotate at different angles to meet the injection volume requirements of different popsicle molds 441. The cold air inlet of the popsicle tray 44 and the hot air inlet 370 of the cooking utensil base 37 are equipped with a first temperature sensor 471, which can detect the current airflow temperature. The airflow can be adjusted through the first control valve 472 to control the cooling temperature.
[0036] After the popsicle liquid in the pot is cooked, it can be cooled naturally, or a branch pipe can be set at the cold air outlet 152 of the vortex pipe 15 and connected to the pot to inject cold air into the pot to accelerate the cooling of the popsicle liquid.
[0037] This embodiment utilizes a single vortex tube 15 unit to simultaneously generate both cold and hot airflows, replacing the traditional independent compression refrigeration system and external heating equipment. It eliminates the need for separate heating furnaces found in existing technologies, significantly reducing the number of equipment components and the overall structural complexity. The cold and hot functional modules are integrated into a compact system, drastically reducing the equipment's footprint and meeting miniaturization requirements. The energy of the compressed air input into the vortex tube 15 is efficiently separated into cold and hot effects. This application recovers and reuses the hot airflow, traditionally considered waste heat, directly for cooking and heating food, replacing the independent heating process that consumes additional electricity or fossil fuels. This avoids energy waste by fully utilizing the heat generated during the refrigeration process, turning waste into treasure and solving the energy waste and environmental heat load problems caused by waste heat emissions from traditional compressor refrigeration. By reducing external energy input, cold air is used to solidify ice cream liquid, and hot air is used to heat raw materials, achieving efficient bidirectional utilization of input energy, significantly reducing overall operating energy consumption and improving the system's comprehensive energy utilization efficiency. In summary, this application achieves energy self-coordination between heating and cooling in popsicle making through the innovative application of vortex tube 15 technology, simplifies the equipment structure, reduces space occupation, and, more importantly, significantly improves energy utilization efficiency and fundamentally reduces operating costs by efficiently recovering and utilizing waste heat from refrigeration for cooking and heating.
Claims
1. An ice pop machine, characterized in that... include: The vortex tube heating unit has a hot air outlet (151) and a cold air outlet (152); The cooking heating module includes a pot and a base (37). The base (37) is provided with a hot air inlet (370), which is connected to the hot air outlet (151) of the vortex tube heating unit, and is used to introduce hot air into the bottom of the pot to heat the ingredients for making popsicle liquid. The cooling module includes an ice pop tray (44) for placing ice pop molds and a cold air delivery pipe (45), wherein the cold air delivery pipe (45) connects the cold air outlet (152) of the vortex tube (15) with the interior of the ice pop tray (44) and is used to inject cold air into the ice pop tray (44) to solidify the ice pop liquid in the ice pop mold.
2. The popsicle machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vortex tube heating unit includes: Air compressor (11), used to compress air; An air handling unit is connected to the air outlet of an air compressor (11) and is used to filter, dry and stabilize the compressed air. The vortex tube (15), whose inlet is connected to the outlet of the air handling unit through an air pipe, is used to separate the input compressed air into cold air and hot air.
3. The popsicle machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air handling unit includes an air filter drying tank (13) and a pressure stabilizing tank (14) connected in sequence. The air filter drying tank (13) is provided with a polypropylene (PP) cotton layer, a compressed activated carbon layer and a desiccant layer. The pressure stabilizing tank (14) is used to buffer and stabilize the output compressed air pressure.
4. The popsicle machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cookware is also equipped with a high liquid level sensor (331) and a low liquid level sensor (332), and the cookware is also equipped with a pure water inlet (34) and a drain valve (35).
5. The popsicle machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cookware includes a pot body (31) and a pot lid (32) covering the pot body (31). A magnetic induction safety device (36) is also provided at the joint between the pot lid (32) and the pot body (31) to automatically stop the mixer (40) when the lid is opened.
6. The popsicle machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: The cooking heating module also includes a mixer (40), the drive motor (41) of which is fixed to the pot lid, the stirring rod (42) of which extends into the pot, and the end is provided with an impeller (43).
7. The popsicle machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling module also includes: A rotary motor (46) is connected to an ice pop tray (44) and is used to drive the ice pop tray (44) to rotate at a set angle to achieve fractional liquid injection. The first temperature sensor (471) is located at the cold air inlet and is used to monitor the temperature of the cold air. The first control valve (472) is used to regulate the flow of cold air.
8. The popsicle machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The air inlet of the vortex tube (15) is provided with a slanted structure with a set tilt angle, so that compressed air enters the vortex chamber in a spiral mode. The cold airflow generated by the vortex tube (15) is led out through the central orifice plate (150), and the hot airflow is led out through the adjustable second control valve (153).
9. The popsicle machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The cold air outlet (152) of the vortex tube (15) is also connected to the cookware through a branch pipe to inject cold air into the cookware to accelerate the cooling of the popsicle liquid.
10. The popsicle machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The hot air inlet (370) of the base (37) of the cooking heating module is equipped with a second temperature sensor (371) and a third control valve for real-time adjustment of the hot air temperature.