Temperature-Controlled Drink Maker With Motor-Aware Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing frozen drink makers lack adaptability in temperature control and user-specific processing, leading to inconsistent product outcomes.
Innovation Solution
A drink maker system that includes a temperature sensor, cooling circuit, and controller to adjust temperature based on preset recipes, allowing manual user input for fine-tuning, and monitors motor conditions to prevent damage by controlling refrigerant flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the cooling circuit continuously maintains low temperature to achieve desired drink texture, then the drink product achieves consistent frozen/semi-frozen texture, but the drive motor experiences excessive current and power consumption leading to potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the cooling circuit operation based on real-time temperature monitoring and drink product state. The controller modulates cooling intensity during different processing phases - applying strong cooling initially, then reducing it as the drink product thickens, thereby preventing motor overload while maintaining desired final texture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs temperature sensors to continuously monitor the drink product temperature and provides feedback to the controller. This feedback loop enables the controller to adjust cooling circuit operation in real-time, preventing excessive motor current consumption while maintaining target temperature for consistent drink texture.
2Productivity
If the drive motor operates at high speed to mix thick frozen drink product, then mixing efficiency is improved, but the motor current and power consumption increase excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts drive motor speed based on the changing viscosity and thickness of the drink product during processing. The controller reduces motor speed as the drink product freezes and thickens, thereby reducing current and power consumption while maintaining adequate mixing effectiveness throughout the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the drive motor in response to temperature and drink product state changes. By modulating motor speed according to the freezing process stage, the system optimizes the balance between mixing productivity and energy consumption.
3Ease of operation
If the cooling circuit is intensified to reduce drink product thickness for easier dispensing, then the drink product flows more easily, but the temperature drops below the desired target temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature sensor continuously monitors drink product temperature and provides feedback to the controller. When the drink product becomes too thick for optimal dispensing, the controller activates the cooling circuit to lower the temperature, but stops cooling once the target temperature is reached, preventing temperature overshoot while ensuring adequate flowability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts cooling intensity based on real-time temperature monitoring and drink product rheological state. The controller applies cooling only when needed to improve dispensing flow, then reduces or stops cooling to maintain the target temperature, creating an adaptive cooling strategy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables user-specific temperature and texture control, preventing motor damage by dynamically adjusting refrigerant flow, resulting in consistent and satisfying drink product outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling circuit and/or device arranged to cool the drink product within the mixing vessel
Implementation Method 2
a temperature sensor arranged to measure a temperature associated with the drink product and output a temperature signal
Data Source
AI summary
A drink maker includes a mixing vessel arranged to receive a drink product and a dasher, driven by a drive motor, arranged to mix the drink product within the mixing vessel. A cooling circuit is arranged to cool the drink product within the mixing vessel, while a temperature sensor is arranged to detect a temperature associated with the drink product and output a temperature signal, and a memory is arranged to store a recipe including a first temperature value corresponding to a first target temperature. A controller, in communication with the memory, is arranged to: i) receive the temperature signal, and ii) control the temperature associated with the drink product by controlling the cooling circuit based on the received temperature signal, the first temperature value, and a manual temperature adjustment. A user interface is arranged to receive a user input to adjust the manual temperature adjustment.