Blender Cutter Assembly With Slower Feeder Tips for Viscous Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional blender systems face difficulties in effectively processing viscous mixtures due to high peripheral speeds of blades, which lead to the formation of air bubbles and inefficient blending, especially when dealing with small quantities or high viscosity materials.
Innovation Solution
The feeder tip is driven at a lower peripheral speed than the cutter tip, allowing for effective transport and pre-cutting of the mixture while the cutter assembly focuses on cutting, optimizing the blending process by adjusting the angular velocities and dimensions of the blades to balance cutting and feeding functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the blade tips rotate at high angular velocities to enable efficient blending, then the blending efficiency is improved, but air bubbles form in the mixture and the blending becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The blade assembly is segmented into multiple blades arranged at different radii from the rotation axis. This segmentation allows different portions of the blade assembly to operate at different peripheral speeds, with inner blades moving slower and outer blades moving faster, thereby preventing uniform high-speed rotation that causes air bubble formation while maintaining effective cutting at the outer edges.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the blade assembly are designed with different properties - inner blades have smaller radii and lower peripheral speeds suitable for initial mixing without air entrapment, while outer blades have larger radii and higher peripheral speeds for effective cutting. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between efficient blending and air bubble prevention.
2Device complexity
If a single blade assembly is used for both cutting and feeding functions, then the device complexity is reduced, but the blending of viscous mixtures becomes ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The blade assembly performs multiple functions simultaneously - cutting, feeding, and mixing - through its multi-blade configuration. Different blades within the same assembly serve different primary functions, with some blades optimized for cutting and others for feeding material toward the center, thereby achieving multi-functionality without requiring separate assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting function and feeding function are merged into a single rotating blade assembly. The assembly combines blades positioned and oriented to perform both cutting of material and feeding of material toward the center of the blender, eliminating the need for separate cutting and feeding mechanisms.
3Force
If the blade tips are positioned several centimeters away from the rotation axis to increase cutting effectiveness, then the impact force on particles is improved, but the peripheral speed becomes excessively high causing air bubble formation
Solution Approach 1:
The blade assembly is divided into multiple blades at different radial positions. This segmentation allows the system to utilize both inner blades (closer to axis, lower speed) and outer blades (farther from axis, higher speed), thereby achieving effective impact forces without requiring all blades to operate at excessively high peripheral speeds that cause air bubble formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade assembly employs asymmetric positioning of blades at different radii from the rotation axis. This asymmetric arrangement allows optimization of impact force at outer blades while maintaining lower speeds at inner blades, resolving the contradiction between achieving sufficient impact force and avoiding excessive peripheral speeds.
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
This approach enables efficient blending of viscous mixtures by preventing air bubble formation and ensuring effective transport and cutting, reducing the time and energy required for the blending process while maintaining an energy-conserving method.
Implementation Method 1
the feeder tip is driveable at a lower peripheral speed than the cutter tip
Data Source
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AI summary
A blender system (10) includes a base (12) and a container (14). A cutter assembly (24) and a feeder assembly (25) are accommodated in the container (14) near the base (12). The feeder assembly (25) has a feeder blade (628) with a tip (636) at a distal end of the feeder blade (628). The cutter assembly (24) has a cutter blade (28) with a tip (36) at a distal end of the cutter blade (28). A very effective blending process is obtained by driving the feeder tip (636) at a lower peripheral speed than the cutter tip (36).