Cotton Candy Handling Device Using Rotating Chute
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional cotton candy production is labor-intensive and messy due to the need for manual handling and collection, with existing automation methods requiring operator intervention and complex equipment maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A device and process utilizing a rotating chute to collect and condense cotton candy into a continuous strand, supported by a spinning head driven from above, allowing for automated packaging and minimizing labor through gravity-assisted collection and formation of a manageable strand.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If manual collection methods are used, then equipment complexity is reduced, but labor intensity increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses gravity to automatically convey the cotton candy web from the spinning head through the collection bowl and onto the rotating drum, eliminating the need for manual intervention to transfer the product. The rotating drum automatically rolls the web into a condensed strand ready for packaging, creating a self-service system that maintains simplicity while improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention enables continuous production by automatically transferring the cotton candy web from the spinning head directly onto the rotating drum without interruption. The web is continuously collected, rolled, and condensed throughout the spinning process, eliminating the intermittent nature of manual collection and maintaining constant productive action.
2Productivity
If automated collection methods are used, then productivity increases, but device complexity and maintenance difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the complex lifting and transfer mechanisms from previous automated systems and replaces them with a simple rotating drum that passively receives and rolls the cotton candy web. By removing the need for active lifting mechanisms and using gravity-assisted transfer, the system achieves automation without the complexity of multiple mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex mechanisms to lift and transfer the cotton candy web upward, the invention inverts the approach by using a rotating drum that passively receives the web as it falls and automatically rolls it into shape through rotation. This inversion of the transfer mechanism simplifies the overall system while maintaining automation.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the spinning head is supported from below, then structural stability is improved, but product collection becomes messy and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the conventional support arrangement by mounting the spinning head from above rather than from below. This inversion allows the cotton candy web to fall naturally under gravity into the collection bowl and onto the rotating drum, eliminating the messiness and labor associated with bottom-supported designs while maintaining structural stability through the overhead mounting arrangement.
4Device complexity
If intermittent collection methods are used, then equipment simplicity is maintained, but production continuity is broken and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating drum continuously receives and rolls the cotton candy web throughout the entire spinning process, maintaining uninterrupted production flow. The web is constantly transferred from the spinning head through the collection bowl onto the drum and rolled into a condensed strand, eliminating the intermittent nature of manual collection and ensuring continuous productive action without requiring operator intervention.
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 continuous cotton candy production with reduced labor and equipment complexity, minimizing strand breaks and facilitating automated processing and packaging.
Implementation Method 1
The sugar liquifies due to contact with a heating element in the head, and is thrown outward through the holes by centrifugal force. The melted sugar exits the head as very fine thread-like strands
Implementation Method 2
The melted sugar exits the head as very fine thread-like strands which are cooled as soon as they reach the ambient air around the head, and return to a solid state
Implementation Method 3
As the cotton candy web falls it is cooled and moves through the funnel shaped opening at the bottom of the hopper
Data Source
AI summary
A device and method for continuous production of cotton candy and automated handling of the cotton candy in a way that collects and condenses the cotton candy into a continuous strand.