Dispensing Blender Jar Geometry for 3D Flow and Anti-Cavitation Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blender jar designs primarily address two-dimensional material flow, limiting the efficiency of blending processes and often require manual speed adjustments, which can lead to cavitation and strain on the motor, while also facing challenges in dispensing material effectively.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a blender jar with a floor agitator and sidewall bumps that promote three-dimensional material flow, combining vertical movement from the agitator with horizontal turbulence from the bumps to enhance blending efficiency and improve dispensing by strategically positioning a dispensing spout channel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If blender cutter speed is increased to improve blending efficiency, then blending performance is improved, but cavitation occurs and motor strain increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces vertical movement dimension to the material flow through floor agitators and sidewall bumps, transforming the traditionally two-dimensional horizontal blending motion into three-dimensional flow patterns. This dimensional change allows for improved blending efficiency without requiring excessive cutter speed, thereby avoiding cavitation while maintaining effective material processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies localized structural modifications at specific positions within the blender jar - floor agitators at the bottom and sidewall bumps at specific heights - to create targeted turbulence and vertical flow. These local quality changes enhance blending performance in specific zones without requiring overall increase in cutter speed, thus preventing cavitation while improving local mixing efficiency.
2Productivity
If blade shape is made more aggressive to improve material movement, then blending performance is improved, but motor strain increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds vertical movement capability through floor agitators and sidewall bumps, enabling material to be propelled upward and creating three-dimensional flow patterns. This dimensional enhancement allows milder blade designs to achieve effective material movement, reducing motor strain while maintaining blending performance.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional blender jar design is used, then manufacturing is simple, but dispensing efficiency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into the sidewall bumps and floor agitators - they serve both as blending enhancement features (creating turbulence and vertical flow) and as dispensing optimization elements (positioned to align with the dispensing spout channel). This multi-functionality improves dispensing efficiency without adding separate components, maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
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 design significantly improves blending efficiency by breaking laminar flow and forcing material into more frequent contact with blades, resulting in finer particle sizes and improved dispensing performance, reducing uncrushed ice in sieves and enhancing overall blending performance.
Implementation Method 1
the floor includes an agitator that imparts vertical movement to material that is being processed in the blender jar
Implementation Method 2
A cutter assembly is attached to the drive shaft, the cutter assembly including a blade that rotates on the shaft inside the blender jar and above the floor, the rotation of the blade defining a blade path
Data Source
AI summary
A blender jar defines a geometry to impart vertical movement to material being processed in the blender jar, and, alternatively or in combination, improves the horizontal movement to the blended material. By configuring one or more agitators on the floor of a jar, laminar flow or symmetric flow of material around the jar is disrupted. The material is forced in an upward direction in the jar and, therefore, into more frequent contact with the cutter blades rotating in the jar. A dispensing blender jar includes a hole in the jar wall that leads to a dispensing spout. The hole is positioned, at least in part, on the leading edge of a vertical bump in the sidewall of the jar.