Flexible Mixer Blade Fins for Uniform Bowl Wall Scraping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mixer blades fail to ensure uniform and consistent mixing of ingredients due to material clinging to the container walls, requiring users to manually scrape the sides, which is dangerous and inconvenient, and previous solutions like paddle-like attachments do not effectively direct the mixture flow.
Innovation Solution
An attachment with angular, flexible fins made of materials like poly(tetrafluoroethylene), latex, or silicone rubber is applied to the mixer blade, directing ingredients downward and ensuring smooth contact with the container to achieve uniform mixing without damaging the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid mixer blade is used, then the blade provides sturdy attachment and structural integrity, but ingredients cling to the container walls and mixing uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a flexible coating or thin film layer to the rigid mixer blade surface. This flexible layer conforms to the container wall shape and effectively scrapes clinging ingredients while the rigid blade maintains structural integrity. The flexible surface prevents material buildup that would otherwise occur with purely rigid blades.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixer blade combines rigid structural material with a flexible functional surface layer, creating a composite structure. The rigid core provides strength and attachment stability, while the flexible outer layer provides effective scraping and mixing uniformity by adapting to the container geometry.
2Ease of operation
If a paddle-like attachment is added to wipe container sides, then ingredient scraping is improved, but mixture flow direction and uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the scraping function and mixing function into a single integrated blade design. The flexible coated blade simultaneously wipes the container walls and directs mixture flow through its geometry, eliminating the need for separate paddle attachments and achieving both scraping effectiveness and mixing uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixer blade is designed to perform multiple functions: mixing, scraping container walls, and directing flow patterns. The flexible coating enables the single blade to effectively scrape while its geometric design creates proper flow direction, making the blade multi-functional without requiring additional attachments.
3Manufacturing precision
If manual scraping with a spoon is used, then ingredient distribution is improved, but user safety and convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mixer blade with flexible coating performs the scraping function automatically during the mixing operation itself. The blade self-scrapes the container walls as it rotates, distributing ingredients uniformly without requiring the user to intervene with separate tools, thereby maintaining safety while achieving good ingredient distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible coated blade continuously scrapes the container walls throughout the mixing process, providing ongoing ingredient distribution. This continuous action replaces the intermittent manual scraping with a spoon, maintaining uniform ingredient distribution while eliminating safety hazards and user inconvenience.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is an attachment to a mixer blade for wiping the sides of a container and producing a mixture that is uniform and consistent. The attachment is placed onto the mixer blade either temporarily or permanently. After the attachment is on the mixer blade, the rotating spin of the mixer blade and the angular positioning of the flexible fins wipe the mixture on the sides of the container to the center of the container. By using a flexible material for the fins, the fins come into direct contact with the container while not damaging the container. The direct contact allows for the complete wiping of each side of the container. The attachment is easily cleaned.