Ice Cream Machine Segmented Mixing Blade
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice-cream machines face issues with producing creamy ice cream in shorter times, are difficult to clean, limited to producing single flavors, and pose hygiene risks due to complex designs and handling of ingredients, especially in public settings.
Innovation Solution
An ice-cream machine with a refrigerating cycle, a container, and mixing means featuring a spatula-shaped mixing element and a scraping element that prevents ice agglomeration and accumulation, allowing for quick production of single or multiple servings with reduced bacterial contamination risk, using a container that can be easily cleaned and reused.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If complex mixing blades and rotating pins are used to prevent ice agglomerations, then creaminess is improved, but device complexity increases and cleaning difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing device is segmented into a container portion and a cap portion that can be easily separated. The mixing blade is simplified to a single piece with a specific geometry that prevents ice agglomerations without requiring complex multi-component structures. This segmentation allows for easier cleaning while maintaining the creaminess function.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex blades to push ice cream around, the invention uses a simplified blade geometry that actively scrapes the container walls to prevent ice accumulation. The blade design inverts the approach by focusing on wall scraping rather than central mixing, achieving creaminess with simpler mechanics.
2Manufacturing precision
If complex mixing blades are used to ensure homogeneous mixing, then creaminess is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to cleaning difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing device is divided into separable components (container and cap) that can be easily detached for cleaning. The mixing blade is designed as a single-piece structure with smooth surfaces and no crevices, making it resistant to ice cream adhesion and easy to wipe clean, thus maintaining homogeneous mixing while improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The container and cap are designed to be easily disposable or replaceable, eliminating the need for thorough cleaning of complex internal structures. This allows users to simply discard or rinse the components, significantly improving ease of operation while maintaining mixing effectiveness.
3Productivity
If traditional mixing devices are used to produce ice cream, then production capability is achieved, but loss of time increases due to longer production times
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing blade is designed to rotate at high speeds with a dynamic scraping action that efficiently breaks up ice agglomerations and promotes rapid homogeneous mixing. The container geometry is optimized to facilitate efficient heat transfer and mixing dynamics, reducing the time required to produce creamy ice cream while maintaining production capability.
4Productivity
If food products are handled and poured into the container, then ice cream production is enabled, but object-affected harmful factors increase due to bacterial contamination risk
Solution Approach 1:
The alimentary compound is pre-prepared and sealed in the container before use, eliminating the need for users to handle and pour raw ingredients. This preliminary preparation step prevents bacterial contamination during the handling process while still enabling ice cream production, directly addressing the harmful factor without sacrificing productivity.
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
The machine produces creamy ice cream in shorter times, is easy to clean, and allows for instant production of single servings with improved hygiene, reducing bacterial contamination risks, especially in public places, while maintaining efficiency and creaminess.
Implementation Method 1
a refrigerating circuit suitable to cool said refrigerating chamber
Implementation Method 2
a device for mixing the alimentary compound, which after being placed in said container is cooled and mixed to obtain ice cream
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention refers to an ice-cream machine and, in particular, a machine for instantly making one or more single servings of ice cream from an alimentary compound. Preferably, such a machine is suitable for home use, although with simple adaptations it can also be used advantageously in public places such as bars, ice- cream parlors, buffets, cinemas and similar places of assembly and entertainment. The machine comprises mixing means that include a cap (81) to reversibly close a container (6) of an alimentary compound inserted in said machine, a mixing element (82) comprising a first edge (82E) suitable to create a layer of said compound in contact along all the internal wall of said container and a second edge (82F) suitable to mix said alimentary compound, and a scraping element (83) suitable to scrape said layer of alimentary compound from the wall of said container after said compound has come into contact with said wall.