Modular Ice-Cream Machine Lid for Easy Cleaning and Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pasteurizers for making ice-cream have fragile and expensive-to-repair lids made of plastic, which are difficult to clean and require full replacement even for minor damage.
Innovation Solution
A movable lid design featuring a metal or plastic arm with a cup-shaped body, tubular sleeve, lock nut, and grille, allowing for easy disassembly and cleaning, with a design adaptable to different bowl shapes, reducing manufacturing and repair costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a movable lid made of plastic material molded in one piece is used, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the lid becomes fragile and difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is divided into multiple separable components: a support arm (5), a cover (6), a cup-shaped body (7), a tubular sleeve (8), and a lock nut (9). This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured separately using appropriate materials and methods, improving both durability and cleanability while maintaining manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid employs composite construction with the support arm made of metal (providing structural strength) and the cover components made of plastic material (providing ease of cleaning and corrosion resistance). This combination of materials resolves the contradiction between durability and ease of manufacture.
2Ease of manufacture
If a movable lid made of plastic material molded in one piece is used, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the lid becomes difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is divided into multiple separable components: a support arm (5), a cover (6), a cup-shaped body (7), a tubular sleeve (8), and a lock nut (9). This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured separately using appropriate materials and methods, improving both durability and cleanability while maintaining manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover (6) is extracted as a separate removable component from the support arm (5), allowing it to be easily detached for thorough cleaning. This extraction of the cleaning-critical component resolves the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and cleanability.
3Ease of manufacture
If a movable lid made of plastic material molded in one piece is used, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the repair cost becomes extremely expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is divided into multiple separable components: a support arm (5), a cover (6), a cup-shaped body (7), a tubular sleeve (8), and a lock nut (9). This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured separately using appropriate materials and methods, improving both durability and cleanability while maintaining manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular design enables selective replacement of only the damaged component (e.g., just the cover or cup-shaped body) rather than replacing the entire lid assembly. This partial replacement approach significantly reduces repair costs while maintaining manufacturing efficiency.
4Device complexity
If the lid is designed as a single molded piece, then the device complexity is reduced, but the adaptability to different bowl shapes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is divided into multiple separable components: a support arm (5), a cover (6), a cup-shaped body (7), a tubular sleeve (8), and a lock nut (9). This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured separately using appropriate materials and methods, improving both durability and cleanability while maintaining manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The support arm design with standardized mounting features provides universal adaptability to different bowl shapes and sizes. The modular components can be configured to fit various bowl geometries, making the lid system versatile across different ice cream machine models.
Data Source
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AI summary
A machine (1) for making homemade ice-cream and similar having an outer casing (2), a mixing bowl (3) housed inside the machine and projecting outwards of the casing (2), and a movable lid (4) hinged to the casing (2) and movable to and from an operating position in which it closes the top end of the bowl (3) completely; the movable lid (4) having a supporting arm (5) which is hinged to the casing (2) and is provided with a through opening (5a) positioned over the top end of the bowl (3) when the supporting arm (5) is in a lowered position, and a cover (6) fixed to the supporting arm (5) so as to be positioned closing the top end of the bowl when the supporting arm (5) is in the lowered position; the cover having a cup-shaped body (7) fixed upside down to the supporting arm (5) with the bottom of the cup-shaped body located at the through opening (5a), a threaded tubular sleeve (8) which engages a through hole (7a) formed in the bottom of the cup-shaped body (7) so as to project from the supporting arm (5) on back through the through opening (5a), and a lock nut (9) screwed to the end portion of the tubular sleeve (8) to grip the supporting arm between the cup-shaped body (7) and the lock nut (9).