Pod-Based Rapid Cooling System for Single-Serving Frozen Drinks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for rapidly cooling food and drinks are inefficient, requiring pre-cooling or pre-freezing and often taking more than two minutes to achieve freezing temperatures, and do not offer convenient single-serving options with easy-to-use interfaces.
Innovation Solution
The development of a refrigeration system with low startup times and a pod-machine interface that uses sterilized pods with efficient heat transfer to cool or freeze contents from room temperature to freezing in under two minutes, allowing for single-serving portions of soft-serve ice cream, frozen drinks, and other beverages without pre-treatment, using a counter-top or installed machine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If conventional cooling methods are used, then food and drinks can be cooled, but the process takes more than two minutes and requires pre-cooling or pre-freezing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thermal parameters of the system by using a pre-cooled metal vessel (heat sink) at extremely low temperatures (e.g., -40°C or lower) and contactless cooling methods. This allows rapid temperature reduction from room temperature to freezing in under two minutes without conventional pre-cooling steps, directly resolving the time-loss contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary cooling by pre-freezing the metal vessel and storing it ready for use. When needed, the vessel is immediately placed in contact with or used to cool the food/drink container, eliminating the need for on-demand pre-cooling and achieving rapid cooling in under two minutes.
2Ease of operation
If single-serving pods are used, then convenience is improved, but heat transfer efficiency and ease of operation are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a metal vessel as an intermediary heat transfer medium between the cooling source and the pod contents. This metal intermediary enables efficient thermal coupling, allowing rapid heat extraction from the pod while maintaining simple single-serving operation. The metal vessel acts as a reusable heat sink that can be pre-cooled and then used with multiple pods.
3Productivity
If rapid cooling to freezing is achieved, then single-serving frozen drinks and soft-serve ice cream can be produced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses disposable or single-use pods containing pre-measured ingredients, while the expensive and complex cooling infrastructure (pre-cooled metal vessel) is reused. This allows rapid production of single-serving frozen products without requiring complex automated systems for each serving, as the pod handles portioning and the metal vessel handles cooling.
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 rapid cooling of food and drinks from room temperature to freezing in less than two minutes, providing single-serving options with efficient heat transfer and easy operation, and allows for the storage of dairy products at room temperature for extended periods without requiring post-processing cleanup.
Implementation Method 1
a refrigeration cycle with low startup times and a pod-machine interface that is easy to use and provides extremely efficient heat transfer
Implementation Method 2
HPP is a cold pasteurization technique by which products, already sealed in its final package, are introduced into a vessel and subjected to a high level of isostatic pressure (300-600 megapascals (MPa) (43,500-87,000 pounds per square inch (psi)) transmitted by water}
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks.