Rapidly cooling food and 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 for home use.
Innovation Solution
The development of a refrigeration system with low startup times and a pod-machine interface that uses sterilized, shelf-stable pods filled with ingredients, capable of cooling contents from room temperature to freezing in less than two minutes, including the use of a clamshell evaporator and efficient heat transfer mechanisms, allowing for the production of frozen drinks and ice cream in approximately 90 seconds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If conventional cooling methods are used, then cooling capacity is sufficient, but cooling time exceeds two minutes and pre-cooling is required
Solution Approach 1:
The pod contents are pre-sterilized and sealed in a shelf-stable state, allowing the system to start from room temperature without requiring pre-cooling of the ingredients. The refrigeration system is designed with pre-charged refrigerant and optimized thermal pathways to immediately begin rapid cooling upon pod insertion, eliminating the need for pre-cooling steps that conventional systems require.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the thermal parameters by using a high-efficiency heat transfer interface between the evaporator and pod, optimized refrigerant flow rates, and controlled agitation speeds that maximize heat transfer coefficients. These parameter optimizations enable the system to achieve freezing temperatures in under two minutes, dramatically improving cooling speed compared to conventional methods.
2Loss of time
If rapid cooling is achieved, then cooling time is reduced to under two minutes, but system complexity increases with specialized refrigeration cycle and pod interface
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into modular components: a standardized pod interface, a compact refrigeration cycle with evaporator directly coupled to the pod, and a control system that manages the rapid cooling sequence. This segmentation allows the complex rapid cooling function to be achieved through coordinated simple modules, making the overall system more manageable despite the advanced performance requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The pod design serves multiple functions: it contains the ingredients, provides thermal coupling with the evaporator through its base, and interfaces with the agitation mechanism. The evaporator serves both as a heat transfer surface and as a structural component of the pod holder. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed, offsetting the complexity introduced by the rapid cooling capability.
3Ease of operation
If single-serving pods are used, then convenience and portion control are improved, but manufacturing and sterilization processes become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses disposable single-serving pods that are pre-sterilized and sealed. While each pod is a single-use item, the standardized design and high-volume manufacturing techniques keep individual pod costs low. The pods are designed to be simple metal containers with a base and lid, minimizing manufacturing complexity while enabling convenient single-serving operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sterilization process uses parameter changes (temperature, pressure, time) to achieve commercial sterility in the sealed pods. By controlling these parameters during manufacturing, the pods achieve long shelf stability without requiring complex preservatives or packaging structures, simplifying the overall manufacturing approach despite the sterilization requirements.
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 to freezing temperatures in under two minutes, providing single-serving options with efficient heat transfer and easy operation, suitable for home use, and allows for the production of frozen treats like ice cream and cocktails directly from room-temperature pods.
Implementation Method 1
a pod-machine interface that is easy to use and provides extremely efficient heat transfer
Implementation Method 2
These systems and methods are based on a refrigeration cycle with low startup times
Implementation Method 3
The mixing paddle can be used to agitate the pod contents during cooling
Implementation Method 4
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.