Portable frozen confection machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing frozen confection machines are large and commercial-grade, making them unsuitable for portable use in home or small party settings where convenience and storage are essential.
Innovation Solution
A portable frozen confection machine designed with a compact, user-friendly structure featuring a handle, vibration-dampening base, and a motor-driven paddle system for efficient ice conditioning, along with a spout and shaper for easy dispensing and shaping of shaved ice, which includes a blade design to prevent ice buildup and a safety mechanism to ensure safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If commercial-grade frozen confection machines are used, then ice conditioning performance is improved, but portability and storage convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The machine is divided into separable components including a removable hopper, detachable blade assembly, and modular housing sections. This segmentation allows the device to maintain full ice conditioning functionality while enabling easy disassembly for portability and compact storage when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade assembly is positioned at an angled orientation relative to the hopper rather than a traditional vertical configuration. This dimensional change optimizes ice conditioning efficiency while reducing the machine's overall footprint, improving both performance and portability.
2Weight of moving object
If compact design is implemented, then portability is improved, but ice conditioning efficiency may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is designed with varying tooth configurations and angles in different sections to optimize ice conditioning at each specific location within the compact hopper. This localized optimization ensures efficient ice processing despite the reduced overall size of the machine.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade assembly features adjustable parameters including variable tooth spacing, adjustable blade angle, and configurable rotation speed. These adjustable parameters allow the compact machine to adapt to different ice conditions and maintain high conditioning efficiency regardless of its reduced size.
3Productivity
If blade design optimizes ice conditioning, then productivity is improved, but ice buildup on blade deteriorates performance
Solution Approach 1:
The blade assembly incorporates periodic reverse rotation cycles that automatically clear ice buildup from the blade surface. This periodic action maintains consistent blade performance and prevents degradation of ice conditioning efficiency over time during continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The machine includes sensors that monitor blade performance and ice buildup conditions in real-time. When ice accumulation is detected, the system automatically adjusts blade rotation speed, activates clearing mechanisms, or alerts the user, ensuring consistent performance and preventing productivity degradation.
4Reliability
If safety mechanisms are added, then user safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The machine incorporates automatic safety features that operate autonomously without user intervention. Examples include automatic blade brake engagement when the hopper is removed, automatic shutdown sensors that detect improper assembly, and self-locking mechanisms that prevent operation until safely configured. These self-service safety features protect users without requiring complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
Safety functions are integrated into existing structural components rather than added as separate systems. The hopper lid serves both as a container cover and a safety interlock mechanism; the blade assembly combines cutting functionality with built-in guards and emergency release features. This merging approach provides comprehensive safety while minimizing additional complexity.
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 provides efficient, convenient, and safe ice conditioning, allowing for easy portability and storage, while minimizing noise and vibration, and ensuring user safety through its design and features.
Implementation Method 1
vibration-dampening base, minimizing noise and vibration
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure extends to apparatuses, methods, and systems, for producing frozen confections and conditioning ice for use in frozen confections. A frozen confection machine includes a hopper portion for receiving ice into an interior, and a motor configured to rotate a drive shaft, a blade to condition the ice in the hopper during rotation of the motor. The frozen confection machine also includes a lid for selectively covering the interior of the hopper, a bias member for biasing the lid away from a closed position, and a switch for causing the motor to actuate in response to the lid being pressed to a closed position.