Quick Release Ball-Locking Attachment for Stand Mixer Torque Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing attachment mechanisms for stand mixers are often cumbersome, limit rotational positions, and fail to reversibly apply torque to utensils, making them inefficient for various food processing tasks.
Innovation Solution
A quick release attachment assembly featuring a body with a shank portion and a receiving portion, including a shield and retaining balls that allow axial and radial displacement, enabling easy attachment and detachment, multiple rotational positions, and reversible torque transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional attachment mechanism is used, then the utensil can be securely attached to the stand mixer, but the mechanism becomes cumbersome to operate and limits rotational positions
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism is divided into separate functional components: a shield with retaining balls that can move independently within the body, and an outer retainer that rotates around the receiving portion. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function (locking, unlocking, rotating) without requiring the entire mechanism to be complex or cumbersome.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield is designed to move dynamically between a retracted position (allowing utensil attachment/detachment) and an extended position (locking the utensil in place). The retaining balls move between engaged and disengaged states, providing dynamic locking and unlocking actions that simplify operation while maintaining security.
2Reliability
If a traditional attachment mechanism is used, then the utensil can be attached to the stand mixer, but the mechanism fails to reversibly apply torque to the utensils
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining balls act as intermediaries between the shield and the utensil. When the shield moves to the extended position, the retaining balls engage with the outer retainer to lock the utensil, enabling reliable torque transfer. When the shield retracts, the retaining balls disengage, allowing easy utensil removal. This intermediary mechanism provides both reliable reversible torque transfer and ease of operation.
3Ease of operation
If the shield is positioned to support the retaining ball radially, then the retaining ball remains in the unloaded position, but the utensil cannot be securely locked
Solution Approach 1:
The shield is designed to move dynamically between two positions: retracted (allowing easy attachment by keeping retaining balls in the unloaded position) and extended (securing the utensil by moving retaining balls to the loaded position). This dynamic positioning resolves the contradiction between ease of operation and secure locking.
Data Source
AI summary
A quick release attachment mechanism to releasably join a stand mixer drivetrain to an attachment insert. The mechanism includes one or more retaining balls to axially fix the attachment insert in the assembly and a plurality of cooperating walls to fix the attachment insert against rotational displacement.