Rapid Cooling Pod with Pre-Chilled Refrigeration Cycle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice cream makers take 20 to 60 minutes to produce a batch of ice cream and require time-consuming cleanup, while also lacking the ability to rapidly cool food and drinks to freezing temperatures.
Innovation Solution
The development of systems and methods that utilize a refrigeration cycle with low startup times and a pod-machine interface for rapid cooling, capable of cooling food and drinks from room temperature to freezing in less than two minutes, and producing soft-serve ice cream in approximately 90 seconds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional ice cream makers use hand-crank or electric motor methods with pre-cooled vessels, then ice cream can be prepared, but the process takes 20 to 60 minutes and requires time-consuming cleanup
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-cools the refrigeration chamber and refrigerant before the ice cream making process begins. The evaporator is pre-chilled to freezing temperatures, and the refrigerant is pre-cooled in the condenser, allowing the actual ice cream production to complete in just 2-5 minutes rather than 20-60 minutes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system divides the ice cream making process into separate functional chambers: a refrigeration chamber for rapid freezing, a mixing chamber for ingredient preparation, and a dispensing chamber. This segmentation allows each chamber to operate independently and efficiently, with the refrigeration chamber pre-cooled while ingredients are being mixed.
2Temperature
If traditional ice cream makers use pre-cooled vessels, then cooling can be achieved, but startup time is long and cleanup is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration chamber and refrigerant are pre-cooled before the ice cream making cycle begins. The evaporator surfaces are pre-chilled to freezing temperatures, and the refrigerant is pre-cooled in the condenser, enabling immediate rapid freezing when the cycle starts.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces traditional mechanical pre-cooling methods with an efficient refrigeration cycle using refrigerant phase changes. The refrigerant circulates through the evaporator and condenser, providing rapid and uniform cooling without the need for manual pre-chilling of vessels.
3Ease of operation
If the pod uses a base with protrusions and cap with recesses for engagement, then the cap can be retained axially while allowing rotation, but the drive mechanism must precisely remove the first protrusion to form an opening
Solution Approach 1:
The drive mechanism selectively removes the first protrusion from the base by applying targeted force through the drive cavity. The protrusion is extracted or sheared off to form the dispensing opening, while the second protrusions remain engaged with the cap recesses to maintain axial retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap and base have different engagement features at different locations: the first protrusion is designed to be removable by the drive mechanism to form the opening, while the second protrusions are designed for permanent engagement with the cap recesses. This local differentiation allows precise control over which features are removed and which remain.
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
These systems enable the rapid production of chilled or frozen foods and drinks, achieving freezing temperatures in under two minutes and producing high-quality ice cream with ice crystals below 50 μm in a single serve pod.
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
cooling food and drinks in a container inserted into a counter-top or installed machine from room temperature to freezing in less than two minutes
Data Source
AI summary
Some pods include a body having a sidewall that extends from a first end of the body to a second end of the body to define an interior of the pod. The pod contains ingredients disposed within the interior of the pod for producing a single serving of a cooled food or drink. The pod includes a base attached to the first end of the pod. The base includes a rim with at least one radially-inward facing detent. At least a portion of the base is removable for dispensing the produced cooled food or drink from the pod. The pod includes a cap including a shearing drive including a track or circumscribed feature sized to engage the at least one radially-inward facing detent to snap the shearing drive to the base of the pod.