Rotary Ice Metering Hopper for Consistent Portion Dispensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice dispensers lack consistent portion control, which is crucial for ensuring quality and volume consistency in automated blended ice drinks.
Innovation Solution
An ice dispensing system with a rotatable metering member and a cylindrical hopper, featuring a shelf and dividing wall, that allows for precise control over ice dispensing by rotating the metering member to align cavities with an outlet opening, facilitating controlled dispensing of a predetermined volume of ice.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a traditional ice dispenser uses a solenoid-operated door or lever arm switch for ice dispensing, then the device structure is simple, but the ice portion control is inconsistent and cannot provide repeatable volume control
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper is segmented into a fill zone and a dispense zone using a shelf and dividing wall. The metering member is segmented into multiple cavities that can be selectively filled and dispensed. This segmentation enables precise portion control by separating the filling and dispensing functions into distinct zones and using individual cavities to meter specific volumes of ice.
2Manufacturing precision
If the metering member rotates to align cavities with the outlet opening for controlled dispensing, then the ice portion control is consistent and repeatable, but the device complexity increases due to additional components like shelf, dividing wall, and agitator
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper interior is divided into a fill zone and a dispense zone using a shelf and a dividing wall. This segmentation allows the metering member cavities to be selectively filled from the fill zone and then dispensed from the dispense zone, enabling precise volume control while organizing the hopper structure into functional regions.
Solution Approach 2:
An agitator member is introduced as an intermediary component to interact with the ice supply. The agitator rotates with the metering member and agitates the ice in the fill zone, facilitating reliable filling of the cavities. This intermediary component mediates between the ice supply and the metering cavities, ensuring consistent filling without requiring complex external mechanisms.
3Ease of manufacture
If the metering member cavities are exposed to the ice supply for filling, then the filling process is simple, but ice cubes may freeze together due to defrost cycles and clog the cavities
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper is divided into a fill zone and a dispense zone using a shelf. The metering member cavities are positioned such that they can be filled from the ice supply in the fill zone when needed, but can be protected from the main ice supply by the shelf when not in use. This segmentation allows controlled exposure to the ice supply, enabling simple filling when required while preventing freezing issues during other operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The metering member rotates periodically to bring cavities into the fill zone for filling and then into the dispense zone for dispensing. This periodic rotation ensures that cavities are exposed to the ice supply only during the filling phase, rather than being continuously exposed. The cyclic motion allows reliable filling while preventing ice cubes from freezing together during storage and dispensing phases.
4Reliability
If the auger continuously mixes the ice cubes in the hopper, then individual ice cubes are prevented from freezing together, but the energy consumption increases and the ice may be over-mixed
Solution Approach 1:
The agitator member rotates periodically with the metering member to agitate the ice in the fill zone only when filling is required. This periodic agitation prevents ice cubes from freezing together during the filling phase without requiring continuous mixing. The agitator remains stationary or rotates minimally during other phases, significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous auger operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixing function is extracted from a continuous auger system and implemented instead by the periodic rotation of the agitator member. This extraction allows mixing to occur only when necessary (during the filling phase), rather than continuously. The agitator provides localized mixing in the fill zone without the energy overhead of a continuously operating auger that would mix the entire hopper contents.
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 system provides repeatable and consistent ice portion control, enhancing the quality and volume consistency of blended ice drinks by ensuring accurate dispensing based on cavity size, rotation angle, and speed.
Implementation Method 1
the door permits the ice to move or flow under the force of gravity from the dispensing chute into a cup
Implementation Method 2
an agitator member mounted to the metering member, wherein rotation of the metering member rotates the agitator within the supply of ice to break apart the supply of ice
Data Source
AI summary
An ice dispensing assembly includes a hopper, a metering disk, a shelf member, and a separating wall. The hopper includes an outlet opening defined in a bottom end of the hopper, and an ice inlet defined in a top end of the hopper. The metering disk is positioned in the hopper and includes a plurality of cavities. The shelf member is arranged to at least partially shield the cavities from a supply of ice held in the hopper. The metering disk is rotatable relative to the hopper between a first position wherein at least one cavity is exposed to the supply of ice to be filled with ice, and a second position wherein the cavity is separated from the supply of ice by the separating wall and ice in the cavity is dispensed through the outlet opening.