Single-Dose Food Freezer Head With Rotary Selector and Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing single-dose ice cream machines have inefficiencies in dispensing time, require complex electronic controls, bulky structures, and suffer from pressure imbalances leading to incomplete dispensing and clogging, necessitating frequent cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a compact mixing and cooling unit featuring a disc-shaped selector element and air supply system to manage internal pressure, allowing rapid and complete dispensing, along with a heating system for cleaning, and a simplified structure to reduce costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple portions of food product are prepared simultaneously in a single batch, then productivity increases, but the ability to provide fresh, customized single portions decreases and food safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The food product is divided into multiple individual portions within a single preparation cycle. The apparatus prepares multiple discrete portions simultaneously from a bulk ingredient supply, allowing each portion to be freshly made and separately packaged. This segmentation enables both high productivity through parallel preparation and maintained food safety through individual portion control and reduced cross-contamination risks.
2Productivity
If food product is prepared in bulk and stored for later use, then productivity increases, but freshness and quality deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system prepares multiple portions in advance during off-peak hours or in bulk, then immediately packages and stores them in controlled environments. The preliminary preparation is followed by rapid packaging and storage, minimizing the time between preparation and consumption. This allows the system to maintain freshness while achieving preparation efficiency through batch processing.
3Reliability
If a complex multi-step preparation process is used to ensure food safety and quality, then reliability improves, but device complexity and preparation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple food safety and quality control steps are merged into integrated processing stages. The apparatus combines functions such as mixing, cooking, cooling, and packaging into a single integrated system that performs multiple operations sequentially without requiring separate complex equipment. This merging reduces overall device complexity while maintaining comprehensive food safety and quality standards through unified process control.
4Reliability
If single portions are prepared individually one at a time, then food safety and freshness are maintained, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The preparation system is segmented into multiple independent preparation channels that can operate simultaneously. Each channel prepares a single portion independently, maintaining food safety through separate processing, while the overall system achieves high productivity through parallel processing of multiple portions at the same time. This segmentation allows individual portion preparation without sacrificing speed.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3~3A
AI summary
Described is a machine for preparing a single dose of a cold food product comprises a mixing and cooling unit (1) having a cylindrical body (2) for cooling, provided with a rear wall or base (3) and a front opening; a head (4) for closing the front opening of the cylindrical body (2) having infeed means (5) configured for the entrance into the cylindrical body (2) of a liquid or creamy mixture and dispensing means (6) configured for extracting/dispensing the cold product prepared in the cylindrical body (2); a mixer comprising a rotor shaft (7) equipped with a plurality of blades (9) protruding radially from the shaft (7) and configured to mix the mixture of liquid-creamy product in the cylindrical body (2); the closing head (4) comprises a function selector element (10) constrained on a surface of the closing head (4) positioned towards the inside of the cylindrical body (2); the selector element (10) has a disc shape equipped with an interruption (11) along its circumference which is able to be positioned alternately by rotation of the selector element (10) about its axis, at least at the infeed means (5) or at the dispensing means (6) to obtain a selective connection of the cylindrical body (2) with the outside; a control unit (12) outside the cylindrical body (2), connected to the selector element (10), and configured to obtain the rotation of the selector element (10).