Rotating Mold System for Stackable Comestible Blocks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mold systems for forming comestibles lack efficient designs for creating stackable blocks with precise shape and structure, leading to issues with mold release and block alignment.
Innovation Solution
A mold system comprising a lower and upper mold with protrusions, bosses, and support legs, allowing for a storage configuration where the molds are nested and a molding configuration where the upper mold is rotated 180 degrees, enabling the formation of comestible blocks with tapered sides and pegs, facilitating easy stacking and release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional mold cavities are provided as recesses within a tray or plate with upward-facing openings, then the mold structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the molded comestibles cannot be easily stacked and may become stuck during removal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional mold cavity design by providing downward-facing openings instead of upward-facing openings. The cavities are formed as protrusions extending downward from the base plate, with the openings facing downward. This inversion allows the molded comestibles to be released from the bottom and stacked efficiently, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension to the mold cavity design by extending cavities downward from the base plate rather than having them sit within the plane of the tray. This dimensional change enables the molded blocks to have tapered sides and facilitates stacking in the vertical dimension, improving ease of operation without significantly increasing overall structural complexity.
2Productivity
If molds are designed to form blocks with precise shapes and structures for stacking, then the productivity and versatility are improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring the mold configuration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates visual indicators (such as colored markings or visual cues) on the molds to indicate their proper orientation and configuration. This allows operators to quickly detect whether the molds are correctly positioned without complex measurement tools, thereby maintaining high productivity while reducing the difficulty of detecting mold configuration.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the mold cavities have uniform geometry, then the manufacturing precision is easier to control, but the versatility in creating varied comestible shapes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different cavity geometries in different locations on the mold plate. Each cavity can have unique characteristics (such as different depths, cross-sections, or internal features) tailored to produce specific comestible shapes, while the overall mold structure remains standardized. This allows versatility in shape creation while maintaining manufacturing precision through modular, repeatable manufacturing processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A mold system includes an upper mold and a lower mold. The upper mold and the lower mold include a base plate having a lower surface and an upper surface. At least one protrusion extends a first height from the lower surface of the base plate to a distal end wall and defines a mold cavity accessible through an opening of the lower base plate. One or more bosses extend a second height from the distal end wall, and at least one support leg extends a third height from the lower surface of the base plate to a terminal end. At least one socket is formed on the upper surface of the lower base plate adjacent the at least one support leg. The mold system is operable between a storage configuration and a molding configuration by rotating the upper mold relative to the lower mold.