Spherical Segment Vessel Design for Compact Food Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional food processors, such as blenders, are inefficient in terms of space usage, processing time, and result consistency due to their tall, slim design, leading to overheating and reduced nutritional value of processed foods, as well as limited capacity for soy milk production.
Innovation Solution
A food processing appliance featuring a vessel with a substantially spherical segment shape, which reduces height while maintaining filling capacity, enhances food circulation, and includes detachable segments for improved storage and cleaning, along with inner bulges to prevent food accumulation and facilitate processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a tall, slim vessel design is used, then the filling capacity is increased, but the height to filling capacity ratio becomes inefficient and storage becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a spherical segment shape to the vessel instead of a traditional tall cylindrical design. This curved geometry maximizes the volume-to-height ratio, providing efficient filling capacity while minimizing the height required for storage. The spherical segment allows the vessel to accommodate more food volume within a compact vertical footprint.
2Quantity of substance
If a tall, slim vessel design is used, then the filling capacity is increased, but the processing time increases and foods heat up losing nutritional value
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical segment shape creates more uniform food distribution around the working part, ensuring all food receives consistent processing. The curved geometry eliminates dead zones and improves circulation patterns, allowing food to be processed more efficiently and uniformly, reducing overall processing time while maintaining nutritional value.
Solution Approach 2:
The vessel design ensures continuous and uniform interaction between the working part and all food portions. The spherical geometry promotes consistent circulation and processing throughout the entire food mass, preventing stagnation zones and ensuring every portion is processed effectively, thereby reducing total processing time.
3Productivity
If the working part extends over the entire bottom surface, then ice cubes are crushed, but the already crushed ice repeatedly contacts the working part and melts
Solution Approach 1:
The working part is designed with a limited radius that does not extend to the vessel wall, creating distinct functional zones. The central area handles active crushing while the peripheral region serves as a collection zone for crushed ice. This spatial differentiation prevents already-crushed ice from being re-contacted and melted, maintaining ice temperature and quality.
4Productivity
If a cylindrical filter is used for soy milk production, then the beans are crushed and milk is pushed out, but the intermediate space for receiving soy milk is small
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical segment vessel provides significantly more intermediate space between the cylindrical filter and the vessel wall compared to a traditional slim cylindrical vessel. The curved geometry maximizes the available volume for collecting soy milk, increasing the capacity for soy milk production and reducing the frequency of emptying operations.
Data Source
AI summary
An appliance for processing food including a vessel with walls that defines chamber in which foods to be processed are received, and a working part arranged in the chamber, which can be driven to process the foods, wherein the chamber defined by the walls has a form which is substantially a spherical segment at least in part, wherein the spherical segment form surrounds the working part.