Vending Machine with Integrated Heating and Refrigeration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vending machines either dispense frozen or room temperature products but not both within the same transaction cycle, leading to issues of spoilage and health concerns, especially in rural areas where labor shortages and 24/7 demand are prevalent.
Innovation Solution
A vending machine design that includes a refrigerated section for frozen food and a heating mechanism, allowing for the rapid transition of frozen products to serving temperature within minutes, enabling the distribution of hot and spicy or mild exotic food items like Jamaican Beef Patties as a nutritious 24/7 meal option.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional vending machines dispense only frozen or room temperature products, then product storage is simple, but product safety and health quality deteriorate due to spoilage and inability to provide hot meals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the refrigeration system and heating system into a single vending machine unit. The refrigeration compartment stores frozen patties while the heating compartment (equipped with microwave oven and conventional heater) processes them to serving temperature, allowing the machine to provide both cold storage and hot preparation functions in one integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The vending machine is designed to perform multiple functions: storing frozen products, heating them to various temperatures, and dispensing them. The heating system can operate in different modes (microwave heating, conventional heating) to accommodate different product types and customer preferences, making the machine versatile for various food service needs.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If frozen products are stored for extended periods, then availability is improved, but product quality deteriorates due to spoilage and health concerns
Solution Approach 1:
Products are pre-frozen and stored in the refrigeration compartment in advance, preserving their integrity. When a customer makes a selection, the system quickly transfers the frozen product to the heating compartment and processes it to serving temperature within minutes, ensuring the product is fresh and safe without requiring long-term storage at room temperature.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes phase transition of water in the frozen patties during heating. The microwave and conventional heater rapidly thaw and cook the frozen product, transforming it from frozen state to cooked serving temperature state within minutes, thereby maintaining product quality and safety while enabling extended availability.
3Productivity
If rapid heating of frozen products is implemented, then service speed is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system combines microwave heating and conventional heating methods. The microwave oven provides rapid initial heating by directly energizing water molecules in the frozen product, while the conventional heater maintains and fine-tunes the temperature, together achieving fast service with optimized energy usage compared to using either method alone.
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
This solution allows for the wider distribution of healthy, hot food products to rural areas, addressing spoilage and health issues by providing a 24/7 nutritious meal option while maintaining product integrity through freezing and rapid heating, thus meeting consumer demand in both urban and rural settings.
Implementation Method 1
Prepared food items that contain meat can be frozen to preserve their integrity
Implementation Method 2
heated to serving temperature from the new design features contained in this machine
Data Source
AI summary
In vending machines that dispense food and other products, it is known to have machines that dispense stored food and other products. In this invention, selected prepackaged foods can be stored in the frozen or cold state and then prior to dispensing to the end-user, it is thawed or warmed by an internal heating process to serving temperature for customer consumption. The machine is segmentally divided both horizontally, to separate the operating machinery from food storage for hygienic and servicing reasons, and vertically, to create interchanging of the size of the modular product dispensing outlet elevator columns for adaptability to the dimensions of the stored product. Included in the design is an internal storage compartment with a mechanism that dispenses prepacked condiments that are coordinated to the selected product. This design of a vending machine may include an audiovisual screen for advertisement along with another section that identifies the available product with its calorie content. The top of the machine may have display signage that can be internally lit with color changing lights. Provisions for unattended dispensing to persons with disabilities are included by virtue of voice activated and guidance features, and illuminated and tactile surfaces.