Patent Application
20160330996
The present invention is related to an ice cream bar maker. More specifically, the present invention is related to an ice cream bar having multiple-serving capacity for commercial facilities.
Demands for on-site ice cream with natural ingredients are ever increasing. On-site preparation of ice cream must be done in a reasonably short time so that a customer would not be bored and would not lose interest in watching the ice cream preparation process starting from ingredient in front of the customer. An on-site ice cream maker also needs to minimize labor of a store clerk so that she would not be exhausted. Design of a commercial ice cream bar maker achieving fast preparation and minimizing human labor is a difficult task involving many complex factors.
None of the prior arts provide an labor-efficient and fast-preparing ice cream bar maker with compact and simple structure aesthetically appealing to customers in an ice cream shop setting.
An objective of the invention is to provide a multi-serving capacity ice cream bar maker that can make ice cream bars in considerably short time.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a multi-serving capacity ice cream bar maker that can minimize manual labor of a store clerk who operates the ice cream bar maker.
In order to achieve the objectives, in an embodiment, the present invention provides an ice cream bar maker comprising a plurality of ice cream bar molds, a canister that receives the bar molds, a freezing fluid medium filled in the canister, an agitating device that agitates the freezing fluid medium and a freezing device that removes heat from the canister. The freezing fluid medium contacts the ice cream bar molds whereby removing heat from the ice cream bar molds.
The canister comprises a hollow main body with a top opening and a canister cover that covers the top opening. The canister cover comprises a plurality of holes into which the ice cream bar molds are inserted, and one or more handles attached on a periphery of the canister cover.
The ice cream bar mold comprises an elongated cylindrical mold body. The mold body comprises a top open end, a bottom closed end and an annular flange near the top open end. The annular flange abuts a top surface of the canister cover.
The agitating device comprises a cover rotating device that rotates the canister cover with respect to the main body, and a cover rotating device switch that stops the cover rotating device when the canister cover is lifted from the main body of the canister. The ice cream bar maker further comprises a case that houses the canister and the freezing device. The case comprises a top plate that comprises a canister receiving opening for inserting the canister into the case. The cover rotating device is installed on the top plate near the canister receiving opening. The canister cover comprises an annular rim. The cover rotating device comprises one or more rotating rollers that contact the annular rim.
The freezing device comprises an evaporator coil, an expansion valve, a condenser and a compressor. The evaporator coil is installed inside the canister and removes heat from the freezing fluid medium. The ice cream bar maker further comprises an insulating case that surrounds the main body of the canister. The main body of the canister comprises a drain hole.
Preferably, the ice cream bar mold has a diameter within a range from about 1.0 inch to about 1.2 inch. The ice cream bar mold may further comprise a plurality of heat transfer fins that is attached to the mold body.
The freezing medium may be air, or a liquid that has a freezing point lower than the freezing point of water.
In another embodiment, the agitating device comprises a blower that generates fluid flow inside the canister, and a blower switch that stops the blower when the canister cover is lifted from the main body of the canister.
The advantageous effects of the present invention are: (1) the ice cream bar maker can accommodated multiple orders due to multiple number of molds, (2) ingredients in the molds are frozen fast due to rapid heat transfer, (3) the ice cream bar maker is compact and easy to maintain because of its simple structure.
The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the detailed description in conjunction with the following figures, wherein:
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Preferably, the ice cream bar mold 12 has a diameter D within a range from about 1.0 inch to about 1.2 inch.
The freezing fluid medium 16 may be air, or a liquid that has a freezing point lower than the freezing point of water.
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The invention covers any structure that can simultaneously remove heat from multiple number of ice cream molds. The freezing device may comprise evaporator coils directly attached to the canister cover, and ingredients in the ice cream molds can be frozen by heat transfer through conduction and/or convection.
The above description is illustrative and is not restrictive, and, as it will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the disclosure, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the following and pending claims along with their full scope of equivalents.
