Patent Application
20230168020
Not Applicable.
Frozen confections have become increasingly popular and desired in more and more settings. Machines for conditioning the ice used in frozen confections are typically large and of commercial grade in order to accommodate the commercial settings in which they are used. However, often frozen confections are desired in a commercial or home environment or small party setting where portability and storage are needed. What is needed is a frozen confection machine that is portable and sized for easy storage.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive implementations of the present disclosure are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. Advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings where:
The disclosure extends to apparatuses, methods, and systems, for producing frozen confections and conditioning ice for use in frozen confections. The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure claimed.
Before the structure, systems and methods for producing frozen confections are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular structures, configurations, process steps, and materials disclosed herein as such structures, configurations, process steps, and materials may vary somewhat. It is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the disclosure will be limited only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
In describing and claiming the subject matter of the disclosure, the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below.
It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.
As used herein, the phrase “consisting of” and grammatical equivalents thereof exclude any element or step not specified in the claim.
As used herein, the phrase “consisting essentially of” and grammatical equivalents thereof limit the scope of a claim to the specified materials or steps and those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic or characteristics of the claimed disclosure.
Referring now to the figures,
As also illustrated in the figure, the machine 200 may comprise a handle portion 210 that is configured to fit a user's hand for easy portability. The handle portion 210 may be aligned and configured so as to be held by a user during ice conditioning to compensate for forces generated by the motor 202 and the paddle 212 while conditioning the ice.
In an embodiment, the motor 202 may be directly connected to a drive shaft that drives the paddle 212 thereby moving ice into a blade 213. As illustrated in
An embodiment may comprise a motor that is indirectly connected to paddle wheel through a device with a transmission or gearing.
As can be seen in the figure, the machine 200 may comprise a hopper 220 for receiving the unconditioned ice, and may comprise a spout portion 230 for dispensing the conditioned ice after being processed and moved throughout a portion of the body 205 of the machine 200. As illustrated in
A lid 215 may be provided for covering the hopper 220. The lid 215 may comprise a latch 217 for locking the lid 215 in a predetermined position. Additionally, the lid 215 may be configured so as to operate a switch 240 that turns on the motor so that the machine may not be operated without the lid 215 in place, or locked in place by the latch 217. The lid may be hinged 218 relative to the body of the machine 200 so that it rotates between open and closed positions.
For example, during use the machine 200 may be positioned on a work surface by a user by way of the handle 210. The user may then lift the lid 215 to expose the hopper 220, and ice may then be introduced into the hopper 220. The lid 215 may then be closed and held down by the latch 217 or other mechanism thereby actuating the switch 240 to turn on the motor 202. The motor 202 then turns the paddle 212 located within the hopper 220 to drive ice into the blade 213. The ice is conditioned as it moves through the blade 213, which as illustrated in
In an implementation, an external switch may be provided for actuating the machine. For example the external switch may be a foot pedal or other switch for actuating the machine.
As also illustrated in the figure, the machine 300 may comprise a handle portion that is configured to fit a user's hand for easy portability. The handle portion may be aligned and configured so as to be held by a user during ice conditioning to compensate for forces generated by the motor 302 and the paddle 312 while conditioning the ice.
In an embodiment the motor 302 may be directly connected to a drive shaft 332 that drives the paddle 312 thereby moving ice into a blade 322. It should be noted that in an embodiment the drive shaft 332 may be connected to the paddle 312 with a shaft connector 342. The motor 302 may be disposed within the housing 305a-b such that the motor's axis of rotation is generally aligned with the body of the machine 300. Additionally, the axis of rotation of the paddle 312 may also be generally aligned with the body of the machine 300. In an embodiment, the housing may further comprise a door for easily accessing the blade for maintenance.
As can be seen in the figure, the machine 300 may comprise a hopper 320 for receiving the unconditioned ice, and may comprise a spout portion 330 for dispensing the conditioned ice after being processed and moved throughout a portion the body of the machine 300. As illustrated in
A lid 315 may be provided for covering the hopper 320. The lid 315 may comprise a latch for locking the lid in a predetermined position. Additionally, the lid 315 may be configured so as to operate a switch 340 that turns on the motor so that the machine 300 may not be operated without the lid 315 in place. Additionally, a power cord 350 may be provided to power the machine 300. Various fasteners FF may be used to mount the various components of the machine together. Foot pads 344 may be used to dampen vibrations created during use. Rubber grommets 346 may be used to seal opening in the housing of the machine.
As can be seen in the figure, an embodiment may comprise drive shaft 332 that is directly connected to and directly drives the paddle 312.
It will be appreciated that the foregoing description has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. Further, it should be noted that any or all of the aforementioned alternate implementations may be used in any combination desired to form additional hybrid implementations of the disclosure.
It should be noted that embodiments shown in the figures and described herein are intended to be exemplary and that any variations in the size and the relative proportions of the individual components fall within the scope of this disclosure.
Further, although specific implementations of the disclosure have been described and illustrated, the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. The scope of the disclosure is to be defined by the claims appended hereto, any future claims submitted here and in different applications, and their equivalents.
This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/007,959, filed Aug. 31, 2020, entitled “Portable Frozen Confection Machine,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/520,254, filed Oct. 21, 2014, (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,794,624, issued Oct. 6, 2020) entitled “Portable Frozen Confection Machine,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/893,658, filed Oct. 21, 2013, entitled “Portable Frozen Confection Machine,” and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/006,741, filed Jun. 2, 2014, entitled “Portable Frozen Confection Machine” which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, including but not limited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, the incorporation by reference being made with the following exception: In the event that any portion of the above-referenced applications is inconsistent with this application, this application supercedes said portion of said above-referenced applications.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61893658 | Oct 2013 | US | |
| 62006741 | Jun 2014 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17007959 | Aug 2020 | US |
| Child | 18051818 | US | |
| Parent | 14520254 | Oct 2014 | US |
| Child | 17007959 | US |
