MXPA99011076A - Apparatus and method for making frozen drinks - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a frozen drink machine (10) and a method of making frozen drinks from a frozen substance (204) which has been frozen into a block. According to the method of the present invention, a block of frozen substance (204) is held in a vessel (200) while a rotatable blade (76) having features for grinding the frozen substance (204) and, if desirable, for aerating the ground frozen substance (204), acts on the block, grinding the frozen substance (204) while a heated liquid is simultaneously introduced into the vessel (200). An apparatus (10) according to the present invention supports a cup (200) containing the frozen substance (204), and includes a rotatable blade (76) which is lowered into the cup (200) and means for pumping heated liquid into the cup (200).

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING FROZEN BEVERAGES FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates, in general, to the field of methods and equipment for food processing, and particularly to apparatuses and methods for producing milkshakes and other frozen beverages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved means for producing milkshakes and other frozen drinks. Commonly the two commercially prevt methods for producing milkshakes and other frozen beverages are: 1) placing the frozen ingredients such as ice cream or ice-cold scoops or frozen fruit, in a mixing / mixing receptacle, then adding cold liquid such as milk or juice or water, then mix them together, or 2) use a dispenser freezer of the type in which the liquid ingredients are automatically fed to a refrigerant cylinder, are agitated by a mechanical stirrer in the cylinder, during the operation, and then are dispensed, when desired, through a front discharge valve. The first method, although it provides a malted milk or frozen drink of excellent quality, takes too much time and work to make it viable in fast food restaurants in great demand, where a large portion of the potential market is located. The second method, which uses a dispenser freezer, dominates the fast food market, but has several serious disadvantages. The freezer equipment dispenser, required, is expensive and its cleaning and maintenance are slow and expensive. In addition, the quality of the product that this equipment produces, by its nature, does not produce the texture of "past times" that can be achieved only by mixing the frozen ingredients with each other, with liquid ingredients, and then serving them immediately. Consumers do not respond very favorably to the homogeneous texture produced by the freezer dispensing equipment, as they do with the texture of past times, and therefore, these beverages produced by dispensing freezers do not sell well and represent less than 3% of the participation in the market of the total s of drinks in restaurants nowadays. The overall goal of this invention is to enable the creation of a malted milk or other frozen beverage having a past-time texture, preferred by the user, which will be adapted to the operational constraints of today's high-volume fast food restaurants. in day. To meet the operational constraints of today's fast food restaurants, this invention was developed to achieve several objectives. One object is to create a malted milk or other frozen beverage in 30 seconds or less. In the fast food market, literally every second of preparation time is critical. By making it possible for the preparation time to be reduced even for a few seconds, a number of characteristics of this invention are significant improvements over the existing technique. Another object of the invention is to achieve high levels of churning / aeration of the frozen beverage, and preferably a churning / aeration of at least 15% of the total volume. This level of shake is important for two reasons. First, it is critical to keep the costs of the ingredients of this new method in competitive alignment with the milkshakes and frozen beverages produced by dispensing freezers, which are beaten up to this level of aeration and more. Second, the shake also substantially improves the flavor offered by a frozen beverage, by improving the consumer's ability to taste the beverage as his sense of smell senses the aroma of the frozen beverage trapped within the tiny bubbles created by the process. smoothie. In the Applicant's Application, Serial Number 08 / 649,534, the description of which is incorporated herein by reference, a method to produce frozen drinks is described, which satisfies the listed objectives. The Application discloses a method and apparatus that allows the rapid production of milkshakes and other frozen beverages, breaking frozen blocks of ingredients into small frozen particles, combining them with an added liquid. The ingredients that are to be frozen to form frozen blocks are pre-mixed in the liquid form, placed in serving cups that are the same cups to serve the malted milk or final frozen drinks, and then frozen in blocks that mold to the inside the glasses to serve, and they are stored. According to the description, when a malted milk or other frozen beverage is to be made, the serving cup, which contains the frozen block, is placed in the machine. A rotating blade is lowered into the cup and pierces the frozen substance that is in the cup. Milk or other liquid is added to the cup to mix it with the frozen substance, which is broken by the perforating blade into small frozen particles. The machine introduces air to the liquid or to the mixture of the liquid and frozen particles, to provide the malted milk or frozen drink with its volume, texture, and flavor contribution, suitable.

For certain applications it may be desirable to use water or other non-dairy liquid, in the process of producing the frozen beverage just described. However, it has been found that when a non-dairy liquid is used as the liquid added in the process, a frozen beverage having a dilute, granular, and watery consistency is generally obtained as a result. Given the desirability of obtaining frozen beverages that have a rich flavor and a very smooth consistency, in the "past-time style", the present invention focuses on achieving the rich flavor contribution from the frozen ingredients used, and in eliminate the granular consistency that can result when non-dairy liquids are used in the production process of the frozen beverage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a method for producing frozen beverages from a block of frozen substance, and to an apparatus that can be used to carry out the method. According to the method of the present invention, a block of frozen substance is kept in a container while a blade having characteristics for grinding the frozen substance, acts on the block, grinding the frozen substance while a hot liquid is simultaneously introduced into the container. . An apparatus according to the present invention supports a cup containing the frozen substance, and includes a rotating blade that is lowered into the cup and a means for pumping a hot liquid into the cup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the method of the present invention, which is carried out using a mixer. Figure 2 is a perspective view of a cup for malted milk, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 is a front elevation view of a frozen beverage machine, in accordance with the present invention, in which a front panel is removed to expose the carriage and the knife actuator assemblies. Figure 4 is a side elevation view of the frozen beverage machine of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the frozen beverage machine of Figure 3, in which the housing of the mixing assembly has was rotated to an open condition to expose the interior of the refrigerator housing and to further expose the rear side of the housing of the mixing assembly. Figure 6A is a front elevation view of a portion of the carriage, the sleeve mounted to the carriage, and the axis of the blade extending through the sleeve and carriage. The sleeve and carriage are presented in cropped view to more clearly illustrate the structure of the shaft and the contents of the sleeve. Figure 6B is a front elevation view, similar to that of Figure 6A, in which the spring is in a compressed state. Figure 7A is a front elevational view of the frozen beverage machine of Figure 3, showing the carriage at the end of its downward travel and showing the blade moving downwardly within the serving cup. Figure 7B is a front elevational view of the frozen beverage machine of Figure 3, showing the carriage and the knife at the ends of their respective downward travels. Figure 8 is a perspective view of the cup housing according to the present invention. Figures 9A and 9B are side views of the frozen beverage machine cup housing of Figure 3, showing small and large cups, respectively, placed in the cup housing. Figure 10 is a front elevation view, similar to that of the view of Figure 3, in which the cup support assembly is rotated toward the open condition. Figures HA and 11B are a top plan view and a side elevation view, respectively, of a blade in accordance with the present invention. Figure 12 is a cross-sectional side view of the blade of Figures HA and 11B, taken along the plane designated 12-12 in Figure HA. Figure 13 is a simplified flow chart showing the functions of the microprocessor of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, the method for manufacturing malted milks and frozen beverages, in accordance with the present invention, allows malted milks and other frozen beverages to be produced rapidly, breaking frozen blocks of ingredients into small frozen particles, and combining them with a liquid hot added. The ingredients that are to be frozen to form frozen blocks are pre-mixed in the liquid form, and then frozen to form blocks and stored. The ingredients can be frozen as blocks of the size of an individual service that can be removed from the freezer as needed to produce the individual frozen drinks. Alternatively, the ingredients can be frozen in service cups which are the same serving cups in which the malted milk or final frozen beverages will be served. During the production process of the frozen beverage, the frozen block receives the action of a rotating blade that grinds the frozen substance to produce small frozen particles. Hot liquid is added to the frozen block, to mix them in the frozen particles. The blade may also introduce air into the liquid or into the liquid mixture plus frozen particles, to improve the volume, texture, and flavor contribution, of the malted milk or the frozen beverage. For the remainder of this detailed description, the details of the invention will be provided with malted milks as the final product produced, although it should be understood that by the machine and method described herein end products such as creamy drinks or a variety of other frozen drinks. In its simplest form, the method of the present invention can be carried out using a conventional mixer which, like the mixer 300 of Figure 1, includes a mixing chamber 302 and a rotating blade 304. First, mixing of ice cream is combined with concentrated milk; that is, milk with a portion of its water content, evaporated. A preferred mixture includes a typical ice cream mixture as specified in the following Table, combined with milk that has been concentrated to half its initial weight by evaporation, as specified, resulting in the combined product as specified. .

Specification Table of the Sample Formula Milk Blend Ice Cream + Concentrated Product = Combined Grams (Ounces) 210 (7) 90 (3) 300 (10) Heavy Weight Percentages: Milk Fat 10.0% 7.0% 9.1 Non-Fat Milk Solids 12.0% 17.0% 13.5% Sugar 15.0% 0.0% 10.5% Emulsifiers and 0.3% 0.0% 0.2% Stabilizers Water 62.7% 76.0% 66.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% This mixture is then frozen to form an ice cream as a frozen substance, by incorporating air as it is stirred and frozen, so that the finished product consists of approximately 35% air by volume. Naturally, the ingredients and amounts may be outside the scope of the present invention. Preferably, the mixture is frozen in the size of an individual serving, 384.8 ml (13 fluid ounces), for a malted milk of 473.6 ml (16 fluid ounces). Referring to Figure 1, when a malted milk, a tablespoon or block 306 of this ice cream is to be produced as a frozen substance, it is placed in the mixing chamber 302. An amount of measured warm water is added to the chamber of mixing. The mixer is changed to the "on" condition to initiate the rotation of the blade 304. The rotating blade 304 grinds the frozen substance that is in the cup and mixes the hot water, added, with the frozen substance, as the blade breaks it into small frozen particles. If hot water is added instead of hot water, even if the milk portion of the frozen ingredients had been concentrated to a greater extent to compensate for the greater amount of water in the non-hot tap, to be added, the amount of added water necessary to achieve the proper consistency of the malted milk, It would cause the milk malted to have a watery taste. In addition, a portion of the tap water, not hot, added, would freeze to form small ice granules during mixing, causing the resulting malted milk to lack a smooth texture which is most desirable for milkshakes. It has been found that this phenomenon can be eliminated if the water is heated before it is introduced into the mixing chamber 302. By heating the water, three improvements are simultaneously achieved. First, the amount of water necessary to achieve the proper consistency of the final frozen beverage is greatly reduced. For example, to achieve the proper consistency of the final frozen beverage, a block of 384.8 ml (13 fluid ounces) ice cream, like the frozen substance, requires the addition of 177.6 ml (6 fluid ounces) of water at 10 ° C (50 ° F) typical, achieved by the use of tap water at room temperature, but only requires 88.8 ml (3 fluid ounces) of hot water at 77.6 ° C (170 ° F). This reduction in the amount of added water impacts the aqueous taste problem, because approximately half of the water is added at most, resulting directly in a less watery, richer flavor. Second, as the hot water cools from its high temperature, for the frozen substance, during the mixing, the hot water proportionally causes the frozen substance to melt more and more and which is incorporated into the added water, giving as a result result that a greater concentration of the ingredients of the frozen substance are mixed in the liquid phase of the frozen beverage. The liquid phase of a frozen beverage has a much greater impact on the taste of the frozen phase, because it is able to be detected by the taste buds more easily. In this way, this higher concentration of frozen ingredients, melted in the liquid phase, also helps in a very substantial way to solve the problem of aqueous taste. Third, due to the higher concentration of frozen ingredients, which have melted into the liquid phase of the frozen beverage, the freezing point of the liquid phases is further abated by the use of hot water. The temperature of the liquid in a final malted milk is typically -1.7 ° C (29 ° F). This is due to its concentration of sugars, which lowers the freezing point of 0 ° C (32 ° F) for pure water. When tap water is used, typical, at 10 ° C (50 ° F), the concentration of the sugars that combine with the water in the liquid phase is insufficient to lower the freezing point of the added water, up to the level of -1.7, ° C (29 ° F), and the frozen ingredients cause a portion of the added water to freeze in the form of small crystals. Freezing causes a granular texture. When hot water is used, the concentration of sugars in the liquid phase reaches an adequate level to lower the freezing point of the liquid phase to a level where any appreciable freezing of water from the liquid phase, to form ice crystals, is eliminated. This eliminates the problem of granular texture. An alternative embodiment of an apparatus for use and accomplishing the method of the present invention is presented in Figures 3 to 13. Although a mixer works well to carry out the method, the apparatus of the Figures from 3 to 13 is more appropriate for a commercial food service since it eliminates much of the time and labor required when using the mixer method. In addition, it has the additional advantage of being able to incorporate air into the frozen beverage during the mixing process. This ability to incorporate air allows the use of a frozen block of ingredients that have not been previously aerated, further simplifying the preparation of the frozen ingredients.

Cup and Ingredients A service cup 200 of the type that can be used in the method and apparatus according to the present invention is presented in Figure 2. The outer surface of the cup 200 includes a plurality of flanges 202. When ready for use in the machine according to the present invention, the cup 200 contains malted milk ingredients which are frozen in the form of a block 204 which molds to the shape of the cup. Block 204 includes an upper surface 206. The frozen substance preferably comprises all the ingredients required to produce a malted milk, with the exception of air and a portion of the water. The Specification Table of the Sample Formula, above, lists the preferred amounts for the ingredients, with the exception of air. Air is an important ingredient in a final malted milk, because it provides the malted milk with adequate volume and texture, and improves the flavor contribution. Specifically, a cup that will produce a malted milk with a volume of 473.6 ml (sixteen fluid ounces) typically contains a frozen block 204 of approximately 296 ml (ten fluid ounces) of the combined product, but without incorporated air. These 296 ml (ten ounces) of combined product consist of 207.2 ml (seven ounces) of standard ice cream mixture combined with 177.6 ml (six ounces) of milk, as would be used in a conventional, past times malted milk, except that 177.6 ml (six ounces) of milk have been reduced to 88.8 ml (three ounces) of concentrated milk by evaporating 88.8 ml (three ounces) of water. These 88.8 ml (three ounces) of water that has been evaporated will be added again to the malted milk mixture, later as the hot water, during the mixing, in the machine for frozen drinks 10. It should be noted that this approach differs from that of placing ice cream or a frozen substance similar to ice cream, as used in the Example of the above conventional mixer, in the cup, because, by definition they contain air that is incorporated during freezing. For example, ice cream typically used in milkshakes of the past-time type, prepared with spoon-shaved ice cream, typically contains about 35% to 50% air by volume. At the end of the production operation of the malted milk, the 296 ml (ten fluid ounces) of the combined product will have added 88.8 ml (three fluid ounces) of hot water, to give a subtotal of 384.8 ml (thirteen fluid ounces), plus 88.8 ml (three fluid ounces) of air incorporated by the whipping action of the rotating blade, resulting in the desired 473.6 ml (sixteen fluid ounces), of final, rich, smooth-textured malted milk. The ingredients are frozen within the cup 200 and form a block of frozen substance that typically fills the cup in approximately 60% of its total volume. As will be appreciated later, the full volume of the cup is used to contain the malted milk once hot liquid and air are introduced into the cup during a malted milk production operation.

Milk and Frozen Beverage Machine Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the machine 10 for frozen drinks, in accordance with the present invention, is composed, in general, of a rear housing 12, a housing 14 for the mixing assembly, and a housing 16 for cups . Referring to Figure 5, the back housing 12 includes a compartment 18 having a shelf 20. Above the shelf 20, the compartment 18 contains a reservoir 22 for liquids containing the liquid (preferably water) that is added to the cup. during the processing of malted milk. The liquid can be pumped into the reservoir 22 by an external source or it can be installed in the form of replaceable containers. The reservoir 22 may be a heated container, similar to a conventional hot water heater, or may be configured to receive hot liquid from an external source. The water in the tank 22 is stored at an elevated temperature well above room temperature, preferably at about 37.8-82.2 ° C (100-180 ° F) and most preferably at 76.7 ° C. (170 ° F). A tube 24 extends from the liquid reservoir 22 and extends through a peristaltic pump 26. The tube 24 has an open end 27 positioned within the housing 14 of the mixing assembly. The rear housing includes a base portion 29 that is below the rear compartment 18. A block 31 (Figures 4 and 5) extends from the base portion 29 and supports a pair of limit switches 33a, 33b. A microprocessor 35 (Figure 5) is contained within the base portion 29 of the rear housing 12. As will be discussed in detail later, the microprocessor 35 receives information from the limit switches 33a, 33b and other sensors that inspect the operation of the malted milk machine, and manages the operation of it. A start switch 37 is located on the front of the rear housing 12 and is interconnected with the microprocessor 35 to send start signals to the malted milk machine when it is fired by a user. Referring to Figure 4, the housing 14 of the mixing assembly is hinged to the back housing 12 such that the housing 14 of the mixing assembly can be rotated toward the open position shown in Figure 5 to allow the Water supply (if a replaceable source is used) is replaced. A support structure 28 is mounted to the housing 14 of the mixing assembly. The upper and lower support members 30 extend laterally from the support structure 28. With reference to Figures 3 and 4, two engines are mounted to the structure 28 within the housing 14: a motor 32 of the carriage and a motor 34 of the blade. The motor 32 of the carriage includes a shaft 36 that rotates when the motor is activated. The shaft 36 is coupled to a first pulley 38 and a belt 39 is driven by the first pulley 38. The carriage motor 32 is preferably a stepper motor capable of reaching 1500 RPM and 603,260 dynes per square centimeter of torque. The blade motor 34 is preferably a horsepower motor capable of reaching up to 3400 revolutions per minute. It includes a rotating shaft 40 which is coupled to a second pulley 42 in such a way that the activation of the blade motor 34 results in the rotation of the second pulley 42. A belt 43 is driven by the second pulley 42. A carriage 44 it is located within the housing 14. An elongated rod 46 (Figure 3) extends through a hole 48 in the carriage 44 and is fixed to the support members 45. The rod 46 is secured to the housing 14 of the mixing assembly , by a number of mounting blocks 50. The hole 48 is provided so that the carriage 44 can slide easily along the rod 46, and the linear bearings (not shown) are pressed towards the ends of the hole 48 to assist the sliding movement. With reference to Figure 3, the carriage 44 includes a laterally extending member 52, which has a hole 54. A spherical nut 56 is secured within the bore 54, and a vertical screw driver 58 extends through the spherical nut 56. The screw driver 58 is mounted to the support structure 28 by a pair of mounting members 60.

A third pulley 61 is attached to one end of the screw driver 58. The belt 39 is coupled to the pulley 61 in such a way that the rotation of the pulley 38 results in the corresponding rotation of the third pulley 61. In this way the activation of the carriage motor 32 results in the rotation of the screw driver 58. When the screw driver 58 is rotated in this manner, the ball nut 56 is caused to travel vertically along the screw driver 58 to move it. with it the carriage 44 vertically up or down, depending on the direction in which the screw driver is rotated. The carriage 44 is a substantially rectangular structure having a rectangular central opening 62. A bore 64 extends through the upper end of the carriage 44 and into the opening 62. A splined shaft 66 is slidably positioned in the bore 64. The splined shaft 66 extends through a bearing 68 which is mounted to the support structure 28 by a support 69. A fourth pulley 71, which is internally grooved, is attached to the bearing 68 and the belt 43 is coupled to the fourth pulley 71. In this way, the rotation of the second pulley 42, such as by the activation of the blade motor 34, causes the resulting rotation of the fourth knurled pulley 71.

During the rotation of the knurled pulley 71, the splines of the splined shaft 66 and the splined pulley 71 rotationally engage with each other in such a manner that the rotation of the splined pulley 71 causes rotation of the spline shaft 66. However, this The coupling does not prevent the splined shaft 66 from sliding vertically within the spline pulley 71 and the bearing 68 during the vertical movement of the trolley 44. The spline shaft 66 includes a smooth section 70. A collar 72 (Figure 6A and Figure 6B) surrounds and is fixed to the smooth section 70 of the shaft 66. The shaft 66 further includes a tapered section 74 and a blade 76 attached to the tapered section 74. With reference to Figure 6A, the smooth section 70 of the shaft 66 extends through of a sleeve 78 mounted to the carriage 44 within the opening 62 (the opening 62 shown in Figure 2). A protrusion 82 is formed in the upper part of the sleeve 78. A compression spring 80 surrounds the shaft section 70 and is housed within the sleeve 78. The spring 80 has a first end 84 which butts with the nose 82 and a second end. 86 which butts with the collar 72. When the carriage 44 advances downward in the direction indicated by the arrow Al, and the blade 76 reaches the surface 206 of the frozen substance 204 which is in the cup, the spring 80 is compressed between the projection 82 and the collar 72 as indicated in Figure 6B. Gradually, the shaft 66 slides down, as indicated by the arrow A2 in Figure 6B, through the sleeve 78 until the spring 80 returns to its relaxed condition shown in Figure 6A. With reference to Figures 7A and 7B, an optical detector 88 is mounted to the top of the carriage 44. The optical detector includes a light source 90 and a receiver 92 that detects the light emitted by the light source 90. The optical detector 88 is positioned to detect whether the upper end of the splined shaft 66 is extending above the carriage 44. When the upper end of the shaft 66 extends above the carriage 44, the receiver 92 is prevented from receiving the light emitted by the source luminous 90. When the carriage 44 is lowered and the upper end of the splined shaft 66 can be detected by the optical reader 88, it indicates that the knife 76 has not yet reached the bottom of the serving cup 200 which contains the ingredients of the malted milk The optical detector 88 is electronically connected to the microprocessor 35 (Figure 5). When the blade 66 reaches the bottom of the serving cup 200 during the use of the malted milk machine, this information is received by the microprocessor 35 and used to control the malted milk production operation as will be discussed later. Referring to Figures 4, 5 and 8, the support structure 28 has a lower portion 94 positioned above the socket 16 for cups. The lower portion 94 includes a recessed section 96 which, when the housing 14 of the mixing assembly is rotated to the closed condition shown in Figure 4, faces the portion of the rear compartment 18 that lies below the shelf 20. The recessed section 96 is surrounded by three side walls 98, an upper wall 100 (Figure 5), and a lower wall 102. The openings 104a, 104b shown in Figure 4, are formed in the upper and lower walls 102. These openings allow the blade 76 to extend toward the recessed section 96 and pass from the recessed section to the cup 200. A solenoid latch 103 having a pin 105 (Figures 9A and 9B) is attached to the lower portion 94 of the housing 14. The solenoid latch 103 works in a conventional manner. The pin 105 is spring-loaded in the raised condition shown in Figure 10. When the latch bolt 103 is activated, the bolt 105 slides vertically downward and to the secured position shown in Figures 9A and 9B. Referring to Figure 10, the cup housing 16 includes a side section 106 which is hinged to the rod 46. The cup housing can rotate about the rod 46 into the closed position shown in Figure 3 and the open position shown in Figure 10. A handle 107 is provided to allow the cup housing to be easily rotated between the closed and open positions. When the solenoid pin 105 is in the secured position, shown in Figure 9A, it prevents the cup housing from moving to the open position. Referring to Figure 10, the cup housing 16 includes a tray 108 that is provided with a notch 110 for receiving a serving cup 200. The portion 114 of the cup housing 16 above the tray is open. The cup housing 16 further includes an outer wall 112 which, when the cup housing is in the closed position, causes the cup 200 to be enclosed between the outer wall 112 and the base portion 29 of the rear housing 12. Furthermore, and as best shown in Figures 9A and 9B, when the cup housing 16 is in the closed condition, the block 31 which is attached to the rear housing 12 extends toward the open portion 114 of the cup housing 16. The wall 112 and the block 31 are important because they prevent access to the cup during the processing cycle, during which time it would be very dangerous to disturb the cup because the sharp blade rotates at high RPM inside the cup. Referring again to Figures 9A and 9B, when a cup is placed in the cup housing and the cup housing is placed in the closed condition, the cup presses at least one of the limit switches 33A, 33B. A short cup 200b, shown in Figure 9A, will only press the lower limit switch, 33b, while a tall cup 200a, shown in Figure 9B will press both the lower and upper limit switch 33a, 33b. The switches 33a, 33b provide a means through which the presence of a cup can be detected in the cup housing. As will be described in detail below, when at least one of the switches 33a, 33b is closed, the microprocessor activates the solenoid latch 103, causing the cup housing 16 to be secured in the closed condition and generate start signals that cause the start the production cycle of the frozen drink. The limit switches 33a, 33b also provide information to the microprocessor 35 (Figure 5) concerning the size of the cup that is placed in the cup housing. As detailed below, this will ensure that the appropriate amount of liquid is supplied to the cup, for malted milk of the appropriate size to be produced. Also, because the surface 206 (Figure 2) of the frozen block 204 is smaller in a smaller cup than in a relatively larger cup, the microprocessor can ensure that the blade 76 is lowered to the proper height before making start spinning Referring to the perspective view of Figure 8, the notch 110 includes the edges 116 around its perimeter. These edges are designed to be coupled with similar edges 202 that are on the outer surface of the serving cup 200. This prevents the cup 200 from rotating within the notch 110 as the rotating blade advances through the frozen substance.

Knife Figures HA and 11B are side and plan views, respectively, of the blade 76. The blade 76 is a 6.35 cm (2.5 inch) diameter stainless steel blade, having a circular shape and a thickness of about 0.20 cm. (0.080 inches). Holes of 0.95 cm (three eighths of an inch) in diameter, 118a, 118b and 118c, are spaced 120 ° and at specific radii from the center of the blade, so that when the blade performs a complete rotation, the entire surface area of the blade the frozen substance will have passed through three holes. The holes 118a are centered 0.10 cm (0.041 inches) from the center of the blade, and the holes 118b and 118c are separated 0.16 cm (0.062 inches) and 0.21 (0.083 inches) from the center of the blade, respectively. The depressed regions 120, best shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 12, are formed immediately adjacent to each of the holes, located on their trailing edge, as the blade rotates. Those regions are in depression of 0.20 cm (0.080 inches). The depressed regions and holes are arranged in such a way that as the blade 76 is rotated and advanced into the frozen substance found in the cup 200 (Figure 2), in the holes 118a-c and in the regions in depression 120, scrapes through the frozen substance in a manner somewhat like the grating action of a cheese grater. It should be appreciated that the blade of Figure HA is configured in such a way that the rotation of this blade, in the clockwise direction, produces the desired grating effect. This arrangement also allows for easy fabrication in a punching operation, and maintains the mechanical strength of the blade so that its outer edges are not deflected upward by the force of the frozen substance being pierced. Other arrangements with holes of different shape or size will also work well. Three corrugations are formed in the blade. As shown in Figures HA and 12, each of the corrugations 122 includes a central fold 124 that rises above the plane of the blade, and side folds 126 that lie in the plane of the blade. The folds 124 and 126 have a length of approximately 1.27 cm (1/2 inch) and extend radially from the perimeter of the blade. A distance along the perimeter of the blade, of approximately 1.27 cm (1/2 inch) separates each pair of side folds 126. During the rotation of the blade at high speed, the corrugations 122 increase the effect of blade beating , causing an area of high and low pressure, alternately, at the edge of the blade, creating turbulent eddies that cause a churning effect. Three pairs of notches 128 are formed along the perimeter of the blade 76, spaced 120 ° from each other. Each pair includes a first notch having a rear edge 130 in depression, and a second notch having a raised rear edge 132. During a malted milk production operation, the trailing edge 130 sinks to act as a grating surface, to pierce through the frozen substance at the outermost radius of the blade. The trailing edge 132 is raised to act as an inclined, inverted surface, to force the malted milk down into the cup and thereby minimize the amount of malted milk that is made to rise up the inner walls of the cup, due to the centrifugal force. In addition, by directing the malted milk ingredients above the blade, which are brought to the outer edge of the blade, by centrifugal force, to then be forced down and under the blade as the rotating blade moving upwards, the raised rear edge 132 helps prevent the blade from carrying ingredients up and out of the cup when the blade is pulled out of the cup.

Functioning Next, the operation of the machine for frozen beverages according to the present invention will be described. First, the cup housing 16 is rotated to the open condition shown in Figure 10 and a cup 200 containing the frozen substance 204 is placed in the notch 110. The cup housing 16 is then rotated to the position closed which is shown in Figure 3. Then the motor 32 of the carriage is activated. The activation of the carriage motor 32 causes the rotation of the axle 36 of the carriage motor and of the pulley 38, and through the belt 39 further causes the rotation of the pulley 61 which is attached to the axis 58 of the vertical screw driver, causing this to turn. Counterclockwise rotation of shaft 58 of the screw driver, when seen from above, causes carriage 44 to travel vertically downwards as indicated by date A3 in Figure 3. The carriage 44 has the spindle shaft 66 mounted thereto, such that when the carriage 44 moves vertically downwards, the spindle shaft 66 advances downwards as well, with one exception which will be briefly explained. When the blade 76, attached to the lower part of the spindle shaft 66, approaches the surface 206 of the frozen substance 204, the motor 34 of the blade is activated causing the rotation of the pulley 42, and through the belt 43 , the rotation of the pulley 71 which is attached to the spindle shaft 76, causes the blade 76 to rotate. The downward travel of the carriage 44 continues, and the blade 76 contacts the surface 206 of the frozen substance and begins to perforate downwardly and through it.

When the perforation begins, the liquid pump 26 is activated and begins to pump heated liquid into the cup, through the tube 24, for mixing and beating with the small frozen particles created by the perforating action of the blade. Approximately 88.8 ml (three fluid ounces) of liquid at an elevated temperature of about 37.8-82.2 ° C (100-180 ° F), but, most preferably 76.7 ° C (170 ° F), are pumped into the cup through a period of approximately three to five seconds, depending on the desired consistency of the final malted milk. The high temperature of the water results in a richer flavor and prevents the water from turning into ice crystals as it is mixed with the ingredients contained in the cup 200, as described above. The downward travel of the carriage 44 is generally driven at a faster speed than the knife 76 can pierce through the frozen substance in the cup. This disparity in down travel speeds causes the trip down the spindle shaft 66, to which the blade 76 is attached, to be slower than the downward travel of the carriage 44. This forces the spindle shaft 66 to move toward up inside their mounts on the carriage 44 and that the spring 80 is compressed as shown in Figure 7A. The carriage 44 is driven to its lowest travel point, as shown in Figure 7B, and then the carriage motor 32 is deactivated. The blade 76 continues to grate and mix the frozen substance 204 that is inside the cup 200, as it moves downwardly in the cup, driven by the gradual relaxation of the compressed spring 80 (Figures 6B and 7A) acting on the shaft of spindle 70. When the optical detector 88 detects that the spindle axis has progressed all the way to the bottom of the cup, as shown in Figure 7B, the drilling stage of the process ends. The reason for this release arrangement of the spring is to allow a greater proportion of travel speed of the carriage 44 from its position of higher, at the beginning of the cycle, to the bottom of its travel. This is advantageous because it allows the blade 76 to perforate as fast as the frozen substance allows. Softer frozen substances can be drilled more quickly. Without this spring release arrangement, time would be lost when the carriage 44 had to be driven down as slowly as it would be in the case of drilling the harder substance, to ensure that the blade motor 34 does not lose speed due to a torque requirement. excessive twisting, to continue the rotation of the blade. A further advantage is that the exact rotation speed for the carriage motor 32, which drives the downward travel of the carriage during drilling, becomes less critical. This simplifies the controls required for this engine. Presented these two advantages of spring release, it can be appreciated that the same advantages could be achieved through a variety of different means, including the placement of the spring mechanism on the shaft of the screw driver or its assemblies, rather than on the spindle shaft, or the placement of a sliding clutch in the motor connection of the carriage to the shaft of the screw driver, which would slide when the trip down the spindle and the carriage is caused to be carried out slowly due to the resistance of the piercing blade against the frozen substance. When the piercing stage has been completed, which is signaled by the optical detector 88 when the blade 76 reaches the bottom of the cup, the carriage motor 32 is caused to reverse its polarity and is activated to start moving the carriage, and with it, the shaft of the screw driver and the blade, upwards, as indicated by the arrow A4 in Figure 7B. At this point in the process the rotary blade 76 acts as a stirrer for mixing and vacuum, with the important feature of having a shape such that its thin cross-sectional profile does not cause excessive rotation of the contents of the cup. The carriage motor 32 lifts the carriage, and with it, the rotating knife, up and through the malted milk, completing the mixing and churning of the frozen material in the form of particles and the hot liquid, to produce malted milk, as it travels vertically through it. Some malted milk formulations benefit from a second vertical step of the mixing / shaving blade, through malted milk, in which case the vertical travel of the mixing blade stops 2.54 cm (1 inch) below the surface 210 of the malted milk 212 (marked in Figure 7B), and the polarity of the car 32 of the car reverses again and the blade 76 moves back down and towards the bottom of the cup. Upon reaching the bottom, the polarity of the carriage motor 32 reverses again and the blade moves up again in the cup 200 to a point that is 2.54 cm (1 inch) below the surface 210 of the whipped milk 212 Once the mixing and shaking process is finished, and once the blade reaches the point that is 2.54 cm (1 inch) below the surface 210 (Figure 7B) of the malted milk 212, the blade motor 34, is deactivated and a braking force is applied to the blade motor to decrease its speed of rotation. This decrease in the rotation speed of the blade prevents splashing of malted milk out of the cup as the blade exits the surface 210 of the malted milk 212. With the rotation decreased, the car moves up and up a point where the blade is approximately 1/2 inch above the surface 210 of the malted milk 212, but still below the upper lip of the cup, and stops momentarily. When the car has stopped momentarily, the blade motor momentarily reactivates, causing the blade to rotate and detach any remaining malted milk remaining in the blade, and return it back to the cup below its upper lip . After a momentary turn of about half a second, the blade motor 34 is deactivated and the carriage motor 32 is reactivated to bring the carriage and blade up and to their original position above the cup. At this point the process is completed and the cup can be removed to serve its contents, opening the cup housing 16 and removing the cup 200 from the groove 110. As shown in Figure 3, when the carriage 44 and the blade 76 are in their original positions, the blade 76 and the narrow portion 75 of the shaft 70 are positioned within the notch section 96 of the housing 14.

Microprocessor control The functions of the microprocessor 35 to control the production operation of the frozen beverage will be explained below with reference to Figure 13. A production operation of a frozen beverage begins in step 300 when a user presses the start button 37 ( Figure 3). Then the microprocessor 35 detects if at least one of the limit switches 33a, 33b (Figure 9A and 9B) is closed, which indicates the presence of a cup 200 in the cup housing 16. If a limit switch is closed, the microprocessor 35 causes activation of the solenoid latch 103, step 304, such that the pin 105 moves to the secured condition shown in Figure 9A to secure the socket 16 for cups. If a limiter switch is not closed, the microprocessor ends the production process of the malted milk or may alternatively continue to inspect the limit switches for a predetermined period of time. Then, in step 306 the microprocessor 35 determines whether a tall cup 200a (Fig. 9B) or a short 3d cup 200b (Fig. 9A) is placed in the cup housing 16, determining whether only one limiter switch 33b is closed, which indicates that it is a small cup, or if both limit switches 33a, 33b are closed, which indicates that it is a large cup. In step 308 the microprocessor retrieves certain values that depend on the size of the cup, of query tables stored in its memory. For example, because a greater amount of added liquid is needed, for a large malted milk than for a small malted milk, one of the stored values is the time during which the peristaltic pump 26 will cause the heated liquid to be pumped to the cup 200. The other stored values include (1) those which indicate the distance the carriage 44 has to travel, or the travel time thereof, to place the blade 76 on the surface 206 of the frozen block 204, which will be greater for a large cup than for a small cup; (2) those that indicate the distance (or travel time) that the car has to travel, from the surface 206 of the frozen block 204 to the bottom of the cup; (3) those that indicate the distance (or travel time) that the car has to travel, to raise the blade in the malted milk, to a height just below the upper surface 210 (Figure 7B) of the malted milk 212; and (4) those that indicate the distance (or travel time) that the car has to travel to raise the blade in the malted milk, to a height just above the upper surface 210 of the malted milk 212. During the steps from 310 to 316, the values stored and recovered in step 308 are used to generate control signals that control the carriage motor 32, the knife motor 34, and the peristaltic pump 26. Specifically, the microprocessor in step 310 orders the carriage motor 32 to advance the carriage, by the appropriate number of steps, to place the blade 76 just above the surface 206 of the frozen block. In step 312 the microprocessor further instructs the carriage motor 32 to advance the carriage 44 an appropriate number of passages, which will cause the blade 76 to move toward the bottom of the cup (step 314). In step 316 the microprocessor sends control signals that cause the peristaltic pump 26 to pump heated liquid into the cup, through the opening 37, for the time that will provide the proper amount of hot liquid to the cup. In step 318 the microprocessor analyzes the optical sensor 88 and waits for a signal therein indicating that the blade 76 has reached the bottom of the cup (Figure 7B). When the blade 76 has reached the bottom of the cup, the microprocessor gives commands (step 320) to the carriage motor 32 to move the carriage 44 vertically upwards, a distance such that the blade 76 is positioned approximately 1.54 cm (one inch) below the surface 210 of the malted milk. The microprocessor then commands the blade motor 34 (step 322) to deactivate and thereby decrease the rotation of the blade 76. As described above this prevents the splashing of malted milk out of the cup when the blade passes through the surface 210 of the malted milk 212. Then, in step 324, the carriage motor 32 is caused to advance the carriage 44 so that the blade 76 is approximately 1.27 cm (1/2 inch) above the surface 210 of the malted milk 212, but still below the upper lip of the cup 200. With the carriage stopped momentarily, the microprocessor reactivates the motor 34 of the blade for a time of approximately 0.5 seconds (step 326) causing the blade to rotate and peel off any remaining ingredients from the raked milk and return it to the cup below your upper lip. In step 328, which occurs after reactivation of the blade motor 34, instructions are given to the carriage motor 32 to move the carriage 44 and the blade 76 to their original positions above the cup 200. Finally, in step 330, the microprocessor 35 causes deactivation of the solenoid latch 103, causing the pin 105 to move to the unlocked position, which is shown in Figure 10, allowing the cup housing 16 to be opened by a user . The present invention has been described with respect to two embodiments, one of which uses a mixer and another a machine for frozen drinks. However, it should be appreciated that many modifications can be made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the method described with respect to each embodiment can be carried out using a frozen substance that has been previously aerated or using one that has not been previously aerated. Additionally, the method of the invention can be carried out using a different equipment from that described herein. Accordingly, the invention of the Applicant should be limited only in the terms of the appended claims and should not be restricted by the embodiments described.

Claims (18)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the above invention, it is considered as a novelty, and therefore, the content of the following is claimed as property: CLAIMS

1. A method for producing a frozen beverage, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: (a) providing a block of frozen substance, the block having a first volume; (b) grinding the frozen substance to form a ground frozen substance; (c) adding a hot liquid to the frozen frozen substance, the hot liquid has a second volume; and, (d) mixing the hot liquid with the ground frozen substance.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises the step of incorporating air into the ground frozen substance, the frozen frozen substance, the air, and the liquid forming a frozen beverage having a volume exceeding the sum of the first and second volumes.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the frozen drink has a volume that is at least 15% greater than the sum of the first and second volumes.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: step (a) further includes providing a rotating blade; step (b) further includes milling the frozen substance using a blade; and, step (d) further includes incorporating the air into the frozen, ground substance, using the blade.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: step (a) includes providing a cup containing the block of frozen substance, the frozen substance has been frozen so that it molds to the interior of the cup; and, steps from (b) to (d) are carried out inside the cup.

6. A method for producing a frozen beverage, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: (a) combining the liquid ingredients of the frozen beverage, to form a mixture; (b) freezing the mixture to form a block of frozen substance, the block has a first volume; (c) grinding the frozen substance to form a ground frozen substance; (d) adding a hot liquid to the ground frozen substance, and the hot liquid has a second volume; and, (e) mixing the hot liquid with the ground frozen substance.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that: step (a) includes the step of combining ingredients that include concentrated milk.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that: step (d) includes adding hot water to the ground frozen substance.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that: step (a) includes combining ingredients that include concentrated milk; and step (d) includes adding hot water to the ground frozen substance.

10. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that: the step is added (e) that incorporates air to the ground frozen substance that is in the cup, frozen ground substance, air, and liquid, form a frozen beverage having a volume that exceeds the sum of the first and second volumes.

11. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that: step (a) includes combining ingredients that include concentrated milk; step (d) includes adding hot water to the ground frozen substance; and step (e) is added, of incorporating air to the ground frozen substance that is in the cup, the ground frozen substance, the air, and the liquid, forming a frozen beverage having a volume exceeding the sum of the first and second volumes.

12. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that: step (a) includes the combination of the ingredients of a cup to partially fill the cup; step (b) includes freezing the mixture so that it substantially molds into the interior of the cup; and, steps from (c) to (e) are carried out within the cup.

13. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the water is heated to a temperature of at least 37.8 ° C (100 ° F).

14. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that: the method further includes the step of providing a rotating blade; step (c) further includes milling the frozen substance using the blade; and, step (e) further includes incorporating air into the frozen substance, using the blade.

15. A frozen beverage characterized in that it comprises, in combination: a ground frozen substance; and, a hot, added liquid, having a temperature, when added, that is substantially above room temperature.

16. A malted milk produced in accordance with the process of claim 11.

17. An apparatus for producing frozen beverages from a frozen substance which has been frozen inside a cup, characterized in that it comprises: a housing; a cup holder mounted to the housing; a crushing means for, when a cup containing a frozen substance is placed in the cup holder, grinding the frozen substance to form a ground frozen substance; a source of hot liquid; and, a pump configured to direct the hot liquid into a cup containing a frozen substance, when that cup is placed in the cup holder.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that it further comprises an aeration means for, when a cup containing a liquid or milled substance is placed in the cup holder, causing air to be incorporated into the frozen frozen substance.