Provided is a cooling chamber, cooling system and an appliance for producing cooled edible products, such as ice cream, sorbets, frozen yogurt, foamed cooled drinks, etc.

Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks.

Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks.

A micro puree machine including a housing, a power shaft, a bowl assembly and a platform. The power shaft extends from the housing. The bowl assembly including at least one locking bowl element. The platform includes at least one complementary locking platform element that is configured to engage the at least one locking bowl element such that rotation of the bowl assembly relative to the platform is prevented at times the bowl assembly is positioned thereon. The platform is rotatable from a first position to a second position relative to the housing such that the platform raises the bowl assembly towards the power shaft during the rotation of the bowl assembly and platform. The raising of the bowl assembly facilitates connection between the power shaft and a blade assembly that is positioned in a lid assembly on the bowl assembly.

A lid assembly for use with a micro puree machine including a lid, a clip mechanism, and a release mechanism. The defines an axis. The clip mechanism is movable between an inward position and an outward position relative to the axis of the lid. The release mechanism is positionable relative to the clip mechanism between a home position and a release position and is operable to move the clip mechanism between the inward position and the outward position. At times the release mechanism is positioned toward the home position, the clip mechanism is moved toward the inward position. At times the release mechanism is positioned toward the release position, the clip mechanism is moved toward the outward position. The clip lever is operable to cause the clip mechanism to engage with or disengage from the blade assembly during installation and removal of bowl assembly from a micro puree machine.

A blade assembly for a micro puree machine including a central support hub, a cutting blade, a mixing blade, a central opening, an angled ledge and an undercut. The cutting blade extends outward from a circumferential surface of the central support hub and defines a curved leading edge. The central opening is configured to receive a power shaft therein. The angled ledge is located at an upper end of the central support hub and extends about at least a portion of an outer perimeter of the central support hub. The undercut is located on the outer perimeter of the central support hub and is positioned closer to a lower end of the central support hub than the angled ledge. The undercut includes an engagement surface that extends outwards from a central axis of the central support hub and is configured to receive and retain a clip mechanism.

Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks.

A micro puree machine including a housing, a power shaft, a bowl assembly and a platform. The power shaft extends from the housing. The bowl assembly including at least one locking bowl element. The platform includes at least one complementary locking platform element that is configured to engage the at least one locking bowl element such that rotation of the bowl assembly relative to the platform is prevented at times the bowl assembly is positioned thereon. The platform is rotatable from a first position to a second position relative to the housing such that the platform raises the bowl assembly towards the power shaft during the rotation of the bowl assembly and platform. The raising of the bowl assembly facilitates connection between the power shaft and a blade assembly that is positioned in a lid assembly on the bowl assembly. A blade assembly detection system detects proper positioning of the blade assembly within the lid assembly.

Apparatuses, methods, and systems for cooling the motor of a frozen confection machine during operation are described. A frozen confection machine has a blade assembly for shaving ice and a housing comprising an air inlet and an air outlet. The machine has a motor disposed in the housing and is attached to a drive shaft for bringing ice into contact with the blade assembly. The machine also includes a drip tray and a heat sink that is in mechanical contact with the drip tray. The machine uses a fan assembly to causes airflow to move into the housing across the heat sink and past the motor for cooling the motor. During use, the airflow cools the motor to prolong motor life and enhance performance. The heat sink may be integrated with the tray or may be a standalone heat sink. The heat sink may have fins or other structures to increase thermal transfer. The airflow may be passively created by convection or enhanced by a fan or otherwise.

A machine for making liquid or semi-liquid food products is provided with a frame, a product processing unit and a control unit for driving the processing unit; the processing unit is in turn provided with a first vessel which is set in rotation about its central axis by a brushless gear motor and which defines inside it a product processing chamber, a stirrer provided with a spatula mounted inside the processing chamber, and a movement unit for moving the stirrer; the movement unit for moving the stirrer imparts to the spatula, through two distinct linear actuators, a first movement, towards and away from the bottom of the first vessel, and a second movement, independent of the first, towards and away from the inside wall of the first vessel.