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 frozen confection dispensing apparatus includes a freezer section having a base product. A dispensing section is connected to the freezer section. The dispensing section includes a mixing cylinder and a plunger movably positioned within the mixing cylinder, the mixing cylinder including at least one injection port. A flavoring section includes a plurality of flavor syrups connected to a specified injection port. A stepper motor is connected to the plunger and moves the plunger within the mixing cylinder. A control mechanism is connected with the stepper motor and syrup pump selectively moving the plunger wherein a syrup dispense rate and timing is sequenced by the control mechanism with the stepper motor driven plunger wherein mixing of the base product and flavor syrup is precisely controlled.

An ice cream production apparatus comprises a control unit, a freezer, a freezer outlet pump and a piping system provided from the freezer to one or more ice cream outlet nozzles downstream the freezer, can assume at least two operational modes. The first operational mode is a production mode. The second operational mode is a pre-production mode comprising the steps of freezing the ice cream in the freezer such that the ice cream obtains a pre-production viscosity value being equal to or higher than a production viscosity value, and pumping the frozen ice cream into the piping system at a pre-production outlet flow being smaller than a production outlet flow. The pre-production mode is used for cooling the piping system and the ice cream outlet nozzles before operating the ice cream production apparatus in the production mode.

A refrigerator appliance is provided and may include a cabinet, a door, a sealed cooling system, an ice crusher motor, and a frozen beverage unit. The cabinet may define a chilled chamber. The door may be attached to the cabinet to selectively restrict access to the chilled chamber. The door may include a door liner defining an icebox compartment. The sealed cooling system may be in fluid communication with the icebox compartment to circulate air within the refrigerator appliance. The ice crusher motor may be mounted within the icebox compartment. The frozen beverage unit may include a freezing tank and a rotatable auger. The rotatable auger may extend into the freezing tank and in operable attachment with the ice crusher motor.

This invention relates to containers of the kind having an outlet through which product is to be dispensed, e.g. food product. There is provided a container for product to be dispensed. The container has an upper part intended to move or deform in order to reduce the volume within the container. The container has an outlet intended to open during movement or deformation of said upper part. The outlet comprises a plurality of movable parts. The outlet further comprises a plurality of fixed parts located between said movable parts. The movable and fixed parts are arranged for shaping product as it is dispensed from the container through the outlet. A method of dispensing and a vending machine for dispensing portions of ice cream or other frozen product from the container are also provided.

A machine for making liquid or semi-liquid food products comprises: a frame; a first container containing a liquid or semi-liquid base product; a second container defining a processing chamber for processing a base mixture made up of the liquid or semi-liquid base product and a gas; a stirrer mounted inside the second container; thermal treatment means associated with the second container, acting in conjunction with the stirrer to convert the base mixture inside the second container into a finished liquid or semi-liquid product; a connecting duct connecting the first container to the second container and configured to connect the first container to the second container in such a way as to allow the base mixture to be transferred to the second container; a dispenser connected to the second container to allow dispensing the finished product.

Methods and systems for producing cocktail ice cubes are provided. One method includes setting a temperature of an interior surface of a tumbler below a desired temperature for an ice structure loaded into the tumbler; executing a sauce coating cycle for coating the ice structure with a sauce; executing a freeze cycle after the sauce coating cycle, by spraying nitrogen on the ice structure; alternating between the sauce coating cycle and the freeze cycle for applying sauce on the ice structure; and executing a water cycle for applying water to the ice structure coated with the sauce to produce a frozen cocktail ice structure.

A frozen product machine that solves problems associated with conventional home ice cream and frozen product machines by prevents loss of product in the chamber and decreases freezing time for a liquid product. A cooling chamber is cooled by a cooling element that provides variable cooling temperatures throughout the cooling chamber. A temperature gradient, progressing from lower temperatures at the bottom of the chamber, or the outlet, to higher at the top of the chamber, or inlet, create a more efficient means of cooling a frozen product. An auger, that may be shaped to match the shape of the cooling chamber may include slots that allow for controlled flow of frozen product through the chamber to promote efficient cooling. Hinged fins may rotate from open to closed within the slot to further enhance flow of frozen product through the frozen product machine.

Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and apparatuses for producing frozen comestible products with entrained gas. The systems and apparatuses may function for long periods of time without cleaning. The systems and apparatuses may be used in producing soft-serve products entrained with a gas including soft-serve ice cream, soft-serve frozen yogurt, frozen pureed fruit, sorbet, soft-serve frozen custard, and other foods capable of being made into soft-serve products. An overrun control module, which may include a gas regulator or a pressure switch, may regulate quantities of a freezable comestible mixture and a compressed gas that pass through to an accumulator, where the gas becomes entrained in (e.g., dissolves in or becomes suspended in) the freezable comestible mixture. The freezable comestible mixture entrained with a gas may pass to the freezing chamber, which produces a frozen comestible product entrained with a gas. The system may be maintained at a state of overpressurization to reduce or eliminate environmental air and environmental contaminants from entering the system, which may increase the amount of time between cleanings.