A CYLINDRICAL PISTON ASSISTED BLENDING VESSEL

摘要

A system for blending and dispensing a frozen mixture includes a blending chamber (10) to receive the ingredients to be blended and a blending mechanism (52) that includes a rotating blade for blending and a motor to drive the blade. A piston (20) is located within the blending chamber (10), and a dispensing mechanism (60) dispenses a blended mixture from the blending chamber. A discharge mechanism (701) discharges a cleaning fluid from the blending chamber (10). The piston (20) is moved to a first position with respect to the blending mechanism (52) during a blending cycle and moved to a second position during a dispensing cycle, the second position being closer to the blending mechanism than the first position. The piston (20) is moved to a third position with respect to the blending mechanism (52) during an introduction of a cleaning fluid into the blending chamber (10), the third position being farther away from the blending mechanism (52) than the first position. The piston (20) is moved to a fourth position with respect to the blending mechanism (52) during a discharging of the cleaning fluid cycle.