Providing single servings of cooled foods and drinks

1. A machine for producing cooled food or drinks from ingredients in a pod containing the ingredients, the machine comprising:

a housing;

a refrigeration system with a working fluid loop of two phase refrigerant that runs from the evaporator to a compressor to a condenser to an expansion device back to the evaporator; and

a motor operable to move a mixing paddle of a pod in the evaporator receptacle;

wherein the evaporator of the refrigeration system defines a receptacle sized to receive the pod and the evaporator comprises:

a body defining longitudinally extending channels spaced such that the channels are spread around the circumference of the evaporator between an inlet and an outlet;

a first cover attached to one end of the body; and

a second cover attached to the other end of the body;

wherein the first and second covers act as manifolds connecting a plurality of the longitudinal channels such that the compressor provides a fluid mass velocity up to 180,000 lb/hr-ft 2 ; and

wherein the motor is operable to mix the ingredients in the pod during cooling to generate frozen food or drink within two minutes.

2. The machine of claim 1 , wherein a pressure drop through the refrigeration system is less than 2 psi.

3. The machine of claim 1 , wherein a pod-to-evaporator heat transfer surface of the evaporator is less than 50 square inches.

4. The machine of claim 1 , wherein a refrigerant wetted surface area of the evaporator is less than 200 square inches.

5. The machine of claim 1 , wherein the evaporator is made of a material that has at least 160 W/m-k thermal conductivity and the evaporator has a mass of less than 1.50 pounds.

6. The machine of claim 5 , wherein a pressure drop through the refrigeration system is less than 2 psi.

7. The machine of claim 1 , wherein the evaporator is a cylindrical evaporator that clamps around on the pod in the use.

8. The machine of claim 7 , wherein the evaporator has an internal wall of copper adjacent to the pod in use.

9. The machine of claim 8 , further comprising R-290 propane as a refrigerant.

10. A machine for producing cooled food or drinks from ingredients in a pod containing the ingredients, the machine comprising:

a housing; and

a refrigeration system with a working fluid loop of two-phase refrigerant that runs from the evaporator to a compressor to a condenser to an expansion valve or capillary tube back to the evaporator;

wherein the evaporator defines a receptacle sized to receive the pod, the evaporator having a heat transfer surface area of under 50 square inches, the evaporator comprising:

a body defining longitudinally extending channels, spaced such that the channels are spread around the circumference of the evaporator between the inlet and outlet;

a first cover attached to one end of the body; and

a second cover attached to the other end of the body;

wherein the first and second covers act as manifolds connecting a plurality of the longitudinal channels such that a mass of the body, the first cover, and the second cover is under 1.5 pounds.

11. The machine of claim 10 , further comprising a motor operable to move a mixing paddle of a pod in the evaporator receptacle to mix the ingredients in the pod during operation of the refrigeration system.

12. The machine of claim 10 , wherein a pressure drop through the refrigeration system is less than 2 psi.

13. The machine of claim 10 , wherein a refrigerant wetted surface area of the evaporator is less than 200 square inches.

14. The machine of claim 10 , wherein the evaporator is a cylindrical evaporator that clamps around on the pod in the use.

15. The machine of claim 14 , wherein the evaporator has an internal wall of copper adjacent to the pod in use.

16. The machine of claim 15 , further comprising R-290 propane as a refrigerant.

17. The machine of claim 16 , further comprising an evaporator has cooling channels in it allowing for the fluid mass velocity up to 180,000 lb/hr ft 2 .

18. The machine of claim 17 , wherein the compressor is a rotary compressor.