Patent ID: 7273315

Claim:
A mixing machine, comprising: a head extending over a bowl receiving location, the head including a rotatable output shaft for receiving a mixer tool, the head including a gear system therewithin for effecting rotation of the rotatable output shaft about its axis and orbiting of the shaft axis about another axis; an AC induction motor having an output operatively connected to drive the gear system; a drive for operating the AC induction motor, the drive including a rectification section for converting input AC power to DC power and a switching section for producing a 3 phase variable frequency output that is applied to the AC induction motor, wherein the switching section is controlled to adjust frequency of the 3 phase variable frequency output to make mix speed changes on the fly solely by adjusting speed of the AC induction motor; a user interface including at least one speed input mechanism having a limited number of speed positions; the drive is part of a control system including memory storing a plurality of distinct mix speeds corresponding to the speed positions of the speed input mechanism; wherein at one mix speed of the plurality of distinct mix speeds the motor speed is between about 2225 and 2950 RPM and the planetary speed is between about 125 and 165 RPM, and at a slower mix speed of the plurality of distinct mix speeds the motor speed is between about 320 and 500 RPM and the planetary speed is between about 18 and 28 RPM.