Viscous food dispensing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11576418-B2
Application number	US-202017112943-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 4, 2020
Priority date	Dec 4, 2020
Publication date	Feb 14, 2023
Grant date	Feb 14, 2023

Abstract

An apparatus for mixing and dispensing viscous food products is described herein. The apparatus may include a pump device for drawing the viscous food product from a container and distributing over a rotating turntable. The apparatus includes a cassette device with replaceable pliable food containers connected to the pump device through a friction-fit connection. The cassette device includes a sliding roller assembly and a door, with the container installed between the sliding roller assembly and the door such that the roller assembly applies force against the door and container as the sliding roller assembly descends under gravity. The sliding roller assembly includes level indicators visible through the door that provide visual indication of the level of food product remaining within the container.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A viscous food dispensing system, comprising:
a detachable door defining at least one elongated aperture along a vertical axis of the detachable door and attachable to a frame of the viscous food dispensing system by at least one hinge;
a pump device;
an inlet tube for the pump device;
a friction-fit connector coupled to the inlet tube of the pump device;
a container detachably connected to the detachable door, the container containing a viscous food product, the container including an outlet at a bottom of the container configured to couple with the friction-fit connector of the inlet tube via friction fit; and
a dispensing device comprising:
a roller slideably attached to the frame that applies pressure against the container and the detachable door wherein the roller is initially in contact with a top of the container and slides towards the outlet as the viscous food product is expelled; and
a level indicator coupled with the roller that protrudes through the at least one elongated aperture when the detachable door is closed such that the level indicator is visible from an exterior of the detachable door, when the container is disposed between the dispensing device and the detachable door.

2. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 1 , further comprising a retainer connected with the frame that releasably retains the roller at a top of the frame.

3. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 2 , wherein the retainer is configured to release the roller when the detachable door is closed.

4. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the friction-fit connector includes a first portion for extending into the inlet tube of the pump device and a second portion for extending into the outlet of the container, wherein the second portion includes a primary opening and one or more secondary openings, the primary opening being disposed at an end of the friction-fit connector and the one or more secondary openings being disposed on a side of the friction-fit connector to enable the viscous food product to exit the container through the friction-fit connector.

5. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more secondary openings increase an amount of viscous food product extracted from the container.

6. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the outlet is an elastic outlet and an outer diameter of the friction-fit connector is greater than an unstretched inner diameter of the outlet.

7. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the container is a pliable plastic bag.

8. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the container has a funnel shape from an upper end of the container to a bottom end of the container adjacent the outlet.

9. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the roller is configured to slide towards the outlet due to gravity acting on the roller.

10. The viscous food dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein, the inlet tube comprises a lower pressure region that is configured to draw the friction-fit connector into the inlet tube to reinforce the connection between the inlet tube and the friction-fit connector.

11. A cassette for supplying a viscous food product, comprising:
a cassette which is reusable and the cassette attached to a pump device, wherein the cassette includes a door;
a container detachably connected with the cassette, the container containing a viscous food product, the container including an outlet which is at a bottom of the container configured to couple with the pump device, a friction-fit connector coupling the bottom of the container with the pump device; and
a dispensing device comprising a roller slideably attached to the cassette at each end of the roller and slideably coupled to an exterior of the container to apply pressure against the container against the door of the cassette, wherein as the dispensing device is initially coupled to a top of the container and slides towards the outlet as the viscous food product is expelled,
wherein the dispensing device additionally includes a level indicator coupled with the roller that protrudes through at least one aperture of the cassette when a door of the cassette is closed to provide a level indication of the viscous food product within the container.

12. The cassette of claim 11 , wherein the roller is slidably connected to the cassette with a sliding block slidably connected to a guide shaft of the cassette.

13. The cassette of claim 12 , wherein the dispensing device further comprises a retainer that releasably retains the roller at the top of the cassette.

14. The cassette of claim 13 , wherein the retainer comprises a latch mechanism at a top end of the guide shaft actuated by closing the door of the cassette.

15. The cassette of claim 11 , wherein the friction fit connector comprises a cylindrical tube that fits in the outlet with a first opening at an end of the cylindrical tube and a second opening in a wall of the cylindrical tube.

16. The cassette of claim 15 , wherein the outlet is an elastic outlet and an outer diameter of the cylindrical tube is greater than an unstretched inner diameter of the outlet such that the friction fit connector is retained in the outlet by friction after insertion.

17. The cassette of claim 11 , wherein the container is detachably connected to the cassette at a top of the door.

18. The cassette of claim 11 , wherein the roller is weighted to move due to gravity alone and expel remaining contents of food product that adhere to an interior surface of the container.

Assignees

• Automatic Bar Controls Inc

Inventors

• Carbajal Serena
• Dial Gabriel
• O'Donnell Michael

Classifications

• B05C5/02

  {the liquid or other fluent material being discharged through an outlet orifice by pressure, e.g.} from an outlet device in contact or almost in contact, with the work · CPC title

• A21D13/41

  Pizzas · CPC title

• B65D35/28

  for expelling contents · CPC title

• A21C9/04 Primary

  Apparatus for spreading granular material on, or sweeping or coating the surfaces of, pieces or sheets of dough {(coating baked articles A21C15/002)} · CPC title

• A23P20/15 Primary

  Apparatus or processes for coating with liquid or semi-liquid products · CPC title