Article dispensing – With article treatment – With cooling or heating
Patent
1997-11-10
2000-05-02
Ellis, Christopher P.
Article dispensing
With article treatment
With cooling or heating
221281, 221199, 221312A, 15 883, 62530, 62378, B65G 5900
Patent
active
060561521
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to apparatus for dispensing refrigerating elements, in particular plates and bags containing a substance formulated to accumulate negative calories, comprising a housing containing at least one storage unit for storing said refrigerating elements, refrigerated by a refrigerating device designed to load said refrigerating elements with negative calories, transfer means for transporting at least one refrigerating element stored and loaded with negative calories from the storage unit to at least one outlet provided in a wall in the housing and control means provided to activate said transfer means. The invention also relates to said refrigerating elements.
It is essential to keep frozen foodstuffs at the right temperature as micro-organisms may develop extremely quickly and cause a health hazard. Indeed, when it comes to sensitive products, such as minced beef, no presence, however tiny, of health-threatening micro-organisms or toxins must be detected. At -10.degree. C., bacteria cease to multiply completely. There is no risk of finding morbific bacteria and toxins up to +3.degree. C. At higher temperatures, the formidable salmonella (+5.degree. C.) and golden staphylococcus (+6.degree. C.) can proliferate dangerously. The risk can only be eliminated by making absolutely sure that the cold chain is not broken.
This is the reason why industrialists and distributors of frozen foodstuffs have improved the efficiency of their logistic circuits and have invested considerable amounts in refrigerating equipment. Numerous systems are currently used in order to provide indications concerning the temperature of the products whilst they are being transported and stored. For example, when transporting frozen foodstuffs, on-board automata continually record the temperatures in the truck and warn the driver in the event of an incident. In hypermarkets' linear facilities, thermomarkers, which change colour according to time-temperature variables, inform consumers about the quality and freshness of the products. Whilst everything is done to improve and maintain the cold chain from the producer to the distributor, there is little available to ensure that this chain between the distributor and the consumer is not broken. Indeed, there are isothermal bags so that the consumer can transport frozen foodstuffs home, but the temperature inside the bag is the same as the ambient temperature, particularly high in summer, and while transporting them, the bags are often placed in the car's boot where the temperature may also be relatively high. This is why these bags do not ensure that the cold chain is maintained nor are they efficient long enough throughout the time they are transported. It is therefore not possible to guarantee the ultimate quality of the frozen foodstuffs.
Some industrialists have attempted to solve the above-mentioned problems by proposing various types of apparatus for dispensing refrigerating elements with these elements being placed for example in an isothermal bag in order to ensure that the cold chain is not broken until the consumer arrives home. This apparatus is in particular described in the following publications FR-A-2 258 672, EP-A-0 140 153, DE-A-32 15 627 and DE-A-22 05 964. Nevertheless, in all of these devices, the refrigerating elements are stored piled one on top of the other, the refrigerating element lying at the bottom of the pile having to bear the weight of the others. It is easy to understand that this type of storage makes it difficult to take out the element which is at the bottom of the pile. Furthermore, the formation of frost tends to cause the elements to stick to one another, which further complicates the extraction of the elements. The elements are not guided during storage and may move and end up askew, thus jamming the apparatus. What is more, this type of storage system considerably limits the storage capacity in terms of the refrigerating elements for a reasonably compact device. The problems encountered with the elements sticking together and not b
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patent: 4671426 (1987-06-01), Grossi
Ellis Christopher P.
Leonetti, Phillippe
Tran Khoi H.
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