Dispensing – Plural sources – compartment – containers and/or spaced jacket
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-25
2001-02-06
Bomberg, Kenneth (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
Plural sources, compartment, containers and/or spaced jacket
C222S154000, C222S155000, C222S160000, C222S181100, C222S517000, C222S542000, C222S560000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182864
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to dispensing apparatus and, more particularly, to a gravity feed dispensing bin apparatus. This apparatus allows bulk material that is loaded through an inlet to flow under the force of gravity to an outlet from which the product is dispensed.
Traditionally, gravity feed bins for dispensing bulk materials are used to dispense a wide variety of materials having a range of sizes and aggregate make-ups as diverse as hardware components, e.g., nuts and bolts, to food, e.g., nuts, cereals, pastas, coffee (either beans or ground), dried soup mixes, candies, spices, and the like. Generally, the bins are comprised of enclosures having an inlet at an upper end utilized to fill a cavity, an outlet at its lower end utilized to dispense the material, and a flow control device located between the upper and lower openings for controlling the amount of materials being dispensed. In operation, as the material is being dispensed gravity pulls the remaining material in the cavity towards the lower end to replace the dispensed material. These types of bins generally include a downwardly curving inner wall that forms a chute to channel the dispensed materials into a receptacle adjacent the outlet.
Examples of prior art gravity feed bins can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,866 to Loew and U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,393 to Blicher et al, and NewLeaf Designs' Vita-Bin®.
Unfortunately, these prior art systems have many shortcomings. They are labor intensive to make since pieces have to be cut and glued together, they are hard to clean because of comers in glued joints, they do not fit well into modular systems with each other, and they cannot be easily disassembled for cleaning without the use of tools. Also, parts of the device for biasing the movement of the output door were required to be passed through the food. The result of all this is that most of the prior art devices are not qualified for certification by NSF International, which is an independent laboratory for certifying food processing equipment. What is needed is a bulk food dispensing apparatus that is easily manufactured, assembled, and cleaned.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This present invention overcomes all these above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art devices.
According to the present invention, an apparatus comprises first and second side pieces configured to be hingedly connected and to form a first cavity, a closing device, and a front piece configured to form a third cavity with the first and second side pieces. Also included are a handle, a biasing device configured to be positioned outside the first cavity, and a rotating blocking device configured to rotate based on movement of the handle and the biasing device, such that handle and rotating block device are returned to a stationary position based on the biasing device. Finally, the apparatus includes a sealing device that is configured to interact with the rotating blocking device to close a first opening between the first and second cavities and a swinging blocking device configured to close a second opening between the first and second cavities.
REFERENCES:
patent: 367599 (1887-08-01), Conant
patent: 557274 (1896-03-01), Kade
patent: 670792 (1901-03-01), Lippincott
patent: 1184379 (1916-05-01), Ritter
patent: 1224136 (1917-05-01), Caskey
patent: 1225797 (1917-05-01), Gardner
patent: 1771545 (1930-07-01), Melvin
patent: 1907773 (1933-05-01), Fisher et al.
patent: 2131651 (1938-09-01), Woo
patent: 2150753 (1939-03-01), Weinstein
patent: 2447409 (1948-08-01), Gulow
patent: 2663466 (1953-12-01), Heltzel
patent: 3146924 (1964-09-01), Cozadd et al.
patent: 4349128 (1982-09-01), Sanfilippo
patent: 4903866 (1990-02-01), Loew
patent: 5308158 (1994-05-01), Vogelsong et al.
patent: 5437393 (1995-08-01), Blicher et al.
patent: 5529219 (1996-06-01), Ward
1997 New Leaf Designs, Inc, Catalog.
1999 New Leaf Designs, Inc. Catalog.
Arter & Hadden LLP
Bomberg Kenneth
Eley James R.
Trade Fixtures, LLC
Vierra-Eisenberg Jason D.
LandOfFree
Bulk food dispensing apparatus does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Bulk food dispensing apparatus, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Bulk food dispensing apparatus will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2562804