Dispensing – Collapsible wall-type container – Plural container and/or compartment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-02
2001-05-01
Kaufman, Joseph A. (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
Collapsible wall-type container
Plural container and/or compartment
C222S001000, C222S105000, C222S131000, C222S146500, C222S185100, C222S518000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223944
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to devices for dispensing heated flowable materials from containers and, more particularly, to devices for dispensing heated flowable materials such as food products from flexible packages.
2. Reference to Prior Art
It is common practice to dispense cheese sauce, catsup, mustard and other flowable food products from a can or other similar container with a pump-like dispenser. In order to prevent bacterial growth in low acid food products, such as cheese sauce, those products must be maintained at or above, an elevated temperature, e.g. 140 F, after the can or container is opened.
One type of pump dispenser widely used for low acid products has a water jacket which surrounds a large part of the can or container, and the water is heated to the required temperature. The dispensing nozzle and other parts of the dispensing device must be cleaned at regular intervals, for example, at the end of each day. Care must be taken to insure that the water jacket contains a sufficient amount of water to prevent the heating element from burning out. In many cases, a substantial amount of cheese sauce or the like in the bottom of the can or container is not dispensed by the pump. Also, the heated water jacket can cause a considerable build up of condensation on the exterior and inside the dispenser.
Some food products are sold in flexible packages and dispensed from those packages. However, prior dispensers for flexible packages either are quite complicated and, therefore, are substantially more expensive than pump type dispensers described above, or have one or more other shortcomings.
Barnard et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,015 relates to a dispenser for dispensing fluid food products from bags through nozzles attached thereto. The dispenser includes an actuator plate having V-shaped slots. A push rod carries the actuator plate and positions a selected V-shaped slot adjacent to the selected nozzle. The rod can be pushed to engage a switch and activate a motor which moves the actuator plate so that a V-shaped slot engages a nozzle to dispense the selected fluid.
Hogan U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,690,307 and 4,513,885 relate to a dispensing system including a housing for storing a sealed flexible package containing a flowable food product and compressible flow tube connected to a discharge fitment on the package. Manual operation of a rotor or peristatic pump in the housing compresses the tube to cause the product to be dispensed from the package.
Bond U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,788 relates to dispensing substances which will not readily flow by gravity from bag-in-box packages. The bag includes separate product and pressure chambers. Coupling fitments connect independently to the respective chambers. To dispense the product, a dispensing valve on the product fitment is opened and pressure is supplied to the pressure chamber to expand it and exert pressure on the product chamber.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a low cost, simply constructed dispenser for selectively dispensing a heated flowable material from a flexible package, and maintaining the material at or above a predetermined temperature after the package is opened.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a dispenser for dispensing food products, such as cheese sauce, which is convenient to operate and maintain and is arranged to maximize the amount of material emptied from the package during normal operation.
Another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser described in the immediately preceding paragraph which is arranged to expedite and simplify replacement of an emptied package.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a dispenser which is capable of meeting NSF standard for both storage of low acid food products in a dispenser and rethermalization.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method for selectively dispensing a flowable food product from a flexible package while maintaining the material and a dispensing valve for controlling the flow of the food product at or above a predetermined temperature.
Other objects, aspects and advantages will become evident to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the following detailed description, drawings and claims.
The invention provides; a device for dispensing a heated flowable material from a flexible package and maintaining the material at or above a predetermined temperature level after the package is opened. The device includes a housing defining a storage compartment, a heating unit for maintaining the storage compartment at or above the predetermined temperature, means for supporting the package in the storage compartment at an orientation promoting gravity flow of the material toward and through the package outlet, a valve for selectively controlling flow of the material from the package and a dispensing outlet through which the material is discharged from the compartment. The dispensing portion of the valve is disposed entirely within the storage compartment and includes a valve body, means for removably connecting the valve body to the package outlet, a valve outlet communicable with the flow passage, and a valve member mounted in the valve body for movement between a closed position and an open position wherein the material can flow from the package, through the flow passage and out through the valve outlet. An actuating portion of the valve is operably connected to the valve member for moving the valve member between the closed and open positions.
In one embodiment, the actuating portion of the valve is removably connected to the valve member so that the dispensing portion of the valve can be connected to a package prior to placement in the storage compartment, so that the dispensing portion and package can be removed as a unit when the package is emptied, and so that the dispensing portion can be conveniently removed from the empty package and installed on a new package prior to placement in the compartment to facilitate and expedite installation of a replacement package.
In another embodiment, the actuating portion and the valve member are connected together to form a subassembly, and the valve body is removably connected to this subassembly so that the entire dispensing valve can be connected to a package prior to installation in the package support.
The dispensing valve can be arranged so that the valve member is rotated relative to the valve body to an open position by depressing a knob accessible from the exterior of the housing or so that the valve member is moved axially to an open position by pushing on a knob accessible from the exterior of the housing.
Gravity flow of the material from the package can be promoted by applying a downward force on the dispersing package. A preferred way of accomplishing this is to place a second package of the material on top of the dispensing package so that the material in the second package is conditioned to the predetermined temperature and so that the package ready for immediate dispensing when the first package is emptied.
In one embodiment, the package support is in the form of a hopper molded as a one-piece unit from a synthetic thermoplastic or thermosetting material. The heating unit can be a small fan which blows over an electric heater located beneath the package support. When the package support is a hopper, the heating unit can be a plurality of heating elements molded into the hopper walls or can be electric blankets attached to the exterior or interior surfaces of the hopper walls.
In one embodiment, a partition extending generally parallel to the side walls of the hopper divides it into a dispensing compartment and a preheating compartment. The preheating compartment is arranged to prevent substantial bulging of the package side walls when the package is positioned on one edge, thereby maintaining the thickness of the material mass at a dimension which permits the material to be heated to predetermined temperature within a substantially shortened time period than would be the case if the pa
Borsheim David A.
Freeman Tim
Gehl John P.
Jahn Arnold A.
Nikolaus Carol J.
Kaufman Joseph A.
Michael & Best & Friedrich LLP
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