Prod dispenser, dispenser container and method

Claim 2

A dispenser for dispensing bulk food items into a container comprising: a storage bin for receiving and holding a quantity of bulk food items; secondary bin receiving means for receiving at least a portion of desired size from the contents from said storage bin; conveyor means for conveying food items from said storage bin to said secondary bin means; a container filling station located beneath said secondary bin means at which station the contents from said secondary bin are received; container conveyance means including a first inclined ramp for conveying a container to the container filling station and a second inclined ramp for conveying a container from the container filling station; and discharge means for dispensing items from said secondary bin means into an empty container at said filling station.

Claim 3

The dispenser of claim further comprising measuring means for measuring the quantity of food items present in said secondary bin receiving means and initiating the dispensing of food items from said secondary bin means.

Claim 4

The dispenser of claim 2 wherein said conveyance means includes means for sequentially accepting and positioning a plurality of empty containers and sequentially discharging filled containers.

Claim 5

The dispenser of claim 3 wherein said container conveyance means accepts empty containers at and returns filled containers to a single container input-output station.

Claim 6

The dispenser of claim 3 wherein said first inclined container ramp is a downwardly inclined ramp for allowing empty containers to slide towards said container filling station.

Claim 7

The dispenser of claim 5 wherein said container conveyance means further includes a first selectively movable container stop means for preventing any empty containers on said first inclined ramp from sliding downwardly when a filled container is moved from said container filling station.

Claim 8

The dispenser of claim 5 wherein said first inclined ramp includes a pivotable door for allowing at least a portion of said ramp to be moved to allow filled containers to pass through said ramp from below.

Claim 9

The dispenser of claim 5 further comprising a second selectively movable container stop means for preventing filled containers from sliding downwardly on said second ramp.

Claim 10

The dispenser of claim 1 wherein said conveyor means comprises a rotary drum in said storage bin for conveying the items from said storage bin to said portion receiving means.

Claim 11

The dispenser of claim 9 wherein said rotary drum includes paddle means for conveying items from said storage bin when said rotary drum rotates.

Claim 12

The dispenser of claim 10 wherein said drum is a unitary drum made of a molded plastic.

Claim 13

The dispenser of claim 11 wherein said dispenser includes a drive shaft having a keyed portion for rotating the drum and wherein said drum includes a channel complementary in shape to said keyed drive shaft portion for receiving said keyed portion.

Claim 14

The dispenser of claim 1 wherein said dispenser further comprises an air thaw system for directing air into said dispenser and toward filled baskets to thaw frozen food items contained in the filled baskets.

Claim 15

A food dispenser for dispensing a portion of bulk food items into a container comprising: a storage bin for accepting and holding a quantity of food items and having a discharge opening along a bottom portion thereof; a secondary bin for receiving a portion of desired size of food items from said storage bin; a rotary drum for transferring food items from said storage bin to said secondary bin; at least one secondary bin door for dispensing food items from said secondary bin; a measuring device for measuring the contents of said secondary bin and initiating the opening of said at least one secondary bin door; a container filling station located beneath said secondary bin means at which station the contents from said secondary bin are received; and a conveyor system for accepting empty containers, transporting empty containers to said filling station for filling from said secondary bin and for returning the filled containers from said filling station, said system including at least a first and a second inclined ramp for allowing containers to slide by gravity within said dispenser to and from said filling station.

Claim 16

A food dispenser for dispensing a portion of bulk food items into a container comprising: a storage bin for accepting and holding a quantity of food items and having a discharge opening along a bottom portion thereof; a secondary bin for receiving a portion of desired size of food items from said storage bin; a rotary drum for transferring food items from said storage bin to said secondary bin; at least one secondary bin door for dispensing food items from said secondary bin; a measuring device for measuring the contents of said secondary bin and initiating the opening of said at least one secondary bin door; a container filling station located beneath said secondary bin means at which station the contents from said secondary bin are received; and a conveyor system for accepting empty containers, transporting empty containers to said filling station for filling from said secondary bin and for returning the filled containers from said filling station, said system including at least a first and a second inclined ramp for allowing containers to slide by gravity within said dispenser to and from said filling station.

Claim 17

The dispenser of claim 14 wherein said conveyor system includes a selectively actuated container stop means for preventing a first container from sliding down a ramp by gravity.

Claim 18

The dispenser of claim 15 further comprising a second selectively actuated movable container stop means for preventing filled containers from sliding downwardly on said second inclined ramp.

Claim 19

The dispenser of claim 14 wherein said conveyor system includes: a first container elevator having a container frame for supporting a container at said filling station and for lowering the filled container to said second inclined ramp after the container has been filled; and a second container elevator for lifting a filled container from said second inclined ramp.

Claim 20

The dispenser of claim 17 wherein said first container elevator includes a pivot mechanism for pivoting said basket frame between a first inclined orientation when said frame is at said filling station and a second inclined orientation when said frame is adjacent said second inclined ramp.

Claim 21

The dispenser of claim 17 wherein said first inclined ramp includes a pivotable door for permitting said second elevator to raise a filled container from said second inclined ramp past said first inclined ramp.

Claim 22

The dispenser of claim 17 wherein said conveyor system accepts empty containers from and returns filled containers to a common container input-output station.

Claim 23

The dispenser of claim 14 wherein said conveyor system accepts empty containers from and returns filled containers to a common container input-output station.

Claim 24

The dispenser of claim 14 wherein said measuring device is a load cell.

Claim 25

The dispenser of claim 22 wherein said secondary bin includes a pair of downwardly opening doors responsive to said load cell for dispensing a desired portion of food items into an empty container.

Claim 26

The dispenser of claim 14 wherein said rotary drum includes a plurality of paddles extending outwardly from said drum for conveying food items from said storage bin.

Claim 27

The dispenser of claim 24 wherein said drum is a unitary molded plastic drum.

Claim 28

The dispenser of claim 14 which further comprises an air thaw system for directing air toward said dispenser staging area for thawing frozen food items held therein.

Claim 29

A food dispenser for automatically dispensing portions of bulk food items into baskets comprising: a storage bin for accepting and holding a quantity of food items; a secondary bin for receiving a portion of items from said reservoir; a rotary drum for transferring the food items from said storage bin to said secondary bin; at least one bin door for dispensing food items into said secondary bin; a measuring device for measuring the contents of said secondary bin and for initiating the opening of said at least one bin door; a basket filling station located beneath said secondary bin means at which station the contents from said secondary bin are received; and a conveyor system for accepting empty baskets, transporting empty baskets to the basket filling station and returning the filled baskets from said dispenser, said conveyor system including a first inclined ramp for allowing empty baskets to slide towards said filling station, said ramp having a pivotable inclined ramp portion which can be raised to permit filled baskets to be raised past said ramp, a second inclined ramp for allowing filled baskets to be conveyed away from said filling station, a first selectively actuable basket stop mechanism for preventing any empty baskets from sliding down said ramp into said filling station, a second selectively actuable basket stop mechanism for preventing filled baskets from sliding down said second ramp, a first basket elevator for supporting a basket at said filling station and for lowering the filled basket to said second inclined ramp after the basket has been filled, and a second basket elevator for lifting a filled basket from said second inclined ramp.

Claim 30

A food dispenser for automatically dispensing portions of bulk food items into baskets comprising: a storage bin for accepting and holding a quantity of food items; a secondary bin for receiving a portion of items from said reservoir; a rotary drum for transferring the food items from said storage bin to said secondary bin; at least one bin door for dispensing food items into said secondary bin; a measuring device for measuring the contents of said secondary bin and for initiating the opening of said at least one bin door; a basket filling station located beneath said secondary bin means at which station the contents from said secondary bin are received; and a conveyor system for accepting empty baskets, transporting empty baskets to the basket filling station and returning the filled baskets from said dispenser, said conveyor system including a first inclined ramp for allowing empty baskets to slide towards said filling station, said ramp having a pivotable inclined ramp portion which can be raised to permit filled baskets to be raised past said ramp, a second inclined ramp for allowing filled baskets to be conveyed away from said filling station, a first selectively actuable basket stop mechanism for preventing any empty baskets from sliding down said ramp into said filling station, a second selectively actuable basket stop mechanism for preventing filled baskets from sliding down said second ramp, a first basket elevator for supporting a basket at said filling station and for lowering the filled basket to said second inclined ramp after the basket has been filled, and a second basket elevator for lifting a filled basket from said second inclined ramp.

Claim 31

The dispenser of claim 27 wherein said conveyor system accepts empty baskets from and returns filled baskets to a common container input-output station.

Claim 32

The dispenser of claim 27 wherein said measuring device is a load cell.

Claim 33

The dispenser of claim 29 wherein said secondary bin includes a pair of downwardly opening doors responsive to a signal from said load cell to dispense a desired portion of food items into a basket.

Claim 34

The dispenser of claim 27 wherein said rotary drum includes a plurality of paddles extending outwardly from said drum for conveying food items from said storage bin.

Claim 35

The dispenser of claim 31 wherein said rotary drum is a unitary drum made from a plurality of molded plastic portions.

Claim 36

A dispenser for dispensing bulk items into a container comprising: a storage bin for accepting and holding a quantity of bulk items and having a discharge opening along a bottom portion thereof; a container filling station located below said bin for receiving bulk items from the bin. a storage bin conveying device for conveying items from said storage bin to a container at said container filling station; and a conveyance system for transporting at least one container to or from said bin emptying station, said conveyance system including an inclined ramp for allowing an empty container to slide by gravity from a first position within the dispenser towards said container filling station.

Claim 37

A dispenser for dispensing bulk items into a container comprising: a storage bin for accepting and holding a quantity of bulk items and having a discharge opening along a bottom portion thereof; a container filling station located below said bin for receiving bulk items from the bin. a storage bin conveying device for conveying items from said storage bin to a container at said container filling station; and a conveyance system for transporting at least one container to or from said bin emptying station, said conveyance system including an inclined ramp for allowing an empty container to slide by gravity from a first position within the dispenser towards said container filling station.

Claim 38

The dispenser of claim 33 wherein said conveyance system includes a container stop mechanism for preventing a first container from sliding down said ramp when a second container generally adjacent to and lower on the ramp than said first container is moved away from said first container down the ramp.

Claim 39

The dispenser of claim 33 wherein said ramp includes a pivotable door for allowing said conveyance system to raise a filled container past said door when said door is moved from an original inclined ramp position.

Claim 40

The dispenser of claim 33 wherein said storage bin conveying device comprises a rotary drum for conveying food items from said storage bin.

Claim 41

The dispenser of claim 36 wherein said rotary drum includes at least one paddle for conveying food items from said storage bin.

Claim 42

The dispenser of claim 37 wherein said drum is a unitary drum constructed from molded plastic members.

Claim 43

The dispenser of claim 37 wherein said drum is a unitary drum constructed from two molded plastic members ultrasonically welded together.

Claim 44

The dispenser of claim 36 wherein said dispenser employs a drive shaft having a keyed portion for rotating said drum and wherein said drum includes an axial channel complementary to said keyed portion for receiving said keyed portion thereby permitting said drum to be rotated by said drive shaft.