Patent Grant
6871015
The invention relates to a compartmentalized dispensing device and method for dispensing flowable materials from packages such as pouches and the like and, more particularly, to a device and method for more accurately, uniformly and rapidly heating a food product and/or maintaining cool a food product and for dispensing the food product at a desired controlled temperature from the package.
Heated or refrigerated dispensers for delivering liquid or semi-liquid food products are commonly used in foodservice restaurants, catering, convenience stores and other commercial or public food establishments. The known dispensers are usually adapted for receiving food bags in a housing and for delivering the food by using pumps and/or gravity forces to a dispensing area.
Food products, such as cheese sauces and the like, usually requires to be served at warm temperature to adapt to culinary habits and/or to improve the digestion of fat. Other food products are adapted to be stored and dispensed cold such as salsa, ketchup or condiment sauces. Other foods are adapted to be dispensed at refrigerated temperatures such as UHT cream, yogurt, acidified milk based food or pudding. These food products may be easily subjected to bacterial spoilage when opened, whereby heating or cooling permits to keep the food in safer bacteriological conditions. The products usually need to be stored in aseptically hermetic flexible packages such as pouches, which are opened at the time the product is dispensed and therefore become sensitive to airborne pathogens. The problem is that the pouches are usually of relatively large size, in general of several kilograms, thus requiring a relatively long time before obtaining a controlled hot/cool temperature acceptable for serving.
One disadvantage of having a long heat-up/cooling-down time is that a fully warm/cool food package may not be rapidly available when the demand for food exceeds the warming/cooling operation time for the new package. Another disadvantage is when the package is opened before the product reaches a sufficiently safe temperature level, i.e., about 60° C. in the case of hot product or below 4-6° C. for refrigerated products, the risk of bacterial contamination or spoilage may seriously increase.
For instance, the American NSF standards require that potential hazardous food products having a pH level of 4.6 or less to be rethermalized; i.e., heated from refrigerated or ambient state to an elevated temperature of not less than 140° F., must be capable of heating the food product to that temperature within four hours. For example, by using existing commercial equipment, the average heat-up time for large size pouches is of more than 3 hours, most often more than 5 hours and sometimes more than 10 hours, before the temperature in the center part of the pouch can be raised from ambient to an acceptably warm temperature of 60° C.
In order to meet with these regulations, prior solutions consisted in pre-warming the bag in a hot water bath or in microwave oven, then transferring the preheated bag to the dispensing unit where the bag remains temperature controlled. However, this is not always satisfactory as it requires that an additional piece of equipment be available for heating. A water bath is usually cumbersome and requires a long time to warm up. Microwave heating also suffers from non-homogeneous heating problems with formation of cold and hot spots in the food. It also requires manipulation and surveillance by the foodservice operators to transfer the food pouch from the microwave unit to the holding unit. Handling of the bags when hot is not convenient and may cause burns for the operator due to contact with heated parts of the dispensing unit.
Similarly, there are food products that are preferably served slightly below ambient, such as cold sauce, salsa, ketchup, condiments and the like, so that the shelf life of the product in the dispensing unit can be prolonged significantly. Especially in hot seasons and non air-conditioned rooms, it is advisable to keep these type products at a temperature below 18° C., and preferably below 15° C. or lower. The known condiment or ketchup dispensing units usually have no cooling systems. The dispensing units for these products are usually kept separate from the dispensing units for hot products such as the cheese sauce dispensers. This is not convenient as this requires more room for storing those separate units.
Furthermore, the prior art does not disclose a dispensing device that is flexible enough in its design to be capable of providing either heat or cooling upon demand depending upon the needs while involving as little handling for the operator as possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,317 to Wheeler relates to a heated dispensing apparatus for dispensing products at elevated temperature which allows packaging of the product in a container, such as a flexible bag, with a discharge tube extending therefrom. The dispenser includes a receptacle with an outlet opening in the lower portion thereof and a pump adjacent to the outlet opening. A heater is provided for heating the food bag in a large heat-conductive receptacle and the discharge tube passing through the pump and maintaining both the bag and the tube at a desired elevated temperature. The receptacle is permanently mounted on the dispenser frame and accommodates the reception of a bulky flexible package with a fitment protruding on one side of the package. Therefore, loading of the package in the dispenser requires opening of the dispensing unit thus creating thermal loss and risks of burn. Furthermore, due to the position of the bag in the receptacle and the open configuration of the receptacle, the thermal transfer from the receptacle to the bag remains relatively poor, thereby leading to excessive heat-up time when packages are loaded for rethermalization. Furthermore, the heat loss is significant as the receptacle itself, especially its non-contacting parts, may form an important heat sink for the package. In addition, this dispensing system cannot be used for cooling and dispensing foodstuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,733 relates to an apparatus for the dispensing of heated viscous food product using convection means. The problem is that this heating mode requires more room for the air to properly circulate around the bags thereby rendering the apparatus more cumbersome. The heat also dissipates rapidly when the operator opens the heated cabinet for replacing a bag or maintenance therefore creating significant temperature drops and important heat losses. Furthermore, this dispensing system also cannot be used for cooling and dispensing foodstuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,935 relates to a viscous food dispensing and heating/cooling assembly which is adapted to receive large food reservoirs of the “bag-in-box” type in a manner similar to the previous patent references; the improvement consisting in a specific air flow circulation to heat both the reservoir and the discharge tube. This device has the same shortcomings as the previous patents.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,056,157 and 6,223,944 to Gehl relate to a dispensing device for a flowable substance comprising a housing comprising walls to define a compartment, a heating unit for maintaining the compartment at a predetermined temperature, a valve for selectively controlling flow of the material from the package. This device includes a dispensing portion and an actuating portion wherein the dispensing portion, which includes a valve body and a valve outlet, is entirely within the compartment and heated by the heating unit. This configuration requires the operator's direct handling of the package and manual connection of the package to the dispensing portion which both receive heat from the heating unit. Furthermore, a significant heat loss occurs when the operator opens the device for replacing the bag.
German company Herman Roelofsen GmbH manufactures food dispensing units comprising a relatively wide box-shaped aluminum container adapted to receive a flexible food bag. The bag is loosely housed within the container and a bar inserted in two slots of the container hangs up the bag to avoid collapsing of the bag within the container. The container fits within a heating metal compartment of the unit which is heated by flexible heating devices. Due to heat loss in the transitions and air gaps from the heaters to the food, the dispensing unit has poor heating performance on large size bags with an heat-up time of more than 10 hours from ambient state for cheese sauce bags. Therefore, microwave preheating of the bag is required before the bag can be installed in the dispensing unit. Furthermore, such dispensing system cannot be used for dispensing refrigerated foodstuff.
Thus, there is a need in the art for improved dispensing systems, and this is now satisfied by the present invention.
The invention provides a dispensing device that confers an improved heating or cooling output over the existing devices of the prior art, increases the amount of hot or cooled product available for dispensing, in particular, by reducing the heat-up/cooling down time significantly and is easy to hold the product at the desired controlled temperature while being less energy consuming than existing equipment.
The invention improves the convenient and safe handling of food containers from an operator's point of view while minimizing the operator's manipulation and eliminating hazards such as risks of burns with the container and/or hot parts of the device.
The present dispensing device has a reduced footprint without detriment to the dispensing capacity, and ensures a faster and more uniform heating or cooling of on-demand delivered food.
The invention also provides a dispensing device whereby uniform and optimal heating is promoted within the container with no significant heat gradient and overheating, therefore avoiding quality and safety issues as well as increasing the shelf life of the products that are dispensed by the unit.
The invention also ensures more continuity in delivering food product at a desirable controlled temperature; i.e., hot and/or cool temperatures to below ambient, and convenience for the foodservice operator. It thus provides the opportunity to include in the same unit products that require to be served hot or warmed such as cheese sauce and also products that require to be served at ambient temperature or slightly lower such as ketchup, sauce or salsa without the second ones being incidentally warmed by the first ones. Therefore, a better preservation and extended shelf life of cold served food products are obtained in the dispensing device after the first opening of package food products therein.
A first aspect of the invention is based on the principle of a dispensing device comprising a housing adapted to accommodate in a removable manner at least one substantially closed cassette having built-in temperature exchange means that provides direct heat or cooling along at least one heated or cooled surface to a food-containing package and insulating means for preventing significant radiant heat or frigorific loss to outside the boundaries of the cassettes.
In a preferred aspect, the cassette has an extensive interior oriented along an axial plane and are narrowly shaped in a transversal direction to this axial plane with at least one extensive heating or cooling surface of the interior directly heating or cooling the package. The cassette is substantially closed around the package except a passage for the delivery of the food. For instance, the passage may be sufficient for a discharge tube and fitment assembly to pass through the passage but with the passage in sufficiently close fitting with the tube and fitment assembly to avoid significant thermal losses.
Even preferably, the interior of the cassette has heating or cooling means directly heating or cooling at least two extensive conduction heating or cooling surfaces extending substantially parallel to the axial plane and transversal sides demarcating a narrow spacing for intimate heating contact with the package and heating in a direction normal to the two extensive conduction heating surfaces. Therefore, the food product is more rapidly and efficiently heated since the food product spreads over an overall large heating surface and receives heat from two opposite sides orthogonally to the smallest dimension of the interior of the cassette. Even preferably, the cassette has built-in heating means providing direct heat to at least five sides, even more preferably the six sides of the cassette, that form conduction heating surfaces in contact with the package. In order to further obtain a significant reduction of the heat-up time while more uniformly controlling the food temperature, the spacing or smallest transversal dimension is preferably less than 2 inches, even preferably less than 1 and ¾ inches.
Preferably, the at least one heating surface receives heat from a heater under the form of a heat resistive substrate that uses energy converted into heat based on the resistivity of the material that electricity is flowing through. More preferably, the heater is chosen so to deliver an average power density of at least 0.3 Watts per square inch. Even preferably, the heater is capable of delivering a varying power density as a function of the location along the heating surfaces so as to provide a more uniform temperature throughout the product. For that, it is preferred to have a power density that varies from 0.3 W/sq.in to 0.8 W/sq.in, preferably from 0.45 W/sq.in to 0.65 W/sq.in. More preferably, the areas of higher power density, i.e., 0.6 to 0.8 W/sq.in, preferably of about 0.65 W/sq.in, are located in the bottom side of the cassette and near the passage for the discharge tube and fitment assembly. The areas of lower power density, i.e., 0.3 W/sq.in. to 0.55 W/sq.in., preferably about 0.45 W/sq.in., are located in the substantially planar areas of the heating surfaces so as to heat the body of the pouch. This results in a more uniform heating than with a single power density.
The heater preferably comprise a flexible heater that is capable of being folded in order to provide heat along at least two distinct planes, preferably along at least five distinct planes, even preferably along six distinct planes. Preferably, the flexible heater is at least one thin film heaters per cassette. Thin films of large areas used in the cassette allows substantial power to be delivered but at a low density average power density therefore providing a very efficient heating at low cost and with lower risks of overheating.
In another important aspect of the invention, in order to receive appropriate electrical power for its built-in heating or cooling means while avoiding time consuming manipulations, the cassette includes a self-aligning plug-in electrical connection means and the housing comprises complementary electrical receiving means adapted to complementary fit the electrical plug-in connection means of the cassette. The electrical plug-in connection means of the cassette is arranged to plug in to the electrical receiving means in the housing as directly resulting from the completion of the loading of the cassette within the housing. Therefore, the loading of the cassettes in the device is quick and convenient and does not require difficult and time consuming manipulation or handling from the operator. More particularly, electrical plugging of the cassette is carried out as resulting from the complete insertion of the cassette within the housing, preferably after sliding engagement of the cassette within the housing. For that, guiding means may be provided in the housing to guide the cassette in engagement within the housing until the cassette is inserted in the correct plug-in position. The cassette may preferably comprise complementary fitting means that cooperate in engagement with the guide means of the housing so as to aid the proper physical and electrical insertion of the cassette within the housing.
In another important aspect of the invention, an accurate and safe temperature control in the cassette is carried out by providing in the cassette at least one built-in product sensing means adapted to sense the package surface temperature and at least one built-in heater sensing means adapted to sense the heater surface in the cassette, both product and heater sensing means are adapted to provide temperature feedback to a controller of the device in accordance with a predetermined logic routine. Preferably, in order to obtain a more rapid heat-up of the food temperature while ensuring the food product does not experience overburning, the heating of the package is accurately controlled according to at least two separate heating modes; a first boost mode whereby heating in the cassette by the heater is carried out to a predetermined elevated temperature range of the heater and a second monitoring or maintenance mode whereby the heating of the cassette by the heater is carried out at a predetermined heater temperature range lower than the temperature range of the boost mode.
More preferably, for activating the boost mode, the temperature of the product must initially be sensed by the product sensing means below a product temperature threshold (lower than the product monitoring set point), e.g., 120° F., which allows to set a boost elevated set point for the heater temperature, e.g., 175° F.+/−tolerance value(s), until the product sensor reaches a product monitoring set point, e.g., 150° F.+/−tolerance value(s). Once the product monitoring set point is reached, the product sensor takes over the control and the heater sensor changes over to the monitoring mode and controls the heater surface not to exceed a lower set point of the heater temperature, e.g., 165° F. If the initial product temperature sensed by the product sensor is higher than the product temperature threshold, the boost cycle may be skipped and the monitoring mode may take place immediately after insertion of the cassette so that the product temperature is monitored at the predetermined product monitoring set point, e.g., 150° F.+/−tolerance value(s).
Such an exemplary control logic configuration promotes a precise and reliable temperature control, a temperature maintenance at optimal levels to achieve best quality through the life of the product and, a rapid rising of the product temperature in all conditions, whereas the product may be initially cold or already warm, while it also anticipates on the heater inertia to insure the product cannot be overburnt.
The boost and monitoring modes may preferably be carried out by a single resistive heating circuit of the cassette and can be controlled by the use of an electronic proportional controller that regulates the electric power based on the signal that is proportional to the differential of sensor temperature from the established set point. In an alternative, the control is obtain by a pulsing controller that pulses to a full power on/off alternatively.
In another inventive aspect, in order to assist dispensing of relatively viscous foodstuff, there is provided at least one volumetric displacement pump such as a peristaltic pump, that is independent of the cassette and is adapted to engage a discharge tube of the food package. The discharge tube is preferably heated directly in a manner separate from the cassette. Thus, the temperature of the product in the tube can be more accurately controlled and less the energy is used for maintaining the tube at the required hot temperature in the tube. The discharge tube can be controlled at a predetermined hot temperature by suitable heating means associated to a temperature sensing means that provides temperature feedback to the controller. The heating means may be coupled to a part of the pump in contact with the tube or may, alternatively, be directly coupled to the discharge tube.
In another advantageous aspect of the invention, the volumetric displacement pump is a peristaltic pump with its rotor plane oriented in alignment or parallel to the axial plane of the at least one cassette or, similarly, in alignment or parallel to the axial plane of the cassette location in the dispensing device. Therefore, the orientation of the pump participates to the reduction of the footprint of the device while it also renders the installation of the package easier and quicker.
In a preferred aspect, the device comprises a series of cassettes as defined above that are interchangeable in the housing. A plurality of cassettes enables to ensure a continuity in the supply in hot and/or cool food product. Each cassette is preferably oriented with its axial plane substantially vertical within the housing to promote gravity flow.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a heating or cooling cassette adapted to fit in a dispensing device as aforementioned.
The invention also relates to a dispensing device for dispensing flowable food product comprising:
Preferably, the interior of each cassette has at least two extensive direct conduction heating surfaces extending along the axial plane and transversal sides demarcating a narrow spacing wherein the spacing is below 2 inches, preferably below one and ¾ inches. A limited spacing as defined allows the food product to intimately spread along the heating surfaces regardless of the package capacity while eliminating the areas of higher thermal inertia in the food product. Such spacing promotes lowering of the heating rate of the package and requires less energy for constantly maintaining the package at an elevated temperature. Therefore, it also contributes to more uniformly and accurately control the temperature of the food product with reduction of heat gradients. Consequently, it is made possible to eliminate the hot spots which normally create local browning of the food, thereby affecting the quality and shelf life of the food product. The temperature of the food product can also be more easily maintained substantially uniform and constant over time at a required temperature level, thereby similarly ensuring a longer shelf life. Although not expressly limited to large capacity packages, the invention promotes a more efficient, accurate and rapid heating of the food product; i.e., in less than 2 and ½ hours from ambient, preferably 2 hours or less, for packages containing more than 2.5 Kg, e.g. for 3.0 Kg of food product.
In a preferred mode, at least two interchangeable cassettes are provided within the housing to offer the possibility to have a first dispensing cassette and a second preheating cassette; the dispensing cassette being removable to be replaced by the preheated cassette at any desired time after the food in the preheated cassette has reached a monitoring temperature within the housing.
Preferably, the first cassette is positioned in the housing in a position adapted to a dispensing mode; e.g., whereby the outlet opening of the cassette may preferably substantially be aligned with valve means. Preferably, the valve means is a volumetric displacement pump such as a peristaltic pump. Still in a preferred mode, the first and second cassettes are configured in parallel in the housing to permit one cassette to be replaced by the other more easily. The cassettes may preferably be removable from the housing by sliding motion of the cassette(s) in a primary direction after opening of the housing.
It is meant that the same modularity approach can be applied for cooling of the pouch; i.e., using dispensing cooled cassette(s) which can be exchanged one by the other to ensure a continuity in the supply of cooled product and, therefore, provide more convenience to the foodservice operator. It is also possible to have both at least one heating cassette and at least one cooling cassettes in the housing to both dispense hot food product and cool product separately via separate volumetric displacement means. Cooling of the food products is primarily sought to ensure an extended shelf life and keep longer freshness of the product.
The modularity approach with a plurality of cassettes having built-in heating or cooling means with further built-in temperature sensing means also offers the opportunity to have a plurality of cassettes that can be controlled independently from a central controller located in the dispensing unit. Hence, cassettes can be independently monitored at different temperatures so to deliver in the same dispensing unit products of the same or different types at different temperatures.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a heating device of reduced foot print adapted for providing a high capacity in heated flowable food whereby removable cassettes are provided for receiving a package containing food; the cassettes comprising an interior with internal direct conduction heating surfaces wherein the interior has a width of less than 2 inches and insulating external means are provided to reduce radiant loss and facilitate handling and loading of the cassette out and in the heating device.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a dispensing device of reduced foot print adapted for providing a high throughput of heated or cooled flowable food whereby at least a pair of removable cassettes is provided for receiving a food-containing package; the cassettes comprising built-in electrical heating or cooling means wherein it comprises at least one peristaltic pumping means for dispensing the food out of the dispensing device having its rotor plane oriented in alignment or parallel to the axial plane of at least one cassette. In particular, the device is capable of having at least four locations for the cassettes while respecting an external width of less than 10 inches, preferably about 9 inches.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a dispensing device for dispensing flowable food product comprising a housing at least a removable cassette within the housing adapted for receiving a package containing flowable food wherein the cassette has a closed interior for receiving the package and comprises built-in heating or cooling means providing direct heat or cooling to at least one extensive conduction heating surface extending substantially parallel the axial plane of the cassette; and built-in sensing means and further a centralized control means including a controller and wherein the sensing means comprise at least one temperature product sensor and at least one heater sensor both providing temperature signals to the centralized controller to precisely control temperature inside the cassette. Preferably, the dispensing device has a plurality of cassette locations adapted to receive a plurality of cassettes having built-in heating or cooling means and built-in sensing means allowing independent monitoring of the product temperature inside each cassette.
In an aspect the invention also relates to a method for rapidly and uniformly heating a food package in a dispensing unit wherein it comprises the use of at least one removable cassette provided for individually receiving a food-containing package wherein the cassette is effective to heat a food package while delivering an average power density of at least 0.3 W/sq. in. but less than 1 W/sq.in. by direct conduction effect with heating elements directing heat at least in a direction transversal to the axial plane of the cassette through the width of the cassette.
The details of the preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the appended drawings figures, wherein:
Referring initially to
In a preferred aspect of the invention, the housing is adapted to accommodate a plurality of individual narrowly profiled cassettes 18 which can be vertically arranged in parallel within the housing. A vertical arrangement of the cassette along their primary axial plane is preferred to promote gravity flow of the product contained in the package inside the cassette. The cassettes are insertable in the interior cavity 11 in sliding engagement along guiding means, in particular, sets of slots including lower slots 80 and upper slots 81 provided respectively in a lower base support 82 and in an upper base support 83. The lower and upper base supports may be fixed to the housing between two half-frames 100, 101 that longitudinally connect together by means of connection means such a rigid metal connecting plate 102 and other elements such as screws and the like, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In order to ensure rigidity and stability to the pedestal, a lower plate 150 may be further provided that is screwed to the bottom of the half-frames. The lower pumping block 12 is also partially inserted between the two half-frames 100, 101 and fixed by any one of a variety of connection means (not shown). Its detailed structure will be further described later in the present description.
In the bottom of rear side 183 of the cassette is located a plug-in electrical connection 188 which is adapted to fit a complementary electrical receiving connection 820 located in the rear wall of the interior cavity of the housing (connection 820 is apparent in FIG. 2). The electrical connection 188 bears the power and control connections necessary for the cassette to provide heating and be thermally regulated. The power and control connections links the wires for the heater power, the temperature sensors, security cut off systems in the cassette to a controller system such as a central PCB controller or any equivalent controlling system in the main unit. The connection can be automatically obtained as a result of the insertion of the cassette in the housing without any need for the operator to manipulate electrical wires or plugs. Due to the accurate guiding of the cassette along the slots of the housing, the plug-in connection of the cassette is aligned to the receiving connection in the rear of the housing along the guiding direction so as to confer rapid and reliable operational installation of the cassette in the housing.
The cassette also includes hinge means 187 mounted on the upper side of the cassette to allow the opening of the cassette in two halves for installing the food package. Closure of the cassette is carried out by latch means 188 located on the opposite side 184 of the cassette. The position of the hinge and latch means is not critical and many other variants for opening and closing the cassette can be envisioned for equivalent result. Also, the hinge means may be replaced by additional latches that would allow to separate the two half-trays.
The cassette has further integrated temperature control means including at least two temperature sensors 31, 32 preferably located on the bottom side of the cassette. The bottom of the cassette is preferred for location of the sensors firstly because the product drains out toward the end of the pouch in this area and has contact with the sensor and secondly because the bottom has the lowest temperature. Sensor 31 is a product temperature sensor in an area that allows it to directly contact the food package. For that, the sensor is preferably mounted in an aperture 330 of the gasket 33 and an aperture 230 of conductive member 23 to be able to sense temperature at the surface of the food package. Sensor 32 is inserted between gasket 33 and heater internal side 301 to be able to sense the temperature of the heater. Preferably, sensor 32 is a boost sensor that is located in contact with the heater where the watt density is the highest. The sensors are electrically connected to the electrical plug-in connector 188 through suitable electrical wires protected in a small cavity 189 provided in the bottom of the half trays 20, 21. Preferably, a thermal cut off system may be installed in the cassette at the bottom, in contact with the heater where the watt density is the highest. In case of failure of the temperature monitoring system, the cut off system will allow to detect an abnormal heater temperature and to directly switch off the heater.
The thin film heater 30 used in the present invention, in a preferred mode, is initially formed as a flat flexible element. It has an electrically non-conductive surface 310, a thin film electrical conductor 311 deposited on the surface 310 and a pair of electrical terminals 312, 313 electrically coupled to the thin film electrical conductor. The non-conductive surface 310 may form the upper surface of a substrate comprising an electrically insulating polymeric layer. Electrically conductive film is electrically isolated by the polymeric layer. The polymeric layer may be a 4-mil polyester layer or any similar durable, heat and shock resistant plastic material. Electrically conductive material 311 most preferably is provided by a very thin film of conductive carbon-based ink or, alternatively, metal-oxide, for example, stannic oxide (SnO2), nitrides, borides or carbides. The carbon-based ink may be deposited as a very thin film by printing on the plastic base. Then a clear adhesive plastic layer is layered on the printed surface to further protect the conductive track. The metal oxide film is most desirably deposited using a spray gun which atomizes and blows the metal oxide producing chemicals onto the polymer-based layer. Hence, the thin film becomes a molecularly bonded resistance film that is durable and can withstand repeatedly heating cycles without experiencing failures. Durability of such heaters is usually better than any other types of resistance heaters such those formed by adhering resistance heater wires to a substrate or when encircling a tubular substrate with a silicone blanket. Other solutions include chemical vapor deposition, which is a more expensive technology, silk screening, painting or other known techniques. Spaced-apart electrical terminals 312, 313 are preferably provided that connect the carbon based or metal oxide conductive track. A bus bar strip is provided along the periphery of the element and a second bus bar strip is provided along the center line of the element so as to distribute current substantially evenly all along the conductive layered surface. The bus bar terminals can be typically formed by silk screening techniques using, for example, silver or nickel-silver alloy, to form the bus bar. The thin film using a carbon ink conductive track printed on a polyester layer can be manufactured by Calorique, West Wareham, Mass.
As can be seen in
Referring again to
The peristaltic pump block comprises a housing 60 that is preferably formed of a top panel 61 and a front and lateral cover 62 in both of which are provided elongated vertical tube passages 63, 64. The tube passages are substantially aligned with one cassette location or set of slots as described earlier. The passage is positioned such that when a cassette is properly installed in operational position in a dispensing location, its axial plane is substantially aligned to the axial plane of the passage. The housing 60 can be made of materials or insulated with materials that conduct very badly heat so as to reduce the heat or frigorific losses outside the boundaries of the pump block.
As is apparent in
A stator assembly 75 is provided which has a substantially actuate shape to conform to the shape of the rotor assembly for a pinching effect on the discharge tube. The stator assembly is pivotally mounted on lower bearings 662, 663 of the frames 65, 66. The stator assembly is made thus moveable from an open position to a closed position. In the open position, the passages 63, 64 are cleared from above for an easy loading of the dispensing tube between the rotor assembly and the stator assembly. In the closed position, the passage is totally closed with no significant portion of tube visible from the exterior of the pump block. Therefore, the food product contained in the discharge tube can be maintained more easily at the required temperature while needing less energy for that. The stator assembly further comprises a lower outlet 76 for allowing the tube end to emerge from underneath the block. The stator assembly can be locked in a closed position by means of a locking mechanism that can manually be actuated by a latch lever 77. The latch lever 77 can move reciprocally to act on a latch member that fits a lateral hole of the rotor assembly.
The rotor assembly is formed of two laterally spaced apart discs 71, 72 between which a series of pressing rollers 73 is mounted. The rollers are located at a radial distance of the stator internal surface 78 adapted for the compressing effect on the discharge tube that is necessary for transporting the flowable substance through the discharge tube. The disc 72 is a gear disc in connection with an electrical DC or stepped motor 8, optionally, via a secondary gear 74 of lower diameter for achieving the proper gear reduction.
The pump assemblies can deliver portion control of food upon a simple push on a corresponding button located on the front switch board. The presence of a cassette in the dispensing location will be detected by the controller. If the cassette is in place, the controller will run the pump on according to a portion duration stored in a nonvolatile memory of the controller. Upon initial setup, the operator may have the option to adjust the portion control by accessing a portion control button connecting to the PCB that can be placed in a remote location such as in the back of the dispensing unit. Visualization of the increase or decrease of the portion control may be realized by a series of LED's or by any suitable visualizing means.
Referring to the schematic block diagram for the thermal control of the device of the invention in
The PCB controller also controls the on/off activation (via relays) of the heaters H5, H6 of the two pumps P2, P3 located in substantially vertical alignment with slot locations SL2 and SL3 that correspond to product dispensing locations. Thermistors S9, S10 are located inside the pump stators to provide feedback signals to the PCB to decide on an action for the heaters H5, H6.
Where there is need for serving cold flowable food out of the dispensing unit, the device offers the possibility to accommodate cooling cassettes in at least one dispensing slot location of the device. The purpose of the cooling cassette is primarily to maintain the flowable product in a cold temperature range that is suitable for serving. The product does not necessarily require refrigeration but simply cooling slightly below ambient, i.e., 10 to 18° C., so that the freshness and shelf life of the product is prolonged. Furthermore, cooling of cassette ensures the product does not warm to a temperature that could be prejudicial to the quality or microbiological safety of the food product, especially if neighboring heating cassettes are provided in the dispensing unit.
In a preferred embodiment, the bottom corner region has a truncated corner 856 to reduce the dead zone that is submitted to folding when the pouch is put into place in the cassette as it will be apparent in the next figures. Preferably, the fitment is located in region at a distance “d” from the sealed edge 853 of the pouch that is sufficient to provide a proper folding of the corner region 852 along a line 857 that is inclined with respect to the median longitudinal plane P0 of the pouch. If this distance “d” is too long, the portion submitted to folding may be too large which would cause problems to evacuate product from dead zones of the folded portion. If the distance is too short, the portion may have difficulties to fold properly and it may be difficult to engage the fitment through the passage. Furthermore, if the distance between the two plies 850a, 850b of the pouch is too short due to the proximity of the corner, it could cause a problem to engage the spacer with risks of accidentally puncturing the pouch. Depending on the pouch and fitment's sizes, the distance from the edge may vary greatly. However, it should approximately be between 1 to 3 inches to accommodate a standard pouch capacity.
As best shown in
As best shown in
As a consequence of its insertion within the interior of the cassette, the body 850 of the pouch aligns itself along the axial plane P of the cassette whereas the corner region 852 that supports the fitment is folded substantially at 90 degrees with respect to the rest of the body along line 857 so that the fitment can properly orient itself downward through the intended passage. As a result, the outlet of the fitment is put in a position that is the lowest of the pouch thereby improving the evacuation of the food in the cassette. At the same time, the body of the pouch has its two main sides intimately contacting the larger heating surfaces of the cassette thereby rendering the heat transfer particularly effective.
According to the invention, a spacer means is provided under the form an adapter 860 that fits into the fitment 851 via a thread 861 and has a central aperture able to establish fluid connection with the outlet 854 of the fitment. The spacer means has the function to maintain a sufficient clearance in the vicinity of the outlet inside the pouch where there is a risk for the pouch to collapse due to the folding of the corner portion 852. For that, the spacer means preferably axially engages the fitment and has at least one internally protruding rigid element that extends beyond the outlet inside the pouch. Even more preferably, there are a plurality of prongs 862 extending axially and internally on the periphery of the aperture. The prongs configuration forms a sufficient clearance around the aperture while providing radial passages 863 of sufficient surface for not disturbing the flow of product from the interior of the pouch through the fitment assembly. The prongs keeps the back side of the pouch from choking of the flow of product from the pouch. They proved to be essential to the vertical configuration in the cassette and desirable for the horizontal or inclined flat configuration in traditional dispensing systems. As shown in
The pouch assembly further includes a discharge tube 87 that can engage the volumetric displacement pump of the dispensing unit. The discharge tube 87 is connected to the pouch assembly by press fitting on a gland 864 of the adapter located at the terminal or lower end of the adapter.
The pouch assembly embraces many variants that may be found equivalent to the preferred embodiment apparent in the figures. For instance, the spacer means could be made integral to the fitment instead of being supported by the adapter. The fitment could thus protrude internally by prongs or any equivalent internally protruding elements. Another possible variant can consists in making the spacer means under the form of an apertured tubular member replacing the discontinuous spaced apart prongs. Another variant can consists in making the spacer means as a central rod attached to the outlet or aperture by radial ribs or a grid.
The benefit of having a fitment sealingly attached to a corner portion of the bag but still on one side of the pouch is that the pouch assembly of the invention can use the technology of the FDA approved preformed bags and be aseptically filled in standard filling machines. Preformed bags are commonly used in the food industry. Contrary to from-fill-seal bags, the preformed bags are produced with a capped fitment, sterilized and sent empty to a filling station either as separate bags or a chain of bags connected via a continuous web. Therefore, the pouch of the invention may be produced from preformed bags that have a food capacity of from 3 to 10 liters, as approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The pouch may alternatively employ the form-fill-seal technology which consists in aseptically filling the bag from an upper edge that is subsequently sealed right after filling. In that event, the fitment would previously be sealed on the corner region as aforementioned. The outlet would have to be made by puncturing the pouch side inside the fitment to establish fluid connection. Puncturing may be carried out before engaging the adapter by using any suitable piercing element or by means of the adapter itself that pierces the pouch when securely engaging the fitment.
The terms “vertical” or “standing” in the present invention refer to a position or configuration strictly vertical or close to vertical so that flow of product by gravity is promoted. In particular, a pouch standing at an acute angle to vertical would still be considered as part of the present invention.
Further details regarding the pouch assembly can be found in a co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/032,169, filed Dec. 21, 2001 by Balakrishna Reddy and Richard Artman entitled “Food Pouch for Dispensing a Flowable Food Product From a Cassette-type Dispenser” (W+S Ref. 88265-7217), the content of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
While various description of the present invention are described above, it should be understood that the various features can be used singly or in any combination thereof. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to only specifically preferred embodiments depicted herein. For instance, it is possible to use the dispensing device only for maintaining food product in their package in a cool state. Hence, cassettes in the dispensing unit might be only cooling cassettes. Furthermore, it can also be envisioned to refrigerate food products in the cassettes, i.e., at temperature slightly higher than 32° F., by providing more powerful refrigerating means for example to dispense milk-based flowable food such as acidified milk, liquid cheese or yogurt and the like.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20030116584 A1 | Jun 2003 | US |
