Patent Application
20140265757
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to equipment used in restaurants and other food service institutions where food is displayed, and more particularly relates to a food shield or barrier through which food served by such an institution may be viewed by a customer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous health and safety codes with which restaurants and other food service institutions must comply. One or more of such codes require that food displayed by the food service institution or restaurant be separated from a customer by a barrier. In many self-service food establishments, the food is uncovered when displayed, and an adjustable transparent barrier is provided between the food and the customer, which allows the customer to see the displayed food but does not unduly restrict the customer's access to the food so that he may make his selection. Such barriers are commonly referred to in the food service industry as “sneeze guards”, because they aid in preventing contamination of the displayed food by airborne bacteria transmitted by the customer. One would commonly find such food barriers at self-service salad bars or food buffets in a restaurant.
There are a wide variety of food shields or “sneeze guards” used in the food service industry today, and many of these include a transparent panel, such as an acrylic or glass pane, supported by two or more vertical posts on opposite lateral sides of the transparent panel, and connected to the posts by locking mechanisms or assemblies which permit the panel to be adjusted in height on the posts as well as at a desired angle.
One of the problems with conventional food shields is that, to effect their position on the posts or their angular disposition, the locking mechanisms on both sides of the transparent panel must be adjusted simultaneously. Thus, an employee or owner of the food establishment in which such a food shield is used must reach across the width of the transparent panel and use both hands to make the adjustment. These transparent panels may be four feet, or more, in width, making it difficult for one individual to adjust both locking mechanisms simultaneously, and sometimes requiring two persons to adjust the locking mechanism on each side of the panel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a food shield mounted on vertical posts which is easily adjustable from only one lateral side of the food shield.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism or assembly for use with a food shield, which locking mechanism allows the transparent panel of the food shield to be adjustably locked in a particular angular disposition between vertical supporting posts.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a food shield having a transparent panel, a locking mechanism on one lateral side of the transparent panel, and a non-locking mechanism on the other lateral side of the transparent panel, where the angle of the transparent panel may be easily adjusted from only one lateral side thereof.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a food shield which overcomes the inherent disadvantages of conventional food shields.
In one form of the present invention, a food shield includes a transparent panel, such as an acrylic or glass pane, a locking mechanism or assembly connected to and supporting one lateral side of the transparent panel, and a non-locking mechanism or assembly connected to and supporting the opposite lateral side of the transparent panel. Each of the locking and non-locking mechanisms is mountable to a respective vertical support post. Both the locking mechanism and the non-locking mechanism allow the transparent panel to be adjusted in its angular disposition between the support posts and locked into a desired position by the locking mechanism.
More specifically, the locking, panel support assembly includes a chamber barrel having an end face in which is formed a plurality of holes or detents formed about the circumference thereof. A pull collar which is biased by a compression spring in a direction towards the end face of the chamber barrel includes a locating pin mounted thereon. The locating pin is receivable in any one hole or detent formed in the end face of the chamber barrel. By pulling outwardly on the pull collar against the bias of the compression spring, the locating pin of the pull collar may be dislodged from a particular hole or detent in the end face of the chamber barrel. The transparent panel may then be adjusted angularly between the two support posts. The pull collar is then released against the bias of the spring, and the locator pin is received in a different hole or detent on the end face of the chamber barrel to lock the transparent panel in a desired angular disposition between the support posts.
The non-locking assembly supports the other lateral side of the transparent panel. The non-locking, panel support assembly also includes a chamber barrel, but the barrel need not include holes or detents formed in its end face, and no locator pin is provided so that the non-locking assembly freely rotates with angular movement of the transparent panel effected from just the other lateral side of the panel.
Accordingly, the food shield of the present invention advantageously allows the transparent panel to be adjusted angularly on the support posts from only one lateral side thereof, unlike conventional food shields.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Referring initially to
As can be seen from
The non-locking assembly 22 also includes a panel support bracket 8, and a non-locking chamber barrel 9. The panel support bracket 8 of the non-locking assembly 22 is similar in shape and structure to the shape and structure of the support bracket 3 of the locking assembly 20, and also includes a planar main body 24 and two spaced apart support flanges 26 extending perpendicularly outwardly from a surface of one side of the planar main body 24, so that the flanges 26 of the panel support bracket 8 of the non-locking assembly 22 face the flanges 26 of the panel support bracket 3 of the locking assembly 20.
Each of the locking chamber barrel 1 and the non-locking chamber barrel 9 of the locking assembly 20 and the non-locking assembly 22, respectively, is generally cylindrical in shape, and each includes a first bore 28 passing diametrically through the thickness of the barrel. The first bore 28 is dimensioned to receive one of the vertical support posts 14 so that the locking chamber barrel 1 and the non-locking chamber barrel 9 may be mounted on a respective support post 14 at a desired position along the axial length thereof.
Also, each of the locking chamber barrel 1 and the non-locking chamber barrel 9 respectively of the locking assembly 20 and the non-locking assembly 22 has a second bore 30 formed therein which radially extends from the exterior surface of the barrel into the first, larger diameter bore 28 which receives the support post 14. This second, smaller diameter bore 30, which is disposed perpendicularly to the first bore 28, is threaded and receives a threaded stud 10. A knob 11 is threadingly secured to an exposed axial free end of each of the threaded studs 10. The knobs 11 may be turned to advance the threaded studs 10 into the barrels 1, 9 and so that the other axial end of each stud 10 extends into the support post bore 28 of each barrel.
The vertical support posts 14 may include one or more holes 32 formed therein along their axial lengths. The barrels 1, 9 of the locking and non-locking assemblies 20, 22 may be positioned on their respective support posts 14 such that the second bores 30 formed in the barrels are in alignment with a selected hole 32 formed in the support posts 14. The knobs 11 are then turned to advance the threaded studs 10 into a corresponding hole 32 formed in the support posts 14 to secure the locking and non-locking assemblies 20, 22 of the food shield to their respective support posts 14 on which they are mounted.
The locking, panel support assembly 20 of the food shield will now be described in greater detail, and reference should be had to
The pull collar 5 of the locking assembly 20 is shaped with a knob-like axial end 40 so that it is easily graspable by a user of the food shield. The pull collar 5 also includes a flat end face 42 axially opposite the knob-like end 40. Mounted on the flat end face 42 of the pull collar 5 is a locating pin 2 which extends outwardly therefrom. Also, the pull collar 5 has a central bore 44 extending axially therethrough.
The panel support bracket 3 is sandwiched between the flat end face 34 of the chamber barrel 1 and the flat end face 42 of the pull collar 5. The main body 24 of the panel support bracket 3 has two openings formed through its thickness. A first opening 46 receives a relatively long shoulder bolt 6 to secure the components of the locking assembly 20 together. A smaller diameter second opening 48, formed through the thickness of the bracket 3, allows the free end of the locating pin 2 that is mounted on the pull collar 5 to pass freely therethrough.
The unthreaded shank of the long shoulder bolt 6 passes centrally through a compression spring 4, through the central bore 44 of the pull collar 5 and through the larger, first opening 46 formed in the main body 24 of the panel support bracket 3. The threaded free end portion of the long shoulder bolt 6 is received by the threaded central opening 38 formed in the end face 34 of the chamber barrel 1 of the locking assembly 20. The shoulder bolt 6 secures the pull collar 5, panel support bracket 3 and locking chamber barrel 1 of the locking assembly 20 together, but allows the pull collar 5 to move reciprocatingly axially on the unthreaded shank of the shoulder bolt 6 against the bias of the compression spring 4, which is held captive between the head of the shoulder bolt 6 and the pull collar 5.
The locking assembly 20 operates in the following manner. The locating pin 2 situated on the end face 34 of the pull collar 5 passes through the smaller diameter second opening 48 formed through the main body 24 of the panel support bracket 3, and the free end of the locating pin 2 is received in one of the detents or openings 36 formed circumferentially in the flat end face 34 of the locking chamber barrel 1. To adjust the angular disposition of the transparent panel 13 of the food shield with respect to the vertical support posts 14 between which the food shield is mounted, the user would grasp the knob end 40 of the pull collar 5 and pull outwardly on the collar in an axial direction away from the chamber barrel 1 against the bias of the compression spring 4. The shank of the long shoulder bolt 6 is particularly dimensioned in axial length so that the pull collar 5 can only move axially a predetermined distance thereon so as not to permit the locating pin 2 from becoming disassociated with the panel support bracket 3. The locating pin 2, mounted on the flat end face 42 of the pull collar 5, freely passes through the smaller diameter second opening 48 formed in the main body 24 of the panel support bracket 3 and moves reciprocatingly therein with axial movement of the pull collar 5. Thus, when the user pulls on the pull collar 5, the free end of the locating pin 2 mounted thereon becomes dislodged from a particular opening or detent 36 formed in the flat end face 34 of the locking chamber barrel 1, and yet remains within the locating pin opening 48 formed in the panel support bracket 3.
Now, the user may adjust the angular disposition of the transparent panel 13 by rotating it relative to the vertical support posts 14 between which the transparent panel 13 of the food shield of the present invention is mounted. When the transparent panel 13 is moved to a desired position, the user releases the pull collar 5 so that the pull collar, biased by the compression spring 4, will move axially on the shank of the long shoulder bolt 6 toward the chamber barrel 1, and the free end of the locating pin 2 will be received in an aligned opening or detent 36 formed in the flat end face 34 of the chamber barrel 1. The engagement of the locating pin 2 with a particular opening or detent 36 in the chamber barrel 1 will lock the transparent panel 13 in a desired angular disposition between the vertical support posts 14. This adjustment is accomplished from only one side of the transparent panel 13.
The threaded end portion of the shoulder bolt 6 has a reduced diameter than that of the unthreaded shank. The reduced diameter threaded end portion of the bolt 6 defines a shoulder with the larger diameter shank. The opening 46 formed in the panel support bracket 3 which receives the bolt 6 is dimensioned so that the support bracket 3 is retained on the bolt 6 but may rotate on the shank thereof. The bolt 6 is screwed into the central opening 38 formed in the chamber barrel 1 until the shoulder abuts against a recessed portion of the end face 34 of the barrel surrounding the central opening 38.
The non-locking, panel support assembly 22 mounted on the other vertical support post 14 and situated on the other lateral side of the transparent panel 13 of the food shield, opposite to where the locking assembly 20 and support post 14 on which the locking assembly is mounted, will now be described, and reference should be had to
The panel support bracket 8 of the non-locking assembly 22 is generally the same as the panel support bracket 3 of the locking assembly 20, with a planar main body 24 and spaced apart flanges 26 extending perpendicularly from a side surface of the bracket 8 and on which one lateral side of the transparent panel 13 rests. As also mentioned previously, the flanges 26 on the support bracket 8 of the non-locking assembly 22 face the flanges 26 on the support bracket 3 of the locking assembly 20.
There is an opening 46 formed through the thickness of the main body 24 of the panel support bracket 8 of the non-locking assembly 22. Through this opening 46 is received a shoulder bolt 7, which is shorter in axial length than the shoulder bolt 6 used in the locking assembly 20. The shoulder bolt 7 has a threaded free end having a reduced diameter than that of the non-threaded shank of the bolt 7 so as to define with the shank a shoulder. The diameter of the opening 46 formed through the thickness of the panel support bracket 8 is such that it may receive the unthreaded shank of the shoulder bolt 7 and be rotatable thereon.
The threaded free end of the shoulder bolt 7 is received by a threaded central opening 38 formed in a flat end face 34 of the chamber barrel 9 of the non-locking assembly 22 and secured thereto, with the shoulder tightly abutting a recessed portion of the end face 34 of the chamber barrel 9 which surrounds the central opening 38 so that the panel support bracket 8 is secured to the flat end face 34 of the chamber barrel 9 but rotatable thereon to allow angular movement of the transparent panel 13 of the food shield mounted on the support bracket 8.
On the non-locking assembly 22, the panel support bracket 8 preferably does not include a locating pin bore 48, and the flat end face 34 of the non-locking chamber barrel 9 preferably does not include the detents or openings 36 found on the chamber barrel 1 of the locking assembly 20 for receiving a locating pin 2. Furthermore, there is no pull collar 5 or locating pin 2 on the non-locking assembly 22. Of course, the panel support bracket 8 and chamber barrel 9 of the non-locking assembly 22 could be made with the same structure as the bracket 3 and barrel 1 of the locking assembly 20 by including a locating pin bore 48 and a plurality of detents or openings 36 respectively formed therein, as long as a locating pin 2 is not used.
Accordingly, when the collar 5 of the locking assembly 20 is pulled outwardly from the panel support bracket 3 to disengage the locating pin 2 from an opening or detent 36 formed in the end face 34 of the locking chamber barrel 1, in order to adjust the angular disposition of the transparent panel 13, the panel support bracket 8 of the non-locking assembly 22, attached to the transparent panel 13 on its opposite lateral side, will freely rotate with the panel on the non-locking chamber barrel 9. When the locating pin 2 is received in an aligned opening or detent 36 formed in the chamber barrel 1 of the locking assembly 20, to secure the transparent panel 13 in a desired angular disposition with respect to the vertical support posts 14 between which the food shield of the present invention is mounted, the panel support bracket 8 of the non-locking assembly 22 will also remain in this new position on the chamber barrel 9 of the non-locking assembly 22, and will provide support to the transparent panel 13 on the lateral side of the transparent panel 13 opposite the lateral side where the locking assembly 20 is located.
As described above, one of the advantages of the food shield of the present invention is that adjustment of the angular disposition of the transparent panel 13 may be effected from only one lateral side of the panel. There is no need with the food shield of the present invention to unlock the support post mechanisms on both sides of the transparent panel 13 simultaneously, as is required with conventional food shields. One person may easily adjust the angular disposition of the food shield of the present invention from only one side of the transparent panel 13.
Also, the simplified structure of the locking assembly 20 of the food shield of the present invention, with its pull collar 5 and locating pin 2 that is selectively receivable in a detent or opening of the plurality of detents or openings 36 formed in the end face 34 of the chamber barrel 1, makes it easier for an employee or owner of the food service establishment to adjust the angle of the transparent panel 13. Very little pulling force is required to be exerted on the pull collar 5 to disengage the locating pin 2 from one of the openings or detents 36 formed in the end face 34 of the chamber barrel 1, against the bias of the compression spring 4, and the compression spring 4 will bias the locating pin 2 into a desired opening or detent 36 in the chamber barrel 1 when the pull collar 5 is released. Of course, it should be realized that two locking assemblies 20 may be used to support the lateral sides of the transparent panel 13 instead of one locking assembly 20 on one panel side and a non-locking assembly 22 on the other panel side, but then the adjustment of the angular disposition of the food shield would have to be made from both lateral sides of the transparent panel 13.
Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
This application is related to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/779,353, filed on Mar. 13, 2013, and entitled “Food Shield Having a Single-Sided Locking Mechanism”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference and on which priority is hereby claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61779353 | Mar 2013 | US |
