Patent Grant
11084244
The present disclosure relates to the field of restaurant food preparation. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for packaging and closing packages of food prepared as an order for customer pickup or delivery.
Once an order that includes a variety of food items is assembled, it is desirable for a restaurant to package that food order, for example in a bag or a box to ensure that the order stays together. It is further desirable for a restaurant to have manners that ensure that the assembled order contents stays within the package and is not inadvertently removed prior to delivery to the customer.
This need is further applicable to food delivery as it is desirable that each customer order stay assembled despite the transport of the order multiple times, for example from the restaurant to a delivery vehicle, movement of the order within the delivery vehicle, and carrying the order from the delivery vehicle to the house or other location of the customer. In this delivery system, it is partly the responsibility of the delivery worker to ensure that the order is transported and delivered in a manner that keeps the order intact to ensure that the customer receives the full order of food items. In a food delivery system wherein the delivery person is an employee of the restaurant, the employee's duty and responsibility to the restaurant and the employer and the customer of said employer helps to create a system wherein consumers have increased trust in the delivery. However, with the increase in third-party delivery services, there is no longer an employee-employer relationship for the restaurant to ensure that the order of food arrives at the customer in the completeness as packaged by the restaurant and in an unadulterated state.
Various apparatus are available for mechanically securing materials together. U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,774 discloses a stapler that sequentially pushes staples constructed of steel or other material, frequently metal, through the materials to be secured. U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,575, entitled “Binding and Opening Device” is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and discloses a device that makes a U-shaped slot in paper and bends the U-shaped slot through an I-shaped slot to bind the papers together. U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,841, entitled “Device for Mechanically Binding Documents” is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and discloses the mechanical connection of documents by the cutting of tongues from the documents and the insertion of those tongues into eyes cut in the documents. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0190156 entitled “Fastening Tool” is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and discloses a handle member that is formed into a pressing portion to move an upper surface downwards through sheets of paper to be fastened.
With the proliferation of third-party delivery services, which may or may not operate with the consent and cooperation of food preparation providers, the food providers have increased needs for systems and methods for order packaging and closure that provide a tamper-evident closure of a package of a food order. Such solutions are therefore desirable in the field of restaurant services.
An exemplary embodiment of a tamper-evident food delivery packaging system operates to cut a resistant self-fastening perforation through ends of peripheral walls to resiliently close the opening of a packaging. A packaging is configured to receive a food order therein. The packaging includes an open interior defined at least in part by a peripheral wall and a bottom end of the packaging. The packaging includes an opening at an open end opposite the closed end. Ends of the peripheral wall about the opening are movable such as to bring the ends of the peripheral wall together to close the open interior of the packaging. A tamper-evident binding apparatus includes an anvil. A profile blade has an elongated and concave perimeter. A slot blade has a shallow and concave perimeter. The profile blade and the slot blade are rigidly secured to a blade mount to form a cutter head. The concave perimeter of the profile blade opens towards the concave perimeter of the slot blade. A pusher is pivotably connected to the blade mount at a position intermediate the profile blade and the slot blade, and configured to pivot about a pivot point. A flipper plate is disposed intermediate the cutter head and the anvil. The flipper plate includes an opening and a flipper bar extending across the opening. The cutter head is movable in a reciprocal motion relative to the anvil. In the reciprocal motion, at least a portion of the cutter head extends through the opening through the flipper plate and the flipper bar engages the pusher to pivot the pusher about the pivot point. When the packaging is positioned between the anvil and the flipper plate, the reciprocal motion of the cutter head cuts a resistant self-fastening perforation through the ends of the peripheral walls to resiliently close the opening of the packaging.
In additional embodiments of the system, the profile blade operates to cut a tongue from the peripheral walls and the slot blade operates to cut a slot through the peripheral walls. Pivoting of the pusher about the pivot point engages the tongue and moves the tongue relative to the slot to form the resistant self-fastening perforation. The profile blade operates to cut a tongue from the peripheral walls and the slot blade operates to cut a slot through the peripheral walls. Pivoting of the pusher about the pivot point engages the tongue and moves the tongue relative to the slot to form the resistant self-fastening perforation. The slot blade includes an aperture defined through the slot blade. A finger of the pusher extends through the aperture of the slot blade when the pusher pivots about the pivot point. The finger pushes the tongue through the aperture. Upon retraction of the cutter head in the reciprocal motion, a top edge of the aperture engages the tongue and pulls the tongue through the slot to form the resistant self-fastening perforation.
Embodiments of the system may include a motor connected to a drive shaft. The motor operates to rotate the drive shaft to cause the reciprocal motion of the cutter head. An eccentric may be secured to the drive shaft, wherein the eccentric engages a cutting assembly comprising the cutter head to transfer rotational movement of the drive shaft to the reciprocal movement of the cutter head. The cutting assembly may further include a piston block. The cutter head may be secured to the piston block. The piston block may further include an opening through it, the opening defined by a contact surface. The eccentric may engage the contact surface of the piston block to transfer rotation of the drive shaft to reciprocal motion of the cutting assembly.
Additional embodiments may include an anvil arm may include the anvil. The anvil arm defines an open interior configured to receive at least a portion of the profile blade and the slot blade. The anvil may include an opening with a perimeter that follows a perimeter of the profile blade and the slot blade.
An exemplary embodiment of a temporary tamper-evident binding apparatus includes an anvil. A profile blade has an elongated and concave perimeter. A slot blade has a shallow and concave perimeter. The profile blade and the slot blade are rigidly secured to a blade mount to form a cutter head. The concave perimeter of the profile blade opens towards the concave perimeter of the slot blade. A pusher is pivotably connected to the blade mount at a position intermediate the profile blade and the slot blade, and configured to pivot about a pivot point. A flipper plate is disposed intermediate the cutter head and the anvil. The flipper plate includes an opening and a flipper bar extending across the opening. The cutter head is movable in a reciprocal motion relative to the anvil. In the reciprocal motion at least a portion of the cutter head extends through the opening through the flipper plate and the flipper bar engages the pusher to pivot the pusher about the pivot point.
In further exemplary embodiments of the temporary tamper-evident binding apparatus the slot blade includes an aperture defined through the slot blade. A finger of the pusher extends through the aperture of the slot blade when the pusher pivots about the pivot point. The anvil may include an opening with a perimeter that follows a perimeter of the profile blade and the slot blade. An anvil arm may include the anvil and the anvil arm defines an open interior configured to receive at least a portion of the profile blade and the slot blade. The opening through the flipper plate may have a perimeter that follows the perimeter of the profile blade and the slot blade.
Exemplary embodiments of the temporary tamper-evident binding apparatus may include a motor connected to a drive shaft. Operation of the motor rotates the drive shaft to cause the reciprocal motion of the cutter head. An eccentric may be secured to the drive shaft. The eccentric engages a cutting assembly comprising the cutter head to transfer rotational movement of the drive shaft to the reciprocal movement of the cutter head. The cutting assembly may further include a piston block. The cutter head may be secured to the piston block. The piston block may further include an opening through it, the opening being defined by a contact surface. The eccentric engages the contact surface of the piston block to transfer rotation of the drive shaft to reciprocal motion of the cutting assembly. The piston block may include an elongated dimension and a set of glide bars and glide rails engage to guide translation of the cutting assembly in the reciprocal motion.
Exemplary embodiments of a method of providing food in tamper-evident packaging may include providing a packaging configured to receive a food order therein. The packaging includes an open interior defined at least in part by a peripheral wall and a bottom end of the packaging. The packaging comprising an opening at an open end opposite the closed end wherein ends of the peripheral wall about the opening are movable such as to bring the ends of the peripheral wall together to close the open interior of the packaging. The peripheral walls of the packaging are positioned within a slot between a flipper plate and an anvil of a tamper-evident binding apparatus. The tamper-evident binding apparatus includes a profile blade having an elongated and concave perimeter and a slot blade having a shallow and concave perimeter. The profile blade and the slot blade are rigidly secured to a blade mount to form a cutter head. The concave perimeter of the profile blade opens towards the concave perimeter of the slot blade. A pusher is pivotably connected to the blade mount at a position intermediate the profile blade and the slot blade. The pusher is configured to rotate about a pivot point. The flipper plate includes an opening and a flipper bar extending across the opening. The cutter head is movable in a reciprocal motion relative to the anvil. In the reciprocal motion at least a portion of the cutter head extends through the opening through the flipper plate and the flipper bar engages the pusher to pivot the pusher about the pivot point. The cutter head moves in a reciprocal motion relative to the peripheral walls. A tongue is cut from the peripheral walls with the profile blade. A slot is cut through the peripheral walls with the slot blade. The pusher is rotated about the pivot point to engage the tongue and move the tongue relative to the slot to form the resistant self-fastening perforation.
In exemplary embodiments of the method, the slot blade includes an aperture defined through the slot blade. The method may further include pushing the tongue through the aperture with a finger of the pusher as the pusher rotates about the pivot point. Upon retracting the cutter head in the reciprocal motion, the tongue is engaged with a top edge of the aperture to pull the tongue through the slot to form the resistant self-fastening perforation. The binding apparatus may further include a motor connected to a drive shaft to which an eccentric is secured and the cutter head is secured to a piston block. The piston block includes an opening defined by a contact surface. The method may further include rotating the eccentric with the motor and drive shaft and engaging the contact surface with the eccentric to translate the piston block and the cutter head in the reciprocal motion.
Exemplary embodiments of systems and methods of tamper-evident food packaging closure are disclosed herein. As described above, it is desirable for a restaurant to have improved solutions for ensuring that an order, once packaged, remains closed and provides an indication that the package food order has not been tampered with or adulterated. By providing a food packaging binding system that reliably and repeatably produces one or more binding perforations through the package, the package can be secured after it is filled with a customer's order. Furthermore, the binding perforations provide a tamper-evident closure as the binding perforations may be damaged when separated by someone gaining access to the interior of the packaging or by manual attempts to re-secure the portions of the binding perforations.
Embodiments of tamper-evident binding systems and methods are described herein that use a mechanical connection to retain portions of a package together in a closed configuration. The mechanical connections used and described herein are exemplarily that of a mechanical die that cuts a portion of material and interweaves it with a slot or other opening cut into adjacent pieces of material to interweave the pieces of material binding them together. In exemplary embodiments, a slot and a tongue shape are cut into stacked pieces of paper and a finger bends the tongue shapes through the slots of adjacent pieces of paper. In this way the layers of paper are held together by the paper tongues which have been cut out and pulled through the slots.
A tamper-evident food delivery packaging system provides resistant binding perforations through packaging of prepared food items to resiliently close The embodiment noted above and as described in further detail herein provides an advantage in a food preparation setting as food order packaging can be closed without the use of staples, which may present a food sanitation risk of puncture or cross-contamination of food order items.
A binding apparatus 16 may exemplarily be a mechanical or electromechanical device that operates to place one or more resistant binding perforations through the peripheral walls 13 of the packaging 12 to maintain closure of the open end 14 of the packaging 12. The binding apparatus 16 may be arranged on a shelf 18 of a food preparation table or station. In other embodiments, the binding apparatus 16 may be mounted to other structures, for example, a table or a wall, while in other embodiments the apparatus may be mounted to a movable arm or tether. In still further embodiments, the binding apparatus 16 may be hand-held and manually operated. In use, the peripheral walls 13 the free, open end of the package 12 are brought together, and optionally may be folded over, to form an initial closure of the open end 14 of the package 12 and this end of the package is inserted into the binding apparatus 16 which punches one or more resistant self-fastening perforations 20 through the peripheral walls 13 of the packaging 12 fastening closed the open end 14 of the packaging 12.
The binding apparatus 16 includes a chassis 26 which forms a base portion of the binding apparatus 16 as described in further detail herein. The chassis 26 may include one or more mounting flanges 28 which are operable to secure the binding apparatus 10 to a mounting location or apparatus within the food preparation setting. It will be recognized that as alternatives to flanges as shown in
The binding apparatus 16 includes a solenoid actuator 32 which upon actuation of the binding apparatus 16 is extended outwards by the solenoid 24 to impart a force on the cutter assembly 48. The cutter assembly 48 is mounted to the chassis 26. The cutter assembly 48 includes a bellcrank 34. The bellcrank 34 is mechanically coupled to the solenoid actuator 22 by a linkage 36. The bellcrank 34 further includes bellcrank arms 38. The bellcrank arms 38 movably engage a cutter shaft 42 of the cutter assembly 48 that extends between the bellcrank arms 38 and the cutter shaft 42 is moveable within a slot 40 in the bellcrank arm 38. The cutter shaft 42 is also moveable within slots 44 in the cutter frame 46. The solenoid 24 is exemplarily mounted to the cutter frame 46.
As the solenoid actuator 32 extends outward, the actuator 32 presses against the bellcrank 34 and the bellcrank 34 pivots about a pivot point 50 between the bellcrank 34 and the cutter frame 46 to raise and/or lower the cutter shaft 42 relative to the chassis 26.
The switch 52 is exemplarily an electromechanical switch. The switch 52 is exemplarily positioned within the slot 30 such that the switch 52 is mechanically actuated by impingement of the free end of the bag against the switch 52. In an exemplary embodiment, this mechanical impingement closes a circuit that results in actuation of the solenoid 24 causing the cutter head to move in the direction of the bag in order to cut the self-fastening perforations. While the switch 52 is depicted as an electromechanical switch, it will be recognized that other forms of switches may be used in embodiments as disclosed herein, such switches may include, but are not limited to a photo interrupter sensor for example that operates in the visible light or IR light spectrum, an inductor a magnetic field sensor whereby changes in an electromagnetic current caused by the positioning of the bag within the slot 30 cause actuation of the solenoid 24. A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other embodiments of sensors as may be used in view of these examples. In still further exemplary embodiments, a button, lever, or another manual switch may be provided wherein a user inserts the free end of the bag into the slot 30 and then manually actuates the associated input to actuate the solenoid 24.
It will be recognized that in embodiments, the communication between the switch 52 and the solenoid 24 may be performed electronically or digitally through implementation that uses analog hardware or a digital controller which interprets a signal from the switch and provides a control signal to the solenoid 24.
While the embodiment depicted in
The motor 74 is, for example, a servomotor or stepper motor that is operated in response to a control signal produced by the controller 72, The motor 74 operates to rotate a drive shaft 76. The controller 72 provides control signal to the motor 74, for example, in response to the receipt of an input signal, caused by actuation of the button 70, by the controller 72. The motor 74 operates in response to the control signal from the controller 72 to rotate the drive shaft 76 through a predetermined amount of rotation. In an exemplary embodiments this may be one full revolution, a half revolution, or two or more revolutions. It will be recognized that in an embodiment, there may be drive gears 78 arranged between the motor 74 and the drive shaft 76 and not therefore multiple revolutions of the motor 74 may be required to achieve a single revolution of the drive shaft 76.
The embodiment of the binding apparatus 16 depicted in
While a single cutting assembly 80 will be described herein, it will be recognized that similar features apply across each of the cutting assemblies 80.
Each cutting assembly 80 includes a piston block 82 that reciprocates in the direction of reference arrow 84. The piston block 82 is elongated in the dimension in which the piston block 82 reciprocates and has a widened dimension that is perpendicular to the drive shaft 76 as seen in
A cutter head 92, as will be explained in further detail herein, is secured to the piston block 82 such that the cutting assembly 80 comprising the piston block 82 and the cutter head 92 is jointly movable. A secure connection, for example by a fastener connection, welded connection, or unitary construction between at least a portion of the cutter head 92 and the piston block 82 secures these components together.
An eccentric 94 is secured to the drive shaft 76. The eccentric 94 is positioned within an opening 96 defined within the piston block 82. The eccentric 94 movably engages a contact surface 98 of the piston block 82 that defines the opening 96. The eccentric 94 is secured to the drive shaft 76 at a position offset from a center point or rotational axis of the eccentric 94 and thus rotation of the eccentric 94 about the drive shaft 76 provides a cam action against the contact surface 98 to move the cutting assembly 80 in the reciprocating motion of reference arrow 84. It will be recognized that other embodiments of eccentrics and eccentric cams may be used while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. As seen in
The cutter head 92 further includes a pusher 106. As seen in
The flipper plate 66 include flipper apertures 120. The apertures 120 through the flipper plate 66 are similarly shaped as anvil apertures 116 such as to receive translation of at least a portion of the profile blade 102 and the slot blade 104 there through as the cutting assemblies 80 reciprocate in the direction of reference arrow 84. The flipper plate 66 further includes a flipper bar 122 which extends across the flipper aperture and, as best seen in
As the cutting assembly 80 is translated, the cutter head 92 extends into and through the flipper aperture 120 as the profile blade 102 and the slot blade 104 begin to extend out of the flipper apertures 120, extending proud of the exterior surface of the flipper plate 124. The flipper bar 122 engages with the arm 106b of the pusher 106. As the cutter head 92 continues to translate in the same direction. This places a force against the arm 106b and the pusher 106 rotates about the pivot 106d about the pin 106e. Rotation of the pusher 106 advances the finger 106c forward, the finger 106c engaging the tongue, newly cut by the profile blade 102, and pushes the tongue through the slot cut by the slot blade 104. The tongue and the finger 106c partially extend through the aperture 108 in the slot blade 104.
As the motor 74 continues to advance and the eccentric 94 rotate within the piston block 82, the cutting assembly 80 begins to retract. The cutter head 92 retracts away from the flipper bar 122 and the pusher 106 rotates back into its original position. As the cutting assembly 80 further retracts, the top edge 108a of the aperture 108 through the slot blade 104 engages the tongue and pulls the tongue through the newly cut slot as the slot blade continues to retract. In this manner the resistant self-fastening perforation through the peripheral walls of a packaging is formed.
As previously described, the flipper plate 66 is secured to a flipper support 122. As depicted in
The binding apparatus 16 depicted in
It will be recognized that while the examples provided in
It will be recognized that still further embodiments of the binding apparatus and tamper-evident food delivery packaging systems as disclosed herein may be formed through combinations of features described above with respect to one or more of the figures above. Such further combinations may include more or fewer of the specific features as shown individually in any of the figures and are within the scope of the present disclosure.
Citations to a number of references are made herein. The cited references are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. In the event that there is an inconsistency between a definition of a term in the specification as compared to a definition of the term in a cited reference, the term should be interpreted based on the definition in the specification.
In the above description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clarity, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be inferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed. The different systems and method steps described herein may be used alone or in combination with other systems and methods. It is to be expected that various equivalents, alternatives, and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.
The functional block diagrams, operational sequences, and flow diagrams provided in the Figures are representative of exemplary architectures, environments, and methodologies for performing novel aspects of the disclosure. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies included herein may be in the form of a functional diagram, operational sequence, or flow diagram, and may be described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the methodologies are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance therewith, occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology can alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all acts illustrated in a methodology may be required for a novel implementation.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
The present application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/631,160, filed on Feb. 15, 2018, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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