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US 11,076,613 B2Granted
Frozen food product dispensing machine including mixing manifold
AssigneeThe Vollrath Company, L.L.C.
InventorsAamer Mohammed, Ken Wetenkamp
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A frozen food product dispensing machine includes a housing, a freezer barrel disposed within the housing, a plurality of drawers, and a manifold comprising a plurality of inlets and one outlet. The plurality of drawers are disposed within and slidably coupled to the housing and configured to each support a liquid food product mix reservoir. The inlets are each fluidly coupled to one of the liquid food product mix reservoirs, and the outlet is fluidly coupled to the freezer barrel to supply liquid food product mix from all of the liquid food product mix reservoirs to the freezer barrel.
Claims18
A frozen food product dispensing machine, comprising:
- a housing;
- a freezer barrel disposed within the housing;
- a plurality of drawers slidably coupled to the housing and configured to each support a liquid food product mix reservoir;
- a manifold defining a plurality of inlets and an outlet, wherein the inlets are each fluidly coupled to one of the liquid food product mix reservoirs and the outlet is fluidly coupled to the freezer barrel to supply liquid food product mix from all of the liquid food product mix reservoirs to the freezer barrel;
- an air sensor comprising a pair of contacts disposed at least partially within a flow path of liquid food product mix,
- a user interface, and
- a controller operatively coupled to the air sensor and the user interface;
- wherein the air sensor is configured to provide a first signal to the controller when the contacts are electrically connected with a relatively small resistance indicative of the presence of liquid food product mix, wherein the air sensor is configured to provide a second signal different from the first signal to the controller when the two contacts are electrically connected with a relatively large resistance indicative of the presence of air, and wherein, in response to the controller receiving the second signal, the user interface is configured to provide a notification to a user indicating that one or more of the liquid food product mix reservoirs are depleted.
5 more elements
A frozen food product dispensing machine, comprising:
- a housing;
- a freezer barrel disposed within the housing;
- a plurality of drawers slidably coupled to the housing and configured to each support a liquid food product mix reservoir;
- a manifold defining a plurality of inlets and an outlet, wherein the inlets are each fluidly coupled to one of the liquid food product mix reservoirs and the outlet is fluidly coupled to the freezer barrel to supply liquid food product mix from all of the liquid food product mix reservoirs to the freezer barrel;
- and
- a plurality of catches movably coupled to the housing, each catch positioned near one of the drawers such that each catch is paired to one of the drawers and each catch is movable between an extended position and a retracted position;
- wherein each drawer is prevented from translating when the paired catch is in the extended position;
- and
- wherein each drawer is allowed to move freely when the paired catch is in the retracted position.
6 more elements
A frozen food product dispensing machine, comprising:
- a housing;
- a freezer barrel disposed within the housing;
- a plurality of drawers slidably coupled to the housing and configured to each support a liquid food product mix reservoir;
- a manifold defining a plurality of inlets and an outlet, wherein the inlets are each fluidly coupled to one of the liquid food product mix reservoirs and the outlet is fluidly coupled to the freezer barrel to supply liquid food product mix from all of the liquid food product mix reservoirs to the freezer barrel;
- a pump configured to draw liquid food product mix from the manifold to the freezer barrel;
- a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure within the freezer barrel;
- and
- a controller configured to stop operation of the pump when the detected pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold pressure;
- wherein the pressure sensor is coupled directly to the freezer barrel.
6 more elements
A frozen food product dispensing machine, comprising:
- a housing;
- a freezer barrel disposed within the housing;
- a plurality of drawers slidably coupled to the housing and configured to each support a liquid food product mix reservoir;
- a pump configured to provide air and liquid food product mix to the freezer barrel;
- a pressure sensor coupled directly to the freezer barrel and configured to detect a pressure within the freezer barrel;
- a controller configured to stop operation of the pump when the detected pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold pressure;
- an air sensor operatively coupled to the controller and comprising a pair of contacts disposed at least partially within a flow path of liquid food product mix;
- and
- a user interface operatively coupled to the controller;
- wherein the air sensor is configured to provide a first signal to the controller when the contacts are electrically connected with a relatively small resistance indicative of the presence of liquid food product mix, wherein the air sensor is configured to provide a second signal different from the first signal to the controller when the two contacts are electrically connected with a relatively large resistance indicative of the presence of air, and wherein, in response to the controller receiving the second signal, the user interface is configured to provide a notification to a user indicating that one or more of the liquid food product mix reservoirs are depleted.
7 more elements
A frozen food product dispensing machine, comprising:
- a housing;
- a freezer barrel disposed within the housing;
- a plurality of drawers slidably coupled to the housing and each supporting a liquid food product mix reservoir, each of the liquid food product mix reservoirs comprising a bag including a coupling through which the liquid food product mix exits the bag;
- a pump configured to provide air and liquid food product mix to the freezer barrel;
- a pressure sensor coupled directly to the freezer barrel and configured to detect a pressure within the freezer barrel;
- a controller configured to stop operation of the pump when the detected pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold pressure;
- and
- a plurality of coiled flexible hoses, each hose biased toward a retracted coiled position;
- wherein each hose is coupled to one of the couplings;
- wherein each hose extends when the drawer supporting the corresponding bag is moved to an open position;
- and
- wherein each hose biases the drawer to move from the open position toward a closed position.
9 more elements
A frozen food product dispensing machine, comprising:
- a housing;
- a freezer barrel disposed within the housing;
- a plurality of drawers slidably coupled to the housing and configured to each support a liquid food product mix reservoir;
- a pump configured to provide air and liquid food product mix to the freezer barrel;
- a pressure sensor coupled directly to the freezer barrel and configured to detect a pressure within the freezer barrel;
- a controller configured to stop operation of the pump when the detected pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold pressure;
- and
- a plurality of catches movably coupled to the housing, each catch positioned near one of the drawers such that each catch is paired to one of the drawers and each catch is movable between an extended position and a retracted position;
- wherein each drawer is prevented from translating when the paired catch is in the extended position;
- and
- wherein each drawer is allowed to move freely when the paired catch is in the retracted position.
8 more elements
A frozen food product dispensing machine, comprising:
- a housing;
- a freezer barrel disposed within the housing;
- a plurality of drawers slidably coupled to the housing and configured to each support a bag configured to contain liquid food product mix, wherein each bag includes a coupling configured to allow the liquid food product mix to exit the bag;
- and
- a plurality of coiled flexible hoses, each hose biased to a retracted coiled position;
- wherein each hose is attached to the coupling of the one of the bags;
- wherein each hose extends when the drawer supporting the bag is moved to an open position;
- and
- wherein each hose biases the drawer to move from the open position toward a closed position.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.