# US 11,076,613 B2 · Frozen food product dispensing machine including mixing manifold > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,076,613 B2 - Document ID: US11076613B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/790,888 - Filed: 2017-10-23 - Published: 2018-04-26 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2016-10-24 - Assignees: The Vollrath Company, L.L.C. - Applicants: The Vollrath Company, L.L.C. - Inventors: Aamer Mohammed; Ken Wetenkamp - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11076613B2 ## CPC - A23G 9/227: {Details} - A23G 9/228: {Arrangement and mounting of control or safety devices} - A23G 9/282: {for dispensing multi-flavour ice-creams} - G01F 23/16: Indicating, recording, or alarm devices being actuated by mechanical or fluid means, e.g. using gas, mercury, or a diaphragm as transmitting element, or by a column of liquid - A23G 9/20: the products being mixed with gas, e.g. soft-ice - A23G 9/283: {for filling containers with material} - A23G: COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF - G01F: MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME ## 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. ## Claims ### Claim 1 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. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of shut-off valves, each shut-off valve disposed between one of the liquid food product mix reservoirs and the manifold, wherein each shut-off valve is movable to a closed position to fluidly decouple the corresponding liquid food product mix reservoir from the manifold. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the contacts of the air sensor are disposed at least partially within a flow path between one of the liquid food product mix reservoirs and the manifold. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the contacts of the air sensor are disposed at least partially within a flow path between the manifold and the freezer barrel. ### Claim 5 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. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 5, wherein each of the liquid food product mix reservoirs comprises a bag including a coupling through which the liquid food product mix exits the bag. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 6, further comprising 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. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising: a pump configured to draw liquid food product mix from the manifold to the freezer barrel; and a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure within the freezer barrel; wherein the controller is configured to stop operation of the pump when the detected pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold pressure. ### Claim 9 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. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising: a door rotatably coupled to the housing having an open position wherein the door does not obstruct access to the drawers and a closed position wherein the door encloses the drawers within the housing; and a tray disposed within the housing such that the tray is accessible with the door in the open position and obstructed with the door in the closed position. ### Claim 11 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. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 11, wherein each of the liquid food product mix reservoirs comprises a bag including a coupling through which the liquid food product mix exits the bag. ### Claim 13 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. ### Claim 14 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. ### Claim 15 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. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 15, further comprising 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. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 15, further comprising: a pump configured to draw liquid food product mix from the bags 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. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The frozen food product dispensing machine of claim 15, further comprising an air sensor, a user interface, and a controller operatively coupled to the air sensor and the user interface, wherein the air sensor comprises two contacts disposed at least partially within a flow path of liquid food product mix, wherein the air sensor is configured to provide a first signal to the controller when the two 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.