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US 11,904,323 B2Granted
Viscous food product grinding and dispensing system
AssigneeTrade Fixtures, LLC
InventorsScott Johnson, Shaji Kulangara Veettil, John Calow, Vaishakh Rajan, Ronald Brundick, Pranav Bhat
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A viscous food product dispensing system having a transport section for receiving a particulate food product from a bin, an auger for processing and conveying the received particulate food product from the transport section into an outlet adapter via one or more flutes, a milling device housed in the outlet adapter, and a discharge nozzle in the outlet adapter that pinches off the viscous food product created by the milling device. The auger has a unique design that allows it to engage and break whole nuts.
Claims19
A viscous food product dispensing system comprising:
- a transport section having a chute inlet configured to receive a particulate food product;
- an auger for processing and conveying the received particulate food product from the transport section into an outlet adapter, the auger being mechanically driven by an electric motor;
- the outlet adapter comprising:
- a milling device configured to further process the particulate food product into a pressurized flow of viscous food product that is discharged from the milling device through a nozzle, wherein the milling device is mechanically driven by the electric motor;
- wherein the nozzle further comprises a valve including an opening at a proximal end thereof configured to receive the viscous food product from the milling device wherein the valve includes a pair of opposing flap walls joined by a pair of opposing side walls, the flap walls and side walls together forming a downwardly-tapered interior passage away from the opening at the proximal end thereof.
2 more elements
A viscous food product dispensing system comprising:
- a transport section having a chute inlet configured to receive a particulate food product;
- an auger for processing and conveying the received particulate food product from the transport section into an outlet adapter, the auger being mechanically driven by an electric motor;
- the outlet adapter comprising:
- a milling device mechanically driven by the electric motor and configured to further process the particulate food product into a pressurized flow of viscous food paste, the milling device comprising a fixed grinder plate and a rotating grinder plate, wherein a portion of the auger extends through the fixed grinder plate and the auger is secured to the rotating grinder plate to rotate the rotating grinder plate with the electric motor;
- and
- a nozzle configured to discharge the pressurized flow of viscous food paste, the nozzle comprising a valve with an opening at a proximal end thereof configured to receive the viscous food paste from the milling device wherein the valve includes a pair of opposing flap walls joined by a pair of opposing side walls, the flap walls and side walls together forming a downwardly-tapered interior passage away from the opening towards an outlet, the outlet configured to flex to an open position under force from the pressurized flow of viscous food paste through the interior passage and configured to return to a closed position upon a reduction of the pressurized flow of viscous food paste through the interior middle portion.
3 more elements
A method of dispensing a viscous food product, the method comprising:
- providing a transport section having a chute inlet configured to receive a particulate food product, an auger for processing and conveying the received particulate food product from the transport section into an outlet adapter, the auger being mechanically driven by an electric motor, the outlet adapter comprising a milling device mechanically driven by the electric motor and configured to further process the particulate food product into a pressurized flow of viscous food product that is discharged from the milling device through a nozzle comprising a valve with an opening at a proximal end thereof, the valve including a pair of opposing flap walls joined by a pair of opposing side walls together forming a downwardly-tapered interior passage away from the opening towards an outlet, the method comprising:
- receiving a flow of the viscous food product through the opening;
- building force within the interior passage from the flow of the viscous food product;
- flexing the outlet to an open position under the force of the flow of the viscous food product;
- dispensing the viscous food product in an elongated stream through the outlet in the open position;
- returning the outlet to a closed position when the force within the interior passage drops due to a reduction in the flow of the viscous food product;
- and
- ending the dispense by severing the elongated stream with the outlet.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.