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US 12,240,746 B2Granted
Touchless flowable product dispenser
AssigneeA. J. Antunes & Co.
InventorsJoe Carone, Chad Elliott
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A new and improved touchless flowable product dispenser which is to be utilized to reduce the amount of bacteria and germs transmitted when a customer wishes to dispense a flowable product, such as, for example, various condiments into a container. This invention allows large quantities of the flowable product to be stored and dispensed without customer contact, thereby reducing the risk of germ and bacteria transmission inside of a restaurant, particularly during infectious disease events or calendar seasons.
Claims22
A touchless flowable product dispensing system for dispensing flowable products in a hands-free, minimal contact manner, comprising:
- a housing;
- at least one first container disposed within said housing and within which a supply of at least one flowable product is stored;
- at least one dispensing nozzle mounted upon said housing for dispensing the at least one flowable product stored within said at least one first container;
- a flowable product dispensing mechanism for causing a predetermined amount of the flowable product to be dispensed from said at least one first container to said at least one dispensing nozzle when said flowable product dispensing mechanism is activated;
- a horizontally oriented platform disposed upon said housing for supporting at least one second container into which at least one flowable product can be dispensed, wherein said horizontally oriented platform comprises a shelf which has at least one arcuate cut-out region operatively associated therewith for respectively confining a lower end portion of said at least one second container into which the at least one flowable product is to be dispensed;
- and
- a sensing system operatively connected to said flowable product dispensing mechanism such that when said at least one second container is disposed upon said horizontally oriented platform, a signal is transmitted to said flowable product dispensing mechanism so as to dispense a precise predetermined amount of the flowable product into said at least one second container in a hands-free, minimal contact manner.
4 more elements
A touchless flowable product dispensing system for dispensing flowable products in a hands-free, minimal contact manner, comprising:
- a housing;
- at least one first container disposed within said housing and within which a supply of at least one flowable product is stored;
- at least one dispensing nozzle mounted upon said housing for dispensing the at least one flowable product stored within said at least one first container;
- a reversible flowable product dispensing mechanism for causing a predetermined amount of the flowable product to be dispensed from said at least one first container to said at least one dispensing nozzle when said flowable product dispensing mechanism is activated in a first direction, and to suck back flowable product after a precise predetermined amount of flowable product has been dispensed so as to prevent inadvertent dripping of the flowable product when said flowable product dispensing mechanism is activated in a second opposite direction;
- a horizontally oriented platform disposed upon said housing for supporting at least one second container into which at least one flowable product can be dispensed, wherein said horizontally oriented platform comprises a shelf which has at least one arcuate cut-out region operatively associated therewith for respectively confining a lower end portion of said at least one second container into which the at least one flowable product is to be dispensed;
- and
- a sensing system operatively connected to said flowable product dispensing mechanism such that when said at least one second container is disposed upon said horizontally oriented platform, a signal is transmitted to said flowable product dispensing mechanism so as to dispense a precise predetermined amount of the flowable product into said at least one second container in a hands-free, minimal contact manner.
4 more elements
A touchless flowable product dispensing system for dispensing flowable products in a hands-free, minimal contact manner, comprising:
- a housing;
- at least one first container disposed within said housing and within which a supply of at least one flowable product is stored;
- at least one dispensing nozzle mounted upon said housing for dispensing the at least one flowable product stored within said at least one first container;
- a flowable product dispensing mechanism for causing a predetermined amount of the flowable product to be dispensed from said at least one first container to said at least one dispensing nozzle when said flowable product dispensing mechanism is activated;
- a horizontally oriented platform disposed upon said housing for supporting at least one second container into which at least one flowable product can be dispensed, wherein said horizontally oriented platform comprises a shelf which has at least one arcuate cut-out region operatively associated therewith for respectively confining a lower end portion of said at least one second container into which the at least one flowable product is to be dispensed;
- and
- a pushbutton activator operatively connected to said flowable product dispensing mechanism such that when said at least one second container is disposed upon said horizontally oriented platform, and said pushbutton activator is depressed, a signal is transmitted to said flowable product dispensing mechanism so as to dispense a precise predetermined amount of the flowable product into said at least one second container in a hands-free, minimal contact manner.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.