System and method for dispensing a food product
AssigneeServer Products, Inc.
InventorsJordan W. Nielsen, Kyle Perrin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dispensing system for a flowable food product includes a base unit and a reservoir configured to hold the flowable food product to be dispensed by the base unit. The base unit defines an opening that includes a base unit connector. The reservoir is configured to be inserted into the opening and includes a reservoir connector configured to couple to the base unit connector and a valve configured to open and close to control a flow of flowable food product from the reservoir. Inserting the reservoir into the opening cause the valve to open and removing the reservoir from the opening causes the valve to close.
Claims20
A dispensing system for a flowable food product, the dispensing system comprising:
- a base unit configured to dispense the flowable food product and defining an opening that includes a base unit connector;
- and
- a reservoir configured to be inserted into the opening and to hold the flowable food product to be dispensed by the base unit, the reservoir including a reservoir connector configured to couple to the base unit connector and a valve configured to open and close to control a flow of flowable food product from the reservoir, wherein inserting the reservoir into the opening causes the valve to open and removing the reservoir from the opening causes the valve to close.
A method of using a dispensing system, the method comprising:
- inserting a reservoir into an opening defined in a base unit to couple the reservoir to a pump system of the base unit and to cause a valve to move from a closed configuration to an open configuration to allow a flowable food product to flow from the reservoir to the pump system;
- and
- removing the reservoir from the opening to decouple the reservoir from the pump system and to cause the valve to move from the open configuration to the closed configuration to block the flow of the flowable food product from the reservoir to the pump system.
A dispenser for a dispensing system, the dispenser comprising:
- a dispensing unit defining an opening;
- and
- a reservoir configured to sealingly couple to the dispensing unit and including a valve configured to control a flow of a flowable food product from the reservoir to the dispensing unit, the reservoir being moveable within the opening between each of a first reservoir position in which the reservoir is decoupled from the dispensing unit and the valve is closed, a second reservoir position in which the reservoir is coupled to the base unit connector and the valve is closed, and a third reservoir position in which the reservoir is coupled to the base unit connector and the valve is open.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.