Abstract:
A self-replenishing garnish dispenser comprising a carrier base and a plurality of separate bins receivable in the carrier base, the carrier base having a horizontally elongated channel for receiving and aligning bins side-by-side, each bin having walls forming a J-shaped space open at an upper end and a mid-height open end, the bin space being adapted to temporarily store condiments or garnish pieces received at the open upper end and dispensed at the mid-height end.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to a food service device for organizing and dispensing a plurality of condiments and garnishes. 
         [0002]    Food service establishments including restaurants, bars, cafeterias, event centers and the like have a need for a unit capable of individually storing and dispensing a variety of condiments and garnishes. Ideally, the unit can be used by employees or patrons depending on the nature of the food service establishment. 
         [0003]    Preferably, a dispensing unit should serve to subtly discourage people, especially patrons, from withdrawing excessive portions of a particular item or items from the unit. The unit should permit an individual condiment or garnish to be restocked without disturbing the condition or presentation of the other condiments or garnishes dispensed in the unit. Major and individual parts of the unit should be easily sanitized by washing and rinsing after use. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The invention provides a dispenser, including a carrier base and a bank of self-replenishing garnish/condiment bins. The disclosed bins preferably have a J-shaped configuration. Each bin is arranged to be filled at an upper end inlet opening and to dispense at a mid-level outlet or dispensing opening. As portions of a garnish or condiment product are removed from the dispensing opening, a replacement quantity, under the influence of gravity, can automatically descend from a supply column of the product under the fill opening and migrate towards the dispensing opening. 
         [0005]    The bins are separate containers that can be removed from the carrier base without disturbing other bins and be replaced with another bin or itself be refilled and returned to the carrier base. 
         [0006]    The carrier base has a single cover for the bin fill openings and another separate cover for the bin dispensing openings. When closed, the covers exclude airborne contaminants, maintain freshness, and help keep the condiments and garnishes chilled. A panel in the carrier base establishes a chamber than can be filled with ice to maintain freshness of perishable goods in the bins. 
         [0007]    The bin configuration presents a limited apparent volume of a condiment or garnish at the dispensing opening as compared to its actual storage volume. This arrangement has the subtle effect of reducing waste by discouraging users, particularly in self-service applications, from dispensing excessive portions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the inventive garnish dispenser; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a right side elevational view of the garnish dispenser; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the garnish dispenser with its covers open exposing a plurality of individual bins; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a typical bin; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser in a vertical plane transverse to a lengthwise direction of the dispenser; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a pivot area of one end of a lower cover of the dispenser. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0014]    A multi-compartment dispenser  10  for condiments and garnishes is an assembly of injection molded plastic parts. The parts may be made of a suitable thermoplastic such as rigid polyvinylchloride. The dispenser  10  includes an elongated carrier base  11  in which are removably positioned separate bins  12 . An upper cover  13 , when closed, overlies rearward portions of the bins  12  and a lower cover  14 , when closed, overlies forward portions of the bins. By way of example, and for scale purposes, the carrier base can have a length of approximately 20 inches. 
         [0015]    The carrier base  11  is a unitary part having a channel shaped cross-section, shown in  FIG. 5  with front and rear sidewalls  16 ,  17 , respectively, joined by an intermediate bottom wall  18 . The channel formed by the walls  16 - 18  is closed by end walls  19 . Preferably, corners formed by intersections of the walls  16 - 19  have large radii to facilitate cleaning and rinsing. 
         [0016]    The end walls  19  have an integral circular stub  21  that forms a trunnion mount or pivot for opposed ends  22  of the lower cover  14 . The cover ends  22  have circular holes  23  that fit on respective stubs  21 . The main length of the cover  14  is a cylindrical wall segment with an arcuate center concentric about an axis passing through the center of the circular holes  23 . The cover  14 , which is preferably an injection molded unitary part, has sufficient elasticity to enable the ends  22  to snap over the stubs  21  to effect assembly of the cover onto the carrier base  11 . 
         [0017]    As seen in  FIG. 6 , one or both cover ends  22  has a molded inward projection  24  that cooperates with an outward projection  26  molded on the carrier base end wall  19  to releasably hold the lower cover  14  in the closed position depicted in  FIG. 2 . When the lower cover  14  is manually moved to and from the closed position, the interference between the projections  24 ,  26  is overcome by a caroming action between these elements in which the cover end wall  22  resiliently deflects outwardly in the longitudinal direction of the carrier base, i.e. parallel to the axis of the pivot stub  21 . The open position of the cover  14  is illustrated in broken line in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0018]    The upper cover  13  is generally rectangular in top view and has the general configuration of an inverted shallow rectangular pan. A depending hook  31  on the underside of the cover  13  at each of its ends towards the rear is assembled in an associated slot  32  in a top ledge  33  of the carrier base  11 . The cover  13  is manually pivoted on the hooks  31  relative to the carrier base  11  between closed ( FIG. 5 , solid line) and open ( FIG. 5 , broken line) positions. 
         [0019]    The illustrated dispenser  10  is provided with six separate identical bins  12 . Other arrangements of the invention can use more or fewer bins. A bin  12  being an injection molded unitary part, has thin walls that form the boundary of a J-shaped interior space  36 . The wall elements of a bin  12  include a back  37 , bottom  38 , front  39 , sides  41 , and intermediate wall element  42 . For the most part, except for the bottom  38 , the walls are generally vertical. The bottom wall  38  is sloped downwardly from the rear towards the front. Intersections of the walls  37 ,  42  are curved to facilitate movement of condiments/garnish and for cleaning and for washing. 
         [0020]    Upper edges of the back, side and intermediate walls,  37 ,  41  and  42 , respectively, form an inlet opening  43  for receiving condiment or garnish pieces. An upper edge of the front wall  39  and adjacent edges of the sidewalls  41  form an outlet  44  for dispensing condiment or garnish pieces. A lower edge of the intermediate wall  42  allows the pieces to pass from a columnar space below the inlet  43  to a space below the outlet  44 . Combined, these two spaces have the configuration of the letter J when seen in an imaginary vertical plane. 
         [0021]    Ribs  51  on the underside of the bottom wall  38  have a notch  52  that fits over a longitudinal inverted raised channel  53  in the bottom wall  18  of the carrier base  11 . When the notches  52  are mated with the channel  54 , a bin  12  is properly located in the carrier base  11 . 
         [0022]    Planar bin dividers  56  ( FIG. 3 ) are optionally used in one or more bins  12  to increase the variety of the condiments/garnishes that are served in the dispenser  10 . A bin divider  56  fits closely in the space below the inlet  43  downwardly to a level adjacent that of the outlet opening  44 . The bin divider  56  is suspended in a bin  12  by integral tabs  57  located in slots  58  in the upper edges of the rear and intermediate walls  37 ,  42 , respectively. 
         [0023]    On the interior of the carrier base end walls  19  are oppositely facing vertical channels  61 . A planar divider  62  extending the length of the carrier base interior is optionally located in the channels to separate the interior into two chambers. The bins  12  occupy a front chamber while a rear chamber indicated at  63  can be filled with ice to maintain the contents of the bins  12  chilled. A bottom edge of the divider  62  is located by small spaced pins  64  molded on the carrier base bottom wall  18  in staggered positions to hold the divider from both sides. 
         [0024]    A bin  12  can be filled with pieces of a desired condiment or garnish while the bin is removed from the carrier base or while it remains in the base. Ordinarily, the condiment/garnish is put in a bin  12  through the upper inlet opening  43  until level with the opening. As the bin is being filled, the condiment/garnish guided by the bottom wall  38  and influenced by gravity will automatically move to the front part of the bin below the dispensing opening  44 . If desired, the front part of the bin can be filled at least partially through the dispensing opening  44 . A person can dispense condiment or garnish through the opening  44  using a spoon or other utensil. As the condiment/garnishment is dispensed from the opening  44 , it is replenished by the influence of gravity on the column of condiment/garnish beneath the fill opening  43 . The weight of the column causes the condiment/garnishment to automatically slide over the inclined bottom wall  38  to the space beneath the dispensing opening  44 . Passage of the condiment or garnish through the J-shaped volume of the bin  12  assures that the oldest stored part of the condiment/garnishment in a dispensing bin will be the first to be dispensed. 
         [0025]    The covers  13 ,  14 , when closed, keep the condiment/garnish fresh and protected from airborne contaminants. The carrier base chamber  63  can be filled with ice to chill the goods in the bins  12 . The divider  62  can be made from aluminum sheet to facilitate heat transfer between the chambers. The geometry of the pivot hooks  31  permit the upper cover  13  to rest in an open, generally vertical position. The lower cover  14  in its pivoted open position, shown in  FIG. 5  in broken line, underlies the forward part of the carrier base  11  and bins  12  so that counter or table space occupied by the dispenser  10  remains small. 
         [0026]    It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited.