Abstract:
A dispensing machine for dispensing items from a storage container and into an object container is disclosed. The dispensing machine dispenses items such as frozen chicken nuggets or other food items which are normally cooked and sold by volume. Accordingly, the machine may be set to dispense a pre-selected portion of chicken nuggets from the input hopper. The object container is typically a deep-frying basket. Upon activating the machine, the user will not have to count the items nor will the user have to touch the items at any time, thereby reducing or eliminating opportunities for contamination of the items and consequent spread of disease or unpalatable impurities such as dirt. The machine may be fully automatic or may be hand operated. Where the items are edible items that must be refrigerated, the machine components may be contained in refrigeration unit. Access to the interior of the machine is provided through one or more doors which are designed to remain shut during operation of the machine.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to the automated dispensing of items which may be items of any description. More specifically, this invention relates to automated dispensing of edible items, such as frozen, chicken nuggets or other frozen food items such as fruit, where the items being dispensed are sold or packaged by number, weight, or by volume. The machine may be set to dispense one of a number of pre-selected quantities of items. The machine has the additional benefit that it works without necessity for human contact with the items, a benefit highly desirable in food processing. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     Many machines exist for automatic dispensing of items. Candy, soda, and other vending machines have been around for countless years. The mechanisms employed to accomplish the dispensing vary widely. The vast majority of these machines simply dispense one item per use. A vending machine route person loads the machines with one item per compartment or otherwise performs the counting. Thus, the counting function depends on human interaction. 
     Counting machines of various descriptions also exist, but no machines are designed for counting and dispensing items for fast food restaurants. In the case of seed dispensing mechanisms used by farmers, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,051 to Yoss, the seed is cast upon the ground. In seed dispensing machines, one goal is for the seeds to be dispensed at some uniform rate as the farm machine passes over the ground. Clearly, it is undesirable for food items to be dispensed in this manner. 
     Another aspect of existing machines which renders the machines undesirable for food processing is that the machines usually distribute the items over a distance. As the wheels of the machine roll over the ground, a pre-selected number of seeds are dropped for given units of distance. For example, the machine may drop one seed every ten inches. These machines lack any considerations of prophylaxis. They are open and exposed to all manner of dirt, insects, vermin, weather, and other elements that make these machines unsuitable for use in human food processing. 
     Precooked frozen chicken meat poses special health considerations. Improper handling of precooked frozen chicken meat significantly increases the risk of contamination. Good health practices mandate that precooked frozen chicken be processed only on surfaces and with implements and containers, including refrigeration units, used solely for raw and/or precooked chicken meat. No known existing machine overcomes all of the problems in processing frozen precooked chicken meat prior to cooking for human consumption. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,767, issued Jul. 14, 1998 to Brian Rudesill, also inventor of the present invention, discloses a Dispenser Apparatus for dispensing a predetermined quantity of food items, such as frozen french fries. In the earlier Rudesill patent, the dispensing mechanism includes a rotatable drum. The french fries fall by gravity into the rotatable drum. As a slot in the drum passes over a slotted plate, permitting the french fries to fall into a waiting container. 
     The device in the earlier Rudesill patent does not count the number of french fries. Portion control is substantially accomplished by the rate of rotation of the rotatable drum and the sizes of the slots in the rotatable drum and the plate. Thus, in this earlier device, dispensing is by volume. 
     Fast-food restaurants are a fixture of our society. One of the popular menu items for these restaurants is chicken nuggets. These nuggets are normally sold by count. A portion consists of some set number of nuggets, for example, ten nuggets per serving. With the existing art, some person must count out the desired number of nuggets. When this is done at the restaurant, the time it takes to count out the number of nuggets adds to the time required to serve the customer. 
     If the counting is done prior to the customer&#39;s making the order, then there must be some packaging of the portion. The prior counting must be done at the restaurant or at some distribution facility. Packaging introduces a waste issue as well as a delay in opening the package. Having a distributor do the counting and packaging means increased prices to the restaurant. On-site prior counting adds the problem that there will be loss of refrigeration during the counting. If the items to be counted are perishable, then thawing can significantly increase risk of contamination. Handling of food items may increase risks of other hazards from contamination by flying insects to the risk of hairs from the person doing the counting dropping onto the food. All of these health issues are clearly undesirable. 
     Fast food restaurants, in order to maximize profitability, attempt to avoid waste of unsold cooked food items. In the past, it has been difficult to regulate and/or estimate the quantity or volume of a food article prior to, or during cooking. As a result, excess quantities of food may have been inadvertently cooked where the unused food in excess of consumer demand may have been required to be disposed of without sale. A need therefore exists to regulate different batch sizes of food articles to be cooked. At peak sales periods, a large batch of food articles may be desired for cooking while at off hours a relatively small quantity of food articles may be desired for cooking. It is anticipated that the disclosed invention will assist in dispensing large, medium, and small batches of food articles for cooking, thereby satisfying a particular need or demand for a restaurant. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A dispensing machine for dispensing items from a storage container and into an object container is disclosed. The dispensing machine dispenses items such as frozen chicken nuggets or other food items which are normally cooked and sold by count, or volume. Accordingly, the machine may be set to dispense a pre-selected volume of chicken nuggets from the input hopper. The object container is typically a deep-frying basket. Upon activating the machine, the user will not have to count the items nor will the user have to touch the items at any time, thereby reducing or eliminating opportunities for contamination of the items and consequent spread of disease or unpalatable impurities such as dirt. The machine may be fully automatic or may be hand operated. Where the items are edible items that must be refrigerated, the machine components may be contained in refrigeration unit. Access to the interior of the machine is provided through one or more doors which are designed to remain shut during operation of the machine. 
     An advantage of the invention is that it has a storage container which may hold a large quantity of items to be dispensed. 
     Another advantage of the invention is that it has a rotatable plate which moves items to be dispensed into position for placement in the object container. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is the existence of a catch tray which accumulates excess crumbs or liquid. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the rotatable plate and the catch tray have openings sufficiently large for the items to fall through the plates, and which sizing permits a desired number of items to fall through, but which prevents more than the desired number of items from falling through the plates. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that it has an object container positioned below the catch tray for containing the items that fall through the catch tray. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the storage container, rotatable plate, catch tray, and object container are contained within a frame or cabinet which locates the components and keeps the sanitary items sanitary. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the cabinet may be refrigerated to keep frozen food frozen. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the cabinet may have one or two doors in the side of the cabinet for access to the interior of the cabinet. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the catch tray also functions to support the hopper within the dispensing apparatus. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that it has cabinet doors which may be hinged to the cabinet, may be fastened to the cabinet with fasteners. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is the control unit which permits the user to select the number of items to be dispensed. 
     Still another advantage of the invention it that it can dispense edible items, including frozen chicken nuggets, frozen fruit, or inedible items which gives the machine a wide range of uses. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that it has a rotatable disk, which may be rotated manually, which gives the machine the ability to function away from an external power source. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that it has a rotatable disk which may be rotated by a motor, which gives the machine the ability to function using an external power source. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that it has a rotatable disk which may be rotated by chain, belt, or direct drive which provides the machine a variety of mechanical rotational mechanisms. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that it has a control apparatus which may be a rotatable knob, an electro-mechanical device, an electronic device and/or a microprocessor which is adapted to provide a variety of methods for control of the quantity or volume of an article, thus giving the user a number of choices for how the machine regulates the quantity or volume of an article to be dispensed. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that it has a control apparatus which regulates the number of degrees of rotation that the rotatable disk turns thus controlling the number of items which fall into the object container. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the object container may be a deep-frying basket for frying chicken nuggets. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the object container may be a bag into which items may be dispensed, so the items may be packaged for sale, storage, sanitation, or other purposes. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the storage container may be constructed of a hopper for storing items and a chute through which the items fall, where the chute may be positioned for directing the falling of items through openings in the rotatable plate. 
     Still another advantage of the invention is that the rotatable plate may turn about an axis of up to 65 degrees from the vertical in order to accommodate a wide variety of items which makes the dispenser more versatile. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of major components of the machine. 
     FIG. 2 shows an alternate embodiment of the hopper. 
     FIG. 3 shows the rotatable plate in more detail. 
     FIG. 4 shows the catch tray in more detail. 
     FIG. 5 shows the outer assembly with the control unit. 
     FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment of the machine. 
     FIG. 7 show the embodiment of FIG. 6 without the hopper. 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of the machine taken along the line  8 — 8  of FIG.  6 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     While this specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention which are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the claims and drawing figures. 
     Dispensing, unless the context implies otherwise, shall mean portioning and containerizing. 
     The machine consists of two basic assemblies. The inner assembly, FIG. 1, parts  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  170 , and  180 , consists of the mechanism for portioning and containerizing the food items. The outer assembly consists of a frame or cabinet, part  110  and control unit  160 , which may entirely enclose the inner assembly or may, depending on the requirements of the user, be open. In one embodiment, the outer assembly is a cabinet  110  with one or more doors,  120 , for access to the inner assembly. In the embodiment in which the cabinet  110  encloses a refrigeration unit  102 , it is easy to envision that the doors are refrigerator doors. 
     The storage component is referred to by numeral  130  into which items are loaded. This storage component  130  may be thought of as being a single unit, as in FIG. 1, or may include two sections, as in FIG. 2, having tapered hopper  132  and cylindrical chute  134 . Generally, items fall by gravity through tapered hopper  132  and cylindrical chute  134 . The hopper  132  and chute  134  may be shapes other than depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hopper  132  and chute  134  may be so constructed as to align the items with the openings  142  in the rotatable plate  140 . The unitary storage component  130  combines the functions of the hopper  132  and chute  134 . 
     In an alternative embodiment as depicted in FIG. 8 the hopper  132  includes an angled deflector  144 . The angled deflector  144  may have any angle of incline as desired to facilitate positioning of product within the chute  134  by gravity. The angled deflector  144  is preferably positioned above and covers the discharge openings  154  of the catch tray  150 , so that openings  142  of rotatable plate  140  are filled from chute  134  opposite to opening  154 . The base or bottom  156  of catch tray  150  thereby functions as a fill limiter for each opening  142  of rotatable plate  140 . 
     After falling through the storage component  130 , items fall upon the rotatable plate  140 , see FIG.  3 . The rotatable plate  140  is perforated with one or more openings  142 . The size and number of these openings  142  may be selected by the user from a range of plates  140 . The opening size selected for openings  142  must be sufficiently large to permit the items to pass therethrough. The plates  140  may restrict the passage of one or more items through the plates  140  at any one time. In one embodiment each opening  142  may hold approximately ten frozen chicken nuggets. 
     The rotatable plate  140  rotates about a central axis  143  which may be substantially vertical although specific needs of the user may be served by having the axis of rotation  143  other than vertical. The range of axes may vary from vertical to as much as 65 degrees from vertical. The rotatable plate  140  is shown circular but may be any shape consistent with the function of the machine or needs of the user. As maybe seen in FIGS. 1,  7 , and  8  rotatable plate  140  is preferably positioned within catch tray  150 . Rotatable plate  140  is preferably sized for free rotation within interior of catch tray  150 . Each opening  142  of rotatable plate  140  holds a set volume of items to be dispensed. 
     FIG. 4 shows the catch tray  150 . The catch tray  150  is shown square but may be any shape which performs the function or serves the needs of the user. Rotatable plate  140  contains a receiver  146  for receiving the spindle  152 . Receiver  146  may be threaded holes, pentagon or hexagon shaped holes, sockets, brackets, or other mechanisms including or not including bearings. 
     Catch tray  150  includes opening  154 . Rotatable plate  140  rotates upon spindle  152  to become positioned such that one of the openings  142  in rotatable plate  140  aligns with opening  154  in the catch tray  150 . A desired volume of items may then fall from the storage container  130  through openings  142  and  154 . 
     The Spindle  152  has a cross section which may be circular, hexagonal, pentagonal, or any other shape is adapted for insertion into receiver  146 . The mating engagement between spindle  152  and receiver  146  prevents rotation there between. Therefore, engagement of rotation mechanism  155  causes spindle or drive shaft  152  to rotate plate  140  to dispense a desired volume of items. 
     Cabinet  110  includes a base  112 . Base  112  includes a product aperture  114 . The alignment of product aperture  114 , openings  142  of plate  140 , and openings  154  in catch tray  150 , permits a desired volume of items to fall from hopper  132  to container  170 . 
     The catch tray  150  preferably rests on the top surface of the base  112  receiving support therefrom. The base  112  also includes a shaft aperture  202  which is sized to receive spindle  152 . Spindle  152  is freely rotatable within shaft aperture  202 . The catch tray  150  may be secured in a desired location on the top surface of base  112  by brackets, bolts and nuts, screws and/or any other desired affixation mechanism. 
     Rotation mechanism  155  facilitates the rotation of the rotatable plate  140  on spindle or drive shaft  152 . The rotation mechanism  155  is an electric motor which preferably includes spindle or drive shaft  152 . (FIG. 8) Engagement of motor  155  rotates spindle  152  thereby in parting rotational motion to plate  140 . Spindle  152  extends upwardly for motor  155  through shaft opening  157  in catch tray  150  for insertion into rotatable disk  140 . Spindle  152  is positioned on center with respect to rotatable disk  140 . Rotation mechanism  155  is positioned within a motor cavity  200  of base  112  of cabinet  110 . The motor  155  may be secured within motor cavity  200  by any preferred affixation mechanism including but not necessarily limited to brackets, bolts and nuts, and/or screws. The shaft opening  157  is sized to enable free rotation of spindle  152  there between. Alternatively a manual mechanism, such as a hand crank, may turn the spindle  152 . When the spindle  152  turns, it causes plate  140  to rotate about spindle  152 . In an alternative embodiment, rotation of wheel  156  may be accomplished by a belt drive, about the spindle  152  or through use of a chain, magnets, or other mechanisms. 
     FIGS. 5-8 show cabinet  110 . In one alternate embodiment, the cabinet  110  contains a control device  160 , such as, a rotatable knob  116 . The user turns this knob  116  to select the number of items that will fall through the openings  142  and  154 . Because the machine is designed to permit one or more items to fall through at a time, the control device  160  controls the number of items counted by controlling how many openings  142  are rotated past openings  154 . Thus, if there are five openings  142  in rotatable plate  140  and the user sets the knob  116  to dispense three portions, rotatable plate  140  will rotate more than 180 degrees. One full rotation will dispense five portions. Two rotations will dispense ten portions. Dispensing of items occurs by consecutive alignment of openings  142  and  154  where each alignment permits a desired portion of items to pass therethrough. 
     The rotation between each opening  142  with respect to opening  154  represents a 72° rotation of plate  140 . It is anticipated that a maximum of three to four openings will be rotated at any given time to dispense three to four portions of items into container basket  170  for cooking. The controller  160  counts the number of openings  142  for rotation past openings  154  during the dispensing of a desired volume of items into container basket  170 . 
     In alternative embodiments, control device  160  may include one or a plurality of push buttons representative of a pre-selected number or volume of items corresponding to small, medium, and/or large portions which may then be cooked by an individual. Alternatively, control device  160  may have a plurality of indicator slots or markings for selection of a desired number or volume of items to be dispensed. Any number of push buttons and/or knobs may be utilized to assist in the selection of a desired number or volume of items to be dispensed by the dispensing device  10 . Control device  160  may further include a touch pad selection switch which may be used to select a desired number or volume of items to be dispensed. Control device  160  may also include an LED display and/or indicator lights to communicate information to an individual such as the number or volume of selected items and/or the status of the contents of the hopper or the activation of a refrigeration unit. The display and/or LED lighting system may further be electrically coupled to sensors for warning an operator of an undesirable condition and/or malfunction of the dispensing device  10 . 
     Alternatively, as maybe seen in FIG. 6, the storage compartment  130  may include one or more markings  128  which maybe utilized to communicate the volume of items within the hopper  132 . Refilling of the hopper is thereby facilitated. 
     The hopper  132  may be refilled by passing of items to be dispensed through filler slot  136  which traverses the top of the front face of the hopper  132 . Alternatively, the hopper  132  may be slidably separated from the catch tray  150  and cabinet  110  through the use of matching channels  138  which are integral to the top sides of the catch tray  150  and to the bottom sides of hopper  132 . The hopper  132  may thereby be partially or completely slidably retracted outwardly from the cabinet  110  for refilling. In the event of complete separation, the chute  134  will be required to be blocked for reopening following the insertion into the cabinet  110  and catch tray  150  to prevent spillage of items during refilling. It is anticipated that refilling of the hopper  132  will occur through use of filler slot  136  or partial outward slidable retraction of hopper  132  relative to catch tray  150 . 
     In an alternate embodiment, the openings  142  and  154  may be so designed as to permit more than one item to pass through the openings  142  and  154  at any one time thus altering the number of items per degree of rotation. 
     The control device  160  may be mechanical, electrical, electromechanical, electronic, or might even be a microprocessor. 
     In one embodiment, the cabinet  110  is so constructed that it rests upon a stand  118  which has a smaller footprint than the full area of the cabinet  110  thus reducing the required space for the machine. 
     The container  170  generally receives the items which have been dispensed. This container  170  may be, as shown, a frying basket or it could, in an alternate embodiment, be a bag or other container. The user removes the container  170  to perform whatever function the user wishes to facilitate cooking. The container may be slidably held in position by basket guides  172 . 
     In one embodiment, the cabinet  110  is a refrigeration unit  102  and the items to be dispensed are frozen chicken nuggets. The user fills the storage component  130  with uncooked or precooked, preferably frozen, chicken nuggets. By the force of gravity, the frozen chicken nuggets fall onto the rotatable plate  140 . An operator will select a quantity or volume of items to be dispensed by manipulation of control device  160 . Control device  160  in turn may activate a motor and/or other drive mechanism to rotate drive shaft  152  as engaged to the center of the rotatable plate  140 . Rotatable plate  140  then rotates to align openings  142  to openings  154  through catch tray  150 . Alignment of openings  142  to openings  154  permits falling of items into object container  170  which may be a frying basket  170 . As described above, the user may select the number of items to be dispensed. 
     The invention is not limited to dispensing frozen chicken nuggets. The machine may be configured to dispense, for example, dry cell batteries which would be dispensed into a box or bag. Because dry cell batteries do not require refrigeration or sanitation, the cabinet could be a simple open frame. The machine may also dispense hard candies into a bag. Hard candies do not require refrigeration but they must be kept sanitary. In this embodiment, the cabinet would be closed but would not be refrigerated. 
     In another embodiment in which the machine may dispense items such as dry-cell batteries, the chute  134  may be a cylinder with a diameter only slightly larger than the diameter of a dry-cell battery. As the batteries fall into and through the chute  134 , the dry-cell batteries become aligned substantially vertically. Then, if the rotatable plate  140  is made slightly thicker than the length of the dry-cell batteries, the dispenser can dispense dry-cell batteries at a desired rate. 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 show a dispensing machine having side by side cabinets  110 . The second cabinet  108  may be used as an additional refrigeration unit for storage of items. Alternatively, second cabinet  108  may include an additional dispensing machine having the features and functions of the embodiments described above. Any number of dispensing machines may be positioned side by side as desired. 
     The above Examples and disclosure are intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. These examples and description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one of ordinary skill in this art. All these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the attached claims. Those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto.