Abstract:
An apparatus that dispenses a food substance having a housing, a barrel connected to the housing and a lever pivotally attached to the housing. The barrel receives and stores the food substance to be dispensed. A rod having teeth thereon is connected to a plunger that is slidably positioned within the barrel. An advancing mechanism is movably positioned within the housing. The advancing mechanism includes an escapement body, a driver and a spring that engages the driver. The driver engages the teeth on the rod to advance the plunger to dispense the food substance is forced out of the barrel.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates in general to devices for dispensing food items and, more particularly, to a hand held manual cookie press. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Manual hand held extruding devices that dispense food items such as pasta or cookie dough are known in the art. The prior art extruding devices typically include a lever or handle that is used to advance a piston via a pawl or other latching piece that engages the teeth of a rod that is connected to the piston. Prior art extruding devices also typically use a spring to bias the latching piece towards engagement with the teeth on the rod. 
     As an example of such a device,. U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,450 to Heling illustrates a manual extruder having a cylinder with a movable piston rod disposed therein. The piston rod includes teeth positioned along opposing sides of the piston rod. An operating lever has two prongs that are positioned at the top of the cylinder. Each prong includes a pivot pin and a pawl which rotates about the pivot pin. The pawls contact the teeth on the piston rod. As the lever is depressed, the pawls engage the teeth on the piston rod to move the piston rod in a downward direction. As the lever is raised, the pawls engage the next highest tooth to enable the piston rod to advance during the downswing of the lever. This allows the piston rod to push the food substance out of the cylinder. 
     Another prior art device that uses a lever and pawls to advance a piston rod is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 972,793 issued to Allred. The Allred patent illustrates a mortar feeding device with a cylindrical body, two hand levers and a piston attached to a rod. The first hand lever is stationary with regard to the cylindrical body. A sleeve featuring external teeth covers and receives the rod. The device also includes two pivotally mounted pawls. The pawls are held in engagement with the teeth of the sleeve by springs. To discharge a substance from the cylinder, the second lever is raised so that the second pawl engages the next highest tooth on the sleeve. The sleeve is held stationary by the first pawl of the first lever as the second lever is raised. As the second lever is moved downward (towards the first lever), the sleeve is moved downwards which advances the piston downwards. As the sleeve moves downwards, the spring of the first pawl is compressed as the first pawl travels over a tooth of the sleeve. As such, while the second pawl is used to push the rod down, the first pawl serves as a lockout to restrain the rod from upward travel when the second lever is raised. The substance in the cylinder is forced out the bottom of the body when the second lever is pressed down. 
     Another prior art extruder that uses a lever and pawl to advance a piston is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,936 issued to Meth et al. The Meth patent illustrates a toy extruder that molds an object from a soft material. The device includes a body having a chamber therein with a movable piston positioned within the chamber and a handle pivotally connected to the body. One end of a spring is attached to a transverse pin in the piston and the second end of the spring is attached to the base of the housing. The piston includes teeth positioned along the outside surface. When the handle pivots in a clockwise direction, a pawl on the handle engages the teeth and imparts an upward movement to the piston. As a result, the piston moves upwardly within the chamber thereby pushing material out of the top of the chamber into a mold to form a toy. 
     The advancing mechanisms of the above prior art extruding devices require complex moving elements to properly advance the piston and the attached rod. Also, the prior art extruders are often difficult to refill with the material that is to be extruded. 
     Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a manual hand held device for extruding a food item that is easy to use. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a manual hand held device with a simplified advancing mechanism that advances a plunger to push the food item out of the device. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a manual hand held device for extruding a food item that is compact and easy to store. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an apparatus for dispensing a food substance, such as cookie dough. The apparatus is formed from a housing and a barrel connected to the housing. The barrel receives and stores the food substance. A plunger is slidably positioned within the barrel and a rod having teeth thereon is connected to the plunger. The apparatus also includes an advancing mechanism having an escapement body, a driver positioned within the escapement body and a spring that engages the driver and escapement body. The apparatus also includes a lever pivotally attached to the housing. The lever engages the advancing mechanism such that when the lever is depressed, the plunger advances to depress the food substance from the barrel. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further aspects of the invention and their advantages may be discerned from the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like characters number like parts and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the manual cookie press of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the manual cookie press illustrated in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the manual cookie press illustrated in FIG. 2 taken along line  3 — 3  and with the disc tube removed; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the advancing mechanism of the manual cookie press of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the escapement assembly positioned in the manual cookie press illustrated in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the escapement assembly illustrated in FIG. 5 taken along line  6 — 6 ; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the manual cookie press of FIG. 3 where the lever is placed in a ready position; 
     FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the manual cookie press of FIG. 7 where the lever is fully depressed and the rod has been advanced; and 
     FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the manual cookie press of FIG. 7 where the lever is fully lifted and the driver has moved up one tooth on the rod. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An embodiment of the manual cookie press of the present invention is indicated in general at  11  in FIGS. 1 and 2. The manual cookie press includes a cookie barrel  12  and a top cap  14  with an opening  15  therethrough. A moving lever  22  is pivotally connected to the top cap  14  via hinge  24 . A disc tube  18  is positioned over the bottom end of the cookie barrel. The disc tube is used for temporary storage of the various discs  20  that form the cookies. The disc tube and the various discs are removed from the cookie barrel before it is used to form cookies. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 3, a disc  20  is positioned at the bottom of the cookie barrel. The disc  20  includes openings  21  arranged in a variety of patterns to form a template for dispensing cookie dough. A bottom cap  16  with an opening  17  therethrough secures the disc  20  to the bottom of the cookie barrel. As will be explained below, cookie dough is dispensed through the openings  21  of the disc  20  when the lever  22  of FIGS. 1 and 2 is manipulated. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 2, one end of the lever  22  of the cookie press includes a handle  25  which is easy for the consumer to depress and comfortable for the consumer to hold. The opposite end of the lever includes an oblong shaped opening  23  extending through the lever  22 . A knob  36  is attached to the top end of the rod  32  (FIG.  1 ). The opening  23  is sized so that the lever  22  may be pivoted over the knob  36  from the use position illustrated in FIG. 1 to a storage position, illustrated in phantom at  27  in FIG. 1, where the lever is parallel to the cookie barrel  12 . As such, the lever is easy to pivot between the storage position and the use position. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 3, a rod  32  and advancing plunger  40  are positioned within the barrel  12  of the manual cookie press. The rod  32  extends a length greater than that of the cookie barrel  12 . The rod includes a number of teeth  34  that are aligned along one side. The remainder of the rod has a smooth surface. One end of the rod is disposed within an opening at the center of the knob  36 . The opposite end of the rod is disposed within an opening at the center of a plunger  40 . A washer  38  is placed on the rod before it is connected to the plunger  40 . The washer is placed at the connection between the rod and the plunger to distribute the force exerted on the rod across the plunger when the lever is depressed. The plunger  40  extends approximately the complete cross-sectional area of the cookie barrel  12  but is sized so that it is capable of sliding in a vertical direction within the cookie barrel. Additionally, the plunger  40  is sized to lightly contact the inner surface of the cookie barrel, so that it is able to completely engage all of the cookie dough placed within the barrel. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the cookie press includes an advancing mechanism, indicated at  29 , positioned on the top end of the barrel. The advancing mechanism  29  includes a main housing  30  is cylindrical and includes a centrally located opening  31  therethrough. The main housing  30  that is sized so that it may be positioned over the top end of the cookie barrel  12 . The top cap  14 , which is also part of the advancing mechanism  29 , is placed over the main housing  30  such that the opening  15  in the top cap  16  is concentrically aligned with the opening  31  in the housing  30 . The advancing mechanism also includes an escapement assembly  50  that advances the rod  32  and plunger  40  in the barrel. The advancing mechanism also includes a lockout assembly  68 . As will be explained below, the lockout assembly aids the advancing mechanism by restraining the rod from upward movement when the lever  22  is raised. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 3, the escapement assembly  50  and the lockout assembly  68  are positioned within the main housing  30  of the advancing mechanism. More specifically, the escapement assembly is positioned within the opening  31  of the main housing  30  such that it extends through the opening  31 . The lockout assembly  68  is positioned below the escapement assembly  50  slightly above the top of the cookie barrel  12 . 
     The advancing mechanism  29  is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 4, a top view is illustrated in FIG.  5  and an enlarged view of the escapement assembly, by itself, is illustrated in FIG.  6 . As shown in FIG. 6, the escapement assembly  50  includes an escapement body  52 , a driver  56 , a spring  57 , a drive washer  58  and an escapement cap  60 . The escapement body  52  houses the washer  58 , the escapement cap  60 , the driver  56  and the spring  57 . The escapement body  52  is a cylindrical member with an upwardly extending neck  55  and an open underside. An opening  54  extends through the center of the neck  55  of the escapement body  52 . As shown in FIG. 4, the rod  32  extends through the neck  55  of the escapement body so that it may be positioned at the center of the escapement body  52 . The escapement body  52  also includes a flange  53  that extends outwardly from the bottom portion of the escapement body  52 . As illustrated in FIG. 4, the flange  53  prevents the escapement body from being removed from the top of the housing of the assembled cookie press. More specifically, once the flange  53  contacts the main housing  30 , it restrains the escapement body  52  from traveling upward. 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the drive washer  58  is a circular disc with a circular central opening  59  therethrough. The drive washer is positioned adjacent to the underside of the escapement body  52  to relieve friction that might occur between the escapement body  52  and the spring biased driver  56 . As illustrated in FIG. 5, the top of the escapement body  52  only covers a portion of the washer  58  so that the arcuate outer portions of the washer remain exposed. When the cookie press is used, the exposed portions of the washer  58  are contacted by the protrusions  26  that extend downwardly from the lever  22  (see FIG.  1 ). 
     As illustrated in FIG. 6, the driver  56 , spring  57  and escapement cap  60  are positioned below the washer  58 . The driver  56  is generally box-shaped with one end being open to house the spring  57  and the opposite end being angled to matingly engage the teeth  34  in the rod  32  (FIG.  3 ). The spring  57  is disposed within the driver  56 . As a result, the spring biases the driver  56  so that it may slide towards the opening  61  to engage the teeth on the rod that is positioned within the opening  61 . The escapement cap  60  abuts the driver  56  such that the driver  56  is positioned between the drive washer  58  and the escapement cap  60 . The escapement cap  60  includes an opening  61  located at the center of the escapement cap  60  and extending through the escapement cap  60 . The underside of the cap includes spaced cavities  62  that act as a seat for compression spring  64  (FIG.  4 ). Compression spring  64  is positioned below the escapement assembly. The compression spring  64  urges the escapement assembly upwards when the lever releases the escapement body. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 6, the circular openings  54 ,  59  and  61  located through the center of the escapement body  52 , the drive washer  58  and the escapement cap  60 , respectively, are concentrically aligned. Each opening is sized to receive and house the circular rod  32  (FIG. 3) of the cookie press. As a result, the circular rod  32  is positioned at the center of the cookie barrel  12 , as illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 4, the lockout assembly, indicated in general at  68 , includes a lockout housing  70 , a lockout  72 , a lockout spring  74  and a lockout cover  76 . The lockout housing  70  includes spaced cavities  79  that act as a seat for compression spring  64 . The spaced cavities  79  of the lockout housing  70  are aligned with the spaced cavities  62  in the escapement cap  60 . As shown in FIG. 4, the compression spring is disposed around the rod with one end of the compression spring  64  housed in the spaced cavities  62  of the escapement cap  60  while the other end of the spring is housed in the spaced cavities  79  of the lockout housing  70 . The lockout housing  70  also includes a circular opening  71  through the center. The opening  71  is sized to receive the rod  32 . 
     The lockout  72  is an “L-shaped” tab with a vertical portion and a horizontal portion. The vertical portion engages spring  74  and a rectangular opening  73  extends through the horizontal portion. The opening  73  is also sized to receive the rod  32 . The lockout  72  is biased by spring  74  so that it engages the teeth  34  of the rod  32  to prevent the rod  32  from sliding upwards. As the rod moves downward, however, the lockout  72  is moved horizontally against the force exerted by spring  74  so that it travels over the next highest tooth in the rod. The lockout cover  76  includes an opening  77  through the center of the lockout cover  76 . The opening  77  is also sized to receive the rod  32 . The lockout cover is positioned under the lockout housing and circumferentially abuts the inner surface of the main housing  30  to prevent the components from being released from the cookie press. 
     The openings  71 ,  73  and  77  of the lockout assembly are aligned with the openings in the escapement assembly  50  so that the rod remains centered within the cookie barrel. As a result, the openings define a path for the rod to travel as it advances the cookie dough. 
     FIGS. 7-9 illustrate the various positions of the lever  22 , the rod  32 , the driver  56  and the lockout  72  during one complete cycle that the lever of the cookie press travels to dispense a cookie. To prepare the cookie press for use, the knob and the connected rod are lowered to allow the lever to rotate over the knob  36  and the rod  32 . Next, the lever  22  is placed in a use position perpendicular to the cookie barrel, as illustrated in FIG.  7 . The rod  32  is temporarily rotated such that the teeth  34  face away from the hinge  24  and the driver  56 . This enables the rod  32  to be manually raised with respect to the cookie barrel  12  and escapement assembly  50  via the knob  36 . The rod  32  is then rotated so that the teeth  34  are positioned facing the hinge  24  and in engagement with the driver  56 . 
     To prepare the cookie press for use, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the bottom cap  16 , any stored discs and the disc tube  18  are removed and the consumer fills the barrel with cookie dough. After the barrel is filled with cookie dough, the consumer places the desired disc and bottom cap onto the cookie barrel. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 7, the cookie press is ready to press the cookie dough. More specifically, the lever  22  is in the use position and the rod  32  has been rotated so that the driver  56  and lockout  72  engage the teeth  34  of the rod  32 . The escapement assembly  50  is positioned at its upward most position wherein the flange  53  of the escapement body  52  engages the main housing  30  and the driver  56  engages one of the teeth  34 , for example tooth  93 , on the rod  32 . 
     Since the escapement assembly  50  is in a raised position, the lever  22  is able to engage the washer  58  positioned under the escapement body  52  of the escapement assembly as it is depressed. As the lever  22  is depressed, that is, moved in the direction of arrow A, it pushes the washer  58  and the remainder of the escapement assembly downwards towards the cookie barrel  12 . As the escapement assembly moves downwards, spring  64  is compressed and the spring biased driver  56  forces the rod  32  downwards. With reference to FIG. 3, as the rod  32  lowers, the plunger pushes the cookie dough out of the barrel  12  through the openings  21  in the disc  20  thereby forming a cookie. 
     Additionally, as the rod  32  lowers, the lockout  72  compresses the spring  74  as it travels over the next highest tooth  99 . FIG. 8 illustrates the lever  22  at the bottom of its stroke. At this point, lockout  72  has traveled over and is now engaging tooth  99 . In addition, spring  64  has been fully compressed. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 9, as the lever  22  is released, the spring  64  begins to expand. As the spring  64  expands, the escapement assembly  50  is forced upwards, in the direction of arrow B, away from the cookie barrel  12 . As the escapement assembly  50  is forced upwards by spring  64 , the driver  56  travels over the next highest tooth thereby compressing spring  57 . Since the lockout  72  already engages the tooth  99  on the rod  32 , the rod  32  is restrained from raising along with the escapement assembly  50  and the lever  22 . Thus, the lockout  72  prohibits the rod  32  from raising when the lever  22  is raised between downward strokes. 
     The above process may continue until the plunger is lowered to the bottom of the barrel and all of the cookie dough has been dispensed. At this point the knob  36  would be nearly adjacent to the lever  22 . 
     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.