Dispenser of bagged frozen food

An organization system is used to store bagged food products in a temperature controlled environment. The organization system includes opposed side walls. A dispensing ramp is arranged at an angle between the opposed side walls. A front wall extends between the opposed side walls. A space between the front wall and the dispensing ramp define a dispenser opening. A divider wall extends between the opposed side walls. The divider wall extends in an elongated dimension with a lower end spaced apart from the dispenser ramp by a predetermined distance.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to organizational systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to organizational systems for bagged products. Embodiments as disclosed herein are related to the organization and dispense of bags of multiple individual frozen food products, for example chicken nuggets or the like from a freezer.

Restaurant and food preparation settings, particularly a quick service restaurant (QSR), meet customer order volume and speed expectations by cooking, heating, or otherwise assembling food that is previously prepared or partially prepared once an order is placed. The pre-prepared or partially prepared foods may be frozen to facilitate supply chain, transportation, and storage of the pre-prepared foods prior to preparation for delivery to a customer. These foods commonly include foods which are cooked in a deep fryer, including, but not limited to French fries, tater tots, jalapeno poppers, onion rings, breaded mushrooms or cheese curds, mozzarella sticks, chicken nuggets, and chicken tenders, although it will be recognized that other foods may be similarly used and prepared. The loose individual food items are held in pre-portioned bags in a freezer prior to use. While pre-portioned bags are convenient for portion management, these bags are difficult to keep organized in a freezer.

Article management solutions are available to organize shelves, coolers, vending machines, for the dispense of articles. Often these management solutions are designed for merchandising or selling goods to a consumer. Examples of available solutions can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,159 entitled “Product Display and Article Dispensing Device”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,243 entitled “Gravity Flow Rack”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,486 entitled “Gravity Feed Shelf”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,852 entitled “Merchandising Fixture and shelf divider system therefor”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,898 entitled “Merchandising System” U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,722 entitled “Merchandise Dispenser with Time Delay and One-Way Retaining Member”, each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. However, such systems are not particularly adapted to organize bagged food products in a frozen environment.

Freezer organization of these bags present challenges in the food preparation setting. Loose bags of food products can intermingle, thus making it more difficult to find the appropriate bag within the freezer. Due to the flexibility/shiftability of the food within the bags, bags stacked within the freezer may become unstable with a risk of falling out of the freezer when a freezer door is opened. Finally, current systems are challenging for inventory control and management, particularly when stored food is typically preferred to be used on a first in, first out basis for consistent food quality and freshness.

Therefore, solutions are desirable for organization and dispense of bags of frozen food products that alleviate these challenges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of an organization system for use with bagged food product in a temperature controlled environment. The organization system includes opposed side walls and a dispensing ramp arranged at an angle between the opposed side walls. A front wall extends between the opposed side walls and a space between the front wall and the dispensing ramp defines a dispenser opening. A divider wall extends between the opposed side walls. The divider wall extends in an elongated dimension with a lower end spaced apart from the dispenser ramp by a predetermined distance.

In further exemplary embodiments, the divider wall is a first divider wall. A rear wall extends between the opposed side walls. A second divider wall extends between the opposed side walls at a position between the first divider wall and the rear wall. The second divider wall extends in an elongated dimension with a lower end of the second divider wall spaced apart from the dispenser ramp by the predetermined distance. The predetermined distance may be based upon a dimension of a bagged food product such that the bagged food product deforms to move through the predetermined distance between the second divider wall and the dispenser ramp and the first divider wall and the dispenser ramp. A plurality of side projections located along interior surfaces of the opposed side walls.

The side projections are arranged parallel to the dispenser ramp. The first divider wall may be spaced apart from the front wall by a predetermined width and the second divider wall may be spaced apart from the rear wall by the predetermined width. The predetermined width is based upon a dimension of a bagged food product such that the bagged food product forms a first stack between the front wall and the first divider wall and forms a second stack between the second divider wall and the rear wall. A unitary bag chute may include the dispensing ramp, the rear wall, and a landing platform that extends from the dispensing ramp exterior of the dispenser opening. A landing platform extends from the dispensing ramp exterior of the dispenser opening. A shelf lock is pivotably secured to an end of the landing platform. The shelf lock includes at least one finger extending from a free end of the shelf lock. A retainer gate may include a weighted free end and be pivotably attached to the front wall to movably and partially occlude the dispenser opening. An elastomeric runner may be secured to a bottom of the organization system.

In an exemplary embodiment of the organization system, a retainer gate is pivotably attached to the front wall to movably and partially occlude the dispenser opening. The retainer gate may be weighted at a free end of the retainer gate. The retainer gate may further include a tube positioned about a portion of the retainer gate.

In further exemplary embodiments of the organization system, the opposed sidewalls each include a frame bar that defines an outer perimeter of a respective sidewall and the opposed sidewalls are formed by a plurality of U-shaped wires secured between the frame bars of both of the opposed sidewalls. The U-shaped wires may define a bottom frame between the opposed sidewalls. A runner may include a plurality of recesses and receive each of the U-shaped wires of the bottom frame within a respective recess of the plurality of recesses. A retaining plate may be secured to the at least one runner over the plurality of recesses to secure the U-shaped wires within the recesses of the plurality of recess. At least one retaining ring may secure the front wall, opposed side walls, the dispensing chute, the divider walls, and a rear wall together by a compression fit. A plurality of side projections are located along interior surfaces of the opposed side walls. The side projections are arranged parallel to the dispenser ramp and are connected at least between opposed sides of each of the frame bars. The plurality of side projections of a respective sidewall are secured to each of the U-shaped wires of the respective sidewall. A plurality of side support rods secured to each of the opposed side walls in an arrangement orthogonal to the dispensing ramp, wherein the dispensing ramp comprises a plurality of wires arranged orthogonal to the plurality of side support rods.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE

FIG. 1depicts an exemplary embodiment of a bag organization system10located within a freezer12. Solely for the purposes of depiction, the freezer12is shown without a door, although it will be recognized that any of a variety of door configurations or designs may be used with embodiments of freezers12. While not necessarily limiting, the freezer12is shown and described herein as a side-open freezer, as opposed to a top-open freezer or a drawer freezer. Still other freezers may include an open front, a partially enclosed front, or a flexible door or flap. Additionally, the freezer12is depicted including casters14and the freezer is configured in a generally square or cubic shape. However, it will be recognized that freezer12may take any of a variety of shapes or dimensions while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure and that exemplary embodiments of the organization system10depicted and described herein may be dimensioned and configured for suitable use within interior freezer dimensions. While a single bag organization system10is depicted, it will be recognized that multiple organization systems10may be used within a single freezer.

The organization system10is configured to receive and retain a plurality of bags16filled with frozen food items. In exemplary embodiments, the frozen food items may be any of a variety of known frozen food items including, but not limited to French fries, tater tots, onion rings, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, breaded mushrooms, cheese curds, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, or chicken tenders. As an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment, the remaining disclosure will use the example of chicken nuggets, although it will be recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art that any of the above or any other similar or related food items may similarly be used.

Exemplarily, the organization system10includes a plurality of bays18which are defined by one or more divider walls20and one or more of a front wall22or a back wall24. A dispensing ramp26is positioned below each of the bays18as well as the divider walls20.

The dispensing ramp26directs the bags16downwardly at an angle towards a landing platform28at a dispenser opening30. In an exemplary embodiment as will be described in further detail herein, the back wall24, the dispensing ramp26, and the landing platform28may be constructed as a unitary construction forming a bag chute32. In an embodiment, the back wall24, the dispensing ramp26, and the landing platform28may be constructed by a series of wires arranged in parallel along a length-wise dimension of the bag chute32. The series of wires may be evenly spaced apart and held in position by their mutual securement to a plurality of support rods64as will be described in further detail herein.

A retainer gate34is pivotably secured to the front wall22and exemplarily engages a bag16located at the landing platform28in the dispenser opening30and places a biasing force on the bag16to resist the bag from sliding further outwards from the organization system10. The retainer gate34includes a retainer weight56that further increases the biasing force provided by the retainer gate34against the bag16.

The divider walls20are arranged in a spaced relationship relative to each other and also spaced apart from the dispensing ramp26. The divider walls20are spaced apart from adjacent divider walls20and/or an adjacent front wall22or back wall24to define a plurality of bays18configured to receive and retain bags of frozen food. The bays18are configured through dimensioning between the adjacent walls to accommodate a single bag in a width dimension such that the bags stack upon one another within the bay18. Bottom ends of the divider walls20are spaced apart from the dispensing ramp in a configuration to place a resistance against a bag moving down the dispensing ramp26. Dimensioning of the distance between the bottom end of the divider wall20and the top surface of the dispensing ramp26creates a passage configured to permit a bag of frozen food to pass, but one in which the divider wall20resists movement of the bag of frozen food past the divider wall20. In such embodiments, the bag of frozen food may require deformation or other pliability of the bag of frozen food to move past the divider wall20. Because of this resistance, bags of frozen food are prevented from moving past a divider wall20and down the dispensing ramp until the path forward is clear by first dispensing the all of the bags located in the forward bay18A. In this manner, the organization system10is operable to establish a dispensing order among the bags to facilitate a first in, first out inventory management system. In an exemplary embodiment, the organization system10dispenses the bags from bottom to top sequentially on a per bay basis from the forward bay18A to the middle bay18B, to the rear bay18C.

It will be recognized that in embodiments, the organization system10may be constructed in any of a variety of known manners, including, but not limited to a construction of plastic or other composite materials and may be constructed with solid or perforated walls. In an exemplary embodiment, the walls may be transparent or translucent or include a transparent, translucent, or open portion such that remaining bag inventory within the organization system may be easily observed, determined, and evaluated.

In still further exemplary embodiments, the organization system10may be constructed in a wire frame assembly as depicted inFIGS. 2-6.FIG. 2is a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an organization system10.FIG. 3is a side perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the organization system10.FIG. 4is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of the organization system10.FIG. 5is a rear perspective view of the organization system10.FIG. 6is an enlarged view of a portion of the organization system10.

In the embodiments of the organization system10depicted in theFIGS. 2-6, the organization system10is exemplarily constructed of bent wire frames. It will be recognized that the organization system may be constructed in other manners as well, including constructed from plastic or other materials, or may be constructed with some or all of the walls or structures being solid rather than wire form. In the organization system10two divider walls20are provided to create three bays18A-18C. The forward bay18A is exemplarily defined between a first divider wall20and the front wall22. The middle bay18B is defined between the divider walls20. The rear bay18C is defined between a divider wall20and the back wall24which is exemplarily constructed as part of a bag chute32and can be exemplarily seen inFIGS. 3-5.

The organization system10further includes side walls36. The side walls may include a frame bar50that defines the outer perimeter of the side wall36. The side walls36may be independently constructed of interconnected wires or the like. In another embodiment as described in further detail herein, the side walls36may be formed of the frame bars50to which a plurality of wires (in a generally U shape) are secured to form the bottom and the sides as a single assembly. The front wall22, side walls36, and bag chute32are exemplarily secured to one another with the use of one or more support rings38. The support rings38may secure each of the front wall22, side walls36, and bag chute32to each other exemplarily by a friction fit, or by welding or mechanical fasteners between points of engagement between the various components. While these are not depicted in the drawings a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize various embodiments of fasteners and/or welding which may be used to secure wire frame components together. In an exemplary embodiment, a support ring may further be located at the top of the organization system10and as such may represent a top ring40to which the components are secured.

As best seen by reference toFIGS. 2 and 3, embodiments of the organization system10further include runners42positioned at a bottom of the organization system10. The runners42may be constructed of a plastic and/or other elastomeric material. In embodiments, the runners, dependent upon the construction and material of the runners42may facilitate placement and withdrawal of the organization system10within the freezer may also facilitate retention of the organization system10within the freezer, depending upon the softness or pliability of the runners42. The runners42exemplarily configured with a plurality of recesses44which are each configured to receive a wire of a bottom frame46. The person of ordinary skill in the art will further recognize that in embodiments, the sidewalls36and the bottom frame46may be unitary in construction such as to resemble a U shape. In a still further exemplary embodiment, the bottom frame46and the sidewalls36may be constructed of a plurality of similarly constructed U shaped wire members48which are exemplarily secured to one another through engagement with the runners42, a frame bar50of the sidewall36, as well as with the support ring38, top ring40, and the bag chute32.

In an exemplary embodiment, a retaining plate52secured over the top of the wires located in the recesses44to secure the wires to the runner42. In an exemplary embodiment, the retaining plates52may be secured to the runners42with a series of screws, rivets, or other mechanical fasteners between these two components.

As best depicted inFIGS. 2, 3, and 6, embodiments of the organization system10further include a retainer gate34which is exemplarily pivotably secured to a pivot rod54which may be separate from or a part of the front wall22. The retainer gate34further includes a retainer weight56. The retainer weight56may exemplarily be a cylinder or a tube formed about a portion of the retainer gate34. The retainer weight56may take other forms other than those as depicted in the present figures and performs the function of providing additional weight at the free end of the retainer gate34to create a biasing force by gravity against a bag positioned on the landing platform28within the dispenser opening30. In another embodiment, the retainer weight56may be integral with the retainer gate34, the retainer gate34being formed of a larger dimension than other components of the organization system10and/or of a heavier material than other components of the organization system10. This biasing force against the bag from the retainer gate34as facilitated by the retainer weight56helps to retain the next bag for dispense in the appropriate position while holding the remaining bags within the organization system10prior to dispense.

Additionally, a shelf lock58is pivotably secured to the landing platform28. The shelf lock58is exemplarily constructed with one or more fingers60that project from the shelf lock58and are configured to secure over a front lip of a freezer space or cavity. The shelf lock58is exemplarily pivotably connected to a frame of the dispensing platform26exemplarily by pivot loops62secured to the shelf lock58.FIGS. 2 and 3exemplarily show the shelf lock58in a deployed or locking configuration in a manner such that the fingers60are in a relative position to engage a lip of a freezer. InFIG. 6, the shelf lock58is exemplarily pivoted into a retracted condition, for example to facilitate storage or transport of the organization system10. In a further exemplary embodiment, the organization system10may be used as a caddy whereby the organization system10is loaded with bags at a location outside of the freezer and carried to the freezer and positioned within the freezer after the organization system10is filled. In such an embodiment, when the organization system10is filled with bags of food and no bags have yet to be dispensed, the combination of the shelf lock58and the retainer gate34can help to keep all of the bags of food within the organization system10. When the organization system10is installed within the freezer, the shelf lock58is pivoted into the deployed or locking condition which helps to retain the organization system10in position within the freezer and also removes an obstruction from the dispenser opening30so that bags of food may be withdrawn from the organization system10.

Bottom support rods64, as best depicted inFIG. 3, exemplarily secure between the individual wires of the bag chute32and in further exemplary embodiments, the bottom support rod64further facilitates securing of the bag chute32to the wires48of the sidewalls36. This gives further rigidity and strength to the bag chute32such that the bags of food are rigidly supported within the organization system10. Additionally, exemplary embodiments of the organization system10further include side projections66, which may exemplarily be a series of wire form rods which exemplarily extend between front and back sides of the frame bars50in a region about the bag chute32. The side projections66are exemplarily located internal to the organization system10from the side walls formed by wires48. While the side projections66interconnect the frame bars50and the wires48, the side projections66further provide a smooth support along which the bags of food may slide as the bags of food move along the bag chute32. In a further exemplary embodiment, the ends of the wires forming the side projections66are turned outwards so as to further limit or avoid exposure of the bags to sharp edges or corners and to facilitate a smooth engagement path along the length of the organization system10along the bag chute32.

In embodiments, the side projections are located interior of the wires48of the side walls and engage the bags of frozen food, limiting engagement between the bags and the vertically-oriented wires48. Sliding friction along the side projections improves urging of the bags of frozen food down the bag chute32, which mitigates against jamming within the organization system10. The bags of frozen food would otherwise tend to catch on the wires48. The wires of the bag chute32provide a similar function over the supports64which are generally oriented orthogonal to the direction of travel down the chute32. In still further embodiments of the organization system10, wherein the embodiment is constructed of solid walls and a bag chute as opposed to the wire form construction depicted in the figures, the side projections of the side walls and chute projections as embodied by the wires of the bag chute32provide a similar function by reducing sliding friction over smooth surfaces. In still further embodiments, the side walls and bag chute32may be provided with other surface textures as well.

In the present Description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitation are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes only and are intended to be broadly construed. The different dispenser apparatuses, systems, and methods described herein may be used alone or in combination with other apparatuses, systems, and methods. Various equivalents, alternatives, and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.