Refrigrated salad and salad dressing dispensing apparatus

A refrigerated cabinet including a compartment for salad and another compartment for salad dressing, rendering both the salad and salad dressing easily accessible to the user, and dispensing means for the salad and salad dressing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to refrigeration apparatus, and more particularly to 
refrigerated apparatus for dispensing salad and salad dressing. 
Heretofore, in restaurant and other food service operations, although 
salads have been displayed in cooled or refrigerated receptacles, 
nevertheless the salad dressings to be used with the salads are usually 
contained in non-refrigerated containers completely separated from the 
refrigerated salad. Accordingly, the non-refrigerated salad dressings soon 
become warm, and eventually rancid and spoiled. Furthermore, the separated 
locations of the salad and dressing occupy an unnecessary amount of floor 
space. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a refrigerated 
apparatus for containing a salad compartment and a salad dressing 
compartment in a central location for convenient accessibility, for 
cooling both the salad compartment and the salad dressing compartment, and 
for providing portion control to a considerable extent in the discharge of 
the salad and the salad dressing from the respective compartments. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerated salad and 
salad dressing dispensing apparatus in which the salad compartment, the 
salad dressing compartment and the refrigeration system are all organized 
relatively compactly for occupation of a minimum of floor space. 
More specifically, the apparatus includes an upright cabinet including a 
relatively large salad compartment in the upper portion of the cabinet, a 
refrigeration equipment compartment in the lower rear portion of the 
cabinet and the refrigerated salad dressing dispensing compartment in the 
lower front portion of the cabinet. 
The upper salad compartment is adapted to receive a relatively upright 
salad container having a salad discharge opening in the bottom portion of 
the front wall of the container. The entire front portion of the salad 
compartment is open, but adapted to be opened and closed by a front door 
having a salad port in the lower portion thereof for registry with the 
discharge opening in the salad container. Both the salad port and the 
salad discharge opening are preferably covered by respective closures or 
doors. Furthermore, the salad portion preferably is in the form of a chute 
member projecting forward of the front door to provide a small space for 
supporting a portion of salad between the discharge opening of the salad 
container and the door of the salad port, the bulk of the salad being 
retained in the salad container within the salad compartment. 
The salad dressing compartment preferably comprises an elongated, insulated 
and refrigerated well extending transversely across the front of the lower 
portion of the cabinet and immediately below the salad port. Supported 
within the well are a plurality of salad dressing containers, each of 
which may have a pump-type dispenser head for discharging metered amounts 
of the selected salad dressing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the refrigerating apparatus 
10 includes a substantially upright cabinet 11 having legs 12 for 
supporting the cabinet 11 on a raised platform or table, not shown. 
In the upper portion of the cabinet 11 is a salad compartment 14 having an 
insulated top wall 15, an insulated rear wall 16, an insulated bottom wall 
17, and opposed insulated side walls 18. The entire front of the salad 
compartment is open and adapted to be closed by an insulated front door 20 
connected to the compartment 14 by hinges 21. 
The lower portion of the front door 20 is provided with a transverse salad 
port in the form of a chute member 22 which projects forward through the 
front door 20. The top wall 23 of the chute member 22 is slightly shorter 
than the bottom wall 24. The front opening of the chute member 22 is 
adapted to be opened and closed by a transparent port door 25 pivotally 
attached to the top wall 23 by hinges 26. The lower edge of the port door 
25 is provided with a spring-biased latch 27, if desired. 
Adapted to be received within the salad compartment 14 is an upright salad 
container or bin 29 adapted to receive the salad greens and other 
ingredients, and also adapted to substantially fill the salad compartment 
14. A salad discharge opening 30 is disposed transversely through the 
front wall 31 of the salad container 29 and adapted to register with the 
chute member 22 of the salad port in the front door 20. The salad 
container 29 may be provided with an open top covered by a lid 32. 
The discharge opening 30 may be provided with a chute-type closure 34, 
pivotally connected to the discharge opening 30 at the bottom thereof by 
hinges 35. 
When the salad container or bin 29 is filled with the salad and placed 
within the salad compartment 14, with its closure 34 in the solid-line, 
open position of FIG. 4, the salad ingredients will gravitate through the 
discharge opening 30 into the plenum or space within the chute member 22 
to provide a small metered amount of salad accessible to the user when the 
transparent door 25 is opened. By having the bottom wall 24 longer or 
deeper than the top wall 23 and the transparent port door sloping upward 
and rearward, the salad ingredients received within the closed chute 
member 22 will tend to repose within the chute member, without spilling 
when the door 25 is opened. 
Disposed in the front portion of the cabinet 11 below the bottom wall 17 is 
the salad dressing compartment 37, separated from the refrigeration 
apparatus compartment, or compressor compartment 38, by a vertical 
partition wall 39. A transverse well 40 having an insulated front wall 41, 
rear wall 42 and bottom wall 43, with an open top, occupies the lower 
portion of the salad dressing compartment 37. Mounted within the insulated 
well 40 are a plurality of salad dressing containers 45, each of which may 
contain a pump-type dispenser 46 having a manually operated plunger 47 and 
a dispensing spout 48. With the containers 45 filled with salad dressing, 
manual depression of the plungers 47 will discharge metered amounts of 
salad dressing from each spout 48, in a conventional manner, such as in 
the pump-type dispenser apparatuses employed in soda fountains. The well 
40 may also contain salad dressing containers 45', each provided with a 
ladle 62 for dispensing the salad dressing, when desired. 
In order to render the salad dressings more accessible to the user or 
consumer, the front wall 41 of the well 40 is spaced slightly forward of 
the front door 20. Furthermore, the well 40 is spaced substantially below 
the bottom wall 17 of the salad compartment 14 to permit sufficient space 
within the salad dressing compartment 37 for the hand of the consumer to 
operate the dispensing of the salad dressings with relative freedom from 
obstruction. 
Mounted within the refrigeration equipment compartment 38 is a 
refrigeration compressor 50. Hot compressed refrigerant is supplied from 
the compressor 50 through the pipe 51 to the condenser coil 52 mounted in 
the condenser compartment 53 immediately behind the rear wall 16 of the 
salad compartment 14. The refigerant from he condenser 52 passes through 
the expansion valve 54 and thence through conduit 56 to the set of 
evaporator coils 58 in the walls of the salad dressing well 40, and then 
through conduit 55 to the second set of evaporator coils 57 within the 
walls of the salad compartment 14. The warm refrigerant is then returned 
through the line 59 to the compressor 50, to complete the conventional 
refrigeration cycle. 
FIG. 5 discloses a modified type of well 140 in which the front wall 141 is 
hinged along its bottom edge by hinge pins 149 to the stationary bottom 
wall 143. The top portion of the front wall 141 is held in closed position 
against the side walls of the well 140 by spring-biased clamps 150. 
Otherwise, the construction of the well 140 is identical to the 
construction of the well 40. The walls of both wells 40 and 140 are 
insulated and refrigerated, and both support a plurality of the salad 
dressing containers 45 or 45'. 
It will thus be seen that an appartus 10 has been designed which 
incorporates all the needs of the salad user, that is the salad 
ingredients and the variety of salad dressings, in a central location 
easily accessible to the user. Moreover, the salad compartment 14, salad 
dressing compartment 37 and the refrigeration equipment compartments 38 
and 53, are compactly arranged, not only for the convenience of the salad 
user, but also to occupy a minimum of floor space. 
Furthermore, the forwardly projecting salad dispensing chute 22, as well as 
the compartment 14 and the salad container 29, are so arranged as to 
automatically feed the salad in limited portions to the salad user with a 
minimum spillage. The salad dressings are also compactly and conveniently 
arranged below the salad compartment 14, enclosed within the containers 45 
or 45', as well as being maintained in a constantly cooled condition 
available for dispensing in metered amounts to the salad user. 
A temperature control knob 65 is mounted on the side wall of the cabinet 
11, as disclosed in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 for manual manipulation of the 
temperature controls within the casing 66 (FIG. 3) for regulating the 
cooling temperature within the salad compartment 14 and the salad dressing 
well 40.