Abstract:
A popcorn popping unit has a heating element and a blower fan, and a cooking surface adapted to receive kernels of corn. The popping unit is configurable for two flow paths of pressurized air through the popping unit. In the first path, pressurized air is configured to flow over the heating element, flow over the cooking surface, cook the kernels of corn, and move the cooked kernels of corn to a serving dispenser. In a second path, pressurized air is configured to flow over the cooking surface, and move un-popped seeds into a seed collection bin.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/952,595, filed Mar. 13, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
     This application relates to hot air popcorn poppers. The popcorn popper has an on-board storage compartment for storing un-popped kernels of corn. The un-popped kernels of corn may be directed from the storage compartment to cooking surfaces via a seed feeding assembly. The seed feeding assembly may have a metering scoop that provides a desired serving size of kernels. A popping chamber may be arranged around and above the cooking surfaces. Once the kernels are cooked and popped, they may flow into the popping chamber and into a hood assembly arranged at an open end of the popping chamber opposite the cooking surfaces. The popped kernels may exit through an opening in the hood assembly into a dispensing bowl. The popping unit may have a bypass that may be positioned between first and second positions. In the first position, the bypass may be selected such that popped kernels may flow through the popping chamber, to the hood assembly, and to the serving dispenser, for instance, during normal popping operations. In the second position, the bypass may be selected to allow seeds and other uncooked kernels to be removed from the cooking surface to a seed cleaning chamber of the popping unit. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the popping unit. 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the popping unit of  FIG. 1  with a portion of a housing removed to show internal components of the popping unit. 
         FIG. 3  shows a partial perspective view of a seed feeding assembly of the popping unit. 
         FIG. 4  shows a partial side elevation view of the seed feeding assembly. 
         FIG. 5  shows a partial side elevation view of the popping unit with a portion of the housing removed to show internal components of the bypass and seed cleaning assembly. 
         FIG. 6  shows a partial perspective view of the bypass and seed cleaning assembly. 
         FIG. 7  shows a partial perspective view of the popping unit in a normal popping mode. 
         FIG. 8  shows a partial perspective view of the popping unit after normal popping operations have stopped. 
         FIG. 9  shows a partial side elevation view of the popping unit during seed cleaning operations with a handle to the seed feeding assembly removed for ease of illustration. 
         FIG. 10  shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a popping unit. 
         FIG. 11  shows a rear perspective view of the popping unit of  FIG. 10  with a housing of the popping unit removed for ease of illustrating components of the popping unit. 
         FIG. 12  shows a front perspective view of the popping unit of  FIG. 10  with the housing removed for ease of illustrating components of the popping unit. 
         FIG. 13  shows a side perspective, cross sectional view of the popping unit of  FIG. 10  with the housing removed for ease of illustrating components of the popping unit. 
         FIG. 14  shows a side perspective, and cross sectional view of a seed storage compartment and a popping vessel of the popping unit of  FIG. 10  with the housing removed for ease of illustrating components of the popping unit. 
         FIG. 15  shows a perspective view of a scoop of the popping unit of  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 16  shows a partial, cross-section view of an alternate embodiment of a popping vessel of a popping unit configured for mechanical removal of un-popped kernels. 
         FIG. 17  shows an exploded view of the popping vessel of the popping unit of  FIG. 16 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a popping unit  20 . The popping unit  20  comprises a housing  22  that houses internal components of the popping unit as will be described later in reference to  FIG. 2 . The popping unit  20  has a popping chamber  24  which may be arranged within the housing  22 . A hood assembly  26  may be positioned at an open top end of the popping chamber and releasably connected therewith and/or the housing  22 . A storage compartment  28  for un-popped kernels may be arranged exterior to the housing. A seed feeding assembly  30  may direct un-popped kernels from the storage compartment to cooking surfaces of the popping unit. A seed cleaning assembly  32  may be arranged in the housing interior opposite the seed feeding assembly  30 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the popping unit  20  with a portion of a housing  22  removed to show internal components of the popping unit. In  FIG. 2 , a bottom portion of the housing  22  is shown. The housing  22  of the popping unit defines a generally hollow interior. A blower fan assembly  38  and a heating element  42  may be disposed in the hollow interior. Through the action of the blower fan  38 , ambient air may be drawn into the hollow interior through openings  46  in the housing. The openings  46  may be formed on a bottom of the housing. The bottom of the housing  22  may be raised off a countertop or support surface by feet ( FIG. 1 ; ‘ 48 ’) to allow adequate air to be drawn into the housing interior. The blower fan and/or heating element may be battery powered or powered from a DC power source or external AC power source and/or with a power cord  50 . The blower fan and/or heating element may be de-energized with a switch located ( FIG. 1 ; ‘ 52 ’) on the housing. In the alternative, the switch may be located on the power cord. The switch may be manual or operated via a timer. A plenum  54  located in an upper part of the housing interior may direct the heated air to a cooking grate  56  and/or cooking surfaces  58  after passing over the heating element. In the upper part of the housing interior, the cooking grate  56  and/or the cooking surface  58  may be provided. Un-popped kernels may be placed on the cooking surface and or grate. The grate may be surrounded with a cooking surface. The cooking surface may comprise a frustra-conical shape with the grate extending across the bottom cooking surface. Un-popped kernels may slide down the cooking surface to the grate. The hot air may exit the plenum and circulate around the cooking surface and pass through the grate, thereby heating the kernels and enabling the kernels to pop. Once the kernels pop, the kernels may expand upward into the popping chamber  24  from the cooking grate and/or cooking surfaces. The pressurized, heated air may flow through the popping chamber to the hood assembly  26  and out through an opening  60  in the hood assembly. The pressurized and heated air may push popped kernels away from the cooking grate and cooking surface into the popping chamber, thereby allowing other un-popped kernels to be positioned on the cooking surface and cooking grate. The heated air has sufficient pressure and velocity to push the popped kernels through the popping chamber and out through the hood assembly into a serving dispenser (not shown) during normal popping operations, as will be described in greater detail below. 
     The hood assembly  26  may be detachably connected to the open top end of the popping chamber  24 . The hood assembly  26  may be formed from a plastic material. The hood assembly may snap across the open top of the popping chamber or may be rotatably connected to the popping chamber at the open top. The hood assembly  26  may have an access  62  with a lid to allow access into the popping chamber with the hood assembly in place. The access lid  62  may comprise a measuring scoop to assist the user in measuring kernels and seasonings that may be sprinkled on the popped kernels in the serving dispenser. The access lid scoop  62  may be detachably connected to the hood assembly  26  for ease of storage and to provide access into the interior of the popping chamber. 
     The seed storage compartment  28  of the popping unit may be located on the exterior of the popping unit to facilitate filling of the storage compartment and to allow visualization of the level of kernels stored in the compartment. The storage compartment  28  may be located opposite the opening  60  of the hood assembly  26  as shown in the drawings. The storage compartment may be formed from a clear plastic material to allow the user to visualize the level of seeds stored in the storage compartment. The storage compartment may also be located in the hollow interior of the housing and may have a sight glass to indicate the level of kernels in the storage compartment. 
     Making reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the seed feeding assembly  30  may be arranged under the storage compartment  28 . The seed feeding assembly  30  may have a chute  68  that extends from the bottom of the storage compartment  28  through the housing to the popping chamber  24 . For ease of illustration, the housing is not shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The seed feeding assembly may have a scoop  70  disposed in the chute. The seed feeding assembly may comprise a lever or knob  72  for operating the scoop. The scoop  70  may be positioned at the bottom of the chute to receive the kernels directly from the storage compartment  28  through the action of gravity into an open end of the scoop. The scoop  70  enables the user to measure a desired amount of kernels for popping. The scoop  70  may have an interior sized to hold a single or desired serving size of kernels. The scoop  70  may be rotatably disposed in the chute. Accordingly, the chute  68  may be formed with a generally cylindrical shape prior to its entry in the popping chamber  24 , and the scoop  70  may rotate within the generally cylindrical shaped portion of the chute. In this arrangement, the amount of kernels to be introduced to the cooking surface and cooking grate may equate to the volume of the scoop taking into account the cylindrical shaped portion of the chute through which the scoop rotates. 
     The scoop  70  may have an exterior with arcuate surfaces  74  to allow the scoop to rotate in the generally cylindrical shaped portion of the chute. The arcuate surfaces  74  of the scoop may be arranged in a cooperating manner with the chute and the popping chamber to allow the scoop to be open with the either the chute (for instance, when filling the scoop from the storage compartment) or the popping chamber (for instance, when emptying the scoop and directing the kernels to the cooking surfaces and cooking grate). For instance, making reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , as the scoop is rotated in the counter-clockwise position, the leading edge  76  of the scoop moves from a filling position ( FIG. 3 ) in which the leading edge is adjacent to the bottom edge of the chute  68  to close the chute from the popping chamber, to an emptying position ( FIG. 4 ) in which the leading edge rotates away from the bottom edge of the chute to allows kernels in the scoop to flow from the scoop opening into the popping chamber and cooking grate. In the filling position ( FIG. 3 ), a lagging edge  78  of the scoop may be positioned away from the bottom of the chute  68 , thereby allowing the kernels in the storage compartment to flow via gravity in to the trough. In the emptying position ( FIG. 4 ), the lagging edge  78  may be positioned adjacent to the bottom of the chute, thereby preventing kernels in the storage compartment  28  from flowing out of the storage compartment down the chute and into the popping chamber. Accordingly, the leading and lagging edges  76 , 78  of the trough may be geometrically configured to seal and unseal with the chute  68  as desired when the scoop  70  is rotated within the seed feeding assembly  30 . The scoop  70  may only oscillate along a small arc segment between filling and emptying positions. For instance, as shown in the drawings, the scoop may rotate less than a quarter turn to allow the scoop to empty its contents into the popping chamber. 
     The lever arm or knob  72  may be directly coupled to the scoop via an axle  80  that is rotatably connected to side walls of the chute. In this configuration the lever arm or knob may rotate or oscillate the same amount as the scoop as the scoop is moved between the filling and emptying positions. The lever arm or knob may have indicia representative of the filling and emptying positions. The lever arm or knob may include mechanisms to make audible sounds representative of the filling and emptying positions. The lever arm or knob may include mechanisms to restrict its rotary motion to allow movement only between the filling and emptying positions. 
     The scoop  70  may have a bottom  82  extending between the arcuate surfaces  74  that generally conforms to the interior contour of the popping chamber  24 . For instance, as shown in the drawings, the bottom  82  of the scoop is flat and conforms to the side walls of the popping chamber  24 . The bottom of the scoop may be other shapes. The bottom of the scoop may form a seal or be tight fitting with the popping chamber and the chute to prevent pressurized, heated air from leaking from the popping chamber into the chute and into the storage container. 
     The seed cleaning assembly  32  may be arranged on the popping unit opposite the seed feeding assembly  30 . The seed cleaning assembly  32  may comprise an un-popped seed bin  90  that is separated from the popping chamber  24  during normal operations by a bypass  92 . In normal popping operations, the bypass  92  is positioned in a manner such that pressurized air flows from the blower fan assembly  38 , through the cooking grate  56 , through the popping chamber  24  and out through the opening  60  of the hood assembly  26 . In this way, the popped kernels cooked on the cooking surface  58  and grate  56 , expand upward through the popping chamber  24  through the hood assembly  26  and into a serving dispenser. In seed cleaning operations, the bypass  92  is positioned in a manner such that pressurized air flows from the blower fan assembly  38 , through the cooking grate  56 , and into the un-popped seed bin  90 . In this way, un-popped kernels on the cooking surface  58  and grate  56  may be swept into the un-popped seed bin via the pressurized air. 
     The bypass  92  may comprise a seed bin door positionable in the popping chamber  24 . The seed bin door may be pivotally connected to the popping chamber. As shown in the drawings, the seed bin door  92  is pivotally connected to a top portion of the popping chamber. The bypass may also be slidingly movable to control flow between the cooking grate and/or surfaces, and the hood assembly or the un-popped seed bin. In normal operations, the seed bin door  92  may be in a closed position where the door conforms to the interior of the popping chamber and allows pressurized air to flow from the blower unit, through the cooking grate, through the popping chamber and out through the hood assembly. In seed cleaning operations, the seed bin door  92  may be in an open position where the seed bin door extends into the popping chamber  24  to form a seal in the popping chamber otherwise blocking the path through the popping chamber to the hood assembly. In the open position, the seed bin door  92  opens an access  94  in the popping chamber interior which in turn creates a path directing any un-popped seeds from the cooking grate  56  and cooking surface  58  into un-popped seed bin. As shown in the drawings, the path  96  may comprise a portion of the popping chamber. However, the seed bin door may be positioned in the popping unit to enable the un-popped seeds to flow directly from the cooking grate and cooking surfaces to the un-popped seed bin  90 . The un-popped seed bin may be positioned in the interior of the housing as best shown in  FIG. 1 . The un-popped seed bin may have an access door  98  releasably attachable to the housing. The access door  98  allows the user to open the access door, access the un-popped seed bin  90 , and clean the un-popped seed bin. The un-popped seed bin access door  98  may have perforations  100  or the seed bin  90  may otherwise be vented to allow pressurized air to exit the un-popped seed bin as will be explained in greater detail below. The un-popped seed bin  90  may be integrally formed with the door  98 , for instance, as a container integrally formed with the door. In this configuration, any un-popped seeds are contained in the container as the un-popped seed bin door is removed from the housing thereby facilitating the emptying and the cleaning of the popping unit. 
     The seed bin door  92  may be rotated between the open (“bypass”) position and the closed (“normal”) position with a lever  102 . The lever may be spring loaded to return the seed bin door to the closed position. The lever may also lock the seed bin door in the open (“bypass”) position. A distal end of the seed bin door may cooperate with the interior of the popping chamber to support the seed bin door in the open position. For instance, the seed bin door may snap into a groove formed in the interior of the popping chamber. The lever may be directly coupled to the door via an axle  104  or may be operatively coupled thereto with linkages. The lever may comprise a knob. The axle  104  may be operatively or directly coupled to a peripheral edge of the seed bin door  92 , thereby allowing the seed bin door to pivot along its edge between the open (“bypass”) and closed (“normal”) positions. In the bypass position, the seed bin door  92  may extend across the popping chamber  24  to seal the popping chamber and prevent unwanted or un-popped seeds from exiting through the top of the popping chamber and the hood assembly  26 . The seed bin door  92  may act as a deflector to deflect any un-popped seeds through the access  94  into the un-popped seed bin. In seed cleaning operations, the blower fan assembly  38  may be energized. However, the heating element  42  need not be energized. The blower fan may be energized once the bypass is actuated for seed cleaning operations. For instance, the popping unit may energize the blower unit  38  for seed cleaning operations automatically when the seed bin door  98  is rotated to the bypass position. A position switch in the lever or knob, or a switch actuated by the seed bin door  98  may provide signals to actuate the blower fan  38 . In the alternative, the user may actuate the blower fan manually once the seed bin door is in the bypass position. For instance, a three position switch may be provided with a position for “off,” a position for “blower on,” and a position for “blower/heater on.” The lever for the seed bin door may have a positional switch such that when the seed bin door is rotated to the open or bypass position, the blower is energized to draw air in through the housing, through the plenum, and through the cooking grate, thereby allowing pressurized air to clean the cooking grate and cooking surface and directing any un-popped kernels into the un-popped seed bin. In operation, the heating element need not be energized so ambient air is drawn into the housing for seed cleaning operations. The air drawn into the housing, blown through the un-popped seed bin may be vented from the un-popped seed bin through perforations in the un-popped seed bin compartment door. 
     In normal operation, the storage compartment  28  has a volume of un-popped kernels of corn. The un-popped kernels of corn in the storage compartment  28  may slide down the chute  68  to fill the scoop  70 . The scoop lagging edge  78  is spaced from the chute  68  to allow seeds to freely flow under gravity from the storage compartment  28  into the chute to fill the scoop. The leading edge  76  of the scoop forms a seal with the chute  68 , thereby preventing any seeds from the storage compartment  28  from flowing through the chute into the popping chamber  24 . In this position, the flat bottom  82  of the scoop conforms to the interior of the popping chamber forming a virtually seamless or smooth interior in the popping chamber to allow popped kernels to easily flow from the popping chamber to the hood assembly. The seed bin door  92  is in the closed position, thereby also forming a virtually seamless or smooth interior in the popping chamber to allow popped kernels to easily flow from the popping chamber to the hood assembly. 
     To begin popping operations, the scoop  70  is rotated counter-clockwise ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ) such that the scoop lagging edge  78  forms a seal with the chute  68  and the scoop leading edge  76  rotates to a position that it clears the chute enabling the scoop opening to communicate with the popping chamber  24  and allowing seeds to flow out of the scoop into the popping chamber. Once the scoop  70  has been emptied into the popping chamber, the user may release the scoop lever  72 . The scoop lever  72  may spring return to a position such that the leading edge  76  of the scoop  70  forms a seal with the chute  68  and the lagging edge  78  of the scoop moves away from the chute to allow seeds to flow from the storage compartment through the chute into the scoop. At this point, the user may actuate the popping unit by depressing the switch  50 . Depressing the switch activates the blower fan  38  and the heating element  42 . Air is drawn in through the housing interior from the blower fan, passed over the heating element  42 , and heated. The hot air passes over the cooking grate  56  and cooking surfaces  58 , thereby cooking the kernels. The popped kernels expand through the popping chamber  24  out through the hood assembly  26  and into a serving dispenser.  FIG. 7  shows the path  106  of the kernels during normal cooking operations. 
     Once popping operations are complete, the user may de-energize the popping unit by actuating the switch  50 . In embodiments where the popping unit has a timer, popping operations may be automatically completed upon expiration of the timer. To clean the popping unit, the user may rotate the seed bin door lever  102  to the bypass position. Once the seed bin door lever is in the bypass position, the blower fan  38  may automatically actuate. The blower fan may actuate at a low speed or the normal speed. In the seed cleaning mode, the heating element  42  need not energize, so the air that is drawn in by the blower into the popping unit housing interior is at ambient temperature. The air drawn in by blower fan  38  is directed across the cooking grate  56  and cooking surfaces  58 . The air may flow partly into the popping chamber  24  (for instance as shown in  FIG. 6 ) and through the access  94  into the un-popped seed bin  90 . The flow clears any un-popped seeds from the cooking surface and cooking grate into the un-popped seed bin. The air flowing into the un-popped seed bin  90  exits the popping unit through perforations  100  formed in the un-popped seed bin access door  98 . After cleaning operations are complete, the unit may again be de-energized. The un-popped seed bin access door  98  may be opened and any un-popped seeds may be removed from the un-popped seed bin  90 . 
       FIGS. 10-15  show an alternate embodiment of a popping unit  220 . Many of the components of the popping unit  220  are similar to those previously described. For the sake of brevity, they will not be addressed herein unless they differ significantly from those previously described. Generally speaking, the popping unit  220  includes a housing  222  that defines the hollow interior of the popping unit. The popping unit  220  has a popping chamber  224  which may be arranged within the housing  222 . A hood assembly  226  may be positioned at an open top end of the popping chamber and releasably connected therewith and/or the housing  222 . The popping unit has a storage compartment  228  for unpopped kernels. As shown in the drawings, the seed storage compartment  228  may be located opposite the opening of the hood assembly. The storage compartment  228  may be formed of a clear plastic material to allow the user to visual the level of seed stored in the storage compartment. A seed feeding assembly  230  directs unpopped kernels from the storage compartment to the cooking surfaces of the popping unit. A seed cleaning assembly  232  may be arranged in the housing interior opposite the seed feeding assembly  230 . 
     In the interior of the housing is a blower fan assembly  238  and a heating element  242  that are disposed in the housing hollow interior. The blower fan and/or heating element may be de-energized with a switch assembly located  252  on the housing. Through the action of the blower fan  238 , ambient air is drawn into the hollow interior through openings in the housing bottom. Heated air flows through the popping chamber  224  to the hood assembly  226  and out through an opening in the hood assembly. In this way, the pressurized heated air pushes popped kernels away from the cooking surfaces in the popping chamber, allowing other unpopped kernels to be positioned on the cooking surface and cooking grate. 
       FIGS. 11-15  provide additional detail of the seed feeding assembly  232  and a scoop  270  positioned in a chute  268  under the seed storage compartment  228 . The scoop  270  may be rotatably disposed in the chute  268  and operatively connected to a lever arm  272 . The lever arm  272  may be operatively connected to a gearing system  273  which drives the scoop  270  in a pivoting manner about an axle  280  defining an axis of rotation of the scoop in the chute  268 . As discussed previously, the scoop  270  may be sized to meter an amount of kernels to the cooking surface based upon a serving size. The chute  268  may have a smooth transition area  274  adjacent to the scoop and the transition area  274  may be curved to facilitate delivery of the kernels down the shoot into the scoop. The curved transition area  274  in the chute may reduce the likelihood of kernels becoming jammed in the chute between the chute and the scoop  270 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , the scoop has a leading edge  276  and a lagging edge  278 . The lagging edge  278  which may be formed with teeth or serrations. The lagging edge teeth or serrations may be formed of a resilient material, which may be rubber or silicone. Forming the lagging edge  278  with teeth or serrations and forming the teeth or serration from a resilient material reduces resistance in the chute  268  as the scoop  270  is pivoted therein, and assists in reducing the possibility of kernels jamming the scoop during operation. 
     The seed cleaning assembly  232  may be arranged on the popping unit  220  opposite the seed feeding assembly  230 . The seed cleaning assembly  232  may comprise an unpopped seed bin  290  that is separated from the popping chamber during normal operations by a bypass  292 . To align the seed cleaning bin  292  with the popping vessel or popping chamber  224 , the bypass  292  is positionable across the normal opening of the popping chamber to divert the flow of pressurized air into the unpopped seed bin  290 . In the embodiment of the popping unit  220  shown in  FIGS. 10-15 , the switch assembly  252  may include an actuator  293  that is mechanically linked to the bypass  292  with a rack  294  and pinion gear  295 . The rack  294  extends vertically in the drawings from the switch assembly  252  to pinion gear  295 . As best shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , the switch assembly  252  has three positions. The middle position is an off position. In the most vertically upward position (i.e., the normal popping mode), the actuator  293  of the switch assembly engages a switch  296  which energizes the blower fan  238  and the heating element  242  for normal popping operations. In the most vertically downward position, the actuator  293  of the switch assembly engages a switch  297  that energizes the blower fan  238  for seed cleaning operations. In the most vertically downward position (i.e., the cleaning mode), the blower unit  238  is energized but the heating element  242  is not such that pressurized air may flow through the blower unit in the popping chamber through the bypass  292  into the seed cleaning bin  290 . The rack  294  and switch assembly  252  is configured to allow vertical motion of the switch actuator  293  upward to engage the switch  296  for the normal popping mode without movement of the rack. The switch actuator  293  has a slot and the rack  294  is configured to slide in the slot of the arm. With upward movement of the switch assembly, the switch actuator freely slides along the rack (with the rack in the slot) to the required vertical position to energize the switch  296  for energizing the blower  238  and heating element  242 . With downward movement of the switch assembly  252 , the switch actuator engages a flange  298  on a distal end of the rack  294 . Vertically downward motion drives the rack vertically downward to the required vertical position to energize the switch  297  for energizing the blower  238  only. Vertically downward motion also drives the rack  294  vertically downward to rotate the pinion gear  295  (counter-clockwise rotation in  FIG. 11 ). This in turn pivots the bypass  292  across the popping vessel or popping chamber  224 . The pivot connection comprises an axle  304  which is driven by the rack  294  and the pinion gear  295 . The switch assembly may have a spring  305  to return the switch actuator  293  to the neutral off position from the most vertically downward position during seed cleaning operations. The spring  305  moves the rack  294  upward in the drawings and causes rotation of the pinion gear  295  to reposition the bypass  292  to seal the popping chamber  224  for normal popping operations. In such an arrangement, to maintain the bypass  292  in the bypass position for seed cleaning operations, the switch assembly  252  must be held by the user in the vertically for cleaning operations and released when cleaning operations are finished. The spring may be omitted and the user may return the switch assembly to the neutral position manually thereby manually repositioning the rack and the pivoting the bypass to the normal position. Another pivot mechanism may also be provided to position the bypass across the popping chamber. 
       FIGS. 16 and 17  show an alternate embodiment of a popping unit  420  and a popping chamber assembly  424  therefor. In the popping unit  420  associated with the popping chamber assembly  424  of  FIGS. 16 and 17 , the popping unit uses mechanical seed cleaning methods rather than the automatic seed cleaning methods described previously. The popping chamber assembly  424  is shown with a portion cut-way for ease of illustration. The popping chamber assembly  424  includes a ladle member  426  which is positioned in the popping chamber  428  above the heated air plenum  430  associated with the popping unit. The popping chamber  428  comprises a cylindrical tubular member with a hollow interior and open axial ends. The bottom axial end is position over the heated air plenum  430  and the top end exits to a hood assembly. The ladle member  426  is removably attached to the popping chamber  428  and may be removed from the popping chamber by the user to clean and remove unwanted kernels from the popping unit. A rim  432  around the top open end of the popping chamber  428  may have a notch  434  to releasably secure the ladle member  426  to the popping chamber  428 . The rim  432  may define the transition of the popping chamber to the hood assembly and the opening of the hood. The ladle member comprises a tab  436  with a depending arm  438  extending to a screen portion  440 . The screen portion  440  may contain the kernels. The kernels may be delivered to the popping chamber and located on the screen portion  440  via the seed feeding mechanisms previously described. In the alternative, the seeds may be manually introduced to the popping chamber and located on the screen portion  440 . For instance, the user may detach the hood assembly from the popping chamber exposing the inside of the popping chamber and allowing the user to place seeds for popping on the screen portion  440  of the ladle member  426 . The ladle member screen portion  440  may have a flexible outer rim  442  to allow the screen portion to conform to the bottom opening of the popping chamber adjacent to the heated air plenum  430 . The screen portion  440  may form the cooking surfaces associated with the popping unit  420 . The screen portion  440  allows heated and pressurized air to flow through the screen portion to pop the kernels and direct the popped kernels through the popping chamber and out through the top opening and into the hood assembly. Once popping operations are completed, the hood assembly may be detached from the popping chamber assembly  424  to expose the inside of the popping chamber  428  and the ladle member tab  436 . The ladle member tab  436  may then be released from the notch  434  in the rim  432  and lifted vertically upward. Unpopped kernels collected on the screen portion  440  may be removed from the popping chamber. Once the kernels are removed and discarded, the ladle member  426  may be repositioned in the popping chamber for future use with the tab  436  engaged in the notch  434  and the screen portion  440  positioned over the heated air plenum  430 . 
     In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the several advantages are achieved and attained. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain a practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the principles herein in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. As various modifications could be made in the constructions and methods herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.