Patent Publication Number: US-2011054706-A1

Title: Kitchen gun system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/275,738, filed Sep. 2, 2009, and of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/298,274, filed Jan. 26, 2010. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to cooking in a commercial establishment, such as a restaurant, where a large number of meals are prepared on a daily basis. More specifically, the present invention relates to the provision of stocks, cooking oils and wines, and the like to a chef for use during the preparation of meals in a commercial setting. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Traditionally, it took a chef or cook an average of twenty hours to make a stock, the liquid ingredient used to make soup and sauces, by cooking raw ingredients until the entire flavor is changed into a liquid base. When the cooking was completed, the liquid base must be chilled immediately to inhibit the growth of bacteria. This is done by putting the hot liquid into small five-gallon containers, and by placing them in an ice bath. Once chilled, the stock is then refrigerated. 
     Today, food manufacturers have good quality bases which are used by most fast food and many fine dining establishments. The base is usually sold in one-pound bars which are dissolved and cooked in water to create stock for use in soups and sauces. 
     Once stock is made from the solid base, small plastic containers and bottles are used to get the stock from large kettles, where it is held, for use on the kitchen cook line. The plastic containers have no portion control, that is, they do not give exact measured amounts of stock; they must be cleaned and washed on a regular basis; they must be filled and refilled repeatedly; and they take up space on the kitchen cook line. Much of the stock in these bottles and containers eventually is discarded at the end of the day for sanitary reasons. 
     Not only are there bottles of stock on the kitchen cook line, but there are also bottles of cooking oil, cooking wine, lemon juice and other liquids. All of these bottles take up space, need to be replenished and cleaned repeatedly, and lead to waste and unsanitary conditions. 
     Thus, there is a long-felt need for a way by which these liquids can be provided to a chef on a kitchen cook line without the use of bottles and containers, as heretofore has been necessary. That need is met by the present invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is generally directed to a dispensing system for dispensing edible liquid ingredients as required in a commercial kitchen environment. The dispensing system includes a compressor for supplying compressed air to a plurality of air-driven pumps, which are powered by the compressed air. Each air-driven pump has an inlet and an outlet. Packages of edible liquid ingredients are separately attached to the inlets of the air-driven pumps. A manifold has a plurality of manifold inputs connected to the outlets of the plurality of air-driven pump. A dispenser is connected to the manifold outputs and has a plurality of control mechanisms corresponding to at least the plurality of inputs on the manifold. Through the operation of the control mechanisms selected edible liquid ingredients may be selectively dispensed from the dispenser. 
     The invention is also generally directed to a dispensing system for dispensing edible liquid ingredients. A plurality of pumps have inlets attached to packages of an edible liquid ingredient outlets to a plurality of inputs to a manifold for a dispenser. The manifold has a plurality of manifold outputs connected to a dispenser. The dispenser has a plurality of control mechanisms corresponding to at least the plurality of inputs on the manifold. Selected edible liquid ingredients may be selectively dispensed from the dispenser when desired by operating the respective control mechanisms on the dispenser. 
     The invention is also generally directed to a kitchen gun system for dispensing edible liquid ingredients as required for cooking. The kitchen gun system includes a plurality of pumps, each having an inlet and an outlet. Packages of edible liquid ingredients are attached to the inlets of the pumps. The outlets of the pumps are connected to a plurality of manifold inputs of a manifold. A plurality of manifold outputs is connected to a hand-held dispensing gun. The dispensing gun has a plurality of control mechanisms corresponding to at least the plurality of inputs on the manifold. Selected edible liquid ingredients may be selectively dispensed from the dispensing gun when desired by operating the respective control mechanisms on the dispensing gun. 
     Accordingly, the present invention is a kitchen gun system by which liquids used in cooking may be dispensed in desired amounts by chefs and cooks in a kitchen in their work areas. 
     Accordingly it is a further object of the invention to provide a way by which a highly concentrated liquid precursor of a stock of the variety used to prepare soups, sauces and the like in kitchens in commercial establishments may be mixed with water in a preselected concentration while being dispensed for use by cooks and chefs. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide a way by which liquids required in the preparation of food, but not requiring mixing with water, may be dispensed by a chef or cook at the push of a button without requiring the use of numerous bottles and other containers. 
     Still another object of the present invention to provide cooks and chefs on a kitchen cook line with various liquids that are needed for the preparation of meals without the use of bottles and other containers. 
     Another object of the invention to provide cooks and chefs with these liquids on a kitchen cook line at the push of a button from a convenient hand-held device. 
     Yet still another object of the invention to enable cooks and chefs to mix these liquids with water in a desired concentration while they are being dispensed. 
     Still a further object of the invention is to improve sanitary conditions and to reduce waste on a kitchen cook line by eliminating the use of bottles and containers as much as possible. 
     Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a kitchen gun which can dispense a combination of ingredients through the gun corresponding to a particular recipe or portion of a preparation with a single control. 
     Still other objects and advantages of the invention will, in part, be obvious and apparent from the specification. 
     The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts and processes which will be exemplified in the constructions and processes as hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be described in more complete detail with frequent reference being made to the figures identified below. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of the kitchen gun system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the kitchen gun itself; and 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic representation of a computerized control system for the kitchen gun system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With more specific reference to these figures,  FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of the dispensing system or kitchen gun system  10  of the present invention. 
     The kitchen gun system  10  includes a compressed air means, for example, a compressor  20 , such as a Thomas model ultra air T-617 HDN compressor. This compressor has a two-gallon storage tank which may be filled to a pressure of 110 psi. Thomas compressors are manufactured by Gardner Denver Thomas, a division of Gardner Denver Inc. of Quincy, Ill. Compressor  20  has an air intake  16 . Filter  18  may be disposed on the air intake  16  to filter particulates and other dust from the air before compression. This is important because compressed air is used to operate the air-driven diaphragm pumps to be described below. Air free of dust and other particulates will extend the useful life of the pumps. Additionally, compressed air itself may be dispensed by the kitchen gun system  10  of the present invention, as will be seen below. It is important that the air be as clean as possible as it may be dispensed in an area where food is being prepared. Suitable filters for air compressors are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and are available from many manufacturers. 
     From compressor  20 , compressed air is sent to an air regulating means, such as a a regulator  22 , through a hose or hoses  24 . The regulator  22  steps the pressure of the compressed air down to a pressure of about 30 psi. The pressure may be increased above this value if there is a long run of tubing between the regulator and the pumps. This (30 psi) is a suitable pressure for operating the air-driven pumps to be described below, as they may not operate below 25 psi. A suitable regulator for use in the practice of the present invention is Regulator Model 5261 SN, which is available from Taprite-Fassco Mfg., Inc. of San Antonio, Tex. 
     Optionally, a compressed air storage tank  26  may be used to store a larger volume of compressed air than can be accommodated in the relatively small tank provided with the compressor  20 . This is particularly useful where the kitchen gun system  10  is to be used in a busy establishment where a large number of meals are prepared each day. Instead of having the compressor cycle on and off repeatedly and frequently to supply air at an appropriate pressure to the regulator  22  in a setting where the kitchen gun system  10  is being heavily used, a larger compressed air storage tank may be more convenient because it would not have to be refilled or recharged by the system as frequently. A suitable tank  26  would be a Spartanburg three-gallon tank (Model 22-29748) available from Spartanburg Stainless Steel Products, Inc. of Spartanburg, S.C. In addition, it should be noted that compressor  20  may be installed at a location remote from the kitchen, so that noise which is produced when it is running will not be heard there. 
     From regulator  22 , hose  28  supplies compressed air to pumps  30 ,  32 ,  38 , which may be, for example, SHUR-flow Heavy Duty Advantage air-driven diaphragm pumps (Model G55-1022) available from SHUR-flo of Cypress, Calif. In pumps of this kind, a diaphragm, pushed periodically by air at elevated pressure, is used to pump a fluid. Because hose  28  supplies compressed air to pumps  30 ,  32 ,  38 , if one of the pumps  30 ,  32 ,  38  happens to fail, pressure to the remaining pumps may be lost, causing the entire system  10  to fail. To prevent such a complete failure, pumps  30 ,  32 ,  38  are provided with shut-off valves  31 ,  33 ,  39 , respectively, so that the shut-off valve  31 ,  33 ,  39  associated with a failed pump may be closed to isolate the failure and to maintain pressure to the rest of the system  10 . Without such a means to isolate a failed pump from the system  10 , the compressor  20  might run continuously and possibly burn out. Suitable air shut-off valves are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and are available from many manufacturers. Alternatively, electrically operated pumps may be used instead of gas-driven pumps; in such a case, the compressed air system described above would not be required to operate the pumps. 
     For the sake of the present discussion, it is assumed that the kitchen gun system  10  includes eight pumps, although the system  10  could have more or fewer pumps if the situation so required. As a consequence, it should be understood that the presence of eight pumps is primarily for purposes of illustration, and should not be taken to limit the present invention in any way. Moreover, in order to keep  FIG. 1  as uncluttered as possible, only three pumps  30 ,  32 ,  38  are actually shown. 
     Regardless of number, each pump  30 ,  32 ,  38  may be used to deliver a specific edible liquid ingredient to the kitchen gun  40 , a hand-held device used to dispense the ingredient desired. The various edible liquid ingredients are provided in bag-in-box (BiB) packaging for use with the kitchen gun system  10 . Essentially, the ingredients are sealed in plastic bags having appropriate outlets for connection to pumping equipment and contained within corrugated boxes to protect them from punctures. The ingredients could be any of a variety of different stocks, sauces, and condiments. 
     For example, in the discussion above, the preparation of stock from a solid base was described. With the present invention, stock can be provided in the form of a highly concentrated liquid precursor and pumped to the kitchen gun  40  where it will be mixed with an appropriate amount of water, as will be described below, while being dispensed. The mixing of the concentrated liquid precursor and the water is done in the kitchen gun  40  itself, with the ingredients staying in their original form unless and until they are actually dispensed. This reduces almost completely the wasted concentrated liquid precursor and aids with the cleanup, sanitation and efficiency of the system. As a consequence, the preparation of stock for soups, sauces, and the like can be greatly simplified, and enable the cook or chef to make only the quantity of stock needed without cluttering the kitchen cook line with bottles and other containers, and without waste of unused portions. 
     Many varieties of highly concentrated liquid precursors for stock can be prepared for use with the present invention, for example, chicken, beef, lobster, fish, vegetable, and so forth. Other ingredients that may be provided in the BiB packaging are: condiments, such as mustard, catsup, and mayonnaise; barbeque sauces; soy sauce; olive oil; vegetable oil; lemon juice; cooking wines; and icing. No doubt, many other ingredients will come to the mind of an experienced cook or chef. 
     Turning back to  FIG. 1 , let us assume for purposes of illustration that BiB # 1  ( 42 ) contains highly concentrated liquid precursor for beef stock; that BiB # 2  ( 44 ) contains red cooking wine; and that BiB # 8  ( 46 ) contains sesame oil. The first, highly concentrated liquid precursor for beef stock, will be pumped from BiB # 1  ( 42 ) by pump P 1  ( 30 ) through hoses  52 ,  54  to manifold  50 . Hose  52  is connected to pump P 1  ( 30 ) at inlet  87 , and hose  54  is connected to pump P 1  ( 30 ) at outlet  88 . In like manner, the red cooking wine will be pumped from BiB # 2  ( 44 ) by pump P 2  ( 32 ) through hoses  56 ,  58  to manifold  50 , and the sesame oil will be pumped from BiB # 8  ( 46 ) by pump P 8  ( 38 ) through hoses  60 ,  62  to manifold  50 . 
     Gun  40 , which may more broadly be referred to as a dispenser or a hand-held dispensing gun, and manifold  50 , connected to one another by hose  64 , are available from a variety of sources, such as Automatic Bar Controls, Inc. of Vacaville, Calif. as WUNDER-BAR®. WUNDER-BAR® is a registered trademark owned by Automatic Bar Controls. A suitable gun and manifold can take a variety of forms, and in a current preferred mode would be Model WB 10 JD. As illustrated, the manifold  50  includes ten inputs  86  where hoses from pumps  30 ,  32 ,  38  are attached, as well as compressed air hose  66  and a water hose  67  from water supply  68 . Each of the inputs  86  has an adjustment means, such as an adjusting screw, which is used to set a valve within the manifold. Various other adjustment means are available to achieve the appropriate blends. Adjusting screw  70  for the water supply  68  would be adjusted first to give a desired flow of water to the gun  40 . Subsequently, other adjusting screws are set to mix the ingredients being pumped to the manifold  50  by pumps  30 ,  32 ,  38  with the water in a desired concentration. In the situation being illustrated here, it will be recalled, BiB # 1  ( 42 ) contains highly concentrated liquid precursor for beef stock. Accordingly, adjusting screw  72  will be set to mix the highly concentrated liquid precursor for beef stock with water in a desired concentration. On the other hand, BiB # 2  ( 44 ) contains red cooking wine, and BiB # 8  ( 46 ) contains sesame oil, neither of which needs to be mixed with any water. Accordingly, adjusting screws  74 ,  76  are set so that no water is mixed with these ingredients. 
     As previously noted, a hose  64  connects the manifold  50  to the kitchen gun  40  itself.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the kitchen gun  40  and a portion of hose  64  leading therefrom. Hose  64  is covered with food-grade plastic which is easily kept clean in the kitchen. It should be understood that hose  64  actually includes a plurality of hoses at least equal in number to the number of inputs  86  on the manifold  50 . 
     On the kitchen gun  40 , it will be noted, are ten round buttons  80  which correspond to the ten inputs  86  on manifold  50 . By pressing the appropriate button  80 , the chef or cook can obtain stock, red cooking wine, or sesame oil from the gun  40 , the liquid precursor of the stock being mixed with water in a desired concentration, and the red cooking wine and sesame oil not being mixed with any water. It will be noted that the gun  40  has an outlet from the form of a mixing funnel  78 . In cases where water is being mixed with another ingredient, such as a highly concentrated liquid precursor for a stock, they are mixed in the desired concentration within the mixing funnel  78  before flowing out the bottom. 
     Two of the buttons  80  are for compressed air and water. Adjusting screw  82 , of course, is set so that no water is mixed with the compressed air when the appropriate button is pressed. One might well wonder why compressed air would ever be needed in a kitchen. At present, damp cloths are commonly used to keep the working surfaces of the kitchen cook line clean and free of pieces of food. Unfortunately, these cloths, if not rinsed and kept clean on a regular basis, become breeding grounds for bacteria and contamination. Compressed air, available by pressing the appropriate button on the kitchen gun, is a much more preferable way to keep the working surfaces clean and free of pieces of food by simply blowing the loose material away. 
     It should also be noted that the kitchen gun itself is easily kept clean by submerging it completely in a cleaning and disinfecting solution, such as a food-quality bleach solution. In this regard, the mixing funnel  78  may be removed from the kitchen gun  40  for thorough cleaning, and then snapped back into place. Mixing funnel  78  is where the water and concentrated liquid precursor mix. Periodically, the entire kitchen gun system  10  may be cleaned by connecting all pumps  30 ,  32 ,  38  to a supply of hot water, and by operating the kitchen gun  40  to flush the hot water outward through the entire system. At all other times, the kitchen gun system  10  is sealed, thereby preventing bacteria from gaining a foothold therewithin. 
     Compressed air hose  66  may convey compressed air from hose  28  on the output side of the regulator  22  to manifold  50 . Alternatively, it may be supplied from a source independent of the compressor  20  and regulator  22 . 
     Water supply means, such as water supply  68 , may be tap water which is optionally double-filtered to remove impurities. Filter  84  may be used for this purpose. Suitable water filter systems are available from Everpure, LLC of Hanover Park, Ill., and are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Clean, filtered water will improve the quality and taste of the food being prepared using the system  10 . Alternatively, where the local water conditions are not suitable, a bottled or other pre-packaged water can be used. 
     Water supply  68  may be that provided from the tap or plumbing of the building in which the kitchen gun system  10  is used. It is well known, however, that the pressure in such a water supply  68  may not be constant due to a variety of factors, such as the intermittent demand for water from other users drawing from the same supply. As a consequence, the pressure of the water supplied to the system  10  may fluctuate. 
     The result of such fluctuation is that the concentration of stocks and other liquids being mixed with water and delivered from the gun  40  may also fluctuate because the adjusting screws on the manifold  50  are set when the water is at a given pressure. Should the pressure change, and more or less water flows to the gun  40  in a given period of time, the concentration of liquids being mixed with the water will change and will be weaker or stronger than desired. This is not a very desirable situation to be had in a kitchen in a commercial establishment. 
     This may be addressed by installing a reservoir system as part of water supply  68 . The reservoir system includes a tank which is filled with water from the local supply on a constant basis. The tank is closed, so that air may be pumped in as water is removed to keep the pressure at a desired level. As a consequence, the same amount of water will flow from the gun  40  in a given period of time, and concentrations of liquids being mixed with water will remain at desired levels. Suitable reservoir systems are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and are available from many manufacturers. 
     As noted above, one of the edible liquid ingredients that may be dispensed with the present kitchen gun system  10  is icing. A baker in a commercial bakery may thus use the system  10  to decorate cakes and other pastries. In such an application, several different colors of icing may be provided in BiB packaging. At the touch of a button, a pastry chef can then decorate a cake with several different colors of icing in a very short time. Moreover, the mixing funnel  78  may be interchangeable with others having differently shaped openings, so that decorations may be made in a variety of different designs. 
     In practice, in a commercial kitchen, one or more manifolds  50  may be mounted above the kitchen cook line and their respective gun or guns  40  suspended, like commercial dishwashing hoses, from above the kitchen cook line, where they may be easily reached and pulled down for use when required by a chef or cook. When more than one manifold  50  and gun  40  is to be used, they may all be connected to the same set of pumps and BiB packages. 
     Moreover, in a commercial kitchen, the kitchen gun system  10 , except for the one or more manifolds  50  and guns  40 , may be housed in a single cabinet, from which the hoses would run to the manifold or manifolds  50 . The cabinet would ordinarily remain closed, except when a BiB package has been emptied and needs to be replaced. As previously noted, the compressor  20  could be kept in a more remote location, so that noise which is produced when it is running will not be heard in the kitchen. 
     Finally, a portable version of the kitchen gun system  50  also falls within the scope of the present invention. For such a version, the cabinet described in the preceding paragraph may be mounted on a cart or truck which may be readily moved from one location to another, such as to an outdoor banquet or trade show. The compressor  20 , optional storage tank  26 , regulator  22 , and manifold  50  could also be mounted on such a movable structure, so that the gun  40  could be used in a temporary situation. 
     The kitchen gun system  10  of the present invention can be given the capability to collect a wide variety of data on the use of the system  10  in a kitchen in a commercial establishment. In turn, that data can be mined by the operators of the restaurant or other dining establishment to monitor the use of the system  10  by the chefs or cooks working there for quality control purposes and to eliminate waste. 
     Turning to  FIG. 3 , a computer  90 , programmed to collect data of interest on the use of the system  10  as will be described below, is coupled to a database  92  for the storage of the data. The computer  90  is also connected to a wireless communication device  94  having an antenna  96  to transmit commands from the computer  90  to the system  10  and to receive data from the system  10  for storage in database  92 . Also attached to the computer  90  is a keypad  98 , by which employees can “log on” to the system  10  using their preselected identification numbers. The kitchen gun system  10  can also have an antenna  97  to connect to the wireless communication device  94 . Or, alternatively, the connection can be a hard wired solution  99  where the sensors in the kitchen gun system are directly connected to the computer  90 . 
     The system  10  in this embodiment includes a wireless master shut-off valve  100  having an antenna  102 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . When no one is logged on to the system  10 , valve  100  is closed so that compressed air is not provided to the system  10  rendering gun  40  incapable of dispensing any liquid from BiB # 1  ( 42 ), BiB # 2  ( 44 ), and BiB # 8  ( 46 ). The computer  90  may also be programmed to shut the system  10  down after a period of inactivity, such as that which may occur when a chef or cook forgets to “log off” at the end of a business day. It may also be programmed to require the chef or cook to log in again at the time of a shift change so that a new chef or cook needs to log in rather than just continue to use the system  10 . 
     Once a chef or cook logs on, computer  90  sends a signal through wireless communication device  94  to open valve  100 , enabling the system  10  to operate. It will be recalled that gun  40  includes in a current preferred embodiment ten round buttons  80  which correspond to the ten inputs on the manifold  50 . Gun  40 , in this embodiment, is modified to include a wireless relay for each of the buttons  80  and a power supply, such as a battery, to operate the wireless relays. When gun  40  has been so modified, data on the operation of the gun  40  may be sent wirelessly to the computer  90  for storage in the database  92 . 
     More specifically, when a chef logs on to the system  10  using keypad  98 , the computer  90  will cause valve  100  to be opened, making the system  10  operable. The date and time the chef logs on will be stored in the database  92 . Thereafter, each time the chef presses one of the ten round buttons  80 , the time the button  80  was pressed, and the duration of the press, will be recorded in the database  92 . The system  10  will have been calibrated during installation and initial set-up, so that the flow rates for the liquids dispensed when each of the buttons  80  is pressed will be set in the computer  90 . As a consequence, the amount of the liquid dispensed can be calculated from the duration of the press of button  80  and the result stored in the database  92 . Alternatively, a flowmeter can be installed in the gun  40  to measure the flow rates of the liquids as they are dispensed. In this case, the flow rate will be sent wirelessly to the computer  90 , along with the time and duration data, and can be used to calculate the amount of the liquid dispensed. 
     Using the data collected in this manner, management can generate reports on the use of the gun  40  and on the amounts of the liquids dispensed, so that they will know when to reorder fresh supplies thereof and will be able to evaluate the amount of liquid dispensed per use for quality control purposes and for other reasons, such as employee performance tracking. 
     Alternatively, the kitchen gun system  10  can be programmed to provide only a fixed preselected amount of liquid when a button  80  on the gun  40  is pressed. For example, the system  10  could be programmed to release any amount from 0.5 oz. to 5.0 gal. of the liquid when a button  80  is pressed. To accomplish this, wireless flow controls are installed in the gun  40  so that, when a given button is pressed, computer  90  signals the flow control wirelessly to close when the preprogrammed amount of fluid has been dispensed. 
     In addition, rectangular buttons  104  on gun  40 , as seen in  FIG. 2 , having wireless relays associated therewith in the gun  40 , may be used to deliver a desired mixture of liquids when a particular recipe is to be prepared. For example, for an order of chicken with lemon juice, white wine, and chicken stock, when button  104  has been programmed in the computer  90  to operate the gun  40  to dispense the required amounts of lemon juice, white wine, and chicken stock, the wireless relay associated with button  104 , when pressed, will signal computer  90 , which, in turn, will signal the wireless controls associated with those liquids to release the required amounts from the gun  40 . This embodiment of the kitchen gun system  10  enables recipes for frequently ordered dishes to be more easily prepared. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent in the preceding description, are efficiently obtained, and, since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense. 
     It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.