Abstract:
An apparatus comprises first and second side pieces configured to be hingedly connected and to form a first and second cavity, a lid, and a front piece configured to form a third cavity with the first and second side pieces. Also included are a handle, a biasing device configured to be positioned outside the first cavity, and a rotating blocking device configured to rotate based on movement of the handle and the biasing device, such that handle and rotating block device are returned to a stationary position based on the biasing device. Finally, the apparatus includes a resilient sealing device that is configured to interact with the rotating blocking device to close a first opening between the first and second cavities and a swinging blocking device configured to close a second opening between the first and third cavities.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to dispensing apparatus and, more particularly, to a gravity feed dispensing bin apparatus. This apparatus allows bulk material that is loaded through an inlet to flow under the force of gravity to an outlet from which the product is dispensed. 
     Traditionally, gravity feed bins for dispensing bulk materials are used to dispense a wide variety of materials having a range of sizes and aggregate make-ups as diverse as hardware components, e.g., nuts and bolts, to food, e.g., nuts, cereals, pastas, coffee (either beans or ground), dried soup mixes, candies, spices, and the like. Generally, the bins are comprised of enclosures having an inlet at an upper end utilized to fill a cavity, an outlet at its lower end utilized to dispense the material, and a flow control device located between the upper and lower openings for controlling the amount of materials being dispensed. In operation, as the material is being dispensed gravity pulls the remaining material in the cavity towards the lower end to replace the dispensed material. These types of bins generally include a downwardly curving inner wall that forms a chute to channel the dispensed materials into a receptacle adjacent the outlet. 
     Examples of prior art gravity feed bins can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,866 to Loew and U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,393 to Blicher et al, and NewLeaf Designs&#39; Vita-Bin®. 
     Unfortunately, these prior art systems have many shortcomings. They are labor intensive to make since pieces have to be cut and glued together, they are hard to clean because of comers in glued joints, they do not fit well into modular systems with each other, and they cannot be easily disassembled for cleaning without the use of tools. Also, parts of the device for biasing the movement of the output door were required to be passed through the food. The result of all this is that most of the prior art devices are not qualified for certification by NSF International, which is an independent laboratory for certifying food processing equipment. What is needed is a bulk food dispensing apparatus that is easily manufactured, assembled, and cleaned. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This present invention overcomes all these above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art devices. 
     According to the present invention, an apparatus comprises first and second side pieces configured to be hingedly connected and to form a first cavity, a closing device, and a front piece configured to form a third cavity with the first and second side pieces. Also included are a handle, a biasing device configured to be positioned outside the first cavity, and a rotating blocking device configured to rotate based on movement of the handle and the biasing device, such that handle and rotating block device are returned to a stationary position based on the biasing device. Finally, the apparatus includes a sealing device that is configured to interact with the rotating blocking device to close a first opening between the first and second cavities and a swinging blocking device configured to close a second opening between the first and second cavities. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates from reading the following specification with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a gravity feed bin according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 2A-2B show a right side view of the gravity feed bin of FIG. 1 being supported in extended and resting position, respectively, by a scissors support device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 3A-3C show the placement and operation of a feed flow adjustment device of the gravity feed bin in FIG. 1; 
     FIGS. 4A-4C show the placement of a biasing member on extensions from several inside surfaces of a front face of the gravity feed bin in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5A shows upper and lower latches utilized to interconnect front sections of a first and second side pieces to form an assembled body of the gravity feed bin in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5B shows a latch utilized to interconnect the front piece to the assembled body of the gravity feed bin in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5C is an enlarged view of the latch in FIGS. 5A-5B; 
     FIGS. 6A-6B show a latch for interconnecting bottom sections of the first and second side pieces of the gravity feed bin according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6C shows a closing assembly for securing the bottom sections of the first and second side pieces of the gravity feed bin according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6D shows a cross-sectional view along line  6 C— 6 C in FIG. 6C of the closing assembly; and 
     FIG. 7A-7B show a hinge assembly utilized to hingedly connect the first and second side pieces of the gravity feed bin in FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An exploded view of an apparatus  10  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.  1 . Preferably, the apparatus  10  is material holding device, e.g., a gravity feed bin. 
     Further examples of gravity feed bins are found in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D286,728, D326,983 and D413,767 all to Elmore, the inventor of the present invention, which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     With continuing reference to FIG. 1, the bin  10  includes a lid  12 , a left side piece  14 , a right side piece  16 , and a front piece  18 . The lid  12  and left and right side pieces  14 ,  16  interconnect to form an enclosure that defines a first cavity  20  (see also FIGS.  2 A- 2 B). Also, the front piece  18  and the left and right side pieces  14 ,  16  interconnect to form an enclosure that defines second cavity  21  and a third cavity  22  (see also FIGS.  2 A- 2 B). Preferably, the left and right side pieces  14 ,  16  and front piece  18  are molded from a clear plastic material, such as polycarbonate, and the lid  12  is made from a more flexible plastic material, such as polypropylene material. However, as can be appreciated, a variety of other materials may be employed in place of the preferred plastics. 
     Also with reference to FIG. 1, through the interconnection of the left and right side pieces  14 ,  16  a lower first opening  24  and an upper second opening  26  are defined. The first opening  24  can be substantially blocked by use of a rotating door  28  when the rotating door is in engagement with sealing device  30  (as seen in FIGS. 3A-C and  4 B-C) or  30 ′ (as seen in FIG.  1 ). Preferably, sealing device  30 ′ comprises first and second flexible members,  30 ′ a  and  30 ′ b , respectively, conforming to the rotating door  28  and sealing device  30  comprises a single flexible member conforming to the rotating door  28 . The sealing devices  30 ′ and  30  interact with the rotating door  28  in an analogous manner. The second opening  26  can be substantially blocked by use of a swinging door  32 . In a preferred embodiment, the rotating door  28  is made from a plastic, such as polycarbonate, and the sealing device  30  is molded from a pliable plastic material, such as TPE VistaFlex® material manufactured by Advanced Elastomer Systems or Alcryn® material from Advanced Polymer Alloys or Savrene® material from V1-Chem Corporation. This material preferably contains coloring pigment such as brown to mask discoloration that may be imparted to the soft plastic by some bulk materials such as coffee beans. Also, preferably, the swinging door  32  is a false/gravity door located between the first and second cavities  20  and  22 , and is preferably made from the same plastic material, as side pieces  14 ,  16 . The rotating door  28  is normally actuated by pulling downward on an external handle  34  coupled to front piece  18 . 
     During operation, upon removal of lid  12 , bulk material (not shown) is loaded into the first and third cavities  20  and  22 , respectively, of apparatus  10  through first and second inlets  35  and  38 , respectively. First inlet  35  is defined by the interconnection of the left and right side pieces  14  and  16 , respectively, and forms the mouth of first cavity  20 . A second inlet  38  is defined by the interconnection of the left and right side pieces  14  and  16 , respectively, and front piece  18 . This interconnection forms the mouth of third cavity  22 . Filling of the third cavity  22  via the first cavity  20  and the second inlet  38  provides a frontal display of the bulk material contained within the first cavity  20 . Once the bin  10  has been loaded with bulk materials, lid  12  is placed atop the bin to cover the first and second inlets  35  and  38 , respectively. 
     A customer initiates the flow of the bulk material by actuating handle  34  in the direction of arrow  40 . Under the force of gravity, material flows from the first cavity  20 , to the opening  24 , and out an outlet  42 , in that order. After dispensing a desired amount of material into a receptacle (not shown), the customer releases handle  34  and biasing devices  36  interact with the front piece  18  to return the handle back to the first position in which the rotating door  28  completely covers the opening  24 , i.e., in its normally closed position. By using a flexible material for sealing device  30 , residual material, like crumbs, grains, small foodstuffs, etc. that may become trapped between the rotating door  28  and sealing device  30 , after distribution of the bulk material, do not prevent the rotating door  28  from sealing against sealing device  30 . Accordingly, the flow of the bulk material is quickly cut-off when the customer releases the handle  34 . 
     In operation, after the volume or amount of the bulk material remaining in the first cavity  20 , reaches a predetermined level, swinging door  32  is permitted to swing open allowing the displayed material contained in the third cavity  22  to flow into the first cavity  20  through the second opening  26 . This occurs because once the bulk material in first cavity  20  drops below swinging door  32  the retained force previously exerted by the bulk materials is removed thus permitting the swinging door to rotate into an open condition to form second opening  26 . In this manner, the bulk material displayed in the third cavity  22  continually mixes with the bulk material in the first cavity  20 , thus preventing the displayed materials from becoming stale. 
     The bulk material is contained in third cavity  22  through use of a sloped base  44 . This sloped base  44  is formed through the interconnection of a first base piece  44 A extending from the left side piece  14  and a second base piece  44 B extending from right side piece  16 . This formation occurs when left and right side pieces  14 ,  16  are interconnected. 
     As can be seen in FIGS.  1  and  2 A- 2 B, the material in the third cavity  22  is easily seen by the customer because of a curvature of the front piece  18 . This curvature holds the bulk material so as to allow it to be seen by the customer when viewed from the front or the side. Also, the third cavity  22  provides for an attractive point-of-sale display of the bulk material giving the consumer the impression that the bin is full. In order to completely and effectively inform a customer about the bulk material, i.e., its cost, make-up, calories, size, etc., a printed display or sign can be held by a display holding device  46  located on an outside surface of the front piece  18 . 
     As can be seen in FIGS.  1  and  3 A-C, an operator can interact with a adjustable-flow control device  48  through an opening  50 , which is adjacent the display holder  46 . This interaction can occur either when the handle  34  is in a lowered position, or with the handle in an at rest, raised position. Flow rate of the bulk material is controlled by the size of the opening  24  exposed by the rotating door  28 . The exposed amount of the opening  24  is adjusted by an operator by inserting an elongated object  52 , e.g., a screwdriver, through the opening  50 . By doing this, the operator can interact with the adjustable-flow device  48 . This adjustable-flow device  48  is preferably configured as a stopper that limits the upper most rotation of the rotating door  28 , such that more rotation exposes more of the opening  24  and that less a degree of rotation exposes less of the opening. The movement of rotating door  28  is limited by the position of adjustable-flow device  48  along a track  53 . The adjustable-flow device  48  is secured at different positions along the track  53  through use of teeth  54 . 
     In FIG. 3A, the adjustable-flow device  48  is shown positioned so as to allow the rotating door  28  to have a full range of motion, thus exposing a maximum amount of opening  24 . To limit the maximum rate of flow of the bulk material, adjustable-flow device  48  is moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG.  3 B through use of the elongated device  52 . This interaction of elongated device  52  with adjustable-flow device  48  exerts enough pressure on adjustable-flow device  48  so that it slides along the teeth on surface  53 . Once the adjustable-flow device  48  has been moved into a desired position, it is captively retained by teeth, as at  54 . 
     To increase the rate of flow of the bulk material, adjustable-flow device  48  is moved in the direction of an arrow in FIG. 3C, which is opposite the arrow in FIG.  3 B. This is accomplished by sliding the end of elongated device  52  under a retaining clip  55  of the adjustable-flow device  48  thus disengaging the retaining clip  55  from the teeth  54  allowing adjustable-flow device  48  to slide along track  53 . Then, the elongated device  52  is pressed against the adjustable-flow device  48  with enough force to overcome the friction between the elongated device and adjustable-flow device , thus allowing the operator to pull the adjustable-flow device towards the opening  50 . Again, once the adjustable-flow device  48  is in a desired position, it is captively retained in position by teeth  54 . 
     Preferably, during operation, the exposed space of the first opening  24  can also be enlarged or reduced to accommodate a plurality of sizes of bulk materials available. Accordingly, if material of a small sized, e.g., ground coffee or metal washers, is being dispensed, the opening  24  is correspondingly reduced. If material of a larger size, e.g., medium to large pasta or metal bolts, is being dispensed, a larger opening  24  would be preferred. 
     Turing now to FIGS. 4A-4C, a more detailed view of the connection of the biasing devices  36  to the front face  18  is shown. In these Figures, FIG. 4A is a view from the inside surface of front piece  18 , and FIGS. 4B-4C are views with right side section  16  removed. As can be seen from these Figures, a first preferably looped end of each of two biasing device  36 , is attached to first and second extensions  56 , which are preferably molded pegs extending from the inside surface  18 A of the front piece  18 . A second, preferably looped end of each of the biasing devices  36  is attached to third and fourth extensions  58 , which are likewise preferably molded pegs extending from opposite inside side surfaces  18 B and  18 B′ of front piece  18 . A middle section of each of the biasing devices  36  is wrapped partially around and biased against and under a lip of fifth and sixth cylindrical extensions  60 , which are located adjacent to the third and fourth extensions  56  on the two opposite inside side surfaces  18 B,  18 B′ of front piece  18 . 
     Through the use of these biasing devices  36 , the handle  34  is automatically returned to its upward normally closed resting position after the customer has finished dispensing the desired amount of bulk material. Also, through use of this preferred assembly of the biasing devices  36  on the inside surface  18 A and the side inside surfaces  18 B,  18 B′ of the front cover  18  near the outlet  42 , there is minimal contact, if any, between the bulk material and the biasing devices. This minimal contact reduces damage to either the biasing devices  36  or the dispensed bulk material, while also reducing the chance of contamination of the bulk material which could be imparted from a soiled biasing device. 
     Turning now to FIG. 5A, front sections of the right and left side pieces  14 ,  16  are shown. The front sections of the right and left side pieces  14 ,  16  are pivotally moved together and then captively retained with one another using forwardly biased interconnecting device pairs  62  and  64 . To connect the right and left side pieces  14 ,  16 , a female portion  62 A receives a male portion  62 B of the connecting device  62 , and in similar fashion a female portion  64 A receives a male portion  64 B of the connecting device  64 . The forward bias of connecting devices  62 B and  64 B when engaged with corresponding device portions  62 A and  64 A, causes the left and right side pieces to be secured to one another until manually disengaged. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5B, there is shown the connecting device pair  66  front piece  18 . This connection is formed through a connecting device  66 . Similar to what was described above, a female portion  66 A receives a male portion  66 B of the connecting device  66 . 
     It is to be appreciated that although the male portions B are shown as being integral with the right side piece  16 , in an alternative configuration the left side piece  14  could include the male portions B. 
     A first embodiment of a overlapping seam  68  that forms a seal at the bottom most extent of the right and left side pieces  14 ,  16  is shown in FIGS. 6A-6B. In order to form this seal, an elongate ridge  68 A extending from a lip that extends normal to an outside surface of the bottom section of the right side piece  14  is received in an elongate channel  68 B formed in a lip that extends normal to an outside bottom surface of the bottom section of left side piece  16 . This seal  66  prevents the bottom sections of right and left side pieces  14 ,  16  against each other during use that could result in a momentary separation of the right and left side pieces  14 ,  16 , where the stored bulk material could then lodge between them. 
     With reference to FIGS. 6C and 6D, a second and preferred embodiment of a bottom seal clamp  69  is shown that includes overlapping elongate ridge  68 ′A and elongate channel  68 ′B, each having structural extensions corresponding and complimentary to the structural elements  70 A-D of a sliding clamp  70 . Together, structural seal  68 ″ and sliding clamp  70  are employed to securely interconnect the bottom most extents of left and right side sections  14 ,  16 . The sliding clamp  70  extends from a clamp base member  71 . This bottom seal clamp  69  is preferably utilized when it is desirable to ensure a more secured connection between the bottom sections than that attained through the use of unclamped overlapping seam  68  as shown in FIGS. 6A-6B. In operation, the bottom seal clamp  69  is formed through the interconnection of a elongate ridge  68 ′A, which extends outwardly from the bottom most section of left side section  14 , where connecting piece  68 ′A is slideably engaged between structural members  70 A and  70 B of the sliding clamp  70 . The sliding clamp  70  further structural members  70 C and  70 D, which in cooperation with member  70 B, captively engage a section  68 ′B that extends outwardly from the bottom most right side piece  16 . Through this bottom seal clamp  69 , the chance of the bottom sections of left and right side sections  14 ,  16  separating under the load of the contained materials is substantially eliminated. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 7A-7B, the rear most portions of the left and right side pieces  14 ,  16  include a plurality of male hinge elements and female hinge elements  72  and  74 , respectively. Preferably, the male and female hinge elements  72 ,  74  are configured along the entire rear most extents of sides  14  and  16  to form a quickly disengageable hinge system enabling bin  10  to be readily opened for cleaning. In operation, male hinge elements  72 , which extend normally from a back outside surface of the right side piece  16 , are received by female hinge elements  74 , which are formed in a lip section  73  extending normally to a back outside surface of the left side piece  14 . 
     Returning to FIGS.  1  and  2 A- 2 B, several features are provided for the convenience of the operator and customer are shown. A first such device is a bin support device  76 , which consists of an upwardly biased scissors type support arrangement. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a biasing means, such as a pneumatic cylinder  75  may be provided, however other means, such as springs or other tensioning devices may be used to bias the bin  10  towards it operational position, as shown in FIG.  2 B. To access the bin  10  for filling or cleaning, an operator moves the bin from its operating position, shown in FIG. 2B, to its service position, as shown in FIG.  2 A and then removes lid cover  12 . Once serviced, bin  10 , with the upward assistance of bin support device  76 , is returned to its operating position where support bracket  78  preferably is allowed to rest upon a stationary shelving support, as at  79 . Bin support device  76  is coupled to bin  10  through a coupling system, where molded extensions  80  interact with bracket-type devices  82  located on either side of the bin. 
     A second feature that is employed as a convenience to customers is the placement of a friction device  84  such as a series of parallel ribs molded into spout area  42  of the front piece  18 . In this regard, the ribs  84  assist a customer during the dispensing of materials through outlet  42  by providing a better grip than provided by an otherwise smooth surface. 
     From the above description of the invention, those skilled in the art will perceive improvements, changes and modifications in the invention. Such improvements, changes and modifications within the skill of the art are intended to be covered by the appended claims.