BUTTER PAT DISPENSER

• US 3,558,006 A
• Filed: 11/18/1968
• Issued: 01/26/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Leila R. Chenkin, Redmond, Benjamin
• Original Assignee: Leila R. Chenkin, Redmond, Benjamin
• Inventors: Redmond, Benjamin, Chenkin, Leila R.
• Application Number:
  US04/776,574
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• US Class Current: 221/150.00R
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 1/10 having mechanical dispensing means , e.g. with buttons or handles
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 19/26 Butter or cheese dishes or covers, with or without cooling or heating devices; Protective covers for food containers
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 19/32 Food containers with dispensing devices for bread, rolls, sugar, or the like; Food containers with movable covers used as shop fittings A47F

Abstract

A dispenser suitable for use on a dining table for dispensing to the ultimate consumer individual packages of food, such as butter pat packages. The dispenser includes means to maintain the food packages in a refrigerated state and a dispensing mechanism adapted to sequentially dispense the bottom food package from a vertical stack of pats.

Claims

1. A dispenser for individual food pat packages comprising:

a housing member having a vertically disposed cavity and a frontal opening for affording communication between the vertically disposed cavity and the exterior of the housing;

a cover for the vertically disposed cavity;

a removable chute adapted to fit within the vertically disposed cavity and to accommodate a stack of individual food pat packages, with the bottom food pat package of the stack arranged in alignment with the frontal opening in the housing;

means for refrigerating the stack of food pat packages;

means for positively dispensing the bottom food pat package from the stack through the frontal opening in the housing;

a chamber in the bottom of the housing for housing the means for dispensing the food pat packages and wherein the means for positively dispensing the individual food pat packages from the stack is comprised of a mechanism compressed of a pivotally mounted lever;

a dispenser slide carriage arranged for sliding from the rear to the front of the dispenser in the horizontal plane of the food pat package at the bottom of the stack of food pat packages;

means on the dispenser slide carriage for engaging the rear edge of the bottom food pat package as the slide carriage moves to the front of the dispenser; and

a bellcrank connecting the lever and the dispenser slide carriage respectively for concomitant movement whereby depression of the finger operated lever will translate the dispenser slide carriage forwardly.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a pin extending transversely from the lever;

a pin extending transversely from the dispenser slide carriage and wherein the bellcrank has crank arms having slots formed therein;

which slots accommodate the pin extending transversely from the lever and the pin extending transversely from the dispenser slide carriage respectively.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the means on the dispenser slide carriage to engage the rear edge of the bottom food pat package of the stack as the slide carriage moves to the front of the dispenser is an elevated shoulder at the rear of the dispenser slide carriage, and wherein the removable chute for accommodating a vertical stack of food pat packages is comprised of sidewalls, a rear wall and a base having a slot extending from the rear wall to an intermediately disposed location on the base of the compartment, which slot is in alignment with the path of travel of the elevated shoulder at the rear of the dispenser slide carriage.

4. An apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the means on the dispenser slide carriage to engage the rear edge of the bottom food pat package of the stack as the slide carriage moves to the front of the dispenser is an elevated shoulder at the rear of the dispenser slide carriage, and wherein the removable chute for accommodating a vertical stack of food pat packages is comprised of sidewalls, a rear wall and a base having a slot extending from the rear wall to an intermediately disposed location on the base of the compartment, which slot is in alignment with the path of travel of the elevated shoulder at the rear of the dispenser slide carriage.

5. An apparatus as in claim 3 further comprising means to bias the dispenser slide carriage rearwardly to a location out of the area of the surface on which the stack of food pat packages is resting and vertical ribs on the inner rear wall of the removable chute to positively position the stack of food pat packages away from the rear wall.

6. An apparatus as in claim 4 further comprising means to bias the dispenser slide carriage rearwardly to a location out of the area of the surface on which the stack of food pat packages is resting and vertical ribs on the inner rear wall of the removable chute to positively position the stack of food pat packages away from the rear wall.

7. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the cover for the vertically disposed cavity is removable and has an inner centrally disposed chamber and the means to refrigerate the stack of food pat packages is a leakproof coolant container housed in the inner chamber of the removable cover.

8. An apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the cover member for the vertically disposed cavity is removable and has an inner centrally disposed chamber and the means to refrigerate the stack of food pat packages is a leakproof coolant container housed in the inner chamber of the cover.

9. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the frontal opening in the housing has a cross-sectional area slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of a commercial food pat package sized to give 60 pats per pound of butter.

10. An apparatus as in claim 8 wherein the frontal opening in the housing has a cross-sectional area slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of a commercial food pat package sized to give 60 pats per pound of butter.

11. An apparatus as in claim 10 wherein the dispenser is substantially frustoconically shaped.