Low profile batter dispenser

• US 8,579,161 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2009
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Heartland Food Products, LLC (BOK Financial Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Heartland Food Products, Inc. (BOK Financial Corporation)
• Inventors: Steeb, William R.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGO, LIEN M
• Application Number:
  US12/454,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20100291277A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,642 Days
• Field of Search: 222/146.6, 222/181.1, 222/181.3, 222/146.1, 220/592.1, 623/71, 623/72, 62389-400, 62440-446
• US Class Current: 222/146.6
• CPC Class Codes: A21C 5/006 for dispensing liquid or semi-liquid dough, e.g. batter

Abstract

A low profile batter dispenser, for the housing of batter on a counter top for an extended period of time while cooling the batter to resist bacterial growth therein. The batter dispenser includes a housing, a batter container, and an ice pack assembly for holding an ice pack on the bottom of and in contact with the batter container.

Claims

1. In a waffle and pancake batter dispenser having a housing for receiving a batter container having an interior and a sloped floor, the improvement comprising:

a) an ice pack assembly located in the housing;

b) the ice pack assembly including a sloped ice pack bed and an adjustment pin, wherein the sloped ice back bed is configured and arranged for support of an ice pack at an angle of incline substantially equal to an angle of incline of the floor of the batter container, and wherein the adjustment pin is configured and arranged to releasably engage an adjustment slot located within the housing;

c) wherein when an ice pack is placed on the ice pack bed and the batter container is received into the housing, the ice pack firmly contacts an exterior surface of the floor of the batter container, such that during use the ice pack cools the batter container.

2. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the housing is a low profile housing.

3. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the pin is a first pin and there is a second laterally spaced pin and the slot is a first slot and there is a second laterally spaced slot such that the pins mate with respective slots and wherein the adjustment slots include a front to rear orientation, such that engaged adjustment pins are forwardly and rearwardly mobile with respect to a front of the housing.

4. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the ice pack includes a plurality of thicknesses.

5. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the interior of the batter container includes a side inner surface and a plurality of water level lines located on the side inner surface, wherein the water level lines are associated with amounts of water required to make different pre-measured amounts of batter, such that a user can measure an amount of water into the dispenser interior, for making an associated pre-measured amount of batter within the dispenser interior.

6. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the batter dispenser comprises a non-drip valve.

7. The dispenser according to claim 6, wherein the non-drip valve comprises a plastic tube having a barrel in fluid flow communication with an interior of the batter container, and a silicon sleeve biases against the barrel of the plastic tube.

8. The dispenser according to claim 7, wherein the non-drip valve comprises an open position and a closed position, wherein when the valve is in the open position the barrel of the plastic tube is in fluid flow communication with the interior of the batter container, and when the valve is in the closed position the silicon sleeve is biased against the barrel of the plastic tube and the barrel of the plastic tube is not in fluid flow communication with the interior of the batter container.

9. A dispenser for preparing and dispensing waffle and pancake batter, comprising:

a) a housing adapted to be placed on a surface, wherein the housing has an interior;

b) an ice pack assembly slidably received within the housing interior, and comprising a sloped ice pack bed and at least two adjustment pins, wherein the sloped ice pack bed is configured and arranged to support an ice pack;

c) a batter container removably received within the housing, and comprising a front wall, a back wall, two side walls, and a floor, all of which define an interior of the batter container, and a non-drip valve located at the bottom of the front wall, wherein the non-drip valve has an open position and a closed position and is generally biased in a closed position and wherein the floor slopes downwardly from the back wall to the front wall, such that the interior of the batter container is in fluid flow communication with an interior of the valve when the valve is in the open position.

10. The dispenser according to claim 9, wherein the housing comprises a floor pan having at least two adjustment slots for slidably receiving the at least two adjustment pins, such that during use, an ice pack supported by the ice pack bed is pressed against the bottom of the batter container, whereby batter located in the interior of the batter container is cooled.

11. The dispenser according to claim 9, wherein a slope of the ice pack bed is substantially equal to a slope of the floor of the batter container.

12. The dispenser according to claim 9, wherein the valve comprises a tube having a barrel, an orifice between the interior of the batter container and the barrel, a silicone sleeve biased against the barrel such that the orifice is closed, and a manual actuator for moving the valve from a closed position to an open position, wherein the barrel and the interior of the batter container are in fluid flow communication through the orifice when the valve is in the open position.

13. The dispenser of claim 9, wherein an interior surface of at least one of the front, back and side walls includes a plurality of water level lines, for indicating an amount of water to be added to the batter container, wherein the amount of water at each water level line is associated with a fixed amount of mixed batter.

14. The dispenser of claim 9, wherein the batter dispenser is sized to be received by a dish washing machine in an inverted orientation.

15. A batter dispenser comprising:

a) an outer housing;

b) a batter container sized and shaped to be slidingly received in the housing and having a lower sloped floor; and

c) a cooling pack holder that is slidingly positioned beneath the batter container and that has an upper surface having a slope equivalent to the slope of the floor of the batter housing to receive a cooling pack thereon;

the holder upper surface cooperating with the container floor so as to hold cooling packs of different thickness between the holder and the batter container floor because the holder is front to rear adjustable relative to the housing.