Dispensing system for dispensing individual portions of a food product from a food product container

Abstract

A new and improved food product dispensing mechanism incorporates structure therewithin for enabling one to serially dispense individual portions of food products from a predetermined number of food product portions which are disposed in a stacked array or arrangement contained within a food product container. The structure comprises complementary members defined upon inner peripheral wall surface portions of the food product container and upon the piston member movably disposed within the food product container so as to predeterminedly define stepwise movements of the piston member with respect to the food product container.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION[0001]This patent application is a Continuation-in-Part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 488,034 which is entitled DISPENSING SYSTEM FOR DISPENSING INDIVIDUAL PORTIONS OF A FOOD PRODUCT FROM A FOOD PRODUCT CONTAINER and was filed on Jul. 18, 2006, the priority benefits of which are hereby claimed.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to food product dispensing mechanisms, device, or systems, and more particularly to a new and improved food product dispensing mechanism, device, or system which incorporates therein means for enabling one to serially dispense, expel, or discharge, individual portions or servings of the food products, from a predetermined number or plurality of food product portions which are disposed within a stacked array or arrangement contained within a food product container, one at a time. The dispensing mechanism comprises a piston member disposed within a cylindrical tubular f...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]Accordingly, when the discrete, separate, individual food products are to be individually and serially expelled, dispensed, or discharged from the food product container, the piston member will be initially disposed at its lowermost position within the tubular cylindrical food product container at which the upper annular edge portion of the piston member will be engaged with the first or lowermost one of the plurality of vertically spaced, annular detents, ridges, or dimples defined upon the inner peripheral portions of the side wall portions of the food product container. Subsequently, as a result of the piston member being pushed or moved upwardly, the upper annular edge portion of the piston member will cause side wall portions of the food product container to move, flex, or expand radially outwardly so as to thereby permit the upper annular edge portion of the piston member to effectively bypass, skip over, or ratchet past the first or lowermost one of the plurality of vertically spaced, annular detents, ridges, or dimples until it subsequently encounters a second one of the plurality of vertically spaced, annular detents or dimples defined upon the inner peripheral portion of the side wall portion of the food product container. When the upper annular edge portion of the piston member has effectively bypassed, skipped over, or ratcheted past the first or lowermost one of the plurality of vertically spaced annular detents, ridges, or dimples defined upon the inner peripheral portion of the side wall portion of the food product container, the side wall portions of the food product container will effectively recover or contract radially inwardly so as to return to their non-flexed original radial positions or dispositions such that the upper annular edge portion of the piston member can now be, and in fact will be, subsequently engaged with the second one of the plurality of vertically spaced, annular detents or dimples defined upon the inner peripheral surface portions of the side wall portions of the food product container.

Problems solved by technology

It is therefore to be noted that while the aforenoted various different mechanisms, devices, or systems are generally satisfactory in connection with the desired dispensing, expulsion, or discharge of the various different indeterminately sized portions of the single homogeneous food product from the overall food product disposed and contained within the food container, none of the aforenoted various different mechanisms, devices, or systems is capable of dispensing, expelling, or discharging specific, predeterminedly sized, individual, discrete portions of the food product out from the food container.

More particularly, none of the aforenoted various different mechanisms, devices, or systems contains or incorporates means therein which enables or facilitates the dispensing, expelling, or discharging of specific, predeterminedly sized individual, discrete portions of the food product out from the food container.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,856, which issued on Nov. 29, 1994 to Kirk et al., does in fact disclose a food product dispensing mechanism or system which may dispense food products therefrom, however, again, there is no mechanism or structure defined within Kirk et al. which permits predeterminedly sized individualized portions, servings, or amounts of the food product to be dispensed.

Similar flaws or operational drawbacks are present within U.S. Pat. No. 3,305,143 which issued to Frankenberg on Feb. 21, 1967.

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