Heated Package Roller and Tilt Holder for Accessible Hot Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing systems for flowable products at elevated temperatures face challenges such as accessibility issues due to elevated placement and inefficiencies in dispensing from flexible packages, leading to waste and potential contamination.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing apparatus with a container slide and tilt structure, a roller mechanism, and a product package holder that includes a ramp and retaining members to facilitate easy access and efficient dispensing while maintaining elevated temperatures, reducing waste and ensuring safe handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the dispensing apparatus is placed at an elevated counter top position, then it saves floor space and has a compact footprint, but it creates accessibility challenges for reloading product packages and accessing the interior compartment
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed with slide and tilt structures that enable it to move dynamically between a stored position (retracted and horizontal) and a dispensing position (extended and tilted downward). This dynamic capability allows the container to be accessed easily when extended, while maintaining a compact footprint when retracted to the elevated position
Solution Approach 2:
The container utilizes both horizontal sliding motion and vertical tilting motion to transition between positions. By adding the tilt dimension, the system achieves improved accessibility without sacrificing the elevated compact storage position, effectively using two-dimensional movement to resolve the contradiction
2Reliability
If the food product is dispensed from a flexible package at elevated temperature, then bacterial growth is prevented, but product waste increases due to difficulty in completely emptying the package
Solution Approach 1:
The heated roller applies continuous heat and pressure to the flexible package, causing the product to flow outward and completely empty the package. The system essentially serves itself by using heat and pressure to extract the remaining product, eliminating the need for manual squeezing and minimizing waste
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a combination of thermal energy and mechanical pressure (similar to pneumatic/hydraulic principles) to force the viscous product out of the package. The heated roller creates pressure differential that drives the product flow, ensuring complete dispensing without leaving residue
3Reliability
If the flexible package is heated to maintain elevated temperature, then product safety is maintained, but burning hazards increase due to direct contact between the hot package and operator
Solution Approach 1:
The heating function is extracted from the package itself and transferred to a separate heated roller that contacts only the exterior of the package. This separation allows the package to be heated indirectly through the roller, maintaining product temperature while preventing direct operator contact with hot surfaces
Solution Approach 2:
The heated roller acts as an intermediary between the heat source and the product package. It transfers thermal energy to the package while its insulated exterior protects operators from burning hazards, serving as a thermal mediator that enables safe heating operation
4Device complexity
If manual squeezing is used to dispense product from the package, then equipment complexity is reduced, but productivity decreases due to time-consuming dispensing process
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical squeezing action is replaced with an automated heated roller mechanism that applies controlled heat and pressure. This substitution automates the dispensing process, significantly increasing productivity while the roller's simple cylindrical design keeps the added complexity minimal
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus allows for efficient and safe dispensing of flowable products at elevated temperatures, minimizing waste and reducing the risk of contamination by enabling easy reloading and operation, even when placed at elevated positions.
Implementation Method 1
a heated gas flow controller is configured to direct a heated gas flow in the container to heat the product package, the pump, and the dispensing outlet
Implementation Method 2
a fan for generating a positive pressure inside the container which is higher than a pressure outside the container to cause the heated air in the container to flow adjacent the product package, the pump, and the dispensing outlet
Implementation Method 3
a roller in the container dimensioned to span across the package and of sufficient weight to press down on the package to force the product in the package toward the pump
Implementation Method 4
The roller is an insulated roller. The insulation layer has a lower heat capacity value than that of the roller material, so that when the heating is stopped and the unit is opened, the outside surface of the roller cools faster, thus allowing an operator to roll the roller
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for dispensing a flowable product from a product package through a dispensing outlet at or above a preset elevated temperature is disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a container slide structure coupled with a first side of the container and having: a first slide member coupled with a first side of the container; a second slide member extendably coupled with the first slide member; a slide mounting bracket for connecting with a fixed surface coupled to the first slide member; a container tilt structure coupled with a first side of the container and having a: tilt member coupled with the first side of the container and the slide mounting bracket; a slot member having a slot coupled with the first side of said container; a slot engagement member slidably movable in the slot of the slot member coupled with the first side the container and the tilt member; and a pivot member coupled with the first side of the container at a lower back position of the container, enabling the tilting of the container about the pivot member from a horizontal position to a titled position, the titling being constrained by the movement of the slot engagement member in the slot of the slot member. Other embodiments disclose a roller and roller retainer mechanism; and a product package holder.