Abstract: A product dispenser having a storage hopper, a rotatable drum with paddles on a periphery thereof located at a bottom of the storage hopper, and a drive motor connected to the rotatable drum. Rotation of the drum causes product, preferably frozen food product, to dispense from the open bottom of the hopper to a weighing/dispensing assembly which includes dump doors on which product to be dispensed is accumulated. The dump doors are connected to a support assembly that is movable into and out of contact with a load cell. A single weighing/dispensing motor drives a gearbox that includes an actuator shaft moves the support assembly into and out of contact with the load cell and also activates the dump doors to dispense accumulated product when a desired amount accumulates. A controller is provided and is configured to actuate the drive motor and control a dispensing cycle.

Abstract: An improved dispenser unit for dispensing bulk food items, including a cabinet having at least one hopper having a drum with product compartments, a deflector and flexible gate valve, a dispense assembly, and a control system. The dispense assembly may or may not include one or more belts and/or sensors. The product compartments include flexible and/or elastic membranes, which dynamically change the effective product storage volume within a compartment, and eliminate rigid or semi-rigid pinch points between the drum and drum compartment. A product flow divider may be positioned above the receiving container in the dispense assembly, said divider configured to cause the dispensed product to divide into two or more flow streams into the receiving container. The receiving container may be vibrated or oscillated.

Abstract: A carrier basket support and stabilizing system for a carrier basket having increased weight carrying capacity is provided. The system includes a plurality of cars configured to travel along a pathway, with at least some support groups including two of the cars having a carrier basket support connected thereto. The carrier basket support has a support plate connected to the first car via a pivoting connection and connected to the second car by a pivoting and sliding connection such that the cars can pivot relative to the support plate and a distance between the first and second cars can change during traversal of curves along the pathway. A support connection on the support plate is configured for connection to a mating connection on a back support of the carrier basket to allow pivoting of the carrier basket so its support surface can remain generally horizontal during movement on the pathway.

Abstract: A self-damping carrier basket pivot connection for a carrier basket transporter system having cars configured to travel along a pathway, at least some of which have a carrier basket pivotally connected thereto. The pivot connection includes a support connection configured for attachment a car. The support connection has at least three connection rollers that define a circular envelope and a mating connection configured to be attached to a back support of the carrier basket. The mating connection includes a housing with a part circular track that generally corresponds to or is larger than the circular envelope such that the rollers can be located within the part circular track. The part circular track includes at least one inwardly directed protrusion.

Abstract: An improved dispenser unit for dispensing bulk food items, including a cabinet having at least one hopper having a drum with product compartments, a deflector and flexible gate valve, a dispense assembly, and a control system. The dispense assembly may or may not include one or more belts and/or sensors. The product compartments include flexible and/or elastic membranes, which dynamically change the effective product storage volume within a compartment, and eliminate rigid or semi-rigid pinch points between the drum and drum compartment. A product flow divider may be positioned above the receiving container in the dispense assembly, said divider configured to cause the dispensed product to divide into two or more flow streams into the receiving container. The receiving container may be vibrated or oscillated.

Abstract: An improved dispenser unit for dispensing bulk food items, including a cabinet having at least one hopper having a drum with product compartments, a deflector and flexible gate valve, a dispense assembly, and a control system. The dispense assembly may or may not include one or more belts and/or sensors. The product compartments include flexible and/or elastic membranes, which dynamically change the effective product storage volume within a compartment, and eliminate rigid or semi-rigid pinch points between the drum and drum compartment. A product flow divider may be positioned above the receiving container in the dispense assembly, said divider configured to cause the dispensed product to divide into two or more flow streams into the receiving container. The receiving container may be vibrated or oscillated.

Abstract: An improved dispenser unit for dispensing bulk food items, including a cabinet having at least one hopper having a drum with product compartments, a deflector and flexible gate valve, a dispense assembly, and a control system. The dispense assembly may or may not include one or more belts and/or sensors. The product compartments include flexible and/or elastic membranes, which dynamically change the effective product storage volume within a compartment, and eliminate rigid or semi-rigid pinch points between the drum and drum compartment. A product flow divider may be positioned above the receiving container in the dispense assembly, said divider configured to cause the dispensed product to divide into two or more flow streams into the receiving container. The receiving container may be vibrated or oscillated.

Abstract: A conveyor system that utilizes a curved, closed-loop pathway defined by a profiled track and a plurality of wheel cars movably contained within and guided by the profiled track. The wheel cars have an attachment side facing towards an open side of the profiled track, and the track is arranged such that its open side faces into a substantially horizontal direction and such that the attachment side of the cars is oriented substantially vertically in any position along the pathway. One or more carriers, each having a carrier rack adapted to support a food product to be transported, are mounted to the attachment side of a respective one of the wheel cars. The carriers can pivot about an axis perpendicular to the attachment side of the corresponding car so as to maintain the carrier rack in a horizontal position as the carrier travels along the pathway.

Abstract: An exhaust hood includes a housing, which is open towards a bottom face to capture cooking by-products from a cooking appliance positioned below the exhaust hood. The housing has a first wall and a second wall opposite to the first wall. The second wall is at least partly inclined inwardly from the bottom face towards a top face of the housing and has an exhaust vent to extract cooking by-products captured by the housing. The exhaust hood has a fresh air fan and the first wall forms a first duct which has openings located in a row along a lower edge of the first wall adjacent to the bottom face and oriented inside the housing. A side wall extension extends from one side wall and forms a lateral skirt that defines a pass-through window having vertically and horizontally extending faces.

Abstract: A conveyor system utilizes a curved, closed-loop pathway defined by a profiled track and a plurality of wheel cars movably contained within and guided by the profiled track. The wheel cars have an attachment side facing towards an open side of the profiled track, and the track is arranged such that its open side faces into a substantially horizontal direction and such that the attachment side of said cars is oriented substantially vertically in any position along the pathway. One or more carriers, each having a carrier rack adapted to support a food product to be transported, are mounted to the attachment side of a respective one of the wheel cars. The carriers can pivot about an axis perpendicular to the attachment side of the corresponding car so as to maintain the carrier rack in a horizontal position as the carrier travels along the pathway.

Abstract: A device for storing food products at hot temperature, having an outer housing, an inner housing that is at least partially contained inside the outer housing, and a fan chamber defined within the inner housing, the fan chamber (5) having at least one air inlet and outlet. A fan is located inside the fan chamber, and a heating element is installed in the fan chamber. At least one food tray defines a space for holding the food products therein. A first air flow path for guiding a first air flow is defined from outside of the outer housing to the air inlet of the fan chamber, the first flow path extending between the outer housing and the inner housing, and a second air flow path for guiding a second air flow is defined from the air outlet of the fan chamber to the space inside the at least one food tray, and the heating element is located in the second air flow path.

Abstract: An exhaust hood includes a housing, which is open towards a bottom face to capture cooking by-products from a cooking appliance positioned below the exhaust hood. The housing has a first wall and a second wall opposite to the first wall. The second wall is at least partly inclined inwardly from the bottom face towards a top face of the housing and has an exhaust vent to extract cooking by-products captured by the housing. The exhaust hood has a fresh air fan and the first wall forms a first duct which has openings located in a row along a lower edge of the first wall adjacent to the bottom face and oriented inside the housing. A side wall extension extends from one side wall and forms a lateral skirt that defines a pass-through window having vertically and horizontally extending faces.

Abstract: An exhaust hood includes a housing, which is open towards a bottom face to capture cooking by-products from a cooking appliance positioned below the exhaust hood. The housing has at least a first wall and a second wall opposite to the first wall. The second wall is at least partly inclined inwardly from the bottom face towards a top face of the housing and has an exhaust vent that communicates with an exhaust fan to extract cooking by-products captured by the housing. The exhaust hood has a fresh air fan and the first wall is shaped to form a first duct which has a number of openings located in a row along a lower edge of the first wall adjacent to the bottom face and oriented to the inside of said housing. The first duct is in communication with the fresh air fan to inject air streams through the openings into the housing in a direction substantially parallel to the bottom face. This creates a vertical flat air stream directed from the first wall towards the second wall.

Abstract: An improved dispenser unit for dispensing bulk food items, including a cabinet having at least one hopper having a drum with product compartments, a deflector and flexible gate valve, a dispense assembly, and a control system. The dispense assembly may or may not include one or more belts and/or sensors. The product compartments include flexible and/or elastic membranes, which dynamically change the effective product storage volume within a compartment, and eliminate rigid or semi-rigid pinch points between the drum and drum compartment. A product flow divider may be positioned above the receiving container in the dispense assembly, said divider configured to cause the dispensed product to divide into two or more flow streams into the receiving container. The receiving container may be vibrated or oscillated.

Abstract: An exhaust hood includes a housing, which is open towards a bottom face to capture cooking by-products from a cooking appliance positioned below the exhaust hood. The housing has at least a first wall and a second wall opposite to the first wall. The second wall is at least partly inclined inwardly from the bottom face towards a top face of the housing and has an exhaust vent that communicates with an exhaust fan to extract cooking by-products captured by the housing. The exhaust hood has a fresh air fan and the first wall is shaped to form a first duct which has a number of openings located in a row along a lower edge of the first wall adjacent to the bottom face and oriented to the inside of said housing. The first duct is in communication with the fresh air fan to inject air streams through the openings into the housing in a direction substantially parallel to the bottom face. This creates a vertical flat air stream directed from the first wall towards the second wall.