Storage and Metering Apparatus for Popcorn Popping Oil

This invention relates to the storage and dispensing of popcorn popping oil used in the production of large quantities of popped popcorn. In the production of large quantities of uniformly popped and seasoned popcorn, popcorn popping oil is a critical ingredient which must be delivered in a predetermined quantity, along with the corn to be popped, to the popping kettle at the beginning of a popping cycle.

During the production of popped popcorn, it is desirable that a continuing supply of popcorn popping oil be available without interruption such as might result from a complex arrangement for changing the source of the popping oil. In the past, popcorn popping oil has been provided in five gallon steel pails which hold approximately fifty pounds of popping oil.

In the mass production of large quantities of popcorn, a series of independent poppers may be operated simultaneously with the popcorn popping oil being delivered to each of a plurality of poppers as they begin their respective cycles. In such a popping operation a large quantity of popping oil must be readily available.

In the past, to dispense popcorn popping oil from a steel pail, an operator removes the top from the pail and inserts a pump in the popping oil. The pump is connected to the popcorn making machine with a power cord and a popcorn popping oil discharge tube. The pump, which is submerged in the popcorn popping oil, and rests on the bottom of the pail and is driven by a drive shaft from a motor which is located above the pail. A timer associated with the popcorn machine controls the pump run time and therefore provides a measured volume of popping oil to the popping kettle. A heating element is provided in association with the pump to melt any solidified popping oil and to maintain the popping oil at a viscosity desireable for pumping.

There are some less than desirable features of this system of popcorn popping oil delivery. First, the fifty pound pails are awkward to handle, particularly when a person finds them too heavy to lift with one hand. Second, the steel pails are difficult to dispose of. Sanitation requirements and shipping expenses make it impractical to re-use them. The volume of the pail and small amount of steel in a pail makes it impractical to recycle the pails as scrap steel. Third, the insertion and removal of the pump from the pail of popcorn popping oil is somewhat inconvenient. The pump having been submerged in popping oil, the oil may drip from it as it is moved from an empty to a full pail.

It is an object of this invention to provide a popcorn popping oil storage and delivery system wherein the popping oil is provided in smaller, lighter and more easily handled packages, which packages are more easily disposed of or recycled. It is a further object of the invention to provide a storage and dispensing system such that when one container is exhausted, the dispensing may be continued from a second container with a minimal disruption in supply and in an easily performed manner. Still another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement for dispensing popcorn popping oil wherein a pump does not have to be submerged in the container of popping oil to be dispensed. Another object of the invention is to provide a popcorn popping oil storage and dispensing system which more completely removes all of the popping oil from the supply container in the course of its normal operation.

In accordance with this invention, popcorn popping oil is supplied in a container formed of a plastic bag contained within a box which may be made of cardboard or other similar materials. The plastic bag is provided with a dispensing outlet which in a preferred form is one portion of a quick connect/disconnect service line connector. A housing which is provided for supporting the container of popcorn popping oil includes a heater for raising the temperature of the popping oil so as to melt any solidified popping oil and to lower the viscosity of the popping oil such that it may be more easily pumped. A pump is provided for delivering the popping oil from the container to a popping kettle in a popping machine.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the housing is formed as a rectangular stainless steel structure having a generally open front. The housing includes at least one shelf which slopes downwardly toward the front of the housing. Such that upon the exhaustion of one supply container another may be readily substituted, the housing is provided with either a single sloping shelf large enough to support two containers or two shelves each capable of supporting a single container. A heating element is associated with each of the shelves such that heat may be transferred through the storage containers to the popcorn popping oil, thereby raising the temperature of the popping oil until it reaches a desired viscosity for pumping. In a preferred embodiment of this invention, electrical heating elements are secured to the bottom of the shelves such that heat is transmitted through the shelf and the bottom portion of the container to the popcorn popping oil contained therein. A pump is provided in the housing for transferring the popping oil from a storage container to a popping kettle. In a preferred embodiment, the pump is located at the bottom of the housing under the lowest shelf. The pump input is connected by a flexible tubing to a first portion of a connector which mates with a second portion of a connector which is provided on the container. The pump output is connected by a conduit to discharge popcorn popping oil into the popping kettle.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a popcorn popping oil storage and dispensing system constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the popcorn popping oil storage and dispensing system taken along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of popcorn popping oil storage and dispensing system taken along the line 3--3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a popcorn popper including the popcorn popping oil storage and dispensing system shown in FIGS. 1-3.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, a preferred embodiment of the popcorn popping oil storage and dispensing system of this invention includes a rectangular housing 10, which is formed of stainless steel such that it may be readily cleaned in accordance with customary food handling sanitation requirements. The stainless steel housing is provided with a pair of sidewalls 12 and 14 between and upon which are supported a pair of shelves 16 and 18. As may be observed in FIGS. 1 and 2, both of the shelves 16 and 18 slope downwardly toward the front of the housing. The top shelf 18 also forms the top of the housing. The front 20 of the housing is provided with an opening 22 through which the bottom shelf 16 may be accessed.

Containers of popcorn popping oil 24 and 26 are shown placed on the upper and lower shelves 14 and 16 respectively. The containers 24 and 26 are shown as rectangular boxes 28 and 30 respectively. A flexible bag is placed in each of the boxes to receive and contain popping oil. In FIG. 3, a flexible bag 32, partially filled with popping oil 34, is shown in box 30. The boxes 28 and 30 are typically formed of cardboard or a similar material, which is strong enough to retain the bags filled with popcorn popping oil, but which is also lightweight and preferably recyclable.

As supported by the housing 10, the containers 24 and 26 are each provided with a dispensing connector at the front center lower edge. The dispensing connector is provided with a first portion of a quick connect/disconnect service-line connection 36 which is readily connected to a mating portion 38. As shown in FIG. 1, mating connector portion 38 is secured to the end of a flexible tube 40 through which the popcorn popping oil 34 is drawn from the container.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the quick connect/disconnect service-line connector portions 36 and 38 are such that when they are connected to each other, a flow path is opened through connector portion 36 provided on the storage container such that the popcorn popping oil may flow through the connection to the tube 40. A quick-disconnect service-line connector and valve assembly which may be used is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,146 issued on Dec. 20, 1983 to S. Bond et al.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the tube 40 is connected to an elbow 42 which is in turn connected by a pipe 44 to the inlet port 46 of a pump 48. The pump 48 is provided with an outlet port 50 which is connected by a pipe 52 to an elbow 54. A tube 55 is attached to a connector 56 to provide the popcorn popping oil to a popping kettle 57 located in the top portion of the popper housing as shown in FIG. 4. The flow of popping oil to the popping kettle may be controlled by a metering arrangement which controls energization of a motor 58 which drives the pump 48. Or, the popping oil may be continuously pumped to a static head and controlled by a metering arrangement such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,953 issued Jun. 19, 1973 to Cretors. The pump 48 and motor 58 are supported as an assembly from the bottom surface of lower shelf 16.

Secured to the bottom surface of the bottom shelf 16 is a flat electrical heating element 60. The energization of heating element 60 is controlled by a thermostat 62 which senses the temperature of the lower shelf 16 which is an indication of the temperature of the popcorn popping oil in container 26. The popping oil is heated to and maintained at a temperature which results in the popping oil having a viscosity desirable for pumping and dispensing the popping oil. Similarly, a heating element 61 is secured to the bottom of top shelf 18, as is a thermostat 63 which senses the temperature of the upper shelf 18 which is an indication of the temperature of the popcorn popping oil in container 24. Other electrical components mounted below the lower shelf 16 include an indicator light 64 which indicates when the heating element is energized and a control relay 66 which controls energization of the heating element and the pump. Electrical connections (not shown) between the electrical components located below the lower shelf 16 and the controls in the popcorn popper shown in FIG. 4 extend through a duct 68 at the rear of the housing 10 to an electrical connector 70. A connector (not shown) at the end of an electrical cable extended from the popper is plugged into mating electrical connector 70.

In utilization the storage and dispensing system of this invention, a box-like container of popcorn popping oil is placed on each of the shelves, and the portion 38 of a quick connect/disconnect connector is engaged with mating portion 36 on one of the containers such that popping oil may be supplied through the pump to the poppers. The containers are typically shipped with the portion 38 of the quick connect/disconnect connector confined within the box. Provision is made in the box wall for accessing the portion 38 and pulling it out of the box. Due to the angle B at which the containers are supported, typically 5 to 15 degrees, essentially all of the popcorn popping oil may be withdrawn from the containers through the normal operation of the pump 48. When all of the popcorn popping oil in one of the containers has been removed, the portion 38 of a quick connect/disconnect connector connected to tubing 40 is uncoupled from the portion 36 on the empty container and is, in turn, coupled with portion 36 on a full container. As popcorn popping oil is being dispensed from the second container, the empty first container may be removed and replaced with a full container.

Except when there will be a long interval between the dispensing of popcorn popping oil to the poppers, the heating elements under each of the two shelves 16 and 18 are maintained energized through thermostats such that the popping oil is maintained at the proper viscosity for dispensing.

However, even when the heating elements are maintained energized, the popcorn popping oil may solidify in the pipe 52, elbow 54, connector 56 and the tube (not shown) through which the popcorn popping oil is supplied to the popping kettle. This is particularly true when coconut oil, the preferred popcorn popping oil is used. Coconut oil becomes solid at 76.degree. F. To avoid problems with the popping oil solidifying in the tube (not shown) connected to connector 56 through which the popping oil is supplied to the popping kettle, a bypass path is provided around the pump, such that the popping oil can flow back into the flexible bag 32 when the pump 48 is not running. This bypass path is formed by a pipe 72, which connects pipes 44 and 52. A solenoid operated valve 74 is connected in pipe 72 to control the flow of popping oil through the pipe. The solenoid valve 74 may be a normally open valve which is electrically energized to be closed whenever the motor 58 driving the pump 48 is energized. Thus, popping oil may flow through the pipe 72 only when the pump 48 is not running.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown in the Figures and described, alternate embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, depending upon the space available for storing and dispensing popcorn popping oil in a particular popping machine, the housing could be such that the pair of containers are mounted side by side rather than stacked. Further, if the volume of popping oil to dispense in a desired period of time should exceed the capacity of two containers, two pair of containers could be provided, with two on a lower shelf and two on an upper shelf.

While in accordance with the United State Patents Statutes, a preferred embodiment of invention has been shown and described, various changes may be made in the storage and dispensing arrangement of this invention without parting from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

The appended claims are intended all such changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.