KR100321879B1 - Process filling containers with snack food product and apparatus for use in filling containers with product - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of selling drinks and snacks on sale in one vending machine. If you want to buy a container with a drink and a container with snacks inside, you can put coins or money and select the item you want.You can buy drinks such as soft drinks or snacks like corn chips to one vending machine. Can be. If the container for the drink or the container for the snacks are substantially the same size, the method of the present invention can be carried out using an existing vending machine using a container of uniform size as it is. Also disclosed is an automatic door opening device, which automatically opens the dispensing door of the vending machine when a snack is selected that is too light to open the door by gravity. Also disclosed is a method and apparatus for packaging a snack in a container characterized by arranging the snack in a desired direction by supplying it to a funnel member with a trough, which forms a precisely sized snack portion.

Description

Process filling containers with snack food product and apparatus for use in filling containers with product}

The present invention relates to a method of selling a container by a vending machine or the like, and more particularly, to a method of selling a snack product and a beverage by a single vending machine. The present invention also relates to a novel apparatus and method for storing snacks in cylindrical containers which are one of the containers suitable for sale in vending machines.

Methods of selling beverages, such as soft drinks, to vending machines operated by coin input are well known in the art. In addition, vending machines operated by coin injection can also be used to sell candy, snack foods such as potato chips or pretzels, or packaged foods such as sandwiches.

In the snack food field, salty snack products such as corn chips, cheese snacks, pretzels, and the like are generally used in the form of bags made of flexible packaging films or cans made of cardboard. These packaging films have a composite laminate structure that provides a moisture or oxygen barrier to prevent the product from decaying too quickly or losing its freshness. Also, foods such as peanuts have a resealable lid to maintain the freshness of the product. It is also known that it is packed in a metal can.

In the past, several vending machines were often placed together in a public place such as a station waiting room or a snack bar. Vending machines contain a variety of drinks, snacks and candies that are sold. However, as described above, the products sold for each vending machine were different. In other words, vending machines sell drinks or food, but these two types of products are not sold to a single vending machine. For example, vending machines selling soft drink cans do not sell food. In conclusion, buyers have not been able to conventionally purchase beverages and snack products with vending machines for soft drinks.

The price of the vending machine made it difficult to install in areas where the purifying cycle of the goods sold (for the shelf life of the product) was not sufficient to allow adequate return on investment.

For this reason, it is often found that only beverage vending machines are installed without snack vending machines. In addition, the beverage vending machine requires a refrigeration facility, while the snack vending machine does not need to be installed, so it is often installed in an outdoor place that is not suitable for installing the snack vending machine due to temperature and humidity.

Vending machines for snacks or rest rooms may include ovens for cooking food items purchased from vending machines. Microwave ovens and grocery vending machines that can prepare and sell food products have been known in the art. U.S. Patent 5,147,068 discloses that food products can be sold by conventional soft drink vending machines. However, the 5,147,068 patent discloses a vending machine having a normal use for selling only one item, not about selling both beverages and foodstuffs in one vending machine.

US Patent No. 2,901,964 discloses a vending machine equipped with means for heating a refrigerated sandwich. When the buyer selects a type of sandwich, it is heated by the vending machine. U.S. Patent No. 5,207,784 discloses a monitoring system for monitoring the inventory of goods in remote vending machines. U. S. Patent No. 3,810, 561 discloses a vending machine for discharging a container having a cylindrical cross section through an outlet. The above-mentioned 3,810,561 patent discloses that it is possible to automatically sell other items in cylindrical containers for soda cans. However, as in the above-mentioned patents, the 3,810,561 patent does not disclose a method of selling both beverages and food products from a vending machine for soft drinks.

As a conventional vending machine or vending machine as described above automatically sells beverages or food products, it is not possible to sell both drinks such as soft drinks and snacks such as corn chips with one soft drink vending machine. Therefore, there is a need in the art for such a vending machine.

The present invention provides a method for selling both beverages and snack products in one vending machine, that is, a method for selling both beverages and snacks in a container with the same vending machine. Although not necessary to practice the method of the present invention, it is preferred that the size or shape of the container containing the snack is substantially the same as the size or shape of the beverage container. For example, both types of containers may be aluminum cans with removable openings. In this case, a conventional soft drink vending machine having a refrigeration function can be used as a beverage and snack combination vending machine according to the present invention. That is, the present invention provides a very economical and efficient system capable of selling both refrigerated beverages and snacks by using the existing soft drinks vending machine without the need for repairing.

The invention also includes an article outlet which is opened by the weight of the container sold, ie an automatic article ejection means suitable for a vending machine. For snack containers that are too light to push the outlet, the outlet should remain open until the container passes through the outlet. This aspect of the present invention is intended to provide ease of use in connection with the above-described automated selling method, but is not essential.

In another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus and method for filling a container with a snack are disclosed, wherein the funnel is arranged so that the snack is arranged in the desired direction before the container is filled with the snack. The funnel member has several troughs inside it to which a snack product, such as a pretzel stick, touches and usually arranges the snack in the longitudinal direction. In this way, the snacks can be arranged and introduced longitudinally relative to the container to completely fill the container so that the consumer can easily take out the product.

1A and 1B are elevation views, respectively, of containers containing beverages and containers containing snacks, which may be sold from one vending machine in accordance with the present invention.

2A and 2B are plan views of the container shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively.

3 is a perspective view of a vending machine that can be used to practice the method of the present invention.

4 is a view sequentially showing a process of packaging a snack in a cylindrical container.

5 is a schematic view showing an apparatus for filling a container.

Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of a vending machine capable of selling beverages and snack products in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the barrier door shown in FIG. 6, which includes an apparatus capable of automatically opening the dispensing door of the barrier door for discharging the container to the outlet of the vending machine.

FIG. 8 is an elevation view showing a barrier door portion of the vending machine shown in FIG. 6.

9A and 9B are plan and elevation views, respectively, of the funnel member forming part of the apparatus shown in FIG.

Figures 10a and 10b is a diagram schematically showing that the elongated snack is contained in the funnel member shown in Figures 9a and 9b.

As mentioned above, the present invention provides a method for selling beverages and food products together in one vending machine. For convenience, a device that may be useful for practicing the method of the present invention is referred to collectively as a vending machine. Such devices may include, but are not limited to, conventional soft drink vending machines operated by coin injection, as is known in the art.

1 shows a container 10 containing a beverage and a container 30 containing a snack. Preferably, the beverage container 10 is aluminum and has the same shape and size as that sold in a typical soft drink vending machine. The beverage container 10 is a conventional recyclable body having an open label (14 in FIG. 2A), such as a pop-top or the like, with a body 12 with an appropriate trademark text as shown in FIG. 1A. It may be in the form of an aluminum can. The stopper 14 is conventional as is already known in the art and has a pull ring 16 which forms an opening by pressing a hole in a predetermined area 18 of the upper surface 20 when it is flipped upward. Include.

Likewise, the container 30 containing the snack product may be a recyclable aluminum can with a trademarked body 32 and an easily opened stopper (34 in FIG. 2B). As will be described below, using a container of the same or nearly the same shape and size as a conventional soft drink can, a conventional soft drink vending machine can be used in the practice of the present invention. The stopper 34 removes almost the entirety of the upper surface 40 of the container 30, for example, as shown in FIG. 1B. It differs from the stopper 14 of the beverage container 10 in that the contents such as a cheesy snack marketed by Prito-Lay Incorporated under the trade name can be taken out. The upper surface can be easily removed by holding the pull ring 36 and pulling it upwards by applying pressure to a predetermined area 38 of the upper surface 34. This type of stopper is already known in the art and will not be discussed further here.

The size of the vessels 10, 30 can be arbitrarily determined. For example, the container may contain 12 or 16 ounces (350 or 500 kPa) of liquid or may have other capacities. Although only the container 10 contains a beverage, both the container 10 and the container 30 are represented by liquid volume. In the present preferred embodiment, the container 10 and the container 30 have a 12-ounce volume of liquid and can therefore be sold as a vending machine for conventional soft drinks.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a vending machine that can sell both food and beverages in accordance with the present invention. The vending machine 100 includes an outer housing 102, a coin or money inlet 104, an item selection button 106 and an item outlet 108. The vending machine 100 includes a front door 100 which is connected to the housing 102 by a pivot, which can be opened and closed. When the front door 100 is opened, an article storage area is provided so that the interior of the vending machine 100 can be opened. Supplies and collects the goods. The front door 110 of the vending machine 100 may draw a suitable advertisement 112 (as shown in FIG. 1) representing the beverages and snacks being sold by the vending machine.

The operation of the vending machine 100 is well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described further herein. As mentioned above, the method of the present invention can be implemented using a conventional soft drink vending machine, and therefore does not require a specially designed vending machine. Therefore, the principle of the device operated by the input of coins or money will not be explained in more detail. The method of the present invention can be realized by a vending machine having a sufficient internal space for storing a container containing a beverage or snack, and a selection means by which the user can put a predetermined coin or currency into the vending machine and select the desired item. have. Therefore, by using a portion of the soft drink storage place as a snack storage place, a conventional vending machine for soft drinks can be used. Thus, in the present invention, a track-like structure, for example, instead of discharging the container containing the snack from the stack of the storage area to the outlet, removes the container containing the soft drink from the stack at a portion of the storage area. Used to carry to the outlet.

Those skilled in the art can implement the method of the present invention (as described above) using conventional vending machines, but such vending machines will be discussed for clarity.

Conventional soft drinks vending machines typically have a plurality of holding stacks having a predetermined width and depth enough to accommodate a container for soft drinks. The dispenser mechanism is usually located at the bottom of each holding track and can be operated by a drive mechanism. The drive means, responding to the purchaser's choice, actuates each dispenser means to discharge the soft drink container through the outlet of the vending machine. For example, US Pat. No. 4,991,740 discloses a known type of vending machine that can be used to practice the method of the present invention. The 4,991,740 patent discloses a vending machine comprising a horizontally positioned container stack each having a release mechanism and one outlet as disclosed in FIGS. 1-5 and 10-4 of the specification. Which is incorporated herein by reference. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that vending machines or vending machines having other structures may likewise be used.

Other known vending machines can also be used in the practice of the present invention, as well as for example vending machines comprising horizontally positioned container stacks. U.S. Patent No. 4,483,459 discloses a vending machine having a vertically positioned container stack as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the specification. The operating method of the vending machine disclosed in the 4,483,459 patent is described in FIGS. 2-5 and 2-2 of the patent specification, which is incorporated herein by reference.

6 illustrates a vending machine 200 constructed in accordance with the present invention. The vending machine 200 includes a housing 202, a barrier door 220 and a front door 240. The housing 202 may include a separate area 204 for receiving the container stack as is known in the art, with a drop allowing the container to slide down as the buyer selects and inserts coins or money. Have a drop chute 208. As discussed above with respect to the vending machine 100, the vending machine 200 has a dispensing gate or other means disposed outside the respective area 204 in which the container is housed and discharging the container to the drop chute 208. A drive motor (not shown) for actuation is provided. As explained below, the container is smoothed down into the drop chute and sold through the outlet formed in the barrier door 220.

The barrier door 220 is connected to the housing 202 by a hinge 210 so that it can move forward and can be detached from the housing. Barrier doors are typically made of insulating material and, when closed, block or reduce heat transfer between the interior of the housing 202 and the surrounding environment. In the form of the vending machine shown in FIG. 6, the dispensing or trap door 224 connected by the hinge is blocking the outlet of the barrier door 220, and the container is moved by gravity to the drop chute of the housing 202. It slides down the bottom of 208 and touches the door 224 and is pushed open by this container. However, as mentioned above, the container containing the snack is considerably lighter than the container containing the beverage, so using this type of vending machine will allow the dispensing door 224 even if the snack slides down to the drop chute 208 by gravity. The problem arises that it cannot be opened. As discussed below, the present invention includes means (226 shown in FIG. 6) that can automatically open the dispensing door 224 of the barrier door 220. Preferably, this means is operated only when a snack is selected to open the dispensing door 224 before the container containing the snack descends along the chute 208 and reaches the door 224. The container passes through the open dispensing door 224 of the barrier door 220 and then descends below the dispensing passage 246 formed in the front door 240 of the vending machine 200 to the dispensing outlet 248. This allows the buyer to easily take out the container. The front door 240 is also connected to the housing 202 by a hinge 210 and includes a glyph display area 242, a coin inlet 244, and the dispensing passage 246 and outlet 248 described above. .

7 shows a somewhat schematic representation of a dispensing door opening device 226 in accordance with the present invention. The device 226 includes a solenoid 227 attached to the inner surface 222 of the barrier door 220 shown in FIG. 6. Solenoid 227 includes an arm 230 that can actuate the solenoid in the desired direction by a suitable electrical signal. For example, solenoid 227, including wire 236, receives the same signal and uses it as the power source of the motor for the dispensing gate of each dispensing section 204 of the vending machine. When the shopper selects a snack, an electrical signal that powers the motor for the dispensing gate of the section 204 where the snack is located also powers the solenoid 227. When the dispensing gate is open, the container containing the snack may move out of the stack or storage stack to the drop chute 208. The electrical signal causes the arm 230 of the solenoid 227 to move downward in the direction of arrow (B). Door contact member 228, which may be a stiff wire, has two ends, one end 232 of which is attached to arm 230 of solenoid 227, and the other end 225 is outside of the vending machine. It is made in the shape which protrudes in the lateral direction, ie, the direction in which the dispensing door 224 opens. The door contact member 228 is connected to the surface 222 by a pivot connection (P in FIG. 7) located between the two ends. The stiff wire should have a shape as shown, while the actuating member used to contact the door is not limited in type, size or shape.

8 shows one possible assembly that can be used to convert the operation of arm 230 of solenoid 227 into a force that acts to open door 224 in the normal transverse direction A. As shown in FIG. Bracket 250 has a pair of ears 252 attached to surface 222 and having openings therebetween. The door contact member 228 has a protrusion 254 located between the openings in the ear 252 and the ear 252 having the arranged opening and a pivot pin 256 located in the arranged openings. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when solenoid 227 is actuated, arm 230 moves downward in direction B (see FIG. 8), which causes door contact member 228 to connect connection P. FIG. By turning about an axis, one end 225 of said member 228 moves outward along arrow A. As shown in FIG. When the dispensing door 224 is opened by the solenoid 227, the container (C in FIG. 7) descends from the supply track along the drop chute to reach the barrier door 220.

However, if one vessel is farther from the dispensing door 224 than the other, for example located behind the section 204, the time it takes for the vessel to move from the storage point to the door 224. Door 224 must be open for as long as sufficient time. The door opening means of the present invention is characterized in that it is possible to extend the opening time for the door 224 to be open for a sufficient time. Capacitors provide a mechanism with a certain time constant that allows the door to remain open long enough for the container to reach an open dispensing door, regardless of the location of the container stored in the vending machine. Can be used. In consideration of the vending capacity of the vending machine, a specific capacitor is selected to obtain a predetermined time constant so that the door is opened for as long as necessary.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the automatic door opening device of the present invention may be constructed in many other ways and that the mechanism operated by the solenoid is only one possible structure. In addition, the structure of the specific door contact member is not critical and may be in any form as long as the door can be opened. For example, if a solenoid is used, the solenoid may be installed vertically at any position of the vending machine, and likewise, the door opening member may have a structure in which the dispensing door can be vertically attached at any position. The particular structure of the vending machine affects how and where to place the vending machine, for example near the wire used to power the solenoid, or on a wall with an open surface area. Moreover, any type of vending machine can be used. For example, a vending machine having one or more outlet doors may be used, wherein the device of the present invention may control some or all of the one or more doors. In any case, whether or not a solenoid is used, the present invention provides an automatic door opening mechanism in which the dispenser door of the vending machine is opened before the container containing the snacks reaches the door, and the container may be The door remains open for a sufficient time to reach. Of course, the mechanism can be opened automatically whenever a product is selected as needed.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the container 30 containing snacks is pressurized to about 5-15 psi (pounds per square inch) so that the container (and snacks contained therein) is not broken or damaged during transportation or storage. Gives.

In FIG. 4, a method of filling a cylindrical container 300 with a snack will be described below. The empty container 300, whose upper lid is known, is placed in a flushing station 310 and washed with nitrogen gas to remove all oxygen present in the empty container. The container is then sent to a filling station 320 equipped with a device or assembly comprising a filling head to supply a predetermined amount of snack (eg corn chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, etc.) from the supply 330. To fill the empty container 300. The filling device may be in any form, such as a rotary table, a conveyor belt or a system. As discussed below, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for filling a container that can completely fill the container with an appropriate amount of snack. By properly controlling the container 300 during the filling process, the amount of snacks contained in the container must be adjusted to be constant. Preferably the snacks themselves are also cleaned with nitrogen gas to remove oxygen trapped in the snacks to further extend the shelf life of the snacks. The cleaning of such snacks may be carried out before filling the snacks into the containers or by placing the snacks in the containers (but before sealing the containers) by passing the container containing the snacks through the region 340 (optionally shown). . Region 340 includes a nitrogen-rich atmosphere, which can remove oxygen during passage of the container containing the snack, and may be in the form of a tunnel, chamber, or the like. It is desirable to lower the oxygen content in the snack to 2% or less to maintain the freshness of the snack and to extend the shelf life.

Subsequently, the container is placed in the sealing chamber 350 to cover and seal the lid. The vessel is sealed while maintaining it in a nitrogen atmosphere as in region 340 of FIG. The lid used to seal the container is designed to be easily removable as described above for example in FIG. 2B. In one preferred embodiment, the container containing the snack is placed in a small amount of liquid nitrogen as shown at 345 in FIG. 4 before sealing the container. Evaporation of liquid nitrogen after sealing the vessel provides the vessel with additional internal pressure, resulting in greater resistance to breakage or deformation. In addition, if you increase the internal pressure of the container containing the snack like this, when the lid is opened, the sound tells that the snack is not soaked and fresh. As shown in Figures 1B and 2B, the purchaser simply pulls the ring 36 to completely remove the lid 40 so that the container 30 containing the snack is opened so that the snack can be taken out.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of arranging a snack in an elongated form, then filling into a container and packaging it. This aspect of the invention relates to a method of filling a container with a snack, which will be explained below; However, those skilled in the art know that this aspect can be used to fill the container with something else, both food and non-food.

In order to fill the container with the snack, the snack is first separated into the desired size. In the art, a statistical weigher known in the art is precisely used as a potion for transferring the snack to the container filling device by gravity, for example. Can be used to separate. This potion passes through the receiver (in a large funnel) and the transition chute in sequence. The transition chute is preferably a soft hollow member in which the receiver is associated with the filling device. The filling device includes an outlet or filling funnel located above the position of supporting the container, through which the snack is poured into the open container inlet. The opening of the container is relatively small, especially where the size and shape of the container in which the snack is contained corresponds to the beverage container or beverage can. For example, the width or diameter of the opening of such a container is about 1.5-3 inches, which is smaller than a small snack bag, usually 3-4 inches. As discussed below, filling an elongated snack into a container tends to bridge the snack at the opening. That is, pouring a snack with a small diameter (or thickness) to length ratio through the filling funnel can block the opening of the container. Many snacks may include large or long pieces, such as fret sticks, or those having such a shape. Therefore, a problem may arise in putting such an elongate snack into a container.

In a method of filling a container with a snack according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, a metered snack portion is formed at a rate of less than 125 / min, dropped, and then separated from each other. The size of the potion you want will depend on the density and shape of the snack, but will range from 0.5 to 4.5 ounces. The weight of each potion stays within 1-2g of the desired weight. If all the snacks in the potion are released at the same time to reach the container filling device at the same time, a bridge is formed in the opening of the container by the snack and the opening is blocked, so that the snack can no longer be filled. In order to prevent such a bridge phenomenon, the snacks may be dispersed or staggered to prevent them from reaching the container filling device at the same time. It is also desirable to vibrate the funnel of the filling device used to put the snack into the container to vibrate the container itself from just before the snack arrives until the snack enters the container.

As mentioned above, there is another difficulty in filling the container with snacks, such as pretzels sticks or large corn chips, including snacks of large size or small thickness to length ratio. In particular, when such a large or small thickness-to-length ratio snack reaches the opening of the container in a random manner, a bridge is formed or the opening is blocked. According to the present invention, the snacks can be effectively filled by arranging these pieces evenly before pouring the snack into the opening of the container. To arrange the snacks, provide at least one trough that forms a wavy surface with raised and lowered portions inside one (or more) funnels used to carry the snacks. When troughs are in contact with the snacks passing through the funnel and these snacks are normally arranged longitudinally, the trough does not form a bridge when the snack enters the container. In addition, it is also possible to improve the arrangement of the snack by vibrating any of the funnel or conveyor member, wherein the vibration period or amplitude may be determined differently depending on the type of snack to be filled.

Referring to FIG. 5, a device for filling a container with a snack is shown schematically, which includes a circular conveyor or similar conveyor 500 for transporting a snack 510. The conveyor is equipped with a slide gate 520 that operates to pour a predetermined amount of snack 510 into a vibration cross feeder 530. The cross feeder 530 carries the snack 510 to the meter 540 in response to the demand of the snack. The meter may be a statistical meter having a structure known in the art. The meter 540 weighs the correct snack portion and delivers it to the large funnel shaped receiver 550. As shown in FIG. 5, the receiver 550 may be integrally formed with the meter and is supported by a frame 542 of the meter. However, receiver 550 may be a separate component mounted to meter 540 or a component located adjacent thereto. The snack portion passes through the receiver 550 to the transition chute 570. The transition chute is coupled with the outlet of the receiver 550 together with the vessel filling device 580. The snack is transferred from the receiver 550 to the filling funnel 582 of the filling device 580 via the transition chute 570, which supports and vibrates the container C while filling the snack. The inclusion of the support 584 allows the snacks to be well-organized in the container and further prevents bridges from occurring.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the receiver 550 is made in a funnel shape and includes an inlet 552, an outlet 554, an interior 556, and an exterior 558. The receiver 550 is provided with one or more troughs 560 that include a raised portion 562 and a lowered portion 564. The trough 560 may be formed as part of the receiver 550 or may optionally be formed as separator member (s) lying or attached to the receiver. In either case, the interior 556 of the receiver 550 has a grooved or wavy shape provided by the trough 560 (as shown in FIG. 9A). The trough is preferably oriented longitudinally from the inlet to the outlet of the receiver so that the snack passes longitudinally through the trough and is delivered to the container filling device.

Snack P is poured into receiver 550 in a random orientation as shown in FIG. 10A. The snack P is arranged at the bottom 562 of the trough 560 as shown in FIG. 10B because the snack slides down or is carried through the receiver 550, particularly the trough 560 of the receiver. Snacks are usually arranged in the longitudinal direction and thus slide down the trough in an 'end first' manner. The snack enters the filling panel 582 of the device 584 in a manner of arrangement, and the snack is discharged into the container without forming a bridge or blocking the opening of the container. The trough 560 preferably includes a portion 566 having a gentle slope that can receive a falling snack to help ensure that the snack is properly arranged by preventing the snack from excessively bouncing or moving undesirably. .

Although not required to practice the invention, it is preferred that the trough 560 be provided along the entire inner surface of the receiver 550. In addition, although only the receiver 550 appears to include the trough 560, the transition chute, filling funnel and other members used to carry the snack also have such a trough so that the snack is arranged before being put into the container. can do.

In another aspect, the filling funnel 582 is formed in an 'S' shape with an offset portion such that the snack can be arranged before the snack is filled in the container as the distance the snack travels becomes longer. The filling funnel itself is in the form of a trough. For example, the filling funnel may be half the tube and may have a semi-cylindrical shape over at least a portion of its total length. Therefore, the snack is passed through the transition chute to a vibrating filling funnel, arranged longitudinally and then placed in a can. In this aspect, the receiver (or other conveying member) at the top of the filling funnel may or may not have a trough. In addition, some or all of the other conveying members may vibrate to assist in the transport and arrangement of the snack.

As noted above, an important advantage in packaging snacks in containers having substantially the same size and shape as the cans for soft drinks is that conventional vending machines for soft drinks can be used to practice the present invention. Therefore, it is not necessary to use cans with similar sizes and shapes to package or pack snack products, but in a preferred aspect of the present invention both beverage and snack containers are used as having the same size.

Another advantage of using the vending machine for soft drinks in practicing the method of the present invention is that, due to the refrigeration atmosphere in the vending machine, the snack product can be kept fresh for a long time as compared to when stored at ambient temperature. Low storage temperatures delay the dispersal of the oil in the snack product to maintain the flavor of the snack for a long time.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific aspects, it is obvious that these aspects are merely examples for applying the principles of the invention. Various other structures and arrangements can be devised with these aspects without departing from the scope of the invention.

The present invention provides a method for packaging beverages and snack products at the same time as a vending machine as well as a method for packaging snack products in a cylindrical container suitable for sale from the vending machine. The present invention also provides an apparatus and method for effectively filling a container with a snack comprising elongated pieces by arranging the snack before placing in the container. Aspects of the present invention are particularly useful for filling cylindrical cans with stacked products, such as pretzels.

Claims (18)

Supplying a large amount of snacks; Forming a snack into a plurality of portions having a predetermined size; Passing at least one snack portion through a tubular member having an inlet and an outlet and comprising at least one trough located between the inlet and the outlet, wherein the snack is an inlet of the tubular member. Entering and contacting at least one trough to arrange in a desired direction; Providing an empty container with an inlet open; And Supplying the snack through the tubular member toward the open inlet, such that the snack is arranged in the desired direction. The method of claim 1, further comprising oscillating the tubular member while the snack is being conveyed to the container. The chute of claim 1, wherein the tubular member is funnel-shaped with at least one trough formed therein, the snack being conveyed through a outlet of the tubular member to a filling device for filling the container with the snack. Characterized in that delivered. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container has a diameter of the inlet smaller than the length of the container and the cylinder is open at the inlet, and the snack is arranged in a substantially desired direction by the tubular member and is delivered toward the open inlet. How to. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising a filling chamber supporting the container under the discharge funnel, wherein the snack is passed through the tubular member and the discharge funnel to the container. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising vibrating the container while the snack is discharged into the container. 2. The tubular member of claim 1, wherein the tubular member comprises a plurality of troughs, the inner surface of which comprises a plurality of troughs and a trough, wherein the snacks are arranged substantially longitudinally through the trough in the longitudinal direction. Characterized in that the method. The method of claim 1 wherein the trough extends from the inlet to the outlet of the tubular member and includes a gently sloped portion capable of receiving a snack. 2. The snack according to claim 1, wherein said tubular member is funnel shaped and a plurality of U-shaped troughs are arranged around the periphery of the funnel so that the snacks are arranged longitudinally so that the snack can be easily fed into the container. How to fill the container with. An open first end, an open second end, an inner and outer surface lying between the first end and the second end, one end larger than the other to accommodate a snack of the first and second ends An apparatus comprising a funnel member having a hollow comprising: The inner surface of the funnel member having a hollow extends between the first and second ends and includes at least one elongated trough for receiving an elongated snack and for arranging it longitudinally, Wherein said at least one trough is provided with a raised portion and a lowered portion on an inner surface of the member having a hollow to accommodate the elongated snacks and to arrange them longitudinally. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising means for vibrating the funnel member. 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the funnel member is shaped like a U-shaped trough. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the funnel member comprises a plurality of troughs formed around its periphery. Supplying a large amount of the elongated snack; Separating the large amount of snacks into portions having a predetermined size; Feeding a snack comprising long pieces to a grooved funnel member on the inner surface and arranging them substantially longitudinally; Conveying at least one portion of the elongated snack arranged longitudinally through a funnel member; And 10. A method of filling a container with an elongated snack comprising the step of filling the container with the long pieces arranged longitudinally. The method of claim 14, wherein the container is a metal can. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the vessel can contain 12 ounces of liquid. The method of claim 14, wherein the container has a capacity of at least 12 ounces. 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising passing the snack through a trough shaped sigmoidal filling tube for feeding the snack to the container filling device.