Food dispensers

Abstract

A food product dispenser has a hinged lid which can be converted between a self-closing lid and a lid which is not self-closing and, in the non-self-closing configuration, can be retained open by gravity, including while the dispenser is in a frontwardly-tilted orientation. The invention includes methods of making the lid conversion while setting up the dispenser, illustratively by inspecting one or all of the hinge structures and adding a hinge stop to a hinge structure, or removing a hinge stop from the hinge structure, in light of the result of the inspection. An optional frontwardly-disposed down panel may have a planar surface or surface element which can be printed with graphics and/or a textual message.

1 . A hinged-lid food product container, comprising:
 (a) a receptacle, said receptacle having a front and a rear, and opposing sides, and comprising
 (i) a bottom wall, 
 (ii) a plurality of upstanding walls, including opposing side walls, extending upwardly from said bottom wall to tops of the respective said upstanding walls, 
 (iii) a top opening defined inwardly of the tops of respective ones of said upstanding walls, and 
 (iv) receptacle flanges extending outwardly and downwardly from said upstanding walls, respective opposing ones of said receptacle flanges defining outwardly-extending portions and downwardly-extending portions, hinge-receiving apertures being defined in said outwardly-extending portions, 
 said bottom wall and said upstanding walls collectively defining a cavity inside said receptacle, the cavity being accessible through the top opening, said bottom wall having a top facing toward the cavity and a bottom facing away from the cavity; 
   (b) a lid overlying at least a portion of the cavity,   (c) first and second hinges, including respective first and second hinge leaves, extending down from said lid and through, and thus engaging with, the receptacle flanges at the hinge-receiving apertures; and   (d) a hinge stop engaging the combination of the respective said hinge leaf and the respective said receptacle flange as said lid is opened and thereby providing a self-closing feature to said lid.   
     
     
         2 . A hinged-lid container as in  claim 1 , further comprising a hinge aperture in said downwardly-extending portion of a given said receptacle flange. 
     
     
         3 . A hinged-lid condiment container as in  claim 1  wherein said hinge stop comprises removable structure which moves with said hinge leaf and thereby engages said outwardly-extending portion of at least one of said receptacle flanges. 
     
     
         4 . A hinged-lid condiment container as in  claim 1 , further comprising a stop mounted to a said hinge leaf, said stop being disposed below the respective said outwardly-extending portion of a respective one of said receptacle flanges when said lid is closed over the respective portion of the opening, and operative to abut said outwardly-extending portion of the respective said receptacle flange when said lid is raised. 
     
     
         5 . A hinged-lid container as in  claim 4  wherein said stop comprises an insert having a rubber-like material on an engagement surface which abuts said outwardly-extending portion of the respective said receptacle flange when said lid is raised. 
     
     
         6 . A hinged-lid container as in  claim 1  wherein said hinge stop is mounted on the respective said hinge leaf. 
     
     
         7 . A hinged-lid container as in  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of trays received in the cavity, and the lid self-closing over said trays. 
     
     
         8 . A hinged lid container as in  claim 1 , further comprising one or more trays suspended from said receptacle flanges and extending into the cavity, the cavity having sufficient depth below said one or more trays to accommodate use of frozen chill product beneath the one or more trays without physical interference with placement of said one or more trays into the cavity. 
     
     
         9 . A method of managing a supply of condiment dispensers in a food service operation, the method comprising:
 (a) selecting, as a such condiment dispenser, a dispenser comprising
 (i) a receptacle, the receptacle having a front and a rear, and opposing sides, and comprising
 (A) a bottom wall, 
 (B) a plurality of upstanding walls, including opposing side walls, extending upwardly from the bottom wall, to tops of the respective side walls, 
 (C) a top opening defined inwardly of the tops of respective ones of the upstanding walls, 
 (D) receptacle flanges extending outwardly and downwardly from said upstanding walls, respective opposing ones of said receptacle flanges defining outwardly-extending portions and downwardly-extending portions, hinge-receiving apertures being defined in said outwardly-extending portions, and 
 (E) the bottom wall and the upstanding walls collectively defining a cavity inside the receptacle, the cavity being accessible through the top opening, 
 
 (ii) a lid overlying at least a portion of the cavity, and 
 (iii) first and second hinges, including respective first and second hinge leaves, extending down from the lid and through, and thus engaging with, the receptacle flanges at the hinge-receiving apertures; 
   (b) identifying a particular condiment product to be next placed in the selected condiment dispenser, and determining whether the lid should be self-closing or should remain open during use;   (c) inspecting the hinge leaves to determine whether a hinge stop is present and effective to provide a stopping action effective to stop hinge action and thereby make the lid a self-closing lid, or no hinge stop is present whereby the lid can be held in an open configuration by force of gravity;   (d) as a result of the inspection, making a hinge-stop decision regarding whether a hinge stop should be installed on, or removed from, a hinge leaf, or no change should be made, in order for the lid hinging action to comply with the determination regarding whether the lid should be self-closing or should remain open during use; and   (e) acting according to the hinge-stop decision.   
     
     
         10 . A method as in  claim 9 , further comprising a hinge access opening in the downwardly-extending portion of a given such receptacle flange, facilitating inspection of the hinges and facilitating adding or removing such hinge stop. 
     
     
         11 . A method as in  claim 9 , further comprising an aperture in a such hinge leaf, which aperture is below the respective outwardly-extending portion of a respective one of the receptacle flanges when the lid is closed over the respective portion of the opening, the method further comprising inserting a hinge stop in such aperture or removing a hinge stop from such aperture. 
     
     
         12 . A method as in  claim 9 , further comprising providing a plurality of trays in the cavity, and wherein the hinge stop decision comprises providing a self-closing feature to the lid, whereby the lid self-closes over the trays.