Disposable pump and drive mechanism for dispensing a liquid food product

摘要

An assembly for dispensing liquid food product from a food warmer and dispenser that includes a disposable pump. The disposable pump includes a portioning chamber having a hollow open interior that can receive a supply of food product. The disposable pump includes a one-way inlet valve and a one-way outlet valve to control the flow of food product through the disposable pump. The assembly further includes a compressing device positioned to compress the outer wall of the disposable pump to force food product out of a dispensing portion of the pump. The compressing device includes a pair of actuating arms movable about a pivot point positioned between their inner and outer ends. The inner end of each actuating arm is coupled to a drive member that moves the inner ends of each actuating arm toward and away from each other. As the actuating arms move, the outer ends of the actuating arms compress the disposable pump to dispense food product.