A Brief History
Otto Chazen, the inventor, left Berdychiv, Ukraine with his sister Ruth - to escape the Cossacks and the pogroms of the early 1920s. He and his sister dreamed of a better life in America. After hiding out in Poland and Romania, they eventually made it to Buffalo, NY where he became an insurance man and raised a family. Though he worked in insurance, the story is told that he had training to be an engineer. He and his son Boris, who in the 1950s, became an engineer got to work on developing what would have been the first of its kind – a microwave vending machine. Though the microwave had already been invented in 1947, there was nothing of its kind in popular use - a machine that would dispense a hot meal. Even in the 1970s, you might see a vending machine next to a microwave oven, but you still wouldn’t see the two combined into one thing. After they completed the design, Otto would spend the next several years writing letters to companies for funding and partnerships. Nothing happened. Otto and his dream died in 1966.
Make Otto Chazen’s Dream Come True
You can now own a one of a kind, single item NFT of one of the earliest versions of the microwave oven in the form of a patent filed for a microwave vending machine – called a Food Heating and Dispensing Apparatus. It has been cited by 23 companies, i.e. referenced in their work. There will be no duplications of this collectible such that if you purchase this you will effectively own the intellectual property and design. Our family inherited this from our grandfather and have no interest in developing this product – so that if you make this purchase, it is yours to own, trade, build or defend as a patent or resubmit, as the case may be. As artwork, you can modify, commercialize and otherwise display to your desire.
Explanation of description from the patent by ChatGPT
This patent is for a machine that automatically sells and heats pre-cooked meals. The machine uses a coin-controlled mechanism to quickly heat the meals using dielectric heaters. The customer can then take the meal out of the machine through an open door. The machine also has a signal that alerts the customer when a certain type of meal is sold out and also returns their coins. The machine can be adjusted to take longer to heat the meals during slower periods to save on costs.
The patent also explains that this invention is an improvement over previous vending machines that have been disclosed, which only sold and heated items such as hot dogs or hamburgers. This machine is specifically designed to sell and heat pre-cooked dinners. The use of dielectric heaters allows for the meals to be heated rapidly and efficiently. The coin-controlled mechanism and the ability to adjust the heating time during slower periods make this machine practical for use in busy vending locations. Overall, this invention is a convenient and efficient way for customers to purchase and consume pre-cooked meals.
This passage describes the design of a vending machine that sells pre-cooked meals. The machine has a cabinet with a door that opens to reveal a refrigerator compartment inside. This compartment can be set to either chill or freeze the meals, and is divided into sections for storing different types of meals. The meals are stored on non-metallic plates, such as paper, ceramic, or plastic, and are supported in upright positions so that they can be easily removed from the refrigerator compartment. The machine is divided into 9 sections in this example, but the number of sections can be adjusted as desired.
The machine is designed in a way that meals are stored in frozen condition and when the customers want to buy a meal, they can select the type of meal they want from the selection of different types of meals that are stored in different sections. The interior of the refrigerator compartment is maintained at a low temperature by a refrigerating unit, which is a common construction and well known, so it's not described in detail. The machine also has upright partitions and horizontal guide rails that separate the different sections, and the meals are stored on non-metallic plates, such as paper, ceramic, or plastic that support the meals in upright positions, so they can be easily removed from the sections. The machine is designed to be convenient and efficient for customers to purchase and consume pre-cooked meals.
This text is describing a food heating machine. The machine has a plate (18) that is placed on a heating surface (30). There is a movable micro switch (31) on the heating surface that is normally in an upward position. The heating surface is slightly below the level of the chute that the plate is placed on, so that the plate can rest against it. When the plate with food is placed on the heating surface, the switch is pressed and the power unit (33) is activated. This type of power unit is well known and can heat the food quickly, in about 15-20 seconds. This machine is useful in places where there is a high demand for food during certain times, so that the food can be heated quickly and served without long delays.
This process is describing a mechanism for selecting and dispensing food from a cabinet. The microswitch v'32 is used to detect when a plate of food is partly withdrawn from the cabinet, and it connects with contacts 93, 120, and 71 through a conductor 79. When switch 65 is pressed, it activates a step relay that moves a contact 70 into engagement with contact 93. There are multiple dinner selecting switches (38) that are used to select which food to dispense. These switches receive power from conductors 121 and 79, and from contact 93 of the step relay. When one of the switches is pressed, it closes a circuit through conductor 74 and switch 75, which activates solenoids 27 that withdraw the latches that hold a plate of the selected food. There is also a self-conchute microswitch 229 that prevents the door from being opened until the food is ready to be served. The cabinet has multiple doors, each with an indicator (such as an illuminated sign 36) to show that the food is ready to be removed.
Your purchase will support the creative work of Lee Chazen
This is not only the purchase of a great collectible and a fascinating piece of engineering history, it will also make possible some worthwhile projects in education, creativity and content development. Specifically, funding derived from this project will contribute to projects in the works as seen in the links below. Working on these projects over the years has created significant debt. Please help make the dream real with the purchase of this NFT.
Links to works by Lee Chazen
Legal
This Agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into by and between the seller and buyer , collectively referred to as the “Parties.” WHEREAS, Seller is the registered owner of Patent Number US2990973A, an expired patent (the “Patent”); WHEREAS, Buyer is interested in purchasing the rights to the Patent; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises made by the Parties hereto, the Parties agree as follows: 1. Sale of Rights. Seller agrees to sell and transfer to Buyer all rights, title and interest in and to the Patent, including all related intellectual property rights, 2. Representations and Warranties. Seller represents and warrants to Buyer that: a. Seller has full right and authority to enter into this Agreement and to transfer the rights in and to the Patent; b. To the best of Seller’s knowledge, the Patent expired on July 4, 1978. However, upon the sale of this NFT, the intellectual property associated with this patent and all rights therein transfer to the buyer.
Citations
The patent by Otto Chazen was cited 23 times.
US3169623A * 1959-07-27 1965-02-16 Mackenzie Money registers
US3224361A * 1961-02-25 1965-12-21 Husqvarna Vapenfabriks Ab Automat for heat treatment and delivery of food-stuffs
US3224643A * 1964-12-09 1965-12-21 Synergistic Associates Article dispenser with nutating oven
US3254792A * 1963-11-22 1966-06-07 Selectivend Corp Ejector vending mechanism
US3291035A * 1965-09-07 1966-12-13 Ignelzi Eugene Vending apparatus adapted to store and process food items
US3340789A * 1965-06-09 1967-09-12 Gen Res Inc Dispensing machine
US3381605A * 1965-07-13 1968-05-07 Microtherm Ltd Vending and dispensing mechanisms
US3384270A * 1965-04-06 1968-05-21 American Mach & Foundry Article dispenser having a cellular magazine with gravity discharge from the cells
US3443509A * 1967-01-25 1969-05-13 Microtherm Ltd Vending machine
US3482509A * 1967-11-28 1969-12-09 John D L Gardner Sandwich cooking and dispensing machine
DE2949985A1 * 1979-06-12 1981-01-08 Coca Cola Co VISIBLE DISPLAY PANEL FOR USE WITH TWO COMBINED GOODS MACHINES
DE3049816A1 * 1979-08-29 1982-02-25 Fuji Electric Co Ltd WIRED COMMODITY VENDING SYSTEM
DE3049817A1 * 1979-08-29 1982-02-25 Fuji Electric Co Ltd VENDING MACHINE WITH DOORS
US4331068A * 1975-06-10 1982-05-25 Sankyo Electric Company Limited Control circuit for automatic cooking apparatus
US4398651A * 1978-08-17 1983-08-16 Kumpfer Beverly D Microwave food dispensing machine
DE3502716A1 * 1985-01-28 1986-07-31 TEPRO-Präzisionstechnik GmbH, 7742 St Georgen Self-service meal dispenser
DE3540859A1 * 1985-11-18 1987-05-21 Heinrich Griesshammer Security cover on an extraction device for vending machines
FR2597239A1 * 1986-04-14 1987-10-16 Castel Alain Automatic dispensing assembly for hot cooked meals
FR2663769A1 * 1990-06-22 1991-12-27 Rossignol Philippe METHOD, DEVICE AND PRODUCT FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD.
EP0474911A1 * 1990-09-12 1992-03-18 Eduardo D. Odena Villazan Bread dispenser
US5168795A * 1990-11-29 1992-12-08 Higashi Hiroshima Golf Shinko Kabushiki Kaisha Automatic food frying and vending system
US5236103A * 1991-10-01 1993-08-17 Unidynamics Corporation Food module
US11462072B2 2020-08-18 2022-10-04 Dov Z. Glucksman Autonomous food station
