WO2020150576A2

WO2020150576A2 - Food preparation apparatus, system, and method

Info

Publication number: WO2020150576A2
Application number: PCT/US2020/014035
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joshua Gouled Goldberg
Original assignee: Zume, Inc.
Priority date: 2019-01-17
Filing date: 2020-01-17
Publication date: 2020-07-23
Also published as: WO2020150576A3; TW202038726A

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method are described for automating preparation, such as perforation, of a food product. In some embodiments, a food preparation apparatus generally includes a spindle having a set of pins to piercingly engage the food product carried by a conveyor, at least one transmission coupled to the spindle to drive the spindle to rotate about an axis of rotation, and a coupler that couples the food preparation apparatus to a support.

Description

FOOD PREPARATION APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is being filed on 17 January 2020, as a PCT International patent application and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/793,599, filed January 17, 2019, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the disclosed subject matter relate generally to food assembly, for instance assembly of food items for delivery or presentation to a customer, and more particularly to an apparatus, system, and method of preparing food.

BACKGROUND

Historically, consumers have had a choice when hot, prepared, food was desired. Some consumers would travel to a restaurant or other food establishment where such food would be prepared and consumed on the premises. Other consumers would travel to the restaurant or other food establishment, purchase hot, prepared, food and transport the food to an off-premises location, such as a home or picnic location for consumption. Yet other consumers ordered delivery of hot, prepared food, for consumption at home. Over time, the availability of delivery of hot, prepared, foods has increased and now plays a significant role in the marketplace. Delivery of such hot, prepared, foods was once considered the near exclusive purview of Chinese take- out and pizza parlors. However, today even convenience stores and "fast-food" purveyors such as franchised hamburger restaurants have taken to testing the delivery marketplace.

The delivery of prepared foods traditionally occurs in several discrete acts. First, a consumer places an order for a particular food item with a restaurant or similar food establishment. The restaurant or food establishment prepares the food item or food product per the customer order. The prepared food item is packaged and delivered to the consumer's location or presented to the consumer at the restaurant or similar food establishment. The inherent challenges in such a delivery method are numerous, particularly in the case where the delivery location is remote from the restaurant. In addition to the inevitable cooling that occurs while the hot food item is transported to the consumer, many foods may experience a commensurate breakdown in taste, texture, or consistency with the passage of time. For example, the French fries at the burger restaurant may be hot and crispy, but the same French fries will be cold, soggy, and limp by the time they make it home or to the table, in the case of busy dinner hour at a restaurant. To address such issues, some food suppliers make use of heat lamps, "hot bags," "thermal packaging," or similar insulated packaging, carriers, and/or food containers to retain at least a portion of the existing heat in the prepared food while in transit to the consumer. While such measures may be at least somewhat effective in retaining heat in the food during transit, such measures do little, if anything, to address issues with changes in food taste, texture, or consistency associated with the delay between the time the food item is prepared and the time the food item is actually consumed.

Some researchers have made strides in developing automated food preparation and delivery systems and methods to address some of the foregoing challenges. For example, co- pending United States patent application Serial No. 15/481,240, entitled "On-demand Robotic Food Assembly and Related Systems, Devices and Methods," and filed on April 6, 2017, discloses various approaches to provide or to facilitate automated food preparation and delivery to consumers.

Aspects of the present disclosure address a remaining need for an improved apparatus, system, and method of automated perforation of a food product, such as dough, prior to cooking.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of various embodiments disclosed herein. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosed embodiments nor to delineate the scope of those embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the subject matter in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The present disclosure describes an apparatus, system, and method of preparing food, such as automated perforation or "docking" of dough prior to the cooking process.

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosed subject matter, a food preparation apparatus may be summarized as including a spindle, the spindle having a length, the spindle mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation; a plurality of pins, the pins which extend radially outward from the spindle and distributed about the axis of rotation and over a substantial portion of the length of the spindle; at least one transmission coupled to the spindle to drive the spindle to rotate about the axis of rotation; and a coupler that couples the food preparation apparatus to a support with the spindle and pins positioned to piercingly engage food carried by a conveyor.

The spindle may be a rod. The spindle may be a cylindrical tube. The spindle may be of a food grade material and the pins may be of a food grade material. The spindle may include stainless steel. The pins may include stainless steel. The pins may include silicone. The pins may be arranged in a plurality of sets of pins, the pins in each set of the pins are rotationally offset from the pins a nearest neighbor set of the pins along the length of the spindle.

In some implementations, the food preparation apparatus may also include a releasable coupler to detachably couple the food preparation apparatus to a support, to facilitate removal of the food preparation apparatus from the support for cleaning, repair or replacement.

In some implementations, the transmission may include a wheel having an axis, an outer perimeter and a radius that extends from the axis to the outer perimeter, the spindle mechanically coupled to the axis of the wheel, the radius sized to achieve a defined angular velocity based on a translational velocity of a conveyor. The coupler may be a releasable coupler to detachably couple the food preparation apparatus to the support to facilitate removal of the food preparation apparatus from the support, and which positions the outer perimeter of the wheel of the transmission on contact with a surface of the conveyor to drivingly couple the wheel to the conveyor.

In some implementations, the transmission drivingly couples the spindle to an electric motor, and synchronizes rotation of the spindle to a speed of movement along a portion of a food preparation path.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosed subject matter, a food preparation system may be summarized as including a conveyor having a width; a spindle, the spindle having a length, the spindle mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation; a plurality of pins, the pins extending radially outward from the spindle and distributed about the axis of rotation and over a substantial portion of the length of the spindle, the spindle and pins positioned to piercingly engage food carried by the conveyor; and a transmission drivingly coupled to rotate the spindle about the axis of rotation in synchronization with a movement of at least a portion of the conveyor.

In some implementations, a portion of the at least one transmission may physically engage a portion of the conveyor. The portion of the at least one transmission that physically engages the portion of the conveyor may be a periphery of a drive wheel. In some implementations, the spindle may be mounted above the conveyor with distal portions of the pins when closest to a top surface of the conveyor spaced therefrom by a defined distance, the distal portions of the pins spaced away from the spindle relative to proximate portions of the pins. The defined distance may be less than a thickness of a food item to prepare using the food preparation system. The defined distance may be less than a thickness of a flattened piece of dough to be prepared using the food preparation system. The defined distance may be less than a thickness of a flattened par-baked piece of dough to be prepared using the food preparation system.

In some implementations, the spindle may be of a food grade material and the pins may be of a food grade material. The spindle may include stainless steel. The pins may include stainless steel. The pins may include silicone. The pins may be arranged in a plurality of sets of pins, the pins in each set of the pins are rotationally offset from the pins a nearest neighbor set of the pins along the length of the spindle.

In some implementations, the transmission may include a wheel having an axis, an outer perimeter and a radius that extends from the axis to the outer perimeter, the spindle mechanically coupled to the axis of the wheel, the radius sized to achieve a defined angular velocity based on a translational velocity of a conveyor.

In some implementations, the food preparation system may further include a support and a releasable coupler to detachably couple the food preparation spindle and transmission to the support. The transmission may include a wheel having an axis, an outer perimeter and a radius that extends from the axis to the outer perimeter, the spindle mechanically coupled to the axis of the wheel, the radius sized to achieve a defined angular velocity based on a translational velocity of the conveyor, and wherein the releasable coupler and the support position the outer perimeter of the wheel to contact a portion of the conveyor when the spindle and transmission are coupled to the support by the releasable coupler.

In some implementations, the food preparation system may further include at least one oven positioned downstream of the spindle in a direction of transit of food items to be prepared by the food preparation apparatus.

In some implementations, the transmission may drivingly couple the spindle to the electric motor and synchronize rotation of the spindle to a speed of movement of food items along a portion of a food preparation path.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosed subject matter, a method of operation of a food preparation system may be summarized as including operating a conveyor to advance food items along a preparation food item path; causing a spindle having a plurality of pins to rotate about an axis of rotation; and engaging the food items on the conveyor with the pins of the spindle as the spindle rotates and as the conveyor moves.

In some implementations, the method may further include placing the food items into one or more ovens after engaging the food items on the conveyor with the pins of the spindle. Operating a conveyor to advance food items along a preparation food item path may include operating the conveyor to advance flattened rounds of dough food items along the preparation food item path.

The foregoing and other aspects of various disclosed embodiments will be apparent through examination of the following detailed description thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are used to represent like components throughout, unless otherwise noted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a side view of one implementation of a food preparation apparatus with a conveyor belt and a support;

FIG. 2 is a side view of one implementation of a food preparation apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a front view of one implementation of a spindle used in a food preparation apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the spindle of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an on-demand food preparation system that may employ the food preparation apparatus of FIG. 1, according to one illustrated embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary controller that may be used in connection with the on-demand food preparation system of FIG. 5, according to one illustrated embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a high level logic flow diagram of a method of operation of a food preparation system in accordance with one implementation; and

FIG. 8 is a high level logic flow diagram of a method of operation of a food preparation apparatus in accordance with one implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosed implementations. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that certain implementations may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, certain structures associated with food preparation devices such as ovens, skillets, and other similar devices, closed-loop controllers used to control cooking conditions, food preparation techniques, wired and wireless communications hardware and protocols, geolocation, and optimized route mapping or guidance algorithms have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the implementations. In other instances, certain structures associated with conveyors and/or robots are have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the implementations.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims which follow, the word "comprise" and variations thereof, such as, "comprises" and "comprising" are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, i.e, as "including, but not limited to."

Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" (or "one implementation" or "an implementation," as the case may be) means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or implementation is included in at least one embodiment or implementation. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one" or "in an" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or implementation. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in connection with one or more embodiments or implementations.

As used in this specification and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and/or" unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein are for convenience only and do not inform interpretation of the scope or meaning of the embodiments.

As used herein and in the claims, the terms "food item" and "food product" refer to any item or product intended for human consumption. Although illustrated and described, at times, in the context of pizza to provide a readily comprehensible and easily understood description of one illustrative embodiment, one of ordinary skill in the culinary arts and food preparation will readily appreciate the broad applicability of the systems, methods, and apparatus described herein across any number of prepared food items or products, including cooked and uncooked food items or products, or par-baked pizzas, doughs, breads, cakes, and other food items. As used herein and in the claims, the terms "robot" or "robotic" refer to any device, system, or combination of systems and devices that includes at least one appendage, typically with an end-of-arm tool or end effector, where the at least one appendage is selectively moveable to perform work or an operation useful in the preparation of a food item or packaging of a food item or food product. In some implementations, the robot may have a base that is fixed to a structure (e.g., floor) in the environment. In other

implementations, the robot may include wheels, treads, or casters, and may even include a prime mover (e.g., electric traction motor) and may be self-propelled. The robot may be autonomously controlled, for instance based at least in part on information from one or more sensors (e.g., optical sensors used with machine-vision algorithms, position encoders, temperature sensors or thermocouples, moisture or humidity sensors, and the like). Alternatively, one or more robots may be remotely controlled by a human operator.

As used herein and in the claims, the terms "joint" or "joints" refer to any physical coupling that permits relative movement between two members, typically referred to as links. A non-exhaustive list of examples of joints includes: revolute joints, prismatic joints, Hook's joints, spherical joints, screw joints, hinge joints, ball and socket joints, pivot joints, saddle joints, plane joints, ellipsoid joints, and universal joints, to name a few. It is noted that some joints may be equipped with slip rings or similar electrical connectors or coupling mechanisms that allow full (360 degrees or more) rotation of a member on a first side of the joint relative to a member on a second side of the joint.

As used herein and in the claims, the term "cooking unit" refers to any device, system, or combination of systems and devices useful in cooking or heating of a food product. While such preparation may include the heating of food products during preparation, such preparation may also include the partial or complete cooking of one or more food products. Additionally, while the term "oven" may be used interchangeably with the term "cooking unit" herein, such usage should not limit the applicability of the disclosed systems and methods to only foods which can be prepared in an oven. For example, a hot skillet surface, a deep fryer, a microwave oven, and/or toaster can be considered a "cooking unit" that is included within the scope of the systems, methods, and apparatus described herein. Further, the cooking unit may be able to control more than temperature. For example, some cooking units may control pressure and/or humidity. Further, some cooking units may control airflow therein, and thus may be able to operate in a convective cooking mode if desired, for instance to decrease cooking time. As used herein, terms of relative elevation, such as "top," "bottom," "above," "below," etc., are used in accordance with their ordinary meanings, such that when a device is in use, gravity acts to pull items from the top of the device to the bottom of the device, and such that bubbles in water float from relatively lower depths upward toward relatively shallower depths.

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view illustrating one implementation of a food preparation apparatus with a conveyor belt and a support. FIG. 2 is a side view of one implementation of a food preparation apparatus. FIG. 3 is a front view of one

implementation of a spindle used in a food preparation apparatus. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the spindle of FIG. 3.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, food preparation apparatus 100 may generally comprise a spindle 110, pins 120 extending radially from spindle 110, at least one transmission 130 coupled to spindle 110 to drive spindle 110 to rotate about an axis of rotation 115, and a coupler 140 connecting spindle 110 to a support 150. In use, as illustrated in FIG. 1, food preparation apparatus 100 may be operative to perforate or "dock" a food item 160 on a conveyor 170 prior to or during the cooking process to prevent deformations, such as the formation of air bubbles or pockets, substantially as set forth below. Conveyor may have a surface 171 and a width 172.

Spindle 110 is illustrated as a cylindrical tube having first end 111, a second end 112 opposite the first end 111, a length 210 between the first and second ends 111,112, an inner surface 113, and an outer surface 114. Spindle 110 may rotate about an axis of rotation 115. Spindle 110 may have other geometries known to those of skill in the art suitable to carry pins 120 and revolve, such as a solid rod, circular cylinder, or the like. Spindle 110 may be suitably sized and dimensioned to enable or to facilitate contact between pins 120 and food item 160 on conveyor 170 such that pins 120 piercingly engage food item 160 carried by conveyor 170. Spindle 110 may be comprised of or incorporate food grade material such as stainless steel, silicone rubber, heat resistant glass or ceramics, and the like.

Pins 120 may extend radially outward from the outer surface 114 of spindle 110.

In use, pins 120 may be operative to perforate food item 160 on conveyor 170 prior to the cooking process to prevent deformations. Pins 120 may be distributed over a substantial portion of length 210 of spindle 110 about the axis of rotation 115. As depicted in FIG. 3, pins 120 may be arranged in a plurality of sets of pins 300a, 300b, 300c, 300d (collectively 300), the pins 120 in each set of the pins 300 are rotationally offset from the pins 120 in a nearest neighbor set of the pins 300 along a length 210 of spindle 110. However, other pin arrangements are contemplated. For example, pins 120 may be localized on a portion of spindle 110 between the first and second ends 111, 112 where perforation is most needed based on the type of food item 160 at issue. For example, pins 120 may be horizontally or vertically offset along the outer surface 114 to facilitate partial perforation of food item 160.

Each of pins 120 may have a first pin portion 121 proximate the spindle and a second pin portion 122 opposite the first pin portion, and having a length 123 between first and second pin portions 121, 122. Pins 120 may be suitably sized and dimensioned to enable or to facilitate contact between second pin portion 122 of each of pins 120 and food item 160 on conveyor 170 such that pins 120 piercingly engage food item 160 carried by conveyor 170. Illustratively, second pin portion 122 is tapered to facilitate the pins 120 piercing the food item 160. However, pins 120 may be in other geometries and shapes to facilitate piercing of food item 160 based on its density and texture, such as rounded, pronged, and the like. As shown in FIG. 4, pins 120 may extend from outer surface 114 at an angle relative to axis of rotation 115 such that a distance between second pin portion 122 between each of the pins 120 is greater than a distance between first pin portion 121 between each of pins 120. Additionally or alternatively, pins 120 may extend from outer surface 114 at an angle relative to axis of rotation 115 such that a distance between second pin portion 122 between each of the pins 120 is lesser than a distance between first pin portion 121 between each of pins 120. Pins 120 may be comprised of or incorporate food grade material such as stainless steel, silicone rubber, heat resistant glass or ceramics, and the like.

Transmission 130 may generally comprise a wheel 131 having an axis 132, an outer perimeter 133 and a radius 134 that extends from the axis to the outer perimeter 133. Spindle 110 may be mechanically coupled to axis 132 of wheel 131 via a coupler, releasable coupler, or the like. Transmission 130 may be drivingly coupled to rotate spindle 110 about the axis of rotation 115 in synchronization with a movement of at least a portion of conveyor 170. Additionally or alternatively, a portion of transmission 130 may physically engage a portion of conveyor 170. For example, the outer perimeter 133 may be positioned to contact surface 171 of conveyor 170 to drivingly couple wheel 131 to conveyor 170. Radius 134 may be sized to achieve a defined angular velocity based on a translational velocity of conveyor 170. In use, transmission 130 may drivingly couple spindle 110 to an electric motor (not shown), and synchronize rotation of spindle 110 to a speed of movement along a portion of a food preparation path. The electric motor may be housed in support 150.

Support 150 may generally comprise a main body 151 and a base 152 supporting main body 151. Main body 151 may house coupler 140 that couples spindle 110 to support 150 proximate the first end 111 of spindle 110. Support 150 may be suitably sized and dimensioned to enable or facilitate pins 120 perforating food product 160 in operation. In that regard, main body 151 or base 152 may be adjustable to control the distance between pins 120 and conveyor 170 and the depth of perforations into food product 160.

Base 152 may be located proximate the floor, ground, or other surface that supports the food preparation apparatus 100 (or supported in a manner suitable for operation in connection with a food preparation system as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 5 below) in an operating environment such as a kitchen, a food preparation truck, a cafeteria, or other work space where food items are prepared for serving. In some implementations, base 152 may be weighted to increase stability of food preparation apparatus 100 as spindle 110 operates. In some implementations, base 152 may be bolted or otherwise secured to the floor, ground, platform, or other surface, for example, by inserting bolts through one or more apertures. In other implementations, base 152 may include wheels, treads, or casters, and may even include a traction motor drivingly coupled to the wheels or treads to move the food preparation apparatus 100 under its own power.

In that regard, food preparation apparatus 100 may also comprise a battery, battery pack, or other internal source of electric power, one or more solar panels or photovoltaic cell arrays, a port, power cable, or other electric power coupling device such as an inductor coil, or a combination of these or other components such that operating power may be available. These electric power components have been omitted from FIGS. 1-4 for clarity, but those of skill in the art will appreciate that any of various technologies may be employed to power food preparation apparatus 100, and that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the methodologies or techniques used to food preparation apparatus 100 or its constituent components.

In an alternative application, support 150 may be affixed or attached to a rail system, tracks, or other fixture providing or facilitating translation of food preparation apparatus 100 in a work space or operating environment. Such a rail or track system may be affixed to a wall in a kitchen or cafeteria, for example, or may be deployed on the interior of a food truck or other environment in which food items are prepared. See, e.g., the description thereof in co-pending United States patent application Serial No. 16/170,748, entitled "Multi-Modal Vehicle Implemented Food Preparation, Cooking, and Distribution Systems and Methods" and filed on October 15, 2018, FIG. 10A and the description thereof in co-pending United States provisional patent application Serial No. 62/747,640, entitled "Configurable Meal Kit Preparation and Storage Vehicle and Related Methods and Articles" and filed on October 18, 2018, and FIG. 11 and the description thereof in co-pending United States patent application Serial No. 62/628,390, entitled "Configurable Food Delivery Vehicle and Related Methods and Articles" and filed on February 9, 2018. As another alternative, support 150, or similar or complementary structures may be integrated with or incorporated into an assembly line implementation as set forth in more detail with reference to FIG. 5 below; more detail of such an embodiment is in co-pending international patent application Serial No. PCT/US 17/26408, entitled "On-Demand Robotic Food Assembly and Related Systems, Devices, and Methods" and filed on April 6, 2017.

Coupler 140 may be suitably sized and dimensioned to enable or to facilitate mechanical (and any necessary or desirable electrical) coupling of spindle 110 to a cooperating structure of support 150 (such as main body 151 in FIG. 1, for example) or some other mechanical or electromechanical component operative to position spindle 110 as desired or required during use. Additionally, or alternatively, coupler 140 may be suitably sized and dimensioned to enable or to facilitate mechanical (and any necessary or desirable electrical) coupling of spindle 110 to a cooperating structure of support 150 (such as main body 151 in FIG. 1, for example) or some other mechanical or

electromechanical component operative to position the outer perimeter 133 of wheel 131 to contact surface 171 of conveyor 170 to drivingly couple wheel 131 to conveyor 170. Coupler 140 may include ball bearings 141 (as illustrated in FIG. 1), cooperating electrical coupling slip rings (not shown), and, or, any other suitable rotational mechanical (and any necessary desirable electrical) rotational couplings generally known in the art. Coupler 140 may be releasable to facilitate removal of the spindle 110 from the support 150 for cleaning, repair or replacement. Additionally or alternatively, coupler 140 may releasable couple transmission 130 to support 150.

In some implementations, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a spacer bar 220 may couple spindle 110 and support 140.

It is noted that physical characteristics, construction materials, dimensions, and other features of coupler 140 may be application-specific, and therefore may depend upon the nature and specifications of the cooperating structure on support 150 to which coupler 140 is attached. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by any particular architectural arrangement or structural properties of coupler 140.

Spindle 110 may be mounted such that there is a defined distance 180 between second pin portion 122 and a surface 171 of conveyor 170 when second pin portion 122 is closest to surface 171. Defined distance 180 may be less than a thickness 161 of food item 160 to be prepared. For example, defined distance 180 may be less than thickness 161 of a flatten piece of dough (as discussed below in reference to FIG. 5), and, or of a flatten par- baked piece of dough (as discussed below in reference to FIG. 5). As those will appreciate, components of food preparation apparatus 100 such as, spindle 110, pins 120, and, or, coupler 140 may be suitably sized and dimensioned such that there is defined distance 180 between second pin portion 122 and surface 171 of conveyor 170 when second pin portion 122 is closest to surface 171. Additionally, or alternatively, support 150 may be suitably sized and dimensioned such that there is defined distance 180 between second pin portion 122 and surface 171 of conveyor 170 when second pin portion 122 is closest to surface 171.

In some implementations, food preparation apparatus 100 may include one or more sensors such as imagers, cameras, video cameras, frame grabbers, radar source and sensor, Lidar source and sensor, ultrasonic source and sensors, mechanical position encoders or optical position encoders such as rotary encoders, optical emitter and receiver pairs that pass a beam of light (e.g., infrared light source and sensor) across a surface, commonly referred to as an "electric eye," ultrasonic position detectors, digital cameras, Hall effect sensors, load cells, and/or magnetic or electromagnetic radiation (e.g., infrared light)- based proximity sensors. Such sensors may provide signals indicating objects or items in the three-dimensional space proximate food preparation apparatus 100. These sensors have been omitted from FIG. 1 for clarity, but those of skill in the art will appreciate that such sensors or other optical apparatus may have utility in determining or facilitating operation of food preparation apparatus 100, for example in controlling rotational velocity of spindle 100 in relation to translational movement of food item 160 on conveyor 170, or the dimension of defined distance 180.

Such signals may also include indications, for example as it relates to other components of a food preparation system as discussed in FIGS. 5 and 6 below, of an upper surface of a work space supporting a food item, some other horizontal surface, a surface of a food item itself (or a container in which a food item is located) to which an ingredient or product is to be applied, or a combination of these or other surfaces or items capable of detection by a particular sensor implementation. In some implementations, the sensors may detect the locations of food items being conveyed by a conveyor system or food items that are stationary in a work zone. The sensors may be communicatively coupled to a controller 602 (see FIG. 6) such that the sensors may transmit such signals to controller 602. In operation, controller 602 may use such signals to determine actions and/or functions that various components of food preparation apparatus 100 or other components of the system in which food preparation apparatus 100 may operate (as discussed in FIGS and 6 below).

FIG. 5 shows an on-demand food preparation system that may employ the food preparation apparatus of FIG. 1, according to one illustrated embodiment.

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more assembly conveyors 522a, 522b (collectively 522), an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 1, reference numeral 170, and/or one or more workstations 524a-524j (collectively 524) at which food items or food products are assembled, such as food item 160 illustrated in FIG. 1. The assembly conveyors 522 may operate to move a food item or food product being assembled past a number of workstations 524 and associated equipment. The assembly conveyors 522 may take the form of conveyor belts, conveyor grills or racks, or conveyor chains, typically with an endless belt, grill, or chain that is driven in a closed circular path by one or more motors (e.g., electrical motor, electrical stepper motor, and the like) via a transmission (e.g., gears or traction rollers).

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more robots 540, 554, 556 operable to assemble food items or food products on demand (i.e., in response to received orders for food items or self-generated orders for food items). The robots may each be associated with one or more workstations 524, for instance one robot per workstation. In some implementations, one or more workstations 524 may not have an associated robot, and may have some other piece of associated equipment (e.g., sauce dispenser, oven, or the like) and/or even a human present to perform certain operations. As depicted, food preparation apparatus 100 (as set forth above with reference to FIGS. 1-4) may be embodied in or comprise robot 556. However, it will be appreciated that food preparation apparatus may be a stand-alone device placed in other points of the food preparation system 500.

The example on-demand food preparation system 500 illustrated in FIG. 5 is now discussed in terms of an exemplary workflow, although one of skill in the art will recognize that any given application (e.g., type of food item) may require additional equipment, may eliminate or omit some equipment, and/or may arrange equipment in a different order, sequence, or workflow.

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include a first or primary assembly conveyor 522a (depicted as conveyor 170 in FIG. 1). The first or primary assembly conveyor 522a may convey or transit a partially assembled food item 512a-512e (collectively 512) past a number of workstations 524a-524d, at which the food item 512 is assembled in various acts or operations. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a may, for example, take the form of a food grade conveyor belt 504a that rides on various axles or rollers 506a driven by one or more motors 508a via one or more gears or teethed wheels 510a. In the example of pizza, the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a may initially convey a round of dough or flattened dough 512a either automatically or manually loaded on the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a.

In some instances, the on-demand food preparation system 500 may include two or more parallel first or primary assembly conveyors 522a, such as an interior first or primary assembly conveyor, and an exterior first or primary assembly conveyor. The workstations and one or more robots 540, 554, 556, may be operable to assemble and, or prepare food items or food products on demand on either or all of the two or more parallel first or primary assembly conveyors 522a. In some instances, at least one of the two or more parallel first or primary assembly conveyors 522a (e.g., an interior first or primary assembly conveyor) may be placed and located to provide access to a human operator to place sauce, cheese, or other toppings onto the flattened dough 512a or other food item being transported by the interior one first or primary assembly conveyor. A human operator may place the sauce, cheese, and/or other toppings, and/or perforate the food item or food product, for example, when the associated robot(s) 540, 554, and/or 556, is not functioning. Pizzas or other food items that do not require the sauce, cheese, and/or other topping, and/or do not require perforations, from the non-functioning associated robot 540, 554, and/or 556, may continue to be assembled on the other, exterior first or primary assembly conveyor.

One or more sensors or imagers 523 may be located along the edge of the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a at the location at which the round of dough or flattened dough 502a is loaded. The one or more sensors or imagers 523 may include: mechanical position encoders or optical position encoders such as rotary encoders, optical emitter and receivers pairs that pass a beam of light (e.g., infrared light) across a conveyor, commonly referred to as an "electric eye," ultrasonic position detectors, digital cameras, Hall effect sensors, load cells, magnetic or electromagnetic radiation (e.g., infrared light) proximity sensors, video cameras, etc. It is noted that any type of sensor technology may be employed that is operative to provide the functionality set forth herein, and that sensors or imagers 523 may be embodied in or comprise any of various types of sensor designs that are generally known in the art or developed in accordance with known principles.

Such sensors or imagers 523 may be placed at the beginning of the primary assembly conveyor 522a. In some instances, the sensors or imagers 523 may be used to detect whether the round of dough or flattened dough 512a was correctly loaded onto the primary assembly conveyor 522a, for example, approximately towards the center of the width of the primary assembly conveyor 522a. For example, optical emitter and receiver pairs may be used to detect the location or position of the round or flattened dough 512a.

In some implementations, the color of the primary assembly conveyor 522a may be based on the color of the emitter being used to detect the location of the round or flattened dough 502a. Thus, for example, the primary assembly conveyor 522a may be colored red or blue to facilitate the detection capabilities of a laser that emits red light. The intensity of the light being emitted by the emitter may vary as the flattened dough is being processed along the primary assembly conveyor 522a. For example, the intensity of the emitter may increase when a flattened dough 512a is placed on the primary assembly conveyor 522a, and the intensity of the emitter may be decreased when the flattened dough 502a is confirmed to be properly situated on the primary assembly conveyor 522a. In some instances, the imager 523 placed at the beginning of the primary assembly conveyor 522a may identify a shape for a particular food item (e.g., full pizza, half pizza, pizza slice, calzone, etc.). In such instances, the on-demand food preparation system 500 may process and assemble food items of different sizes and shapes. The imager 523 may be used to identify the location and orientation of each food item as it is placed on the primary assembly conveyor 522a so that sauce, cheese, and other toppings may be correctly placed on the food item as it transits the on-demand food preparation system 500.

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more sauce dispensers 530. Only one sauce dispenser 530 is illustrated in FIG. 5 for clarity, but it will be appreciated that any number of such dispensers 530 may be employed as desired or necessary for a particular work space and application. As indicated in FIG. 5 by way of example, sauce dispenser 530 may be positioned at a first workstation 924a along the on- demand food preparation system 500. The on-demand robotic food assembly line 502 may include one or more sauce spreader robots 540 and one or more imagers (e.g., cameras) 542 with suitable light sources 544 to capture images of the flatened dough with sauce 512b for use in controlling the sauce spreader robot(s) 540. The sauce spreader robot(s) 540 may be positioned at a second workstation 524b along the on-demand robotic food assembly line 502. The sauce spreader robot(s) 540 may be housed in a cage or cubicle 546 to prevent sauce splater from contaminating other equipment. The cage or cubicle 546 may be stainless steel or other easily sanitized material, and may have clear or transparent windows 548. In the case where the sauce spreader robot(s) 540 incorporate or comprise an applicator such as described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 7 of co-pending application 65/775,973 entitled "Product Spreader Apparatus, System, and Method," filed on December 6, 2018, cage or cubicle 546 may be omited.

The one or more imagers 542 may be used to perform quality control for making the flatened dough and/or for spreading the sauce by the one or more sauce spreader robots 540. In some implementations, the one or more imagers 542 may be programmed to differentiate between instances of flatened dough without sauce and instances of flatened dough with sauce. The one or more imagers 542 may further be programmed to detect the shape of the flatened dough and/or the patern of the sauce spread onto the flatened dough from the captured images, and compare the detected shape and/or patern against a set of acceptable shapes, patterns, or other criteria. Such criteria for the shape of the flatened dough may include, for example, the approximate diameter of the flatened dough and the deviation of the flatened dough from a circular shape. Such criteria for the coverage of the sauce may include, for example, amount or percentage of the flatened dough covered by sauce, proximity of sauce to the outer edge of the flatened dough, and/or the shape of the annulus of crust between the outer edge of the sauce and the outer edge of the flatened dough. If the imager 542 detects a defective flatened dough or sauce patern, it may transmit an alert to controller 602 (as described with reference to FIG. 6), which may cause the defective product to be rejected and a new instance to be made. Such imagers 542 may capture and process black-and-white images in some instances (e.g., determining whether a flatened dough has sauce) or may capture color images. In some implementations, the primary assembly conveyor 522a may have a specific color to create a beter contrast with the flatened dough and/or sauce. For example, the primary assembly conveyor 522a may be colored blue to create a better contrast with the flatened dough and/or sauce for the imager 542. The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more cheese application robots 554 to retrieve and dispense cheese of the sauced dough 512d. The cheese application robot(s) 554 may be located at a third workstation 524c. In the example of pizza assembly, one or more cheese application robots 554 can retrieve cheese and dispense the cheese on the flattened and sauced dough. The cheese application robots 554 may retrieve cheese from one or more repositories of cheese 513. For example, there may be one cheese application robot 554 for each of one or more cheese. Alternatively, one cheese application robot 554 can retrieve and dispense more than one type of cheese, the cheese application robot 554 operable to select an amount of cheese from any of a plurality of cheese in the repositories of cheese 513. The cheese application robots 554 may have various end effectors or end of arm tools designed to retrieve various cheeses. For example, some end effectors or end of arm tools can include opposable digits, while others take the form of a scoop or ladle, and still others a rake or fork having tines, or even others, a spoon or cheese knife shape. The cheese application robot 554 may be covered by a top cover located vertically above some or all of the cheese application robot 554 and/or the one or more repositories of cheese 513. In some applications, the top cover may be located above arm of the cheese application robot 554 and/or the one or more repositories of cheese 513.

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more toppings application robots (not shown) to provide toppings. In one example involving pizza, one or more toppings application robots may retrieve meat and/or non-meat toppings and dispense the toppings on the flattened, sauced and cheesed dough 512e. The toppings application robots 556 may retrieve toppings from one or more repositories of toppings 514. For example, there may be one respective toppings application robot for each of one or more toppings. Alternatively or additionally, one toppings application robot may retrieve and dispense more than one type of toppings. In the example of pizza assembly, there may be a toppings application robot that selectively retrieves and dispenses meat toppings (e.g., pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, etc.) and a toppings application robot that selectively dispenses non-meat toppings (e.g., mushrooms, olives, hot peppers, etc.). The toppings application robots may have various end effectors or end of arm tools designed to retrieve various toppings. For example, some end effectors or end of arm tools can include opposable digits, while others take the form of a scoop or ladle, and still others, a rake or fork having tines. In some instances, the end effector may include a suction tool that may be able to pick and place large items. In some instances, the toppings application robot may include multiple end effectors or end of arm tools. The use of multiple end effectors or end of arm tools may facilitate coverage of toppings. The toppings application robot may be covered by a top cover located vertically above some or all of the toppings application robot and/or the one or more repositories of toppings 514.

In some applications, the top cover may be located above arm of the toppings application robot and/or the one or more repositories of toppings 514.

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more food preparation apparatus 556 (as described above as food preparation apparatus 100 in reference to FIGS. 1-4). Food preparation apparatus 556 is depicted in FIG. 5 as being at workstation 554d such that perforation occurs during or after toppings have been applied but before baking or par- baking. However, as those skilled in the art may appreciate, food preparation apparatus 556 food preparation apparatus 556 may be placed along other points and/or workstations in the on- demand food preparation system 500, for example, before sauce is applied, after sauce is applied but before toppings are applied, or after par- baking.

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more imagers (e.g., cameras) 542 with suitable light sources 544 proximate to one or both of the cheese application robots 554, the toppings application robots (not shown), and the food preparation apparatus 556 to capture images of food items, such as pizzas. The captured images may be used for quality control purposes, for example, to ensure that the cheese application robots 554 and/or the toppings application robots sufficiently cover sauced dough 512d with the requested toppings, and/or to ensure that sauced dough 512d has been adequately perforated.

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more ovens 558a, 558b (collectively 558) to cook or partially cook food items (e.g., the flatten, sauced and cheesed dough 502e). Ovens 558 may be downstream of the food preparation apparatus 556. The on- demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more cooking conveyors 560a, 560b to convey the food items (e.g., the flatten, sauced and cheesed dough 512e) to, through, and out of the ovens 558. The on-demand food preparation system 500 may, for example, include a respective cooking conveyor 560a, 560b, for each of the ovens 558a, 558b. As best illustrated in FIG. 5, the cooking conveyors 560 may, for example, take the form of grills or racks 563a, 563b that form a loop or belt that rides on various rollers or axles (not illustrated) driven by one or more motors (not illustrated) via one or more gears or teethed wheels (not illustrated). The grills or racks 563 or chains may be made of a food grade material that is able to withstand the heat of the ovens, for instance stainless steel. In the example of pizza assembly, the ovens 558 may produce a temperature above 500 F, preferably in the 700 F and above range. The ovens 558 will typically be at or proximate the same temperature, although such is not limiting. In some applications, the ovens 558 may be set a different temperatures from one another. In some applications, the ovens 558 a selectively adjustable on a per order basis. Thus, when ordering a pizza, a consumer or customer may specify an amount of charring desired on the partially cooked sauced, cheesed and topped dough 502f. A processor-based device can determine a desired temperature based on the specified amount of charring, and adjust a temperature of the oven 558 to achieve the desired amount of charring. The amount of charring may be based on the temperature and/or time spent trans versing the oven 558 on the respective cooking conveyor 560.

Typically, the cooking conveyors 560 will travel at a different speed than the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a. Hence, the on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more first transfer conveyors 562a to transfer the uncooked food items (e.g., the flatten, sauced and cheesed dough 502e) from the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a to one of the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b. In the example of pizza assembly, the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b will likely travel at a much slower speed than the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a. Notably, while the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b will typically travel at the same speed as one another, such should not be considered limiting. In some applications, the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b can travel at different speeds from one another. In some applications, the speed at which each cooking conveyor 560a, 560b travels may be controlled to account for cooking conditions, environmental conditions, and/or the spacing or composition of uncooked food items (e.g., the flatten, sauced and cheesed dough 502e) being transported by the cooking conveyor 560a, 560b. For example, the first transfer conveyor 562a may place multiple uncooked food items (e.g., the flatten, sauced and cheesed dough 502e) close together on one cooking conveyor 560, the close spacing which may cause a reduction in the temperature of the associated oven 558 as the uncooked food items (e.g., the flatten, sauced and cheesed dough 502e) pass through. In such a situation, the speed of the one cooking conveyor 560 may be reduced, providing additional time for the uncooked food items 502e which are being cooked or par-baked to reside in the oven 558. In some applications, the first transfer conveyor 562a may leave additional space between adjacent uncooked food items 502e, which may enable the oven 558 to maintain a higher temperature. In such an application, the speed of the associated cooking conveyor 560 may need to be relatively faster to prevent the uncooked food item (e.g., the flatten, sauced and cheesed dough 202e) from being burned. Additional considerations, such as humidity, dough composition, or food/pizza type (e.g., thin crust pizza versus deep dish pizza) may be used to

independently control the speeds for each of the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b. In some implementations, cooking may be controlled at an individual item by item level using an assembly line. Thus, a sequence of food items, for instance pizzas, may vary in constituents from item to item in the sequence. For instance, a first item may be a thin wheat crust cheese pizza, while a second item may be a thick wheat crust pizza loaded with four types of meat, while a third item may be a medium semolina crust pizza with mushrooms.

In some applications, the temperatures of the ovens 558a, 558b and/or the speed of the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b may be controlled by one or more processor-based devices executing processor-executable code based on temperature, humidity, or other conditions fed back to the processor-based devices. In some implementations, the temperature of the ovens 558a, 558b and/or the speed of the cooking conveyors 560a,

560b may be controlled by the operator via one or more controls (e.g., a touch-screen control, one or more knobs, a remote RF control, a networked Web-based control, etc.). The ovens 558a, 558b may be programmed to have a tight hysteresis control that prevents the ovens 558a, 558b from deviating too much from a set temperature, which may further impact the speed of each of the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b. A processor-based device can adjust a speed of travel of the first transfer conveyor 162a to accommodate for such differences in speed of the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b.

The first transfer conveyor 562a may be coupled to a first appendage 564a of a first transfer conveyor robot 566a as an end effector or end of arm tool. The first transfer conveyor robot 566a may be able to move the first transfer conveyor 562a with 6 degrees of freedom. The first appendage 564a can be first be operated to move the first transfer conveyor 562a proximate an end of the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a to retrieve sauced, cheesed, and topped flatten dough 502e from to first the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a. The first transfer conveyor 562a is preferably operated to move the grill, rack, chains 568a in a same direction and at least approximately same speed as a direction and speed at which the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a travels. This helps to prevent the flatten dough 512e from becoming elongated or oblong. The grill, rack, chains 568a of the first transfer conveyor 562a may be closely spaced to or proximate the end of the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a to prevent the sauced, cheesed and topped flatten dough 512e from drooping.

The first appendage 564a may be operated to move the first transfer conveyor 562a proximate a start of one of the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b. The grill, rack, chains 568a of the first transfer conveyor 562a may be operated to transfer the sauced, cheesed, and topped flatten dough 502e from the first transfer conveyor 562a to one of cooking conveyors 560a, 560b. The grill, rack, chains 568a may be coated with a non-stick coating (e.g., food grade PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) commonly available under the trademark TEFLON®, ceramics) to facilitate the transfer of the sauced, cheesed, and topped flatten dough 502e to one of cooking conveyors 560a, 560b. The first transfer conveyor 562a is preferably operated to move the grill, rack, chains 568a in a same direction and at least approximately same speed as a direction and speed at which the oven conveyor 560a, 560b travels. This helps to prevent the flatten, sauced and cheesed dough 502e from becoming elongated or oblong. The grill, rack, chains 568a of the first transfer conveyor 562a may be closely spaced or proximate the start of the oven conveyor 560a, 560b to prevent the sauced, cheesed and topped flatten dough 502e from drooping.

The use of multiple ovens 558a, 558b and cooking conveyors 560a, 560b per first or primary assembly conveyor 522a helps eliminate any backlog that might otherwise occur due to the difference in operating speeds between the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a and the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b. In particular, the first appendage 564a can alternately move between two or more cooking conveyors 560a, 560b for each successive round of sauced, cheesed, topped flatten dough 512e. This allows the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a to operate at relatively high speed, with rounds of flatten dough 512e relatively closely spaced together, while still allowing sufficient time for the sauced, cheesed and topped flatten dough 502e to pass through the respective ovens 558a, 558b to "par-bake" the sauced, cheesed and topped flatten dough 502e to produce par- baked shell 502g, thereby establishing a higher level of rigidity than associated with completely uncooked dough. The higher level of rigidity eases downstream handling requirements in the workflow.

One or more by-pass conveyors 560c may run parallel to the two or more cooking conveyors 560a, 560b to by-pass the multiple ovens 558a, 558b. The by-pass conveyors 560c may be used, for example, when a previously par-baked shell 512g has gone through the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a to receive additional sauce or toppings. The previously par- baked shell 502g may be sufficiently rigid from the previous par-bake procedure that it need not go through the par-bake procedure a second time. The first appendage 564a of the first transfer conveyor 562a can move between the first or primary assembly conveyor 522a and the one or more by-pass conveyors 560c to transfer the previously par-baked shells 512g or other food items. The one or more by-pass conveyors 560c may travel and transport food items at a different speed than the cooking conveyors 560a, 560b. For example, the one or more by-pass conveyors 560c may move faster than the cooking conveyors (i.e., oven conveyor racks) 560a, 560b, thereby quickly transporting the par-baked shells 512g, which need not be cooked within the ovens 558a, 558b, between the first transfer conveyor 562a and the second transfer conveyor 562b.

The on-demand food preparation system 500 may be used to create par-baked shells 512g that comprise sauced, topped flatten and partially cooked dough that includes no further toppings. Such an on-demand food preparation system 500 may include one or more sauce dispensers 530, one or more sauce spreader robots 540, one or more food preparation apparatuses 556 and one or more ovens 158a, 158b, each of which operates as described above. In some implementations, the on-demand food preparation apparatus 502 may include only those components needed to produce the par-baked shells 512g without toppings. In some implementations, the on-demand robotic food assembly line 502 may include other components, such as cheese application robots 554 and/or toppings application robots 556 that the materials to be made into a par-baked shell 512g may by pass (e.g., by traveling on a separate by-pass conveyor to these workstations, or by passing under the workstations without having any cheese or other toppings dispensed). In some applications, the speed of the conveyors 522 may vary based on the food item being transported. For example, par-baked shells 512g may be transported along conveyors 522 traveling at a relatively high speed, whereas sauced, cheesed dough 512d that has topping may be transported along conveyors 522 traveling at a relatively slow speed to prevent the toppings and/or cheese from flying off. Each type of pizza may have a "line speed" that represents the maximum speed that the assembly conveyor 522 may travel when transporting that type of pizza. In some applications, the speed of each assembly conveyor 522 may be no greater than the slowest "line speed" for each pizza or other food item currently on that conveyor 522. In some instances, the speed of the assembly conveyors 522 may vary based upon the loading or transfer time.

Additional detail concerning other aspects of an on-demand food preparation system or on-demand robotic food assembly is discussed in, co-pending United States patent application Serial No. 15/481,240, entitled "On-demand Robotic Food Assembly and Related Systems, Devices and Methods," and filed on April 6, 2017.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary controller 602 that may be used in connection with the on-demand food preparation system 500. Although controller 602 may be described herein as a functional element, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that some or all of the functionality may be performed using one or more additional computing devices which may be external to controller 602. Such computing devices may be included, for example, within a networked environment. Controller 602 may implement, either independently or in cooperation with other components, some or all of the various functions and operations discussed herein.

Although not required, some portion of the specific implementations will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions or logic, such as application modules, objects, or macros being executed by a computer. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the illustrated embodiments as well as other embodiments can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including handheld devices (for instance, web- or network- enabled cellular telephones, tablet computing devices, or PDAs), multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, personal computers ("PCs"), network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The various implementations may be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks or modules are performed by remote processing devices, which may be linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be stored in both local and remote memory storage devices and executed using one or more (either physical or virtual) local or remote processors, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, or combinations thereof.

The controller 602 may take the form of any current or future developed computing system capable of executing one or more instruction sets. The controller 602 may include a processing unit 606, a system memory 608 and a system bus 610 that communicably couples various system components including system memory 608 to processing unit 606. Controller 602 may at times be referred to in the singular herein, but this is not intended to limit the embodiments to a single system, since in certain embodiments, there will be more than one system or other networked computing device involved. Non-limiting examples of commercially available systems include, but are not limited to, an Atom, Pentium, or 80x86 architecture microprocessor as offered by Intel Corporation, a Snapdragon processor as offered by Qualcomm, Inc., a PowerPC microprocessor as offered by IBM, a Spare microprocessor as offered by Sun

Microsystems, Inc., a PA-RISC series microprocessor as offered by Hewlett-Packard Company, an A6 or A8 series processor as offered by Apple Inc., or a 68xxx series microprocessor as offered by Motorola Corporation.

[00084] Processing unit 606 may be any logic processing unit, such as one or more processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application- specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), etc. Unless described otherwise, the construction and operation of the various blocks shown in FIG. 6 are of conventional design. As a result, such blocks need not be described in further detail herein, as they will be understood by those skilled in the relevant art.

[00085] System bus 610 may employ any known bus structures or architectures, including a memory bus with memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus. System memory 608 may include read-only memory ("ROM") 612 and random access memory ("RAM") 614. A basic input/output system ("BIOS") 616, which can form part of ROM 612, contains basic routines that help transfer information between elements within controller 602, such as during start-up. Some embodiments may employ separate buses for data, instructions and power.

[00086] Controller 602 may also include one or more internal nontransitory storage systems 618. Such internal nontransitory storage systems 618 may include, but are not limited to, any current or future developed persistent storage device 620. Such persistent storage devices 620 may include, without limitation, magnetic storage devices such as hard disc drives, electromagnetic storage devices such as 2020-01, molecular storage devices, quantum storage devices, electrostatic storage devices such as solid state drives, and the like.

Controller 602 may also include one or more optional removable nontransitory storage systems 622. Such removable nontransitory storage systems 622 may include, but are not limited to, any current or future developed removable persistent storage device 626. Such removable persistent storage devices 626 may include, without limitation, magnetic storage devices, electromagnetic storage devices such as memristors, molecular storage devices, quantum storage devices, and electrostatic storage devices such as secure digital ("SD") drives, USB drives, memory sticks, or the like. The one or more internal nontransitory storage systems 618 and the one or more optional removable nontransitory storage systems 622 may communicate with processing unit 606 via system bus 610. The one or more internal nontransitory storage systems 618 and the one or more optional removable nontransitory storage systems 622 may include interfaces or device controllers (not shown) communicably coupled between nontransitory storage systems 618, 622 and system bus 610, as is known by those skilled in the relevant art. Nontransitory storage systems 618, 622, and their associated storage devices 620, 626 may provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for controller 602. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that other types of storage devices may be employed to store digital data accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, RAMs, ROMs, smart cards, etc.

Program modules may be stored in system memory 608, such as an operating system 630, one or more application programs 632, other programs or modules 634, drivers 636 and program data 638.

One or more application programs 632 may include, for example, one or more machine executable instruction sets (i.e., height instructions 632a) capable of adjusting a height of spindle 110 and/or support 150 relative to conveyor 522a. One or more application programs 632 may include, for example, one or more machine executable instruction sets (i.e., rotational instructions 632b) capable of adjusting a rotational velocity of spindle 110. Additionally or alternatively, the rotational velocity of spindle 110 may be mechanically functioned by velocity of conveyor 522a or a rotational velocity of transmission 130. One or more application programs 632 may include, for example, one or more machine executable instruction sets (i.e., speed instructions 632c) capable of adjusting the velocity of conveyor 522a. One or more machine executable instruction sets 632a, 632b, 632c (collectively 632) may be provided to one or more output devices 678 in food preparation apparatus 566 and/or conveyor 522a. The application programs 632 may further include one or more machine executable instructions sets (i.e., cooking module 632d) capable of outputting cooking instructions to the cooking units, e.g., ovens 558. In some instances, the controller 602 may be configured and operative to adjust a rotational velocity of spindle 100 based on information obtained from cooking module 632d.

System memory 608 may also include other programs/modules 634, such as including logic for calibrating and/or otherwise training various aspects of the controller 602. The other programs/modules 634 may additionally include various other logic for performing various other operations and/or tasks. System memory 608 may also include any number of communications programs 640 to permit the controller 602 to access and exchange data with other systems or components, such as output devices 678.

While shown in FIG. 6 as being stored in system memory 608, all or a portion of operating system 630, application programs 632, other programs/modules 634, drivers 636, program data 638 and communications programs 640 can be stored on the persistent storage device 620 of the one or more internal nontransitory storage systems 618 or the removable persistent storage device 626 of the one or more optional removable nontransitory storage systems 622.

A user can enter commands and information into controller 602 using one or more input/output ("1/0") devices 642. Such 1/0 devices 642 may include any current or future developed input device capable of transforming a user action or a received input signal to a digital input. Example input devices include, but are not limited to, a touchscreen, a physical or virtual keyboard, a microphone, a pointing device, or the like. These and other input devices may be connected to processing unit 606 through an interface 646 such as a universal serial bus ("USB") interface communicably coupled to system bus 610, although other interfaces such as a parallel port, a game port or a wireless interface or a serial port may be used. A display 670 or similar output device is communicably coupled to the system bus 610 via a video interface 650, such as a video adapter or graphical processing unit ("GPU").

In some embodiments, controller 602 operates in an environment using one or more of network interfaces 656 to optionally communicably couple to one or more remote computers, servers, display devices 678 and/or other devices via one or more

communications channels, for example, one or more networks such as network 680. These logical connections may facilitate any known method of permitting computers to communicate, such as through one or more LANs and/or WANs. Such networking environments are well known in wired and wireless enterprise- wide computer networks, intranets, extranets, and the Internet.

Further, database interface 652, which is communicably coupled to system bus 610, may be used for establishing communications with a database stored on one or more computer- readable media 660. For example, database 660 may include a repository for storing information regarding food item cooking conditions as a function of time, etc.

FIG. 7 is a high level logic flow diagram of a method of operation of a food preparation system in accordance with one implementation. The method 700 may be executable by hardware circuitry, for example, a processor-based control system or PLC. Logic may be hardwired in the circuitry or stored as processor-executable instructions in one or more non-transitory processor- readable media.

The method 700 starts at 701. The method 700 may, for example, start on powering up of a food preparation apparatus 100, 556 or on-demand food preparation system, such as set forth above, or upon invocation of the method 700 from a calling routine. As indicated at FIG. 7, a method of operating a food preparation system may generally begin, at block 701, with operating a conveyor to advance food items along a food preparation path. Additionally or alternatively, the method may include operating the conveyor to advance flatten rounds of dough food items along the food preparation food item path. The method may continue, at block 702, with causing a spindle having a plurality of pins to rotate about an axis of rotation. The method may continue, at block 703, with engaging the food items on the conveyor with the pins of the spindle as the spindle rotates and the conveyor moves. The method may continue, at block 704, with placing the food items into one or more ovens after engaging the food items on the conveyor with the pins of the spindle. Additionally or alternatively, the food items may be placed into one or more ovens before engaging the food items on the conveyor with the pins of the spindle, such as in the case of par- baked dough.

FIG. 8 is a high level logic flow diagram of a method of operation of a food preparation apparatus in accordance with one implementation. The method 800 may be executable by hardware circuitry, for example, a processor-based control system or PLC. Logic may be hardwired in the circuitry or stored as processor-executable instructions in one or more nontransitory processor-readable media.

The method 800 starts at 801. The method 800 may, for example, start on powering up of a food preparation apparatus 100 (or 556 in an on-demand food preparation system), such as set forth above, or upon invocation of the method 800 from a calling routine. As indicated at FIG. 8, a method of operating a food preparation apparatus may generally begin, at block 801, with providing a spindle, the spindle having a length, the spindle mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation. The method may continue, at block 802, with providing a plurality of pins, the pins which extend radially outward from the spindle and distributed about the axis of rotation and over a substantial portion of the length of the spindle. The method may continue, at block 803, with coupling at least one transmission to the spindle to drive the spindle to rotate about the axis of rotation. The method may continue, at block 804, with providing a coupler that couples the food preparation apparatus to a support with the spindle and pins positioned to piercingly engage food carried by a conveyor coupling at least one transmission to the spindle to drive the spindle to rotate about the axis of rotation.

Various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, schematics, and examples have been set forth herein. Insofar as such block diagrams, schematics, and examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any

combination thereof. In one embodiment, the present subject matter may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in standard integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more controllers (e.g.,

microcontrollers) as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art in light of this disclosure.

When logic is implemented as software and stored in memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that logic or information, can be stored on any computer readable medium for use by or in connection with any computer and/or processor related system or method. In the context of this document, a memory is a computer readable medium that is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other another physical device or means that contains or stores a computer and/or processor program. Logic and/or the information can be embodied in any computer readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions associated with logic and/or information. In the context of this specification, a "computer readable medium" can be any means that can store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program associated with logic and/or information for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, and/or device. The computer readable medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic, compact flash card, secure digital, or the like), a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM). Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program associated with logic and/or information is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in memory.

In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain mechanisms of taught herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include, but are not limited to, the following: recordable type media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CD ROMs, digital tape, and computer memory; and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links using TOM or IP based communication links (e.g., packet links).

The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. U.S. patent 9,292,889, issued March 22, 2016, titled "Systems and Methods of Preparing Food Products"; U.S. patent application Serial No. 62/311,787; U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/040,866, filed February 10, 2016, titled, "Systems and Methods of Preparing Food Products"; PCT Application No. PCT/US2014/042879, filed June 18, 2014, titled, "Systems and Methods of Preparing Food Products"; U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/465,230, filed March 21, 2017, titled, "Container for Transport and Storage of Food Products"; United States patent application Serial No. 16/170,748, entitled "Multi- Modal Vehicle Implemented Food Preparation, Cooking, and Distribution Systems and Methods" and filed on October 15, 2018; United States provisional patent application Serial No. 62/747,640, entitled "Configurable Meal Kit Preparation and Storage Vehicle and Related Methods and Articles" and filed on October 18, 2018; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/311,787, filed March 22, 2016, titled, "Container for Transport and Storage of Food Products"; PCT Application No. PCT/US2017/023408, filed March 21, 2017, titled, "Container for Transport and Storage of Food Products"; United States patent application Serial No. 62/628,390, entitled "Configurable Food Delivery Vehicle and Related Methods and Articles" and filed on February 9, 2018; U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/481240, filed April 6, 2017, titled, "On-Demand Robotic Food Assembly and Related Systems, Devices, and Methods"; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/320,282, filed April 8, 2016, titled, "On-Demand Robotic Food Assembly and Related Systems, Devices, and Methods"; PCT Application No. PCT/US 17/26408, filed April 6, 2017, titled, "On-Demand Robotic Food Assembly and Related Systems, Devices, and Methods"; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/394,063, filed September 13, 2016, titled, "Cutter with Radially Disposed Blades"; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/613,272, file January 3, 2018, titled "MULTI-MODAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS USING VENDING KIOSKS AND AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY VEHICLES"; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/531, 131, filed July 7, 2017, titled "CONFIGURABLE FOOD DELIVERY VEHICLE AND RELATED METHODS AND ARTICLES"; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/531136, filed July 11, 2017, titled "CONFIGURABLE FOOD DELIVERY VEHICLE AND RELATED METHODS AND ARTICLES"; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/532885, filed July 14, 2017, titled "MULTI-MODAL VEHICLE IMPLEMENTED FOOD

PREPARATION, COOKING, AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS"; U.S. patent application Serial No. 29/558,872; U.S. patent application Serial No.

29/558,873; and U.S. patent application Serial No. 29/558,874 are each incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the teachings. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosed embodiments.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A food preparation apparatus, comprising:

a spindle, the spindle having a length , the spindle mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation;

a plurality of pins, the pins which extend radially outward from the spindle and distributed about the axis of rotation and over a substantial portion of the length of the spindle;

at least one transmission coupled to the spindle to drive the spindle to rotate about the axis of rotation; and

a coupler that couples the food preparation apparatus to a support with the spindle and pins positioned to piercingly engage food carried by a conveyor.

2. The food preparation apparatus of claim 1 wherein the spindle is a rod.

3. The food preparation apparatus of claim 1 wherein the spindle is a cylindrical tube.

4. The food preparation apparatus of claim 1 wherein the spindle consists of a food grade material and the pins consist of a food grade material.

5. The food preparation apparatus of claim 4 wherein the spindle comprises stainless steel.

6. The food preparation apparatus of claim 5 wherein the pins comprise stainless steel.

7. The food preparation apparatus of claim 5 wherein the pins comprise silicone.

8. The food preparation apparatus of claim 5 wherein the pins are arranged in a plurality of sets of pins, the pins in each set of the pins are rotationally offset from the pins in a nearest neighbor set of the pins along the length of the spindle.

9. The food preparation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a releasable coupler to detachably couple the food preparation apparatus to a support, to facilitate removal of the food preparation apparatus from the support for cleaning, repair or replacement.

10. The food preparation apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transmission comprises a wheel having an axis, an outer perimeter and a radius that extends from the axis to the outer perimeter, the spindle mechanically coupled to the axis of the wheel, the radius sized to achieve a defined angular velocity based on a translational velocity of a conveyor.

11. The food preparation apparatus of claim 10 wherein the coupler is a releasable coupler to detachably couple the food preparation apparatus to the support to facilitate removal of the food preparation apparatus from the support, and which positions the outer perimeter of the wheel of the transmission on contact with a surface of the conveyor to drivingly couple the wheel to the conveyor.

12. The food preparation apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transmission drivingly couples the spindle to an electric motor, and synchronizes rotation of the spindle to a speed of movement along a portion of a food preparation path.

13. A food preparation system, comprising: a conveyor having a width;

a spindle, the spindle having a length, the spindle mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation;

a plurality of pins, the pins extending radially outward from the spindle and distributed about the axis of rotation and over a substantial portion of the length of the spindle, the spindle and pins positioned to piercingly engage food carried by the conveyor; and

a transmission drivingly coupled to rotate the spindle about the axis of rotation in synchronization with a movement of at least a portion of the conveyor.

14. The food preparation system of claim 13 wherein a portion of the at least one transmission physically engages a portion of the conveyor.

15. The food preparation system of claim 14 wherein the portion of the at least one transmission that physically engages the portion of the conveyor is a periphery of a drive wheel.

16. The food preparation system of claim 13 wherein the spindle is mounted above the conveyor with distal portions of the pins when closest to a top surface of the conveyor spaced therefrom by a defined distance, the distal portions of the pins spaced away from the spindle relative to proximate portions of the pins.

17. The food preparation system of claim 16 wherein the defined distance is less than a thickness of a food item to prepare using the food preparation system.

18. The food preparation system of claim 16 wherein the defined distance is less than a thickness of a flattened piece of dough to be prepared using the food preparation system.

19. The food preparation system of claim 16 wherein the defined distance is less than a thickness of a flattened par-baked piece of dough to be prepared using the food preparation system.

20. The food preparation system of claim 13 wherein the spindle consists of a food grade material and the pins consist of a food grade material.

21. The food preparation system of claim 20 wherein the spindle comprises stainless steel.

22. The food preparation system of claim 21 wherein the pins comprise stainless steel.

23. The food preparation system of claim 21 wherein the pins comprise silicone.

24. The food preparation system of claim 13 wherein the pins are arranged in a plurality of sets of pins, the pins in each set of the pins are rotational offset from the pins in a nearest neighbor set of the pins along the length of the spindle.

25. The food preparation system of claim 13 wherein the transmission comprises a wheel having an axis, an outer perimeter and a radius that extends from the axis to the outer perimeter, the spindle mechanically coupled to the axis of the wheel, the radius sized to achieve a defined angular velocity based on a translational velocity of the conveyor.

26. The food preparation system of claim 13, further comprising: a support; and a releasable coupler to detachably couple the food preparation spindle and transmission to the support.

27. The food preparation system of claim 26 wherein the transmission comprises a wheel having an axis, an outer perimeter and a radius that extends from the axis to the outer perimeter, the spindle mechanically coupled to the axis of the wheel, the radius sized to achieve a defined angular velocity based on a translational velocity of the conveyor, and wherein the releasable coupler and the support position the outer perimeter of the wheel to contact a portion of the conveyor when the spindle and transmission are coupled to the support by the releasable coupler.

28. The food preparation system of claim 13, further comprising:

at least one oven positioned downstream of the spindle in a direction of transit of food items to be prepared by the food preparation apparatus.

29. The food preparation system of claim 13, further comprising:

an electric motor, wherein the transmission drivingly couples the spindle to the electric motor and synchronizes rotation of the spindle to a speed of movement of food items along a portion of a food preparation path.

30. A method of operation of a food preparation system, comprising:

operating a conveyor to advance food items along a preparation food item path; causing a spindle having a plurality of pins to rotate about an axis of rotation; and engaging the food items on the conveyor with the pins of the spindle as the spindle rotates and as the conveyor moves.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising: placing the food items into one or more ovens after engaging the food items on the conveyor with the pins of the spindle.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein operating a conveyor to advance food items along a preparation food item path includes operating the conveyor to advance flattened rounds of dough food items along the preparation food item path.