A food material dispensing apparatus for adding a topping to a target food is described. The apparatus comprises a first hopper and a first food distributing system. The first hopper is adapted for receiving the food material at an inlet and delivering the good material through an outlet toward a target location. The first food distributing system is designed for spreading the food material over the target food. The food distributing system includes a motor positioned a horizontal distance from the inlet of the first hopper, a curved conduit, and a flexible, rotary shaft. The curved conduit has a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end is releaseably connected to the motor, and the distal end is adapted for insertion into the hopper. The flexible, rotary shaft is for stirring and/or mixing the food material. The flexible, rotary shaft passing passes through the curved conduit and is operatively connected at a first end to the motor and at a second end to a distributing blade. The apparatus can be operated to dispense food material either on sequential target foods that advance on a stop-and-go conveyor belt, or on virtually stationary transfer belts that then advance and deliver food material thereon to sequential target foods that are advancing on a continuously operating conveyor belt.
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1. A food material dispensing apparatus for adding a topping food material to a target food, comprising:
a first hopper for receiving the food material at an inlet and delivering the food material through an outlet toward a target food location; and a first food distributing system for spreading the food material over the target food at the target food location, the food distributing system including a motor positioned a horizontal distance from the inlet of the first hopper, a curved conduit having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end releaseably connected to the motor and the distal end for insertion into the hopper, and a flexible, rotary shaft for stirring the food material, the flexible, rotary shaft passing through the curved conduit and operatively connected at a first rotary shaft end thereof to the motor, and a rotatable distributing blade for evenly distributing the food material so delivered from the outlet, the distributing blade being operatively connected to a second rotary shaft end.
11. A continuous food material dispensing apparatus for adding a topping food material to each one of a plurality of similarly sized target foods, sequentially arranged on a continuously advancing conveyor belt, the apparatus comprising:
a first and a second hopper, each hopper for receiving the food material in an inlet and for delivering the food material through an outlet toward a plurality of target locations foods that progressively advance generally beneath the outlets of the first and the second hoppers; and a first and a second curved conduit, each conduit having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal ends releaseably connected to each of first and second motors, respectively, and the distal ends for insertion into each of the first and the second hoppers, respectively, and a first flexible, rotary shaft and a second flexible, rotary shaft for stirring the food material , the flexible, rotary shafts passing through each of the first and the second conduits, respectively, and being operatively connected at each first ends end thereof to each of the first and the second motors, respectively.
0. 21. A continuous food material dispensing system for adding a food material to each one of a plurality of similar target foods comprising:
(a) a conveyor belt for continuously transporting said plurality of target foods sequentially, including means for continuously advancing the conveyor belt; (b) a hopper that is vertically located over said conveyor belt, said hopper having an upper inlet for receiving and a lower outlet that is smaller than the upper outlet for delivering a predetermined amount of food material charged to said hopper; (c) a plurality of distributing blades positioned adjacent to said outlet, including means for rotating said distributing blades, for evenly distributing food material so delivered from said outlet; (d) a mask member located in circumferentially spaced relationship about said outlet, said mask member for defining the area in which food material so delivered from said outlet is evenly distributed; (e) a transfer belt of substantially shorter length than said conveyor belt positioned between and in vertical alignment with said conveyor belt and with said outlet, and having a stop and go drive means, for receiving while stationary food material so delivered from said outlet, and thereafter for advancing in the direction of advance of said conveyor belt to deliver so received food material thereon from a forward edge region thereof upon a succeeding target food of said target food plurality on said conveyor belt that is vertically aligned with said forward end region and that is so advancing on said conveyor belt; (f) photoeye means located in a fixed position over said conveyor belt and upstream from said transfer belt for determining the leading edge location of each succeeding target food of said plurality of target foods so advancing on said conveyor belt; and (g) control means cooperative with both said transfer belt and also with said photoeye means, for synchronizing the advance of said transfer belt with the advance of each said so photoeye location determined succeeding target food advancing on said conveyor belt until said food material is transferred from said advancing transfer belt to said succeeding target food; whereby food material so received on said transfer belt is so delivered to each succeeding one of said plurality of target foods so advancing on said conveyor belt.
0. 24. A method for dispensing food material upon individual target foods that are sequentially arranged on a conveyor belt that continuously advances along an elongated, generally horizontal first pathway, said method comprising the succeeding steps of:
(a) locating a plurality of hoppers vertically over and in longitudinal alignment relative to each other and relative to the direction of advance of said conveyor belt, each hopper having an upper inlet for receiving and having a lower outlet that is smaller than the upper outlet and delivering, a predetermined amount of food material charged to each hopper; (b) positioning a plurality of distributing blades, each blade being adjacent a different outlet of each one of said hoppers, and rotating each said distributing blade, and evenly distributing food material so delivered from each said hopper; (c) establishing a plurality of similarly configured mask members, each mask member being set in circumferentially spaced relationship about a different outlet of each one of said hoppers, and defining the area in which food material is so delivered is evenly distributed; (d) arranging a plurality of transfer belts, each transfer belt being of substantially shorter length than said conveyor belt, each transfer belt being positioned between and in vertical alignment with said conveyor belt and with a different one of said hoppers, and providing stop and go advancing means for each transfer belt, and each transfer belt receiving while stationary food material so delivered and so distributed from the vertically adjacent one of said hoppers, and thereafter advancing in the direction of advance of said conveyor belt to deliver so received food material thereon from a forward edge region thereof upon a succeeding target food of said target food plurality advancing on said conveyor belt while said succeeding target food is vertically aligned therewith; (e) locating a photoeye in a fixed position over said conveyor belt and upstream from said transfer belts and determining the leading edge location of each succeeding target food of said plurality of target foods so advancing on said conveyor belt; and (f) interconnecting said photoeye, and sequentially, selectively and cyclically advancing each one of said transfer belts of said transfer belt plurality, and synchronizing the advance of each so advancing one of said transfer belts with the advance of each said so photoeye-location determined succeeding target food advancing on said conveyor belt until said food material is transferred from said advancing transfer belt to said succeeding target food; whereby food material so received on each said transfer belt is so delivered to each succeeding one of said plurality of target foods so advancing on said conveyor belt.
0. 22. A continuous food material dispensing system for adding a food material to each one of a plurality of similar target foods comprising:
(a) a conveyor belt for continuously transporting said plurality of target foods sequentially including means for continuously advancing the conveyor belt; (b) a plurality of hoppers that are vertically located over and are longitudinally aligned relative to each other and relative to the direction of advance of said conveyor belt, each hopper having an upper inlet for receiving and a lower outlet that is smaller than the upper outlet for delivering a predetermined amount of food material charged to each said hopper; (c) a plurality of distributing blades, each one positioned adjacent to a different outlet of each one of said hoppers, including means for rotating each said distributing blade, each distributing blade for evenly distributing food material so delivered from each said hopper; (d) a plurality of similarly configured mask members, each mask member being located in circumferentially spaced relationship about a different outlet of each one of said hoppers, each mask member for defining the area in which food material is so delivered is evenly distributed; (e) a plurality of transfer belts, each one of substantially shorter length than said conveyor belt, each one positioned between and in vertical alignment with said conveyor belt and with a different one of said hoppers, each one having a stop-and-go drive means, and each one for receiving while stationary food material so delivered and so distributed from the vertically adjacent one of said hoppers, and thereafter for advancing in the direction of advance of said conveyor belt to deliver so received food material thereon from a forward edge region thereof upon a succeeding target food of said target food plurality that is vertically aligned therewith and that is so advancing on said conveyor belt; (f) photoeye means located in a fixed position over said conveyor belt and upstream from said transfer belts for determining the leading edge location of each succeeding target food of said plurality of target foods so advancing on said conveyor belt; and (g) control means cooperative with said photoeye means, for sequentially, selectively and cyclically advancing each one of said transfer belts of said transfer belt plurality, and for synchronizing the advance of each advancing one of said transfer belts with the advance of each said so photoeye location determined succeeding target food advancing on said conveyor belt until said food material is transferred from said advancing transfer belt to said succeeding target food; whereby food material so received on each said transfer belt is so delivered to each succeeding one of said plurality of target foods so advancing on said conveyor belt.
20. A continuous food material dispensing apparatus for adding a topping food material to each one of a plurality of target foods of predetermined uniform individual size, comprising:
a first and a second hopper, each hopper for receiving the food material at an inlet and for gravitationally delivering a predetermined amount of the food material through an outlet toward a plurality of target locations of predetermined size ; a first and a second motor, each motor positioned at a distance from the first and second hoppersrespectively; a first and a second curved conduit, each conduit having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal ends each being releaseably connected to the first and second motors, respectively, and each of the distal ends for insertion into the first and the second hoppers, respectively, and a first and a second flexible, rotary shaft for stirring the food material , each of the flexible, rotary shafts passing through the first and second conduits, respectively, and operatively connected at respective flexible, rotary shaft first ends to each of the first and the second motors, respectively; a first and a second stirring shaft for mixing the food material , each stirring shaft operatively connected to a second end of each respective flexible, rotary shaft; a first distributing blade and a second distributing blade for evenly distributing the predetermined amount of food material over the food targets connected to the first and second stirring shafts, respectively so delivered from the outlet of each of the first and the second hoppers, respectively; a first and a second mask member, each mask member located in circumferentially spaced relationship to the outlet of each of the first and the second hoppers, respectively, and each mask member being similarly configured relative to the other, so that the mask members conform to the size of the individual target foods of the plurality of target foods; a conveyor belt for transporting the target foods toward the first and second hoppers that extends beneath the outlets of the first and the second hoppers and also beneath the first and the second mask members, respectively, that is vertically and longitudinally aligned relative to the direction of conveyor belt advance with the first and the second hoppers, respectively, that include means for continuously and uniformly advancing the conveyor belt, and that on which the plurality of target foods is sequentially arranged for transporting the target foods toward the first and the second hoppers and successively beneath the outlets of the first and the second hopper outlets, respectively; means for predetermining the size of each target food positioned on the conveyor belt; means for predetermining the amount of food material needed to cover each food target in communication with the means for predetermining the size of the target food; and a first transfer belt and a second transfer belt, that are each of shorter length than the conveyor belt, that are each transfer belt positioned in vertical alignment with and between the conveyor belt wherein the predetermined amount of food material is deposited from the hoppers onto the transfer belts which continuously deliver the food material to the plurality of target foods located on the conveyor belt. and the outlet of a different one of each of the first and the second hoppers, respectively, and that are each provided with a first and a second stop and go drive means, respectively, so that the predetermined amount of the food material so delivered from the outlet of each of the first and the second hoppers is deposited onto the first and the second transfer belts, respectively, while stationary, after which the transfer belts each advance in the direction of advance of the conveyor belt and deliver the food material thereon to individual target foods of the plurality of target foods located on the conveyor belt; photoeye means for determining the location of each succeeding target food of the plurality of target foods advancing on the conveyor belt in relation to the first and the second transfer belts, said photoeye means being located in a fixed position over the conveyor belt and before the outlet of the first hopper relative to the direction of advance of the conveyor belt; and control means cooperative with the photoeye means for sequentially, selectively and cyclically advancing each one of the first and the second transfer belts, and for synchronizing the relative positions of each so advancing one of the first and the second transfer belts with the position of each so-location determined, succeeding target food on the continuously advancing conveyor belt; whereby the food material so deposited on each transfer belt is sequentially delivered in an accurate and precise manner to each succeeding one of the target foods advancing on the conveyor belt.
2. The food material dispensing apparatus of
3. The food material dispensing apparatus of
4. The food material dispensing apparatus of
0. 5. The food material dispensing apparatus of
6. The food material dispensing apparatus of
7. The food material dispensing apparatus of
wherein a conveyor belt, including means for continuously advancing the conveyor belt, is positioned under the outlet and over the target food location and whereon a plurality of target foods is sequentially arranged, wherein a mask member is located in circumferentially spaced relationship about the outlet for conforming so delivered and distributed food material, wherein the target location is a transfer belt of shorter length than the conveyor belt and is positioned beneath the mask member, and between and in vertical alignment with the conveyor belt and also the first hopper outlet, and the transfer belt includes stop-and-go drive means, and wherein the food material so delivered by the hopper and distributed by the distributing blade within the mask member is deposited on the transfer belt while stationary after which the transfer belt advances and which delivers the food material thereon to the an individual target food of the plurality of target foods located and advancing on the conveyor belt.
8. The food material dispensing apparatus of
9. The food material dispensing apparatus of claim 1 7 further comprising means for determining the location of the each succeeding target food of the target food plurality on the conveyor belt and means for synchronizing the relative positions of the hopper and the target location wherein each location-identified succeeding target food on the advancing conveyor belt with the food material so deposited on the advancing transfer belt whereby the food material is delivered in an accurate and precise manner to the each target food.
10. The food material dispensing apparatus of
12. The food material dispensing apparatus of
13. The food material dispensing apparatus of
14. The food material dispensing apparatus of
15. The food material dispensing apparatus of
16. The food material dispensing apparatus of
17. The food material dispensing apparatus of
wherein a first and a second shroud is located in circumferentially spaced relationship about each of the first and the second outlets, respectively, wherein the target locations are located atop a first and a second transfer belts belt is positioned beneath the first and the second mask members, respectively, and is in vertical alignment with and is located between the underlying conveyor belt and the overlying outlets of the first and the second hoppers, respectively, and each of the first and the second transfer belts has first and second stop-and-go drive means, respectively, and wherein the food material is deposited on the from the outlet of each of the first and the second hoppers through the first and the second distributing blades, respectively, and through the first and the second mask members, respectively, onto each of the first and the second transfer belts which deliver , respectively, while each of the first and the second transfer belts is stationary after which each of the transfer belts advances and delivers the food material to thereon to respective individual succeeding target foods of the plurality of target foods located on the continuously advancing conveyor belt.
18. The food material dispensing apparatus of claim 11 17 further comprising
photoeye means for determining the location of the each succeeding target food of the plurality of target foods advancing on the conveyor belt in relation to the first and the second transfer belts, said photoeye means being located in a fixed position over the conveyor belt and before the outlet of the first hopper relative to the direction of advance of the conveyor belt, and control means cooperative with the photoeye means for sequentially, selectively and cyclically advancing each one of the first and the second transfer belts, and for synchronizing the relative positions of the hopper and the target location of each so advancing one of the first and the second transfer belts with each so-location determined, succeeding target food on the continuously advancing conveyor belt, wherein whereby the food material so deposited on each transfer belt is delivered in an accurate and precise manner to each succeeding one of the target food foods advancing on the conveyor belt.
19. The food material dispensing apparatus of
0. 23. The food material dispensing system of
0. 25. The method of
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The present invention relates generally to automated dispensing devices, and, more particularly to an apparatus for applying cheese to individual pizza shells, such as at a high volume producer of frozen pizzas.
Pizza making is generally a labor intensive undertaking. Pizza crusts or shells are produced from a dough substance, seasoned tomato sauce is added and spread evenly over the shell, and other toppings such as cheese, meats, and vegetables are added according to personal taste. In many situations, it is advantageous to produce pizzas as fast as possible. This is the case in the manufacture of frozen pizzas.
It is simply not cost effective to manually produce individual frozen pizzas. In order for the manufacturer to achieve a suitable profit margin, frozen pizzas must be produced rapidly with as little human intervention as possible. Manufacturers have incorporated many different devices in the pizza making operation to automate certain tasks. Chief among these tasks is the addition of toppings. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,525,374 described an automated pizza meat dispenser; U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,726 describes a an automated device for adding a flowable material, such as pizza sauce, to a food target; U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,097 describes a food ingredient dispensing device; U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,367 describes an apparatus for applying pizza sauce to a pizza; and, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,523,101 describes a multi-purpose applicator.
It is also important for the different automated dispensers to operate as efficiently and quickly as possible. Therefore, it is advantageous to design a dispenser which functions continuously or does not pause embodiment of
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiment illustrated.
In the preferred embodiment shown in
The first and second hoppers 12, 12a are substantially identical. Each hopper 12 is supported by a beam member 16 within a frame 18 so that the hoppers 12, 12a are suspended and vertically displaced above supporting portions 20 of the frame 18. The hoppers 12, 12a have inlets 22, 22a for accepting a predetermined amount of topping and outlets 24,24a through which the topping passes toward the target location. The inlets 22, 22a have a larger cross-sectional area than that of the outlets 24, 24a so that the hoppers 12, 12a have a funnel-like shape for directing the topping to a concentrated area.
Each hopper 12 is illustratively shown equipped with a food distributing system 14. Referring to
Each curved conduit 28 is attached to one of the motors 26. The curved conduits 28 are preferably produced from stainless steel tubing. A proximal end 36 of each curved conduit 28 is attached to the motor 26. A distal end 38 of each curved conduit 28 is inserted into the hopper 12. Thus, the curved conduits 28 extend from the motors 26 to the inlets 22, enter an interior portion 40 of the hoppers 12, and extend downwardly toward the hopper outlets 24. At the proximal ends 36, the curved conduits 28 are designed to be detachable from the motors 26 for easy cleaning and maintenance.
The flexible, rotary shafts 30 each extend from the a motor 26 through the a curved conduit 28 into the a hoppers 12. The flexible, rotary shafts 30 are operatively connected at first ends 42 to the motors 26. Second ends 44 of the flexible, rotary shafts 30 are positioned substantially adjacent the distal ends 38 of the curved conduits 28. First and second stirring shafts 46 are operatively connected to each of the second ends 44 of the respective flexible, rotary shafts 30. The stirring shafts 46 are produced from a rigid material and adapted for stirring and/or mixing the food material.
Collars 48 are fitted around the distal ends 38 of the curved conduits 28 for preventing the food material from entering the curved conduits 28. Each collar 48 has first and second interlocking parts 50, 52. The first part 50 engages the curved conduit 28. The second part 52 extends down the a length of the stirring shaft 46 and engages an abutment 56 on the stirring shaft 46 to form a seal 58 which prevents the food material from entering the curved conduit 28.
First and second distributing blades 60 illustratively are operatively connected to the first and second stirring shafts 46, respectively. The motors Each blade 60 is located below and adjacent to a different one of outlets 24, 24a and the blades 60 are rotatably driven. Hence, each motor 26 turn the turns a different subassembly of flexible, rotary shafts shaft 30, the stirring shafts shaft 46, and the distributing blades blade 60 cooperating cooperatively to mix the food material issuing from the outlets 24, 24a and evenly distribute a predetermined amount of the food material over the target locations.
In one embodiment the target locations, are top portions of the food targets. This embodiment is illustrated in
Although removed from the apparatus 10 views shown in
As illustrated in
In operation, the first hopper 12 delivers the predetermined amount of food material to the first transfer belt 66. The first transfer belt 66 is stationary as it receives food material from the first hopper 12. The first transfer belt 66 then begins to traverse in the same direction as the conveyor belt 62. The first transfer belt 66 carries the food material toward a first delivery end 68. The speed of the first transfer belt 66 is synchronized with the speed of the conveyor belt 62. As the food material reaches the first delivery end 68, the food material on the advancing transfer belt 66 is in vertical alignment with a particular food target on the advancing conveyor belt 62, and, as the synchronized speed of the transfer belt 66 continues, the food material is gravitationally delivered to the target food positioned on the conveyor belt 62 below. The first and second hoppers 12, 12a act in conjunction with the first and second transfer belts 66 to delivery food material successively to each of a plurality of continuously moving target foods. In other words, as the separate target foods enter the apparatus 10 the first separate target food receives food material from the first transfer belt 66 and the second separate target food receives food material from the second transfer belt 66a, and, although the transfer belts 66, 66a stop to receive food material from the hoppers 12, 12a, the conveyor belt 62 does not need to stop.
The food dispensing apparatus 10 further comprises a means for determining the location of the target food on the conveyor belt 62 and a means for synchronizing the relative positions of the hopper 12 and the target location so that the food material is delivered in an accurate and precise manner to the target food. It is contemplated that a first photoeye 72 is used to determine the actual size of the target food. The information gathered by the first photoeye 72 is communicated to a controller. A second photoeye 76 senses the leading edge of each target food, so that the controller, using the size information from the first photoeye, can regulate how far the conveyor belt 62 needs to traverse to place the target food directly under the outlet 24 of the hopper 12, as in the apparatus of
In the preferred embodiment, the second photoeye 76 senses the leading edge of the each target food. The controller, using the size information from the first photoeye 72, and the location information from the second photoeye 76, can synchronize the speed of one of the transfer belts 66, 66a with the speed of conveyor belt 62, so that the food material on each transfer belt is delivered approximately to the center central area of the target food when the food material is gravitationally delivered to the target food from such transfer belt.
While specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying claims.
Fitch, Jr., Clifford E., Egan, James N.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Mar 07 2002 | Clifford E., Fitch, Jr. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Jun 30 2015 | FITCH, CLIFFORD E , JR | J E GROTE COMPANY, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 036439 | /0837 | |
Jun 30 2015 | EGAN, JAMES N | J E GROTE COMPANY, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 036439 | /0837 |
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