Fresh Departments Management System
First Claim
1. An automated custom food preparation system, comprising:
- a plurality of automated slicing apparatus;
an output device; and
a computer system, comprisingan order input module for accepting orders from a customer, a dispatch manager for instructing one of said automated slicing apparatus to slice said order; and
a notification module in communication with said output device to notify an operator as to the identity of said automated slicing apparatus that is slicing said order.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The system comprises a central processing module that is configured to interconnect the fresh departments and operational functions. These tasks can include facilitated order fulfillment, inventory and accounting functions, sanitation, maintenance, traceability and others. This is a system that integrates various sub-systems within the fresh departments, as well as integrating the fresh departments together. The system may also utilize a plurality of slicing machines that communicate with the centralized processing unit. The software modules resident in the processing unit receive inputs that represent customer orders, and dispatch these orders to the plurality of slicing machines. The slicing machines are in communication with the software modules such that the modules are aware of the food product that is currently placed on the slicer. In this way, the software modules are able to direct specific orders to a particular slicing machine, minimizing human interaction and customer wait time.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An automated custom food preparation system, comprising:
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a plurality of automated slicing apparatus; an output device; and a computer system, comprising an order input module for accepting orders from a customer, a dispatch manager for instructing one of said automated slicing apparatus to slice said order; and a notification module in communication with said output device to notify an operator as to the identity of said automated slicing apparatus that is slicing said order. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An automated custom food preparation method, comprising:
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entering a customer'"'"'s order into a computer, said computer in communication with a plurality of automated slicing apparatus and an output device; slicing at least part of said customer'"'"'s order on one of said plurality of automated slicing apparatus; and notifying an operator using said output device of an identity of said one of said plurality of automated slicing apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An automated process of creating pre-packaged food items, comprising:
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using an automated slicing apparatus to slice said pre-packaged food item; estimating consumption of said pre-packaged food item; and slicing additional pre-packaged food items based on said estimated consumption using said automated slicing apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification