Vending systems for hot foods
First Claim
1. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
- a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying machine readable heating instructions on a lateral extension of a horizontal flange extending outward from an upwardly extending wall of the tray;
a microwave oven whose horizontal dimensions are those of the trays and exceed them only by up to 10 mm, the vertical dimension of the microwave oven to ensure that a resonant cavity, bounded by one of the trays, is produced for microwave radiation of the wavelength used;
a reading head adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven; and
means for feeding one of said trays into the microwave oven on demand.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vending system for hot food comprises stacks of food-containing trays of a standard size, a microwave oven whose horizontal dimensions are similar to those of the trays and whose vertical dimension is preferably such as to produce a resonant cavity for the wavelength used, and means for feeding a selected one of the trays into the microwave oven on demand. The radiation is preferably introduced through a waveguide into the top of the tray. Each tray preferably carries heating instructions in machine readable code, e.g. as apertures on lateral extensions of a horizontal flange, and a reading head reads the instructions and adjusts the microwave oven accordingly. The stacks of trays may be held in a rotary magazine and selected by push-buttons.
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Citations
64 Claims
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1. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying machine readable heating instructions on a lateral extension of a horizontal flange extending outward from an upwardly extending wall of the tray; a microwave oven whose horizontal dimensions are those of the trays and exceed them only by up to 10 mm, the vertical dimension of the microwave oven to ensure that a resonant cavity, bounded by one of the trays, is produced for microwave radiation of the wavelength used; a reading head adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven; and means for feeding one of said trays into the microwave oven on demand. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying heating instructions; a microwave oven whose horizontal dimensions are similar to those of the trays and exceed them only by up to substantially 10 mm, the vertical dimensions of the microwave oven being such as to ensure that a resonant cavity, bounded by one of the trays, is produced for microwave radiation of the wavelength used; a magazine for containing the plurality of stacks of trays; means for rotating the magazine to bring a selected stack of trays into position adjacent to an entry door of the oven; means for cutting away a lid from the uppermost tray of the selected stack; means for opening the entry door; means for introducing said uppermost tray into the oven through the entry door; means for closing the entry door and an exit door of the oven; means for opening the exit door on completion of the heating of the food in the tray; a reading head adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven; and means for feeding one of said trays into the microwave oven on demand. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying machine readable heating instructions; a microwave oven whose horizontal dimensions are similar to those of the trays and exceed them only by up to substantially 10 mm, the vertical dimensions of the microwave oven being such as to ensure that a resonant cavity, bounded by one of the trays, is produced for microwave radiation of the wavelength used; a reading head adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven; and means for feeding each tray vertically to contact the underside of the walls of the oven and to form the oven bottom during the heating of the food.
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10. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying machine readable heating instructions on a lateral extension of a horizontal flange extending outwardly from an upwardly extending wall of the tray; a microwave oven; a reading head associated with the oven and adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven; and means for feeding a tray from a selected stack to the microwave oven whereupon the heating instructions are presented to the reading head as the tray is fed to the microwave oven to control the microwave oven. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying heating instructions; a microwave oven; a magazine for containing the plurality of stacks of trays; means for rotating the magazine to bring a selected stack of trays into position adjacent to an entry door of the oven; means for cutting away a lid from the uppermost tray of the selected stack; means for opening the entry door; means for introducing said uppermost tray into the oven through the entry door; means for closing the entry door and an exit door of the oven; means for opening the exit door on completion of the heating of the food in the tray; a reading head associated with the oven and adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven; and means for feeding a tray from a selected stack to the microwave oven whereupon the heating instructions are presented to the reading head as the tray is fed to the microwave oven to control the microwave oven. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying machine readable heating instructions; a microwave oven; a reading associated with the oven and adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven; and means for feeding a tray from a selected stack to the microwave oven whereupon the heating instructions are presented to the reading head as the tray is fed to the microwave oven to control the microwave oven, wherein each tray is fed vertically to contact the underside of the walls of the oven and to form the oven bottom during the heating of the food.
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19. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of food-containing trays containing a number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying heating instructions in a machine readable code on a lateral extension of a horizontal flange extending outwardly from an upwardly extending wall of the tray; a microwave oven; means for feeding a selected one of said trays to the microwave oven on demand, and a reading head adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying heating instructions in a machine readable code; a microwave oven; a magazine for containing the plurality of stacks of trays; means for rotating the magazine to bring a selected stack of trays into position adjacent to an entry door of the oven; means for cutting away a lid from the uppermost tray of the selected stack; means for opening the entry door; means for introducing said uppermost tray into the oven through the entry door; means for closing the entry door and an exit door of the oven; means for opening the exit door on completion of the heating of the food in the tray; and a reading head adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of food-containing trays containing a number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying heating instructions in a machine readable code on a lateral extension of a horizontal flange extending outwardly from an upwardly extending wall of the tray; a microwave oven whose horizontal dimensions are similar to those of the trays; mans for vertically feeding a selected one of said trays on demand to contact the underside of the walls of the oven and to form the oven bottom during the heating of the food; and a reading head adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A vending system for dispensing containers of hot food, comprising:
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a plurality of stacks of food-containing trays containing a corresponding number of different varieties of food, each tray carrying machine readable heating instructions on a lateral extension of a horizontal flange extending outwardly from an upwardly extending wall of the tray; a microwave oven wherein the radiation is introduced through a waveguide into the top of the tray in the oven; a reading head associated with the oven and adapted to read the heating instructions and to supply a corresponding control signal to the microwave oven; and means for feeding a tray from a selected stack to the microwave oven whereupon the heating instructions are presented to the reading head as the tray is fed to the microwave oven to control the microwave oven. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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Specification