Automated food vending system

• US 5,285,041 A
• Filed: 09/14/1992
• Issued: 02/08/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wright Food Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Wright Food Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Wright, Christopher B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Leung, Philip H.
• Application Number:
  US07/944,646
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 219/10.55 R, 219/10.55 E, 219/10.55 B, 221/150 A, 426/234, 426/107, 426/243, 235/485, 235/486, 235/484, 235/483
• US Class Current: 219/717
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0078 Food articles which need to be processed for dispensing in a hot or cooked condition, e.g. popcorn, nuts
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/105 Heating or cooling means, for temperature and humidity control, for the conditioning of articles and their storage dispensers for food articles requiring a processing by temperature treatment or conditioning before they are ready for dispensing G07F17/0064
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/808 Microwave heating adapted for vending machines

Abstract

An automated food vending system includes a vending machine having a plurality of stacks and dispenser mechanisms for dispensing standardized food package units, a microwave oven having a code reader located in a predetermined position in an interior cavity of the oven, and the food package units having standardized shapes corresponding to the vending stacks and to the microwave oven cavity. The food packages have a code for controlling the microwave oven printed in a predetermined position which is readable automatically by the code reader when the package unit is inserted in the oven. The dispenser mechanism has a configuration which allows it to be installed in existing vending machines for canned beverages. It may be formed as a pair of pivotable holding members spaced apart in the widthwise direction of the holding stack, or as a pair of continuous belts spaced apart in the depthwise direction of the holding stack. The interior of the oven may be shaped to hold two or more different standardized package shapes, and can have a drive element for controllably moving the package past the code reader. The food package is formed with a quadrangular-sided tray portion and a rectangular, laterally projecting lip around the upper edges of the tray portion, and has the code printed extending in a linear direction. Alternatively, the food package unit is formed with a cylindrical shape and has the code printed extending in a circumferential direction.

Claims

1. A microwave oven, for use in combination with food package units having a predetermined three-dimensional shape and a code for controlling the microwave oven printed in a predetermined position thereon, comprising:

an interior cavity having a shape which matches the predetermined three-dimensional package shape so that each package unit is held in a predetermined position in the oven cavity;

a door at a front portion of the microwave oven which is openable to allow insertion of a food package unit into the interior cavity of the oven, and

a code reader located in a predetermined position in the interior cavity such that the code printed on the food package unit is readable automatically by the code reader when the package unit is inserted in the oven cavity,

said interior cavity having interior walls defining its shape to correspond to the predetermined shape of the food package units such that the shaped interior cavity functions to constrain insertion of a correspondingly-shaped food package unit therein to substantially one degree of freedom of insertion movement, and said code reader being located in the predetermined position in the interior cavity so as to be positioned for reading a predetermined portion of the food package unit when it is inserted in the interior cavity constrained to the one degree of freedom of insertion movement.

2. A microwave oven according to claim 1, wherein the interior cavity of the oven is shaped to hold two or more different predetermined package shapes.

3. A microwave oven according to claim 1, further comprising a drive mechanism projecting into the interior cavity of the microwave oven for moving a package unit inserted in said interior cavity along one direction of movement in the interior cavity so as to move an entire field of the printed code on the package past the code reader.

4. A microwave according to claim 1, wherein the code reader is selected from the group comprising a bar code, a magnetic code, and an optical character reader for reading the code correspondingly printed on the package unit.

5. A method of using a food package unit for automatic programming of microwave oven having a code reader to cook the food package unit, comprising the steps of:

providing a food package unit having walls defining a hollow, quadrangular-sided tray portion, a rectangular, laterally projecting lip around the upper edges of the tray portion, and a code for controlling the microwave oven printed at a predetermined position on an outside surface of the package unit extending in a linear direction, said code being printed at a predetermined position on the package unit, so that it can be read by a code reader positioned adjacent the code in the oven cavity as the package unit is driven in the linear direction,

providing a microwave oven having a door at a front portion thereof which is openable to allow insertion of the food package unit into an interior cavity of the oven, the interior cavity having interior walls defining a shape corresponding to and adapted to have the quadrangular-sides and laterally projecting lip of the food package unit inserted therein, said shaped interior cavity thereby constraining the insertion of the correspondingly-shaped food package unit to substantially one degree of freedom of insertion movement, and a code reader located in a predetermined position in the interior cavity corresponding to the predetermined position of the code printed on the food package unit, and

inserting the food package unit into the interior cavity of the oven wherein its insertion movement is constrained by the shaped walls of the interior cavity so that the printed code in the predetermined position on the food package unit is readable automatically by the code reader in the corresponding predetermined position.

6. A method of using a food package unit according to claim 5, wherein said code is printed on a lateral side of the projecting lip of the food package unit, and said code reader is positioned in the interior cavity of the oven at the predetermined position corresponding to said lateral side of the projecting lip of the food package unit.

7. A method of using a food package unit according to claim 5, wherein the printed code is selected from the group comprising bar code, magnetic code, and optical characters.

8. A method of using a food package unit for automatic programming of a microwave oven having a code reader to cook the food package unit, comprising the steps of:

providing a food package unit having walls defining a cylindrical shape, and a code for controlling the microwave oven printed at a predetermined position on an outside surface of the cylindrical shape extending in a circumferential direction, so that it can be read by a code reader positioned adjacent the code in the oven cavity as the cylindrical package unit is driven in circumferential rotation,

providing a microwave oven having a door at a front portion thereof which is openable to allow insertion of the food package unit into an interior cavity of the oven, the interior cavity having interior walls defining a shape corresponding to and adapted to have the cylindrical food package unit inserted therein, said shaped interior cavity thereby constraining the insertion of the correspondingly-shaped food package unit to substantially one degree of freedom of insertion movement, a drive means for driving the cylindrical food package unit inserted in the interior cavity in circumferential rotation, and a code reader located in a predetermined position in the interior cavity corresponding to the predetermined position of the code printed on the food package unit, and

inserting the food package unit into the interior cavity of the oven wherein its insertion movement is constrained by the shaped walls of the interior cavity so that the printed code in the predetermined position on the food package unit is readable automatically by the code reader in the corresponding predetermined position when the package unit is inserted in the oven'"'"'s interior cavity and driven by the drive means in circumferential rotation.