Food product positioning system and method
First Claim
1. A positioning system for positioning food products, comprising a robot configured to move food products;
- a main conveyor having a main conveying surface configured to move food products;
a food processing apparatus for depositing food products in a pre-selected format of rows and columns onto said main conveying surface;
an electronic sensor configured to capture position data about food products on the main conveying surface within a sensor range of the sensor;
a controller signal-connected to the electronic sensor and the robot;
the controller being configured to receive data captured by the sensor and configured to instruct the robot to move a food product that is not correctly positioned within the pre-selected format to a corrected position within the pre-selected format.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A food handling system having a positioning system and method. The positioning system includes a main conveying surface, an electronic sensor, a controller and a robot. The main conveying surface is configured to move food products. The electronic sensor is configured to capture position data about one or more food products on the main conveying surface within a sensor range of the sensor. The controller is signal-connected to the electronic sensor and the robot. The controller is configured to receive data captured by the sensor and is configured to instruct the robot to move a food product to a destination position. The robot is configured to reposition one or more food products on the conveying surface according to instructions sent by the controller. The robot has a longitudinal and a lateral working range. The food product may include formed meat patties or sliced meat or cheese products.
66 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A positioning system for positioning food products, comprising a robot configured to move food products;
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a main conveyor having a main conveying surface configured to move food products; a food processing apparatus for depositing food products in a pre-selected format of rows and columns onto said main conveying surface; an electronic sensor configured to capture position data about food products on the main conveying surface within a sensor range of the sensor; a controller signal-connected to the electronic sensor and the robot;
the controller being configured to receive data captured by the sensor and configured to instruct the robot to move a food product that is not correctly positioned within the pre-selected format to a corrected position within the pre-selected format. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification