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System and method for dispensing toppings

  • US 9,295,282 B2
  • Filed: 11/05/2014
  • Issued: 03/29/2016
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2012
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A system for dispensing toppings onto topping vehicles, comprising:

  • a conveyor configured to sequentially advance topping vehicles between an initial position, a first dispense position, and a second dispense position;

    first topping module comprising;

    a first hopper configured to contain topping samples of a first topping type;

    a first blade adjacent a discharge end of the first hopper and comprising a serrated edge configured to slice topping servings from topping samples of the first topping type dispensed from the first hopper; and

    a first retaining plate adjacent and offset from the first blade opposite the first hopper;

    second topping module comprising;

    a second hopper configured to contain topping samples of a second topping type distinct from the first topping type;

    a second blade adjacent a discharge end of the second hopper and comprising grating slots configured to cut discrete portions from topping samples of the second topping type dispensed from the second hopper;

    a second retaining plate adjacent and offset from the second blade and configured to collect discrete portions of the second topping type from the second blade;

    a scale coupled to the second retaining plate and configured to output a signal corresponding to a weight of an accumulation of discrete portions of the second topping type collected on the second retaining plate;

    an actuator system configured to selectively actuate the first blade and the first retaining plate to dispense a serving of the first topping type from the first topping module onto a topping vehicle in the first dispense position based on a request for the first topping type specified in a food order corresponding to the topping vehicle, and the actuator system configured to selectively actuate the second blade and the second retaining plate to dispense a serving of the second topping type from the second topping module onto the topping vehicle in the second dispense position based on a request for the second topping type specified in the food order and an output of the scale.

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