# US 10,499,658 B2 · Foodstuff-conveying and -discharging apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,499,658 B2 - Document ID: US10499658B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/752,520 - Filed: 2016-08-10 - Published: 2018-08-23 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2015-08-13 - Assignees: R. Weiss Verpackungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG - Applicants: R. Weiss Verpackungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG - Inventors: Reinald Weiss - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10499658B2 ## CPC - A21B 3/07: Charging or discharging ovens (A21B3/18 takes precedence) - A21B 7/00: Baking plants - B65G 47/57: for articles - G07F 11/26: Endless bands - A21B: BAKERS' OVENS; MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT FOR BAKING (domestic baking equipment A47J37/00) - B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D) - G07F: COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS (coin sorting G07D3/00; coin testing G07D5/00; {handling coins or paper currencies apart from payment activated apparatus G07D; payment architectures, schemes or protocols G06Q20/00}) ## Abstract Apparatuses and systems are described for conveying and delivering foodstuffs. A foodstuff conveying and delivery apparatus includes a housing in which foodstuffs are conveyed, in particular, to a discharging or output point in order to be removed by a person. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A foodstuff conveying and delivery apparatus, comprising: a housing; at least one feeding device in the housing, each feeding device comprising a horizontal conveyer configured for laterally conveying at least one foodstuff thereon; a vertically extending shaft in the housing; a motor-driven transport device located within the vertical shaft, the motor-driven transport device configured to travel up and down in the shaft and configured to be charged with the at least one foodstuff by the at least one feeding device; and a discharging point in or on the housing, the motor-driven transport device conveying the at least one foodstuff in the direction of the discharging point, the motor-driven transport device having at least one platform which travels in a vertical direction in the shaft, each platform being pivotable about a horizontal pivot axle and configured to be charged with the at least one foodstuff, the horizontal conveyor configured to convey a given foodstuff therefrom and onto a corresponding platform, wherein the at least one platform is pivotable via a stepper motor. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one feeding device comprises a plurality of feeding devices that are arranged one above another in the housing, at least some of the plurality of feeding devices being configured to charge the at least one platform. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the pivot axle of the at least one platform is oriented perpendicularly to a conveying direction of the at least one feeding device toward the at least one platform. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the stepper motor is at least one of coupled to the pivot axle or acts on a different point of the at least one platform, in order to pivot the platform about the pivot axle. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the pivot axle of the at least one platform is arranged on at least one of a side of the at least one platform that faces away from the at least one feeding device, a side of the at least one platform that faces toward the at least one feeding device, or between the front and rear edges with regard to the at least one feeding device. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein a pivot angle of the at least one platform is settable via the stepper motor. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein when the at least one foodstuff is transferred, the at least one platform is positioned in a manner inclined upward toward the at least one feeding device in order that the at least one foodstuff can slide from the motor-driven transport device onto the at least one platform. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein when the at least one foodstuff is transferred, the at least one platform is positioned in a manner inclined downward toward the discharging point in order that the at least one foodstuff can slide from the at least one platform to the discharging point. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein during the passage from the at least one feeding device to the discharging point, the at least one platform is positionable in a pivoted position with respect to a horizontal plane in order to fix the position of the at least one foodstuff located on the at least one platform. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein an upwardly projecting retention device is assigned to the at least one platform on the side that faces away from or is able to be turned away from the at least one feeding device, the upwardly projecting retention device being configured as at least one of a wall or a grate. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one platform is movable in the shaft via a stepper motor. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the motor-driven transport device comprises at least one circulating element to which the at least one platform is attached in an articulated manner. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one platform is pivotably arranged such that it is loadable both from a side of the at least one feeding device and from an opposite side via a second feeding device of the apparatus. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one platform is configured in such a way that the top side and the underside thereof are pivotable so as to selectively point upward to receive and deliver the at least one foodstuff on two different sides. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one platform is mounted in an articulated manner by two parallel and spaced-apart axles, of which one of the two parallel and spaced-apart axles is the pivot axle, and wherein the at least one platform is pivotable by relative movement of the two parallel and spaced-apart axles in a vertical direction. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising at least one transparent pane for providing visibility into the shaft. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the horizontal conveyor is comprised of an endless conveyor band. ### Claim 18 (depends on 12) The apparatus as recited in claim 12, wherein the least one circulating element comprises at least one of a conveyor band, a conveyor belt, a conveyor cable, or a conveyor chain. ### Claim 19 A system for conveying and delivering a foodstuff to an oven, the system comprising: a foodstuff conveying and delivery apparatus, the food stuff conveying and delivery apparatus comprising: a housing; at least one feeding device disposed in the housing, each feeding device comprising a horizontal conveyer configured for laterally conveying at least one foodstuff thereon; a vertically extending shaft disposed in the housing; a motor-driven transport device located within the vertical shaft, the motor-driven transport device configured to travel up and down in the shaft and configured to be charged with the at least one foodstuff by the at least one feeding device; a discharging point disposed in or on the housing, the motor-driven transport device conveying the at least one foodstuff in the direction of the discharging point, the motor-driven transport device having at least one platform which travels in a vertical direction in the shaft, each platform pivotable about a horizontal pivot axle and configured to be charged with the at least one foodstuff, the horizontal conveyor configured to convey a given foodstuff therefrom and onto a corresponding platform, wherein the at least one platform is pivotable via a stepper motor; and an oven connected to the foodstuff conveying and delivery apparatus, the foodstuff conveying and delivery apparatus positioned downstream of the oven, the oven configured to bake the foodstuff prior to delivery thereof to the foodstuff conveying and delivery apparatus. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The system as recited in claim 19, wherein the at least one feeding device includes a first feeding device and at least one additional feeding device, and wherein the at least one platform is arranged between the first feeding device and the at least one additional feeding device, and the at least one platform is loadable by both the first feeding device and the at least one additional feeding device.