Back to results
US 11,685,641 B2Granted
Modular automated food preparation system
AssigneeLab2Fab, LLC
InventorsShawn Lange, Hogan Hempy, Peter Ishiguro
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An integrated front-of-house and back-of-house restaurant operations system integrates automated and manual restaurant operations into an order-based system. The system interfaces with disparate devices and systems to provide order-based monitoring and control of operations within an establishment.
Claims24
A modular food preparation system, comprising:
- a plurality of food preparation modules, wherein each of the food preparation modules comprises a respective conveyor, and wherein each of the plurality of food preparation modules is physically attached to an adjacent food preparation module of the plurality of food preparation modules;
- a camera located within a first food preparation module of the plurality of food preparation modules, wherein the first food preparation module is configured to receive a tray on a first conveyor of the first food preparation module, wherein the tray is associated with a first ingredient, and wherein the camera captures one or more images of the tray;
- one or more dispensers located within a second food preparation module of the plurality of food preparation modules relative to a second conveyor of the second food preparation module, wherein each of the one or more dispensers is configured to dispense at least one additional ingredient;
- and
- one or more controllers configured to determine an initial location of the tray based on the one or more images of the tray, cause the tray to transfer between the first conveyor and the second conveyor to a second location on the second conveyor based on the initial location of the tray and a known relative position associated with the physical attachment of the plurality of food preparation modules, cause the second conveyor to move the tray relative to the one or more dispensers, and cause the one or more dispensers to dispense the at least one additional ingredient with respect to the first ingredient based on the second location and the movement of the tray on the second conveyor.
2 more elements
A method for operating a modular food preparation system, comprising:
- attaching a first food preparation module to a second food preparation module;
- receiving, by the first food preparation module, a tray associated with a first ingredient;
- determining, by a camera of the first food preparation module, an initial location of the received tray on a first conveyor of the first food preparation module;
- moving, by the first conveyor, the tray towards the second food preparation module;
- transferring the tray from the first conveyor to a second conveyor of the second food preparation module;
- determining a second location of the tray on the second conveyor based on the initial location of the tray and a known relative position associated with the attachment of the first food preparation module to the second food preparation module;
- and
- dispensing, by one or more dispensers of the second food preparation module, at least one additional ingredient with respect to the first ingredient based on the second location and a movement of the tray on the second conveyor relative to the one or more dispensers.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.