Food transport routing systems, devices, and guides for food processing systems and related methods

A method of moving food items to be cooked or cured through a food processor having an oven, comprising:

• concurrently transporting a plurality of strands of elongated food such that the elongated food strands can travel over separate ones of side-by-side selectable pre-determined travel lanes at a first speed;
• directing the elongated food strands to travel separately through different respective side-by-side pick-up guides, each pick-up guide having a floor, a ramped portion and opposing ingress and egress portions, so that each elongated food strand enters a respective pick-up guide and is directed to follow the ramp and exit from the egress portion thereof;
• and
• guiding the elongated food strands separately onto a lateral router guide after the directing step so that the each of the elongated food strands are concurrently translated a lateral distance proximate to but downstream of the pick-up guides to cause the strands to concurrently laterally alter their travel lanes in a predetermined manner.

A commercial food processing apparatus comprising:

• a housing defining an enclosure and having a food inlet and a food outlet and a predetermined food travel path therethrough;
• a plurality of stacked tiers residing in said housing, said tiers including:
• at least one moving floor configured to move a food product in a predetermined tier travel path, the tier being configured with a plurality of side-by-side travel lanes;
• a plurality of pick-up guides, a respective one for each of the travel lanes, positioned downstream of and in the predetermined travel path, in cooperative communication with the at least one conveyor, the pick-up guides having upwardly extending opposing sidewall portions and opposing food ingress and egress portions with a ramped portion extending therebetween;
• and
• a plurality of router guide channels located downstream of the pick-up guides and in cooperating communication therewith, each guide channel having upwardly extending side walls that overlie a guide channel floor adapted to support the food as the food travels through a respective guide channel, wherein, in operation, the router guide channels guide the food product from a first travel lane into a different predetermined laterally altered travel lane, wherein the guide channels upwardly extending sidewalls define an angular departure from the primary travel direction between the pick-up guides and the portion of the predetermined travel path that is located downstream of the router guide channels, so that, in operation, the at least one food product is directed to travel through a respective guide channel and laterally alter its travel path from a first travel lane to a second predetermined travel lane.