Apparatus and method for dispensing individual orders of a hot food product and components usable therewith

A method of dispensing individual orders of a cooked food product using an apparatus contained in a housing, said method comprising:

• supplying to a carrier a quantity of dehydrated food product corresponding to the size of an order to be dispensed;
• moving the carrier to transfer the supplied food product to an inlet of a rehydrating chamber;
• adding liquid to the rehydrating chamber to thereby reconstitute the food product;
• intermittently forcing the reconstituted food product out of an outlet of the rehydrating chamber;
• severing the food product forced from the outlet of the rehydrating chamber;
• positioning a tank of cooking liquid below the outlet of the rehydrating chamber for receiving severed food product;
• positioning an end portion of a conveyor belt below the level of cooking liquid in the tank prior to severing of the food product and driving the conveyor belt in a direction to convey severed food product into the tank, the severed food product sinking below the level of the cooking liquid;
• reversing the driving direction of the conveyor belt and moving the end portion of the conveyor belt out of the cooking liquid so that an individual order of cooked food product is conveyed from the cooking liquid to a dispensing chute positioned within the housing.

A method of dispensing individual orders of a cooked food product using an apparatus contained in a housing, said method comprising:

• supplyung a dehydrated food product to a rehydrated chamber having a downwardly facing discharge opening;
• adding water to the dehydrated food product to rehydrate the same to a predetermined consistency to provide an intermediate food product;
• providing a die head below the rehydration chamber and adjacent to the discharge opening, the die head including laterally spaced product-cross-section-defining means defining a predetermined shape of the product;
• forcing a portion of the intermediate food product from the rehydration chamber and through the die so that it partially extends beyond a downwardly facing outlet of the die;
• passing a wire cutting knife along the die outlet to sever the portion of the intermediate food product that extends beyond the die outlet to provide a plurality of laterally separated intermediate food products having a predetermined shape, the separated intermediate food products individually falling vertically from the die outlet under the influence of gravity and in laterally separated condition;
• providing cooking apparatus to receive the laterally separated intermediate food products and cook the same to provide the desired final cooked product;
• and
• providing conveyor belt means to deliver the cooked product from the cooking apparatus to a dispensing means positioned within the housing.

An apparatus for preparing predetermined portions of a hot food product by rehydrating and cooking a dehydrated food product, said apparatus comprising:

• rehydration chamber means having inlet means for receiving a predetermined quantity of a dehydrated food product and a liquid and having an outlet for dispensing a rehydrated food product;
• liquid distribution means for adding a predetermined amount of liquid to the dehydrated food product in said rehydration chamber means;
• means for forcing the rehydrated food product out of the outlet of said rehydration chamber means;
• die means positioned at the outlet of said rehydrating chamber means to define a plurality of rehydrated food product pieces of predetermined cross section and of a length greater than the width thereof, said die means including an outlet opening having an axis extending in a substantially vertical direction so that the rehydrated food product that passes through said die means exits therefrom in a substantially vertical direction;
• cutting means disposed adjacent said die means for cutting off a portion of the rehydrated food product forced out of said rehydration chamber means;
• cooking means for receiving and cooking the cut off rehydrated food products to provide a cooked food product;
• and
• conveyor belt means for removing cooked food product from the cooking means and for conveying the cooked food product to a dispensing means.