US 5,997,924 AGranted

Automated process for making pizza

AssigneeLMO Consultants, Inc.

InventorsWilliam T. Olander, Jr., Joseph W. Lucnik, Robert C. Martin

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Abstract

An automated self-service pizza process and system comprises a vending machine with self-contained cooking and processing equipment to rapidly prepare delicious pizza. The stand-alone unattended process and system visually displays pizzas with choices of different toppings for selection by a customer who can pay for the pizza by credit card, debit card, prepaid card, bank card, or by paper money or other cash. Pizza crust can be moved to an assembly area by a robot. In the assembly area, the selected toppings are automatically dispensed on the pizza crust. The pizza is then conveyed to an oven where it is cooked and discharged into a cardboard box or other suitable container. The type of pizza and customer's name can be printed on the box with an ink jet printer.

Claims26

Dependent claims

An automated pizza process for making a pizza using an automated pizza system, the automated pizza process comprising the steps of:

electronically displaying representations of different pizzas, pizza crust sizes, pizza toppings and pizza prices on a monitor for viewing and selecting, said toppings selected from the group consisting of tomato sauce, cheese, sausage, pepperoni, anchovies, onion, green pepper, mushrooms, ground beef, olives, and spices;
selecting a pizza by engaging a plurality of controls operatively associated with said monitor, said controls corresponding to the representation of a desired pizza crust size and said pizza toppings, said controls being selected from the group consisting of a touch screen display on said monitor or a push button connected to said monitor;
inserting a card into a card reader to order and pay for said selected pizza, said card being selected from the group consisting of a credit card, a debit card, and an automatic teller machine card, said card reader being operatively connected to said control and said monitor;
selecting a pizza crust size and selecting pizza topping choices;
dispensing said selected pizza toppings via a plurality of cartridge tube dispensers containing pizza toppings;
transporting said pizza crust within the automated pizza system via a robot, said robot having at least four degrees of freedom, said robot further being operatively associated with said plurality of cartridge tube dispensers thus providing means for dispensing pizza toppings;
building said pizza according to said selected pizza crust size and said selected topping choices;
cooking said pizza;
discharging and dispensing said cooked pizza from said oven onto a pizza support member selected from the group consisting of a cardboard box, carton, container, package, pepper plate and plastic plate;
automatically cutting the pizza into slices with a cutting tool;
and
permitting a consumer to access said sliced cooked pizza on said pizza support member.

9 more elements

An automated pizza system, comprising:

a touch screen providing a monitor for displaying a representation of a pizza, different pizza crust sizes, pizza toppings, and pizza prices, said touch screen having sensors for detecting a finger of a customer selecting the desired pizza crust size and pizza toppings, said sensors being activated by manual engagement of the customer's finger to generate electrical impulses;
a central processing unit operatively connected to said monitor for receiving and transmitting said electrical impulses, said central processing unit being selected from the group consisting of a programmable controller, microprocessor, computer, electronic chip, control board, and logic controller;
a credit card reader operatively connected to said monitor and said central processing unit for receiving and reading a customer card selected from the group consisting of a credit card, debit card, and automatic teller machine card;
a modem operatively connected to said credit card reader for verifying and transmitting information about said customer card to a remote processing center;
a plurality of cartridge tube dispensers operatively associated with said automated pizza system, said cartridge tube dispensers providing means to dispense pizza toppings, said cartridge tube dispensers containing pizza toppings;
a robot operatively associated with said automated pizza system, said robot having at least four degrees of freedom, said robot providing transport of said pizza crust within said automated pizza system, said robot further being operatively associated with said plurality of cartridge tube dispensers,
a pizza oven for cooking said pizza;
and
said robot, cartridge tubes, and pizza oven cooperating with each other to prepare and cook the selected pizza.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.