Multi-conveyor transport system

Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus for transporting food products between conveyors, the method including a program encoded on a computer storage medium. An exemplary method includes receiving a first food product by a first conveyor of a conveyor system, transporting the first food product by the first conveyor to a subsequent conveyor of the conveyor system at each upper food product transport location, receiving a second food product by the first conveyor at each upper food product transport location, receiving a third food product by a final conveyor at each upper food product transport location, and substantially simultaneously moving at least a portion of the first conveyor and at least a portion of the final conveyor from each upper food product transport location to respective food product discharge locations where each conveyor transports each food product vertically at least partially onto a corresponding location of a lower conveyor disposed below the conveyor system.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 082,816, filed December 16, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Examples of food products are flatbreads or wraps, including, for example, tortillas, pita bread, pizza dough, chapatis, and naans. Flatbreads may be made by hand or with automated equipment. For example, a factory may produce one or more types of flatbreads. A factory may use a partially or fully automated system to produce flatbreads. Automated methods of forming flatbreads include, for example, cutting, sheeting, and pressing flatbread dough.

[0003] The factory may include different types of tools or equipment, such as mixers, sheeters, or presses and ovens, for different stages of the production process. Some production lines have tools to form the flatbread dough into balls and other tools to flatten the dough for baking. The flattened dough may have a circular shape and a specific thickness, and the flatbreads will have the desired thickness after baking. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally, one aspect of the inventive subject matter described herein may be embodied in a system including a conveyor subsystem adapted to move a plurality of food items longitudinally onto a lower conveyor disposed at least partially vertically below the conveyor subsystem. The conveyor subsystem including a first conveyor is adapted to move from a first upper food item transport position, where the first conveyor receives food items and transports at least some of the food items to a subsequent conveyor, to a first food item discharge position, where the first conveyor places at least some of the food items at a first location on the lower conveyor. The conveyor subsystem including a final conveyor is adapted to move from a final upper food item transport position, where the final conveyor receives a second food item, longitudinally spaced from the first conveyor, to a final food item discharge position, where the final conveyor places the second food item on a final location on the lower conveyor, longitudinally separated from the first location.

[0005] In some embodiments, the first conveyor is adapted to move from a first upper food product transport position to a first food product discharge position when the first conveyor approaches a first downstream edge of the first conveyor, and the final conveyor is adapted to move from a final upper food product transport position to a final food product discharge position when the final conveyor approaches a final downstream edge of the final conveyor.

[0006] In some embodiments, with respect to the first conveyor, the first food product discharge position is a position where the first conveyor places at least some food products onto a first location on the lower conveyor and does not transport any food products to a subsequent conveyor. In some embodiments, the conveyor subsystem includes two or more actuators, each coupled to a corresponding conveyor and adapted to move at least a portion of the corresponding conveyor from the upper food product transport position to the food product discharge position.

[0007] In some embodiments, a final actuator of the two or more actuators is adapted to rotate the entire final conveyor from a final upper food product transport position to a final food product discharge position. In some embodiments, the two or more actuators include a first actuator coupled to the first conveyor and two or more second actuators coupled to each conveyor, including the trailing conveyor and the final conveyor, each of the two or more second actuators adapted to substantially simultaneously rotate each conveyor from its respective receiving position to its respective discharge position.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first actuator is adapted to rotate the moveable portion of the first conveyor substantially simultaneously with the rotation of each conveyor by the corresponding conveyors of two or more second actuators.

[0009] In some embodiments, the trailing conveyor is separate from and has substantially the same shape as the final conveyor. In some embodiments, the first conveyor includes a generally stationary portion adapted to receive food products from the preceding transport device, and a movable portion longitudinally downstream from the generally stationary portion adapted to rotate and place food products onto the lower conveyor.

[0010] In some embodiments, the substantially stationary portion is substantially horizontal.The lower conveyor is adapted to receive food products longitudinally separated from the first conveyor and the final conveyor.

[0011] In some embodiments, the system includes a support frame coupled to the conveyor subsystem and the lower conveyor, and a compression device coupled to the support frame longitudinally downstream from the conveyor subsystem, the compression device adapted to compress food products disposed on the lower conveyor after the conveyor subsystem moves the food products to the lower conveyor.

[0012] Generally, one aspect of the inventive subject matter described herein may be implemented in a method including receiving a first food product by a first conveyor of a conveyor system, transporting the first food product by the first conveyor to a subsequent conveyor of the conveyor system at each upper food product transport location, receiving a second food product by the first conveyor at each upper food product transport location, and receiving a third food product by a final conveyor of the conveyor system at each upper food product transport location, and approximately simultaneously moving at least a portion of the first conveyor and at least a portion of the final conveyor from each upper food product transport location to a respective food product discharge location that transports each food product to a corresponding location on a lower conveyor positioned at least partially below the conveyor system.

[0013] In some embodiments, moving the first conveyor and the final conveyor includes rotating the first conveyor and the final conveyor from their respective upper food product transport positions to their respective food product discharge positions using one or more actuators. In some embodiments, the method further includes, when the discharge conveyors include at least a first conveyor and a final conveyor, determining, for each discharge conveyor in the conveyor system, whether each discharge conveyor has at least one food product on its upper surface, and transporting the food product by the one or more discharge conveyors to a subsequent discharge conveyor in response to determining that at least one discharge conveyor in the conveyor system does not have at least one food product on its upper surface.

[0014] In some embodiments, a sensor is used to determine whether each discharge conveyor has at least one food item on its upper surface. In some embodiments, moving at least a portion of the first conveyor and at least a portion of the final conveyor includes, when the discharge conveyors include at least a first conveyor and a final conveyor, for each discharge conveyor of the conveyor system, determining whether each discharge conveyor has at least one food item on its upper surface, and in response to determining that each of the discharge conveyors of the conveyor system has at least one food item on its upper surface, substantially simultaneously moving at least a portion of each discharge conveyor from a respective upper food product transport position to a respective food product discharge position where each discharge conveyor places a respective food product in a corresponding position on a respective lower food product conveyor.

[0015] In some embodiments, determining whether each discharge conveyor has at least one food item on its upper surface includes determining whether a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0016] In some embodiments, the method includes moving, by a lower conveyor, one or more food products received from the conveyor system to corresponding locations within a compaction device, and compressing, by the compaction device, the one or more food products to form one or more corresponding flat food products. In some embodiments, the method includes maintaining the lower conveyor in a stationary position while the compaction device compresses the one or more food products to form the one or more flat food products, moving the lower conveyor to move the flat food products downstream from the compaction device, and transporting, at each food product discharge location, a second food product and a third food product to the lower conveyor using at least a first conveyor and a final conveyor substantially simultaneously with moving the lower conveyor to move the flat food products downstream from the compaction device.

[0017] Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, devices, computer program products, and one or more computer programs stored on computer storage devices, each configured to perform the operations of the above-described methods. One or more computer systems may be configured to perform particular operations or actions by having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof loaded on the system that performs the operations during operation. One or more computer programs may be configured to perform particular operations or actions by including instructions that, when executed by a data processing device, cause the device to perform the operations.

[0018] These or other embodiments may optionally include one or more of the following features, either alone or in combination.

[0019] The inventive subject matter described herein may be implemented in various embodiments and may result in one or more of the following advantages: In some embodiments, the use of a multi-conveyor transport system may allow the system to process food products more accurately compared to other systems, for example, by more accurately placing food products at target locations in downstream components; In some embodiments, the use of a multi-conveyor transport system may allow the system to process a greater variety of food products, for example, both gluten and gluten-free food products, because the multi-conveyor transport system has fewer components to which gluten-free food products can adhere compared to other systems; In some embodiments, the use of a multi-conveyor transport system may allow the system to move food products through the conveyor system while one of the conveyors is periodically stopped, for example, as part of a food product process.

[0020] In some embodiments, the use of a multi-conveyor transport system may result in an increase in the speed of production processing, i.e., by feeding a continuous array of hockey puck-shaped food products from a feeding device such as an extruder, sheeter, or one or more pumps with the nozzles removed or disconnected, to an intermittent press without having to stop the food products when the compression stops, for example, during compression molding. This allows the processing to continue without stopping the compression feeding equipment. Alternatively, as a result of a method that allows the feeding equipment to run continuously, the compression operation requires less time to complete the compression molding, resulting in increased production speed for this method compared to existing methods. For example, dividers / proofers, automatic dosing systems, and compression devices typically have processing delays that cannot be completely eliminated because food products, such as dough balls, are dropped through tubes of different lengths and angles from up to 10 baskets into one to four trays, preventing the food products from arriving simultaneously. This obstacle to high-speed processing is removed from the process by the multi-conveyor dosing and transport system of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the use of a multi-conveyor transport system may result in hockey puck-like food products arriving from the feeder and being deposited simultaneously in a predictable manner.

[0021] The details of one or more embodiments of the inventive subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the inventive subject matter will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1A-C] 1 shows an example of a food processing system. [Figure 2] 1 is a flow diagram of an example process for transporting food products from the conveyor system to the bottom conveyor. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates some example devices that may be included in a flatbread processing system.

[0023] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

[0024] Some food processing systems may transport food products from one processing subsystem or conveyor to another. In some cases, this transport process may not accurately place the food product in the correct position for further processing. For example, when uncompressed dough is placed on a conveyor that feeds into a compression system, the position of the uncompressed dough balls on the conveyor may affect the accuracy of the compression system in forming the compressed dough balls. If some uncompressed dough balls are not in the correct position, they or other dough balls may not be properly par-baked, may not be properly compressed, or both. When dough balls are not properly compressed, they may not have a generally uniform shape.

[0025] To improve the accuracy of the food processing system in placing food products on or within downstream processing subsystems or conveyors, the food processing system may use a multi-conveyor transport subsystem. The multi-conveyor transport subsystem may include multiple longitudinally spaced conveyors along which the food products are transported. Each of the conveyors may include a movable part that moves from an upper food product transport position where the conveyors receive food products to a food product discharge position where the conveyors place the food products onto a single lower conveyor that receives food products from each of the conveyors.

[0026] By using multiple conveyors to place food products onto a single lower conveyor, the food processing system may more accurately place food products onto the single lower conveyor, which may improve downstream processing of the food products by various downstream components, such as compactors.

[0027] In some instances, this allows the food processing system to process a wider variety of food products than other systems. For example, using a multi-conveyor transport subsystem, the food processing system can process both gluten-free and gluten food products, compared to other systems that can only accurately process gluten food products, because the adhesive or sticky nature of gluten-free food products causes gluten-free food products to stick to various parts of the transport components of other systems. One example of a gluten-free food product includes corn dough used to make corn tortillas.

[0028] 1A-C illustrate an example of a food processing system 100. Food processing system 100 may include more or fewer components, for example, as described in more detail below. In FIGS. 1A-C, food processing system 100 includes a multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102. Multi-conveyor subsystem 102 includes multiple separated conveyors 102a-f separated along a longitudinal axis L. Conveyors 102a-f are adapted to transport one or more food products 104a-m from multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 to a lower conveyor 106 in food processing system 100.

[0029] For example, food processing system 100 may process a pattern of food items 104a-m. The pattern may be any suitable pattern, such as a 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, or 6x6 pattern, to name a few. For example, assuming a food item is present at each location in the pattern and no food items are missing, the pattern may indicate the number of food items that may be processed simultaneously by compaction device 108 included in food processing system 100. When the pattern is 5x5 or 5x6, each conveyor of multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may transport five food items substantially simultaneously onto lower conveyor 106. The five food items may be generally aligned vertically.

[0030] By processing multiple food items simultaneously, food processing system 100 may be more efficient than other systems. For example, instead of compressing one food item at a time, compression device 108 can compress multiple food items, increasing the throughput of food processing system 100.

[0031] When the food processing system 100 processes many food items at once, the accuracy of the placement of the food items in the food processing system 100 may affect the output of the food items. For example, if any of the food items are not properly aligned with their corresponding target locations, some of the food items may bake longer than other food items, bake shorter than other food items, have an abnormal shape, have other non-conformities to the target food item appearance, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0032] For example, the system may use the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 to improve the accuracy of transporting food items 104a from an upper conveyor preceding the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 and onto a lower conveyor 106. The multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may transport groups of food items from the upper conveyor to the lower conveyor. For example, the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may transport food items 104h-m from the upper conveyor to the lower conveyor 106, and then transport food items 104b-g from the upper conveyor to the lower conveyor 106.

[0033] 1A, multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 transported a group of multiple food items, including food items 104h-m, onto lower conveyor 106. The food items may be any suitable type of food item, such as, for example, dough balls. The food items may be formed of any suitable type of material, such as, for example, gluten or gluten-free dough.

[0034] In some embodiments, given the adhesive nature of gluten-free dough, the system may reduce the likelihood of food products 104a-m sticking to system components by using a multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102. For example, gluten-free dough may be more likely to adhere to metal or chutes. The use of a multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may reduce the likelihood of food products 104a-m sticking to system components.

[0035] The conveyors 102a-f of the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may be fabricated from any suitable material. For example, each of the conveyors may be fabricated from Teflon or another material with low adhesion.

[0036] The food products 104a-m may be formed using any suitable process. For example, the food products 104a-m may be cut from a sheet of dough that has been formed by a forming apparatus or formed using another suitable subsystem or process. In some examples, when the food products 104a-m are gluten-free food products, the food products 104a-m may be formed using a sheeter that cuts the food products.

[0037] For example, similar to the description below with reference to FIG. 1C, after the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 places food items 104a-m on the lower conveyor 106, the conveyors 102a-f of the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may be positioned in an upper food item transport position, as shown in FIG. 1A. While in the upper food item transport position, the conveyors 102a-e may receive food items and transport the food items to a subsequent conveyor. For example, the first conveyor 102a may transport food items to the second conveyor 102b. The second conveyor 102b may transport food items to a subsequent conveyor, such as the third conveyor 102c, while the second conveyor 102b has food items on its upper surface and, depending on the system configuration, the third conveyor 102c, or the final conveyor 102f, is devoid of any food items. Similarly, conveyors 102a-e other than final conveyor 102f may transport food products to subsequent conveyors while the subsequent downstream conveyors do not have any food products on their upper surfaces.

[0038] When all of the conveyors 102a-f have food products on their upper surfaces, as shown in FIG. 1A, the conveyors 102a-f may move from the receiving position to the food product discharge position shown in FIG. 1B-C. For example, the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may include one or more actuators (not shown). The actuators may be coupled to the conveyors 102a-f. For example, one or more actuators may be coupled to each of the conveyors 102a-f.

[0039] The multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may use actuators to rotate all or part of the conveyors 102a-f. For example, the first conveyor 102a may include a fixed portion and a movable portion. In some examples, the first conveyor 102a may only include a movable portion.

[0040] The fixed portion may be coupled to a support frame (not shown) that is coupled to the lower conveyor 106 and the compactor 108. The lower conveyor 106 may be coupled to the support frame using one or more additional actuators to rotate the lower conveyor. The compactor 108 may be coupled to a support using one or more additional components adapted to allow up and down movement of the compactor 108. The fixed portion of the first conveyor 102a does not move vertically, horizontally, or both, but may be fixed to allow the first conveyor 102a to rotate about one or more actuators included in the fixed portion to move the food products longitudinally.

[0041] The first conveyor 102a may include a movable portion. The movable portion differs from the fixed portion in that the movable portion not only permits movement of the conveyor in the longitudinal direction, but is also adapted to couple to one or more actuators that rotate the movable portion about a vertical axis. Rotation of the movable portion about the vertical axis moves the downstream end of the movable portion downward from a receiving position to a food product discharge position. In some examples, rotation of the movable portion about the vertical axis may maintain the upstream end of the movable portion in substantially the same vertical position.

[0042] While the first conveyor 102a moves from the receiving position to the food product discharge position, the first conveyor 102a may continue to operate the conveyor belt included in the first conveyor 102a. As a result, when the first conveyor 102a moves to the food product discharge position, the first conveyor 102a may move any food products on the first conveyor 102a, such as food product 104b, longitudinally downstream. This may cause the food products to move both vertically downward and horizontally downstream.

[0043] The first conveyor 102a may be coupled to two or more actuators to enable downward and downstream movement of food products. For example, the first conveyor 102a may be coupled to one or more transport actuators that rotate a conveyor belt contained within the first conveyor 102a. The first conveyor 102a may be coupled to one or more translation actuators that move the first conveyor 102a from a receiving position to a food product discharge position.

[0044] The conveyors 102a-f may use any suitable components to transport the food products. For example, the conveyors 102a-f may include conveyor belts, rollers, or a combination of both.

[0045] Similar to the movable portion of the first conveyor 102a, the subsequent conveyors 102b-f may be coupled to one or more actuators to move the food products in a downstream and downward direction. For example, the final conveyor 102f may include a transfer actuator that rotates a conveyor belt included in the final conveyor 102f. The final conveyor 102f may be coupled to one or more translation actuators that move the final conveyor 102f from a receiving position to a food product discharge position.

[0046] As conveyors 102a-f move from the receiving position to the food product discharge position, compaction device 108 may compact one or more food products. For example, compaction device 108 may compact a pattern of food products including food products 104h-m shown in FIG. 1A but not in FIG. 1B because food products 104h-m are flattened. In some examples, food products 104h-m may have a hockey puck-like shape before being processed by compaction device 108.

[0047] The conveyors 102a-f of the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may move from the receiving position to the food product discharge position substantially simultaneously. For example, a controller included in the food processing system 100 may signal one or more actuators to cause the one or more actuators to move the downstream ends of the conveyors 102a-f in a downward direction substantially simultaneously.

[0048] The controller may send a signal in response to any suitable trigger. For example, the system may include a sensor, such as a camera or motion sensor, that detects food product 104g on final conveyor 102f. Upon detecting food product 104g on final conveyor 102f, the controller may send a signal to one or more actuators to cause the one or more actuators to move the downstream ends of conveyors 102a-f in a downward direction substantially simultaneously. In some examples, the controller uses a timer. When the controller determines that the timer has expired, the controller may send a signal to one or more actuators.

[0049] 1C, conveyors 102a-f may transport food items 104b-g onto lower conveyor 106. As part of the transport process, conveyors 102a-f may position food items 104b-g at approximately the geometric center for the compaction pattern that compactor 108 is to operate on. For example, when the compactor includes a location for each food item in the pattern, conveyors 102a-f may position food items 104b-g at approximately the geometric center of a location on lower conveyor 106 such that food items 104b-g will be approximately at the geometric center when placed in compactor 108.

[0050] In some examples, the compaction device 108 includes one or more components for each of the locations in the pattern. For example, the compaction device 108 may include a spacer location within the compaction device 108 that aligns with one of the locations in the pattern. The spacer may be any suitable type of component adapted to improve the flatness of the bottom surface of the compaction device 108, the thickness uniformity of the food products 104b-g after they are compressed, or both. The spacer may be approximately the same size as, or slightly smaller than, the target size of the compressed food products 110h-m. By positioning the food products 104b-g approximately in the geometric center of the compaction pattern, the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may increase the likelihood that the food products 104b-g will be approximately aligned with a corresponding component, such as a spacer location, from the compaction device 108.

[0051] In some embodiments, the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may use different speeds for the various conveyors 102a-f to increase the likelihood that the food products 104b-g will generally align with their corresponding geometric centers in the compaction pattern. For example, if one or more food products placed on the final conveyor 102f may not align with their corresponding geometric centers in the compaction pattern, the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may adjust the speed of the final conveyor 102f to increase the likelihood that one or more food products, such as food product 104g, will align with their corresponding geometric centers in the compaction pattern. The speed adjustment may be an increase or decrease in speed.

[0052] While the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 transports the food products 104b-g onto the lower conveyor 106, the compression device 108 may finish compressing the food products 104h-m. For example, the compression device 108 may move upward away from the lower conveyor 106 after forming the corresponding compressed food product 110h-m. The compressed food product 110h-m has a larger diameter and a smaller thickness than the food product 104h-m. In some examples, the compressed food product 110h-m may be partially baked, e.g., par-baked.

[0053] For example, during the compaction process, the food processing system 100 may stop operation of the lower conveyor 106, which may allow the compaction device 108 to process the food product while reducing the likelihood of deformation of the food product, which would occur if the lower conveyor 106 were still moving. After the compaction device 108 has finished processing the food product, e.g., forming the compacted food product 110h-m, the lower conveyor 106 may begin moving longitudinally, which may allow the compacted food product 110h-m to be transported to a downstream component of the food processing system 100, such as an oven.

[0054] When the lower conveyor 106 is moving, the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 may transport food items 104b-g onto the lower conveyor 106. While the lower conveyor 106 is not moving, the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 does not transport food items onto the lower conveyor 106 because this could cause the food items to become deformed. Instead, to reduce the possibility of the food items 104b-g becoming deformed during the transport process, the multi-conveyor transport subsystem 102 transports the food items 104b-g onto the lower conveyor 106 while the lower conveyor 106 is moving in the same longitudinal direction, for example, so that the food items move to the right as shown in FIGS. 1A-C .

[0055] The food processing system 100 may include a support frame (not shown). The support frame may be coupled to various components of the food processing system. For example, the support frame may be coupled to each of the conveyors 102a-f, the lower conveyor 106, and the compactor 108. The support frame may be coupled to the conveyors 102a-f and the lower conveyor 106 by coupling to corresponding actuators coupled to each conveyor. The support frame may be coupled to a compression frame that includes one or more actuators that move the compactor 108. For example, the compression actuators may move the compactor 108 upward while a downward force, such as gravity, moves the compactor 108 downward.

[0056] The controller may include several different functional components, including a timer module and a trigger detection module. The timer module, the trigger detection module, or a combination thereof may include one or more data processing devices, may be implemented in code, or may be a combination of both. For example, the timer module and the trigger detection module may each include one or more data processors and instructions that cause the one or more data processors to perform the operations described herein.

[0057] The various functional components of food processing system 100 may be implemented on one or more computers as separate functional components or as different modules of the same functional component. For example, the controller may be implemented as a computer program on one or more computers at one or more locations, each linked via a network. For example, these components may be implemented by individual computing nodes of a distributed computing system in a cloud-based system.

[0058] 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process 200 for transporting food products from a conveyor system to a lower conveyor. For example, process 200 may be used by a multi-conveyor transport subsystem of food processing system 100.

[0059] A conveyor of the conveyor system receives the food product (202). For example, a first conveyor of the conveyor system receives the food product. The conveyor may be in an upper food product transport position.

[0060] The conveyor at each upper food product transport location transports food products to a subsequent conveyor in the conveyor system (204). For example, when the conveyor system does not contain food products on each conveyor in the conveyor system, a first conveyor transports a first food product to a second conveyor, which transports a second food product to a third conveyor, and so on. The conveyor system does not include a lower conveyor along which the conveyor system transports food products and which is located below the conveyor system, as shown in Figures 1A-C.

[0061] Each conveyor at each upper food transport location receives another food item (206). For example, a first conveyor receives another food item from an upstream component, such as another conveyor. A second conveyor receives the first food item from the first conveyor, a third conveyor receives the second food item from the second conveyor, and so on.

[0062] The food product system, e.g., a controller included in the food product system, determines whether there is food product on each conveyor (208). The food product system may use any suitable process to determine whether there is food product on each conveyor. For example, in some embodiments, if a determination is made that there is no food product on a conveyor or that the food product has been deformed in some way, the system, including the controller, may reverse the input belt toward the compactor to allow a portion of the food product to be ejected into a lower catch or receiver. In some embodiments, the ejected portion of the food product may then be returned via the conveyor to the feed hopper of the original feeder, which may help reduce or eliminate raw material waste.

[0063] The conveyor system substantially simultaneously moves at least a portion of each conveyor from each upper food product transport location to a respective food product discharge location where each conveyor vertically transports each food product at least partially onto a corresponding location on a lower conveyor disposed below the conveyor system (210). For example, the conveyor system may include one or more actuators coupled to the conveyors included in the conveyor system. The conveyor system may, for example, use a controller to send signals to the one or more actuators to cause the actuators to move at least a portion of each conveyor to each food product discharge location.

[0064] The food product system uses conveyors of the conveyor system to transport food products from the conveyor system to the lower conveyor (212). For example, a conveyor belt included in a conveyor, such as each conveyor, may rotate, causing the conveyor system to transport the food products to the lower conveyor.

[0065] In some embodiments, process 200 includes several steps that may include additional steps, fewer steps, or be divided into multiple steps. For example, process 200 may include steps 206, 208, and 210 without steps 202, 204, or 212. In some examples, process 200 may include steps 202 through 210 without any other steps. In some examples, process 200 may include steps 204 through 210 without any other steps. In some examples, process 200 may include steps 204 through 210 without any other steps. In some examples, process 200 may include steps 204 through 212 without any other steps.

[0066] A number of embodiments have been described. However, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, various forms of the flows shown above may be used, with steps rearranged, added, or removed.

[0067] Figure 3 shows examples of some devices that may be included in a flatbread processing system 300. The flatbread processing system 300 may be used to process the food products described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Depending on the system configuration, the flatbread processing system 300 does not show all devices, such as a dough dispenser that forms dough pieces from a batter created by a mixer 302 and places the dough pieces into a flatbread press 304, such as a forming press, using a food dispenser.

[0068] The flatbread processing system 300 includes a mixer 302. The mixer 302 mixes multiple ingredients according to a processing recipe. The mixer 302 mixes multiple ingredients to form a dough batter.

[0069] The mixer 302 may be connected to a former (not shown) that forms dough pieces, such as dough circles, from the batter produced by the mixer 302. The former may place the dough circles into a dough circle dispenser configured according to a compression pattern layout for the flatbreads produced by the flatbread processing system 300. The former selects the amount of batter based on a food product size range threshold for the dough circles, such as to produce a 10-inch wrap or an 8-inch wrap. The food product size range threshold may be a food product parameter, such as specified by a processing recipe.

[0070] The dough inserter may place the dough circles on a conveyor contained within the flatbread compression device 304. Once the dough circles are positioned on the conveyor's upper surface relative to their respective positions within a compression pattern layout, such as a 3x3 compression pattern layout, the flatbread compression device 304 moves the conveyor forward to place the dough circles beneath the compression device. The flatbread compression device 304 then compresses the dough circles. During the compression operation, the flatbread compression device 304 may slightly bake the dough circles to increase the likelihood that the compressed dough wraps will maintain their compressed shape.

[0071] The flatbread compression device 304 may then transport the compressed dough wrap to a discharge section which also includes the flatbread compression device 304. The discharge section may include a heater for par-baking the compressed dough wrap. The use of a discharge section allows the flatbread compression device 304 to use lower temperatures during the compression process.

[0072] The flatbread processing system 300 then transports the compressed dough wraps from the flatbread pressing device 304 to the oven 306. The flatbread processing system 300 may use one or more conveyors to transport the dough wraps from the flatbread pressing device 304 to the oven 306.

[0073] The oven 306 includes one or more oven conveyors that transport the compressed dough wraps through the oven 306 during the cooking process. As the one or more oven conveyors transport the compressed dough wraps through the oven 306, the compressed dough wraps are cooked so that the cooking process is generally complete when the compressed dough wraps exit the oven 306. In some embodiments, the compressed dough wraps may proceed to another cooking process after being removed from the oven 306.

[0074] After cooking, the flatbread processing system 300 may transport the cooked compressed dough wraps onto one or more conveyors to transport the compressed dough wraps from the oven 306 to the cooler 308. In some embodiments, the flatbread processing system 300 may use one or more conveyors to transport the compressed dough wraps to the top of the cooler 308.

[0075] Cooler 308 may include multiple cooling conveyors that transport the compressed dough wraps through cooler 308. Cooler 308 may use any suitable treatment, component, or both to reduce the temperature of the compressed dough wraps. For example, as the compressed dough wraps move through cooler 308, air may move across the surface of the compressed dough wraps to cool the compressed dough wraps to a low temperature.

[0076] In some examples, the compressed dough wrap may have a temperature approaching 200 degrees when it enters the cooler 308. The cooler may include one or more fans that move air from the environment external to the cooler 308 (e.g., an ambient temperature of about 65 degrees to about 80 degrees) across the cooling conveyor and compressed dough wrap. As the air passes over the compressed dough wrap, heat is removed from the compressed dough wrap, causing it to cool.

[0077] The flatbread processing system 300 transports the compressed dough wraps from the cooler 308 to a monitoring unit 310. The monitoring unit 310 may analyze one or more characteristics, including diameter and color. For example, the monitoring unit 310 may determine whether the compressed dough wraps are burnt, fit the size required by the processing recipe for the compressed pattern, or both. Generally, the monitoring unit 310 may determine whether the compressed dough wraps are in substantial compliance with threshold values ​​for one or more food product parameters of the processing recipe.

[0078] The monitoring unit 310 may include a dough wrap removal device that is used to remove dough wraps that do not meet the predetermined criteria of the recipe from the monitoring unit 310. For example, the monitoring unit 310 may include one or more blowers, e.g., for each processing lane for a compression pattern, to remove compressed dough wraps that are overcooked, over-compressed, under-compressed, or a combination thereof.

[0079] The flatbread processing system 300 transports compressed dough wraps that meet predetermined criteria to a counter stacker 312. The counter stacker 312 may create stacks of compressed dough wraps based on the number of stacks specified in the flatbread processing system 300 recipe.

[0080] The flatbread processing system 300 transports the stacks of compressed dough wraps to a bagger 314, which places each stack into a bag. The bagged stacks of compressed dough wraps may then be removed from the bagger 314 and the flatbread processing system 300.

[0081] Embodiments of the subject matter and functional operations described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, tangibly embodied computer software or firmware, computer hardware including the structures disclosed herein and equivalent structures, or one or more combinations thereof. Embodiments of the subject matter described herein may also be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on a tangible, non-transitory program medium for execution by or control of a data processing apparatus. Alternatively, or in addition, the program instructions may be encoded on an artificially generated propagated signal, such as a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, generated to encode information for transmission to a suitable receiving device by the data processing apparatus. The computer storage medium may be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a random or serially connected memory device, or one or more combinations thereof.

[0082] The term "data processing apparatus" refers to data processing hardware and encompasses all kinds of apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including, by way of example, a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. An apparatus may also be or include special purpose logic circuitry, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). An apparatus may optionally include code in addition to hardware that establishes an execution environment for a computer program, such as code comprising processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or one or more combinations thereof.

[0083] A computer program, which may be referred to or described as a program, software, software application, module, software module, script, or code, may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and may be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program may be stored, for example, in a single file dedicated to the program, or in multiple linked files, such as files storing one or more modules, subprograms, or portions of code, or as part of a file storing other programs or data, such as one or more scripts stored in a markup language document. A computer program may be deployed to be executed on one computer, or on multiple computers located at one site, or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communications network.

[0084] The processes and logic flows described herein may be performed by one or more programmable computers executing one or more computer programs that perform functions by manipulating input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows may also be implemented by, and an apparatus may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry such as an FPGA or ASIC.

[0085] A computer suitable for executing a computer program includes, by way of example, a general or special purpose microprocessor or both, or other type of central processing unit. Typically, the central processing unit receives instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random-access memory, or both. The essential elements of a computer are a central processing unit for performing or executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Typically, a computer includes one or more mass storage devices, such as a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, or an optical disk, for storing data, or is operatively connected to receive data from, transmit data to, or both of, one or more mass storage devices. However, a computer need not have such devices. In addition, a computer may be incorporated into another device, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable audio or video player, a game console, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device such as a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, to name a few.

[0086] Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all types of non-volatile memory, media, and memory devices, including, by way of example, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and semiconductor memory devices such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and memory may be stored by or incorporated in special purpose logic circuitry.

[0087] To provide for user interaction, embodiments of the subject matter described herein may be implemented on a computer having a display device, such as an LCD (liquid crystal display), OLED (organic light-emitting diode), or other monitor, for displaying information to a user, and a pointing device, such as a keyboard and a mouse or trackball, by which a user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices may also be used to provide for user interaction; similarly, for example, feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback, and input from the user may be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Additionally, a computer may interact with a user by sending documents to and receiving documents from a device being used by the user, for example, by sending a web page to a web browser on the user's device in response to a request received from the web browser.

[0088] Embodiments of the subject matter described herein may be implemented in a computer system that includes back-end components such as data servers, middleware components such as application servers, front-end components such as client computers having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described herein, or a combination of one or more such back-end, middleware, and front-end components. The components of the system may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, such as a communications network. Examples of communications networks include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs), such as the Internet.

[0089] While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope that may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described herein in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, while features may be described as operating in a particular combination and may initially be claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may, in some cases, be excluded from the combination, and the claimed combination may relate to a subcombination or a variation of a subcombination.

[0090] Similarly, while operations are shown in a particular order in the figures, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in a particular order or sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain conditions, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Additionally, the separation of various system modules and components in the above-described embodiments should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems may generally be incorporated together in a single software product or packaged in multiple software products.

[0091] Certain embodiments of the present invention have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the steps recited in the claims described herein or illustrated in the figures may be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

Claims

1. A conveyor subsystem, i) adapted to move a plurality of food products longitudinally, with at least a portion of them moving vertically onto a lower conveyor located below the conveyor subsystem, ii) A first conveyor, wherein a) the first conveyor is adapted to move from a first upper food transport position in which it receives food products and transports at least some of the food products to a subsequent conveyor, to b) a first food discharge position in which it places at least some of the food products on a first location on the lower conveyor, A final conveyor, which is arranged longitudinally away from the first conveyor, and is adapted to move (a) from a final upper food transport position where the final conveyor receives the second food product to (b) a final food discharge position where the final conveyor places the second food product on the final position of the lower conveyor, which is separated from the first position in the longitudinal direction, A conveyor subsystem equipped with A system equipped with these features.

2. The first conveyor is adapted to move from the first upper food transport position to the first food discharge position when the first food item approaches the first downstream edge of the first conveyor. The final conveyor is adapted to move from the final upper food transport position to the final food discharge position when the final food item approaches the final downstream edge of the final conveyor. The system according to claim 1.

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, with respect to the first conveyor, the first food discharge position is a position where the first conveyor places at least some of the food on the first location on the lower conveyor and does not transport any food to the subsequent conveyor.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor subsystem comprises two or more actuators, each connected to a corresponding conveyor and adapted to move at least a portion of the corresponding conveyor from an upper food transport position to a food discharge position.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the final actuator among the two or more actuators is adapted to rotate the entire final conveyor from the final upper food transport position to the food discharge position.

6. The two or more actuators comprise a first actuator connected to the first conveyor and two or more second actuators connected to each conveyor, and each conveyor includes the subsequent conveyor and the final conveyor. Each of the two or more second actuators is adapted to rotate each conveyor from each receiving position to each discharge position substantially simultaneously. The system according to claim 4.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the first actuator is adapted to rotate the movable part of the first conveyor substantially simultaneously with the rotation of each conveyor by the two or more second actuators on the corresponding conveyors.

8. The system according to claim 6, comprising (i) a subsequent conveyor that is separated from the final conveyor and (ii) has substantially the same shape as the final conveyor.

9. The first conveyor, A substantially fixed section adapted to receive food products from a pre-transport device, A movable part located longitudinally downstream from the substantially fixed part, which rotates and is adapted to place food products on the lower conveyor, The system according to claim 1, comprising:

10. The system according to claim 1, further comprising the lower conveyor adapted to receive food products separated longitudinally from the first conveyor and the final conveyor.

11. The system according to claim 10, comprising the conveyor subsystem and a support frame connected to the lower conveyor.

12. A conveyor system including a compression device for compressing a pattern of food products, wherein a first food product in the pattern of food products is received by a first conveyor, At each upper food transport position, the first food is transported by the first conveyor to the subsequent conveyor of the conveyor system, At each of the aforementioned upper food transport positions, the second food item of the aforementioned food item pattern is received by the first conveyor, At each upper food transport position, the third food item of the food pattern is received by the final conveyor of the conveyor system, Approximately simultaneously and downward, the lower end of the first conveyor and the lower end of the final conveyor are moved from each upper food transport position to each food discharge position where each conveyor transports the food onto a corresponding portion of the lower conveyor, which is positioned vertically below the conveyor system, and the food is positioned near the geometric center of the compression pattern in which the compression device operates. A method for providing this.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein moving at least a portion of the first conveyor and at least a portion of the final conveyor is performed by using one or more actuators to rotate the first conveyor and the final conveyor from the respective upper food transport positions to the respective food discharge positions.

14. With respect to each discharge conveyor of the conveyor system, the determination of whether each discharge conveyor has at least one food item on its upper surface, wherein the discharge conveyor comprises at least the first conveyor and the final conveyor, In accordance with the determination that at least one discharge conveyor in the conveyor system does not have at least one food item on its upper surface, one or more of the discharge conveyors transport the food items to a subsequent discharge conveyor. The method according to claim 12, comprising:

15. Moving at least a portion of the first conveyor and at least a portion of the final conveyor is With respect to each discharge conveyor of the conveyor system, the determination of whether each discharge conveyor has at least one food item on its upper surface, wherein the discharge conveyor comprises at least the first conveyor and the final conveyor, In accordance with the determination that each of the discharge conveyors of the conveyor system has at least one food item on its upper surface, the lower end of each of the discharge conveyors is moved substantially simultaneously and downward from each upper food item transport position to each food item discharge position where each discharge conveyor places each food item on the corresponding location on the lower conveyor. The method according to claim 12, comprising:

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein determining whether each of the discharge conveyors has at least one food item on its upper surface is a determination of whether a predetermined time has elapsed.

17. The lower conveyor moves one or more food items received from the conveyor system to the corresponding location of the compression device. The compression device compresses one or more of the food items to form one or more corresponding flat food items, The method according to claim 12, comprising:

18. The compression device maintains the lower conveyor in a stopped position while compressing the one or more food items to form them into the one or more flat food items. To move the flat food product downstream from the compression device, the lower conveyor is moved, Approximately simultaneously with moving the lower conveyor to move the flat food product downstream from the compression device, the second food product and the third food product are transported to the lower conveyor using at least the first conveyor and the final conveyor at each food product discharge position. The method according to claim 17, comprising:

19. One or more computers, One or more storage devices that, when executed by the one or more computers, store instructions causing the one or more computers to perform the method described in any one of claims 12 to 18, A system equipped with these features.

20. One or more non-temporary machine-readable media for storing instructions, When the instruction is executed, the system is configured to cause one or more processors to perform the method described in any one of claims 12 to 18. One or more non-temporary machine-readable media.

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