PRODUCT SPREADER APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD

CROSS REFERENCE TO REUATED APPUICATIONS

[0001] This application is being filed on 6 December 2019, as a PCT International patent application, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/775,973, filed December 6, 2018, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

INTRODUCTION

[0002] Historically, consumers have chosen where and when to consume hot, prepared food. Some consumers would travel to a restaurant or other food establishment where food would be prepared and consumed on the premises. Other consumers would travel to the restaurant or other food establishment, purchase hot, prepared food and transport the food to an off-premises location, such as a home or picnic location for consumption (sometimes referred to as“take out”). Yet other consumers ordered delivery of hot, prepared food, for consumption at a delivery location, oftentimes at home. Delivery of hot, prepared foods was once considered the near exclusive purview of Chinese take-out and pizza parlors. Over time, however, delivery of hot, prepared foods has expanded into a variety of food types and preparers, and now plays a significant role in the marketplace. Today, even convenience stores and“fast-food” purveyors, such as franchised hamburger restaurants, have taken to testing the delivery marketplace.

[0003] The delivery of prepared foods traditionally occurs in several discrete acts. First, a consumer places an order for a particular food item with a restaurant or similar food establishment. Then the restaurant or food establishment prepares the food item or food product, per the customer order. The prepared food item is then packaged and delivered to the consumer’s location or presented to the consumer at the restaurant or similar food establishment. The inherent challenges in such a delivery method are numerous, particularly in the case where the delivery location is remote from the restaurant. In addition to the inevitable cooling that occurs while the hot food item is transported to the consumer, many foods may experience a commensurate breakdown in taste, texture, or consistency with the passage of time. For example, the French fries consumed at the burger restaurant may be hot and crispy, but the same French fries will be cold, soggy, and limp by the time they make it to a remote location, in the case of take out or delivery, or to the table, in the case of a busy dinner hour at a restaurant. To address such issues, some food suppliers make use of heat lamps,“hot bags,”“thermal packaging,” or similar insulated packaging, carriers, and/or food containers to retain at least a portion of the existing heat in the prepared food while in transit to the consumer. While such measures may be at least somewhat effective in retaining heat in the food during transit, such measures do little, if anything, to address issues with changes in food taste, texture, or consistency associated with the delay between the time the food item is prepared and the time the food item is actually consumed.

[0004] Some researchers have provided solutions for methods and systems of automated food preparation and delivery, to address some of the foregoing challenges. For example, co-pending United States patent application Serial No. 15/481,240, entitled“On-demand Robotic Food Assembly and Related Systems, Devices and Methods,” filed on April 6, 2017, discloses various approaches to provide or to facilitate automated food preparation and delivery to consumers. The disclosure of this application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure address a remaining need for improved apparatuses, systems, and methods of automating application of product on, or to, a food item.

PRODUCT SPREADER APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD

[0006] An apparatus, system, and method are described for automating application of product, such as a sauce or a dressing, on, or to, a food item. In some embodiments, a head of an applicator makes contact with a surface of a food item, and the force of the contact and a pattern of travel across the food item may be selectively controlled.

[0007] The foregoing and other aspects of various disclosed embodiments will be apparent through examination of the following detailed description thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are used to represent like components throughout, unless otherwise noted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0008] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples are described with reference to the following figures.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a side perspective view illustrating one implementation of an automated system having utility in food preparation applications;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of one implementation of an applicator having utility in connection with the system illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0011] FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the implementation illustrated in FIG. 2;

[0012] FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the implementation illustrated in FIG. 2; [0013] FIG. 5 is a side view of the implementation illustrated in FIG. 2 depicting the applicator in an application state;

[0014] FIG. 6 is a plan view of one pattern that may be used to apply a product to a food item;

[0015] FIG. 7 is a plan view of another pattern that may be used to apply a product to a food item;

[0016] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a control system that may be used in connection with the system of FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an on-demand robotic food assembly line environment that may employ the system of FIG. 1, according to one illustrated embodiment;

[0018] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an on-demand robotic food assembly line that may employ the system of FIG. 1, according to one illustrated embodiment;

[0019] FIG. 11 is a front elevation view of one embodiment of a product dispenser for use in connection with the on-demand robotic food assembly line of FIG. 10;

[0020] FIG. 12 is an isometric view of one embodiment of a robotic product spreader;

[0021] FIG. 13 is a high level logic flow diagram of operation of a robotic product spreader in accordance with one implementation; and

[0022] FIG. 14 is a high level logic flow diagram of operation of a robotic product spreader in accordance with another implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosed implementations. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that certain implementations may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, certain structures associated with food preparation devices such as ovens, skillets, and other similar devices, closed-loop controllers used to control cooking conditions, food preparation techniques, wired and wireless communications hardware and protocols, geolocation, and optimized route mapping or guidance algorithms have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the implementations. In other instances, certain structures associated with conveyors and/or robots are have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the implementations. [0024] An apparatus, system, and method are described for automating application of product, such as a sauce or a dressing, on, or to, a food item. In some embodiments, a head of an applicator makes contact with a surface of a food item, and the force of the contact and a pattern of travel across the food item may be selectively controlled.

[0025] Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims which follow, the word“comprise” and variations thereof, such as, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, i.e, as“including, but not limited to.”

[0026] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” (or“one implementation” or“an implementation,” as the case may be) means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or implementation is included in at least one embodiment or implementation. Thus, the appearances of the phrases“in one” or“in an” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or implementation. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in connection with one or more embodiments or implementations.

[0027] As used in this specification and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and/or" unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

[0028] The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein are for convenience only and do not inform interpretation of the scope or meaning of the embodiments.

[0029] As used herein and in the claims, the terms“food item” and“food product” refer to any item or product intended for human consumption. Although illustrated and described, at times, in the context of pizza to provide a readily comprehensible and easily understood description of one illustrative embodiment, one of ordinary skill in the culinary arts and food preparation will readily appreciate the broad applicability of the systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein across any number of prepared food items or products, including cooked and uncooked food items or products, or par-baked pizzas, doughs, breads, cakes, and other food items.

[0030] As used herein and in the claims, the terms“robot” or“robotic” refer to any device, system, or combination of systems and devices that includes at least one appendage, typically with an end-of-arm tool or end effector, where the at least one appendage may be selectively moveable to perform work or an operation useful in the preparation of a food item or packaging of a food item or food product. In some implementations, the robot may have a base that is fixed to a structure (e.g., floor) in the environment. In other implementations, the robot may include wheels, treads, or casters, and may even include a prime mover (e.g., electric traction motor) and may be self-propelled. The robot may be autonomously controlled, for instance, based at least in part on information from one or more sensors (e.g., optical sensors used with machine-vision algorithms, position encoders, temperature sensors or thermocouples, moisture or humidity sensors, and the like). Alternatively, one or more robots may be remotely controlled by a human operator.

[0031] As used herein and in the claims, the terms“joint” or“joints” refer to any physical coupling that permits relative movement between two members, typically referred to as links. A non-exhaustive list of examples of joints includes: revolute joints, prismatic joints, Hook’s joints, spherical joints, screwjoints, hingejoints, ball and socketjoints, pivot joints, saddle joints, plane joints, ellipsoid joints, and universal joints, to name a few. It is noted that some joints may be equipped with slip rings or similar electrical connectors or coupling mechanisms that allow up to full rotation (360 degrees or more) of a member on a first side of the joint relative to a member on a second side of the joint.

[0032] As used herein and in the claims, the term“cooking unit” refers to any device, system, or combination of systems and devices useful in cooking or heating of a food product. While such preparation may include the heating of food products during preparation, such preparation may also include the partial or complete cooking of one or more food products. Additionally, while the term“oven” may be used interchangeably with the term“cooking unit” herein, such usage should not limit the applicability of the disclosed systems and methods to only foods which can be prepared in an oven. For example, a hot skillet surface, a deep fryer, a microwave oven, toaster, and/or any other heat source capable of cooking food, can be considered a“cooking unit” that may be included within the scope of the systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein. Further, the cooking unit may be able to control more than temperature. For example, some cooking units may control pressure and/or humidity. Further, some cooking units may control airflow therein, and thus may be able to operate in a convective cooking mode if desired, for instance to decrease cooking time.

[0033] As used herein, terms of relative elevation, such as“top,”“bottom,”“above,” “below,” etc. , are used in accordance with their ordinary meanings, such that when a device is in use, gravity acts to pull items from the top of the device to the bottom of the device, and such that bubbles in water float from relatively lower depths below, upward toward relatively shallower depths above.

[0034] FIG. 1 is a side perspective view illustrating one implementation of an automated system having utility in food preparation applications. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a product application or dispensing system 100 may generally comprise a base 108, a robotic appendage 110 having an end-of-arm tool 102, and a control system 120. In the context of the present disclosure, end-of-arm tool 102 may generally be referred to as an“applicator” 102. In use, applicator 102 may be operative to spread or otherwise apply a sauce, dressing, condiment, or other liquid, semi-liquid, or paste ingredient on, or to, a food item ( e.g . , under control of, or influenced by, control system 120) as substantially set forth below. In that regard, applicator 102 may comprise or incorporate food grade material such as stainless steel, silicone rubber, heat resistant glass, or ceramics, and the like.

[0035] It is noted that during operation, sauce, dressing, condiments, or other liquid or paste materials (hereinafter,“product”) to be applied by applicator 102 may be delivered to applicator 102 (e.g., for dispensing) via any of numerous types of conduits, ducts, injectors, tubing, piping, or other fluid conveyors or conductors, which may incorporate one or more pumps. In operation, such a pump or pump system may, under control of control system 120, for example, deliver metered or pressured amounts of material to be applied or dispensed by applicator 102 via an appropriately dimensioned conduit system. This hardware is omitted from FIG. 1 for clarity and may be application-specific or application- or system-dependent. For example, conduits may be rigid or flexible, and may, in some implementations, be attached to or run internal to components of robotic appendage 110. In any event, it may be desirable that such conduits are constructed of or comprise food grade materials such as those identified above. Any of various pumping apparatuses may be useful for this purpose, and may be implemented as peristaltic pumps, centrifugal pumps, or other pumps delivering application-specific head and having other suitable operating characteristics. In an alternative embodiment, product may be deposited on a food item by another component that is independent of applicator 102, and applicator 102 may simply be used to spread the product on the food item in a particular pattern or at a particular rate or pressure level as substantially set forth below.

[0036] Base 108 may be located proximate the floor, ground, or other surface that supports system 100 in an operating environment such as a kitchen, a food preparation truck, a cafeteria, or other work space where food items are prepared for serving. In some implementations, base 108 may be weighted or otherwise have a weight to increase stability of system 100 as robotic appendage 110 translates applicator 102 throughout a range of motion. In additional implementations, base 108 may be bolted or otherwise secured to the floor, ground, platform, or other surface, for example, by inserting bolts through one or more apertures 138. In another implementation, base 108 may be of a shape or size to otherwise prevent tipping and promote stability. In some implementations, the base 108 may have an adhering material or structure to be frictionally secured to the floor, ground, platform, or other surface. In other implementations, base 108 may include wheels, treads, or casters, and may even include a traction motor drivingly coupled to the wheels or treads to move the system 100 under its own power. In that regard, system 100 may also comprise a battery, battery pack, or other internal source of electric power, one or more solar panels or photovoltaic cell arrays, a port, power cable, or other electric power coupling device such as an inductor coil, or a combination of these or other components such that operating power may be available for control system 120, as well as the various electromechanical elements of system 100. These electric power components have been omitted from FIG. 1 for clarity, but those of skill in the art will appreciate that any of various technologies may be employed to power system 100, and that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the methodologies or techniques used to power system 100 or its constituent components.

[0037] Robotic appendage 110 may extend from a proximal end 140 (i.e., proximal to base 108) to a distal end 142 opposite the proximal end 140. Proximal end 140 of robotic appendage 110 may include a rotatable platform 144 that defines a vertical axis of rotation 144a for robotic appendage 110. Rotatable platform 144 may be physically, rotatably coupled to base 108 such that a rotation of platform 144 may be used to position distal end 142 of robotic appendage 110 at a desired location (e.g., with respect to the base 108). Such positioning may be used to direct applicator 102 to extend outward in various directions from the base 108. In use, rotatable platform 144 may be drivingly coupled to a motor (not shown). In some implementations, such a motor may allow full rotation of rotatable platform 144 about the base (i.e., a 360° range), a plurality of times, without restriction. A coupling between base 108 and rotatable platform 144 may employ a slip ring or other rotary electrical interface for this purpose, as is generally known in the art. In some implementations, rotation of rotatable platform 144 may be restricted to some arc less than full, 360° rotation (e.g., 180°, 90°, 45°, or any other degree of rotation less than 360°). Such restrictions on rotation may be used, for example, to protect electrical, fluidic, or other connections that extend from robotic appendage 110 and/or applicator 102 to base 108 from being damaged, or may be based upon work environment geometries and the proximity of other equipment or fixtures.

[0038] Robotic appendage 110 may include a plurality of segments, also referred to as links, such as, for example, a first segment 146, a second segment 148, athird segment 150, and a fourth segment 152, or any other quantity of segments. First segment 146 may be located relatively towards proximal end 140 of robotic appendage 110; fourth segment 152 may be located relatively towards distal end 142 of robotic appendage 110; and second segment 148 and third segment 150 may be located between the first segment 146 and the fourth segment 152. First segment 146 may rotatably couple with rotatable platform 144 at a first joint 154 that defines a first segment axis of rotation 154a extending, at least in part, horizontally outward from first joint 154. In some implementations, rotation of first segment 146 may be controlled, for example, by one or more types of motors, such as a stepper motor or any other motor, which may be used to control the location and/or the rate of rotation of first segment 146 about first segment axis of rotation 154a. Second segment 148 may be rotatably coupled to first segment 146 by a second joint 156 that defines a second segment axis of rotation 158 extending laterally outward in a direction that may be perpendicular, or substantially perpendicular, to each of first segment 146 and second segment 148. Rotation of second segment 148 may be controlled, for example, by one or more types of motors, such as a stepper motor or any other motor that may be the same or different from a motor controlling rotation of the first segment 146, that may be used to control the location and/or the rate of rotation of second segment 148 about second segment axis of rotation 158.

[0039] Third segment 150 may be rotatably coupled to second segment 148 via a rotatable joint 160 (e.g., a ball and socket joint or other joint) that provides a third segment axis of rotation 162 extending outward in a direction that may be parallel to, or substantially parallel to, a length of second segment 448. In use, rotatable joint 160 enables third segment 150 to rotate with respect to one end of second segment 148. Rotation of third segment 450 may be controlled, for example, by one or more types of motors, such as a stepper motor or any other motor that may be the same or different from a motor controlling rotation of the first segment 146 or the second segment 148, that may be used to control the location and/or the rate of rotation of third segment 150 about third segment axis of rotation 162. Fourth segment 152 may rotatably couple to third segment 150 via a third joint 164 that provides a fourth axis of rotation 166 extending laterally outward from third segment 150. In some implementations, for example, third segment 150 may comprise two opposing arms that extend outward from second segment 148 and form a cavity therebetween that may be sized and shaped to engage fourth segment 152; fourth segment 152 may rotate when secured within such a cavity. Rotation of fourth segment 152 may be controlled, for example, by one or more types of motors, such as a stepper motor or any other motor that may be the same or different from a motor controlling rotation of the first segment 146 or the second segment 148 or the third segment 150, that may be used to control the location and/or the rate of rotation of fourth segment 152 about fourth segment axis of rotation 166.

[0040] Motors driving segments 146, 148, 150, and 152 of robotic appendage 110 have been omitted from FIG. 1 for clarity, but those of skill in the art will appreciate that any of various types of motors may readily be implemented to effectuate the relative movement of these components. Similarly, joints 154, 156, 160, and 164 may generally be embodied in or comprise any of various types of joint allowing or facilitating relative motion of segments 146, 148, 150, and 152 as are generally known in the art or developed and operative in accordance with known principles. In operation, system 100 may position applicator 102 in such a manner as to enable application of a product on, or to, a food item. The illustrative system 100 is only one mechanism having utility for this purpose, and other implementations may use more or fewer segments or joints, as may be application- dependent, for instance. In alternative implementations, for example, system 100 may include any suitable robotic appendage capable of moving applicator 102 around in three dimensions in its local environment in place of robotic appendage 110 as depicted in FIG. 1. Suitable robotic appendages are widely commercially available, such as from vendors, such as ABB Group and Fanuc.

[0041] In some implementations, system 100 may include one or more sensors such as imagers, cameras, video cameras, frame grabbers, radar source and sensor, Lidar source and sensor, ultrasonic source and sensors, mechanical position encoders or optical position encoders such as rotary encoders, optical emitter and receiver pairs that pass a beam of light (e.g., infrared light source and sensor) across a surface, commonly referred to as an“electric eye,” ultrasonic position detectors, digital cameras, Hall effect sensors, load cells, and/or magnetic or electromagnetic radiation (e.g., infrared light)-based proximity sensors, or other sensors. Such sensors may provide signals indicating objects or items in the three- dimensional space surrounding system 100, in general, and applicator 102, in particular. These sensors have been omitted from FIG. 1 for clarity.

[0042] Such signals may include indications, for example, of an upper surface of a work space supporting a food item, some other horizontal surface, a surface of a food item itself (or a container in which a food item is located) to which an ingredient or product may be to be applied, or a combination of these or other surfaces or items capable of detection by a particular sensor implementation. In some implementations, the sensors may detect the locations of food items being conveyed by a conveyor system, or food items that are stationary in a work zone. The sensors may be communicatively coupled to control system 120 such that the sensors may transmit such signals to control system 120. In operation, control system 120 may use such signals to determine actions and/or functions that various components of system 100 may take, and in particular, how robotic appendage 110 may position, rotate, and/or translate applicator 102 as necessary or desired. In some implementations, control system 120 may store one or more motion plans that describe multiple actions or motions for one or more components to perform a desired action (e.g., apply a product on a food item and spread it, deposit a product into a container holding a food item, and the like).

[0043] In some implementations, the sensors may include one or more sensors to determine a position and/or orientation of applicator 102, particularly with reference to a food item. Such sensors may include, for example, one or more rotary sensors that may be included as part of, or proximate to, the motor that drives rotatable platform 144. Such a sensor may be, for example, a rotary encoder that may be used to determine an orientation of rotatable platform 144 and the attached robotic appendage 110 and applicator 102. In some implementations, the sensors may include one or more sensors that may be used to determine the position of applicator 102 relative to distal end 142 of robotic appendage 110.

[0044] In an alternative application, base 108 or robotic appendage 102 (such as illustrated in FIG. 1) may be affixed or attached to a rail system, tracks, or other fixture providing or facilitating translation of robotic appendage 102 in a work space or operating environment. Such a rail or track system may be affixed to a wall in a kitchen or cafeteria, for example, or may be deployed on the interior of a food truck or other environment in which food items are prepared. See, e.g., FIG. 4A and the description thereof in co-pending United States patent application Serial No. 16/160,748, entitled“Multi-Modal Vehicle Implemented Food Preparation, Cooking, and Distribution Systems and Methods” filed on October 15, 2018, FIG. 10A and the description thereof in co-pending United States provisional patent application Serial No. 62/747,640, entitled“Configurable Meal Kit Preparation and Storage Vehicle and Related Methods and Articles” filed on October 18, 2018, and FIG. 11 and the description thereof in co-pending United States patent application Serial No. 62/628,390, entitled“Configurable Food Delivery Vehicle and Related Methods and Articles” filed on February 9, 2018. As another alternative, base 108, robotic appendage 102, or similar or complementary structures may be integrated with or incorporated into an assembly line implementation as set forth in more detail with reference to FIGS. 9 through 12, below; more detail of such an embodiment is in co-pending international patent application Serial No. PCT/US 17/26408, entitled“On-Demand Robotic Food Assembly and Related Systems, Devices, and Methods” and filed on April 6, 2017. The disclosures of these applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0045] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of one implementation of an applicator having utility in connection with the system illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a another perspective view of the implementation illustrated in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the implementation illustrated in FIG. 2. Applicator 102 may generally comprise an adapter portion 299 and a spreader portion 280.

[0046] Adapter portion 299 may be suitably sized and dimensioned to enable or to facilitate mechanical (and any necessary or desirable electrical) coupling of applicator 102 to a cooperating structure of robotic appendage 110 (such as fourth segment 152 in FIG. 1, for example) or some other mechanical or electromechanical component operative to position applicator 102 as desired or required during use. It is noted that physical characteristics, construction materials, dimensions, and other features of adapter portion 299 may be application-specific, and therefore may depend upon the nature and specifications of the cooperating structure to which adapter portion 299 is attached. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by any particular architectural arrangement or structural properties of adapter portion 299. In the illustrated implementation, adapter portion 299 generally comprises a plate 298 allowing a physical coupling with the cooperating structure noted above; plate 298 is depicted as supported by a series of spaced- apart stanchions 296 secured by bolts 297, though other alternatives are possible. By way of example, stanchions 296 may be secured to plate 298 via screws, rivets, or other rigid attachment components, eliminating need for bolts 297; stanchions 296 may also be longer or shorter than the illustrated implementation, depending upon overall construction of robotic appendage 110 or whatever other component is to support applicator 102. Similarly, plate 298 may be omitted where necessitated by robotic appendage 110 or the design of another cooperating structure to which applicator 102 is attached or affixed.

[0047] Spreader portion 280 may generally comprise a main body 230 from which product may be dispensed in some implementations, a base plate 260 supporting main body 230, and an applicator or spreader head 270, which may be employed to smear or spread product over a surface, such as a surface of a food item. In that regard, since head 270 (or a portion of head 270) may have direct contact with a food item, a particular kind or type of product, or both, it may be desirable that head 270 be removably attached or coupled to base plate 260 such that head 270 may be independently cleaned, for instance, or replaced when a different product is dispensed from applicator 102 following previous contact, to prevent cross-contamination. Where elements of system 100 or robotic appendage 110 are sufficiently sophisticated, head 270 removal and replacement may be automated. For example, where head 270 is threadably engaged to base plate 260, head 270 may be gripped or held firm while an appropriate segment rotates about an axis of rotation, thus removing head 270; a new or replacement head 270 may be attached to base plate 260 using a similar approach, but reversing a direction of rotation. In another example, head 270 may be released from frictional fit or any locking mechanism.

[0048] In some implementations, applicator 102 may dispense a particular volume ( e.g . , pre-determined or metered) of product per application; this may be effectuated or facilitated under control of control system 120, for instance, it may be assisted by a mechanical arrangement employed at applicator 102 itself, or both. As noted herein, alternative embodiments may include situations in which product is pre-applied or pre-deposited on a food item by a different component or by a human operator, such that product is not dispensed by applicator 102, but simply spread on the food item by applicator 102. It will be appreciated that the structural arrangement illustrated in the drawing figures is capable of operation in either scenario. In the example illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 5 using both the control system 120 and a unique mechanical structure, spreader portion 280 may employ a support body 210 and a spreader sleeve 220 to form main body 230. Spreader portion 280 is illustrated as employing a series of space-apart resilient members (depicted as resilient bands 240), distributed circumferentially around applicator 102; although four bands 240 are shown, more or fewer bands 240 may be used, depending upon the materials used and the type of flexibility and resiliency desired or required by a particular application. In that regard, bands 240 may be embodied in, or comprise, a flexible and resilient material such as rubber, silicone, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EDPM), other types of synthetic rubber, and the like. Bands 240 may be affixed or attached to base plate 260, on the one hand, and support body 210 (such as at plate 211 integral with or attached to support body 210), on the other hand. In operation, resiliency of a material used for bands 240 may bias support body 210 away from base plate 260, but flexibility of bands 240 may allow linear reciprocating motion of support body 210 relative to spreader sleeve 220 (e.g., in a telescoping manner along a translation axis), thus pressurizing main body 230. This reciprocating motion is illustrated by the double-headed arrow 150 in FIG. 2, and the telescoping relationship is illustrated by an interior diameter of support body 210 fitting to an exterior diameter of spreader sleeve 220. In some implementations, it may be desirable to seal an interface between support body 210 and spreader sleeve 220, e.g., with a gasket or washer, though these elements may be fitted snugly such that a washer or gasket is not necessary.

[0049] It will be appreciated that the functionality of bands 240 may be provided by other mechanical, hydraulic, or electromechanical components, either independently or in cooperation with bands 240. For example, a spring or coil may be used to bias support body 210 in a linear direction away from base plate 260, while still allowing reciprocal relative motion between support body 210 and spreader sleeve 220. Similarly, hydraulic mechanism, such as a shock absorber or other piston-driven mechanism, may provide or facilitate similar or analogous functionality or operational characteristics. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the presence of bands 240, or the particular mechanism employed to bias support body 210 or to allow its linear travel as indicated at reference numeral 250.

[0050] In some implementations, spreader sleeve 220 may comprise a one-way valve, flute, gate, outlet, or other conduit through which product may be forced upon pressurization of main body 230. As an example, a force may be applied via adapter portion 299 to displace support body 210, such that pressurization in main body 230 may force product out of spreader sleeve 220 through such a valve or other outlet structure (e.g., robotic appendage 110 or a similar structure operating under control of control system 120, such that the amount of product dispensed is a function of the pressurization, which is a function of the displacement of support body 210, which is, in turn, a function of the force applied to adapter portion 299).

[0051] Additionally or alternatively, as noted above, product to be applied by applicator 102 may be delivered or supplied to applicator 102 (for dispensing) via any of numerous types of conduits, ducts, injectors, tubing, piping, or other fluid conveyors or conductors, which may incorporate one or more pumps. Where such pumps are operative in response to control system 120, signals from control system 120 may be based upon linear translation of support body 210 relative to spreader sleeve 220, such that an amount of product to be delivered from spreader sleeve 220 may be based upon downward force (e.g., applied to adapter portion 299) resulting in displacement of support body 210. In one such alternative implementation, a valve, outlet, or nozzle from such a conduit system may be deployed within spreader sleeve 220 or other portion of main body 230 such that product may be deposited directly from the conduit system.

[0052] In any event, as noted above, an amount of product applied to a food item may be based upon, or influenced by, an amount of force applied to applicator 102. In some implementations, a depth gauge or other sensor may be employed to monitor, compute, or control pressure on applicator 102, in general, and head 270, in particular, as representative of a force applied by head 270 to a surface of a food item. This may prevent damage to head 270, the food item, or both, and enable applying or depositing a precise or metered amount or volume of product. In circumstances where product is applied by a component or apparatus that is different or independent from applicator 102, such a depth gauge or other sensor may (additionally or alternatively to controlling the amount of product dispensed) control the degree to which the product is spread or forced onto a surface of a food item by head 270. As noted above, the structural arrangement depicted in FIGS. 2 through 5 may have utility in either implementation, such that applicator 102 may be used in connection with systems or apparatus that deposit or apply product to a food item using a component or instrument that is independent of applicator 102.

[0053] As illustrated in FIG. 4, head 270 may generally comprise a plurality of projections, knobs, protuberances, protrusions, or other raised structures, such as“fingers” 271. In operation, fingers 271 may make contact with a food surface following (or substantially concomitantly with) application of product to such surface; translation of head 270 and fingers 271 relative to the food surface may spread the product as desired or as required by a particular application or food preparation protocol.

[0054] FIG. 5 is a side view of the implementation illustrated in FIG. 2, depicting the applicator in an application state. As indicated in FIG. 5, support body 210 has been translated to base plate 260, and bands 240 have been flexed to accommodate the position of support body 210 in this configuration. Pressure exerted on a food surface is illustrated by deflection of fingers 271. In that regard, fingers 271 may be constructed of silicon, rubber, any of various types of synthetic rubber, or other suitably flexible and resilient material. It may be desirable to rotate applicator 102 or head 270 as applicator 102 is translated over a surface of a food item, to prevent or to minimize rapid recoil fingers 271, which may create an unwanted scrubbing action. Alternatively, it may be desirable to create such a scrubbing action in some instances, particularly in situations where a food surface is firm and flicking or scrubbing caused by recoiling fingers 271 will not tear or otherwise damage the food item. In some implementations, in addition to or as an alternative to rotation of application 102, a food item itself may be rotated to facilitate spreading of product on the food item; this may be accomplished, for instance, by rotating a surface upon which the food item is supported when making contact with applicator 102, as is generally known in the art of automated and other food preparation. As noted above, a depth gauge or other pressure sensor may be useful to determine, compute, estimate, or to otherwise control a magnitude of force applied to a food item surface via fingers 271. In some instances, a maximum allowable or desirable magnitude of force may be affected or influenced by, for example, the flexibility, resiliency, or other physical characteristics or attributes of materials used to construct fingers 271. Determining a maximum force to be applied to a food item surface may prevent or minimize damage to the food item, head 270, or both, and may also allow or facilitate an automated system (such as system 100) to accommodate or account for uneven food surfaces and to ensure proper coverage of that surface with a desired amount of product.

[0055] FIG. 6 is plan view of one pattern that may be used to apply a product to a food item, and FIG. 7 is plan view of another pattern that may be used to apply a product to a food item. In FIGS. 6 and 7, a periphery or edge of a food item is represented at reference numeral 699. It is noted that the food item may be a pizza, a par-baked pizza, any other dough-based product, or any other types and shapes of food items; the illustrative implementation is provided by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. In the FIG. 6 implementation, an application of product may begin at a center 610 of a food item and proceed outwardly, following the direction of the arrow labelled adjacent to center 610, in a curved or arced raster pattern. Alternatively, an application of product may begin at or near the periphery, such as at point 620, and proceed inwardly, following a curved or arced raster pattern as indicated by the direction of the arrow labelled adjacent to point 620.

[0056] In the FIG. 7 implementation, application of a product may occur by depositing circles 701 through 704 (or ovals or other shapes) of product, and may proceed in a variety of ways, such as beginning near periphery 699 and proceeding inwardly, beginning near middle 704 and proceeding outwardly, or beginning at any other point between periphery 699 and middle 704 and proceeding to any other circle 701-704. It is noted that more or fewer circles may be employed than are illustrated in FIG. 7, and that more or fewer arcs may be employed than are illustrated in FIG. 6, as function of the size of the food product relative to the applicator 102 used to deposit product, the amount or volume of product being dispensed, or a combination of these and a variety of other factors. Spiral patterns, straight raster patterns, or crossing patterns may also be employed as a function of design choice, the nature or size of the food item, instruction sets at control system 120, or a combination of these and/or a variety of other factors.

[0057] In operation, the volume and rate at which product is dispensed or applied, the velocity at which the applicator (such as applicator 102) is traversed across the food item’s surface, the pressure exerted on the food item (such as by fingers 271 of head 270), and other factors, may be determined or influenced by operation of a data processing or other electronic or computerized system (such as control system 120). As noted above, some implementations contemplate that product may be deposited on a food item prior to execution of a spreading operation by applicator 102. In such situations, a spreading pattern, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, may be selected, at least in part, based upon the location and amount of product deposited prior to spreading by applicator 102, the force exerted by head 270, in general, and by fingers 271, in particular, an expected rigidity or toughness of a surface of the food item, an expected or observed unevenness of the surface, or a combination of these and a variety of other factors. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the pattern used by applicator 102 for spreading product on a food item.

[0058] In that regard, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a control system that may be used in connection with the system of FIG. 1. The following is a brief, general description of an illustrative control system 120 that may be implemented in connection with the product application or dispensing system 100. Although control system 120 may be described herein as a functional element, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that some or all of the functionality may be performed using one or more additional computing devices which may be external to control system 120. Such computing devices may be included, for example, within a networked environment. Control system 120 may implement, either independently or in cooperation with other components, some or all of the various functions and operations discussed herein.

[0059] Although not required, some portion of the specific implementations will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions or logic, such as application modules, objects, or macros being executed by a computer. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the illustrated embodiments as well as other embodiments can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including handheld devices (for instance, web- or network-enabled cellular telephones, tablet computing devices, or PDAs), multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, personal computers (“PCs”), network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The various implementations may be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks or modules are performed by remote processing devices, which may be linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be stored in both local and remote memory storage devices and executed using one or more (either physical or virtual) local or remote processors, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, or combinations thereof.

[0060] Control system 120 may take the form of any current or future developed computing system capable of executing one or more instruction sets. Control system 120 may generally include a processing unit 800, a system memory 802, an actuator interface 822, a network interface 824, a power module 826, and a system bus 804 that communicably couples various system components including system memory 802 to processing unit 800. Control system 120 will at times be referred to in the singular herein, but this is not intended to limit the embodiments to a single system, since in certain embodiments, there will be more than one system or other networked computing device involved. Non-limiting examples of commercially available systems include, but are not limited to, an Atom®, Pentium®, or 80x86 architecture microprocessor as offered by Intel® Corporation, a Snapdragon® processor as offered by Qualcomm®, Inc., a PowerPC® microprocessor as offered by IBM®, a Sparc® microprocessor as offered by Sun® Microsystems, Inc., a PA- RISC series microprocessor as offered by Hewlett-Packard® Company, an A6 or A8 series processor as offered by Apple® Inc., or a 68xxx series microprocessor as offered by Motorola® Corporation.

[0061] Processing unit 800 may be any logic processing unit, such as one or more (either physical or virtual) central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), etc. In some implementations, processing unit 800 may be communicatively coupled to one or more microcontrollers that provide signals to control one or more of the actuators. Unless described otherwise, the construction and operation of the various functional blocks shown in FIG. 8 are of conventional design. As a result, such blocks need not be described in further detail herein, as they will be understood by those skilled in the relevant art.

[0062] System bus 804 may employ any known bus structures or architectures, including a memory bus with memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus. System memory 802 includes read-only memory (“ROM”) 806 and random access memory (“RAM”) 808. A basic input/output system (“BIOS”) 810, which may form part of ROM 806, generally contains basic routines that help transfer information between elements within control system 120, such as during start-up. Some embodiments may employ separate buses for data, instructions and power.

[0063] Control system 120 may include an actuator interface 822. Such an actuator interface 822 may be communicatively coupled, and may transmit one or more signals 822a to one or more motors, pistons, and/or other actuators that may be used to control movement of one or more elements, segments, joints, or other components of a robotic appendage or robotic system such as robotic appendage 110. Such movement may be used selectively to extend and/or retract an element of robotic appendage 110 or a component thereof. Such movements may be used selectively to rotate elements or components of robotic appendage 110 so as to position an applicator 102 and to translate it in accordance with instructions from control system 120. In some implementations, actuator interface 822 may include one or more microcontrollers that may be used to generate signals 822a used to activate and/or control the one or more motors, pistons, and/or other actuators. In some implementations, the one or more microcontrollers may be part of or located proximate to the respective motor, piston, and/or other actuator being controlled.

[0064] In some embodiments, control system 120 operates in an environment using one or more of the network interfaces 824 that may optionally be communicably coupled to one or more remote computers, servers, display devices, and/or other devices via one or more communications channels. These logical connections may facilitate any known method of permitting computers to communicate, such as through one or more LANs and/or WANs. Such networking environments are well known in wired and wireless enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, extranets, and the Internet.

[0065] Control system 120 may include a sensor interface 828. Such a sensor interface 828 may be communicatively coupled with, and may receive signals from, one or more of the sensors described above. Such signals may include, for example, a detection signal 828a received from a sensor that indicates the presence of a horizontal surface, such as a food item surface, for example, proximate system 100 or applicator 102. Such signals may include, for example, a food-item detection signal 828b received from a sensor (e.g., an imager) that may be used by control system 120 to detect the presence of a food item, and in some implementations, the type or shape of the food item identified as being proximate the system 100 or within a working zone of applicator 102. Such signals may be used by control system 120 to identify or determine a type of action for system 100 to take and/or a motion plan for system 100 to implement for applicator 102.

[0066] Control system 120 also includes one or more internal nontransitory storage systems 812. Such internal nontransitory storage systems 812 may include, but are not limited to, any current or future developed persistent storage device. Such persistent storage devices may include, without limitation, magnetic storage devices such as hard disc drives, electromagnetic storage devices such as memristors, molecular storage devices, quantum storage devices, electrostatic storage devices such as solid state drives, and the like.

[0067] Control system 120 may also include one or more optional removable nontransitory storage systems 814. Such removable nontransitory storage systems 814 may include, but are not limited to, any current or future developed removable persistent storage device. Such removable persistent storage devices may include, without limitation, magnetic storage devices, electromagnetic storage devices such as memristors, molecular storage devices, quantum storage devices, and electrostatic storage devices such as secure digital (“SD”) drives, USB drives, memory sticks, or the like.

[0068] Internal nontransitory storage systems 812 and optional removable nontransitory storage systems 814 may generally communicate with processing unit 800 via system bus 804. Internal nontransitory storage systems 812 and optional removable nontransitory storage systems 814 may include interfaces or device controllers (not shown) communicably coupled between nontransitory storage systems 812, 814 and system bus 804, as is known by those skilled in the relevant art. Nontransitory storage systems 812, 814, and their associated storage devices provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for control system 120. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that other types of storage devices may be employed to store digital data accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, RAMs, ROMs, thumb drives, smart cards, etc.

[0069] Program modules may be stored in system memory 802, such as an operating system 816, one or more application programs 818, and program data 820.

[0070] Application programs 818 may include, for example, one or more machine executable instruction sets (i.e., motion plans 818a) capable of causing the movement of robotic appendage(s) 110 and/or applicator 102. Such movement may be caused, for example, by transmitting one or more signals to one or more actuators via actuator interface 822. Application programs 818 may additionally include one or more machine executable instruction sets (i.e., detection module 818b) capable of providing detection instructions to detect food items, or other items, along a conveyor or other horizontal surface proximate system 100. Such machine executable instruction sets may be responsive to one or more detection signals 824a received from one or more sensors via the network interface 824. Such detection signals 824a may include one or more food detection signals 824b that may be used to indicate the presence of a food item, including in some implementations an indication of the type or shape of the food item, proximate system 100 or applicator 102, in particular. Application programs 818 may also include any number of communications programs 818d to permit control system 120 to access and exchange data with other systems or components via the network interface 824. Application programs 818 may additionally include one or more machine executable instruction sets (i.e., sensor module 818e) capable of detecting and processing signals received from one or more sensors.

[0071] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an on-demand robotic food assembly line environment that may employ the system of FIG. 1, according to one illustrated embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an on-demand robotic food assembly line that may employ the system of FIG. 1, according to one illustrated embodiment.

[0072] FIG. 9 shows an on-demand robotic food assembly line environment 900 according one illustrated embodiment. As illustrated, environment 900 generally includes one or more on-demand robotic food assembly lines 902 (one shown). Environment 900 may include one or more processor-based control systems 904, 906, and 908 communicatively coupled to receive orders for food items or food products, to generate, maintain, and update a dynamic order queue, to generate assembly instructions and packaging instructions, to control loading and/or dispatch of food items or food products, and optionally to control en route cooking of food items or food products.

[0073] For example, environment 900 may include one or more order front end server computer control systems 904 operable, for example, to receive orders from consumer or customer processor-based devices, for instance, a desktop, laptop, or notebook computer 910a, a smartphone 910b, or a tablet computer 910c (collectively consumer or customer processor-based device 910). The one or more order front end server computer control systems 904 may include one or more hardware circuits, for instance, one or more processors 912a and/or associated non-transitory storage media, such as memory (e.g., FLASH, RAM, ROM) 914a and/or spinning media (e.g. , spinning magnetic media, spinning optical media, and the like) 916a that stores at least one of processor-executable instructions or data. The one or more order front end server computer control systems 904 may be communicatively coupled to the consumer or customer processor-based device 910 via one or more communications channels, for instance, one or more non-proprietary network communications channels; examples of such communications channels include a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the Internet and/or cellular provider communications networks including voice, data, and short message service (SMS) networks or channels 918.

[0074] The one or more order front end server computer control systems 904 may provide or implement a Web-based interface allowing a consumer or customer to order food items. The Web-based interface may, for example, provide a number of user selectable icons that correspond to respective ones of a number of defined food items, for instances various pizzas with respective combinations of toppings. Alternatively or additionally, the Web-based interface may, for example, provide a number of user selectable icons that correspond to respective ones of a number of specific food items, for instance, various toppings for pizza, allowing the consumer or customer to custom design or otherwise to customize the desired food item.

[0075] Also for example, environment 900 may include one or more order assembly control systems 906 operative to submit to, to control, or both, the on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 or portions thereof. The one or more order assembly control systems 906 may include one or more hardware circuits, for instance, one or more processors 912b and/or associated non-transitory storage media, e.g., memory (e.g., FLASH, RAM, ROM) 914b and/or spinning media (e.g., spinning magnetic media, spinning optical media, and the like) 916b that stores at least one of processor-executable instructions or data. The one or more order assembly control systems 906 may be communicatively coupled to the order front end server computer control systems 904, and communicatively coupled to the on-demand robotic food assembly line(s) 902 (or various components in use on assembly bne(s) 902), for example, via one or more communications channels, for instance, a network communications channel like a proprietary Local Area Network (LAN) or proprietary Wide Area Network (WAN) such as one or more intranets or other networks 920. In some implementations, order assembly control systems 906 may communicate with control system 120, for example, to control or otherwise to influence operation of system 100 described above with reference to FIG. 1. In accordance with one illustrative embodiment, order assembly control systems 906 may provide instructions to system 100, and to control system 120, in particular, to manipulate robotic appendage 110 and applicator 102 such that a product (such as pizza sauce, for instance) may be applied to a food item substantially as set forth below. [0076] Also for example, environment 900 may include one or more, order dispatch and en route cooking control systems 908 to control dispatch and en route cooking of food items. The one or more order dispatch and en route cooking control systems 908 may include one or more hardware circuits, for instance, one or more processors 912c and/or associated non- transitory storage media, e.g., memory (e.g., FLASH, RAM, ROM) 914c and/or spinning media (e.g., spinning magnetic media, spinning optical media, and the like) 916c that stores at least one of processor-executable instructions or data. The one or more order dispatch and en route cooking control systems 908 may be communicatively coupled to the order front end server computer control systems 904, the order assembly control systems 906, and/or various delivery vehicles and associated cooking units of the delivery vehicles. Some communications may employ one or more proprietary communications channels, for instance, a proprietary network communications channel like a proprietary Local Area Network (LAN) or proprietary Wide Area Network (WAN) such as one or more intranets or other networks 920. For instance, communications between the order dispatch and en route cooking control systems 908 and the order front end server computer control systems 904 or the order assembly control systems 906 may occur via one or more proprietary communications channels. Some communications may employ one or more non proprietary communications channels, for instance, one or more non-proprietary network communications channels like a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the Internet and/or cellular provider communications networks including voice, data, and short message service (SMS) networks or channels 918. For instance, communications between the order dispatch and en route cooking control systems 908 and the vehicles or cooking units of the vehicles can occur via one or more non-proprietary communications channels, e.g., cellular communications network system.

[0077] The on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include one or more assembly conveyors 922a, 922b (collectively 922) and/or one or more workstations 924a- 924j (collectively 924) at which food items or food products are assembled. The assembly conveyors 922 may operate to move a food item or food product being assembled past a number of workstations 924 and associated equipment. The assembly conveyors 922 may take the form of conveyor belts, conveyor grills or racks, or conveyor chains, typically with an endless belt, grill, or chain that is driven in a closed circular path by one or more motors (e.g., electrical motor, electrical stepper motor, and the like) via a transmission (e.g., gears or traction rollers). [0078] The on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include one or more robots 940, 954a, 954b, 956a, 956b (see FIG. 9), operable to assemble food items or food products on demand (i.e., in response to received orders for food items or self-generated orders for food items). The robots may each be associated with one or more workstations 924, for instance one robot per workstation. In some implementations, one or more workstations 924 may not have an associated robot, and may have some other piece of associated equipment ( e.g . , sauce dispenser, oven, or the like) and/or even a human present to perform certain operations. It is noted that sauce spreader robot 940 in FIG. 9 may be embodied in or comprise a robotic system (such as system 100) substantially as set forth above with reference to FIG. 1.

[0079] The example on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 is now discussed in terms of an exemplary workflow, although one of skill in the art will recognize that any given application (e.g., type of food item) may require additional equipment, may eliminate or omit some equipment, and/or may arrange equipment in a different order, sequence, or workflow.

[0080] The one or more order front end server computer control systems 904 receive orders for food items from consumer or customer processor-based devices 910. The order may specify each food item by an identifier and/or by a list of ingredients (e.g., pizza toppings or other items). The order may also specify a delivery destination, e.g., using a street address and/or geographic coordinates. Typically, the order also specifies a customer or consumer by name or other identifier. The order may further identify a time that the order was placed, a requested or expected delivery time, if applicable, and other information that may be application- or restaurant-specific.

[0081] The order front end server computer control systems 904 may communicate orders for food items to the one or more order assembly control systems 906. The order assembly control system(s) 906 may generate a sequence of orders, and may also generate control instructions for assembling the food items for the various orders. The order assembly control systems 906 may provide instructions to the various components (e.g., conveyors, robots, appliances such as ovens, and/or display screens and/or headset speakers worn by humans) to cause the assembly of the various food items in a desired order or sequence according to a workflow.

[0082] The on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include a first or primary assembly conveyor 922a. The first or primary assembly conveyor 922a may convey or transit a partially assembled food item 1002a-1002e (see FIG. 10, collectively 1002) past a number of workstations 924a-924d, at which the food item 1002 is assembled in various acts or operations. As illustrated in Figure 2, the first or primary assembly conveyor 922a may, for example, take the form of a food grade conveyor belt 904a that rides on various axles or rollers 906a driven by one or more motors 208a via one or more gears or teethed wheels 910a. In the example of pizza, the first or primary assembly conveyor 922a may initially convey a round of dough or flattened dough 1002a (FIG. 10) either automatically or manually loaded on the first or primary assembly conveyor 922a.

[0083] In some instances, the on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include two or more parallel first or primary assembly conveyors 922a, such as an interior first or primary assembly conveyor, and an exterior first or primary assembly conveyor. The workstations and one or more robots 940, 954a, 954b, 956a, 956b (FIG. 9) may be operable to assemble food items or food products on demand on either or all of the two or more parallel first or primary assembly conveyors. In some instances, at least one of the two or more parallel first or primary assembly conveyors (e.g., an interior first or primary assembly conveyor) may be placed and located to provide access to a human operator to place sauce, cheese, or other toppings onto the flattened dough 1002a or other food item being transported by the interior one first or primary assembly conveyor. The human operator may place the sauce, cheese, and/or other toppings, for example, when the associated robot(s) 940, 954a, 954b, 956a, and/or 956b is not functioning. Pizzas or other food items that do not require the sauce, cheese, and/or other topping from the non-functioning associated robot 940, 954a, 954b, 956a and/or 956b may continue to be assembled on the other, exterior first or primary assembly conveyor.

[0084] One or more sensors or imagers 1023 may be located along the edge of the first or primary assembly conveyor 922a at the location at which the round of dough or flattened dough 1002a is loaded. The one or more sensors or imagers 1023 may include: mechanical position encoders or optical position encoders such as rotary encoders, optical emitter and receivers pairs that pass a beam of light (e.g., infrared light) across a conveyor, commonly referred to as an“electric eye,” ultrasonic position detectors, digital cameras, Hall effect sensors, load cells, magnetic or electromagnetic radiation (e.g., infrared light) proximity sensors, video cameras, etc. It is noted that any type of sensor technology may be employed that is operative to provide the functionality set forth herein, and that sensors or imagers 1023 may be embodied in or comprise any of various types of sensor designs that are generally known in the art or developed in accordance with known principles. [0085] Such sensors or imagers 1023 may be placed at the beginning of the primary assembly conveyor 922a. In some instances, the sensors or imagers 1023 may be used to detect whether the round of dough or flattened dough 1002a was correctly loaded onto the primary assembly conveyor 922a, for example, approximately towards the center of the width of the primary assembly conveyor 922a. For example, optical emitter and receiver pairs may be used to detect the location or position of the round or flattened dough 1002a. In some implementations, the color of the primary assembly conveyor 922a may be based on the color of the emitter being used to detect the location of the round or flattened dough 1002a. Thus, for example, the primary assembly conveyor 922a may be colored red or blue to facilitate the detection capabilities of a laser that emits red light. The intensity of the light being emitted by the emitter may vary as the flattened dough is being processed along the primary assembly conveyor 922a. For example, the intensity of the emitter may increase when a flattened dough 1002a is placed on the primary assembly conveyor 922a, and the intensity of the emitter may be decreased when the flattened dough 1002a is confirmed to be properly situated on the primary assembly conveyor 922a. In some instances, the imager 1023 placed at the beginning of the primary assembly conveyor 922a may identify a shape for a particular food item (e.g., full pizza, half pizza, pizza slice, calzone, etc.). In such instances, the on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may process and assemble food items of different sizes and shapes. The imager 1023 may be used to identify the location and orientation of each food item as it is placed on the primary assembly conveyor 922a so that sauce, cheese, and other toppings may be correctly placed on the food item as it transits the on-demand robotic food assembly line 902.

[0086] The on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include one or more sauce dispensers 930a, 930b, 930c (in FIG. 9) and 930 (in FIG. 10), collectively, reference numeral 930. In that regard, FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of one embodiment of a product dispenser for use in connection with the on-demand robotic food assembly line of FIG. 10. Only one sauce dispenser 930 is illustrated in FIG. 10 for clarity, but it will be appreciated that any number of such dispensers 930 may be employed as desired or necessary for a particular work space and application. As indicated in FIG. 10 by way of example, sauce dispenser 930 may be positioned at a first workstation 924a along the on-demand robotic food assembly line 902.

[0087] As illustrated in FIG. 11, the sauce dispensers 930 may include a reservoir 1102 to retain sauce, a nozzle 1104 to dispense an amount of sauce 935 (FIG. 9) and at least one valve 1106 that is controlled by control signals via an actuator (e.g. solenoid, electric motor, or the like) 1108 selectively to dispense the sauce 935 from the reservoir 1102 via the nozzle 1104. The reservoir 1102 may optionally include a paddle, agitator, or other stirring mechanism to agitate the sauce stored in the reservoir 1102 to prevent the ingredients of the sauce from separating or settling out. The reservoir 1102 may include one or more sensors that provide measurements related to the amount of sauce remaining in a reservoir 1102. Such measurements may be used to identify when an amount of sauce in the reservoir 1102 is running low and should be refilled. In some implementations, the refilling of the reservoir 1102 with sauce may be performed automatically without operator intervention from one or more sauce holding containers located elsewhere in the on-demand robotic food assembly line environment 900 that are fluidly coupled to the reservoirs 1102.

[0088] The sauce dispenser 930 may optionally include a moveable arm 1110 supported by a base 1112, which allows positioning the nozzle 1104 (FIG. 11) over the first or primary assembly conveyor 922a (FIG. 9). The sauce dispenser 930 may have multiple different nozzles 1104 that dispense sauce in different patterns. Such patterns may be based, for example, on the size of the pizza or other food item being sauced. Relatively smaller food items, such as personal pizzas, may be sauced with a nozzle 1104 that creates a star shaped pattern whereas relatively larger food items, such as large or super-sized pizzas, may be sauced with a nozzle 1104 that creates a spiral pattern. The sauce dispenser 930 may dispense a defined volume of sauce for each food item or size of food item being sauced. In some implementations, there may be one sauce dispenser 930 for each of one or more sauces. In the example of pizza assembly, there may be a sauce dispenser 930a (FIG. 9) that selectively dispenses a tomato sauce, a sauce dispenser 930b (FIG. 9) that selectively dispenses a white ( e.g . , bechamel) sauce, and a sauce dispenser 930c (FIG. 9) that dispensers a green (e.g., basil pesto) sauce. It should be appreciated that, although three sauce dispensers 930a-930c and three sauces are described, there may be any number of dispensers hosting any variety of sauce, topping, spread, or other applied substance. In the embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 1 through 7, for instance, head 270 may be changed to allow a single product applicator 102 to spread different sauces. In that regard, it is noted that sauce dispenser 930 may be embodied in, or comprise, applicator 102 substantially as set forth above, and that the moveable arm 1110 may be a suitable substitute for robotic appendage 110 in many applications.

[0089] The on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include one or more sauce spreader robots 940 and one or more imagers (e.g., cameras) 942 with suitable light sources 944 to capture images of the flattened dough with sauce 1002b (FIG. 10) for use in controlling the sauce spreader robot(s) 940. The sauce spreader robot(s) 940 may be positioned at a second workstation 924b along the on-demand robotic food assembly line 902. The sauce spreader robot(s) 940 may be housed in a cage or cubicle 946 to prevent sauce splater from contaminating other equipment. The cage or cubicle 946 may be stainless steel or other easily sanitized material, and may have one or more clear or transparent windows 948 (although only one is illustrated here). In the case where the sauce spreader robot(s) 940 incorporate, or comprise, an applicator 102, such as described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 7, the cage or cubicle 946 may be omited.

[0090] The one or more imagers 942 may be used to perform quality control for making the flatened dough and/or for spreading the sauce by the one or more sauce spreader robots 940. In some implementations, the one or more imagers 942 may be programmed to differentiate between instances of flatened dough without sauce, and instances of flatened dough with sauce. The one or more imagers 942 may be further programmed to detect the shape of the flatened dough and/or the patern of the sauce spread onto the flatened dough from the captured images, and compare the detected shape and/or patern against a set of acceptable shapes, paterns, or other criteria. Such criteria for the shape of the flatened dough may include, for example, the approximate diameter of the flatened dough, the deviation of the flatened dough from a circular shape, or any other shape detection or comparison. Such criteria for the coverage of the sauce may include, for example, amount or percentage of the flatened dough covered by sauce, proximity of sauce to the outer edge of the flatened dough, and/or the shape of the annulus of crust between the outer edge of the sauce and the outer edge of the flattened dough. If the imager 942 detects a defective flatened dough or sauce patern, it may transmit an alert to the control system 904, which may cause the defective product to be rejected. Rejection of the product may result in disposing of the product, re-spreading the sauce, re-shaping or re-flatening the product, or any other correction. Such imagers 942 may capture and process black-and-white images in some instances (e.g., determining whether a flatened dough has sauce) or may capture color images. In some implementations, the primary assembly conveyor 922a may have a specific color to create a beter contrast with the flatened dough and/or sauce. For example, the primary assembly conveyor 922a may be colored blue to create a beter contrast with the flatened dough and/or sauce for the imager 942.

[0091] The sauce spreader robot 940 may include one or more appendages or arms 950, and a sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952. In some implementations, end of arm tool 952 may be embodied in or comprise applicator 102 substantially as set forth above; in such arrangements, it will be appreciated that sauce spreader robot 940 may also apply or dispense sauce in much the same way as sauce dispensers 930. The appendages or arms 950 and a sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952,102 are operable to spread sauce around the flattened round of dough. Various machine-vision techniques (e.g., blob analysis) may be employed to detect the position and shape of the dough and/or to detect the position and shape of the sauce on the dough 1002b (FIG. 10). One or more processors generate control signals based on the images to cause the appendages or arms 950 to move in defined patterns (e.g., spiral patterns) to cause the sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952,102 to spread the sauce evenly over the flattened round of dough while leaving a sufficient border proximate a perimeter of the flattened dough without sauce 1002c (FIG. 10). The sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952,102 may rotate or spin while the appendages or arms 950 move in defined patterns, to replicate the manual application of sauce to flattened dough.

[0092] FIG. 12 is an isometric view of one embodiment of a robotic product spreader, as implemented in the illustrative FIG. 10 embodiment of an on-demand robotic food assembly line. FIG. 12 illustrates that, in some instances, a sauce spreader robot 940 may generally comprise one or more appendages or arms 1250a, 1250b, 1250c (three shown), a rotatable drive linkage 1202, and a sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952. In use, appendages or arms 1250, may rotatably drive linkage 1202, and end of arm tool 952 may operably spread sauce around the flattened round of dough.

[0093] The appendages or arms 1250a, 1250b, 1250c may each comprise a multi-bar linkage that includes a driven member 1204 (only one called out) and a pair of arms 1206a, 1206b (only one pair called out, collectively 1206). A proximate end 1208 of the driven member 1204 may be pivotally coupled to a base or housing 1210, and driven by an electric motor (not shown), for example a stepper motor or any other motor. The pair of arms 1206 may be pivotally coupled to a distal end 1212 of the driven member 1204, and pivotally coupled to a common plate 1214. Each appendage or arm 1250a, 1250b, 1250c may be driven by a respective motor (not shown), the motors controlled via controller hardware circuitry (e.g., programmable logic controller or PLC) that may be operable in response to instructions received, for example, from order assembly control systems 906.

[0094] The end of arm tool 952 may be coupled to the common plate 1214, and to the rotatable drive linkage 1202. Movement of the one or more appendages or arms 1250a, 1250b, 1250c (although three are shown, there may be any number of appendages) cause the common plate 1214, and hence the sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952, to trace a desired pattern in space. Rotation of the rotatable drive linkage 1202 causes the sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952 to rotate or spin about a longitudinal axis. Thus, the sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952 may rotate or spin, while the appendages or arms 950 move the sauce spreader end effector or end of arm tool 952 in defined patterns in space, to replicate the manual application of sauce to flatten dough via a bottom of a ladle. As noted above, the end of arm tool 952 may be implemented as applicator 102 in some instances. Also as noted above, the food item upon which product is to be spread may be rotated while engaging end of arm tool 952 or applicator 102, either in addition to or in lieu of actual rotation of end or arm tool 952 or applicator 102.

[0095] Given the foregoing, those of skill in the art will appreciate that various alternative implementations are possible. For example, in the case where a product application or dispensing system 100 such as that described above with reference to FIG. 1 is employed, it may not be necessary to use two different workstations 924a and 924b for application and spreading, respectively, of product on a food item. For example, system 100 and applicator 102 may accomplish both tasks under control of, or influenced by, control system 120, order assembly control systems 906, or a combination of both operating in cooperation. Similarly, where applicator 102 is incorporated into the architecture of either sauce dispenser 930 or sauce spreader 940, then the functionality of both may be combined into a single workstation, such as 924a, which may provide all of the functionality of system 100.

[0096] The on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include one or more cheese application robots 954a, 954b (two shown in FIG. 9, one shown in FIG. 10, collectively 954) to retrieve and dispense cheese of the sauced dough 1002d (FIG. 10). The cheese application robot(s) 954 may be located at a third workstation 924c. In the example of pizza assembly, one or more cheese application robots 954 can retrieve cheese and dispense the cheese on the flattened and sauced dough. The cheese application robots 954 may retrieve cheese from one or more repositories of cheese 1012. For example, there may be one cheese application robot 954 for each of one or more cheese. Alternatively, one cheese application robot 954 can retrieve and dispense more than one type of cheese, the cheese application robot 954 operable to select an amount of cheese from any of a plurality of cheese in the repositories of cheese 1012. In the example of pizza assembly, there may be a cheese application robot 954a (FIG. 9) that selectively dispenses a mozzarella cheese and a cheese application robot 954b (FIG. 9) that selectively dispenses a goat cheese. The cheese application robots 954 may have various end effectors or end of arm tools designed to retrieve various cheeses. For example, some end effectors or end of arm tools can include opposable digits, while others take the form of a scoop or ladle, and still others a rake or fork having tines, or even others, a spoon or cheese knife shape or any other configuration. The cheese application robot 954 may be covered by a top cover located vertically above some or all of the cheese application robot 954 and/or the one or more repositories of cheese 1012. In some applications, the top cover may be located above an arm of the cheese application robot 954 and/or the one or more repositories of cheese 1012.

[0097] The on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include one or more toppings application robots 956a, 956b (two shown in FIG. 9, one shown in FIG. 10, collectively 956, although a different number should be appreciated) to provide toppings. In one example involving pizza, one or more toppings application robots 956 may retrieve meat and/or non-meat toppings and dispense the toppings on the flattened, sauced and cheesed dough 1002e. The toppings application robots 956 may retrieve toppings from one or more repositories of toppings 1014. For example, there may be one respective toppings application robot 956a, 956b for each of one or more toppings. Alternatively or additionally, one toppings application robot 956 may retrieve and dispense more than one type of toppings. In the example of pizza assembly, there may be a toppings application robot 956a that selectively retrieves and dispenses meat toppings (e.g., pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, etc.) and a toppings application robot 956b that selectively dispenses non-meat toppings (e.g., mushrooms, olives, hot peppers, etc.). The toppings application robots 956 may have various end effectors or end of arm tools designed to retrieve various toppings. For example, some end effectors or end of arm tools can include opposable digits, while others take the form of a scoop or ladle, and still others, a rake or fork having tines or any other configuration. In some instances, the end effector may include a suction tool that may be able to pick and place large items. In some instances, the toppings application robot 956 may include multiple end effectors or end of arm tools. The use of multiple end effectors or end of arm tools may facilitate coverage of toppings. The toppings application robot 956 may be covered by a top cover located vertically above some or all of the toppings application robot 956 and/or the one or more repositories of toppings 1014. In some applications, the top cover may be located above an arm of the toppings application robot 956 and/or the one or more repositories of toppings 1014.

[0098] The on-demand robotic food assembly line 902 may include one or more imagers (e.g., cameras) 942 with suitable light sources 944 proximate to one or both of the cheese application robots 954 and the toppings application robots 956 to capture images of food items, such as pizzas, that have been processed with these toppings. The captured images may be used for quality control purposes, for example, to ensure that the cheese application robots 954 and/or the toppings application robots 956 sufficiently cover sauced dough 1002d with the requested toppings.

[0099] FIG. 13 is a high level logic flow diagram of operation of a robotic product spreader in accordance with one implementation. In that regard, FIG. 13 illustrates one method 1300 of operation for a sauce spreader robot 940 (FIGS. 9-12) or product application or dispensing system 100 (FIGS. 1-8). The method 1300 may be executable by hardware circuitry, for example, a processor-based control system or PLC. Logic may be hardwired in the circuitry or stored as processor-executable instructions in one or more non-transitory processor-readable media.

[0100] The method 1300 starts at 1302. The method 1300 may, for example, start on powering up of the sauce spreader robot 940 or system 100, or upon invocation of the method 1300 from a calling routine.

[0101] At 1304, a controller determines whether an object, e.g., round of flattened dough 1002 (FIG. 10) is detected, for example detected at or proximate a sauce dispenser 930, robotic appendage 110, or elsewhere upstream of these elements in the workflow or assembly line. In response to detection, a controller triggers an image sensor, e.g., digital camera, to capture an image of the object at 1306. In response to detection, the controller may optionally trigger an illumination source at 1308, for example triggering a strobe light to illuminate the object.

[0102] At 1310, the processor extracts first and second blob representations, representing the dough and the sauce, respectively, if necessary. The processor may employ various machine-vision techniques and packages to extract the blog representations. The processor may also determine a centroid of a blob that represents the sauce and/or determine a centroid of a blob that represents the flattened dough on which the sauce is carried. It is noted that, where system 100 and applicator 102 are employed, the operations depicted at block 1310 may be omitted, or incorporated into operation of applicator 102 following deposition of product onto the food item.

[0103] At 1312, the processor transforms the pixel coordinates of the first and second blobs into“real” world coordinates, i.e., coordinates of the assembly line and/or coordinates of the sauce spreader robot 940 or robotic appendage 110.

[0104] At 1314, the processor determines whether sauce is detected. If sauce is not detected, such may be considered a mistake or error, then 1314 is evaluated as“No” and control passes to an error routine 1316 which skips any attempt as spreading the unintentionally missing sauce. In some instances, omission of sauce may have been intentional, yet there is still no need to attempt to spread the intentionally missing sauce.

[0105] At 1318, the processor determines a pattern to spread the sauce, sending resulting coordinates to drive the sauce spreader robot 940 or robotic appendage 110. For example, the processor may determine a starting position for the end effector or end of arm tool such as 952 or applicator 102. The starting position may, for example, correspond or be coincident with the determined centroid of the blob that represents the sauce. Also for example, the processor may determine an ending position for the end effector or end of arm tool. The ending position may, for example, correspond or be coincident, adjacent to, or spaced from an outer edge or periphery of the blob that represents the flattened dough, as described herein. Also, for example, the processor may determine a path that extends from the starting position to the ending position, preferably a spiral or volute path, which extends radially outward as the end effector or end of arm tool moves about the centroid of the blob that represents the sauce. Alternatively, an arcuate or straight raster pattern or concentric circle pattern may be employed.

[0106] The processor may calculate a pattern or path. The pattern or path may be one of a variety, such that the sauce may be spread somewhat evenly, but not perfectly about the flatten dough, to create an“artisanal” look or effect. In fact, it may be desirable if the flatten dough is not perfectly round. In some implementations, the system may employ machine- learning techniques to develop various desired distribution or assembly patterns. For example, machine learning may be employed to develop or formulate sauce spreading patterns or paths for the sauce spreader robot 940 or robotic appendage 110. Alternatively, a pattern or path may be employed to spread the sauce evenly. Additionally or alternatively, machine learning may be employed to develop or formulate cheese spreading patterns or paths for the cheese robot 954 and/or toppings robot 956. For example, the system or a machine-learning system may be supplied with images of desired or desirable patterns of sauce on flattened pieces of dough or even of pizzas. Additionally or alternatively, the system may be provided with ratings input that represents subjective evaluation of pizzas made via various patterns or paths. Additionally or alternatively, the machine-learning system may be supplied with a number of rules, for example that a pattern or path should result in an equal or roughly equal distribution of sauce, cheese, or other toppings across a surface of the food item ( e.g . , whole pizza pie). Additionally or alternatively, the machine- learning system may be supplied with a number of rules, for example each individual portion (e.g., slice) of the food item (e.g., pizza) should have an equal or roughly equal distribution of sauce, cheese, or other toppings as every other portion (e.g., slice) of the food item (e.g., pizza), or any other rule. The images and/or ratings and/or rules can be used as training data for training the machine-learning system during a training period or training time. The system may then use the trained examples during operation or runtime to produce patterns and paths based on blob analysis to achieve a desired distribution of sauce, cheese, and/or toppings for any given instance of pizza or other food item. Various patterns or paths may be operative to specify movement of an appendage of a robot and/or other portions of the robots, for example rotation or pivoting of a torso, or even translation or rotation of the entire robot, where the robot includes wheels or treads.

[0107] The method 1300 terminates at 1320, for example until invoked again. In some implementations, the method 1300 repeats as long as the assembly line is in a powered ON state. As noted above, some operations depicted in FIG. 13 may not be necessary when operating system 100 in cooperation with robotic appendage 110 and applicator 102 that is operative to apply product. For instance, a blob analysis may not be necessary in such circumstances, as applicator 102 is depositing a metered volume of product in a known location.

[0108] FIG. 14 is a high level logic flow diagram of operation of a robotic product spreader in accordance with another implementation. The method 1400 may be executable by hardware circuitry, for example, a processor-based control system or PLC. Logic may be hardwired in the circuitry or stored as processor-executable instructions in one or more non-transitory processor-readable media.

[0109] The method 1400 starts at 1401. The method 1400 may, for example, start on powering up of a sauce spreader robot 940 or system 100, such as set forth above, or upon invocation of the method 1400 from a calling routine. As indicated at FIG. 14, a method of operating a food preparation robotic system may generally begin with providing at least one robotic appendage (reference numeral 1401) and providing an end of arm tool coupled to the at least one robotic appendage, the end of arm tool comprising a mounting plate to mount spreaders to the end of arm tool (reference numeral 1402).

[0110] The method may continue to block 1403, with coupling at least one motor to the end of arm tool, the at least one motor drivingly coupled to move the end of arm tool relative to a surface on which a food item is prepared, and, at block 1404, providing a controller that comprises at least one processor communicatively coupled to control the at least one motor, and at least one nontransitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and which stores processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute a method.

[0111] As described above, such a method may comprise causing movement of a spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace a pattern that comprises arcs which alternate between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps and which extend radially outward from an inner location toward a periphery. This is represented at reference numeral 1405. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that various other patterns (such as those illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 and the alternatives discussed with reference thereto) may be employed by the method illustrated in FIG. 14.

[0112] Several features and aspects of an apparatus, system, and method have been illustrated and described in detail with reference to particular embodiments by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that alternative implementations and various modifications to the disclosed implementations are within the scope and contemplation of the present disclosure. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure be considered as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

[0113] Further features of the disclosure, which may be combined with any of the previously discussed features, are given in the following numbered clause.

Clause 1. An end of arm tool for use with a food preparation robotic system having a number of robotic arms, the end of arm tool comprising:

a support body coupleable to a robotic arm;

a spreader moveably coupled to the support body to translate with respect to the support body along an axis of translation; and

a number of resilient members coupled between the support body and the spreader, the resilient members which provide a reactive translation force against the translation of the spreader with respect to the support body, the reactive translation force proportional to an applied translation force over at least a range of travel of at least a portion of the spreader with respect to the support body along the axis of translation.

Clause 2. The end of arm tool of clause 1 wherein the support body comprises a first tubular body, and further comprising:

a second tubular body to which the spreader is physically coupled, at least one of the first or the second tubular bodies slideably received by the other one of the first or the second tubular bodies for translation with respect thereto along the translation axis.

Clause 3. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-2 wherein the spreader consists of at least one of a food grade polymer or stainless steel. Clause 4. The end of arm tool of any of clauses 1-3 wherein the spreader comprises a plurality of fingers.

Clause 5. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-4 wherein the fingers of the spreader are resilient fingers.

Clause 6. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-5 wherein the spreader further comprises a first annular disc from which the plurality of resilient fingers extend along the translation axis.

Clause 7. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-6 wherein the resilient members comprise a plurality of resilient members, the resilient members arrayed circumferentially about the first annular disc.

Clause 8. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-7, further comprising:

a mounting plate, wherein the first annular disc is detachably coupleable to the mounting plate.

Clause 9. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-8 wherein the mounting plate is a second annular disc, and the first annular plate includes a plurality of throughholes to receive fasteners to detachably couple the spreader to the mounting plate, the spreader removable for cleaning or replacement.

Clause 10. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-9 wherein the resilient members comprise a plurality of resilient members each having a respective first end and a respective second end, the respective first ends of the resilient members coupled to the second annular disc at locations circumferentially distributed on the second annular disc.

Clause 11. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-10 wherein the first annular disc and the fingers of the spreader are a single-piece, monolithic, structure.

Clause 12. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-11 wherein the support body is coupled to rotate about the translation axis.

Clause 13. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-12 wherein the resilient members comprise a circumferential array of resilient members, the resilient members coupled to impart a rotation force to the spreader in response to a rotation of the support body about the translation axis.

Clause 14. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-13 wherein the resilient members further provide a reactive rotation force against the rotation of the spreader about the axis of translation.

Clause 15. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-14, further comprising:

a coupler that removeably couples the support body to a robotic arm.

Clause 16. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-15, further comprising:

a shield laterally offset from the spreader.

Clause 17. The end of arm tool of clauses 1-16, further comprising:

an arcuate shield radially spaced outwardly from the spreader to capture splatter. Clause 18. A food preparation robotic system, comprising:

at least one robotic appendage comprising at least a first pair of robotic links; at least a first motor drivingly coupled to move the robotic links of the first pair of robotic links with respect to one another; and

an end of arm tool coupled to the at least one robotic appendage, the end of arm tool comprising:

a support body that comprises a first tubular body;

a second tubular body, at least one of the first or the second tubular bodies slideably received by the other one of the first or the second tubular bodies for translation and rotation with respect thereto respectively along and about a first axis; an annular mounting plate to mount spreaders to the end of arm tool, the annular mounting plate having an opening through which the second tubular body is received; and

a circumferential array of resilient members that physically couple the annular mounting plate to the support body.

Clause 19. The food preparation robotic system of clause 18, further comprising: at least a second motor drivingly coupled to rotate at least a portion of the end of arm tool about the first axis.

Clause 20. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-19 wherein the resilient members are coupled to impart a rotation force to the mounting plate in response to a rotation of the support body about the first axis.

Clause 21. The food preparation robotic system of any of clauses 18-20 wherein the resilient members are coupled to further impart a reactive translation force against the translation of the second tubular body with respect to the first tubular body, the reactive translation force proportional to an applied translation force over at least a range of travel of the second tubular body with respect to the first tubular body along the first axis.

Clause 22. The food preparation robotic system of any of clauses 18-21, further comprising:

a first spreader detachably coupleable to the annular mounting plate, the first spreader having a first set of fingers, the first set of fingers arranged in a first pattern and having a first measure of resiliency.

Clause 23. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-22, further comprising: a second spreader detachably coupleable to the annular mounting plate, the second spreader having a second set of fingers, the second set of fingers arranged in a second pattern and having a second measure of resiliency, at least one of the second pattern or the second measure of resiliency different from a respective one of the first pattern or the first measure of resiliency.

Clause 24. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-23 wherein the first spreader consists of at least one of a food grade polymer or stainless steel.

Clause 25. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-24 wherein the first spreader includes a plurality of throughholes to receive fasteners to detachably couple the first spreader to the annular mounting plate, the first spreader removable from the annular mounting plate for cleaning or replacement.

Clause 26. The food preparation robotic system of any of clauses 18-25 wherein the resilient members are coupled to the annular mounting plate at respective locations spaced radially outward of a center of the annular mounting plate.

Clause 27. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-26, further comprising: at least one processor communicatively coupled to control the first and the second motors.

Clause 28. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-27, further comprising: at least a third motor drivingly coupled to oscillatingly pivot the end of arm tool along a series of alternating clockwise and counterclockwise involute segments.

Clause 29. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-28, further comprising: a coupler that removeably couples the support body to the robotic appendage. Clause 30. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-29, further comprising: at least one sensor communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and wherein the at least one sensor provides, to the at least one processor, a first signal representative of a quantity of product dispensed on a food item.

Clause 31. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-30 wherein the at least one sensor provides, to the at least one processor, a second signal representative of a periphery of the food item.

Clause 32. The food preparation robotic system of either of clauses 18-31 wherein the at least one processor controls at least one of the first and the second motors responsive to at least one of the first and second signals.

Clause 33. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 18-32 wherein the at least one processor controls at least one of the first and the second motors to cause the end of arm tool to translate in arcs between predefined points at the periphery of the food item.

Clause 34. A food preparation robotic system, comprising:

at least one robotic appendage;

an end of arm tool coupled to the at least one robotic appendage, the end of arm tool comprising a mounting plate to mount spreaders to the end of arm tool;

at least one motor, the at least one motor drivingly coupled to move the end of arm tool relative to a surface on which a food item is prepared; and

a controller that comprises at least one processor communicatively coupled to control the at least one motor, and at least one nontransitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and which stores processor- executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

cause movement of a spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace a pattern that comprises arcs which alternative between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps and which extend radially outward from an inner location toward a periphery.

Clause 35. The food preparation robotic system of clause 34 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to: cause movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, into contact with a portion of an item of food with a defined applied force.

Clause 36. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-35 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to: cause movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace the pattern that comprises arcs which alternative between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps and which extend radially outward from an inner location toward a periphery without losing contact with the item of food.

Clause 37. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-36 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to: cause movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace the pattern that comprises arcs which alternative between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps of over 340 degrees.

Clause 38. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-37 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to: cause movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace the pattern that comprises arcs which alternative between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps of 360 degrees.

Clause 39. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-38 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to: cause movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace the pattern that comprises arcs which are each portions of respective involutes, the involutes nested with respect to one another.

Clause 40. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-39 wherein the at least one robotic appendage comprises at least a first pair of robotic links and the at least one motor includes a first motor drivingly coupled to cause movement of the robotic links of the first pair of robotic links with respect to one another.

Clause 41. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-40 wherein the at least one motor is drivingly coupled to cause a radial movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, relative to the surface on which the food item is prepared.

Clause 42. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-41 wherein the at least one motor is drivingly coupled to cause an oscillating clockwise and counterclockwise movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, relative to the surface on which the food item is prepared.

Clause 43. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-42 wherein the at least one motor is drivingly coupled to cause a spinning movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, relative to the surface on which the food item is prepared.

Clause 44. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-43 wherein the at least one motor is drivingly coupled to spin the surface on which the food is prepared.

Clause 45. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-44 wherein at least one robotic appendage comprises at least a first pair of robotic links and the at least one motor includes a first motor drivingly coupled to cause movement of the robotic links of the first pair of robotic links with respect to one another and to rotate at least a portion of the end of arm tool.

Clause 46. The food preparation robotic system of clauses 34-45 wherein the mounting plate is an annular mounting plate having an opening therethrough, and the end of arm tool further comprises:

a support body that comprises a first tubular body;

a second tubular body, at least one of the first or the second tubular bodies slideably received by the other one of the first or the second tubular bodies for translation and rotation with respect thereto respectively along and about a first axis, the second tubular body received through the opening of the annular mounting plate; and

a circumferential array of resilient members that physically couple the mounting plate to the support body.

Clause 47. The food preparation robotic system of any of clauses 34-46, further comprising:

a first spreader having a plurality of resilient fingers.

Clause 48. The food preparation robotic system of any of clauses 34-47, further comprising:

a first sauce dispenser upstream of the end of arm tool in an assembly line.

Clause 49. A method of operating a food preparation robotic system, the method comprising:

providing at least one robotic appendage;

providing an end of arm tool coupled to the at least one robotic appendage, the end of arm tool comprising a mounting plate to mount spreaders to the end of arm tool; coupling at least one motor to the end of arm tool, the at least one motor drivingly coupled to move the end of arm tool relative to a surface on which a food item is prepared; and

providing a controller that comprises at least one processor communicatively coupled to control the at least one motor, and at least one nontransitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and which stores processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute a method comprising:

causing movement of a spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace a pattern that comprises arcs which alternative between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps and which extend radially outward from an inner location toward a periphery.

Clause 50. The method of clause 49 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to execute a method further comprising: causing movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, into contact with a portion of an item of food with a defined applied force. Clause 51. The method of clauses 49-50 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to execute a method further comprising: causing movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace the pattern that comprises arcs which alternative between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps and which extend radially outward from an inner location toward a periphery without losing contact with the item of food.

Clause 52. The method of clauses 49-51 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to execute a method further comprising: causing movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace the pattern that comprises arcs which alternative between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps of over 340 degrees.

Clause 53. The method of clauses 49-52 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to execute a method further comprising: causing movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace the pattern that comprises arcs which alternative between clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps of 360 degrees.

Clause 54. The method of clauses 49-53 wherein, when executed by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to execute a method further comprising: causing movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, to trace the pattern that comprises arcs which are each portions of respective involutes, the involutes nested with respect to one another.

Clause 55. The method of clauses 49-54 wherein the providing at least one robotic appendage comprises providing at least a first pair of robotic links and wherein the coupling at least one motor includes utilizing a first motor drivingly coupled to cause movement of the robotic links of the first pair of robotic links with respect to one another.

Clause 56. The method of clauses 49-55 wherein the coupling at least one motor comprises utilizing a motor which is drivingly coupled to cause a radial movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, relative to the surface on which the food item is prepared.

Clause 57. The method of clauses 49-56 wherein the coupling at least one motor comprises utilizing a motor which is drivingly coupled to cause an oscillating clockwise and counterclockwise movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, relative to the surface on which the food item is prepared.

Clause 58. The method of clauses 49-57 wherein the coupling at least one motor comprises utilizing a motor which is drivingly coupled to cause a spinning movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, relative to the surface on which the food item is prepared.

Clause 59. The method of clauses 49-58 wherein the coupling at least one motor comprises utilizing a motor which is drivingly coupled to spin the surface on which the food is prepared.

Clause 60. The method of clauses 49-59 wherein the providing at least one robotic appendage comprises providing at least a first pair of robotic links and wherein the coupling at least one motor includes utilizing a first motor drivingly coupled to cause movement of the robotic links of the first pair of robotic links with respect to one another and to rotate at least a portion of the end of arm tool.

Clause 61. The method of clauses 49-60 wherein the providing an end of arm tool comprises utilizing an annular mounting plate having an opening therethrough, and wherein the end of arm tool further comprises:

a support body that comprises a first tubular body;

a second tubular body, at least one of the first or the second tubular bodies slideably received by the other one of the first or the second tubular bodies for translation and rotation with respect thereto respectively along and about a first axis, the second tubular body received through the opening of the annular mounting plate; and

a circumferential array of resilient members that physically couple the mounting plate to the support body.

Clause 62. The method of any of clauses 49-61, wherein the providing an end of arm tool further comprises coupling a first spreader having a plurality of resilient fingers to the mounting plate.

Clause 63. The method of any of clauses 49-62, further comprising: utilizing a first sauce dispenser upstream of the end of arm tool in an assembly line.

Clause 64. The method of clauses 49-63 further comprising utilizing at least one sensor communicatively coupled to the controller, and wherein the at least one sensor provides, to the at least one processor, a first signal representative of a quantity of product dispensed on a food item, and wherein the at least one processor executes a method further comprising: causing an oscillating clockwise and counterclockwise movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, relative to the surface on which the food item is prepared based at least in part on the first signal.

Clause 65. The method of clauses 49-64 wherein the utilizing at least one sensor further comprises providing, by the at least one sensor to the at least one processor, a second signal representative of a quantity of a periphery of the food item, and wherein the at least one processor executes a method further comprising: causing an oscillating clockwise and counterclockwise movement of the spreader, when coupled to the mounting plate, relative to the surface on which the food item is prepared based at least in part on the second signal. Clause 66. An on-demand robotic food preparation assembly line, comprising:

a plurality of robots, each of the robots of the plurality of robots having at least one respective appendage that is selectively moveable and a respective tool physically coupled to the respective appendage;

at least a first conveyor that extends past the robots of the plurality of robots, and which is operable to convey a plurality of food items being assembled past the robots; a control system that receives a plurality of individual orders for food items, generates control signals based on respective ones of the plurality of individual orders for food items, and causes the respective tool of the respective appendage of the robots to assemble the food item as the conveyor conveys the food item along at least a portion of the robotic food preparation assembly line; and wherein at least one of the first plurality of robots is a product dispensing apparatus and wherein the respective tool of the product dispensing apparatus comprises an applicator operable to dispense a first quantity of a first product on ones of food items on the conveyor, and to spread the first quantity of the first product on the ones of the food items.

Clause 67. The on-demand robotic food preparation assembly line of clause 66, wherein the applicator is operable to move in a spiral pattern to spread the first quantity of the first product on the ones of the food items.

Clause 68. The on-demand robotic food preparation assembly line of clauses 66-67, wherein the applicator is operable to move in a raster pattern to spread the first quantity of the first product on the ones of the food items.

Clause 69. The on-demand robotic food preparation assembly line of clauses 66-68, wherein the applicator is operable to move in an arced raster pattern to spread the first quantity of the first product on the ones of the food items.

Clause 70. The on-demand robotic food preparation assembly line of clauses 66-69, wherein the applicator is operable to move in concentric circles to spread the first quantity of the first product on the ones of the food items.