An improved dispenser unit for dispensing bulk food items, including a cabinet having at least one hopper having a drum with product compartments, a deflector and flexible gate valve, a dispense assembly, and a control system. The dispense assembly may or may not include one or more belts and/or sensors. The product compartments include flexible and/or elastic membranes, which dynamically change the effective product storage volume within a compartment, and eliminate rigid or semi-rigid pinch points between the drum and drum compartment. A product flow divider may be positioned above the receiving container in the dispense assembly, said divider configured to cause the dispensed product to divide into two or more flow streams into the receiving container. The receiving container may be vibrated or oscillated.

A food stand system with a plan view in the shape of an incomplete circle, with a flat top surface as a countertop, and a convex customer-facing surface. The stand contains a food preparation appliance having both cooking and refrigeration components. Sensors measure the appliance interior state, and provide data to an automated controller that controls appliance operation to prepare food for consumption.

An automated temperature-controlled outdoor terminal for storage and handover of online grocery orders allowing simultaneous operation of two transactions and a method to operate the terminal is described here.

Provided is an alimentary-product assembling and dispensing device comprising: a plurality of alimentary-ingredient dispensers positioned to dispense respective ingredients in a plurality of different locations of a robotic work environment; a robot configured to receive an open-top vessel from an open-top-vessel dispenser and move the open-top vessel to the different locations to receive different ingredients from the plurality of alimentary-ingredient dispensers, wherein the robot comprises four or fewer degrees of freedom; and a vending aperture through which consumers retrieve vended alimentary products assembled by the robot from ingredients dispensed from the plurality of alimentary-ingredient dispensers.

Systems for providing on-demand food service material printing for food service are provided herein. A food service material dispenser comprises a roll holder configured to hold a roll of food service material, one or more rollers, and a motor configured to operate to translate the food service material along a path within the dispenser. The dispenser includes a cutting arrangement configured to perform a cut of the food service material to form the sheet of food service material that defines a size associated with a food service order. The dispenser also includes a printer configured to print at least one of order information or personalization information on the food service material that is based on the associated food service order. The dispenser further includes a chute configured to dispense the sheet of food service material, which includes the at least one of order information or personalization information printed thereon.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a cloud based management system controlling a plurality of automated food production systems residing at different locations. A machine learning algorithm may be used to modify recipe data to customize recipes.

A novel food station comprises first and second pluralities of cubbies, each sized to enclose a food portion container, and a food collection hatch that is selectively externally accessible. A heating system can controllably heat one or more of the first plurality of cubbies independently of the first plurality of cubbies, and a cooling system can cool one or more of the second plurality of cubbies independently of the first plurality of cubbies. An internal transport system including an end effector that temporarily couples to the portion container carrier of a selected cooled cubby of the second plurality of cubbies and can controllably move the food portion container carrier to a selected heated cubby or to the food collection hatch.

A cubby unit includes a unit housing, a plurality of cubbies disposed within the unit housing, and an interface positioned along the unit housing. Each of the plurality of cubbies includes a cubby housing defining an internal compartment and a door coupled to the cubby housing. The door facilitates accessing the internal compartment of the cubby housing. The interface provides a cubby selection interface that facilitates manual assignment of a respective cubby to a respective order by an employee.

A beverage supply apparatus for supplying multiple types of beverage. The beverage supply apparatus may include a number of nozzles for discharging multiple types of beverages, a touch panel for displaying options for the multiple types of beverages while also receiving a selection operation for one beverage from among the multiple types of beverages, a number of physical buttons that correspond to the number of nozzles and that receive an instruction for discharge of the beverage selected by the selection operation, and a control unit that specifies, from among the physical buttons, the physical button corresponding to the nozzle from which the beverage selected by the selection operation will be discharged, and controls the touch panel in such a way as to provide notification of the physical button specified.

A system including software and hardware and a smartphone application for enabling consumers to order and pay for a consumable from an extensive menu of hot and cold choices, and from one or more consumable providers, then to receive the chosen consumable in a fresh and properly temperatured state at a pre-chosen time.