A conveyor belt for conveying articles along a conveyor path comprises a plurality of slat members disposed parallel to each other and disposed transversely with respect to the conveyor path, wherein leading and trailing edge portions of the slat members are angled downwardly with respect to the conveying surface upon which articles being conveyed are supported so as to prevent edge portions of the articles being conveyed from being interposed between the leading and trailing edge portions of the slat members so as not to be pinched by adjacent ones of the leading and trailing edge portions of adjacent slat members.

Food service equipment comprises a multiple-pass feeder conveyor and toaster which comprises an upper inclined food product infeed conveyor ramp for causing the food products to proceed in a first direction extending from the rear of the appliance toward the front of the appliance and onto the upper run of a first upper endless conveyor. The upper run of the first upper endless conveyor conveys the food products into a semi-circular return product feeder which causes the food products to be conveyed in a second opposite direction extending from the front of the appliance toward the rear of the appliance and into an entry space defined by means of the lower run of the first upper endless conveyor and the upper run of a second lower endless conveyor, the two conveyors being synchronized together. The pair of conveyors convey the food products between heated platens respectively associated with the two conveyors whereby the food products are cooked or toasted. Additional pairs of conveyors can also be incorporated within the system, in a vertically stacked array, so as to effectively increase the length of travel experienced by the multiple food products without increasing the footprint of the equipment. In addition, upper and lower heated platens are operatively associated with the first and second upper and lower endless conveyors, and the upper heated platen is movably mounted within the food service equipment so as to move upwardly and downwardly and thereby permit different food products, having different thickness dimensions, to be conveyed through the food service equipment.

A system includes a hopper, a permeable seal, a gas supply, and a receiver. The hopper includes an elongated housing holding a row of food products. The elongated housing defines a pressurized end opposite a discharge end through which the food products are dispensed. The permeable seal is interposed between an interior wall of the hopper and a surface of the piston. The permeable seal cooperates with the hopper and the piston to define a closed volume between the piston and the pressurized end. The permeable seal is configured to bleed gas from the closed volume toward the discharge end. The gas supply selectively supplies gas into the closed volume to displace the piston toward the discharge end. The receiver receives food products dispensed from the elongated housing and is positioned to allow the food products to move along at least partially by gravity.

Systems and methods of bun holding and toasting use a bun dispenser and a toaster. The bun dispenser includes a bun holding cabinet in which a plurality of buns are held on shelves and each of the shelves include conveyors. A shuttle of the bun dispenser translates within at least one axis to align the shuttle with a shelf to receive a bun. A dispensing shelf of the bun dispenser receives the bun from the shuttle. A toaster receives the bun from the dispensing shelf and operates to toast the bun and dispense the toasted bun at a predetermined location.

An infrared source is arranged relative to support for bread product and operates to direct IR energy to the bread product. A light source is arranged relative to the support and operates to illuminate the bread product and a camera operates to capture images of the bread product. A processor receives the images from the camera. The processor compares successive images received from the camera. Based upon the comparison, the processor operates the IR source to achieve a predetermined toasting level of the bread product.

A sandwich press or food holder for use with a cooking appliance, such as a toaster or oven. Sidewalls of the press that define a space in which a food item is received can have one or more ridges that define a convex surface inside the cavity and a concave surface on an exterior of the sidewall. The concave surface can be positioned adjacent a heating element when the press is received in a cooking cavity of the appliance. One or more openings can be provided in the sidewall, e.g., to allow radiant energy to pass and/or steam to escape. A handle can permit two-handed manipulation of the press and can have a gripping portion that is offset from an area directly above the press.

A toaster includes first and second conveyors configured to each receive a bread product thereon and move the bread product through respective first and second toasting zones. A first heat source is positioned to direct heat energy into the first toasting zone. A second heat source is positioned to direct heat energy into the second toasting zone. The first and second conveyors are coplanar and laterally spaced apart by a first distance and are configured to operate in a same direction of travel. Interior extents of the first heat source and the second heat source are laterally spaced apart by a second distance.

Systems and methods of conveyor speed control in a radiant toaster includes a toaster with a conveyor and a heat source. A controller is configured to receive a transition state model and a toasting recipe that includes a standard operation toasting time. Upon receipt of an instruction to change the heat source from a first heat output to a second heat output, the controller operates the heat source to the new output and measures an elapsed time since the change to the new output. The controller calculates a current transition state toast time by applying the standard operation toasting time and the elapsed time to the transition state model. The controller is configured to operate the conveyor to a conveyor speed associated to the current transition state toast time.

Food service equipment comprises a multiple-pass feeder conveyor and toaster which comprises an upper inclined food product infeed conveyor ramp for causing the food products to proceed in a first direction extending from the rear of the appliance toward the front of the appliance and onto the upper run of a first upper endless conveyor. The upper run of the first upper endless conveyor conveys the food products into a semi-circular return product feeder which causes the food products to be conveyed in a second opposite direction extending from the front of the appliance toward the rear of the appliance and into an entry space defined by means of the lower run of the first upper endless conveyor and the upper run of a second lower endless conveyor, the two conveyors being synchronized together. The pair of conveyors convey the food products between heated platens respectively associated with the two conveyors whereby the food products are cooked or toasted. The cooked or toasted food products are discharged onto a lower inclined food product discharge ramp which is disposed substantially parallel to the first inclined food product infeed ramp such that the finished food products are conveyed in a third direction, parallel to the first direction, toward a finished food product platform from which the finished food products may be removed for serving to diners. Additional pairs of conveyors can also be incorporated within the system, in a vertically stacked array, so as to effectively increase the length of travel experienced by the multiple food products without increasing the footprint of the equipment.

One variation of a system for buttering and toasting bread buns includes: a butter stage including: a vessel containing liquefied dairy fat and defining a permeable surface, a pressure supply fluidly coupled to the vessel, and a first paddle assembly configured to catch a bun crown dispensed into the butter stage, to compress a sliced face of the bun crown directly against the permeable surface, and to release the bun crown from the butter stage; and a toast stage including a toasting surface arranged vertically below the permeable surface, a heating element arranged behind the toasting surface, and a second paddle assembly arranged vertically below the first paddle assembly and configured to catch the bun crown released from the first paddle assembly, to compress the sliced face of the bun crown directly against the toasting surface, and to release the bun crown from the toasting surface.