A disperser including: a main body; a rotating shaft disposed in the main body; a dispersion plate provided on the rotating shaft and disposed in a flow path of an object to be treated that is to be charged into the main body; and a receiving blade body including a plurality of receiving blades provided on the rotating shaft at an angle formed with a vertical direction, the angle being a first angle, the receiving blade body being disposed on an upstream side of the dispersion plate in the flow path, in which the receiving blade body receives horizontal directional force from the object to be treated that flows down, and rotates the dispersion plate via the rotating shaft, and the disperser is not mounted with a power source for rotating the dispersion plate.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes an automated delivery system apparatus comprising a mechanical guide, a movable unit coupled to the guide on a first surface, and an engaging unit configured to couple to a second surface separated from the first surface by a thickness. The engaging unit is configured to engage an item on the second surface. A magnetic binding force between the movable unit and engaging unit moves the engaging unit along a path corresponding to a path of the movable unit. The engaging unit moves an item along a least a portion of the path.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a granule dispenser comprising a container for holding granulated components, a cap coupled to a bottom of said container, and a stopper. The stopper may be spring loaded against the ridge of said cap. An interface between the stopper and the cap comprises a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of sawtooth forms, wherein the protrusions mate to a base portion between the sawtooth forms in a first position to form a seal between the cap and the stopper, and wherein, when the stopper is rotated, the protrusions engage a sloped portion of the sawtooth forms to create a plurality of openings between the cap and the stopper.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes an automated food production kiosk. Embodiments of a kiosk may comprise a robotic system having a reach. A plurality of food ingredient dispensers may be configured around the robotic system. Each dispenser may have a physical interface within a reach of the robotic system to receive an item. One or more physical processing units have a physical interface within the reach of the robotic system to receive the item. The kiosk may prepare food items under control of a local server, a cloud server, or both, for example.

A silo system includes a storage chamber, an intake pathway associated with the chamber, and a discharge pathway associated with the chamber. The system further includes one or more material sensors associated with the chamber, a plurality of actuators, and a controller that is communicatively coupled to the one or more material sensors and to the one or more actuators. The plurality of actuators enable a deposit of additional material from a transport container into the chamber through the intake pathway at least partially simultaneous with a discharge of material from the chamber through the discharge pathway into an operational silo. The material sensors provide indications of the amount of bulk material in the chamber and the controller is configured to control the one or more actuators in response to sensor data from the one or more material sensors to provide for deposit of material simultaneous with discharge of material.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a solid dispenser comprising a dispensing element and a housing. The dispensing element includes a plurality of blades extending from a cylindrical base. In one example embodiment, the blades are separated by 90 degrees to form channels from an upper opening in the housing to a lower opening in the housing. A hopper for storing items to be dispensed may be configured on one side of the dispenser, and a trap for controlling the flow of dispensed items may be configured on the other side of the dispenser. In one embodiment, the dispenser is controlled by motors coupled to a server as part of a fully automated cloud controlled robotic food preparation system, where each dispenser may accurately deliver different quantities of ingredients for different orders.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a cloud computer system for controlling a plurality of remote devices comprising a cloud server including a cloud based operating system comprising a data model stored in a computer memory. The data model includes commands that may be performed by a plurality of remote devices in a remote system and, for each remote device, one or more operations for triggering processes executed by the remote device. The cloud based operating system generates a set of instructions from the plurality of commands and corresponding operations to control a portion of the remote devices to perform a task.

A collapsible storage system for flowable material, for example granular material, includes a base frame and an upper frame which is movable between a collapsed position and a working position spaced above the collapsed position. A plurality of storage silos are supported in a row, each including a hopper discharge cone on the base frame and a collapsible tubular wall assembly connected between the discharge cone and the upper frame. Redundant loading conveyors are provided in communication with the silos across the upper frame for loading and redundant unloading conveyors are provided in communication with the silos across the base frame.

A collapsible storage system for flowable material, for example granular material, includes a base frame and an upper frame which is movable between a collapsed position and a working position spaced above the collapsed position. A plurality of storage silos are supported in a row, each including a hopper discharge cone on the base frame and a collapsible tubular wall assembly connected between the discharge cone and the upper frame. Redundant loading conveyors are provided in communication with the silos across the upper frame for loading and redundant unloading conveyors are provided in communication with the silos across the base frame.

An article retaining device includes a hopper configured to temporarily retain articles and discharge the articles, and a supporting body configured to detachably support the hopper. The hopper has a main body configured to retain the articles, and an extending portion that extends along a width direction of the main body. The supporting body has an engaging portion that engages with the extending portion, and a guide surface configured to guide movement of the extending portion to the engaging portion when the hopper is attached.