A slicing machine includes an upper housing having feeder tube(s). A motor-driven cutting plate is horizontally attached beneath the upper housing for rotation and positioned to perpendicularly receive elongate food article(s) from the feeder tube(s) at a respective position offset from a center of rotation of the cutting plate. Reverse involute cutting blade(s) attached to the cutting plate that slices the elongate food article and having a cutting edge with an upward bevel. A curved slot formed through the cutting plate beneath the cutting edge to receive slices of the elongate food article. A base housing positioned below the upper housing has a turntable that supports a food substrate that receives the slices of the elongate food article.

A slicing machine includes an upper housing having feeder tube(s). A motor-driven cutting plate is horizontally attached beneath the upper housing for rotation and positioned to perpendicularly receive elongate food article(s) from the feeder tube(s) at a respective position offset from a center of rotation of the cutting plate. Reverse involute cutting blade(s) attached to the cutting plate that slices the elongate food article and having a cutting edge with an upward bevel. A curved slot formed through the cutting plate beneath the cutting edge to receive slices of the elongate food article. A base housing positioned below the upper housing has a turntable that supports a food substrate that receives the slices of the elongate food article.

A dusting powder sprinkling apparatus comprises a frame body, a hinge, a hook, and a toggle latch. The frame body presses the entire circumference of a mesh body, excluding the portion provided with through-holes, along the outer peripheral surface side of the mesh body to fix the mesh body to the hopper. The hinge rotatably fixes a first frame side extending along the rotation axis direction of the brush to the outlet of the hopper. The hook is fixed to a second frame side extending along the rotation axis direction of a brush in the frame body. A tip portion of the hook projects from the outer periphery of the frame body. The toggle latch is fixed to the outlet of the hopper facing the hook and is capable of engaging with the tip of the hook.

A dusting powder sprinkling apparatus comprises a frame body, a hinge, a hook, and a toggle latch. The frame body presses the entire circumference of a mesh body, excluding the portion provided with through-holes, along the outer peripheral surface side of the mesh body to fix the mesh body to the hopper. The hinge rotatably fixes a first frame side extending along the rotation axis direction of the brush to the outlet of the hopper. The hook is fixed to a second frame side extending along the rotation axis direction of a brush in the frame body. A tip portion of the hook projects from the outer periphery of the frame body. The toggle latch is fixed to the outlet of the hopper facing the hook and is capable of engaging with the tip of the hook.

An automated food preparation system includes a sauce-dispensing system with sauce reservoirs, a scanning head, and tubes. Each of the sauce reservoirs is configured to contain a respective sauce. The scanning head includes openings each coupled with a respective sauce reservoir via a respective tube. A conveyance system transports a foodstuff between first and sauce positions. The scanning head is movable to dispense a selected sauce onto one or more regions of the foodstuff. A motor assembly is mounted to a mounting structure. The motor assembly is drivingly coupled to the scanning head and rotates the scanning head relative to the mounting structure. The scanning head includes a plate and a cylindrical shroud fixed relative to the plate. The openings extend through the plate. The plate is disposed within a cavity defined by the cylindrical shroud. The motor assembly rotates the plate and the cylindrical shroud about a longitudinal axis.

A vehicle-based, automated pizza-making system including a two-piece pizza pan conveyed between pizza-making components on a series of pan drive rails. The two-piece pizza pan can include a base and a removable ring for containing the unfinished pizza and toppings. The rails can include timing belts for conveying the two-piece pizza pan through the system with improved positional control and accuracy.

A vehicle-based, automated pizza-making system including a two-piece pizza pan conveyed between pizza-making components on a series of pan drive rails. The two-piece pizza pan can include a base and a removable ring for containing the unfinished pizza and toppings. The rails can include timing belts for conveying the two-piece pizza pan through the system with improved positional control and accuracy.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a stuffed crust pizza on a continuous high speed basis. The invention can form and deposit a cheese rope in either an ellipse or circular shape, onto a moving sheet of dough with multiple lanes using a waterwheel flow divider. An encoder is mounted to the conveyor feeding the dough to the apparatus. This provides both position information and speed of the dough to a motion controller to guide the movement of the nozzles. A stamping device initially presses an indentation of the cheese shape into the dough sheet and provides a natural resting location for the cheese to be deposited. A set of two nozzles per lane is utilized to form the cross sectional shape of the cheese. Each nozzle forms one half of the total shape of the cheese and the flow to each nozzle is controlled by a waterwheel flow divider.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a stuffed crust pizza on a continuous high speed basis. The invention can form and deposit a cheese rope in either an ellipse or circular shape, onto a moving sheet of dough with multiple lanes using a waterwheel flow divider. An encoder is mounted to the conveyor feeding the dough to the apparatus. This provides both position information and speed of the dough to a motion controller to guide the movement of the nozzles. A stamping device initially presses an indentation of the cheese shape into the dough sheet and provides a natural resting location for the cheese to be deposited. A set of two nozzles per lane is utilized to form the cross sectional shape of the cheese. Each nozzle forms one half of the total shape of the cheese and the flow to each nozzle is controlled by a waterwheel flow divider.

A dusting powder sprinkling apparatus comprises a frame body, a hinge, a hook, and a toggle latch. The frame body presses the entire circumference of a mesh body, excluding the portion provided with through-holes, along the outer peripheral surface side of the mesh body to fix the mesh body to the hopper. The hinge rotatably fixes a first frame side extending along the rotation axis direction of the brush to the outlet of the hopper. The hook is fixed to a second frame side extending along the rotation axis direction of a brush in the frame body. A tip portion of the hook projects from the outer periphery of the frame body. The toggle latch is fixed to the outlet of the hopper facing the hook and is capable of engaging with the tip of the hook.