Patent ID: 7165670

Claim:
A method of transporting food through a vertically stacked multi-tier food processor having a plurality of predefined side-by-side travel lanes, comprising: transporting at least one food item over a predetermined travel path in a food processor having a plurality of vertically stacked tiers which are longitudinally spaced apart, wherein a plurality of the tiers have a plurality of side-by-side travel lanes such that the food item travels greater than one revolution in a tier to pass by a reference location a plurality of times before moving to the next predetermined tier, wherein the transporting step comprises transporting the food item on at least one tier such that the food item moves, in serial order, over a first moving floor portion, to a cooperating stationary floor portion, and to a cooperating second moving floor portion before the at least one food item moves to the next predetermined tier, and wherein the transporting step further comprises directing the food to travel to a cooperating diverter moving floor portion that laterally translates the direction of travel of the food after the cooperating stationary floor portion and before the cooperating second moving floor portion.