Patent ID: 8322537

Claim:
A food product position vacancy reduction system, comprising: a main conveyor configured to move food products in a conveying direction in rows and at least two columns along the conveying direction; a food product parking station configured to holding one or more food products; a vacancy detector configured to detect a vacant food product position within the rows and at the least two columns on the main conveyor; a robot operated above the main conveyor having a working range for moving between the parking station and the at least two columns on the main conveyor; and a controller signal-connected to the vacancy detector and configured to receive a signal from the vacancy detector indicating the vacant food product position on the conveyor, and the controller signal-connected to the robot and having control instructions for instructing the robot to move at least one of the one or more food products from the food product parking station to the vacant food product position on the main conveyor; said robot configured to carry a food product from the parking station and deposit the food product into the vacant food product position.