Patents by Inventor Joan Steuer

Joan Steuer has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20140161960
    Abstract: A point-of-sale apparatus for making customized chocolate articles includes one or more temperature-controlled chocolate tempering machine(s) for melting and storing tempered liquid chocolate, a dispensor for dispensing the liquid chocolate into a cavity formed in a single-use mold, a dispensor for depositing one or more selected food product exclusions across the surface of the liquid chocolate, a vibrating table for removing air bubbles and distributing the exclusions evenly, a cooling tunnel for rapidly cooling the chocolate article, and one or more conveyors for moving the single-use chocolate mold and carrying it through the cooling tunnel. The exclusion dispensor may include a hopper having a funnel and a grate with different sized openings corresponding to different sized exclusions. The single-use mold may carry a customer identifier for later identification. The single-use mold containing the solidified custom chocolate article may be deposited directly into a box provided to the customer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2013
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Inventors: Joan Steuer, Kim Rothrock
  • Publication number: 20080274241
    Abstract: A point-of-sale apparatus for making customized chocolate articles includes one or more temperature-controlled chocolate tempering machine(s) for melting and storing tempered liquid chocolate, a dispenser for dispensing the liquid chocolate into a cavity formed in a single-use mold, a dispenser for depositing one or more selected food product exclusions across the surface of the liquid chocolate, a vibrating table for removing air bubbles and distributing the exclusions evenly, a cooling tunnel for rapidly cooling the chocolate article, and one or more conveyors for moving the single-use chocolate mold and carrying it through the cooling tunnel. The exclusion dispenser may include a hopper having a funnel and a grate with different sized openings corresponding to different sized exclusions. The single-use mold may carry a customer identifier for later identification. The single-use mold containing the solidified custom chocolate article may be deposited directly into a box provided to the customer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2008
    Publication date: November 6, 2008
    Inventors: Joan Steuer, Kim Rothrock