Patents on the soles of your shoes...: Oh, patents! Le Bread Xpress (1)

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Oh, patents! Le Bread Xpress (1)

At the intersection of hi-tech robotics and artisan manufacturing, Le Bread Xpress is a robotic bakery vending machine that serves hot, fresh-baked, artisan-made baguettes, 24/7— just like an ATM machine. As a bonus for pandemic times, sales of the fresh-baked artisan-made baguettes are 100% contactless. Just swipe your credit card, and watch for when your baguette comes out crunchy and piping hot, 20 seconds later. Le Bread Xpress is a vending machine that has automated the fridge-to-oven-to-sale and delivery process for artisan-made baguettes. Artisan-made baguettes, just like the ones made-in-France, that are pre-cooked, and refrigerated inside the vending machine. The result is a crispy hot baguette, available on-demand, or until out of batches, at selected public locations, and at many private corporate locations.

The robotic bakery vending machine was invented by two French engineers: Jean-Louis and Jean-Claude Hecht. Designated micro-bakery, the robotic vending machine was awarded the President of the Republic Prize, representing top honors at the prestigious, 120-year old, 2014 Concours Lépine, an international competition for patented inventions, held every year in Paris, since 1901. The robotic bakery vending machine was then marketed as a franchise.

In France, the 24/7 micro-bakery vending machine is marketed by Le Panivending. A company, selling the micro-bakery vending machines directly to artisan bakers. Artisan bakers who want to extend the business hours of their shops, and/or their distribution networks to otherwise under-served locations in small rural villages—without sacrificing the quality of their artisan baguettes. In the USA, the franchise Le Bread Xpress is based in San Francisco, California. Le Bread Xpress delivers hot and crunchy, artisan-made baguettes, in malls, using Le Bread Xpress micro-bakery vending machine, as well as a large selection of fresh-baked goods, such as croissants, quiches, pizza, and gourmet sandwiches, using another micro-bakery vending machine, called the Bake Xpress, also within the scope of the invention.

The micro-bakery vending machine was patented in France in the below-listed two French (FR) patents. The patent families include European (EP), US, and Spain (SP) patents, also listed below.

Patent family

FR2971122 - Enfourneur automatique
EP2484212A1 - Automatic kiln setter

Patent family

FR2973789 - Dispositif de stockage et de prélèvement et procédé pour l'utilisation d'un tel dispositif
EP2508450A1 - Storage and retrieval device and method for using such a device
ES2481916T3 - Dispositivo de almacenamiento y recuperación y procedimiento para la utilización de tal dispositivo

The two patent families each recite different aspects of the robotic processes. In particular, the two patents respectively recite: the loading and unloading processes of the bread within the machine (FR2971122), and the conveyor belt system, inside and outside of the oven (FR2973789). The inventions are best illustrated in the following Youtube technical video, posted by one of the inventors.

In a nutshell, the micro-bakery machine stores 120 baguettes in a fridge. 14 baguettes are kept warm in a compartment for swift on-demand delivery, together with a paper bag. When one baguette is sold, it is replaced with a freshly baked baguette. The oven is able to bake eight baguettes at a time. It is the smallest micro-bakery fabricated. The interface is cloud-based, allowing remote access for tracking, and monitoring, of the machine's inventory.

Below, a video of le Bread Xpress at the San Francisco, Stonestown Galleria shopping Mall, showing both the inside and outside operation of the robotic bakery vending machine.