JPH0531994Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field The present invention is directed to a food and beverage counter equipped with an optical sensor, that is, a food and beverage counter for a dining table that has a flat top chain conveyor path equipped with an optical sensor for conveying food and beverages. The present invention relates to a plate for placing food, and in particular to a plate for placing food and drink suitable for detecting food placed on a plate conveyed by a crescent-shaped flat top chain conveyor, and in particular to a plate for sushi.

The present invention also relates to a food plate, particularly a sushi plate, which is suitable for calculating charges for eating and drinking at a food and drink counter.

(b) Prior Art Conventionally, a food and beverage counter has been provided with an endless food and beverage conveyor path on the counter, and plates on which food and drinks, such as sushi, are placed are placed on the conveyor path, and the food and drinks are transferred by the conveyor. , both the diners sitting at the counter and the cooks at the counter can eat, drink or prepare food without moving, and the diners can choose their favorite food from among the food and drinks carried on plates. It is widely used because it allows you to eat and drink while choosing food.

In addition, the cook only needs to check the food and drink items that are being circulated on the food and drink plates, cook the missing food and drink items, and provide the food and drink for circulation, so the number of cooks can be reduced, and Since only a small number of employees are required to work in the store, food and beverage counters with conveyors help restaurants save labor and resolve labor shortages.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention In such conventional food and drink counters, customers select their favorite food and drink from the food and drink that is sent along the conveyor path. The amount of food and drinks transported will decrease accordingly, making it impossible to provide sufficient service to customers. Therefore, the cook will replenish the food and drink that has been selected by the customers and the amount of food that has been transported has decreased.
It is difficult to monitor the amount of each type and replenish the amount of food and drink for each type.
In addition, it required a lot of manpower, which was a problem. Therefore,
Experience has taught us how to replenish food and drink, but when there are many diners, we cannot meet the wishes of the diners, which is a problem.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problem of oversupply and shortage of new food and drink at conventional food and drink counters.

(d) Means for solving the problem The present invention detects the identification marks attached to each plate of food and drinks that are sent along the conveyor path of the food and beverage counter by observing the identification marks attached to the plates. To provide a food and drink counter that allows you to easily know whether there is excess or shortage of food or drink being sent.

That is, the present invention provides food and drink that is colored in a color detectable by an optical sensor along the periphery of the bottom of the plate surrounded by the legs, in a circumferential manner around the center of the plate. A plate with an identification mark for a food and drink counter with an optical sensor, characterized in that an identification mark indicating the type is formed.

In the present invention, the identification mark that can be detected by an optical sensor and that indicates the type of food and drink that is attached to the food and drink plate is a color that can be detected by the optical sensor to indicate the type of food and drink that is placed on the plate. It is a thing,
Consists of a single color that can be detected by an optical sensor.
The type of single color that can be detected by the optical sensor used is determined depending on the type of food or drink to be displayed.

Such color-coded marks can be formed using codes or patterns such as letters and numbers that have a certain regularity. Forming in such a shape or the like is convenient because the identification mark can correspond to many types of food and drink in combination with colors that can be detected by an optical sensor. In addition, such identification marks are made of pigments that can be detected by optical sensors.
The figures may be expressed in a single corresponding color, or the figures may be attached to a background of a single color.

In the present invention, the area where the identification mark indicating the type of food and drink is attached to the food and drink plate, that is, the area where the identification mark is attached, is a place other than the food and drink storage area of the food and drink plate and is easily detected by an optical sensor. That is, the part surrounded by the legs on the back side of the food and drink plate, and the circumference around the center of rotation so that the food and drink container can be reliably detected by the sensor even if it rotates during transportation. It is preferable to provide the shape.

In addition, a special bypass path, etc. is provided for detection between the circulation conveyors of the food and beverage counter, and a sensor is installed below the conveyor path, and a sensor is installed in the area surrounded by the legs on the back of the food and beverage containers so that detection can be performed from below. An identification mark attachment area is formed.

In the present invention, the sensors are provided in correspondence with the type of coloring of the identification mark indicating the type of food and drink on the food and drink plate, and commercially available color sensors corresponding to each identification mark can be used. The color sensor used in the present invention is, for example, a combination of a filter and a photo sensor, but may also be a combination of a filter and a phototube.

In the present invention, a white light source is generally provided for the color sensor arrangement.

It is preferable to detect the type of food and drink placed on a food and drink plate based on a combination of, for example, a shape and color of an identification mark attached to the food and drink plate, since the detection performance can be improved. in this case,
An image sensor is provided along with the color sensor.

The color sensor or image sensor can be placed at an appropriate location at the food and drink counter that is not related to the customer seats. For example, a light shielding device is provided on the kitchen side of the conveyor path for food and beverage transfer, for example, at the return port, and a color sensor and an image sensor are placed below the conveyor path together with a light source, and a detection unit for each identification mark of food and drink plates is installed. can be formed. Although it is sufficient to provide one such detection section on the conveyor path, an appropriate number of two or more detection sections may be provided depending on the size of the conveyor path.

Detection of the type of food and drink displayed on a food and drink plate using a color sensor or a color sensor and an image sensor is performed by connecting the output section of the color sensor to, for example,
The number of each type of food and drink to be transferred may be counted by inputting the food to the input section of the microcomputer via a D/A converter, or the output section of the color sensor or color sensor and image sensor may be connected to the input section of the microcomputer via a D/A converter or the like. It may be guided to a signal light for displaying the type of food on the food/drink plate, and may be made to blink.

(E) Effect In the present invention, since an identification mark is attached to the part surrounded by the legs on the back side of the food and drink plate, for example, a color sensor or a color sensor and an image sensor can be placed around the food and drink conveyor path. By arranging these in combination, the types of food and drink sent through the food and drink transport conveyor path can be mechanically identified for each container, and for example, the number can be counted for each type of food and drink.

Therefore, by displaying the counted value on, for example, a display device, it is possible to indicate a shortage of food and drink that is less than a certain number of food items being sent on the food and drink transfer conveyor. Of course, instead of numerical values, it is also possible to indicate the excess or deficiency of each type of food or drink using an indicator light or the like. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to know at a glance whether there is excess or deficiency of food or drink depending on the type of food or drink being transported on the food or drink transport conveyor, and it is also easy to replenish the food or drink.

In addition, according to the present invention, the food and drink that has been eaten,
It is convenient for calculating food and drink charges because it is possible to count each type of food and drink consumed by holding the food and drink container.

Further, in the present invention, by arranging an image sensor together with a color sensor, detection accuracy can be improved even when the number of types of food and drink that are sent along the food and drink transfer conveyor path increases.

(f) Examples One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited in any way by this description and exemplification.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of one embodiment of the food and drink plate of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of detecting food and drink plates according to an embodiment of the present invention at a food and drink counter, and FIG. It is a schematic side view of the food-drink transfer detection part of a conveyor path for transfer.

The food and drink plate 1 of this example has a food and drink storage section 2 on the surface.
An identification mark 7 shown by a diagonal broken line is attached to a peripheral edge 6 of a portion 5 surrounded by legs 4 on the back surface 3. In this example, the dishes are color-coded such as red, green-yellow, orange-purple, etc., so that they can be easily identified by an optical sensor, and for each type of food or drink used on the plate. but,
Instead of color-coding, various symbols such as arithmetic numerals, alphabets, alphabets, and figures such as pictures can be used. In this case, a single identification figure that can be detected by the optical sensor is assigned to each type of food or drink.

In this example, the food and drink plate 1 is detected from below, and an identification mark 7, that is, a single color or a single code, is placed on the peripheral edge 6 of the inner part 5 of the legs 4 on the back surface 3 of the food and drink plate 1. is attached.

Since the plate 1 of this example is configured in this way, the identification mark 7 attached to the inner part 5 of the legs on the back surface 3 of the plate 1 is detected by the optical sensor, and the food/drink plate 1 is It is possible to identify and count the food and drinks placed on the machine.

The food and beverage counter 8 is connected to a conveyor path 9 for food and beverage transfer.
A counter 10 is provided around the outside. In this example, the food and drink conveyor path 9 is a crescent-shaped flat top chain conveyor path, but other conveyor paths can be used. The conveyor path 9 circulates between the audience side 11 and the kitchen side 12. In this example, the food and drink detection unit 13
are provided below the return port 14 to the kitchen side 12, the signals from the detection section 13 are sent to a counter, and the counted number is displayed on a display panel (not shown). The detection unit 13 includes a color sensor 15 and an image sensor 1 below the conveyor path 9.
6 and a light source 17, and the color sensor 15 and the image sensor 16 are provided with an identification mark attached to the inner peripheral edge 6 of the leg 4 on the back surface 3 of the food and drink plate 1 moving on the conveyor path 9. The type and number of food and drink items 18 are determined by detecting the color tone and figure of 7 and combining the detection data of both. Therefore, the image sensor 16 is provided at a position relative to the light source 17 where it is easy to detect the figure on the food and drink plate. On the other hand, color sensor 15
is provided at a position where the color tone of the food/drink plate can be easily detected. The image sensor 16 can be omitted when the type of food and drink 18 on the plate 1 can be easily detected by the color sensor 15. However, it is preferable to provide both sensors because it can accommodate the diversification of food and drink counters.

Since this example is configured in this way, the food and drink 18 is placed on the food and drink plates 1 on the conveyor path 9 and transported, but the food and drink plates 1 are returned from the audience seat side 11 to the kitchen side 12. The inner peripheral edge 6 of the leg 4 on the back side 3 of
By detecting the shape and color tone of the identification mark 7 attached to the table, the type and number of food and drink items 18 on the food and drink plate 1 to be sent to the audience seat side 11 can be calculated and displayed. The kitchen side 12 supplies the missing food and drink to the audience seats according to the displayed type and number of food and drink.

(g) Effects of the invention The invention provides an identification mark attached area on the inner periphery of the leg on the back side of the food and drink plate, and an identification mark indicating the type of food and drink that can be detected by an optical sensor is attached here. Since a color sensor and/or an image sensor are arranged below the food and drink conveyor path, they can be applied to a food and drink counter to easily detect the type and number of food and drinks that are sent through the food and drink conveyor path. can. Therefore, the kitchen side or the cook can automatically grasp the amount consumed on the audience side. Compared to conventional food and drink counters, the present invention allows food and drink replenishment without the hassle of manpower and without relying on intuition or other experience. It is economically superior as it can be easily automated.
Furthermore, since manpower can be omitted, further labor savings can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of one embodiment of the food and drink plate of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of detecting food and drink plates according to an embodiment of the present invention at a food and drink counter, and FIG. It is a schematic side view of the food-drink transfer detection part of a conveyor path for transfer. Regarding the symbols in the figure, 1 is a food and drink plate, 2 is a food and drink storage part of the plate, 3 is the back side of the food and drink plate, 4 is a leg part, 5 is a part surrounded by the leg part on the back side of the plate, 6
is the periphery of the portion surrounded by the legs of the plate, 7 is an identification mark that can be detected by an optical sensor, 8 is a food and drink counter, 9 is a conveyor path for food and drink transfer, 10 is a counter, 11 is on the customer seat side, 12 is a On the kitchen side, 13 is a food and drink detection unit, 14 is a return port, 15 is a color sensor, 1
6 is an image sensor, 17 is a light source, and 18 is food and drink.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An identification mark indicating the type of food or drink that is colored in a color detectable by an optical sensor in a circumferential manner around the center of the plate along the periphery of the bottom of the plate surrounded by the legs. 1. A plate with an identification mark for a food and beverage counter with an optical sensor, characterized in that a plate is formed with an identification mark.