TWI535400B - Automated delivery device - Google Patents

Description

Automatic food delivery device

The present invention relates to a food delivery device, and more particularly to an automatic food delivery device.

In general, most restaurants use a number of service personnel to set up a bridge between the kitchen and the customer. Through the service staff to understand the customer's needs, complete the order and notify the kitchen, and pass the meal from the kitchen to the customer. jobs. However, because the catering industry's manpower is usually limited, when the number of customers is large, and the immediate manpower cannot effectively respond to a large number of customers, it is often the case that customers are unable to order, or the speed of serving is slow, resulting in poor service quality and efficiency. .

Referring to Fig. 1, in response to the above problems, the patent publication No. TW201406327A "Thematic Restaurant Automatic Food Delivery System" invention discloses that an automatic food delivery apparatus 100 is suitable for being installed in a restaurant 200. The restaurant 200 includes a plurality of dining areas 201 and two dining areas 202. Each of the automatic food delivery devices 100 corresponds to one of the to-be-supplied dining areas 202 and a plurality of dining areas 201 thereof, and includes a plurality of ordering units 103, one corresponding to the dining area 201 and respectively operable to output a little meal signal. a transmission unit 104, a carrier 105 disposed on the transmission unit 104 and configured to carry the catering, And a control unit 106. After receiving the order signal, the control unit 106 drives the transmission unit 104 to move the carrier 105 to the dining area 201 corresponding to the order signal. After the customer removes the catering on the carrying tray 105, a sensing component (not shown) disposed in the carrying tray 105 outputs a pair of unloaded signals on the carrying tray 105. After receiving the idle signal, the control unit 106 drives the transmission unit 104 to move the carrier 105 back to the to-be-supplied area 202 for recycling. However, this design allows the chef to wait for the tray 105 to return to the to-be-supplied meal area 202 before placing the next customer-selected meal on the carrier tray 105 for delivery again, delaying the meal time. Or, if the customer is unable to complete the meal taking action due to the temporary absence of the seat or other factors, the carrier 105 cannot be returned to the to-be-supplied area 202, and the next customer's selected meal is seriously delayed. delivery time.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automated food delivery apparatus that improves service quality and efficiency.

Thus, the automated food delivery device of the present invention is suitable for installation in a restaurant. The restaurant contains at least one dining area and one waiting area. The automated food delivery device includes a transport mechanism, a push mechanism, and a control unit. The transmission mechanism includes a motor unit, a conveyor belt unit, and an isolation unit. The conveyor belt unit is connected to the dining area to be fed and the dining area, and is driven by the motor unit to drive the catering movement, and has a pair of pushing parts for the dining area, and a pair of dining units to be sent to the dining area. . The isolation unit is disposed on a side of the conveyor belt unit corresponding to the dining area, and is separated by It is away from the dining area and the conveyor belt unit, and has a pair of dining outlets that should be in the dining area. The pushing mechanism is disposed on the pushing portion of the conveyor belt unit, and includes a pushing plate disposed opposite to the dining area, and a shutter mechanism disposed on the pushing portion of the belt unit. The push mechanism is controlled to move the push plate relative to the belt unit between an open position and a meal position. In the open position, the push plate moves to a side of the conveyor belt unit remote from the dining area, and the shutter mechanism causes the meal on the conveyor belt unit to fail. At the meal delivery position, the push plate moves to a side of the conveyor belt unit adjacent the dining area, and the gate mechanism passes the meal on the conveyor belt unit. The control unit is electrically connected to the motor unit and the pushing mechanism respectively, controls an operation signal to control the pushing mechanism to move to the open position, and controls the motor unit to drive the belt unit, and drives the catering to be moved by the to-be-salted portion. To the push section. After the catering moves to the pushing portion, the control unit controls the pushing mechanism to the serving position, and the catering is pushed by the pushing unit to the dining area by the pushing unit.

The effect of the invention is that the catering can be moved from the to-be-supplied area to the dining area for the customer to eat by the interaction between the conveying mechanism and the pushing mechanism, and the stagnation position of the catering to be taken is in the position The dining area, not the conveyor belt unit, so when the food is moved to the dining area, the food ordered by the next customer can be immediately transferred without delaying the meal time of the next meal, so It can replace the traditional man-made food delivery, and can also achieve high efficiency and automatic meal delivery, and successfully improve the service quality and efficiency. In addition, the isolation unit can also provide customers with a safe and undisturbed dining environment. .

1‧‧‧Automatic food delivery device

32‧‧‧Transmission unit

2‧‧‧Transportation agency

321‧‧‧ drive belt

21‧‧‧Motor unit

33‧‧‧Pushing motor

211‧‧‧First motor

34‧‧ ‧ gate mechanism

212‧‧‧second motor

341‧‧‧First arm

22‧‧‧Transport belt unit

342‧‧‧ second arm

221‧‧‧Pushing Department

343‧‧‧Top block

222‧‧‧Don't be served

35‧‧‧rails

223‧‧‧Main conveyor belt

36‧‧‧ Slider

224‧‧‧Food delivery belt

4‧‧‧ temporary disk

225‧‧‧First forward axis

5‧‧‧Sensor unit

226‧‧‧second forward axis

6‧‧‧Operating unit

23‧‧‧Isolation unit

7‧‧‧ ordering unit

231‧‧‧ delivery

8‧‧‧Reminder unit

232‧‧‧ sealed space

81‧‧‧ flashing lights

233‧‧‧ riser

82‧‧‧ buzzer

234‧‧‧ horizontal board

9‧‧‧Control unit

3‧‧‧ Pushing agency

10‧‧‧Restaurant

31‧‧‧Pushing board

101‧‧‧Dining area

311‧‧‧ pushed block

102‧‧‧Send dining area

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a plan view of a view of a conventional automatic delivery device; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the present invention. A preferred embodiment of the automatic food delivery device is applied to a restaurant; FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment applied to the restaurant; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; 5 is a perspective assembled view of the preferred embodiment; FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged plan view of the preferred embodiment, in which the opposite push mechanism is omitted; FIG. 7 is a VI-VI cut line in FIG. A cross-sectional view; and Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of control of the preferred embodiment.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, a preferred embodiment of the automated food delivery apparatus 1 of the present invention is suitable for installation in a restaurant 10. The restaurant 10 includes a plurality of dining areas 101 and a waiting area 102. In Fig. 2, two identical automatic food delivery devices 1 are installed in the restaurant 10, and each of the automatic food delivery devices 1 can correspond to the catering supply of two rows of dining customers. Since the functions of the two automatic food delivery apparatuses 1 are the same, in the following drawings, only one of the automatic food delivery apparatuses 1 will be described.

The automatic food delivery device 1 comprises a transport mechanism 2, a plurality of push mechanisms 3, a plurality of temporary trays 4, a plurality of sensing units 5, an operating unit 6, A plurality of ordering units 7, a plurality of reminding units 8, and a control unit 9.

The transmission mechanism 2 includes a motor unit 21, a conveyor belt unit 22, and an isolation unit 23. The motor unit 21 has a first motor 211 and a second motor 212. The conveyor belt unit 22 is connected to the dining area 102 and the dining area 101, and is driven by the motor unit 21 to drive the catering movement, and has a main conveyor belt 223 and a to-be-supplied conveyor belt 224. The main conveyor belt 223 is disposed in the dining area 101, and is connected to the first motor 211, and has a first forward axis 225, and a plurality of pushing portions 221 respectively corresponding to the dining area 101. The to-be-supplied conveyor belt 224 is disposed in the to-be-supplied dining area 102 and is coupled to the second motor 212 and has a second forward axis 226 coaxial with the first forward axis 225, and is adjacent to the main transmission The strip 223 corresponds to the portion to be served 222 of the meal area 102 to be delivered.

Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the isolation unit 23 is disposed on the conveyor belt unit 22, and has a pair of two sides disposed on the conveyor belt unit 22 respectively for isolating the dining area 101 and the main unit. A riser 233 of the conveyor belt 223, and a cross plate 234 connecting the top ends of the risers 233. The vertical plates 233 and the transverse plates 234 cooperate with the conveyor belt unit 22 to define a sealed space 232 for catering movement and to protect the catering from external pollution during transportation. Each of the risers 233 has a plurality of food delivery ports 231 corresponding to the dining area 101, respectively.

The pushing mechanisms 3 are respectively disposed on the pushing portions 221 of the belt unit 22, and are respectively controlled to move between an open position and a feeding position with respect to the belt unit 22, and respectively include a relative a push plate 31 provided in each of the dining areas 101, a transmission unit 32 connected to the push plate 31, a push motor 33 connected to the transmission unit 32, and a a shutter mechanism 34 disposed at each of the push portions 221, a slide rail 35 extending from the respective push portion 221 toward the respective dining area 101, and a connection between the push plate 31 and the transmission unit 32 The slider 36 of the slide rail 35 is slidably engaged.

Each of the push plates 31 has a pair of push blocks 311 that are raised toward the respective dining areas 101 and that can be used to push the meal.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, each push plate 31 is coupled to a respective drive unit 32 and is drivable by a respective drive unit 32. In the present embodiment, the transmission units 32 are implemented in the same manner as the transmission belt unit 22 of the present embodiment, and each has a transmission belt 321 that connects the respective sliders 36. The belt 321 is connected to each of the push plates 31 through the slider 36.

Each of the shutter mechanisms 34 has a first arm portion 341 pivotally connected to a side of the conveyor belt unit 22 adjacent to the respective dining area 101, and a pivotal connection of the first arm portion 341 The second arm portion 342 of the plate 31. The first arm portion 341 and the second arm portions 342 respectively have a top abutting block 343 which can be brought into the catering when in the open position.

Each push motor 33 drives a respective transmission unit 32 and causes the respective push plate 31 to move relative to the conveyor belt unit 22 between the open position and the meal position.

In the open position, each of the push plates 31 is moved along the respective slide rails 35 through the respective slide rails 35 to the side of the conveyor belt unit 22 away from the respective dining areas 101, and drives the respective gates. The mechanism 34 is deployed horizontally so that the meal on the conveyor belt unit 22 does not pass, and the respective food delivery ports 231 are in an open state.

In the feeding position, each of the push plates 31 is moved along the respective slide rails 35 to the side of the conveyor belt unit 22 adjacent to the respective dining area 101 through respective sliders 36 and the respective delivery is closed. The meal port 231 drives the respective shutter mechanism 34 horizontally to allow the meal on the conveyor belt unit 22 to pass.

Referring to FIG. 5, it should be noted that, in this embodiment, the dining areas 101 are disposed opposite to each other on both sides of the conveyor belt unit 22, so that the two pushing mechanisms corresponding to the dining area 101 are opposite. 3 will also be placed at the same location of the conveyor unit 22. Therefore, when one of the pushing mechanisms 3 is moved to the open position, the corresponding other pushing mechanism 3 cannot be actuated.

Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the temporary trays 4 are respectively disposed in the dining areas 101, and are respectively connected to the pushing portions 221 of the conveyor belt unit 22.

The sensing units 5 are respectively disposed on the temporary storage trays 4, and are used to sense the presence or absence of the catering on the respective temporary storage trays 4, and respectively output a corresponding temporary storage tray 4 on which the catering is placed. Take the meal signal, and a corresponding no-loading signal on the temporary tray 4 is placed. It can be noted that the sensing units 5 can achieve sensing effects in various types, such as: gravity sensors, optical sensors, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 3, the operating unit 6 is disposed in the to-be-supplied area 102 and can be operated to output an operation signal.

The ordering units 7 are respectively disposed in the dining areas 101, and can be operated to output a little meal signal.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the reminding units 8 are respectively disposed on the The push mechanism 3 includes a flash lamp 81 disposed on each of the push plates 31, and a buzzer 82 disposed in the dining area 101. At the meal delivery position, each of the flashing lights 81 is moved through the respective pusher plates 31 and is disposed in the respective meal delivery openings 231, and is disposed in the respective dining zones 101.

The control unit 9 is electrically connected to the motor unit 21, the push motor 33, the sensing unit 5, the operating unit 6, the ordering unit 7, and the reminding unit 8.

Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8, when a customer of one of the dining areas 101 operates the respective ordering unit 7 and outputs the ordering signal, the control unit 9 receives the ordering signal and notifies that the order is to be sent. The staff of the dining area 102 began to make meals.

After the customer's catering is ready, the staff puts the catering on the conveyor belt 224 of the conveyor belt unit 22, and operates the operation unit 6 to output the operation signal corresponding to one of the dining zones 101 to the control unit 9. . After receiving the operation signal, the control unit 9 controls the second motor 212 to drive the to-be-supplied conveyor belt 224, and drives the restaurant to move to the to-be-salted portion 222. The control unit 9 memorizes the operation signal, and waits until the corresponding sensing unit 5 senses that no catering is placed on each of the temporary trays 4 and outputs the no-load signal.

At this time, after receiving the no-load signal, the control unit 9 that has memorized the operation signal controls the corresponding pushing mechanism 3 to move to the open position, and controls the first and second motors 211 and 212 to simultaneously drive the main transmission belt. 223 and the to-be-supplied conveyor belt 224, and the food and beverage is moved by the to-be-supplied portion 222 to the pushing portion 221 . After the catering moves to the corresponding pushing portion 221, the control unit 9 controls the corresponding pushing mechanism 3 to the feeding position, and the catering is The corresponding push mechanism 3 is pushed by the respective push units 221 to the respective temporary trays 4.

It should be noted that after the control unit 9 receives the operation signal and the no-load signal at the same time, the motor unit 21 is controlled to drive the belt unit 22 to move the food and beverage from the to-be-supplied portion 222 toward the pushing portion 221 . When the catering is about to move to the pushing unit 221, the corresponding pushing mechanism 3 is controlled to move to the open position. In this way, when the dining area 101 where the customer is located is far away from the to-be-supplied dining area 102, the pushing mechanism 3 can be prevented from being opened too early to allow the customer to wait for the meal, or to prevent the customer from reaching the meal. The mouth 231 blocks the meal delivery.

It is to be noted that the manner in which the present invention controls the movement of the catering to the corresponding pushing unit 221 can be achieved in various types, for example, by a plurality of sensors respectively disposed on the pushing unit 221 and electrically connected to the control unit 9. (not shown). The sensors can output a deceleration signal or a stop signal corresponding to the respective feeding unit 221 to enable the control unit 9 to control the motor unit 21 to slow down or stop, so as to prevent the corresponding pushing mechanism 3 from being Pushing at high speed and turning over the food or pushing it down. In addition, the stepping motor can be used through the motor unit 21, and the program can be used to calculate the moving distance of each dining area 101, and the same effect can be achieved. Since the means for controlling the movement of the catering to the corresponding pushing unit 221 is easily understood by those skilled in the art and is not a feature of the present invention, it will be described here by way of example only, but not by the present embodiment. The manner in which the examples are expressed is limited.

When the catering is placed on the corresponding temporary tray 4, the corresponding sensing unit 5 will output the untaken meal signal to the control unit 9. The control unit 9 receives the unremoved meal signal and the corresponding reminder unit 8 activates the respective flashing lights 81 (see FIG. 4) and the respective buzzers 82 to remind the customer to receive the respective temporary positions. Catering on the tray 4. After the customer takes the meal, the corresponding sensing unit 5 outputs the no-load signal to the control unit 9. The control unit 9 closes the reminder unit 8 after receiving the no-load signal.

At this time, if the staff member has placed the next meal to be delivered on the to-be-supplied conveyor belt 224, and the control unit 9 has been recorded in advance to record the next operation signal, the next meal will be immediately sent out. This cycle is active.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, it is worth mentioning that, in this embodiment, each of the automatic food delivery devices 1 may also correspond to only one dining area 101. The number of the push mechanism 3, the temporary tray 4, the sensing unit 5, the ordering unit 7, and the reminding unit 8 of each of the automatic food delivery devices 1 also varies correspondingly with the number of the dining areas 101.

In summary, by the combination of the transport mechanism 2 and the push mechanism 3, the catering can be moved from the to-be-supplied area 102 to the dining area 101 for consumption by the customer, and the stagnation position of the meal waiting for the meal In order to be located in the dining area 101 instead of the conveyor belt unit 22, when the catering is moved to the dining area 101, the catering of the next customer can be immediately transmitted without delay to the next catering. The meal time, in addition to the ability to replace the traditional manpower delivery, can also achieve high efficiency and automatic meal delivery, successfully improve service quality and efficiency, in addition, the isolation unit 23 can also provide customers with a safe The hygienic and undisturbed dining environment makes it possible to achieve the object of the present invention.

The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the simple equivalent changes and modifications made by the scope of the patent application and the patent specification of the present invention are It is still within the scope of the invention patent.

22‧‧‧Transport belt unit

34‧‧ ‧ gate mechanism

221‧‧‧Pushing Department

341‧‧‧First arm

223‧‧‧Main conveyor belt

342‧‧‧ second arm

3‧‧‧ Pushing agency

343‧‧‧Top block

31‧‧‧Pushing board

35‧‧‧rails

311‧‧‧ pushed block

36‧‧‧ Slider

32‧‧‧Transmission unit

4‧‧‧ temporary disk

321‧‧‧ drive belt

5‧‧‧Sensor unit

33‧‧‧Pushing motor

101‧‧‧Dining area

Claims (10)

An automatic food delivery device, suitable for being installed in a restaurant, the restaurant comprising at least one dining area, and a dining area to be delivered, the automatic food delivery device comprising: a transport mechanism comprising a motor unit and a conveyor belt unit And an isolation unit, the conveyor belt unit is connected to the dining area to be sent and the dining area, and is driven by the motor unit to drive the catering movement, and has a pair of pushing parts of the dining area, and a pair of dining areas to be sent The feeding unit is disposed on a side of the conveyor belt unit corresponding to the dining area, and is configured to isolate the dining area from the conveyor belt unit, and has a pair of dining places corresponding to the dining area; The pushing mechanism is disposed on the pushing portion of the conveyor belt unit, is controlled to move between the opening position and the feeding position relative to the belt unit, and includes a pushing plate disposed opposite to the dining area, and a pushing plate a shutter mechanism disposed at a pushing portion of the belt unit, in the open position, the push plate moves to a side of the belt unit away from the dining area, and the shutter mechanism causes the transmission The meal on the unit does not pass, and in the feeding position, the push plate moves to a side of the conveyor belt unit adjacent to the dining area and closes the food delivery port, and the gate mechanism makes the food on the conveyor belt unit And a control unit electrically connecting the motor unit and the pushing mechanism respectively, receiving an operation signal, controlling the pushing mechanism to move to the open position, and controlling the motor unit to drive the belt unit, and driving the catering to be The food delivery unit moves to the pushing unit, and after the meal moves to the pushing unit, the The control unit controls the push mechanism to the meal position, and the meal is pushed by the push mechanism to the meal area by the push mechanism. The automatic food delivery device of claim 1, wherein the push mechanism further comprises a transmission unit connected to the push plate, and a push motor connected to the drive unit and electrically connected to the control unit, the push motor drives the drive a unit that drives the push plate to move between the open position and the meal position relative to the belt unit. The automatic food delivery device of claim 2, wherein the pushing mechanism further comprises a slide rail extending from the pushing portion toward the dining area, and a sliding plate is coupled to the push plate and slidably engaged Slider. The automatic food delivery device of claim 3, wherein the push plate has a pair of push blocks protruding toward the dining area and available for pushing against the meal. The automatic food delivery device of claim 1, wherein the shutter mechanism has a first arm pivoted to a side of the conveyor belt unit adjacent to the dining area, and a first arm portion is pivotally coupled to the first arm portion The second arm of the push plate is pivotally connected. The automatic food delivery device of claim 5, wherein the first arm portion has a top abutting block that can be erected in the open position, and the second arm portion has a top end in the open position The top of the restaurant is a block. The automatic food delivery device of claim 1, further comprising an operation unit disposed in the to-be-supplied area and electrically connected to the control unit, the operation unit being operable to output the operation signal. The automatic food delivery device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a push portion disposed in the dining area and connected to the conveyor belt unit a temporary disk, and a sensing unit, the sensing unit is disposed on the temporary disk, and is electrically connected to the control unit, and is configured to sense whether the catering is placed on the temporary disk, and the output pair should be temporarily placed on the disk There is a no-meal signal for placing a meal, and a pair of unloaded signals that should be placed on the temporary plate, and the control unit simultaneously receives the operation signal and the no-load signal to control the push mechanism to move to the open position, and Controlling the motor unit to drive the conveyor belt unit, and driving the catering to move to the pushing portion by the to-be-sending portion, and after the catering moves to the pushing portion, the control unit controls the pushing mechanism to the feeding position, and the catering is The push mechanism is pushed by the push portion to the temporary tray. The automatic food delivery device of claim 8, wherein the motor unit has a first motor and a second motor, the conveyor belt unit has a main conveyor belt, and a to-be-supplied conveyor belt, the main transmission a belt is disposed in the dining area, and is connected to the first motor, and has a first forward axis, and the pushing portion, the to-be-supplied conveyor belt is disposed in the to-be-supplied area, and is connected to the second motor and has a second advancing axis coaxial with the first advancing axis, and adjacent to the to-be-fed portion of the main conveyor belt, the control unit receiving the operation signal and controlling the second motor to drive the to-be-supplied conveyor belt, And driving the catering to the to-be-delivered portion, the control unit simultaneously receiving the operation signal and the no-load signal, controlling the pushing mechanism to move to the open position, and controlling the first and second motors to simultaneously drive the main transmission belt and The to-be-sending conveyor belt drives the catering to be moved by the to-be-sold portion to the pushing portion. The automatic food delivery device according to claim 8, further comprising a reminding unit, The reminding unit is disposed in the dining area, and is electrically connected to the control unit, and includes a flashing light and a buzzer. The control unit controls the reminding unit to start the flashing light and the buzzer after receiving the untaken meal signal. After receiving the no-load signal, the reminder unit is turned off.