JP2002102044A - Method and device for supplying food and drink vessel in circulation type food and drink carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically and rapidly provide the vessel of ordered food and drink to a customer who orders. SOLUTION: A belt conveyor 12 to be reciprocatively moved from a food and drink vessel supplying part toward a carrying direction is arranged at an inner part surrounded by an endless carrier passage 5. The food and drink vessel 6 where food and drink ordered by the customer are placed is put on the holding board 18 of a belt carrier surface 12a in a kitchen 7. Then the belt carrier surface 12a is moved forward and the vessel 6 is carried to the near part of the table 10 of the ordering customer, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circulating food and beverage transport apparatus for circulating and transporting food and beverage containers placed on an endless transport path and providing food to customers, and in particular, to a circulating food and beverage transport apparatus downstream of the transport direction. The present invention relates to a supply method and an apparatus that can promptly provide ordered food and drink to a customer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sushi restaurant, commonly called a conveyor belt sushi, uses a crescent chain conveyor-type circulating food and beverage transporter, and serves a plate or the like on which sushi or the like is placed on a number of endlessly running stats. By placing and circulating and transporting, customers can select their favorite sushi and eat and drink while sitting at their seats.

However, in such a transport device,
Usually, since there is only one transport path, customers who are seated near a kitchen or a kitchen can always select and eat their favorite food from among various types of sushi dishes. The customer in the seat on the downstream side in the transport direction has to select a favorite one from among the reduced sushi dishes, which causes a problem of unfairness.

[0004] For this reason, customers who are away from the kitchen or the like inevitably tend to order their favorite sushi or the like from the cook, but conventionally, the ordered sushi or the like is ordered by the employee every time. I was carrying it to my seat.

[0005]

As described above, if the employee carries the ordered sushi or the like to the customer's seat each time, the employee is burdened and the number of seats on the downstream side is large. In a crowded situation, the waiting time is prolonged, the service is degraded, or a plurality of employees have to fulfill customer orders, which increases labor costs.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.
Supply of food containers in a circulating food and beverage transport system that promptly provides services, eliminates unfairness with customers on the upstream side, improves services, and reduces labor costs by saving labor. It is an object to provide a method and an apparatus thereof.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, a method for supplying a food and drink container of an article according to the present invention comprises circulating and transporting a food and drink container placed on an endless transfer path,
In the circulating food and beverage transport device provided to customers around the transport path, the food or beverage container reciprocates or runs endlessly in the transport direction from the supply section of the food container inwardly surrounded by the transport path. Providing a transport means, after placing a food and beverage container carrying an order from a customer at a fixed position of the transport means in the supply unit, operating the transport means and transporting the food and beverage container to the vicinity of the order customer. It is characterized by. According to the method of the above configuration, the food and beverage containers ordered by the customer are directly and automatically provided to the ordering customer by a different transporting means than the normal transporting path, so that the unfairness to the downstream customers is reduced. It can be eliminated and labor can be saved.

In the above method, it is preferable that the moving speed of the conveying means is higher than the circulating conveying speed of the conveying path, or the height of the conveying surface of the conveying means is slightly higher than the conveying surface of the conveying path. . In this way, the food and drink containers are distinguished from the normal food and drink containers on the transport path, so that the food and drink containers are not taken by customers other than the ordering customer during the transportation.

In order to achieve the above object, a food and beverage container supply device according to the present invention is provided such that a food and beverage container supply section is provided in a direction in which the food and beverage container supply section is conveyed inwardly surrounded by an endless transport path. A transport unit provided so as to be able to reciprocate or endlessly run and having a holding unit for a food container at a fixed position of the supply unit, and a food container placed and transported on the holding unit is a customer. And a detecting means for temporarily stopping the movement of the transport means upon detecting the arrival of the transport means. According to the apparatus having the above configuration, the ordered food and beverage containers can be reliably supplied to the ordering customer with a relatively simple apparatus.

[0010] In the above apparatus, it is preferable that the detecting means is a non-contact sensor which is provided for each seat of the customer and detects the presence or absence of the food container on the holding portion. With this configuration, the presence or absence of the food container can be reliably detected, and the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor or the like of the transport unit can be easily controlled based on the detection signal.

In the above apparatus, it is preferable that the periphery of the transfer surface of the transfer means is covered with a tunnel-shaped cover having a plurality of opening and closing doors on the customer's seat side. By doing so, the food and beverage containers being transported by the transport means can be more reliably supplied to the ordering customer.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a circulating food and beverage transport device (hereinafter abbreviated as a transport device) 2 equipped with a first embodiment of a food and beverage container supply device 1 of the present invention. The device 2 is of a known crescent chain conveyor type constructed by pivotally connecting a number of half-moon-shaped stats 3 to the upper part of a chain 4 and is mounted on an endless transport path 5 formed on the stats 3. The placed sushi plate 6 is circulated and transported.

The rear end of the transport path 5 circulates in a kitchen 7 serving as a supply section of the sushi plate 6, and sushi and the like cooked therein are
The sushi plate 6 is placed on the transport path 5 and circulated and transported in the direction of the arrow.

An eating and drinking counter 8 is provided on the upstream side of the conveying path 5, that is, on the side of the straight conveying path 5a on the outward path side, and a large number of chairs 9 are installed beside the eating and drinking counter 8.

On the other hand, on the downstream side of the transport path 5, that is, on the side of the straight transport path 5b on the return path side, a table 10 and a chair 9 that can be used by a large number of customers, such as groups or families.
Are provided at predetermined intervals.

The supply device 1 is provided in a central space surrounded by the transport path 5, that is, the left and right linear transport paths 5a, 5a,
b, it is provided linearly in parallel with it.

The supply device 1 is provided with a transport means that reciprocates endlessly in a front-rear direction between left and right frames 11, that is, a belt conveyor 12, and a forward / reverse rotatable motor 14 for rotating a driving roller 13 at a front end thereof. By rotating the drive roller 13 forward and backward by a V-belt 17 wound around a driven pulley 15 of the drive roller 13 and a drive pulley 16 of the motor 14, the upper belt conveying surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12 is moved in the front-rear direction. It is designed to be reciprocated. The reciprocating speed of the belt transport surface 12 a is slightly higher than the transport path 5 of the transport device 2.

The belt conveying surface 12a is slightly higher than the conveying path 5 of the conveying device, and is distinguished from the sushi plate 6 which is always conveyed.

A concave holding plate 18 for positioning and placing the ordered sushi plate 6 is provided at a fixed position on the upper surface of the rear end portion of the belt conveying surface 12a located at the supply portion in the kitchen 7.
Are fixed (see FIG. 2).

On the upper surface of the guide frame 19 on the downstream side in the transport device 2, the presence or absence of the sushi plate 6 transported on the belt transport surface 12a is detected at a position corresponding to the center of each table 10. The detection sensor 20 is supported by a bracket 21.

A detection sensor 22 for detecting the presence or absence of a holding plate 18 fixed to the belt conveying surface 12a is mounted on a bracket (not shown) on the upper surface of the rear end of the guide frame 19 located in the kitchen 7. .

The detection sensors 20 and 22 are preferably, for example, light-reflective non-contact photoelectric sensors, and both of the sensors 20 and 22 are connected to a motor 14 via a control device (not shown).
Is electrically connected to

Next, the sushi plate 6 using the supply device 1
The method of supplying the slag is described.

The sushi dishes 6 are sequentially placed on the transport path 5 of the transport apparatus 2 from the kitchen 7, and when they are taken in by the customer on the counter 8 side during transport on the upstream transport path 5a, the sushi dishes on the downstream side are removed. A sufficient amount of sushi plates 6 will not be supplied to the customers on the table 10 side.

At this time, the customer at the table 10 orders his favorite sushi or the like through an employee or a microphone provided on the table 10.

Then, the cooker in the kitchen 7 stops the sushi plate 6 on which the ordered sushi and the like are arranged in the kitchen 7 in the supply device 1 and stands by.
It is placed on the holding plate 18 of the second belt transport surface 12a.

Then, in a control panel (not shown) or the like provided in the kitchen 7, the ordered table 10 is designated, the corresponding detection sensor 20 is activated, and the operation switch of the belt conveyor 12 is activated. (Not shown)
Is turned on to rotate the motor 14 forward, and the belt conveying surface 12a
To move forward.

Thus, the ordered sushi plate 6 on the holding plate 18 is conveyed from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 to the order table, for example, the frontmost table 10, and the sushi plate 6 is moved to the frontmost position. When the sensor reaches the position of the detection sensor 20, the detection sensor 20 is operated, and the output signal of the detection sensor 20 stops the motor 14 and also stops the belt conveyor 12.

Therefore, the customer at the foremost table 10 can take the ordered sushi plate 6 and eat and drink.

When the sushi plate 6 runs out of the holding plate 18,
When the detection sensor 20 detects this, the motor 1
4, a reverse rotation signal is issued, and the belt conveying surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12 moves backward. The holding plate 18 is the kitchen 7
When the detection sensor 22 detects that the sushi plate 6 has been reached, the motor 14 stops and the belt conveyor 12 also stops, preparing for the next conveyance of the sushi plate 6.

In this way, no matter which order is placed from the customer of any table 10 on the downstream side, the sushi plate 6
Can be stopped to promptly respond to customer orders.

In the above, since the ordered sushi plate 6 is conveyed at a slightly higher speed than the normal conveying path 5, the customer recognizes that it is different from the normal sushi plate 6,
Therefore, it will not be taken by customers other than the upstream side or the order table during the transportation.

In order to reliably prevent the ordered sushi plate 6 from being taken by another customer, a tunnel-shaped transparent cover 23 as shown in FIG.
1 and open the opening / closing door 25 provided in an outlet 24 formed in a portion facing each table 10 so that only customers of the order table 10 can take the sushi plate 6 on the belt conveying surface 12a. You may be able to.

When such a cover 23 is provided, it is sufficient to open a portion on the right side of the cover 23 facing each of the detection sensors 20 and 22.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the supply device. Instead of the above-mentioned belt conveyor 12, FIG.
The guide groove 27 at the center of the guide rail 26 facing in the front-rear direction
The sushi plate 6 placed on the holding plate 28 is reciprocated in the front-rear direction by the reciprocating drive means by fitting the moving holding plate 28 back and forth to be able to reciprocate back and forth. This is to be transported to the order table 10.

The reciprocating drive means includes a V-belt 29 having both ends connected to the front and rear ends of a movable holding plate 28, a pair of front and rear pulleys 30, 30 around which the V-belt is wound, and a motor 31 for driving the front pulley 30. It consists of The motor 31
It is electrically connected to the same detection sensors 20 and 22 (not shown in this embodiment) as described above.

In the second embodiment, the ordered sushi plate 6 is placed in the order table 1 in the same manner as described above.
0 can be transported to the side.

In this embodiment, a cable such as a wire rope or a chain may be used in place of the V-belt 29.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment, the detection sensor 20 is used as a means for stopping the ordered sushi plate 6 on the side of the order table 10, but instead of this sensor 20, the belt transport surface 12a or the V-belt 29 is used. May be controlled to stop the sushi plate 6 at a fixed position.

That is, a rotation sensor for detecting the number of rotations of the motor 14 or 31 is provided, and the number of rotations and the moving distance of the holding plates 18 and 28 to the respective tables 10 are set in advance, and the order is controlled by the controller. If the rotation sensor detects that the motors 14 and 31 have rotated by the corresponding number of rotations when the table 10 is designated, and stops the rotation, the sushi plate 6 placed on the holding plates 18 and 28 can be stopped.
To the order table 10.

To return the holding plates 18 and 28 to the home position,
The motors 14 and 31 may be reversely rotated after a predetermined time by a timer or the like.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, instead of reciprocating the belt conveying surface 12a in the front-rear direction, the entire belt conveyor 12 is run endlessly.
One of the flexible holding plates 18 fixed at regular intervals to the surface of the belt may always stop at the position of the sensor 22 in the kitchen 7.

In the above embodiment, the ordered sushi plate 6 is supplied only to the table customers on the downstream side. However, if a detection sensor is also provided in a portion corresponding to each chair 9 on the upstream side, the counter customers can be provided. Of course, it is possible to fulfill orders.

[0046]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(A) According to the method of the first aspect, the food and beverage containers ordered by the customer are directly and automatically provided to the ordering customer by a different transporting means from the ordinary transporting path. In particular, there is no sense of unfairness for customers on the downstream side, which leads to improved services.

Further, labor saving can be achieved, so that labor costs can be reduced.

(B) According to the method described in claim 2, since the food and drink containers are distinguished from the normal food and drink containers on the transport path, the food and drink containers being transported are not taken by customers other than the ordering customer.

(C) According to the method of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the above (b), there is no fear that the clothes and the like of the customer will come into contact with the food and drink on the ordinary transport path, so that the sanitary condition is achieved. .

(D) According to the apparatus of the fourth aspect, the ordered food and beverage containers can be reliably provided to the ordering customer with a relatively simple apparatus.

(E) According to the apparatus of the fifth aspect, the presence or absence of the food container can be reliably detected, and the rotation of the drive motor of the conveying means can be easily controlled based on the output signal. The reciprocating movement of the transport means is performed accurately.

(F) According to the apparatus of the fifth aspect, the food and beverage containers being transported by the transport means can be more reliably supplied by the ordering customer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a circulating food and beverage transport device including a supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a state where the belt conveyance surface is covered with a tunnel-shaped cover.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a supply device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Supply apparatus 2 Transport apparatus 3 Stat 4 Chain 5 Transport path 5a, 5b Linear transport path 6 Sushi dish (food / drink container) 7 Kitchen 8 Food / drink counter 9 Chair 10 Table 11 Frame 12 Belt conveyor (Transport means) 12a Belt transport surface 13 Drive roller 14 Motor 15 Pulley 16 Drive pulley 17 V-belt 18 Holding plate (holding portion) 19 Guide frame 20 Detection sensor 21 Bracket 22 Detection sensor 23 Cover 24 Outlet 25 Opening door 26 Guide rail 27 Guide groove 28 Moving holding plate (Holding) Part) 29 V belt 30 Pulley 31 Motor

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Minoru Sakurai 5-10-48 Masuizumi, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa F-Term in Ishino Works (Reference) 3B115 AA17 CB05 CB07 CB12 DC18

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A circulating food and beverage transporting apparatus which circulates and transports food and beverage containers placed on an endless transporting path and provides the food and beverage containers to customers around the transporting path. Inside, provided a transport means that reciprocates or runs endlessly in the transport direction from the supply section of the food and beverage container,
After placing a food and beverage container on which a customer order is placed at a fixed position of the transport means in the supply unit, the transport means is operated to transport the food and beverage container to the vicinity of the order customer. A method for supplying a food container in a circulating food transport apparatus. 2. The method for supplying a food container in the circulating food and beverage transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving speed of the transport means is higher than the circulating transport speed of the transport path. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the height of the transport surface of the transport means is slightly higher than the transport surface of the transport path. 4. A food container is provided so that it can reciprocate or endlessly run in a conveying direction from a supply section of a food and drink container inwardly surrounded by an endless conveyance path, and a fixed position of the supply section. Transport means having a food container holding portion, and the food container placed and transported on the holding portion detects that it has reached the vicinity of the ordering customer, and temporarily stops the movement of the transport means. A supply device for a food container in a circulating food and beverage transport device, comprising: a detection unit. 5. The circulating food and beverage transport device according to claim 4, wherein the detection means is provided for each customer's seat, and comprises a non-contact sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a food container on the holding unit. Food and beverage container supply device. 6. The circulation-type food and beverage transport according to claim 4, wherein the periphery of the transport surface of the transport means is covered with a tunnel-shaped cover having a plurality of opening and closing doors on the customer's seat side. Supply device for food and beverage containers in the device.