Food and drink container conveying facility

Abstract

To provide a food and drink conveying apparatus enabling a customer to comfortably eat and drink.SOLUTION: A food and drink conveying apparatus 1 includes: an order conveying pathway 5 providing and conveying a food and drink container from a kitchen area C to a drinking and eating customer area Al and a collection conveying pathway 13 collecting and conveying used food and drink containers from the drinking and eating customer area A to the kitchen area C. The food and drink conveying apparatus 1 includes a customer seat counter 6 disposed along the order conveying pathway 5, and a charge port 10 accessible to the collection conveying pathway 13 and a door 11 opening / closing the charge port 10 are provided for a wall part 20 below the customer seat counter 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a food and beverage container transport device that can collect and transport used food and beverage containers. [Background technology]

[0002] In restaurants that have promoted labor-saving, such as conveyor-belt sushi restaurants and yakiniku restaurants, a circulation conveyor path for circulating and conveying food and drink containers with food and drink placed on them using a crescent chain conveyor, an order conveyor path for conveying food and drink containers with individually ordered food and drink placed on them, etc. are installed, and the serving of food and drink, i.e., the serving of food and drink, is automated. On the other hand, when customers finish eating and drinking, the used food and drink containers must be cleared by staff to the washing area when a new customer is replaced or after the restaurant closes, etc., but in recent years, a recovery conveyor path for recovering and conveying food and drink containers has been installed below the circulation conveyor path and order conveyor path, etc., and the clearing of the tables has also been automated (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-287651 A (page 4, figure 3) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the food and beverage conveying device described in Patent Document 1, the recovery and conveying path is laid inside a hollow base structure constituting the food and beverage conveying device, and an opening through which food and beverage containers can be inserted into the recovery and conveying path is formed in a side panel of the base structure, and this insertion port can be opened and closed by a door. In this way, the insertion port through which the recovery and conveying path can be accessed can be closed by a door. However, in Patent Document 1, since the insertion port is located above the dining table, there is a risk that the odor in the recovery and conveying path, into which many used food and beverage containers are inserted, will overflow above the dining table when the door is opened, which may hinder comfortable eating and drinking at surrounding seats.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and has an object to provide a food and drink conveying device that enables people to eat and drink comfortably. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the food and drink conveying device of the present invention is A food and beverage conveying device comprising: a supply conveying path for supplying and conveying food and beverage containers from a kitchen area to a dining customer area; and a recovery conveying path for recovering and conveying the used food and beverage containers from the dining customer area to the kitchen area, The food and beverage conveying device is characterized by having an eating and beverage counter arranged along the serving conveying path, and an input port in a wall below the eating and beverage counter through which the food and beverage can be accessed by the collection conveying path, and a door for opening and closing the input port. According to this feature, since the input port that communicates with the collection and conveying path is located below the dining table, the existence of the collection and conveying path can be hidden from diners while they are eating and drinking, making it easy to manage hygiene and providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Furthermore, since the input port that can access the collection and conveying path is closed by a door and blocked by the dining table, odors in the collection and conveying path are unlikely to rise above the dining table, allowing diners to eat and drink comfortably.

[0007] The dining table is characterized in that at least a portion of it can be retracted to form a gap above the insertion port. According to this feature, the insertion opening formed in the wall below the dining table can be accessed through the gap without having to crawl under the dining table, improving the workability of tidying up.

[0008] The dining table is formed with an opening that passes through the table from top to bottom, and the opening is opened and closed by a lid member that constitutes the dining table. According to this feature, the insertion port formed in the wall below the dining table can be accessed through an opening that penetrates the dining table from top to bottom without having to crawl under the dining table, improving the workability of tidying up.

[0009] The door is characterized in that it is an outward tilt door in which the load is supported by an arm. According to this feature, used food and beverage containers or boxes containing food and beverage containers can be temporarily placed on the door, which provides excellent workability.

[0010] The cover member has a restricting portion that, when the opening is closed, is engaged with the door in the closed state to restrict the movement of the door in the opening direction. According to this feature, the regulating portion of the lid member regulates the movement of the door in the opening direction, so that the door will not be opened while eating or drinking, allowing customers to eat and drink comfortably, and also providing excellent safety, as it prevents customers from accessing the collection and transport path.

[0011] The cover member is characterized by having an overlapping portion that overlaps with the operating portion of the door in the closed state when the opening is closed. According to this feature, the overlapping portion of the lid member overlaps with the operating portion of the door, making it impossible to open the door, allowing customers to eat and drink comfortably, and also providing excellent safety, as it prevents customers from accessing the collection and transport path.

[0012] The dining table is equipped with a locking device that can keep the opening closed with the lid member, and the locking device is characterized in that it is an electronic lock that uses a short-range wireless communication unit built into the dining table. According to this feature, since the locking device is an electronic lock that uses a short-range wireless communication unit built into the dining table, there are no irregularities caused by the locking device being installed on the surface of the dining table, and the function of the table as a dining table is not impaired. In addition, the presence of the locking device is hardly noticeable, allowing customers to concentrate on eating and drinking. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing a food and beverage conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3]FIG. [Figure 4] 1A is a partially enlarged oblique view showing the state in which a slot formed in the wall of the base that constitutes the customer seating counter is closed by a door, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the same slot in the open state. [Diagram 5] A cross-sectional view showing the vertical positional relationship of the circulating conveying path, the order conveying device, and the collection conveying device in the dining customer area. [Figure 6] 1A is a partially enlarged perspective view showing an opening formed in a top plate of a customer seating counter when the opening is closed by a lid member, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the same opening when open. [Figure 7] FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view showing the state where the cover member has been removed, and FIG. 13B is a diagram showing the state where the collection box has been temporarily placed on the door. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a dining table in Modification 1. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a dining table in Modification 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A food and drink conveying device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment. EXAMPLES

[0015] A food and drink conveying device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. Fig. 1 is an image diagram showing a restaurant facility in which a food and drink conveying device 1 of the present invention is installed. The food and drink conveying device 1 comprises a circulating conveying path 2 provided between a kitchen area (kitchen side) C where, for example, a waiter H1 prepares food and drink and a waiter H2 washes dishes, and a dining customer area (dining customer side) A where customers eat and drink, an order conveying device 4 (see Fig. 2), and a collection conveying device 7 (see Fig. 3) similarly provided between the kitchen area C and the dining customer area A. Note that Fig. 1 omits the roof R (see Fig. 5) that is disposed above the circulating conveying path 2 in the dining customer area A along the shape of the circulating conveying path 2.

[0016] The kitchen area C and the customer area A are separated by a partition wall 3. In the customer area A, an endless circulating conveying path 2, which is a serving conveying path consisting of a crescent chain conveyor arranged penetrating the partition wall 3, is provided. In this embodiment, the circulating conveying path 2 is E-shaped when viewed from above.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 2, in the dining customer area A, three rows of order conveying paths 5 (5A, 5B, 5C) which are serving conveying paths arranged in parallel with each other are arranged at a predetermined distance from the kitchen area C, penetrating the partition wall 3, and eating and drinking tables 8 constituting customer seats are provided perpendicular to these order conveying paths 5A, 5B, 5C. Of these, the order conveying path 5B has eating and drinking tables 8 on both sides in the width direction. In addition, a customer seating counter 6 is provided along the order conveying paths 5A, 5C on one side in the width direction of these order conveying paths 5A, 5C.

[0018] On the circulating conveying path 2, food and drink containers such as plates are placed on the kitchen area C side, and food and drink are circulated to each customer seat (dining table 8, each seat at customer counter 6) on the dining customer area A side. The order conveying paths 5A, 5B, 5C are arranged with their ends close to each other on the kitchen area C side, and a kitchen staff member (e.g. H1) places plates, glasses, etc. on which food and drink are placed on a running body (not shown) and conveyed to each customer seat. Note that the order conveying device 4 may be configured to not use a running body, but to have the order conveying path formed by a belt, and plates, glasses, etc. on which food and drink are placed are directly placed on this belt and conveyed.

[0019] In addition, when an order for food and drink is received from a customer seat in dining customer area A, the food and drink is cooked in kitchen area C, then placed on a traveling body and transported to the customer seat by order transport device 4.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the collecting and conveying device 7 provided across the kitchen area C and the dining area A forms an E-shape along the dining tables 8 and the customer seating counter 6 in a plan view.

[0021] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the collecting and conveying device 7 is disposed below the circulating conveying path 2 and the ordered food conveying device 4, following their shapes. Note that Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the ordered food conveying path 5A, and the positional relationship between the circulating conveying path 2 and the ordered food conveying device 4 and the collecting and conveying device 7 is the same for the ordered food conveying paths 5B and 5C.

[0022] The order conveying paths 5A, 5B, 5C are laid on the upper surface of a box-shaped base 9, and although not shown in Figures 4, 6, and 8, a circulating conveying path 2 is laid on a support frame 21 standing up from the upper surface of the base 9, at a predetermined distance above the order conveying paths 5A, 5B, 5C.

[0023] And, in the internal space S1 of the base 9 in which the order conveying path 5C is laid, a recovery conveying path 13C constituting the recovery conveying device 7 is laid. Similarly, in the internal space S1 of the base 9 below the order conveying paths 5A and 5B, recovery conveying paths 13A and 13B are respectively laid. In this way, in the food and drink conveying device 1, the circulating conveying path 2, the order conveying path 5, and the recovery conveying path 13 are each supported by the base 9 forming the basic structure.

[0024] 4 and 5, the base 9 is mainly composed of a structural support frame 19 and a side panel (wall portion) 20 attached to the support frame 19. The customer seating counter 6 and the dining tables 8 are installed in abutting relation to the side panel 20 of the base 9 in the dining area A.

[0025] The collection conveying path 13 (13A, 13B, 13C) is a conveyor that extends from the kitchen area C side and can reciprocate the collection boxes 22. As shown in Fig. 3, the collection conveying device 7 is composed of collection conveying paths 13A, 13B, 13C and a collection conveying path 12 that extends along the partition wall 3 below the circulating conveying path 2 on the kitchen area C side. The collection conveying path 13 and the collection conveying path 12 each have a width slightly larger than the width of a collection box (box body) 22 that can accommodate a plurality of used containers, and the collection box 22 placed so that its length is along the longitudinal direction of the collection conveying path 13 and the collection conveying path 12 can be conveyed to the collection location 30.

[0026] The recovery transport path 12 is basically driven in one direction to transport the recovery box 22 to a recovery location 30 for cleaning, which is disposed near one end (downstream side) in the longitudinal direction.

[0027] 4 and 5, the side panel 20 of the base 9 has multiple input ports 10 formed therein, and these input ports 10 allow communication between the outside and the internal space S1 of the base 9, i.e., the recovery transport path 13. The input ports 10 can be opened and closed by a door 11.

[0028] More specifically, a door device 23 is attached to a rectangular through-hole (not shown) formed in a side panel 20 of the base 9. The door device 23 includes a rectangular frame (not shown) having the same shape as the through-hole, a door 11 that closes an insertion port 10 formed inside the frame (not shown), and a support mechanism 24 and hinges 25 that support the door 11. The lower side of the door 11 is connected to the frame by a plurality of hinges 25 on the left and right. The insertion port 10 has an opening cross-sectional area larger than the length and height dimensions of the collection box 22.

[0029] In this embodiment, the door device 23 is of an outward tilting type in which the door 11 opens and closes by pivoting the lower edge and tilting the upper edge inward toward the outside of the base 9. The support mechanism 24 has a telescopic arm 26, one end of which is pivoted to the door 11 and the other end of which is pivoted to the support frame 19. The telescopic arm 26 is configured by two rod members slidably connected, and the maximum extended length is determined by a stopper (not shown). In this embodiment, the support mechanism 24 has the telescopic arm 26 only on one side, the left or right side, of the door 11 to minimize interference with the collection box 22, but a pair of telescopic arms may be provided on both sides.

[0030] A magnetic body 27 is provided at the top end of the inner surface of the door 11, and is magnetically attached to a magnet 28 provided on the frame, thereby maintaining the door 11 in a closed state. A grip portion (operation portion) 29 to be held by hand is formed at the top end of the outer surface of the door 11. The grip portion 29 is embedded so as to be flush with the outer surface of the door 11.

[0031] The slots 10 are arranged in multiple locations in the left-right direction of the side panel, slightly spaced below the top plate 16 of the customer counter 6 and the top plate of the dining table 8. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the top plate 16 of the customer counter 6 has an opening 17 that penetrates in the vertical direction at a position corresponding to the longitudinal position of the slots 10.

[0032] The opening 17 is formed in the edge of the tabletop main body 16A of the tabletop 16 of the customer counter 6 facing the side panel 20 of the base 9, and has an opening cross-sectional area larger than at least the length and width dimensions of the collection box 22. The opening 17 can be opened and closed by a lid member 16B, and the tabletop 16 is composed of the tabletop main body 16A and the lid member 16B.

[0033] The cover member 16B has a flat portion 18A having approximately the same shape and dimensions as the opening 17, and a protruding portion 18B that hangs down from the front end of the flat portion 18A. A convex portion 17a protrudes inward from the lower inner edge of the opening 17 to provide support. An operating portion 18c is embedded in the flat portion 18A of the cover member 16B.

[0034] Protruding portion 18B of lid member 16B is disposed so as to overlap the front of side panel 20 of base 9 when opening 17 is in the closed state. Note that convex portion 17a of opening 17 is not formed on the edge facing side panel 20 of base 9. When lid member 16B is supported by convex portion 17a of opening 17, flat portion 18A is flush with top body portion 16A of customer counter 6, and protruding portion 18B is disposed so as to overlap the front of the upper end portion of door 11 (see FIG. 5).

[0035] In detail, the protrusion 18B extends downward from the flat portion 18A with a vertical dimension that overlaps with at least half of the vertical dimension of the gripping portion 29 at the upper end of the outer surface of the door 11 when the cover member 16B is supported by the convex portion 17a. Therefore, when the opening 17 is closed by the cover member 16B, the protrusion 18B functions as an overlapping portion that overlaps with the gripping portion 29, and the protrusion 18B overlaps forward, making it impossible to grasp the gripping portion 29, thereby preventing an inadvertent opening operation by a customer. The protrusion 18B also protrudes toward the upper end side of the door 11 and functions as a restricting portion that restricts the rotation of the door 11 in the opening direction itself.

[0036] The seat counter 6 is equipped with a locking device that prevents the cover member 16B from unintentionally coming off from the opening 17. The locking device is an electronic lock using short-range wireless communication that is built into the tabletop main body 16A of the seat counter 6. Since the electronic lock using short-range wireless communication uses conventional technology, it will not be described in detail, but as shown in Fig. 6, it is possible to lock and unlock the locking device by holding, for example, a card equipped with an RFID tag over a communication unit 31 built into a specific location of the tabletop main body 16A.

[0037] Next, the cleaning work after eating and drinking, that is, the cleaning work of the customer's seat will be explained using one seat at the customer seating counter 6 as an example. First, the waiter brings the collection box 22 to the relevant seat at the customer seating counter 6. Then, the used tableware at this seat is placed in the collection box 22.

[0038] The store clerk holds a card equipped with an RFID tag over a communication section (not shown) to unlock the locking device, and holds operation section 18c to pull up cover member 16B to open opening 17 (see FIG. 7(a)).

[0039] Before opening the insertion port 10 connected to the recovery transport path 13, the store clerk presses an operation button (shown) disposed near each door 11 to stop the recovery transport path 13. After confirming that the recovery transport path 13 has stopped, the store clerk holds the grip 29 and operates to open the door 11.

[0040] The opened door 11 is supported at a right angle to the side panel 20 of the base 9 by the support mechanism 24. In other words, the door 11 opened outward from the side panel 20 is deployed below the opening 17 formed in the top plate 16 of the customer counter 6. Therefore, the collection box 22 that is manually lowered by a store clerk through the opening 17 toward below the customer counter 6 is placed on the inner surface 11a of the door 11. In this way, the collection box 22 can be temporarily placed on the door 11 (see FIG. 7(b)).

[0041] As shown in Figure 7 (b), the inner surface 11a of the opened door 11 is located higher than the conveying surface of the recovery conveying path 13C, so that when the recovery box 22 is slid over the inner surface 11a of the door 11 and pushed into the recovery conveying path 13C from the drop-in port 10, the recovery box 22 can be easily transferred from the inner surface 11a of the door 11 onto the recovery conveying path 13C.

[0042] After closing the door 11, the waiter presses the operation button again to drive the collection transport path 13C again and transports the collection box 22 to the collection location 30 in the kitchen area C. Finally, the opening 17 is closed with the lid member 16B, the locking mechanism is operated, and the cleanup work is completed. Note that the used tableware may be placed on a tray or the like instead of the collection box 22 and transported to the collection location 30 in the kitchen area C by the collection transport path 13C.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 8, a similar opening 37 is formed in the dining table 8, and the collection box 22 is transferred to the collection and transport device 7 through the opening 37, so that each dining table 8 can be cleaned up separately.

[0044] As described above, the food and drink conveying device 1 in this embodiment includes the customer seating counter 6 and the eating and drinking table 8, which are dining tables arranged along the order conveying path 5 and the circulating conveying path 2, and the customer seating counter 6 includes an insertion port 10 that can access the collection conveying path 13 and a door 11 that opens and closes the insertion port 10 on the side panel (wall portion) 20 below the top plate 16. Since the insertion port 10 that communicates with the collection conveying path 13 is arranged below the top plate 16, the existence of the collection conveying path 13 can be concealed from customers who are eating and drinking, and hygiene control can be easily performed. Furthermore, since the insertion port 10 that can access the collection conveying path 13 is closed by the door 11 and blocked by the top plate 16, odors in the collection conveying path 13 are unlikely to rise up to above the customer seating counter 6, and eating and drinking can be performed comfortably.

[0045] Also, the customer seating counter 6, which is the dining table, is formed with an opening 17 that penetrates the top plate 16 from top to bottom, and this opening 17 is opened and closed by a cover member 16B that constitutes the customer seating counter 6 together with the top plate main body 16A. Therefore, the insertion port 10 formed in the side panel 20 below the customer seating counter 6 can be accessed from the opening 17 that penetrates the top plate 16 from top to bottom without having to crawl under the customer seating counter 6, which improves the workability of tidying up. In addition, since the cover member 16B is a hidden door that constitutes the customer seating counter 6, access to the insertion port 10 by customers is prevented, which improves safety.

[0046] Furthermore, since the protrusion 18B, which is the regulating part of the lid member 16B, regulates the movement of the door 11 in the opening direction, the door 11 will not be opened while eating and drinking, allowing customers to eat and drink comfortably, and also providing excellent safety, as it prevents customers from accessing the collection and conveying path 13.

[0047] Furthermore, when the protruding portion 18B, which is the overlapping portion of the cover member 16B, overlaps with the gripping portion 29 of the door 11, the operation of opening the door 11 becomes impossible.

[0048] In addition, since the locking device that can keep the lid member 16B closed is an electronic lock that uses a short-range wireless communication unit 31 built into the top plate 16 of the customer counter 6, no unevenness is created on the surface of the top plate 16 of the customer counter 6 due to the locking device being installed, and the function as a dining counter is not impaired.In addition, the presence of the locking device is hardly noticeable, allowing customers to concentrate on eating and drinking.

[0049] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and additions and modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention.

[0050] For example, in the above embodiment, the cover member 16B is configured to be attached and detached to the opening 17 formed in the top plate 16 to open and close the opening 17, but this is not limited to the above, and the cover member 16B may be configured to be supported on a shaft relative to the top plate 16 and rotated horizontally or vertically to open and close the opening 17.

[0051] Also, instead of a lid member, as in Modification 1 shown in Fig. 9, for example, a sliding mechanism 40 provided on the top plate 46 side may be used to slide a blocking member 46B in the horizontal direction to open and close the opening 47. When adopting such a configuration, it is preferable from the viewpoint of ensuring strength to provide a reinforcing member 41 that is installed in the front-rear direction of the top plate 46 across the opening 47. Also, by using a double-opening structure with two blocking members 46B as shown in the figure, the opening operation can be easily performed and the amount of protrusion of the top plate 46 to the left and right can be reduced.

[0052] Furthermore, the door 11 for opening and closing the insertion port 10 is not limited to the outward tilting type as in the above embodiment, but may have a sliding door structure that slides left and right, for example.

[0053] Further, the food and drink conveying device 1 in the above embodiment is provided with both the circulating conveying path 2 and the ordered conveying path 5 as the serving conveying path, but is not limited to this and may be configured to have only one of them.

[0054] In addition, the collection box 22 is permanently installed within the collection conveyor path 13 and moves between the kitchen area C and the dining area A, and the waiter can choose to insert only the dishes from the insertion opening into the collection box on the collection conveyor.

[0055] Furthermore, the inner surface 11a of the door 11 that opens and closes the drop-in port 10 is not limited to a flat surface, and may, for example, be configured to have multiple rails extending in the vertical direction of the door 11, thereby allowing the collection box 22 that is temporarily placed on the inner surface of the door 11 to slide more smoothly along the rails into the collection conveying path 13.

[0056] Furthermore, as in variant example 2 shown in Figure 10, a sliding mechanism 44 provided on the side panel 20 side of the base 9 and a sliding mechanism 42 provided on the leg member 43 side allow the eating table 80 itself to slide back and forth relative to the side panel 20, thereby forming a gap (corresponding to an opening) 81 between the side panel 20 and the end of the eating table 80 that provides access to the insertion port 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1 Food and beverage conveying equipment 2 Circulation path 4 Order conveying equipment 5 Order Transport Route 6. Seat counter 7. Collection and transport device 8 Dining table 9 Foundation 10 Inlet 11 Door 11a Inside 12,13 Collection and transport route 16 Tabletop 16A Top plate body 17 Opening 18A flat part 18B Protrusion 19 Support Frame 20 Side panel (wall) 22 Collection Box 24 Support mechanism 29 Gripping part 30 Collection Location 31 Communications Department 37 Aperture A Dining area C Kitchen area

Claims

1. A food and beverage conveying device comprising: a supply conveying path for supplying and conveying food and beverage containers from a kitchen area to a dining customer area; and a recovery conveying path for recovering and conveying the used food and beverage containers from the dining customer area to the kitchen area, The food and beverage conveying device is characterized in that it comprises an eating and beverage counter arranged along the serving conveying path, and has an input port in a wall portion below the eating and beverage counter through which the food and beverage can be accessed by the collection conveying path, and a door for opening and closing the input port.

2. The food and beverage conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that the dining table is capable of forming a gap above the inlet by at least a portion of the dining table being retracted.

3. 2. The food and drink conveying device according to claim 1, wherein an opening is formed in the dining table that passes through the dining table from top to bottom, and the opening is opened and closed by a lid member that constitutes the dining table.

4. 2. The food and drink conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the door is an outward tilting door whose load is supported by an arm.

5. 4. The food and drink conveying device according to claim 3, wherein the lid member has a regulating portion that, when the opening is closed, is engaged with the door in the closed state to regulate the movement of the door in the opening direction.

6. The food and drink conveying device according to claim 3 , wherein the lid member has an overlapping portion that overlaps with an operating portion of the door in a closed state when the opening is closed.

7. The food and beverage conveying device described in claim 3, characterized in that the dining table is equipped with a locking device that can keep the opening closed by the lid member, and the locking device is an electronic lock that uses a short-range wireless communication unit built into the dining table.

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