Order food and beverage delivery system

Abstract

This invention discloses a food and beverage delivery device that can deliver ordered food and beverages to each customer's seat without interruption via a conveyor belt, even without using identification information that may result in reading errors. [Solution] An ordered food and beverage transport device comprising: a dispatch lane on which ordered food and beverages are placed; a seating lane forming a transport path along multiple seating areas; a branching lane branching off from the seating lane to each seating area; a relay lane connecting the dispatch lane and the seating lane; and a control device that stops at least the dispatch lane and the relay lane if the difference between the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the dispatch lane to the relay lane and the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the relay lane to the seating lane is zero, and there are ordered food and beverages on the relay lane.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ordered food and beverage conveying device.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in restaurants, food and beverages have been provided using a conveying device (see, for example, Patent Documents 1-2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When conveying ordered food and beverages, for example, it is conceivable to place the ordered items on a belt conveyor that goes from the kitchen to the dining area and convey them. And when a plurality of dining areas are arranged along the belt conveyor, it is efficient to continuously place the food and beverages to be conveyed to each dining area on the belt conveyor. However, when food and beverages to be conveyed to various dining areas are simultaneously placed on the belt conveyor, it is necessary to identify the destination of each food and beverage in order to automatically distribute each food and beverage to the predetermined dining area. Therefore, when it is desired to continuously place the food and beverages to be conveyed to each dining area on the belt conveyor, as a measure for identifying the destination of each food and beverage, for example, it is inevitable to attach identification information such as RFID to each food and beverage. Also, in the case of a form in which the identification information is read and the conveyance destination is automatically distributed, if a reading error of the identification information occurs, there is a possibility that the food and beverage with the reading error will be conveyed to an inappropriate conveyance destination.

[0005] Therefore, this invention discloses a food and beverage delivery device that can transport ordered food and beverages to each customer's seat without interruption using a belt conveyor, even without using identification information that may result in reading errors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To address the above issues, this disclosure stipulates that if the difference between the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the shipping lane to the relay lane and the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the relay lane to the customer seating lane is zero, and there are ordered food and beverages on the relay lane, at least the shipping lane and the relay lane will be stopped.

[0007] More specifically, the present invention is an ordered food and beverage transport device comprising: a dispatch lane on which ordered food and beverages are placed; a seating lane forming a transport path along multiple seating areas; a branching lane branching off from the seating lane to each seating area; a relay lane connecting the dispatch lane and the seating lane; and a control device that stops at least the dispatch lane and the relay lane when the difference between the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the dispatch lane to the relay lane and the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the relay lane to the seating lane is zero, and there are ordered food and beverages on the relay lane.

[0008] With the above-described food and beverage delivery system, a check is performed to determine whether the ordered food and beverages are moving correctly, based on the number of items transferred before and after the relay lane and the presence or absence of ordered food and beverages in the relay lane. Therefore, even if ordered food and beverages are continuously loaded onto a conveyor belt and delivered to each seat without using identification information, it is possible to prevent the ordered food and beverages from being delivered to the wrong destination.

[0009] Furthermore, the control device may stop at least the shipping lane and the relay lane if the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the relay lane to the seating lane is less than the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the shipping lane to the relay lane, and there are no ordered food and beverages on the relay lane. This makes it possible to prevent ordered food and beverages from being transported to the wrong destination if they are lost due to falling or other reasons along the transport path.

[0010] Furthermore, when a dispatch start operation is performed with one or more ordered food and beverages placed on the dispatch lane, the control device may transport the ordered food and beverages that were on the dispatch lane at the time of the dispatch start operation to a branch lane for a specific seat via the relay lane and the seating lane. This makes it possible to transport the ordered food and beverages placed on the dispatch lane as a group to a branch lane for a specific seat.

[0011] Furthermore, the control device may identify the destination seat for each ordered food item that has moved from the relay lane to the seating lane based on the difference obtained by subtracting the number of ordered food items that have moved from the relay lane to the seating lane from the number of ordered food items that have moved from the shipping lane to the relay lane. This makes it possible to transport ordered food items that have moved to the seating lane to the correct destination even if ordered food items are transported continuously to each seat on a conveyor belt without using identification information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] With the above-described food and beverage delivery system, it is possible to continuously deliver ordered food and beverages to each customer's seat via a conveyor belt without using identification information that may be prone to reading errors. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of a food and beverage delivery device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a magnified view of the area around the customer seating tables. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the placement of the sensors that detect plates. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is the first diagram illustrating the movement of plates in a food and beverage delivery system. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a second diagram illustrating the movement of plates in a food and beverage delivery system. [Figure 6]Figure 6 is the third diagram illustrating the movement of plates in a food and beverage delivery system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The embodiments shown below are one aspect of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The embodiments and modifications shown below are suitable for restaurants that serve various foods and beverages, such as sushi, drinks, donburi dishes like soba and udon, fried chicken, tempura, and grilled meat.

[0015] <Device configuration> Figure 1 shows an example of an ordered food and beverage delivery device 10 according to an embodiment. The ordered food and beverage delivery device 10 is installed in a store 1 where the store is divided into a kitchen area 3 and a seating area 4 by a wall 2. The ordered food and beverage delivery device 10 has delivery routes such as a shipping lane 1A, a relay lane 1B, and a seating lane 1C, and delivers ordered food and beverages prepared in the kitchen area 3 to each seating table 5A to 5D (hereinafter, when referring to an unspecified seating table, it will be referred to as "seating table 5") in the seating area 4 where the customers 8 are seated. More specifically, the ordered food and beverage delivery device 10 places plates 9 of ordered food and beverages prepared by staff 7 in the kitchen area 3 on a work table 6. To enable this, the ordering food and beverage transport device 10 has a shipping lane 1A located within the kitchen area 3. The ordering food and beverage transport device 10 also has a seating lane 1C located within the seating area 4, which is positioned along each seating table 5 in the seating area 4. This seating lane 1C is positioned to extend from the kitchen area 3 towards the seating area 4. The ordering food and beverage transport device 10 also has a relay lane 1B located within the kitchen area 3 that connects the shipping lane 1A and the seating lane 1C. In addition, each seating table 5A to 5D in the seating area 4 is provided with branching lanes 1DA to 1DD (hereinafter, when referring to an unspecified branching lane, it will be referred to as "branching lane 1D") into which plates 9 whose paths have been changed by path-changing devices LA to LD (hereinafter, when referring to an unspecified path-changing device, it will be referred to as "path-changing device L") enter from the seating lane 1C. The ordering food and beverage transport device 10 is also equipped with motors and the like to operate each of its mechanical parts. As each part of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 moves with motors, etc., the plates 9 of ordered food and beverages prepared by the staff 7 in the kitchen area 3 at the workbench 6 are automatically transported via the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C to the branching lane 1D of the customer's table 5 that placed the order.

[0016] The shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C are transport paths formed by electrically operated belt conveyors. Each belt conveyor forming the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C has its own electric motor and can operate independently of each other. Dropping object collection sections, such as boxes for collecting fallen waste, may be provided in the gaps between the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C.

[0017] The branch lane 1D is a lane where the dishes 9 of food and drinks whose route has been changed from the passenger lane 1C are transferred by a route-changing device L provided near the connection part between the passenger lane 1C and the branch lane 1D, and is arranged on each passenger table 5 along the passenger lane 1C. The route-changing device L is formed by a rotatable roller group for conveyance. Also, since the branch lane 1D branches laterally from the passenger lane 1C and further forms a downward-sloping path along the passenger lane 1C, when the dish 9 is placed on it, the roller rotates and the dish 9 moves by its own weight to the terminal side of the branch lane 1D.

[0018] The route-changing device L provided at the branch part where the route branches from the middle of the passenger lane 1C to the branch lane 1D guides the dish 9 moving on the passenger lane 1C to the branch lane 1D by protruding a movable guide member from the side onto the passenger lane 1C. The route-changing device L has a rotary solenoid or a motor that is operated by a control device that controls the ordered food and drink conveying device 10, and thereby moves the movable guide member in and out on the passenger lane 1C.

[0019] In addition, in FIG. 1, the branch lane 1D is provided on the passenger table 5 for box seats having a rectangular top surface, but it is not limited to being provided in such a form on the passenger table 5 for box seats. The branch lane 1D may be provided, for example, on a table for counter seats.

[0020] Also, the ordered food and drink conveying device 10, the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the passenger lane 1C are installed at a relatively high place, and a circulation conveying device or other conveying devices may be arranged below the passenger lane 1C or the like.

[0021] As can be seen in Figure 1, the relay lane 1B extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the shipping lane 1A and the seating lane 1C. Therefore, it can be said that the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C form corners at the end of the shipping lane 1A and the end of the relay lane 1B. At such corners, the plates 9 cannot be transferred smoothly. Therefore, in order to ensure the smooth movement of the plates 9 at such corners, the food and beverage delivery device 10 has an assist device B1 at the connection point between the shipping lane 1A and the relay lane 1B, and an assist device B2 at the connection point between the relay lane 1B and the seating lane 1C.

[0022] Assist device B1 includes a round belt, at least a portion of which is stretched diagonally across the conveying direction of the shipping lane 1A from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B, directly above the shipping lane 1A; two pulleys that support the round belt; and a motor for driving the pulleys. Therefore, when the plate 9 arrives at the end of the shipping lane 1A while the round belt is being rotated by the motor, assist device B1 can guide the plate 9 toward the relay lane 1B while the bottom portion of the plate 9 comes into contact with the round belt. Assist device B2 is basically the same as assist device B1.

[0023] Figure 2 is a magnified view of the area around the seating table 5. Next to the transport path formed by the seating lane 1C, there is a branching lane 1D that branches off from the seating lane 1C midway and forms a downward-sloping path. The branching lane 1D is the lane to which the ordered plates 9, whose path has been changed by the path-changing device L midway along the seating lane 1C, are transferred, and is positioned along the transport path formed by the seating lane 1C. The branching lane 1D is formed by a group of rotatable transport rollers. Since the branching lane 1D branches laterally from the transport path formed by the seating lane 1C and further forms a downward-sloping path along the direction of travel of the seating lane 1C, when a plate 9 is placed on it, the rollers roll, and the plate 9 moves towards the end of the branching lane 1D. When the plate 9 of the ordered food and drink arrives at the branching lane 1D, the customer 8 takes the plate 9 from the branching lane 1D and eats the ordered food and drink.

[0024] In Figure 2, a shelf for placing teacups, condiments, menus, etc., is supported by pillars above seating lane 1C. However, such pillars and shelves may be omitted, or alternatives may be installed.

[0025] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the installation locations of the sensors that detect plates 9. As shown in Figure 3, the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 is equipped with a sensor S1 that detects plates 9 on the shipping lane 1A, a sensor S2 that detects plates 9 moving from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B, a sensor S3 that detects plates 9 on the relay lane 1B, and a sensor S4 that detects plates 9 moving from the relay lane 1B to the seating lane 1C.

[0026] Sensor S1 is an area sensor that can detect not only the presence or absence of items on the shipping lane 1A, but also the number and position of items on the shipping lane 1A. Therefore, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 can detect the number and position of plates 9 on the shipping lane 1A using sensor S1.

[0027] Sensor S2 is positioned near the starting point of the relay lane 1B, with a light-receiving unit and a light-emitting unit positioned to sandwich the relay lane 1B from both the left and right sides. It detects the presence or absence of items by emitting sensor light from the light-emitting unit in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the relay lane 1B. Therefore, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 can count the number of plates 9 that are transferred from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B using sensor S2.

[0028] Sensor S3 has a light-receiving unit and a light-emitting unit positioned near both ends in the longitudinal direction of the relay lane 1B. It is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of items by emitting sensor light from the light-emitting unit along the conveying direction of the relay lane 1B onto the relay lane 1B. Therefore, the control device of the ordered food and beverage conveying device 10 can detect the presence or absence of plates 9 on the relay lane 1B using sensor S3.

[0029] Sensor S4 is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of items by emitting sensor light from the light-emitting part in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of seating lane 1C, with the light-receiving part and the light-emitting part positioned so as to sandwich seating lane 1C from both the left and right sides near the starting point of seating lane 1C. Therefore, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 uses sensor S4 to determine whether an item is present or not from the relay lane 1B to the seating lane 1C. It is possible to count the number of plates 9 that are transferred to n1C.

[0030] <Operation Description> Next, the operation of the ordered food and beverage delivery device 10 will be explained. The ordered food and beverage delivery device 10 works as follows: Staff 7 prepares the plates 9 of food and beverages ordered at terminals installed at each customer table 5. Once the plates 9 of the ordered food and beverages are placed on the shipping lane 1A and the staff 7 initiates the delivery start operation, the group of plates 9 placed on the shipping lane 1A is delivered to the branching lane 1D of the customer table 5 that placed the order. When the ordered food and beverage delivery device 10 initiates the delivery start operation, it delivers the plates 9 that were placed on the shipping lane 1A at the time the operation was performed to the branching lane 1D of a specific customer table 5. Therefore, it is crucial to avoid mistakenly delivering plates 9 to the branching lane 1D of another customer table 5. However, if the device waits for the plates 9 currently being delivered to arrive at the branching lane 1D of the customer table 5 that placed the order before starting to deliver the plates 9 of the next order to a new destination, the delivery efficiency of the ordered food and beverage delivery device 10 is poor. Therefore, in the food and beverage delivery device 10 of this embodiment, when the delivery start operation is performed, the delivery of the next ordered plate 9 to a new destination is started without waiting for the plate 9 currently being delivered to arrive at the branching lane 1D of the customer's table 5 that placed the order. As a result, in the food and beverage delivery device 10, there may be cases where multiple groups of plates 9 with different destinations are simultaneously loaded on the relay lane 1B or the customer lane 1C. In the food and beverage delivery device 10 of this embodiment, in order to deliver each group of plates 9 to the appropriate destination even in such cases, the destination of each group of plates 9 in transit is determined based on the count of plates 9 passing through sensors S2 and S4.

[0031] Figure 4 is the first diagram illustrating the movement of the plate 9 in the ordered food and beverage delivery device 10. Figure 5 is the second diagram illustrating the movement of the plate 9 in the ordered food and beverage delivery device 10. Figure 6 is the third diagram illustrating the movement of the plate 9 in the ordered food and beverage delivery device 10.

[0032] For example, as shown in Figure 4(A), when four plates 9 are placed on the shipping lane 1A and the staff member 7 initiates the transport start operation, the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C are activated. When the shipping lane 1A, relay lane 1B, and seating lane 1C are activated, as shown in Figure 4(B), the four plates 9 that were on the shipping lane 1A are transferred from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B. Then, as shown in Figure 4(C), the four plates 9 move from the relay lane 1B to the seating lane 1C.

[0033] Since the food and beverage delivery device 10 is equipped with sensor S1, the control device of the food and beverage delivery device 10 can detect the number of plates 9 on the shipping lane 1A when the delivery start operation is performed using sensor S1. Furthermore, since the food and beverage delivery device 10 is equipped with sensor S2, the control device of the food and beverage delivery device 10 can detect the number of plates 9 that have moved from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B using sensor S2. Furthermore, since the food and beverage delivery device 10 is equipped with sensor S3, the control device of the food and beverage delivery device 10 can detect whether or not there are plates 9 on the relay lane 1B using sensor S3. Furthermore, since the food and beverage delivery device 10 is equipped with sensor S4, the control device of the food and beverage delivery device 10 can detect the number of plates 9 that have moved from the relay lane 1B to the seating lane 1C using sensor S4.

[0034] Then, when the food and beverage delivery device 10 starts the delivery operation, the control device activates the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C, and also performs an error check on the delivery status of the plates 9 based on the number of plates 9 passing through two checkpoints, sensors S2 and S4.

[0035] The control device of the ordered food and beverage delivery device 10, for example, when the delivery start operation is performed, the dispatch rail The number of plates 9 placed on lane 1A is counted by sensor S1. Next, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 activates the dispatch lane 1A and the relay lane 1B, and counts the number of plates 9 passing through sensor S2.

[0036] The optical axis of sensor S2 is positioned at the height of the thread-cutting portion of the dish 9. Even when the dishes 9 are lined up so that they are almost touching each other, the contact point is the rim of the dish 9, so sufficient space is ensured between the thread-cutting portions of each dish 9. For this reason, sensor S2 can count the number of dishes 9 more accurately than when the optical axis is positioned at the rim of the dish 9, even when the dishes 9 are lined up so that they are almost touching each other.

[0037] The control unit of the food and beverage delivery device 10 determines that the transfer of plates 9 from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B has been successfully completed if the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S1 matches the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S2. Conversely, the control unit of the food and beverage delivery device 10 determines that the transfer of plates 9 from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B has not been successfully completed if the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S1 matches the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S2. If the control unit of the food and beverage delivery device 10 determines that the transfer of plates 9 from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B has been successfully completed, it stops the shipping lane 1A and continues the operation of the relay lane 1B and the seating lane 1C, transporting the plates 9 to the branching lane 1D of the designated seating table 5. Furthermore, if the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 determines that the transfer of the plates 9 from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B has not been completed successfully, it stops the operation of the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C, and interrupts the transport of the plates 9.

[0038] The control unit of the food and beverage delivery device 10 continues to operate at least the relay lane 1B and the seating lane 1C even after the plates 9 have successfully moved from the shipping lane 1A to the relay lane 1B. As a result, when the plates 9 begin to pass through the sensor S4, the control unit of the food and beverage delivery device 10 counts the number of plates 9 passing through the sensor S4. Similar to the sensor S2, the optical axis of the sensor S4 is positioned at the height of the thread-cutting portion of the plates 9, so the number of plates 9 can be accurately counted. The control unit of the food and beverage delivery device 10 compares the number of plates 9 counted by the sensor S2 with the number of plates 9 counted by the sensor S4. The control unit of the food and beverage delivery device 10 determines that the transfer of plates 9 from the relay lane 1B to the seating lane 1C has been successfully completed when the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S2 matches the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S4, and sensor S3 detects that there are no plates 9 on the relay lane 1B. Furthermore, if the control unit of the food and beverage delivery device 10 determines that the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S2 matches the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S4, and sensor S3 detects that there are plates 9 on the relay lane 1B, it considers that something is mistakenly placed on the relay lane 1B and stops the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C. Furthermore, if the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S4 is greater than the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S2, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 assumes that something has been mistakenly placed on the relay lane 1B and stops the shipping lane 1A, relay lane 1B, and seating lane 1C. Also, if the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S4 is less than the number of plates 9 counted by sensor S2, and sensor S3 detects that there are no plates 9 on the relay lane 1B, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 assumes that some of the plates 9 have been mistakenly moved from the relay lane 1B to a lane other than the seating lane 1C due to falling or other reasons, and stops the shipping lane 1A, relay lane 1B, and seating lane 1C.

[0039] The control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 controls the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C as described above based on the information obtained from sensors S1 to S4. Therefore, even if each plate 9 is not assigned unique identification information such as an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, the following operations can be achieved.

[0040] For example, consider a case where, as shown in Figure 5(A), three plates 9 are placed on the shipping lane 1A and the transport start operation is performed, then, as shown in Figure 5(B), while the plates 9 are moving along the relay lane 1B, a new plate 9 is placed on the shipping lane 1A and the transport start operation is performed, and as shown in Figure 5(C), two groups of plates 9 with different destinations are simultaneously placed on the relay lane 1B. Even in such a case, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 of this embodiment is capable of transporting each group of plates 9 to the appropriate destination. That is, since the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 performs the transport operation while checking the number of plates 9 with sensors S2 and S4, even if an error occurs such as an inappropriate plate 9 being directly placed on the relay lane 1B, or a plate 9 falling from the relay lane 1B during transport, such errors can be detected and transport stopped without using plate identification means such as RFID. Therefore, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 can prevent situations where the destination of each group of plates 9 is mistakenly identified and transported to inappropriate destinations one after another, even if errors such as misplacement or dropping of plates 9 occur in a transport configuration where, for example, as shown in Figure 5(C), two groups of plates 9 are placed on the relay lane 1B simultaneously, as the transport of plates 9 to various destinations is started one after another.

[0041] Specifically, consider the case shown in Figure 6(A), where four plates 9 are placed on the shipping lane 1A and the transport operation for the first group of plates 9 is initiated. Then, as shown in Figure 6(B), while the first group of plates 9 are moving along the relay lane 1B, a new plate 9 is placed on the shipping lane 1A as the second group of plates 9 and the transport operation is initiated. In this case, as shown in Figure 6(C), if some of the plates 9 in the first group fall from the relay lane 1B, and the system guides each plate 9 to its respective destination in order without performing an error check on the number of plates 9, some of the plates in the second group of plates 9 may be mistaken for the plates in the first group of plates 9 and transported to the same destination as the first group of plates 9. In this regard, the control device of the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 of this embodiment detects the dropping of plates 9 by comparing the number of plates 9 that have passed through sensor S2 with the number of plates 9 that have passed through sensor S4 and stops the transport, thereby minimizing the possibility of transporting the second group of plates 9 to an inappropriate destination.

[0042] Furthermore, although the food and beverage delivery device 10 in the above embodiment was configured to form two corner sections with three belt conveyors forming a shipping lane 1A, a relay lane 1B, and a seating lane 1C, the food and beverage delivery device 10 may be modified as follows.

[0043] The food and beverage delivery device 10 may, for example, have one set of delivery lanes 1A and relay lanes 1B, and two seating lanes 1C, and a device for changing the path of the plates 9 may be provided between the relay lane 1B and the two seating lanes 1C. In this configuration, plates 9 placed on one delivery lane 1A can be delivered to either of the two seating lanes 1C.

[0044] Furthermore, the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 can be modified as appropriate without altering the gist of this disclosure. In the above embodiment, the ordered food and beverage transport device 10 was configured such that the shipping lane 1A, the relay lane 1B, and the seating lane 1C were each composed of one belt conveyor, but each lane may be composed of two or more belt conveyors. For example, if the relay lane 1B is composed of multiple belt conveyors, the error check of the number of plates 9 using sensors S1 to S4 may be performed based on the number of plates 9 passing through two locations, near the start and near the end of the entire relay lane 1B composed of multiple belt conveyors, or sensors may be provided near the start and end of each belt conveyor in the relay lane 1B composed of multiple belt conveyors, and the error check may be performed based on the number of plates 9 passing between each belt conveyor. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0045] 1 store 2. Wall 3. Kitchen Area 4. Seating Area 5. Seating tables 6. Workbench 7. Staff 8...Food and drink customers 9 plates 10. Order food and beverage delivery device 1A ··Shipping Lane 1B ·· Relay Lane 1C · Seating Lane 1D ·· Branching Lane B1, B2... Assist devices L... Lane change device S1~S4...Sensor

Claims

1. The shipping lane where ordered food and beverages are placed, A seating lane that forms a transport path along multiple seating areas, A branching lane that branches off from the aforementioned seating lane to each seat, A relay lane connecting the aforementioned shipping lane and the aforementioned seating lane, The system includes a control device that stops at least the shipping lane and the relay lane if the difference between the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the shipping lane to the relay lane and the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the relay lane to the customer seating lane is zero, and there are ordered food and beverages on the relay lane. Order food and beverage delivery device.

2. The control device stops at least the delivery lane and the relay lane if the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the relay lane to the seating lane is less than the number of ordered food and beverages transferred from the delivery lane to the relay lane, and there are no ordered food and beverages on the relay lane. The food and beverage delivery device according to claim 1.

3. When a dispatch start operation is performed with one or more ordered food and beverages placed on the dispatch lane, the control device transports the ordered food and beverages that were on the dispatch lane at the time the dispatch start operation was performed to the branch lane of a specific seat via the relay lane and the seating lane. The food and beverage delivery device according to claim 1.

4. The control device identifies the destination seat for each ordered food item that has been transferred from the relay lane to the seating lane, based on the difference obtained by subtracting the number of ordered food items that have been transferred from the relay lane to the seating lane from the number of ordered food items that have been transferred from the dispatch lane to the relay lane. The food and beverage delivery device according to claim 3.

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