JP4110370B2 - Food and beverage supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a food and drink provision apparatus that can be installed in a restaurant or the like and that can transport food and drink contained in a container such as a plate or tray from a kitchen to a guest room.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For the purpose of providing efficient food and drink in a cafeteria, for example, a food and drink provision apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-170418 is known. As shown in FIG. 4, when a customer sitting in a seat 90 puts a food ticket into the food ticket slot 92 of the table 91, the contents of the food ticket are read by the food ticket reader 93, and the cooking place ( (Not shown). Then, when the customer seat number is keyed in after placing the tray 94 of the ordered dish on the annular conveyor 95 in the kitchen, the tray 94 is transported to the front of the corresponding passenger seat, and the annular conveyor 95 is conveyed by a sorting device (not shown). The dishes move from table to table 91.
[0003]
As described above, in addition to the above, a configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-340201 is also known as a food and drink providing apparatus that supplies food and drink to a plurality of transport destinations through an annular transport path.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the food and drink providing apparatus described above, since one transport path is formed so as to pass through all the transport destinations, the transport path inevitably becomes longer as the number of transport destinations increases. . For this reason, there is a problem that it takes a long time to transport food and drink to a transport destination located downstream in the transport direction.
[0005]
On the other hand, when a transport path is formed for each transport destination, not only will the equipment cost and installation space increase, but also the confusion such as food and drink being transported to the wrong transport destination due to an increase in the transport path. Is likely to occur.
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a food and drink providing apparatus capable of supplying food and drink to a plurality of transport destinations quickly and accurately.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The object of the present invention is a food and drink providing apparatus for supplying food and drinks to a plurality of transport destinations in a cabin, and displays information for identifying a container that accommodates food and drinks according to the transport destinations of the food and drinks. Display information for specifying the transport path on which the container is placed based on the transport destination of the food and drink, and the transport means having a plurality of transport paths capable of transporting the container from the kitchen to the guest room. A food and drink providing apparatus comprising: a transport path display unit that performs sorting; a container determination unit that determines the containers on the transport path; and a sorting unit that sorts the containers into respective transport destinations based on a determination result by the container determination unit. Achieved.
[0008]
In this food and beverage providing apparatus, the container display means preferably displays information relating to the color of the container, and the container determination means is preferably a color determination means for determining the color of the container.
[0009]
Furthermore, it is preferable that a plurality of the transport path display means are provided for each transport path, and it is preferable that the same color as the color of the container can be displayed.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, actual forms of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a food and drink providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this food and beverage provision apparatus 1 is installed in a restaurant or the like that includes a kitchen 2 and a guest room 6 in which a plurality of tables 4 a to 4 f are arranged, and includes an order management apparatus 10 and a transport apparatus 20. A transport path display device 30, a container determination device 40, and a sorting device 50. An order from each table 4a to 4f to the kitchen 2 can be made, for example, via an interphone (not shown), and a container (tray T in this embodiment) containing food and drink is provided from the kitchen 2 to each table 4a to 4f. 4f.
[0011]
The order management apparatus 10 includes an input device 12 such as a keyboard for inputting orders from customers, an information processing device 14 for processing input information, and a display device 16 such as a display for displaying orders. ing. As will be described later, the display device 16 functions as a container display unit that displays information for specifying the tray T that stores food and drink according to the destination of food and drink.
[0012]
The conveying device 20 includes a plurality of main conveyors 22a to 22c, one end of which is installed in the kitchen 2, and a tray T, which is a container containing food and drink, is directed from the kitchen 2 to the guest room 6 in the direction indicated by the arrow. Transport. The main conveyors 22a to 22c can be various conveyors, such as a roller conveyor and a chain conveyor. For example, it is also possible to use a magnet type conveyor in which a plurality of electromagnets are arranged along the conveying direction below the conveying surface, and a conveyor that places a container with a permanent magnet attached to the lower surface on the conveying surface and energizes it. By sequentially changing the electromagnets in the direction of travel, the container can be transported. The number of main conveyors 22a to 22c is not particularly limited as long as it is two or more.
[0013]
The conveyance path display device 30 includes a plurality of indicators 32a to 32c installed in the vicinity of the main conveyors 22a to 22c. Each indicator 32a-32c is comprised so that red or blue can be displayed based on the input signal from the order management apparatus 10. FIG.
[0014]
The container discriminating device 40 includes color discriminating devices 42a to 42c installed in the middle of the conveyance paths in the main conveyors 22a to 22c. In the present embodiment, a known color identification sensor is used as the color determination devices 42a to 42c, and it is determined whether or not the color of the tray T passing on each of the main conveyors 22a to 22c is red.
[0015]
The sorter 50 sorts the trays T conveyed by the main conveyors 22a to 22c based on the discrimination results of the color discriminators 42a to 42c, and the trays T from the sorters 52a to 52c to the tables 4a to 4f. Sub conveyors 54a to 54f. As with the main conveyors 22a to 22c, various conveyors can be used for the sub conveyors 54a to 54f.
[0016]
As the sorting devices 52a to 52c, the tray T on the main conveyors 22a to 22c is lifted and ejected by a pushing type in which the tray T is pushed out from the main conveyors 22a to 22c by an extruding device such as a pusher or a diverter. Although it is possible to apply a known sorting mechanism such as a raised type, the present embodiment has a configuration as shown in FIG. 2 in order to reduce the impact on food and drink. Although FIG. 2 shows the sorting device 52a, the same applies to the sorting devices 52b and 52c.
[0017]
In FIG. 2, the sorting device 52 a includes a speed reduction roller row 62 and a sorting roller row 64. In the speed reduction roller row 62, the rollers 62a to 62f are provided at equal intervals along the transport direction, and are individually rotated and driven by driving means (not shown) such as a motor. The sorting roller row 64 is supported by the base 66 so that the rollers are arranged at substantially the same height along the gaps of the speed reduction roller row 62. The axis line of the speed reduction roller row 62 and the axis line of the sorting roller row 64 Are arranged so as to be substantially orthogonal. The base 66 is supported by lifting means 68 such as an air cylinder, and the sorting roller row 64 can be moved in and out through the gap between the speed reduction roller rows 62.
[0018]
Next, the action | operation of the food-and-drink provision apparatus 1 provided with the above structure is demonstrated. When an operator who operates the input device 12 receives an order from each of the tables 4a to 4f via an interphone (not shown) or the like, the operator inputs the order contents together with the table number. The information processing apparatus 14 adds information such as an order number, current time, and container color to the input information. Here, the “container color” indicates the color of the tray T that contains food and drink, and the information processing apparatus 14 determines either red or blue based on the input of the table number. The container color is set in advance so as to have a different color for each of the tables 4a to 4f that are sorted by the sorting device 50 from one main conveyor 22a to 22c. For example, for the main conveyor 22a, the table 4a can be set to red and the table 4b can be set to blue. Similarly, for the main conveyors 22b and 22c, the tables 4c and 4e are set to red, 4d and 4f can be set to blue.
[0019]
The information processing device 14 stores information generated based on the input from the input device 12 in the memory and displays the information on the display device 16 in order from the oldest time. An example of the display screen in the display device 16 is shown in FIG.
[0020]
As shown in the figure, the container color is displayed at the end of each order. The container color may be represented by letters or may be represented by an actual color. The cook cooks while confirming the order contents on the display device 16, and accommodates the finished food and drink in the tray T of the corresponding color. In the present embodiment, two types of trays T of red and blue are prepared in advance.
[0021]
Thereafter, when the cook gives the operator the order number of the food and drink, and the operator inputs the order through the input device 12, the information processing device 14 deletes the information corresponding to the corresponding order number and the table. The indicators 32a to 32c of the main conveyors 22a to 22c corresponding to the numbers are turned on. For example, for an order from the table 4a, the indicator 32a installed in the vicinity of the main conveyor 22a is turned on. Thereby, the cook can grasp | ascertain easily and correctly on which main conveyor 22a-22c what tray T should be mounted.
[0022]
It is preferable that the color of the indicators 32a to 32c to be lit is the same color as the color of the tray T to be placed. This not only makes it easier to grasp the main conveyors 22a to 22c on which the tray T is to be placed, but also makes it easy to check whether the cook has selected the correct color tray T.
[0023]
In this way, the trays T placed on the main conveyors 22a to 22c are conveyed into the cabin 6 and pass through the color discrimination devices 42a to 42c. Then, after the color of the tray T is read by the color discriminating devices 42a to 42c and it is discriminated whether or not it is red, the sorting by the sorting devices 52a to 52c is performed. For example, when the tray T placed on the main conveyor 22a is red, when the color discriminating device 42a determines that the tray T is red, the sorting device 52a operates as follows based on the discrimination result.
[0024]
In other words, in FIG. 2, drive control of each of the rollers 62 a to 62 f is performed so that the rotation speed of each of the rollers 62 a to 62 f in the speed reduction roller row 62 gradually decreases toward the downstream side in the transport direction. Above, the tray T gradually decelerates and stops (state shown). Thereafter, the sorting roller row 64 retracted below the speed reduction roller row 62 is raised, and the bottom surface of the tray T is pushed up. Then, when the height of the tray T reaches the same level as the sub-conveyor 54a, the ascent of the sorting roller row 64 stops, and the rotational speed of the sorting roller row 64 is gradually increased from the stopped state, so that the tray T T is conveyed toward the table 4a by the sub conveyor 54a.
[0025]
On the other hand, if the color discriminating device 42a discriminates that the color is not red, the speed reduction roller row 62 of the sorting device 52a rotates at a constant rotational speed and transports the tray T onto the sub-conveyor 54b. As a result, the tray T is conveyed toward the table 4b by the sub conveyor 54b.
[0026]
Thus, by sorting according to the color of the tray T, it is possible to reliably supply the tray T to the transport destination tables 4a to 4f.
[0027]
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, the specific aspect of this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, in the present embodiment, a color identification sensor is used as the color discrimination devices 42a to 42c. However, the color of the tray T may be discriminated by imaging the tray T and performing image processing. it can.
[0028]
In this embodiment, two tables 4a to 4f are associated with one main conveyor 22a to 22c, but three tables 4a to 4f can be associated with each other. In this case, if a tray T composed of three types of colors is prepared, the color discriminating devices 42a to 42c are configured to be discriminable for the three types of colors, and the sorting device 50 is configured to be capable of sorting into three transport destinations. good. The same applies when four or more tables are associated with one main conveyor.
[0029]
Further, in the present embodiment, the display devices 32a to 32c are configured to display a color corresponding to the color of the tray T to be placed, but display one color that is unrelated to the color of the tray T. Anyway. Furthermore, instead of installing a plurality of indicators 32a to 32c, the conveyance path display device 30 displays only the conveyor number corresponding to the main conveyors 22a to 22c on which the tray T is to be placed. Also good.
[0030]
Further, the container discriminating device 40 is not necessarily limited to the configuration that discriminates the color as long as a plurality of types of containers can be discriminated. For example, the container discriminating device 40 is configured to discriminate the container based on the shape and size of the imaged container. You may do it.
[0031]
Further, it is not always necessary to input the order contents via the input device 12. For example, an order terminal (not shown) is installed in each of the tables 4a to 4f, and the order input via the order terminal is input. The information may be input to the information processing apparatus 14 together with table identification information such as a table number.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the food and drink providing apparatus of the present invention, the food and drink are stored in the container specified by the display of the container display means, and the transport path specified by the display of the transport path display means is provided. By placing the container, food and drink can be supplied quickly and accurately even when there are a plurality of transport destinations.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a food and beverage provision apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a sorting apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the display device.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of a conventional food and drink providing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food and drink provision apparatus 2 Kitchen 4a-4f Table 6 Guest room 10 Order management apparatus 16 Display apparatus 20 Conveyance apparatus 22a-22c Main conveyor 30 Conveyance path display apparatus 40 Container discrimination | determination apparatus 42a-42c Color discrimination apparatus 50 Sorting apparatus T Tray (container )

Claims (3)

A food and beverage supply apparatus for supplying food and drink to a plurality of transport destinations in a guest room,
A container display means for displaying information for specifying a container for containing food and drink according to the destination of the food and drink;
Transport means having a plurality of transport paths capable of transporting the container from the kitchen to the guest room;
A transport path display means for displaying information for specifying the transport path on which the container is placed based on a transport destination of food and drink;
Container discriminating means for discriminating the containers on the transport path;
A food and drink providing apparatus comprising: sorting means for sorting the containers into respective transport destinations based on a discrimination result by the container discriminating means. The food and beverage supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container display unit displays information regarding the color of the container, and the container determination unit is a color determination unit that determines the color of the container. The food and drink providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the transport path display units are provided for each transport path and can display the same color as the color of the container.

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