Abstract:
A stabilizing system for individual food carriers in an enclosed continuous waterway food serving system is described. The food serving system comprises a plurality of boat shaped food carriers floating in the continuous waterway propelled by a current induced into the waterway. Each food carrier comprises one or more stabilizer bars affixed to a bottom surface of the food carrier and extending from the side of the food carrier to stabilize the food carrier from a rolling motion in the water. The stabilizer bars are constructed of clear plastic to hide their presence when the food carrier is placed in the waterway. Each food carrier further comprises a horizontal bar affixed to the stern end of the food carrier and configured to contact the bow of a following food carrier when the food carriers are deployed in the continuous waterway.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the commercial food services industry, and more specifically to a food serving and displaying system using a continuous water channel. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Within recent years, continuous revolving food serving systems have become quite popular in Japanese restaurants that serve sushi. These types of restaurants have come to rival traditional sushi restaurants in which patrons are seated at a bar to be served individually by the sushi chef. In the continuous revolving type of sushi restaurant, customers are seated around a circular or oblong bar. The bar contains a conveyor belt or similar type of continuously moving system to transport food items in front of the customers. The customers can choose and take the items they want, without having to place an order with the chef or wait staff. Similarly, the chef can prepare a set number of items without needing to respond to individual customer orders. This type of system results in an efficient food delivery service that has become popular for economy-oriented restaurants. 
     Early continuous revolving sushi restaurants typically utilized enclosed conveyor belts that transported individual sushi orders on small trays around a circular or oblong bar. To enhance the appeal of such systems, “sushi boat” systems were developed that utilized a closed circular waterway. In these systems, sushi orders are placed on trays that are in turn placed on small boats that float along the waterway in front of customers seated around the bar. Typically a one-way current is used to propel the boats along the waterway. The boats are usually arranged so that a “train” of boats is formed with each boat closely following the boat in front. This allows for the continuous presentation of food and a regular flow of the boats so that customers can more easily pick food trays off of the moving boats. 
     Because of the unstable nature of floating boats on a waterway, care must be taken to ensure that the train of boats moves consistently and calmly around the waterway. It is relatively easy to upset the flow of the boats by stopping a boat in the waterway or disrupting the natural flow of current in the waterway. Several different systems have been developed for the arrangement of the boats in the waterways. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,032 to Imanaka discloses the in-line arrangement of sushi boats in waterway through the use of chains coupling the bow of one boat to the stern of the boat in front. In this manner, the connected boats circulate in concert around the waterway. Another example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,782 to Iwamoto, et al., which discloses an uncoupled arrangement of sushi boats in which a bumper device extending from the bow of each boat is used maintain a minimum distance between the boats. Although these disclosed systems address the issue of maintaining a predetermined spacing between the boats in the waterway, they do not address the problem of providing adequate stability to individual boats as they float along the waterway. Moreover, these present systems pose the problem of entanglement of boats with one another as they are pushed down the waterway and collide with one another. A further disadvantage of such present systems is that they add extraneous structures to the boats that detract from the aesthetic features of the boats. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A stabilizing system for individual food carriers in an enclosed continuous waterway food serving system is described. The food serving system comprises a plurality of boat shaped food carriers floating in the continuous waterway propelled by a current induced into the waterway. Each food carrier comprises one or more stabilizer bars affixed to a bottom surface of the food carrier and extending from the side of the food carrier to stabilize the food carrier from a rolling motion in the water. The stabilizer bars are constructed of clear plastic to hide their presence when the food carrier is placed in the waterway. Each food carrier further comprises a horizontal bar affixed to the stern end of the food carrier and configured to contact the bow of a following food carrier when the food carriers are deployed in the continuous waterway. 
     In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, each food carrier also comprises a first magnet attached to the bow of the food carrier and a second magnet attached to the stern of the food carrier. Repulsive magnetic forces between the bow magnet of a following food carrier and the stern magnet of the preceding food carrier maintain a minimum distance between the two food carriers. 
    
    
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from detailed description that follows. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an overhead view of a continuous waterway sushi bar in which embodiments of the present invention can be used; 
     FIG. 2A illustrates a side-view of a sushi boat with a horizontal stabilizing system, according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2B illustrates a cutaway view of the sushi boat of FIG. 2B; 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the sushi boat illustrated in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4A is a back view of the sushi boat illustrated in FIG. 2 with the addition of an elongated stern bar fixed to the stern of the boat; 
     FIG. 4B is a frontal view of the sushi boat illustrated in FIG. 4A; 
     FIG. 5A is a top view of a boat illustrating the placement of magnets on the bow and stern of the boat; 
     FIG. 5B is a front view of the boat in FIG. 5A illustrating the position of the bar magnet on the bow of the boat; 
     FIG. 5C is a back view of the boat in FIG. 5A, illustrating the position of the bar magnet on the stern of boat; and 
     FIG. 6 illustrates the effect of the magnets in maintaining a distance between pairs of boats in the waterway. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A continuous waterway food serving system is described. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate explanation. The description of preferred embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto. 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an overhead view of a continuous waterway sushi bar in which embodiments of the present invention can be used. The sushi bar consists of an enclosed circular or oblong bar area  102  around which are placed a number of seats  104  for the seating of customers. One or more sushi chefs stand in the center of the bar for preparation of the food items and replenishment of the trays on the sushi boats. A circular waterway  106  is disposed around the inside of the bar  102 . A number of sushi boats  108  float along the waterway. A current induced in the waterway pushes the boats along the waterway in front of the customers. The sushi boats carry small trays of food that the customers can remove from the boat and place in front of them as the boats pass by. 
     Under certain conditions, the waterway can become quite turbulent. For example, a customer can tip a boat while attempting to take a tray off of the boat, or a customer can stop or otherwise impede a boat. Such a disturbance can cause other boats in the vicinity to become unsettled, and in extreme cases can even cause food to fall in the waterway or cause water to be splashed onto the bar. In one embodiment of the present invention, each sushi boat  108  within the continuous waterway food serving system  100  is affixed with a stabilizing system that maintains the stability of the boat in turbulent conditions. 
     FIG. 2A illustrates a sushi boat with a horizontal stabilizing system, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2A, a side view of a sushi boat  200  is illustrated. Two horizontal bars  202  and  204  are affixed to the underside of the boat, such that when the boat is placed in the waterway, the horizontal bars are submerged. The bars  202  and  204  protrude from the side of the boat, as shown in FIG. 3, which is a bottom view of the boat illustrated in FIG.  2 . The horizontal bars  202  and  204  serve to counteract rolling forces on the boat  200  that may be induced from turbulent water in the waterway, and thereby provide stability from side-to-side rolling motions of the boat. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the horizontal bars are placed at an even spacing from the bow and stern of the boat approximately midway between the midpoint of the boat and the bow or stern of the boat. For a boat that is approximately 12 inches long, each bar is approximately one inch wide is used. The length of the bars depends upon the width of the waterway  106  in which the boat is placed. The horizontal bars  202  can be affixed to the underside of boat  200  through a waterproof adhesive, screws, tack nails, or similar fixing means. In one embodiment, the bars  202  are made of a clear plastic material approximately one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch thick. The use of clear plastic helps to hide the stabilizer bars as the boat floats along the waterway. The length of each bar is selected such that the boat fits within the waterway without the ends of the bars contacting the sides of the waterway. 
     In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a single horizontal bar can be positioned in the middle of the underside of the boat. For this embodiment, the bar may be wider than the bars used in the two-bar configuration of FIG.  3 . Similarly, in a further alternative embodiment, three or more narrow bars can be arranged along the underside of the boat. It should be noted that the specific size and shape of the horizontal bar illustrated in FIG. 3 can be altered depending upon the dimensions of the boat and the waterway channel. Moreover, various types of materials, such as plastic or wood can be used to construct the stabilizer bars. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the boats within the continuous waterway are decoupled from one another and are independently removable from the waterway. Once in the waterway, the boats are free to bump up against one another. For this embodiment, the stern section of each boat includes an elongated stern bar that extends beyond the width of the boat. FIG. 4A is a back view of a sushi boat that illustrates a stern bar  402  fixed to the stern of the boat. The stern bar  402  provides a surface against which the bow of the boat behind can push against. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the width of the stern bar  402  is selected to be slightly wider than the maximum width of the boat. This prevents the bow of the boat behind from entangling with any other structure on the boat in front. As shown in FIG. 2, the bow of the boat rises high enough above the top surface of the boat to contact the stern bar of the boat in front. In the manner, boats deployed in the waterway can “push” each other along if they get to close to one another. 
     In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the boats in waterway  106  are maintained at a predetermined distance from one another through the use of magnets affixed to the bow and stern of each boat. Magnets of opposite poles are selected for the bow of the following boat and the stern of the preceding boat so that the repulsive force of the magnets keeps the boats at a distance from one another. FIG. 5A is a top view of a boat illustrating the placement of magnets on the bow and stern of the boat. Boat  500  includes a bar magnet  502  affixed to the bow of the boat, and a second bar magnet  504  affixed to the stern of the boat. FIG. 5B is a front view of the boat in FIG. 5A illustrating the position of the bar magnet  502  on the bow of boat  500 ; likewise, FIG. 5C is a back view of the boat in FIG. 5A, illustrating the position of the bar magnet  506  on the stern of boat  500 . To attain the proper effect, the position of the magnets  502  and  506  must be consistent among all of the boats so that the position of the stern magnet lines up with the position of the bow magnet for each pair of boats. In this manner, the maximum effect of the magnetic force can be experienced for each pair of boats. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates the effect of the magnets in maintaining a distance between pairs of boats in the waterway. The polarity of the bow magnet  601  on the following boat  602  is selected to be of the opposite polarity of the stern magnet  603  of the front boat  604 . Through the repulsive force of two magnets  601  and  603 , a distance is maintained between the two boats. This prevents the boats from colliding with one another creating excessive turbulence in the waterway. It should be noted that with respect to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5A,  5 B,  5 C, and  6 , magnets of various sizes and shapes can be used, depending upon the size and configuration of the boats and the waterway. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the boats  108  illustrated in FIG. 1 each carry a number of rectangular trays measuring approximately one and a half inches wide by three inches long. These are carried on the deck of the boats such that the narrow side of the trays lines up with the side of the boat. The sides of the boat rise slightly above the deck so that the trays are carried within each boat. For this embodiment, a tray holder is provided on the deck of each boat. The tray holder holds each tray within the boat and prevents it from sliding around on the deck of the boat and colliding with other trays on the boat. The configuration of a tray holder for a sushi boat, according to one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG.  5 A. Tray holder  506  is a wooden lattice comprising four cross-members coupled together by two longitudinal members. This forms three separate compartments  507 ,  508 , and  509 . Each compartment is configured to hold in place a single tray. The size and configuration of tray holder  506  is determined by the actual dimension of the trays to be held and the shape and dimension of the deck of boat  500 . It should be noted that tray holders of different sizes and capacities other than that shown in FIG. 5 can be utilized in conjunction with alternate embodiments of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2B is a cutaway view of a sushi boat that illustrates the position of the tray holder on the deck of the boat. Tray holder  210  rests on the deck of the boat, which is slightly lower than the height of the sides of the boat  200 . The actual height of tray holder  210  can be altered depending upon the configuration of the boat and the size and configuration of the trays that are held on the holder. 
     Although the food serving system illustrated in the Figures has been described in relation to a restaurant that serves sushi, it should be noted that embodiments of the present invention can be directed to systems that serve other types of food, such as small snacks, Chinese Dim Sum, and similar types of food. 
     In the foregoing, a system has been described for presenting food items in a continuous waterway system utilizing floating boats. Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.