Abstract:
A structural ring to support a plate traveling on a conveyor belt system. The conveyor belt system has a movable belt portion disposed between two lateral guide surfaces. The structural ring has a first end that rests on the movable belt of the conveyor belt system, and a second end that supports the plate. The ring is sized to be disposed between lateral guide surfaces of the conveyor belt system so that the bottom surface of a plate supported by the second end of the structural ring is located above the lateral guide surfaces. A cross-member at least partially occupies the first end of the ring and operably couple the structural ring to the movable belt.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/699,815, filed Jul. 15, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The presently claimed subject matter relates generally to a conveyor belt system and, more specifically, to a conveyor belt system for delivering food items in a restaurant setting.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     In a “kaiten” sushi restaurant, a conveyor belt transports plates containing food items through the restaurant and past customers, allowing customers to serve themselves to the food items that they choose by simply removing a plate containing the desired food item from the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is an endless belt that travels around the restaurant, at some point closing back onto itself, thereby creating a closed circuit. Sushi chefs typically stand inside the closed circuit formed by the belt and prepare assorted sushi and related food items. The food items are put on small color coded plates that are subsequently placed on the conveyor belt. The color of a plates relates to the price of the food item on that plate. For example, a food item on a green plate may be one price, a food item on a yellow plate may be another price, a third food item on a light blue plate may be yet another price, and so on.  
         [0004]     Once placed on the conveyor belt, the plates travel around the circuit formed by the conveyor belt, putting the various food items within reach of the restaurant customers. As the plates travel past customers, the customers select food items by taking plates containing the selected food items from the conveyor belt. Removing a plate from the conveyor belt leaves an empty place on the conveyor belt. The sushi chefs work to quickly fill the empty places left by the removed plates with plates containing freshly prepared food items. As a customer finishes the food items contained on individual plates, the customer simply stacks the empty plates on the table. At the end of a meal, a server calculates the customer&#39;s bill based on the number of each color of plate in the customer&#39;s stack of plates.  
         [0005]     Although the conveyor belt systems used in kaiten sushi restaurants are an effective way to serve customers, they offer several distinct disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the customer often has difficulty removing a plate from the conveyor belt due to difficulty grasping the plate. The movable belt upon which the plates travel generally rides between two lateral guide surfaces that guide the movable belt on its path through the restaurant. The lateral guide surfaces provide structural support to the conveyor belt and also hide the machine workings of the conveyor belt itself from the customer. Further, the conveyor belt is designed so that the movable belt is located below the upper edge of lateral guide surfaces to prevent plates from sliding off of the belt. Absent lateral guide surfaces, plates may slide off the movable belt as it rounds a corner. Also, if plates are placed on the movable belt too close together, they may contact each other as they travel around corners. Without a slightly recessed conveyor belt, even gentle pressure from a plate behind can be sufficient to push the forward plate off of the conveyor belt. Due to the limited height of a typical sushi plate, and given that the conveyor belt itself is often recessed, customers frequently have difficulty grasping the plate as it passes by because the visible plate edge is often too slight allow the customer to comfortably grasp a plate with confidence.  
         [0006]     A further disadvantage with kaiten sushi restaurants is that some customers have difficulty identifying what is on each plate on the conveyor belt. Customers may be unfamiliar with sushi and, as a result, are unable to identify food items as they travel by on the conveyor belts. Customers unable to determine the name of a food item, the ingredients of that food item, or how that food item is prepared may be reluctant to try that food item. Further, customers unfamiliar with the various food items may direct their questions about the food items to restaurant workers, detracting from the restaurant workers ability to perform their primary duties.  
         [0007]     Another disadvantage that frequently arises in current kaiten sushi restaurants is that sushi chefs have difficulty managing the variety of food items present on the conveyor belt. Making a wide variety of food items readily available to the customers is critical to customer satisfaction. Keeping the conveyor belt well stocked with a full menu also serves customers more quickly, thereby increasing the overall number of customers that the restaurant can serve in a given period of time. In a typical kaiten sushi environment, customers have limited ability to control what the chefs produce, and sushi chefs are often too busy to effectively scan the belt in order to visually see what items need to be produced. As a result, during busy times, sushi chefs often resort to making what they know they can produce quickly. When this occurs, the variety of available food choices suffers, as does customer satisfaction.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     The following summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.  
         [0009]     A structural ring is provided to be used with a plate and a conveyor belt system. The conveyor belt system has a movable belt portion located between two lateral guide surfaces. A first end of the structural ring rests on the movable belt and a second end supports the plate. The structural ring has a cross-section generally sized to be fit between the lateral guide surfaces of the conveyor belt system. A cross-member at is located generally at the first end of the structural ring and couples the structural ring to the movable belt. When the plate is placed on the second end of the structural ring, the bottom surface of the plate is located above the lateral guide surfaces of the conveyor belt system.  
         [0010]     In one embodiment, a food delivery system uses a conveyor belt system with the previously described structural rings to deliver plates containing food items from a location where the food items are prepared to a second location where a person can remove the plates from the conveyor belt system. Food is prepared at the first location and placed on the plates. Each plate is then placed on structural ring, which is resting between the lateral guide surfaces on the movable belt portion of the conveyor belt system. The structural rings support the plates so that the bottom surfaces of the plates are located above the lateral guide surfaces. The conveyor belt system transports the plates, each of which is supported by a structural ring, to a second location where a person can remove a plate from the conveyor belt system. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of the presently-claimed subject matter will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view showing customers sitting in a kaiten sushi restaurant as food items travel by on a conveyor belt system;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the conveyor belt system of a typical kaiten sushi restaurant as a customer tries to remove a plate from the conveyor belt;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a structural ring constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a top planar view of the structural ring shown in  FIG. 3  in accordance with one embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter;  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the structural ring shown in  FIG. 3 , the cross-sectional cut taken substantially through section  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of the structural ring being used in conjunction with a conveyor belt system from a kaiten sushi restaurant;  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of a conveyor belt system from a kaiten sushi restaurant employing a structural ring in accordance with one embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter;  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a conveyor belt system of a kaiten sushi restaurant utilizing an alternate embodiment of the structural ring;  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  is a view of a wrappable identifier label; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 10  is an isometric view of a structural ring with a wrappable identifier label being inserted therein.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]     The presently claimed subject matter is described herein with reference to the accompanying illustrations where like numerals correspond to like elements. Suitable embodiments of a structural ring  10  constructed and used in accordance with the presently claimed subject matter, is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-10 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 1  depicts a typical kaiten sushi restaurant. Customers  30  sit at a counter  6  as plates  7  containing various food items pass by on a conveyor belt system  1 . When a customer  30  desires a particular food item, the customer  30  removes the plate  7  containing that food item from the conveyor belt system  1 . Each plate  7  is typically color coded to represent the price of the item on the plate  7 . As the customer  30  finishes various food items, the customer retains the empty color coded plates  7 . At the end of the customer&#39;s  30  meal, the server counts the plates  7  of each different color that the customer  30  has accumulated. By multiplying the price associated with a given plate color by the number of plates  7  of that color and then adding these amounts, the server calculates the total cost of the food items taken from the conveyor belt system  1  by the customer  30 .  
         [0024]     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the conveyor belt system  1  is positioned relative to the counter  6  so that a customer  30  can easily view the plates  7  containing food items as they passes by on the conveyor belt system  1 . The conveyor belt system  1  is also positioned so that a customer  30  can easily reach the conveyor belt system  1  to remove a plate  7  containing a desired food item when the plate  7  passes by. Although a counter  6  is shown in  FIG. 1 , other seating arrangements are possible. For example, customers  30  may be seated in a booth with the conveyor belt system  1  located so that it is accessible by a customer  30  sitting at one end of the booth. Any seating arrangement is possible, as long as food items are visible to all members of a dining party and at least one customer  30  in a party can reach the conveyor belt system  1 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  depicts a cross-sectional view of a typical conveyor belt system  1  in a kaiten sushi restaurant. The conveyor belt system  1  has an endless movable belt  3  for transporting food items. Plates  7  containing food items are placed on the movable belt  3  and are transported around the restaurant by the conveyor belt system  1  as the movable belt  3  completes a circuit around the restaurant. The movable belt  3  has a top surface  5  upon which the plates  7  are placed. The movable belt  3  itself, is recessed below the top surface  4  of the conveyor belt system  1 . Lateral guides  2  generally extend between the top surface  4  of the conveyor belt system  1  and the recessed movable belt  3 . The lateral guides  2  help prevent the plates  7  from sliding off of the movable belt  3  as the plates  7  travel around the conveyor belt system  1 .  
         [0026]     A customer  30  wishing to remove a plate  7  containing a particular food item from the conveyor belt system  1  moves a hand  31  toward the conveyor belt system  1  and extends one or more fingers under the bottom surface  8  of the plate  7 . The customer  30  is thereby able to grasp the plate  7  by its edge and lift the plate  7  off of the conveyor belt system  1 . However, a typical sushi plate  7  is of limited height. Consequently, when the plate  7  rests on the movable belt  3 , the bottom surface of the plate  8  is in close proximity to the top surface  4  of the conveyor belt system  1 , making it difficult for a customer  30  to extend any fingers underneath the plate. This hampers the customer&#39;s  30  ability to grasp and remove the plate  7  from the conveyor belt system  1 .  
         [0027]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3-5 , one embodiment of the structural ring  10  will now be described. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the structural ring  10  generally has an extruded cross-section  15  having a first end  11  and a second end  12 . The distance between the first end  11  and the second end  12  is a height h. The cross-section  15  of the structural ring  10  is sized to fit between the two lateral guides  2  when the structural ring  10  is placed on the movable belt  3  of the conveyor belt system  1 . Further, the cross-section  15  is shaped so that the second end  12  of the structural ring  10  can support a sushi plate  7  placed on the structural ring  10 . The height h of the structural ring  10  is such that when a plate  7  is placed on the second end  12  of the structural ring  10 , the bottom surface  8  of the plate  7  is a sufficient distance from the top surface  4  of the conveyor belt system  1  so that a customer  30  can easily grasp the edge of the plate  7  in order to remove the plate  7  from the conveyor belt system  1 . Although the cross-section  15  shown in  FIG. 3  is generally circular, it can easily be appreciated that the cross-section  15  can be any shape to enable the second end  12  of the structural ring  10  to support a plate  7 . Other possible shapes include a square, a rectangle, an ellipse, a closed curve, and an arcuate shape capable of supporting a plate. It can further be appreciated that the cross-section need not be constant from the first end  11  to the second end  12 , but can vary in both size and shape between the first end  11  and the second end  12 .  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a cross-member  13  having a generally rectangular shape diametrically spans the opening of the first end  11 . In one embodiment, the substantially flat cross-member  13  is fixedly attached to the structural ring  10  at opposite sides of the cross-section  15  at the first end  11  of the structural ring  10 . Disposed within the cross-member  13  is a hole  14  with an axis in the general direction of the height h of the structural ring  10 . The hole  14  is sized so that it can rotationally engage one of a plurality of pins  16  that are fixedly attached to the movable belt  3 . When the structural ring  10  is placed on the movable belt  3 , the hole  14  engages the pin  16 , thereby operably fixing the structural ring  10  to the movable belt  3 . This rotational engagement helps prevent the structural ring  10  from slipping off of the movable belt  3 , and also helps to maintain the structural ring  10  in a generally constant orientation relative to the movable belt  3 .  
         [0029]     Although the cross-member  13  is shown having a rectangular shape and spanning the opening of the first end  11 , it can easily be appreciated that the cross-member  13  can have any shape suitable for attaching to the first end  11  of the structural ring  10  and providing a hole  14  for engaging a pin  16 . Another possible embodiment of the cross-member  13  is an “end cap” that completely closes the opening of the first end  11  of the structural ring  10 . Still another possible embodiment of the cross-member  13  is a protrusion on the interior wall of the structural ring  10  in which a hole  14  is located such that the hole  14  operably engages the pin  16  on the movable belt  3 .  
         [0030]     The structural ring  10  can be made from almost any material suitable to support the weight of a plate  7  and the food items placed thereon. Among the possible materials are polymeric materials, wood, glass, and metal. The structural ring  10  can be opaque or translucent.  
         [0031]     One or more identifying marks  17  may be located on the structural ring  10 . The identifying mark  17  may contain information for the customer  30  including one or more of the name of the food items, the ingredients of the food items, how the food items are prepared, and the price of the food items. The information on the mark  17  can also indicate to a chef what dish is meant to be placed on a particular structural ring  10 . When the chef sees a structural ring  10  without a plate  7 , the chef can prepare a suitable replacement food item for placement on the empty structural ring  10 . The identifying mark  17  can be fixedly or removably attached to the structural ring  10  in a variety of ways including etching, engraving, silk screening, attaching stickers or labels, or any other suitable means for affixing the identifying mark  17  to the structural ring  10 . The identifying mark  17  can comprise text, pictures, symbols, a bar code suitable for scanning by a bar code reader, or any other mark suitable for relaying information.  
         [0032]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , use of the structural ring  10  in association with a plate  7  and a conveyor belt system  1  is shown. The structural ring  10  is placed on the movable belt  3  of the conveyor belt system  1  so that the first end  11  of the structural ring  10  rests on the movable belt  3 . The hole  14  in the cross-member  13  of the structural ring  10  engages a pin  16  that is fixedly attached to the movable belt  3 . A plurality of such pins  16  are fixedly attached to the movable belt  3 , spaced to provide clearance between consecutive plates  7  on the movable belt  3 . The structural ring  10  fits between the lateral guides  2  of the conveyor belt system  1 .  
         [0033]     Plates  7  holding various food items are placed on the structural ring  10  and then transported through the restaurant on the conveyor belt system  1  to be displayed and made accessible to the customers  30 . Customers  30  identify the food items on the plates  7  by looking at the food items as well as the identifying marks  17  on the structural rings  10  supporting the plates  7 , and make their choices accordingly. Chefs may also use the identifying mark  17  of an empty structural ring  10  to determine what food item was previously on the structural ring  10 , thereby enabling the chef to prepare a suitable replacement food item.  
         [0034]      FIG. 7  shows a cross-section of a structural ring  10  supporting a plate  7  on the conveyor belt system  1 . A pin  16 , which is fixedly attached to the movable belt  3 , engages the hole  14  in the cross-member  13  of the structural ring  10 . The structural ring  10  is thereby secured to the movable belt  3 . A plate  7  is disposed on the second end  12  of the structural ring  10 . The structural ring  10  maintains the plate  7  in an elevated position to increase the distance between the upper surface  4  of the conveyor belt system  1  and the bottom surface  8  of the plate  7 . A customer  30  cans thereby more easily grasp the edge of the plate  7 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 8  shows an alternate embodiment of the presently-claimed structural ring system. Instead of utilizing a pin  16  and hole  14  as shown in  FIG. 7 , the embodiment shown if  FIG. 8  uses a magnetic attraction between a first magnet  20  and a second magnet  21  to fix the structural ring  10  to the movable belt  3 . The first magnet  20  is fixedly attached to the structural ring  10 . The first magnet  20  can be affixed to the structural ring  10  in any suitable manner including adhesives, press-fit, mechanical attachment, or any other suitable method. The second magnet  21  is fixedly attached to the movable belt  3 . The second magnet  21  has a polarity opposite to the polarity of the first magnet  20  so that the first magnet  20  and the second magnet  21  are magnetically attracted to each other. When the structural ring  10  is placed on the movable belt  3 , the first magnet  20  and the second magnet  21  attract each other, thereby securing the structural ring  10  to the movable belt  3 . It may be easily appreciated by one of skill in the art that the structural ring  10  may be positionally fixed relative to the movable belt  3  in any suitable manner. Alternate embodiment include a pin attached to the structural ring that engages a hole in the movable belt  3 , the cross-section  15  of the structural ring  10  engaging a complementary groove in the movable belt  3 , or any other means for positionally fixing the structural ring  10  relative to the movable belt  3 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 9  shows wrappable identifier label  40 , suitable for use with a structural ring  10  made from a generally translucent material. As shown in  FIG. 10 , the wrappable identifier label  40  is designed to wrap around and fit snugly inside the structural ring  10  such that the generally translucent ring  10  protects the label from dirt and foodstuffs. The identifier label  40  may contain information such as the name of the food items on the supported plate  7 , whether the food items are raw or cooked, whether the food items are vegetarian or contain meat, the ingredients of the food items, and the Japanese name of the food items. The information about the food items may be printed on both sides of the identifier label  40  so that it can be read by both the customer  30  as the structural ring supporting a plate  7  of food circulates through the restaurant, and also by a chef when an empty structural ring  10  requires a replacement plate  7  of food items.  
         [0037]     The identifier label  40  in this particular embodiment is generally rectangular, having a length similar to the inside circumference of the structural ring  10  and a width similar to the height of the structural ring. A first notch  41  having the approximate width of the cross-member  13  of the structural ring  10  and the approximate depth of the height of the cross-member  13  is located along one lengthwise edge of the identifier label  40 . The first notch  41  is sized so that when the identifier label  40  is wrapped around the inside of the structural ring  10 , the first notch  41  fits over a first end of the cross-member  13  of the structural ring  40 . A second and third notch  42  are located on the same lengthwise side as the first notch  41 , the second notch located at a first end of the identifier label  40  and the third notch located at a second end of the identifier label  40 .  
         [0038]     When the label  40  is wrapped around the inside circumference of the structural ring  10 , the second and third notches  42  cooperate to form one larger notch, which is generally shaped similar to the first notch  41 . The notch formed by the second and third notches  42  is sized and shaped to engage a second end of the cross-member  13  when the identifier label  40  is wrapped around the inside circumference of the structural ring  10  and the first notch  41  is engaging the first end of the cross-member  13 .  
         [0039]     It may easily be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the size and shape of the identifier label  40  may vary to accommodate various configurations of a structural ring  10 . In addition, information  19  printed on the identifier label  40  may also vary to suit the restaurant owner&#39;s and/or needs. The identifier label  40  may further include a bar code  18  located for use with an electronic scanning system that may be used in connection with the conveyor belt system  1  to monitor inventory and sales. The bar code  18  may be located on the inside or the outside of the label  40 . The label  40  may be made from paper, laminated paper, thin polymeric material, or any other material upon which a bar code  18  and/or information  19  may be printed.  
         [0040]     While illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.