Material or article handling – Load carried along a horizontal linear path – Having gripper means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-19
2002-07-09
Underwood, Donald W. (Department: 3651)
Material or article handling
Load carried along a horizontal linear path
Having gripper means
C294S064200, C198S468400, C414S806000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06416274
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for attracting and conveying conveyable objects, the construction of which method and apparatus is simple and makes it unnecessary to turn a suction source on and off or to use an on-off valve, and by which a conveyable object conveyed can be released instantaneously from suction retention.
The present invention also relates to a checking process and system in an eating establishment for automatically checking, i. e., automatically determining a total charge to a guest for the merchandise item dishes the guest consumed, advantageously by using a conveyable object attracting and conveying apparatus as described.
BACKGROUND ART
So far in conveying a conveyable object, it has been known to use a technique in which the object is first attracted by suction at a conveying start side, then conveyed while held attracted by suction and finally detached by releasing it from suction retention at a conveying destination site. To do this, it has been customary to make use of what is commonly called a conveyer arm that carries a suction means to which a suction force produced by a suction or vacuum source is transmitted.
To selectively turn on and off the suction force at the suction means, one known method employs an arrangement in which the conveyer arm is associated with an air cylinder whose operation is controlled by an electromagnetic valve to displace the attractor means vertically or horizontally relative to the conveyer arm to make suction selectively active and inactive at the attractor means. Another known technique has adopted an on-off valve disposed between the attractor means and a vacuum pump and operable to selectively connect to and disconnect from the vacuum source the attractor means. In a further known arrangement a vacuum source or pump is directly switched on and off so that a suction force selectively develops and disappears at the attractor means.
It has been recognized that all these known techniques and arrangements make it unavoidable to entail relatively complex mechanisms and necessitate a large number of component parts; hence the equipment becomes unavoidably large sized and costly.
It has also be found that in removing a suction force at the attractor means the use of an on-off valve or a circuit to switch a suction produced at the vacuum source fails to reduce pressure at the attractor means to an atmospheric level or the suction force thereat to zero instantaneously. Thus, a conveyed object becomes unable to detach from the attractor means without delay or failure upon its arrival at its site of conveyance destination.
Further, the lack of any active means to forcively detach automatically in these prior systems has been found to make detachment uncertain.
As regards the subject of an eating establishment, for example, especially in those with a rotary catering table system installed therein having a crescent chain conveyer (i.e., a looped chain of serially connected crescent shaped plates) disposed in a top area of a base stand for conveying servable merchandise food items around a loop, it has been customary that servable merchandise items which are typically “sushi” (vinegared rice with fish or vegetables in the form of rolls, slices, oval-shaped and others) items as loaded or placed on merchandise food items plates are offered to guests. Merchandise item plates are provided with colors designed to identify servable merchandise items to be loaded or placed thereon. In checking, i.g., determining a charge to a guest, a service worker in the shop or restaurant confirms the merchandise items that the guest consumed by the colors of the emptied merchandise item plates and in person computes with a cash register the charge which is submitted to the guest and the guest then pays for at the cashier.
In confirming the colors and computing a charge, the service worker must deal with a large number of emptied or consumed merchandise item plates piled up on the table or counter for each of the guests who are leaving. As a result, checking becomes time consuming, requiring the guests to be kept waiting for long at the cashier.
In such shops or restaurants, it has in the recent times become an increased practice to use disposable, paper made tableware such as paper plates in order to reduce expenses including labor costs, the cost of equipment and expenses for water and energy that incur, inter alia in washing tableware for reuse.
Such throwaway tableware such as paper plates are lighter in weight than ordinary plastic made merchandise item plates and when disposed of as a garbage in a trash or the like tend to overlay each other to produce a complicated and voluminous mass or masses in it. They must be compressed by the worker's hands and feet to reduce their volumes and to leave the trash enough open and easier to accept a next garbage.
There have been strong demands in the restaurant or food dispensing business for a technique that enables a checking operation in a restaurant or eating house to be accomplished instantaneously both to the advantages of the restaurant or house and guests or customers and which facilitates collecting and/or disposing guests' emptied or consumed merchandise item plates to the advantages of service workers in the eating establishment.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
It is accordingly an important object of the present invention to provide a method, apparatus, and system that meet with a these demands and that overcome the above mentioned problems met in the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of attracting and conveying a conveyable object that enables an conveyed object held attracted to be released instantaneously.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conveyable object attracting and conveying apparatus that is simpler in structure, more compact and less costly than the existing apparatus.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process of and a system for checking in an eating establishment which permits a checking operation by a service worker for a guest or customer to be accomplished instantaneously and yet facilitating collection or disposition of consumed merchandise item plates.
In order to achieve the objects mentioned above there is provided in accordance with the present invention in a first aspect thereof a method of attracting a conveyable object by suction to an attractor means and conveying the so attached conveyable object by a conveyer arm, which method comprises the steps of: moving the conveyer arm towards an object conveying start side while guiding downwards with a guide cam disposed towards the object conveying start side, a cam roller attached to an front side surface of an external cylinder biased with a biasing means to assume an upper limit position thereof and thereby causing the external cylinder to descend together with an internal cylinder disposed in the external cylinder and biased upwards with a biasing means; in the object conveying start side, attracting a conveyable object by suction to the attractor means of an attractor plate disposed at a lower end of the internal cylinder, the attractor means providing a suction force sufficient to attract the conveyable object thereto by being then in suction communication with a suction source via the attractor plate, a head plate attached to a lower end of the external cylinder, and a suction hose means connecting to the suctions source; and thereafter moving the conveyer arm towards an object conveying destination side while guiding downwards with a release guide cam disposed towards the object conveying destination side, a release roller attached to a rear side surface of the internal cylinder as movable on a rear side surface of the external cylinder and thereby causing the attractor plate having the attractor means to descend to separate, in the object conveying destination side, the attractor plate from the head plate, thereby removing the suction force provided by the attractor means and releasing the
Nippon Crescent Co., Ltd.
Underwood Donald W.
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