Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Processes – Work handled in bulk or groups
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-13
2001-09-11
Markoff, Alexander (Department: 1746)
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Processes
Work handled in bulk or groups
C134S032000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286522
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a method of washing and preparing equipment for use in the arrangement and serving of flight meals, wherein the equipment is transported to and from the aircraft in transport carts, and wherein the method comprises the following steps:
receiving the transport carts in an air catering kitchen, said carts containing the equipment that comprises soiled tableware arranged on trays and serving equipment arranged in drawers,
removing the equipment from the transport carts
sorting of trays, tableware, drawers and serving equipment
transporting the trays, tableware, drawers and serving equipment on a conveyor belt to a dishwasher.
The huge air traffic that is handled throughout the world and the many suppliers of services in connection with said flight transports mean that there exists at all times and at all levels a need for promoting the efficiency.
This applies to the preparation of flight meals, too, the number of which is quite colossal in view of the very large number of flight departures handled every day throughout the world.
Since very large numbers of flight meals are prepared, it goes without saying that any promotion of efficiency in this context will obviously be quite crucial if the fierce competitive environment between suppliers is to be coped with.
Exactly in connection with the preparation of flight meals, it is important that the highest possible degree of efficiency is obtained, including savings in storage space for tableware and the like. This constitutes an item of considerable importance since the stores are to be found in the environment surrounding the airport where the price per square meter is high.
One quite efficient way of rationalising the preparation flight meals is known from published PCT application No. 96/01584.
The philosophy underlying this known method is first and foremost concerned with saving storage space for transport carts, tableware and serving equipment. This is achieved when an aircraft arrives with soiled tableware and delivers this soiled tableware to a kitchen where trays with soiled tableware are instantly made ready with equipment intended for a subsequent flight departure. Following preparation of the trays, they are taken through a dishwasher following which foodstuffs are arranged thereon.
This method has proved to be highly efficient and storage space saving and has enabled handling of up to about 250 trays per hour corresponding to an average of 2500 trays per day involving a staff of about 10 employees.
Although said method is efficient it has been found, however, that certain problems may arise when the composition of the trays and the equipment that arrive differ widely from the trays that are to be shipped to a subsequent flight departure. These problems may originate i.a. in the fact that in addition to making different requirements to the composition of tray equipment, different airlines even use different tray equipment. Thus, a bottleneck may easily occur during handling of the trays on the so-called “soiled” side since quite a number of operations may be involved at this point if the tray is to be prepared for a composition which is entirely different from the one just arrived.
In addition to actual tray equipment the flight further carries accessory serving equipment, such as pitchers, salt shakers, tablecloths, etc., which is packed in drawers arranged in transport carts.
This type of equipment is quite comprehensive in case of overseas flights where the passengers are to a somewhat higher degree individually served.
It is now an object of the invention to improve the existing system whereby handling of the arrangement of air meals and preparation of serving equipment may be made even more efficient to allow even more improved storage space economy.
The object of the invention is obtained by a method of washing and preparing equipment for use in the arrangement and serving of flight meals wherein said equipment is transported to and from the aircraft in transport carts which is characterized in that sorting is carried out at each side of a conveyor belt, tableware arranged on trays being sorted at one side of the conveyor belt, while serving equipment arranged in drawers is sorted at the other side of the conveyor belt.
This allows for extremely efficient organisation of the working procedures. The fact that the sorting takes place at both sides of the conveyor belt allows the procedure to be organised in correspondence with the changing needs of different types of flights. As mentioned, overseas flights require handling of a considerably larger amount of serving equipment since it is hereby possible to meet the individual needs of the passengers on board such aircrafts.
The individual tray items, including waste, are discharged on to an additional conveyor belt, said additional conveyor belt having a direction of movement which is opposite that of the conveyor belt, following which the individual tray items are sorted out into each their basket, and that the baskets are conveyed on to the conveyor belt following filling and into the dishwasher while all waste continues to the additional conveyor belt from which it drops into a waste basket, allows for very efficient sorting of trays, cups, plates, cutlery, etc.
According to the method it is also advantageous that the standard equipment arranged in drawers is passed on to a transport device comprising two rollers mounted on the inside of two oppositely arranged side walls in an elongated box with a bottom, following which the contents of the drawer are arranged in baskets that, following filling, are passed on to the conveyor belt that conveys the baskets on to the dishwasher.
In this manner serving equipment may also be sorted in a very efficient manner. In this context is should be noted that the individual items of the serving equipment which may include pitchers, dishes, spare glasses, etc., have dimensions that are typically somewhat larger than tray equipment which means that the tray equipment is advantageously served on conveyor belts whereas, as mentioned, the serving equipment is sorted directly from the drawers that are advanced on the rollers of the transport device.
Also in connection with serving equipment some waste will occur. This is readily disposed of by discharging the waste from the serving equipment into the box.
Conveniently, the baskets for trays as well as tableware and drawers and serving equipment are arranged on a rack that has a downwardly inclining bottom plate and an upwardly inclining frame and wherein the upwardly inclining frame has dimensions that correspond to the bottoms of the baskets.
This makes it easy to handle the baskets since the baskets may be pushed directly from the upwardly inclining frame onto the conveyor belt optionally by using an empty basket as pushing means.
By intending the inclining bottom plate oh the racks on each side of the conveyor belt for receiving waste that is not discharged into the box at the side of the conveyer where the drawers and serving equipment is sorted, a convenient manner is provided of removing this waste since, in all simplicity, it slides down the downwardly inclining bottom plate, optionally aided by the supply of water to this bottom plate.
Conveniently, waste is passed from the inclining bottom plate to a central area below the conveyor belt from where it is removed by means of flushing.
It is a further advantage that the empty transport carts are taken to an additional dishwasher for transport carts where they are cleaned, and subsequently to an area in which the conveyor belt conveys cleaned drawers and serving equipment.
Hereby the particular advantage is provided that the cleaned drawers and their contents are not to be taken to a store but are arranged directly, in the transport carts that thus serve as stores. In this context it should be noted that the transport carts that contain serving equipment never contain foodstuffs and it follows that they may be made ready and simply left at the conveyor belt where they await their departure on a fl
Høst-Madsen Knud
Reenberg Steen
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Gate Gourmet International AG
Markoff Alexander
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