Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1 1¦ The present invention relates to food preparation and,
2 1.1 more particularly, to a production line arrangement of the ood
3 1 preparation and assembly area in a fast food restaurant.
4 j
Fast food restaurants specializing in preparing and
6 serving hamburgers abound. The forte'of ~hese restaurants is
7 ¦ predicated upon the ability to provide palatable hamburgers
8 within a minimum time period from the moment an order is placed
9 by a customer. To accomplish this goal, some fast food
restaurants pre-grill the meats and maintain them hot under
11 radiant heat sources; other fast rood restaurants begin grilling
12 the hamburger meat on placement of an order with the hope of
13 having the meat grilled by the time ~he total order of ancillary
14 foods, such as french fries, drinks etc. are assembled and
delivered to the customer.
16
17 ~ither method has certain disadvantages and advantages.
18 Where the hzm~urgers are cooked before an order is placed, ~he
meat often tends to dry out and looses a great deal of its
21 flavor; the loss of flavor is often compensated by the
use of various sauces and the like. The hamburgers grilled upon
22 placement of an order therefor are relatively juicy and
24 palatable but the number of orders which can be handled per time
2S ¦ period is necessarily limited by the physical size of the grills.
26~ From an economic standpoint, fast food restaurants are
27 or are not commercial successes depending upon the number of
28 ! orders which are handled during the lunch period. As the lunch
29~ period extends for only two hours or less, depending upon whe~her
the customers are primarily white collar workers or blue collar
~2 workers, speed of execution of completea orders is paramount.
~ Thus, fast food restaurants which precook their hamburgers can
33 readily accommodate a substantial flow of orders but suffer-
2 ~'~
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1 ! dne ~ J the poor taste of the hamburgers. Those fast food
2 restaurants which grill the hambrugers after an order is placed
3 are limitedby the mechanical arrangement of the grills, make up
4 1 tables and personnel whereby a loss o~ business occurs during
rush periods.
61
7 ¦ It is therefore a primary object of the present
8 ¦ invention to provide a production line facility in the food
9 ¦ preparation area of a ~ast ~ood restaurant which can accommodate
10 ¦ any production rate.
11 I
12 ¦ Another object of the present invention is to provide
13 ¦ an efficient arrangement of grills, make up t~bles and ancillary
14 food counters for ~ast ~ood restaurants.
16 Yet another object of the present invention is to
17 provide a structural arrangement in the food preparation area
18 of a fast food restaurant which promotes operator efficiency.
lg
20 ~ Still another object of the present inven~ion is to
21 ¦ provide a structural arrangement in a ~ast food restaurant
22 ¦ whicll incorporates mass production techniques.
23 l
24 ¦ A further object of the present invention is to
provide a food preparation area in a fast food restaurant ~hich
26¦ is capable of ~illing a food order ~etween the time the order is
27 ¦ placed and payment there~or is made by the customer.
28 ~
291 ~ still urther object of the present invention is
301 to provide an arrangement of eauipments for a fast food
31¦ restaurant which is capable of a high production rate without
32 ~ degradation of palatability of the goods being prepared.
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A still further object of the present inver~tion is
2 to provide an arrangement of food preparation equipment in
3 a fast food restaurant, which equipment is useable in the
4 rapid preparation of a variety of foods.
5 l
6 ¦ These and other obiects of the present invention will
7 become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description
8 thereof proceeds.
STATEMENT OF INVENTION
11
12 Food orders are assembled in a production line manner
13 in a kitchen facility having a certain arrangement of grills
14 and counters. A pair of grills are spaced apart a distance
to permit a chef to station himself therebetween and cook
16 simultaneously on both grills. A make up counter for supplying
17 each of various food items to be combined with the cooked
lB food extends from each of the grills. A dispensing counter
19 providing ancillary food items ordered in conjunction with the
cooked foods interconnects the two make up counters and
21 permits an operator to make up the cooked food and combine
22 it with the ancillary food item(s) ordered. A serving counter
23 extends parallel to but is spaced from the dispensing counter
24 to permit a cashier therebetween to serve to the customers
both the combined cooked food and ancillary food items and
2'6 collect payment.
Z7
28 The present invention may be described with greater
29 specificity and clarity with reference to the sole figure
illustrating a plan view of a fast food restaurant incOrpQrating
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1 I the principles of the present invention.
2 l ll
3 ¦ Fast food restaurants serve three general types
4 I of customers: those who wish to eat their ordered food within
the restaurant; those who wish food to takeout; and, those who
6 wish to place their food orders from their cars for consumption
7 at a remote location. Accordingly, any fast food restaurant
8 must be capable of accommodating these three types of customers
9 ¦ or else forfeit a portion of their potential business.
10 l
11 ¦ Referring to the sole figure, there is shown a plan
12 ¦ view of a fast food restaurant which is capable of accommodating
13 ¦ all three major types of customers. The front half of the
14 ¦ restaurant includes a dining area 10 having a plurality of
15 ¦ table and chair assemblies 12 for use by the customers. The
16 ¦ configuration of these table and chair assemblies may be that of
17 ¦ any one of many well known commercially available assemblies.
18 Approximately half of the fast food restaurant floor area is
19 taken up by the food preparation area 14. The food preparation
20 ¦ area is divided from the dining area by a passageway 16 transverso
l~ !~
27 / /
29 / /
31
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1 1ll to ~e restaurant and generally ~ounded by serving counter 18,
2 Ij s'nelf 19 and trash bins 22. Ingress an~ egress from both
3 1I dining area 10 and passage~ay 16 is provided by doors 24 and
4 jl 26; an emersency side door 25 and rear door 27 may be incorporated
5 l~ Additional trash bins 23 may be disposed at the far end of
6 1 dining area 10. Restrooms 28 and 30 located toward the rear of
7 ¦ the restaurant are accessible to the customers through
8 ¦ hallway 32. A service window 34 provides communication with
9 ¦ customers arriving in their cars. placement of orders by these
10 ¦ customers may occur at a remote location by means of a speaker
11 ¦ system whereby on arriving at service window 34 the order has
12 ¦ been assembled and delivery may be made to the customer upon
14 ~ payment therefore.
15 ~ Food preparation area 14 includes various storage and
16 ¦ service facilities. A coatroom 36 for the benefit of the
~7 ¦ employed personnel is provided. A freezer 38 houses and preserves
18 ¦ the food products in a frozen state until needed. Similarly,
20 I a cooler 40 houses those food elements which are not to be
21 ¦ frozen but must be stored in a chilled environment until needed.
22 ¦ Non-perishable throwaway items, such as napkins, plates, cups,
23 ¦ etc. are located upon shelves 42 or in boxes within storage room
24 44. Sinks 46 and attendant work tables 48 and 50 are included
within a room 52 to provide for cleaning of the various equipments
employed in operating the fast food restaurant.
27 ! The hea-t of any fast food restaurant is predicated
28 ¦ upcn the types and arrangement of equipments used in the
29 actual preparation of the fosds and assembly of complete orders.
30 1
31 1 Years ago, Henry Ford taught the world the Principles
32 1 of mass production, yet many industries have failed to heed his
4~
teachings. One of these industries is the restuarants. I~ the
2 ,I following description, a production line for preparing foods
3 li will be described.
4 ~1
5 1 To provide sufficient grilling capacity to prepare an
6 ¦ unlimited number of grilled meats, such as hamburgers, two
7 ~ elongated grills 54 and 56 are employed. These grills parallel
8 1 one another and are spaced apart from one another by a distance
9 1 3ust sufficient to permit a chef (depicted by numeral 58) to
~01 stand therebetween and be able to reach the full surface of
ll both grills by simply turning from one grill to the other
12 and without taking any steps. In operation, the chef places
13 the fresh meat patties in proximity to ends 60 and 62 of grills 54
14 and 56. As the patties are being grilled, they are repositioned
toward ends 64 and ~6 ar a rate such that the patties would be
l6 well done on arrival in proximity to ends 64 and 66. For those
customers desiring cheese burgers, the operator would add the
18 ¦ cheese to the respective hamburger patties while they are being
l9 ¦ grilled upon grills 54 and 56.
2l Make up tables 68 and 70 extend from ends 64 and 66
of grills 54 and 56,- respectively. These make up tables
23 , include a wor~ area for an operator to assemble the hamburgers
24 ! in accordance with each customer's specification. That is,
2~ 11 an operator at a make up table would remove the patties from the
¦1grill when rare, medium or well done. And, the operator would ha~e
1 access to the hamburger buns and toast them as required. To meet
i the requirements o~ individualized orders, a plurality of birs 72
1l and 74 are conjoined with the respective make up tables. These
30 1 bins include the conventional items added to hamburgers, such as
31 1 lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, mayonaise, mustard, etc. As some
32 customers may wish the hamburger buns not to be toasted, a supplv
~3 of untoasteabunsare also included at the make up tables.
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1 1 One of operators 76, 78, 80 and 82 stands at each
2,~ side of each ma~e up table and services the orders taken
3 1~ ~y ore of the cashiers. That is, operator 76 assembies those orde s
4 1 ta~en by cashier 84; operator 78 assem~les those orders taken by
cashier 86; operatcr 80 assemhles those orders taken by
6 1 cashier 88; and operator 82 assembles those orders taken by
7 ¦ cashier 90.
81
The make up table a~ut, perpendicularly, counter 20, wh h
10 ~ counter is used to transfer foods from the operators at the
11 make up tables to the cashiers. The respective flow of foods
12 1 from the operators to the cashiers of the assembled hamburgers
13 ¦ is indicated by arrows 92, 94, 96 and 98.
14 l
15 I A very common fare usually accompanying an order for
16 ¦ hamburgers is that of french fries. The french fries are
17 ¦ prepared by operator 100. This operator fries the french fries
18 ¦ in deep fryers 101, 102 and 103. The prepared french fries are
19 I delivered by operator 100 to french fry storage bins 104 and 105
20 11 in counter 20. This delivery of french fries is depicted by arro
21 ¦ 106 and 107. Thereby, the available supply of french fries from
22 , ~ins 104 and 105 can be regulated by operator 100 to be commensura e
23 1 with any changes in the rate of orders for french fries.
241
25 ~ Soft drin~s and other beverages, such as milk,
26 1 are dispensed from dispensers 108 and 110 associated witl- counter
27 ~ll 20. Dispenser 108 is located bet~een and serves cashiers 84
28 ll and 86; dispenser 110 is located between and serves cashiers 88 an
29 Il, go. Thereby, the cashiers, intermediate the taking of an order
30 ¦¦ and payment therefor, will fill that portion of the order which
31 ll pertains to li~uid refreshment. Malts and milkshakes are
32 I generally requested ~y a proportion of the customers. These
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114~38g
1 ~ ar made up at malt ma~hine L12 during slac~ periods and stored
2 in malt holder 114. One of the cashiers, when traffic flow
3 ¦ allows, will make up a quantity of malts and milks~akes commen-
4 ¦ surate with experience and place them in the malt holder for
5 ¦ access to all of the cashiers.
6 l
7 ¦ Soft drink dispensers 108, 110 and 111 are connected
8 ¦ to a conventional dispensing unit 116, which unit automatically
9 ¦ mixes the respective syrups with carbonated water to dispense,
10 ¦ via tubing or hoses, through petcocks in each of the dispensers
11 ¦ the appropriate soft drink. Dispensation of crushed ice rom ice
12 ¦ machine 118 may occur automa~ically upon actuation of one of
13 ¦ dispensers 108, 110 and 111; in the alternative, ice bins may be
4 ¦ attached to the dispensers for use by the cashiers and main-
16 tained filled by operator 100.
17 Serving counter 18 includes registers 120, 122 and
~ 124. These registers serve the conventional function of
19 ¦ receiving money and ringing up the sales when made and serve
21 ¦ a secondary function of supporting order boards depicted by
22 ¦ numerals 126, 128 and 130. These order boards are visible
23 to the operators at the make up tables so that they can monitor
24 ¦ the production rate necessary to maintain a continuing flow
¦ of food and custom prepare each order.
2~ I
26 ¦ On receipt of an order, a cashier will note the order
28 upon the respective order board and may or may not verbalize
l the order for the benefit of chef 58 and operators 76, 78,
29 80 and 82. Thus, on receipt of an order, the appropriate
I operator at one o~ the make up tables can immediately begin
31 ~ to make up the hambur~e~s) from an end 64 and 6~ of the grills
32 ~ as specifically requested by the customer by viewin~ the order
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1 I¦ board and/or listening to the verbalized order. Simultaneously,
2~ chef 58 can add a sufficient nu~ber of hamburger patties to the
3 ¦ respective grill to replace the removed patties and thereby
4 1 maintain a continuous flow of hamburger patties under
preparation.
7 Cashier 90, at service window 34, also has a reyister
8 132 and an attenaant order board 134. Operator 82, at make up
9 table 68, looks at order board 134 or listens to the orders
reCeived and immediately begins to make up the hamburgers
11 specified by the customer.
12
13 The ancillary items usually accompanying or attendant
74 orders placed in ~ast food restaurants are located upon shelf
19 and are accessible to each of the customers. These items
16 include such things as napkins disposed in bins 135, straws
17 disposed in bins 136 and forks and other cutlery disposed in
18 bins 137.
19
Z0 As pointed out above, the single function in fast
21 food restaurants which places a limitation upon the rate of
23 delivery of orders is that of the time required to serve freshly
cooked foods and thereby assure serving of the food when it is
24 most flavorful. The structural relationshipsdescribed above
provide a production line environment for a con~inuing flow
25 ¦ of freshly grilled hamburger patties to the customer at the
I moment at which an order is placed. The flow rate can be
28 1I readily and easily controlled by the che~ commensurate with
I demand; thus, the demand during peak hours of operation,
¦I lunch time r can be readily satisfied.
32¦~ It is to be understood that other foods such as fish,
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1 ~ hotdoss, etc. can also ~e prepared within the fdcility described
2¦ above.
4 While the principles of the invention have now b~en
made clear in an illustrative embodiment, there will be
6 immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modi-
7 fications of structure, arrangement, proportions, elements, -
8 materials, and components, used in the practice of the
9 invention which are particularly adapted for specific environ-
- 10 ments and operating requirements without departing ~rom those
11 principles.
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