Circulative catering table

Claim 1

A circulative catering table comprising: a base frame structure having inner and outer side walls defining therebetween an endless circulating path of travel; a fixed fringe table mounted substantially horizontally around the circumference of said outer side wall of said base frame structure; an endless conveyer mounted in said endless circulating path of travel for circulatively transferring meals therealong, said endless conveyer comprising a strand of chain movable in and along said endless circulating path of travel and meshed with and driven from a horizontally disposed sprocket wheel which is supported on a vertical shaft, and a series of crescent plates swivable on said chain and having side wings thereof slidingly rested on horizontal racks at the upper ends of said inner and outer side walls of said base frame structure in horizontal alignment with each other to provide a planar meal-transferring surface on said endless circulating path of travel; a series of U-shaped meal receiving and dispensing compartments successively secured to the upper surface of said plates of said endless conveyer for individually accommodating dishes or meals to be circulated; driving meals mounted on said base frame structure and associated with said endless conveyer for imparting translational movement thereto; a cover plate mounted overhead said circulating path of travel and supported on said inner side wall of said base frame structure by means of a number of posts in parallel spaced relationship to said meal compartments on said endless conveyer; and a number of sterilizing lamps mounted on the underside of said cover plate end to end in the longitudinal direction and wherein said meal compartments further comprise an opening in the upper plate thereof for receiving irradiation from said sterilizing lamps for maintaining in a sanitary state the meals which are under circulation in said compartments.