US4560032A — Restaurant food display and serving system

Claim 1

Independent Claim 187 words

A restaurant food display and serving system comprising a food preparation area, a watercourse surrounding said food preparation area, a counter for the receipt of food dishes surrounding said watercourse, a plurality of individual floating carriers for transporting food in recepticles, connecting means joining said floating carriers in an endless succession spaced from one another a selected distance so that said carriers cannot touch an adjacent carrier, and means for creating a water current in said watercourse for propelling said carriers around said watercourse, said connecting means including a plurality of flexible discrete members each joining the bow and stern of adjacent carriers, each discrete flexible member having a selected length so that the carriers do not touch during normal operation of the system, each of said discrete flexible members having a selected length so that each individual carrier can move a selected distance laterally with respect to said carrier in front and behind, and each of said discrete flexible members having a selected length so that a selected carrier may be stopped and the carrier behind will draw closer but will not touch said selected carrier.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 187 words

A restaurant food display and serving system comprising a food preparation area, a watercourse surrounding said food preparation area, a counter for the receipt of food dishes surrounding said watercourse, a plurality of individual floating carriers for transporting food in recepticles, connecting means joining said floating carriers in an endless succession spaced from one another a selected distance so that said carriers cannot touch an adjacent carrier, and means for creating a water current in said watercourse for propelling said carriers around said watercourse, said connecting means including a plurality of flexible discrete members each joining the bow and stern of adjacent carriers, each discrete flexible member having a selected length so that the carriers do not touch during normal operation of the system, each of said discrete flexible members having a selected length so that each individual carrier can move a selected distance laterally with respect to said carrier in front and behind, and each of said discrete flexible members having a selected length so that a selected carrier may be stopped and the carrier behind will draw closer but will not touch said selected carrier.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 73 words

A system as described in claim 1 wherein: a. said carriers are boats having a relatively flat bottom for stability and provide a relatively large contact area with the moving current created by said water current means; b. said carriers have a tapered bow for directional stability and negotiating the turns in said watercourse; and c. said carrier have a relatively flat stern for coaction with the current created by said water current.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 61 words

A system as described in claim 1: a. said means for creating a current includes a water pump and motor set, a manifold connected to said pump and mounted adjacent a substantial portion of said watercourse, a plurality of discharge pipes connected to said manifold at spaced intervals, and a plurality of discharge jets connected at spaced intervals along said watercourse.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 25 words

A system as described in claim 3 comprising: a plurality of valves connected to said discharge pipes for selectively regulating the discharge from said jets.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 175 words

A restaurant food display and serving system comprising a closed watercourse, a counter, a plurality of individual floating carriers for transporting objects, each of said carriers having a front-end section and a back-end section, a means for creating a water current in said watercourse for propelling said carriers around said watercourse, and connecting means which join said carriers in an endless succession generally spaced from one another by a selected distance, said connecting means including a plurality of flexible discrete members each joining the front and back end sections of adjoining carriers, each discrete flexible member having a selected length so that said carriers do not touch one another during normal operation of said system, that each of said carriers can move a selected distance laterally with respect to said carrier in front and behind, and that a selected one of said carriers may manually be stopped temporarily during normal operation of said system without causing bunching of said carriers and permit the manual removal of said objects from said selected one of said carriers.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 175 words

A restaurant food display and serving system comprising a closed watercourse, a counter, a plurality of individual floating carriers for transporting objects, each of said carriers having a front-end section and a back-end section, a means for creating a water current in said watercourse for propelling said carriers around said watercourse, and connecting means which join said carriers in an endless succession generally spaced from one another by a selected distance, said connecting means including a plurality of flexible discrete members each joining the front and back end sections of adjoining carriers, each discrete flexible member having a selected length so that said carriers do not touch one another during normal operation of said system, that each of said carriers can move a selected distance laterally with respect to said carrier in front and behind, and that a selected one of said carriers may manually be stopped temporarily during normal operation of said system without causing bunching of said carriers and permit the manual removal of said objects from said selected one of said carriers.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 22 words

The system of claim 5 wherein said connecting means are further adapted to prevent said carriers from bunching together along said watercourse.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 13 words

The system of claim 5 wherein said connecting means are individual, flexible members.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 36 words

The system of claim 7 wherein each of said flexible members has a selected length so that said carriers can individually move up to a predetermined maximum lateral distance transversely with respect to said water current.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 24 words

The system of claim 7 wherein each of said flexible members connects two of said carriers so that said carriers form a single loop.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 22 words

The system of claim 5 wherein said closed watercourse surround a central area adapted to be used as a food preparation area.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 69 words

The system of claim 5 wherein said carriers are boats having a relatively flat bottom for stability and provide a relatively large contact area with the moving current created by said water current means, said carriers have a tapered bow for directional stability and negotiating the currents in said watercourse, and said carrier has a relatively flat stern for coaction with the current created by said water current means.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 59 words

The system of claim 5 wherein said means for creating a current includes a water pump and motor set, a manifold connected to said pump and mounted adjacent a substantial portion of said watercourse, a plurality of discharge pipes connected to said manifold at spaced intervals, and a plurality of discharge jets connected at spaced intervals along said watercourse.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 24 words

The system of claim 12 further comprising a plurality of valves connected to said discharge pipes for selectively regulating the discharge from said jets.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1988-12-23	1989-06-24	1989-12-24	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1992-12-23	1993-06-24	1993-12-24	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1996-12-23	1997-06-24	1997-12-24	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Restaurant food display and serving system

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