Claims
- 1. A facility adapted for the delivery of food to patrons, said facility comprising:
- a floor slab;
- a base level housing having a preselected floor configuration and floor area, said base level housing being adapted to provide food service to patrons at the level of said base level housing;
- a plurality of vertical support columns attached to said floor slab and substantially disposed within said base level housing;
- patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing;
- a second level housing positionable atop and supported by said support columns, and positionable above and extending outward from said base level housing in cantilevered fashion to provide a larger floor area than said floor area of said base level housing, said second level housing comprising food preparation means for the preparation of food by food preparation personnel disposed therein;
- communication means for communicating the patron's order to said food preparation personnel disposed in said second level housing and to said patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing;
- means for conveying prepared food from said second level housing into said base level housing and for delivering the prepared food to said patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing; and
- means within said base level housing for delivering the prepared food from the patron service personnel to the patrons.
- 2. The facility of claim 1 wherein said base level housing and said second level housing each comprise a longer dimension and a shorter dimension, with the axis of the longer dimension of each housing disposed perpendicular to each other.
- 3. The facility of claim 2 wherein said second level housing is parallelepiped shaped.
- 4. The facility of claim 3 further comprising a flat roof.
- 5. The facility of claim 2 wherein said base level housing is substantially parallelepiped shaped.
- 6. The facility of claim 1 wherein said vertical support columns provide the corners of said base level housing.
- 7. The facility of claim 1 wherein said conveying means comprises said means for delivering prepared food to said patron service personnel disposed within said base level housing.
- 8. The facility of claim 1 wherein the prepared food comprises pizza and said food preparation means comprises an oven.
- 9. The facility of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of lights positioned upon at least one of said housings and means for repetitively sequentially illuminating individual ones of said plurality of lights to provide said facility with an illusion of movement.
- 10. The facility of claim 9 wherein said movement illusion is of second level housing rotation relative to said base level housing.
- 11. The facility of claim 1 wherein said vertical support columns are cylindrically shaped.
- 12. The facility of claim 1 wherein at least one of said vertical support columns is hollow.
- 13. The facility of claim 12 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical support columns surround conduit means for at least one substance selected from the group consisting of water, electricity, sewage, gas, and roof drainage.
- 14. The facility of claim 12 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical support columns within said base level housing comprises beverage dispensing means disposed therein.
- 15. The facility of claim 12 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical columns comprises ice dispensing means disposed therein.
- 16. The facility of claim 12 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical columns comprises beverage cup dispenser means disposed therein.
- 17. The facility of claim 12 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical columns comprises a sink and drain means disposed therein for collecting waste beverages and transmitting said waste beverages into drain means.
- 18. The facility of claim 1 wherein one of said vertical support columns comprises at least one pod swingably attached to said column, said pod being adapted for supporting equipment for use by said patron service personnel stationed at said vertical support column.
- 19. The facility of claim 1 further comprising camera means disposed within said base level housing and positioned to monitor said patron service personnel stationed in said base level housing for transmission to a monitor at a remote patron menu and ordering location.
- 20. The facility of claim 1 further comprising patron menu providing means disposed remote from said housings of said facility and positioned to provide a drive-up patron with a menu and means for ordering food.
- 21. The facility of claim 20 wherein said patron menu providing means is completely retractable into the surface form which it extends to protect it from vandalism when not in use.
- 22. The facility of claim 21 wherein said patron menu providing means is controllably positionable in height to accommodate vehicles having different seating and window heights, whereby the display height of a menu disposed thereon can be positioned to accommodate various drive-up patrons.
- 23. The facility of claim 20 wherein said patron menu providing means comprises a monitor viewable by the drive-up patron, said monitor being adapted to show thereon, using a camera and associated communication means, said patron service personnel disposed within said facility accommodating the patron.
- 24. The facility of claim 1 wherein said second level housing further comprises supply delivery port means adapted to receive supplies therethrough directly from a delivery vehicle.
- 25. The facility of claim 1 wherein said base level housing and said second level housing are prefabricated.
- 26. The facility of claim 1 comprising at least one drive-up lane disposed on a side of said base level housing and underneath said second level housing.
- 27. The facility of claim 1 wherein the patrons are walk-up patrons.
- 28. The facility of claim 1 wherein the patrons are drive-through patrons.
- 29. The facility of claim 1 wherein the patrons are both walk-up and drive-through patrons.
- 30. A facility adapted for the delivery of food to patrons, said facility comprising:
- a floor slab;
- a base level housing having a preselected floor configuration and floor area, said base level housing being adapted to provide food service to patrons at the level of said base level housing;
- patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing;
- a second level housing positionable above and extending outward from said base level housing in cantilevered fashion to provide a larger floor area than said floor area of said base level housing, said second level housing comprising food preparation means for the preparation of food by food preparation personnel disposed therein;
- said base level housing and said second level housing each comprise a longer dimension and a shorter dimension, with the axis of the longer dimension of each housing disposed perpendicular to each other;
- communication means for communicating the patron's order to said food preparation personnel disposed in said second level housing and to said patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing;
- means for conveying prepared food from said second level housing into said base level housing and for delivering the prepared food to said patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing; and
- means within said base level housing for delivering the prepared food from the patron service personnel to the patrons.
- 31. The facility of claim 30 wherein said second level housing is substantially supported on a plurality of vertical support columns disposed within said base level housing.
- 32. The facility of claim 30 wherein said vertical support columns are cylindrically shaped.
- 33. The facility of claim 31 wherein at least one of said vertical support columns is hollow.
- 34. The facility of claim 33 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical support columns surround conduit means for at least one substance selected from the group consisting of water, electricity, sewage, gas, and roof drainage.
- 35. The facility of claim 33 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical support columns within said base level housing comprises beverage dispensing means disposed therein.
- 36. The facility of claim 33 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical columns comprises ice dispensing means disposed therein.
- 37. The facility of claim 33 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical columns comprises beverage cup dispenser means disposed therein.
- 38. The facility of claim 33 wherein at least one of said hollow vertical columns comprises a sink and drain means disposed therein for collecting waste beverages and transmitting said waste beverages into drain means.
- 39. The facility of claim 31 wherein one of said vertical support columns comprises at least one pod swingably attached to said column, said pod being adapted for supporting equipment for use by service personnel stationed at said vertical support column.
- 40. The facility of claim 30 wherein said conveying means comprises means for delivering prepared food to said patron service personnel disposed within said base level housing.
- 41. The facility of claim 30 wherein the prepared food comprises pizza and said food preparation means comprises an oven.
- 42. The facility of claim 30 further comprising a plurality of lights positioned upon at least one of said housings and means for repetitively sequentially illuminating individual ones of said plurality of lights to provide said facility with an illusion of movement.
- 43. The facility of claim 42 wherein said movement illusion is of second level housing rotation relative to said base level housing.
- 44. The facility of claim 30 further comprising camera means disposed within said base level housing and positioned to monitor said patron service personnel stationed in said base level housing for transmission to a monitor at a remote patron menu and ordering location.
- 45. The facility of claim 30 further comprising patron menu providing means disposed remote from said housings of said facility and positioned to provide a drive-up patron with a menu and means for ordering food.
- 46. The facility of claim 45 wherein said patron menu providing means is completely retractable into the surface form which it extends to protect it from vandalism when not in use.
- 47. The facility of claim 46 wherein said patron menu providing means is controllably positionable in height to accommodate vehicles having different seating and window heights, whereby the display height of a menu disposed thereon can be positioned to accommodate various drive-up patrons.
- 48. The facility of claim 45 wherein said patron menu providing means comprises a monitor viewable by the drive-up patron, said monitor being adapted to show thereon, using a camera and associated communication means, said patron service personnel within said facility accommodating the patron.
- 49. The facility of claim 30 wherein said second level housing further comprises supply delivery port means adapted to receive supplies therethrough directly from a delivery vehicle.
- 50. The facility of claim 30 wherein said base level housing and said second level housing are prefabricated.
- 51. The facility of claim 30 comprising at least one drive-up lane disposed on a side of said base level housing and underneath said second level housing.
- 52. The facility of claim 30 wherein said second level housing is parallelepiped shaped.
- 53. The facility of claim 52 further comprising a flat roof.
- 54. The facility of claim 30 wherein said base level housing is substantially parallelepiped shaped.
- 55. The facility of claim 30 wherein the patrons are walk-up patrons.
- 56. The facility of claim 30 wherein the patrons are drive-through patrons.
- 57. The facility of claim 30 wherein the patrons are both walk-up and drive-through patrons.
- 58. A facility adapted for the delivery of food to patrons, said facility comprising:
- a floor slab;
- a base level housing having a preselected floor configuration and floor area, said base level housing being adapted to provide food service to patrons at the level of said base level housing;
- patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing;
- a second level housing positionable above and extending outward from said base level housing in cantilevered fashion to provide a larger floor area than said floor area of said base level housing, said second level housing comprising food preparation means for the preparation of food by food preparation personnel disposed therein;
- communication means for communicating the patron's order to said food preparation personnel disposed in said second level housing and to said patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing;
- means for conveying prepared food from said second level housing into said base level housing and for delivering the prepared food to said patron service personnel disposed in said base level housing; and
- means within said base level housing for delivering the prepared food from the patron service personnel to the patrons.
- 59. The facility of claim 58 wherein said conveying means comprises means for delivering prepared food to said patron service personnel disposed within said base level housing.
- 60. The facility of claim 58 wherein the prepared food comprises pizza and said food preparation means comprises an oven.
- 61. The facility of claim 58 further comprising a plurality of lights positioned upon at least one of said housings and means for repetitively sequentially illuminating individual ones of said plurality of lights to provide said facility with an illusion of movement.
- 62. The facility of claim 61 wherein said movement illusion is of second level housing rotation relative to said base level housing.
- 63. The facility of claim 58 further comprising camera means disposed within said base level housing and positioned to monitor said patron service personnel stationed in said base level housing for transmission to a monitor at a remote patron menu and ordering location.
- 64. The facility of claim 58 further comprising patron menu providing means disposed remote from said housings of said facility and positioned to provide a drive-up patron with a menu and means for ordering food.
- 65. The facility of claim 64 wherein said patron menu providing means is completely retractable into the surface form which it extends to protect it from vandalism when not in use.
- 66. The facility of claim 65 wherein said patron menu providing means is controllably positionable in height to accommodate vehicles having different seating and window heights, whereby the display height of a menu disposed thereon can be positioned to accommodate various drive-up patrons.
- 67. The facility of claim 64 wherein said patron menu providing means comprises a monitor viewable by a drive-up patron, said monitor being adapted to show thereon, using a camera and associated communication means, the patron service personnel within said facility accommodating the patron.
- 68. The facility of claim 58 wherein said second level housing further comprises supply delivery port means adapted to receive supplies therethrough directly from a delivery vehicle.
- 69. The facility of claim 58 wherein said base level housing and said second level housing are prefabricated.
- 70. The facility of claim 58 comprising at least one drive-up lane disposed on a side of said base level housing and underneath said second level housing.
- 71. The facility of claim 58 wherein the patrons are walk-up patrons.
- 72. The facility of claim 58 wherein the patrons are drive-through patrons.
- 73. The facility of claim 58 wherein the patrons are both walk-up and drive-through patrons.
- 74. A beverage dispensing facility comprising a service window and a plurality of structural columns adjacent to a personnel working area, wherein at least one of said structural columns comprises a tubular structural member, said tubular structural member including an opening therein at a level corresponding to the level of said service window of said facility, beverage dispensing means disposed within said tubular structural member and positioned within said opening in said structural member, said beverage dispensing means including a plurality of beverage dispensers supplied by beverage supply lines and drain means for carrying waste beverages out of said structural member.
- 75. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 74 wherein said drain means in said tubular structural member carries waste beverages downwardly through and out of said structural member.
- 76. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 74 wherein said structural column further comprises cup dispenser means disposed within said structural member for retaining and dispensing a plurality of cups within said structural member.
- 77. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 76 wherein said facility comprises a multi-story facility and said cup dispenser means extends upwardly in said tubular structural member to an upper story of said facility, whereby said cup dispenser means may be replenished with cups by personnel located in said upper story of said facility.
- 78. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 77 wherein said cups may also be replenished by personnel located at said service window.
- 79. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 74 wherein said structural column further comprises at least one pod swingable attached to said structural member adjacent to said opening in said structural member, said pod being adapted for supporting equipment for use by service personnel stationed at said column.
- 80. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 79 wherein said equipment comprises a cash register or cash drawer.
- 81. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 74 further comprising camera means affixed to said structural member and positioned to monitor a service person stationed at said service window for transmission to a monitor at a remote menu and ordering location.
- 82. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 74 further comprising a sink disposed within said tubular structural member for collecting waste beverages and transmitting said waste beverages into said drain means.
- 83. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 74 further comprising ice dispensing means disposed within said tubular structural member.
- 84. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 74 wherein said facility comprises a multi-story facility.
- 85. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 84 wherein said beverage supply lines extend downward in said tubular structural member from an upper story of said facility.
- 86. The beverage dispensing facility of claim 74 wherein at least one of said other structural columns comprises utility lines selected from the group consisting of electrical lines, gas lines, water lines, sewage lines, and roof drain lines.
- 87. A remote locatable, protectable food menu and order display unit, comprising an outer housing and in inner housing, said inner housing comprising food menu means and communication means for communicating with a remote food service location and said inner housing cooperably and telescopically vertically slidable within said outer housing, and means for selectively extending and retracting said inner housing with respect to said outer housing between a retracted position wherein the tops of said inner housing and said outer housing are substantially flush with a ground surface and an operating extended position wherein said inner housing is telescopically slidably positioned above ground such that said food menu means and communication means are usable by a patron ordering food, and said outer housing is slidable above and below the group level.
- 88. The remotely locatable, protectable food menu and order display unit of claim 87 wherein said inner housing further comprises cover means engageable against one end of said outer housing means, said cover means made of sufficiently hard and durable construction as to be resistant to damage by vandalism.
- 89. The remotely locatable, protectable food menu and order display unit of claim 87 wherein said communication means comprises a speaker and microphone unit, and a screen display unit for displaying the face of a food service person remotely located at said remote food service location and in communication with the food-ordering patron through said speaker and microphone unit.
- 90. The remotely locatable, protectable food menu and order display unit of claim 87 further comprising control means associated with said inner housing, whereby said food menu and order display unit can be selectively adjusted to the height needed by said food-ordering patron.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 07/358,418 filed on May 26, 1989 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,956.
US Referenced Citations (26)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
358418 |
May 1989 |
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