Drive-thru system and method
First Claim
1. A vehicular drive-thru food ordering and delivering system comprising;
- a lot having a vehicular ingress and vehicular egress thereto;
a building for receiving and filling drive-thru customer orders for delivery to customers, the building having a primary food delivery window for passing food orders through the primary food delivery window to a drive-thru customer;
a vehicular drive-thru lane situated on the lot and passing adjacent to the primary food delivery window, the vehicular drive-thru lane accessible from the lot vehicular ingress and having access to the lot vehicular egress;
at least one order station located remote from the building and along the vehicular drive-thru lane and upstream of the primary food delivery window;
an in-line vehicle waiting area located in the vehicular drive-thru lane a distance downstream of the primary food delivery window, the in-line vehicle waiting area including one or more in-line vehicle waiting spaces in which a vehicle can await delivery of a delayed order, said distance being sufficient to allow an upstream vehicle leaving the primary food delivery window to drive forward and around a downstream vehicle waiting at the in-line vehicle waiting area and to the vehicle egress without backing up;
an attendant runway downstream of the primary food delivery window, at least a portion of the attendant runway positioned in an area outside the building and adjacent to the in-line vehicle waiting area to provide at least a portion of a path from the primary food delivery window to a vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area without requiring an attendant to cross over the vehicular drive-thru lane;
a building egress proximate to the primary food delivery window for providing attendant access from the primary food delivery window to the portion of the attendant runway that is outside the building to deliver an order to a vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area; and
a second vehicle lane positioned along at least a portion of the vehicular drive-thru lane adjacent the in-line vehicle waiting area and being of sufficient length and width to allow a vehicle leaving the primary food delivery window to drive forward and past a downstream vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area without having to back up and to thereafter proceed to the lot vehicular egress via the second vehicle lane.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicular drive-thru food ordering and delivering system and method are provided. The system includes a lot, a drive-thru lane and a building for receiving and filling drive-thru orders. The building has a primary food delivery window for passing ready orders to drive-thru customers, and a downstream in-line parking area for drive-thru vehicles having a delayed order. Proximate to and downstream from the primary food delivery window is a doorway for attendant access from the primary food delivery window to the downstream in-line parking area. An attendant runway is proximate and downstream of the doorway and proximate to the in-line vehicle waiting area. A customer with a delayed order can be directed to wait in the downstream in-line waiting area. When the delayed order is ready for delivery, an attendant can deliver the ready order via the proximate doorway and proximate attendant runway to a vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A vehicular drive-thru food ordering and delivering system comprising;
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a lot having a vehicular ingress and vehicular egress thereto; a building for receiving and filling drive-thru customer orders for delivery to customers, the building having a primary food delivery window for passing food orders through the primary food delivery window to a drive-thru customer; a vehicular drive-thru lane situated on the lot and passing adjacent to the primary food delivery window, the vehicular drive-thru lane accessible from the lot vehicular ingress and having access to the lot vehicular egress; at least one order station located remote from the building and along the vehicular drive-thru lane and upstream of the primary food delivery window; an in-line vehicle waiting area located in the vehicular drive-thru lane a distance downstream of the primary food delivery window, the in-line vehicle waiting area including one or more in-line vehicle waiting spaces in which a vehicle can await delivery of a delayed order, said distance being sufficient to allow an upstream vehicle leaving the primary food delivery window to drive forward and around a downstream vehicle waiting at the in-line vehicle waiting area and to the vehicle egress without backing up; an attendant runway downstream of the primary food delivery window, at least a portion of the attendant runway positioned in an area outside the building and adjacent to the in-line vehicle waiting area to provide at least a portion of a path from the primary food delivery window to a vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area without requiring an attendant to cross over the vehicular drive-thru lane; a building egress proximate to the primary food delivery window for providing attendant access from the primary food delivery window to the portion of the attendant runway that is outside the building to deliver an order to a vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area; and a second vehicle lane positioned along at least a portion of the vehicular drive-thru lane adjacent the in-line vehicle waiting area and being of sufficient length and width to allow a vehicle leaving the primary food delivery window to drive forward and past a downstream vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area without having to back up and to thereafter proceed to the lot vehicular egress via the second vehicle lane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of servicing customers in vehicles in a vehicular drive-thru food ordering and delivering system including a vehicular drive-thru lane with a vehicular ingress and a vehicular egress, a primary food delivery window for use by an attendant to receive payment for drive-thru orders not previously paid for, and to deliver ready orders to customers comprising,
delivering a first food order to a first customer in the vehicular drive-thru lane from the primary food delivery window if the first food order for the first customer is a non-delayed order and thereafter allowing the first customer to exit the vehicular drive-thru lane at the vehicular egress; -
directing the first customer at the primary food delivery window, if the first order is a delayed order, to move downstream from the primary food delivery window to wait in a downstream in-line vehicle waiting area that is located in the vehicular drive-thru lane, the downstream in-line vehicle waiting area also being located proximate to the primary food delivery window; providing drive-thru service to a second customer in a vehicle that is upstream from the first customer while the first customer waits in the in-line vehicle waiting area for delivery of a delayed first order, the continued service for the second customer while the first customer waits for the delayed first order including delivering a second order to the second customer from the primary food delivery window when the second order is a non-delayed order and thereafter allowing the second customer to drive forward and around the first customer without backing up to exit at the vehicular egress; delivering a delayed first order to the first customer waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area when the delayed first order becomes ready for delivery by an attendant who takes the then ready delayed first order and exits the building through a doorway provided proximate to the primary food delivery window, and thereafter walks along an outside attendant pathway to the first customer waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area, wherein the attendant pathway from the primary food delivery window to the customer waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area does not cross the drive-thru lane, and after delivery of the first order to the first customer, allowing the first customer to exit the vehicular drive-thru lane at the vehicular egress. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A quick-service restaurant system for providing both vehicular drive-thru and non-drive-thru customer food ordering comprising,
a lot; -
at least one vehicular ingress and at least one vehicular egress to the lot; a building situated on the lot for preparing drive-thru and non-drive-thru customer orders and for delivering of the customer orders to the customers; a vehicle parking lot area having a plurality of parking spaces for non-drive-thru customers and having vehicular access to at least one vehicular ingress and at least one vehicular egress for the lot; a pedestrian pathway for non-drive-thru customers to provide a pathway from the vehicle parking lot to the building to allow a non-drive-thru customer to place and receive an order thereat; a vehicular drive-thru pathway for drive-thru customers, the drive-thru pathway including at least one drive-thru lane with the drive-thru pathway having an inner perimeter, the vehicular drive-thru lane having access to at least one vehicular ingress and access to at least one vehicular egress to the lot; at least one order station located along the drive-thru pathway for placing drive-thru orders by customers in vehicles; the building having a delivery window for delivering drive-thru orders to a customer in a drive-thru vehicle, the delivery window located adjacent to the drive-thru path; and the inner perimeter of the drive-thru pathway being located outwardly from all of the parking spaces of the non-drive-thru parking lot area and outwardly from the pedestrian pathways and the building, so that non-drive-thru customers can use the parking lot area and the pedestrian pathway without walking through the vehicular drive-thru pathway.
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23. A vehicular drive-thru food ordering and delivering system comprising:
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a lot having a vehicular ingress and vehicular egress thereto; a building for receiving and filling drive-thru customer orders for delivery to customers, the building having a primary food delivery window for passing food orders through the primary food delivery window to a drive-thru customer; a primary vehicular drive-thru lane situated on the lot and passing adjacent to the primary food delivery window, the vehicular drive-thru lane accessible from the lot vehicular ingress and having access to the lot vehicular egress; at least one order station located remote from the building and along the primary vehicular drive-thru lane and upstream of the primary food delivery window; an in-line vehicle waiting area located in the primary vehicular drive-thru lane a distance downstream of the primary food delivery window, the in-line vehicle waiting area including one or more in-line vehicle waiting spaces in which a vehicle can await delivery of a delayed order, said distance being sufficient to allow an upstream vehicle leaving the primary food delivery window to drive forward and around a downstream vehicle waiting at the in-line vehicle waiting area and to the vehicle egress without backing up; an attendant runway downstream of the primary food delivery window adjacent to the in-line vehicle waiting area to provide at least a portion of a path from the primary food delivery window to a vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area; at least one pass-thru opening adjacent to the attendant runway and the in-line vehicle waiting area for passing a food order from the attendant runway to a vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area; a secondary vehicle lane positioned along at least a portion of the vehicular drive-thru lane adjacent the in-line vehicle waiting area and being of sufficient length and width to allow a vehicle leaving the primary food delivery window to drive forward and past a downstream vehicle waiting in the in-line vehicle waiting area without having to back up and to thereafter proceed to the lot vehicular egress via the second vehicle lane; a secondary drive-thru system remote from the building, the secondary drive-thru system including a drive-thru order area and a delivery area for use by drive-thru vehicles not placing food orders in the primary vehicular drive-thru lane, the secondary drive-thru system including at least one order station where a food order is placed and at least one delivery area to which a food order placed in the secondary drive-thru system is delivered; and
.a building egress proximate to the attendant runway for providing attendant access from the attendant runway to the outside of the building to deliver a food order placed from the order station of the secondary drive-thru system to a vehicle waiting in the delivery area of the secondary drive-thru system. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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Specification