Gather feedback on ideas and inventions that you plan to market yourself, or find partners for further development. Remember that anyone can read your post, so don't disclose any confidential information about your project.
By Veritas225
#5837
I'm sure that I cannot be the first waiter in the world to think of this, and to some it may seem like laziness, but in the end, I believe this would help the restaurant industry a LOT.

Basic Structure:
- Large, sorted resevoir at top for the individual knives, forks, and spoons to be sorted into (all laying flat against eachother, of course)
- Two seperate bins on each side. One for napkins, one for the tabs (the self-adhesive paper strips that are wrapped around the rolled silverware)
- Large, removeable, bin at the bottom to store the rolled silverware.

Basic Mechanical Workings:
- When switched on, the machine will draw one napkin inside and rest it on a thin, flexible, tin plate.
- One knife, fork and spoon (or any preset combination of such) will be dropped onto the center of this napkin.
- The tin plate will then be wrapped around the silverware in a fashion that allows the napkin to fold over on itself.
- The tin plate then returns to a flat state and the machine draws in a silverware tab.
- The tab is then wrapped around the silverware bundle in a fashion similar to that of the napkin.
- The completed roll is then dropped into the removable bin.

Pros:
- Easy to use. All that is needed is for the dishwasher (or whomever) to sort the freshly cleaned silverware into the machine; many restaurant dishwashers are already in the habit of sorting silverware.
- Increased employee morale. Restaurant servers are severely underpaid as it is. Then, to require them to work on something as tedious as rolling silverware...well, that really gets under their skin.
- Efficient. The restaurant doesn't need to worry about running out of wrapped silverware because the machine can do an entire bin a lot faster than an employee could.
- Consistancy. All of the rolled silverware will look professionally done.

Cons:
- Cost. The nature of this machine and its small parts would likely create a sizeable initial investment.
- Noise. All those moving parts and clanging silverware would not be the most pleasant sound to hear in an already chaotic environment.

My requested compensation for this design:
Credit and part-ownership of the patent.
By mbr
#19347
I noticed your interest in the silverware rolling machine idea. There are a few patents out there, but the only machine that is currently on the market is a large expensive machine (costs approximately $13,000). My partner and I are looking into this area to see if there is an opportunity to develope a less expensive machine. Is your interest merely academic or are you interested in buying? Do you work in the restaurant field? I'd be interested in your feedback.
By Fiatlux
#21867
Well it's slightly disheartening to see that I wasn't the first one to come up with this! Lol anyway, I too was a waiter for 5 years and hated rolling hot silverware. It would be so convenient and sanitary to come up with something, but the logistic are difficult. There are several patents, including one with an infrared light to disenfect the silverware before it is rolled up. Hit me up if you want to consider collaborating on this. I know nearly every restuarant in the nation would buy one.
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