Dish collecting apparatus

A dish collecting apparatus for causing a dish that passes through a collecting slot to be collected in a dish collecting portion in a restaurant, comprising:

• a determining part that determines whether a first-type dish has passed through the collecting slot or a second-type dish whose shape is different from that of the first-type dish has passed through the collecting slot;
• and
• a processing unit that performs predetermined processing according to a determination result of the determining part,
• wherein the processing unit includes:
• a first counting unit that, in a case in which the determining part determines that the first-type dish has passed through the collecting slot, counts the number of first-type dishes;
• and
• a first processing unit that performs processing related to a predetermined output operation according to the number counted by the first counting unit.

A dish collecting apparatus for causing a dish that passes through a collecting slot to be collected in a dish collecting portion in a restaurant, comprising:

• a determining part that determines whether a first-type dish has passed through the collecting slot or a second-type dish whose shape is different from that of the first-type dish has passed through the collecting slot;
• and
• a processing unit that performs predetermined processing according to a determination result of the determining part,
• wherein the predetermined processing includes at least one of:
• processing for outputting a prize from a prize output apparatus having a prize output function,
• processing for changing display content of a display device having an information displaying function, or
• processing for transmitting a determination result of the determining part, in association with an identifier for identifying a collecting slot through which the first-type dish or the second-type dish has passed, to an information processing apparatus that is communicable with the dish collecting apparatus.