JP7669015B2 - Automatic food supply unit, automatic food supply method, and cooking system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ingredient self-supply unit that automatically supplies ingredients, an automatic ingredient supply method, and a cooking system.

In recent years, due to a shortage of employees in restaurants and other factors, there has been a demand to automate the cooking process in restaurants.
Technologies for automating cooking in restaurants are proposed, for example, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. Also, for example, Patent Document 3 proposes a technology for automatically delivering frozen products such as ice cream. Furthermore, for example, Patent Document 4 proposes a technology for automatically delivering containerized products of fixed shapes or bagged products of irregular shapes.

Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic noodle cooking device in which ramen noodles are placed in a basket, and in a boiling section, the basket moves along a circular path inside the kettle to boil the noodles, and in the finishing section, which is the next process consisting of a circular path, ramen soup is supplied to a container, and then the noodles are placed from the basket into the container, followed by toppings such as roast pork, then condiments, and finally the container is sent from the finishing section to an automatic delivery conveyor.

Patent document 2 discloses a pasta cooking system that includes a cooking tank for boiling pasta, a heating means for heating the water in the tank, a means for adding water to the tank, a high water level detection means, and a control means responsive to the high water level detection means that automatically fills the tank and maintains the water level between the high water level and the maximum overflow level during pasta cooking.

Patent document 3 discloses a spiral wire-type product storage shelf that has a spiral wire that runs up and down the rack case, and by rotating the spiral wire with a drive motor and lowering the products, products are removed one by one from the bottom shelf.

Patent document 4 discloses a vending machine in which storage columns set in a product storage shelf operate individually to sequentially push stored products forward, causing products to be placed in the front row to fall downward through a dispensing surface and be dispensed one by one.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 186259/1986 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-153839 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-217994 JP 2018-120289 A

The automatic noodle cooking device described in Patent Document 1 above involves a process for boiling ramen and a process for adding soup, roast pork, and other toppings and seasonings to the ramen, but there is no device for supplying the noodles, which are the ingredients, and there is no specific disclosure about cooking ingredients other than ramen.

The pasta cooking system described in Patent Document 2 above is a system that reduces the labor required for boiling pasta, but it does not include a device for supplying noodles, which are the main ingredient, and there is no specific disclosure about cooking ingredients other than pasta.

The spiral wire-type product storage shelf described in Patent Document 3 is used to sell products to customers, and there is no specific disclosure regarding cooking ingredients.

The vending machine described in Patent Document 4 is used to sell products to customers, and there is no specific disclosure regarding cooking ingredients.

The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic ingredient supply unit, an automatic ingredient supply method, and a cooking system that can automatically supply ingredients to a cooking appliance according to various dishes.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following configuration. That is, the automatic food supply unit of the first aspect of the present invention comprises a food storage and supply device having a stocker body capable of arranging food ingredients in a plurality of rows, in which a plurality of food ingredients are arranged side by side in each row, a plurality of food ingredient delivery mechanisms provided corresponding to each row and delivering the food ingredients arranged side by side in the direction of the arrangement of the food ingredients in each row, and a food ingredient supply guide section that guides one or more food ingredients delivered out of the stocker body by the plurality of food ingredient delivery mechanisms to a predetermined supply position, and a food ingredient storage and supply device that receives food ingredients supplied from the food ingredient supply guide section of the food storage and supply device at the supply position. and a food transfer device that receives the food and transfers the received food to a cooking appliance, the food delivery mechanism has a food arrangement feed section that arranges and delivers the food, a delivery drive section that drives the food arrangement feed section to deliver the food arranged in the food arrangement feed section in the arrangement direction, and a connection section that connects the food arrangement feed section to the delivery drive section, and is characterized in that when the connection of the multiple food delivery mechanisms by the connection section is released all at once, the food arrangement feed sections of the multiple food delivery mechanisms are arranged so that they can be pulled out as a unit from the stocker body.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an automatic ingredient supply unit, an automatic ingredient supply method, and a cooking system that can automatically supply ingredients according to various dishes to a cooking appliance.

1 is a perspective view of an automatic food supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view of the automatic food material supply unit shown in FIG. 1, seen from a different direction. FIG. 2 is a view of the food storage and supply device shown in FIG. 1, showing one side of a stocker body on which a delivery drive unit of a food delivery mechanism is provided, viewed obliquely from above. 4 is a diagram for explaining the inside of a stocker body of the food material storage and supply device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the periphery of a connecting portion of the food storage and supply device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the periphery of a food material conveying section of the food material delivery device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the periphery of a food material conveying section of the food material delivery device. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking system in which an automatic food supply unit is incorporated.

The following describes an ingredient self-supply unit, an ingredient automatic supply method, and a cooking system according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments shown below are merely examples of an ingredient self-supply unit, an ingredient automatic supply method, and a cooking system for embodying the technical concept of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention to these, but may be equally applied to other embodiments included in the scope of the claims.

[Embodiment]
An automatic food supply unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the automatic food supply unit 100 according to the embodiment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the automatic food supply unit 100 shown in Fig. 1, viewed from a different direction. Fig. 3 is a view of one side of the stocker body 111, on which the delivery drive unit 142 of the food delivery mechanism 140 is provided, of the food storage and supply device 110 shown in Fig. 1, viewed obliquely from above. Fig. 4 is a view for explaining the inside of the stocker body 111 of the food storage and supply device 110. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the periphery of the connection unit 150 of the food storage and supply device 110. Fig. 6A is a perspective view showing the periphery of the food conveying unit 162 of the food delivery device 160. Fig. 6B is a perspective view showing the periphery of the food conveying unit 162 of the food delivery device 160. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a cooking system 1 in which the automatic food supply unit 100 is incorporated.

The automatic food supply unit 100 of this embodiment supplies frozen noodles 2 as food ingredients in response to customer orders.
The automatic ingredient supply unit 100 of this embodiment can also handle a variety of noodle dishes, such as pasta, ramen, champon, soba, udon, somen, new noodles, hiyamugi, hoto, kishimen, yakisoba, hiyashimen, pho, etc. In the case of pasta, the automatic ingredient supply unit 100 of this embodiment includes various types of pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, lasagna, macaroni, penne, etc. It is also possible to supply ingredients other than noodles.
Examples of ingredients other than noodles include frozen hamburger steaks, frozen croquettes, frozen vegetables, and ingredients contained in containers such as retort pouch foods such as retort curry.

7, the cooking system 1 of this embodiment includes an automatic food ingredient supply unit 100, a boiler 10, a washer 11 for washing the cooking container 18, a cooking device 12 capable of cooking food ingredients such as noodles using the cooking container 18, a cooking container standby section 13, a food ingredient supply device 14 for supplying food ingredients such as meat, vegetables, sauce, and seasonings to the cooking container 18, a serving device 15 for plating cooked food in serving containers 19, and a serving container supply device 16 for storing the serving containers 19 and supplying the required type of serving container 19 to a serving position of the serving device 15. The cooking system 1 also includes a cooking container gripping device 17 for gripping and moving the cooking container 18 between the automatic food ingredient supply unit 100, the boiler 10, the washer 11, the cooking device 12, the cooking container standby section 13, the food ingredient supply device 14, and the plating device 15 and adjusting its position.
The cooking system 1 including the automatic food supply unit 100 is controlled by a control device (not shown).

The automatic food supply unit 100 includes a food storage and supply device 110 and a food delivery device 160 .
The food storage and supply device 110 is a device that stores unpackaged frozen noodles 2 and supplies a predetermined amount of the type of frozen noodles 2 according to the request. The food storage and supply device 110 is capable of storing any type of noodles, such as fresh noodles, dried noodles, frozen noodles, etc., and is equipped with temperature and humidity adjustment means in order to set the temperature, humidity, and other conditions according to the type of noodles. For example, when storing frozen noodles 2, the food storage and supply device 110 is equipped with a temperature regulator that can adjust the temperature up to the freezing temperature range.
The food storage and supply device 110 is capable of storing multiple types of noodles 2 and is also capable of adjusting the amount of noodles to be supplied, so that the desired type and amount of noodles can be supplied in response to a customer's order. For example, in the case of pasta, the food storage and supply device 110 can store various types of pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, lasagna, macaroni, and penne.

In addition, regarding the portion size, multiple sizes such as normal serving, small serving, large serving, extra large serving, etc. For example, in the case of frozen noodles 2, normal serving noodles and half-sized noodles are prepared, and it is possible to supply one normal serving noodle, one half-sized noodle for a normal serving, one normal serving noodle and one half-sized noodle for a large serving, and two normal serving noodles for an extra large serving.
If the amount of extra-large noodles to be boiled for one serving is too large due to the capacity of the boiler 10, the food storage and supply device 110 can supply two batches of regular-sized noodles to the boiler 10, which can then boil two batches of regular-sized noodles and supply these two batches of boiled noodles as one serving of extra-large-sized noodles to the cooking vessel 18. It is also possible to increase the variety of noodle sizes for one serving of frozen noodles, from regular-sized noodles and half-sized noodles to large-sized noodles and even extra-large-sized noodles.

The food storage and supply device 110 has a storage body 111 that forms the outer shell of the device, a food supply guide section 120, three shelves 130 on which frozen noodles 2 as food ingredients are arranged in a row, and a freezing device (not shown) that serves as a temperature regulator that keeps the inside of the storage body 111 at a freezing temperature.
The number of shelves 130 is not limited to three, but may be one or more.

The stocker body 111 has a food delivery outlet 111a which is an outlet for the frozen noodles 2 from inside the stocker body 111 to the outside, a food set side opening 111b which is an opening on the side where the frozen noodles 2 are set on the shelf 130, an exit door 111c which opens and closes the food delivery outlet 111a, and a food set door 111d which opens and closes the food set side opening 111b.

The food delivery port 111a is an opening formed in the stocker body 111 for delivering the frozen noodles 2 from inside the stocker body 111 to outside the stocker body 111 at a position corresponding to each shelf 130 on the side surface in the direction in which the frozen noodles 2 are delivered by the food delivery mechanism 140.

The food set side opening 111b is an opening formed on the side of the stocker body 111 where the shelves 130 are pulled out, and the opening dimensions are adjusted so that each shelf 130 can be pulled out from the lowest shelf 130 to the highest shelf 130. In other words, when the food set side opening 111b is open, the three shelves 130 in the stocker body 111 can be pulled out from the food set side opening 111b.

The food supply guide section 120 guides the frozen noodles 2 sent out from the food outlet 111a to a predetermined supply position by sliding them under their own weight. The food supply guide section 120 has a placement surface 120a on which the frozen noodles 2 sent out from the food outlet 111a are placed, which is inclined downward, and a pair of guide walls 120b are erected on the placement surface 120a to prevent the frozen noodles 2 sliding on the placement surface 120a from falling off the placement surface 120a.
The pair of guide upright walls 120b are provided on the placement surface 120a so that the distance between them approaches each other downward.

The outlet door 111c is connected to the upper edge of the food delivery opening 111a via a hinge, and is adapted to be opened and closed with the hinge as a fulcrum.
This exit door 111c is biased in a direction to close the food delivery opening 111a by a biasing member such as a spring (not shown), and is opened by being pushed in the opening direction from the inside of the stocker body 111 by a driving unit (not shown) such as an air cylinder when the frozen noodles 2 are delivered to the outside of the stocker body 111 by the food delivery mechanism 140. When the pushing by the air cylinder is released, the exit door 111c is returned to the closed state by the biasing member (not shown) such as a spring.

The shelf 130 has a plurality of food material delivery mechanisms 140 that deliver the frozen noodles 2 to the food material delivery opening 111a.
When the food setting side opening 111b is viewed as the left side, the food ingredient delivery mechanism 140 is arranged in multiple rows on the left and right for each shelf tier 130. This food ingredient delivery mechanism 140 has a spiral member 141 as a food ingredient arrangement and delivery unit 141 that arranges and arranges the frozen noodles 2, a delivery drive unit 142 that drives the spiral member 141 to deliver the frozen noodles 2 in the arrangement direction, and a connection unit 150 that connects the spiral member 141 and the delivery drive unit 142.

The spiral member 141 is a linear member formed in a spiral shape, and if the axial pitch for each circle formed when viewed from the axial direction is defined as one pitch, frozen noodles 2 can be arranged at every pitch.
Such a spiral member 141 is configured to support the frozen noodles 2 by having a portion of the linear member come into contact with the frozen noodles 2. In other words, the spiral member 141 supports the frozen noodles 2 while keeping the contact portion small, thereby preventing the unpackaged frozen noodles 2 from sticking to each other and being damaged.

The delivery drive unit 142 is realized by a rotary motor and rotates the spiral member 141 around its axis. When the delivery drive unit 142 drives the spiral member 141 to rotate around its axis, the frozen noodles 2 arranged every pitch are moved in the delivery direction along the axis of the spiral member 141.

The connecting portion 150 is a portion that separably connects the spiral member 141 and the delivery drive portion 142. The connecting portion 150 includes a drive side connecting portion 151 that is connected to the delivery drive portion 142, and a spiral side connecting portion 152 that is connected to the spiral member 141.
The drive side coupling portion 151 has a drive side disk portion 151 a connected to the drive shaft of the delivery drive portion 142 .
The driving side disc portion 151a has a plurality of connecting rods 151b arranged in a circle at intervals and protruding from the surface thereof connected to the spiral side connecting portion 152.

The spiral side connecting portion 152 has a connecting shaft 152a connected to an end of the spiral member 141 and oriented in the same direction as the drive shaft of the delivery drive portion 142, and a spiral side disk portion 152b connected to the connecting shaft 152a.
The spiral side disk portion 152b has connecting holes 152c into which the multiple connecting rods 151b of the drive side disk portion 151a are inserted.

The multiple rows of food delivery mechanisms 140 of each shelf 130 are separated integrally into the inside and outside of the stocker body 111 via the connecting parts 150. The food storage and supply device 110 is configured so that when the multiple food delivery mechanisms 140 of each shelf 130 are all disconnected at once by the connecting parts 150, the multiple spiral members 141 of the shelf 130 can be pulled out integrally from the stocker body 111.

The multiple food delivery mechanisms 140 of each shelf 130 are integrally provided by multiple delivery drive units 142 arranged outside the stocker body 111 and fixed to a single plate-like member 151c. By being arranged outside the stocker body 111, these delivery drive units 142 are not exposed to the freezing temperature inside the stocker body 111.

On the other hand, the multiple spiral members 141 of each shelf 130 are arranged inside the stocker body 111, and the multiple spiral members 141 are connected together by a support member 152d that rotatably supports each connecting shaft 152a of the multiple spiral members 141.

Plate-like member 151 c is attached to stocker body 111 so as to be movable in the axial direction of food material delivery mechanism 140 in a direction away from the outer surface of stocker body 111 .
When the plate-like member 151c corresponding to one shelf 130 is moved in a direction away from the outer surface of the stocker body 111, the multiple delivery drive parts 142 of that shelf 130 are moved together with the plate-like member 151c, and the connecting rods 151b of each food delivery mechanism 140 inside the stocker body 111 are moved in a direction to come out of the connecting holes 152c. This causes the multiple connecting parts 150 of one shelf 130 to be disconnected all at once, and the multiple spiral members 141 of one shelf 130 can be pulled out together along the rails 131 from inside the stocker body 111.
In this manner, by pulling out the multiple spiral members 141 of each shelf 130 from within the stocker body 111, the frozen noodles 2 can be easily set on the shelf 130.

The drive side disk portion 151a is elastically biased toward the drive side disk portion 151a by a biasing member such as a spring (not shown). Therefore, when the pulled-out shelf 130 is pushed back into the stocker body 111, even if the multiple connecting rods 151b of the drive side disk portion 151a are not inserted into each connecting hole 152c, when the drive side disk portion 151a starts to rotate by the output drive portion 142, the multiple connecting rods 151b are inserted into each connecting hole 152c at a rotation position where the multiple connecting rods 151b are aligned with the connecting holes 152c. In this way, the connection portion 150 is easily connected.

This type of food storage and supply device 110 can simultaneously send multiple frozen noodles 2 to the food supply guide section 120 using multiple food supply mechanisms 140, thereby being able to supply food ingredients 2 according to various dishes.
For example, regular-sized frozen noodles 2 are placed in one row of the food delivery mechanism 140, and half-sized frozen noodles 2 are placed in the other row.
For a regular portion, one regular-sized frozen noodle 2 is delivered by one row of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140, for a small portion, one half-sized frozen noodle 2 is delivered by one row of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140, for a large portion, one regular-sized frozen noodle 2 is delivered by one row of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 and one half-sized frozen noodle 2 is delivered by the other row of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 at the same time, and for an extra large portion, regular-sized frozen noodle 2 can be delivered by two food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 at the same time.
A plurality of frozen noodles 2 simultaneously delivered by a plurality of food material delivery mechanisms 140 are guided together to a predetermined delivery position by the food material delivery guide section 120.

Next, the food material delivery device 160 will be described.
The food ingredient delivery device 160 has a device main body 161 and a food ingredient transport section 162 that receives the frozen noodles 2 supplied from the food ingredient storage and supply device 110 and transports the received frozen noodles 2 to the next cooking process.

The device body 161 has a base end portion 161a constituting the lower end portion of the device, and a lift guide portion 161b extending upward from the base end portion 161a.
The lift guide section 161b is provided with a lift mechanism 161c that lifts and moves a lift movement section 163 (described later) of the food material conveying section 162. The lift mechanism 161c is realized by, for example, an electric cylinder.

The food conveying section 162 has a lifting/moving section 163, a pivoting arm 164 having one end pivotally connected to the lifting/moving section 163, and a food storage container 165 pivotally connected to the tip of the pivoting arm 164.

The lifting and moving section 163 is lifted and moved along the lifting and moving guide section 161b by a lifting mechanism 161c provided in the lifting and moving guide section 161b. The lifting and moving section 163 is moved and positioned to a height at which the frozen noodles 2 supplied by sliding down the food supply guide section 120 from the food supply outlet 111a of each shelf 130 of the food storage and supply device 110 can be accommodated by the food storage container 165.
The lifting/lowering movement portion 163 is moved and positioned at a height corresponding to each shelf 130 detected by a position detection sensor (not shown) provided on the lifting/lowering guide portion 161b, for example.

One end of the rotating arm 164 is connected to a first rotating drive mechanism 163a provided in the lifting/moving section 163, and is driven to rotate around the one end as a fulcrum.
In addition, the rotating arm 164 is provided with a second rotating drive mechanism 164a at its tip for rotating the food storage container 165, and the food storage container 165 is rotatably connected via the second rotating drive mechanism 164a.

The second rotation drive mechanism 164a has a roller 164b that is rotatably mounted on the tip of the rotation arm 164 by a rotation motor (not shown) or the like, and the wrapping portion 165a (described later) of the food storage container 165 is adapted to be wrapped around a portion of the outer circumferential surface of this roller 164b.

The food storage container 165 has a wrapping portion 165a that is wrapped around the outer circumferential surface of the roller 164b of the second rotation drive mechanism 164a, and a food storage portion 165b that stores the frozen noodles 2. The food storage container 165 is rotatably suspended from the tip of the rotating arm 164 along the outer circumferential surface of the roller 164b of the second rotation drive mechanism 164a.
The food storage section 165b functions as a boiling basket that allows for draining of water.
When the roller 164b of the second pivot drive mechanism 164a is rotated, the food storage section 165b of this food storage container 165 is tilted via the wrapping section 165a, so that the frozen noodles 2 stored inside can be transferred to the outside.

Next, a series of steps will be described in which the cooking system 1 incorporating the automatic ingredient supply unit 100 automatically cooks using ingredients 2 supplied by the automatic ingredient supply unit 100. Each part of the cooking system 1 is controlled by a control device (not shown).

First, when a customer places an order for pasta, the delivery drive unit 142 of the food delivery mechanism 140 is driven, and the frozen noodles 2 arranged on the spiral member 141 are delivered in the delivery direction along the axis.
For example, the frozen noodles 2 are supplied in sequence from the top shelf 130 of the three shelves 130 of the food storage and supply device 110. In other words, when the frozen noodles 2 on the top shelf 130 of the food storage and supply device 110 runs out, the frozen noodles 2 are supplied to the second shelf 130, then the third shelf 130, and so on.
At each shelf 130, for example, one meal's worth of frozen noodles 2 is sent out to the food ingredient supply guide section 120 from the rightmost row of the multiple rows and from the frontmost row of each row. The frozen noodles 2 sent out to the food ingredient supply guide section 120 slide down the inclined surface of the food ingredient supply guide section 120 and are stored in the food ingredient storage section 165b of the food ingredient delivery device 160. The lifting and lowering section 163 of the food ingredient delivery device 160 goes to pick up the frozen noodles 2 from the food ingredient supply guide section 120 corresponding to the shelf 130 to which the frozen noodles 2 are supplied.
Here, when a customer orders, for example, a regular portion, one regular-sized frozen noodle 2 is sent out by one row of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140, when a small portion, one half-sized frozen noodle 2 is sent out by one row of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140, when a large portion, one regular-sized frozen noodle 2 is sent out by one row of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 and one half-sized frozen noodle 2 is sent out by the other row of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 at the same time, and when a customer orders an extra large portion, regular-sized frozen noodle 2 is sent out by two food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 at the same time.
A plurality of frozen noodles 2 simultaneously sent out by a plurality of food material sending mechanisms 140 of the food material storage and supply device 110 are guided together by the food material supply guide section 120 into the food material storage section 165b of the food material delivery device 160.

The food ingredient delivery device 160 raises and lowers the lifting and lowering section 163 to a position where the frozen noodles 2 sliding down from the food ingredient supply guide section 120 of the shelf 130 to which the frozen noodles 2 are supplied can be received within the food ingredient storage section 165b with the pivoting arm 164 facing the food ingredient storage and supply device 110.
The food material delivery device 160, which has one or more frozen noodles 2 stored in the food material storage section 165b, rotates the pivot arm 164 from the food material storage and supply device 110 side toward the boiler 10 side to which the frozen noodles are to be supplied, and the frozen noodles in the food material storage section 165b are boiled in the hot water of the boiler 10 for the boiling time ordered by the customer.

In the boiler 10, the frozen noodles are boiled for the boiling time ordered by the customer, and the boiled noodles are transferred to the cooking vessel 18 in which the ingredients and sauce have already been cooked. When the noodles 2 are boiled, the food storage vessel 165 is raised. The cooking vessel 18 is positioned by the cooking vessel gripping device 17 at a position approximately in the center of the boiler 10, below the raised food storage vessel 165 and above the position where the noodles 2 are heated. Next, the raised food storage vessel 165 is tilted (see Figure 6B), and the noodles 2 in the food storage vessel 165 are transferred to the cooking vessel 18. At this time, the position where the cooking vessel 18 receives the noodles is adjusted to match the position to which the food storage vessel has been raised.

The ingredients and sauce are cooked in the cooking vessel 18 in time with the time it takes for the noodles 2 to be boiled. The cooking vessel 18, which has been cleaned by the cleaning machine 11, is moved within the ingredient supplying device 14 by the cooking vessel gripping device 17, and multiple types of ingredients and sauces are supplied from the ingredient supplying device 14 in response to orders from customers. In the ingredient supplying device 14, multiple types of ingredients, multiple types of sauces, multiple types of seasonings, etc. are stored under appropriate temperature and/or humidity conditions. For example, the ingredient supplying device 14 is equipped with a refrigeration device. The cooking vessel 18 receives the specified ingredients or sauce while being positioned by the cooking vessel gripping device 17 at a supply position for the specified ingredients or sauce within the ingredient supplying device 14.

After receiving the desired ingredients or sauce, the cooking container 18 is transported to the cooking container standby section 13 by the cooking container gripping device 17, or, if the cooking device 12 is available and there is no need to wait for the noodles to finish boiling, it is transported directly to the cooking container receiving position of the cooking device 12. In this embodiment, two cooking devices 41 are provided. If the cooking device 41 is not available, if there is time until the cooking start time and it is necessary to wait for the noodles to finish boiling, or if the cooking container 18 is to be transferred between multiple cooking container gripping devices 17, the cooking container 18 is temporarily placed or temporarily placed in the cooking container standby section 13. For example, since the two cooking container gripping devices 17 in this embodiment each have a predetermined range of self-propelling, depending on the position to which the cooking container 18 is moved, it may be necessary to transfer the cooking container 18 between the cooking container gripping devices 17. In this case, one cooking container holding device 17 temporarily places a cooking container 18 in the cooking container waiting area 13, and the other cooking container holding device 17 can pick up the temporarily placed cooking container 18. The range in which the cooking container holding devices 17 can move independently can also be set to overlap. The time to start cooking, the heating time during cooking, the heating strength of the cooking dish, etc. are automatically adjusted according to the customer's order.

In the cooking device 12, the cooking container 18 is rotated while held in a position tilted at a predetermined angle from the vertical, and is heated by a heating means, for example, an electromagnetic heating means. By heating the cooking container 18 while rotating, the ingredients can be heated evenly and the ingredients and sauce can be mixed appropriately.

The cooking container 18 that has been cooked by the cooking device 12 is carried by the cooking container gripping device 17 to the noodle receiving position of the boiler 10, and the boiled noodles 2 are added. The cooking container 18 with the noodles 2 added is carried back to the cooking device 12 by the cooking container gripping device 17, and the cooking container 18 is heated as it rotates, so that the boiled noodles 2 are mixed with the ingredients and sauce while being heated.

When the cooking for a predetermined time is completed, the cooking container 18 is carried by the cooking container gripping device 17 to the serving device 15 located at the end of the food supply device 14. At a predetermined position of the serving device 15, a serving container 19 is prepared at a serving position of the serving device 15 by the serving container supply device 16. The serving device 15 can serve the cooked food in the serving container 19 by tilting the cooking container 18 at a predetermined angle relative to the serving container 19. The served serving container 19 is served to the customer by, for example, an automatic serving machine (not shown). In this embodiment, two serving devices 15 are provided, and the serving container supply device 16 can also supply serving containers 19 corresponding to the serving positions of the two serving devices 15.

When cooking multiple ingredients, the heating times may differ. In this case, for example, ingredients with longer heating times can be placed in the cooking container 18 first and cooked for a predetermined time by the cooking device 12, and then ingredients with shorter heating times can be added to the cooking container 18 from the ingredient supply device 14 and cooked for a further predetermined time. Also, after adding noodles to the cooking container 18, ingredients can be supplied from the ingredient supply device 14. The cooking times, order, etc. are automatically planned according to the required ingredients, etc., in response to the customer's order.

In addition, the cooking container 18 cooked in the cooking device 12 passes through the food supply device 14 on the way to the serving device 15 by the cooking container gripping device 17. When passing through the food supply device 14, it is also possible to add topping ingredients from the food supply device 14 to the food in the cooking container 18. When adding topping ingredients, the cooking container gripping device 17 moves the cooking container 18 to a topping ingredient addition position in the food supply device 14.

After the food has been plated by the serving device 15, the cooking container 18 is carried to the washer 11 by the cooking container gripping device 17. In this embodiment, two washer 11 are provided. When a used cooking container 18 is set in the washer 11 with the storage surface facing downwards, the lid of the washer 11 is closed, and the cooking container 18 is washed with cleaning water sprayed from a rotating nozzle inside the washer 11, and is rinsed with rinsing water sprayed from the rotating nozzle, and further dried as necessary.

The manner of drying the cooking container 18 can be selected from various options depending on the operating mode of the washer 11. For example, in the case of washing with warm water, the cooking container 18 can be allowed to dry naturally. If necessary, it is also possible to blow off and remove moisture by blowing air onto it. Drying using, for example, cold or warm air is also possible.

A plurality of cooking containers 18 are provided, and for example, cooking can be performed using four cooking containers 18 at the same time. The cooking container holding device 17 can hold and release the flange portion 18a provided around the entire circumference of the cooking container 18 with a pair of movable gripping claws (not shown). The cooking container holding device 17 can move on its own along a rail (not shown), can rotate horizontally, and is equipped with a position/attitude adjustment unit (not shown). The gripping claws are provided in the position/attitude adjustment unit, so that the gripping claws can adjust the position and attitude of the cooking container 18 while holding it. For example, the cooking container holding device 17 can move, change the direction, raise and lower the cooking container 18, and adjust the attitude of the cooking container 18 to place it in the heating cooking device 12.

Since the cooking vessel 18 has a flange portion 18a around the entire circumference, the cooking vessel gripping device 17 can grip any part of the flange portion 18a with its gripping claws, simplifying positioning control when the cooking vessel gripping device 17 grips the cooking vessel 18. The cross section of the flange portion 18a can be, for example, L-shaped, making it easy to grip with the gripping claws. The outer circumference of the cooking vessel 18 and the L-shaped flange form a U-shaped space that opens downward inside the flange portion 18a around the entire circumference of the cooking vessel 18. In addition, by providing multiple holes in the upper surface of this U-shaped space, cleaning water that accumulates in the U-shaped space during cleaning with the cleaning machine 11 can be drained.

The cooking container gripping device 17 is configured so that it can travel along the rail by a travel means. The travel means is an electric drive means that surrounds the periphery of the rail. In this embodiment, two cooking container gripping devices 17 are provided for one rail, and the two cooking container gripping devices 17 work together to handle multiple cooking containers 18. Each of the two cooking container gripping devices 17 has a defined range of movement, but as mentioned above, there may be a range where these ranges of movement overlap.

The number and arrangement of each device exemplified in this embodiment are merely examples and do not limit this embodiment. The number of each device is not limited to, for example, two, but may be one, three or more. The number of cooking containers 18 is also not limited to four, but may be one or more, and may be five or more. In addition, this embodiment has been described as automating all the processes of the cooking system 1, but this embodiment is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to manually perform some or all of the plating device 15 and the serving container supply device 16. For example, it is also possible to manually arrange the plating of food plated in the serving containers 19 by the plating device 15, manually place the serving containers 19 in a predetermined position, and further, for example, manually arrange the plating and add toppings as a finishing touch. It is also possible to manually serve food to customers, and manually accept orders from customers.

In a system using multiple cooking containers 18, for example four, multiple ordered dishes can be cooked in parallel at the same time. In this case, it is possible to process multiple dishes ordered by customers to be cooked simultaneously. The sequence for cooking multiple dishes simultaneously, such as which ingredients to supply from the ingredient supply device 14 to which cooking container 18, in what order to heat them with what temperature and for how long using the heating cooking device, the timing to boil the type and amount of noodles as ordered using the boiler 10, and the timing of heating using the heating cooking device 12, are automatically calculated by the control means of the cooking system 1, and each device of the cooking system 1 is automatically controlled in a coordinated manner according to this calculated sequence.

In the automatic food supply unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the food storage and supply device 110 sends one or more food ingredients 2 out of the stocker body 111 by a plurality of food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 provided on each of a plurality of shelves 130, and the one or more food ingredients 2 sent out of the stocker body 111 are received by the food ingredient supply guide section 120 and guided to a predetermined supply position, and the food ingredient transfer device 160 receives the food ingredients 2 supplied from the food ingredient supply guide section 120 of the food storage and supply device 110 at the supply position and transfers the received food ingredients 2 to the boiler 10 as a cooking device, so that it is possible to automatically supply food ingredients according to various dishes to the cooking device.

In addition, in the automatic food supply unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the food storage and supply device 110 has a temperature regulator that keeps the inside of the stocker body 111 in the freezing temperature range, so the food 2 can be supplied at the desired temperature.

In addition, in the automatic food supply unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the food delivery mechanism 140 has a spiral member 141 as a food arrangement and delivery section that arranges the food 2, a delivery drive section 142 that drives the spiral member 141 to deliver the food 2 arranged on the spiral member 141 in the arrangement direction, and a connection section 150 that connects the spiral member 141 and the delivery drive section 142. When the connection of the multiple food delivery mechanisms 140 of the shelf 130 by the connection section 150 is released all at once, the multiple spiral members 141 of the shelf 130 can be pulled out as a unit from the storage body 111. Therefore, by pulling out the multiple spiral members 141 of each shelf 130 as a unit from within the storage body 111, food 2 can be easily set on the multiple spiral members 141 of each shelf 130.

In addition, the cooking system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an automatic ingredient supply unit 100, and therefore can achieve the same effects as the automatic ingredient supply unit 100.

In addition, in the automatic ingredient supply method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the ingredients arranged in each row are automatically sent in the direction of arrangement by a plurality of ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 provided corresponding to each row of ingredients 2 arranged in multiple rows, one or more ingredients 2 sent out of the stocker main body 111 by the plurality of ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 are received by the ingredient supply guide section 120 and guided to a predetermined supply position, the ingredients 2 supplied from the ingredient supply guide section 120 are received at the supply position, and the received ingredients 2 are automatically transferred to the boiler 10 as a cooking device, so that it is possible to automatically supply ingredients according to various dishes to the cooking device.

In the automatic food supply unit 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the food delivery mechanism 140 delivers the food 2 by using a mechanism that uses the spiral member 141, but other mechanisms may be used as long as they can deliver the food 2 to the food supply guide section 120. For example, if the food is liquid, fluid or powdery in the stored state and needs to be stored in a container, the food delivery mechanism 140 may deliver a container that contains the food. For example, the food may be delivered by a pressing member driven by the drive section pressing the container that contains the food.
Examples of liquid, fluid or powdered ingredients include soups such as corn soup and miso soup, stock, jelly, vegetable powder, sauce, vegetable paste, condiments and cut vegetables.

In addition, in the embodiment of the automatic food supply unit 100 of the present invention, the inside of the stocker body 111 is kept at a freezing temperature, but the inside of the stocker body 111 may be kept at a temperature range other than the freezing temperature. For example, when hot food is supplied from the food storage supply device 110, the stocker body 111 is provided with a heat retention function. The food storage supply device 110 may store food by dividing the inside of the stocker body 111 into various temperature ranges. For example, the inside of the stocker body 111 may be partitioned for each shelf 130, and each shelf 130 may be kept at a different temperature range. More specifically, of the three shelves 130 of the food storage supply device 110, the upper shelf is kept at a steam temperature range of about 100 degrees to store steamed food 2 such as Chinese buns, the middle shelf is kept at a temperature range of about 70 degrees to store food 2 such as soup, and the lower shelf is kept at a freezing temperature range to store frozen food 2 such as frozen noodles.

In addition, in the automatic food ingredient supply unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, multiple types of food ingredients 2 may be stored in the stocker body 111. For example, by changing the type of food ingredients 2 arranged in each row of the food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 and simultaneously driving the delivery drive units 142 of the food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 in which different types of food ingredients 2 are respectively arranged, different types of food ingredients 2 can be simultaneously delivered to the food ingredient supply guide unit 120. More specifically, frozen noodles and frozen vegetables can be simultaneously delivered to the food ingredient supply guide unit 120 by two food ingredient delivery mechanisms 140 in which frozen noodles and frozen vegetables are respectively arranged. This allows cooking to be performed automatically by boiling the frozen noodles and frozen vegetables at the same time.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are merely examples of an automatic ingredient supply unit, an automatic ingredient supply method, and a cooking system for embodying the technical ideas of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention to these embodiments, which can be equally applied to other embodiments. Furthermore, it is possible to omit, add, or modify parts of these embodiments, or to combine aspects of each embodiment.

100 ... automatic food supply unit 10 ... boiler 11 ... cleaning machine 12 ... cooking device 13 ... cooking container standby section
14 ... food supply device 15 ... serving device 16 ... serving container supply device 17 ... cooking container gripping device 18 ... cooking container 18a ... flange portion 19 ... serving container 110 ... food storage and supply device 111 ... stocker body 111a ... food delivery outlet 111b ... food set side opening 111c ... exit door 111d ... food set door 120 ... food supply guide portion 120a ... placement surface 120b ... guide erection wall 130 ... shelf 131 ... rail 140 ... food delivery mechanism 141 ... spiral member (food arrangement delivery section)
142 ... Sending drive unit 150 ... Connection unit 151 ... Drive side connection unit 151a ... Drive side disc unit 151b ... Connection rod 151c ... Plate-shaped member 152 ... Spiral side connection unit 152a ... Connection shaft 152b ... Spiral side disc unit 152c ... Connection hole 152d ... Support member 160 ... Food material delivery device 161 ... Device body 161a ... Base end portion 161b ... Lifting guide unit 161c ... Lifting mechanism 162 ... Food material conveying unit 163 ... Lifting movement unit 163a ... First rotating drive mechanism 164 ... Rotating arm 164a ... Second rotating drive mechanism 164b ... Roller 165 ... Food material storage container 165a ... Wrapping portion 165b ... Food material storage unit 1 ... Cooking system 2 ... Frozen noodles, noodles (food material)

Claims (8)

a stocker body capable of arranging ingredients in a plurality of rows, with a plurality of ingredients being arranged side by side in each row;
a plurality of food material delivery mechanisms provided corresponding to each row, for delivering the food materials arranged in each row in the direction of arrangement of the food materials in each row;
a food material supply guide section that guides one or more food materials sent out of the stocker body by the plurality of food material sending mechanisms to a predetermined supply position;
A food storage and supply device having
a food material transfer device that receives the food material supplied from the food material supply guide unit of the food material storage and supply device at the supply position and transfers the received food material to a cooking device;
Equipped with
The food material delivery mechanism includes a food material arrangement and delivery unit that arranges and delivers food materials, a delivery drive unit that drives the food material arrangement and delivery unit so as to deliver the food materials arranged in the food material arrangement and delivery unit in the arrangement direction, and a connection unit that connects the food material arrangement and delivery unit to the delivery drive unit,
An automatic food supply unit characterized in that when the connection of the multiple food feed mechanisms by the connecting parts is released all at once, the food placement and feeding parts of the multiple food feed mechanisms are arranged to be withdrawn integrally from the stocker main body. a stocker body capable of arranging ingredients in a plurality of rows, with a plurality of ingredients being arranged side by side in each row;
a plurality of food material delivery mechanisms provided corresponding to each row, for delivering the food materials arranged in each row in the direction of arrangement of the food materials in each row;
a food material supply guide section that guides one or more food materials sent out of the stocker body by the plurality of food material sending mechanisms to a predetermined supply position;
A food storage and supply device having
a food material transfer device that receives the food material supplied from the food material supply guide unit of the food material storage and supply device at the supply position and transfers the received food material to a cooking device;
Equipped with
The food material delivery mechanism includes a food material arrangement and delivery unit that arranges and delivers food materials, a delivery drive unit that drives the food material arrangement and delivery unit so as to deliver the food materials arranged in the food material arrangement and delivery unit in the arrangement direction, and a connection unit that connects the food material arrangement and delivery unit to the delivery drive unit,
The connecting portion has a connecting rod and a connecting hole into which the connecting rod is inserted,
This automatic food supply unit is characterized in that the connecting portion can switch between a connected state in which the connecting rod is inserted into the connecting hole, and a separated state in which the connecting rod is not inserted into the connecting hole. a stocker body capable of arranging ingredients in a plurality of rows, with a plurality of ingredients being arranged side by side in each row;
a plurality of food material delivery mechanisms provided corresponding to each row, for delivering the food materials arranged in each row in the direction of arrangement of the food materials in each row;
a food material supply guide section that guides one or more food materials sent out of the stocker body by the plurality of food material sending mechanisms to a predetermined supply position;
A food storage and supply device having
a food material transfer device that receives the food material supplied from the food material supply guide unit of the food material storage and supply device at the supply position and transfers the received food material to a cooking device;
Equipped with
The plurality of food material delivery mechanisms are divided into a plurality of shelves (130), and each shelf (130) is provided with a food material supply guide portion;
The food material transfer device includes a food material storage container for storing received food materials, the food material storage container being provided at a tip of an arm that is rotatable and capable of being raised and lowered, and the food material storage container is provided at a tip of the arm that is rotatable and capable of being raised and lowered, the food material storage container being rotatable at least between a receiving position and a removing position,
The automatic food supply unit is characterized in that the food transport device controls the food storage container to the receiving position at the removal position of each food supply guide section, and to the removal position at a position where the food is removed to the next process. The automatic food supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the food storage and supply device has a temperature regulator that maintains the inside of the stocker body within a specified temperature range. A cooking system comprising an automatic food supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4. a food material delivery process in which food materials arranged in a plurality of rows are automatically delivered in the direction of their arrangement by a plurality of food material delivery mechanisms provided corresponding to each row of food materials arranged in the stocker body;
a food material supply guiding step of receiving, by a food material supply guide section, one or more food materials sent out of the stocker body by the plurality of food material delivery mechanisms and guiding the food materials to a predetermined supply position;
a food material transfer step of receiving the food material supplied from the food material supply guide unit at the supply position and automatically transferring the received food material to a cooking device;
Including,
The food material delivery mechanism includes a food material arrangement and delivery unit that arranges and delivers food materials, a delivery drive unit that drives the food material arrangement and delivery unit so as to deliver the food materials arranged in the food material arrangement and delivery unit in the arrangement direction, and a connection unit that connects the food material arrangement and delivery unit to the delivery drive unit,
A method for automatically supplying food ingredients, characterized in that, when the connection of the multiple food ingredient delivery mechanisms by the connecting parts is released all at once during the food ingredient delivery process, the food ingredient placement and delivery parts of the multiple food ingredient delivery mechanisms can be pulled out as a unit from the stocker main body. a food material delivery process in which food materials arranged in a plurality of rows are automatically delivered in the direction of their arrangement by a plurality of food material delivery mechanisms provided corresponding to each row of food materials arranged in the stocker body ;
a food material supply guiding step of receiving, by a food material supply guide section, one or more food materials sent out of the stocker body by the plurality of food material delivery mechanisms and guiding the food materials to a predetermined supply position;
a food material transfer step of receiving the food material supplied from the food material supply guide unit at the supply position and automatically transferring the received food material to a cooking device;
Including,
In the food material delivery step, the food material delivery mechanism includes a food material arrangement and delivery unit that arranges and delivers food materials, a delivery drive unit that drives the food material arrangement and delivery unit to deliver the food materials arranged in the food material arrangement and delivery unit in the arrangement direction, and a connection unit that connects the food material arrangement and delivery unit to the delivery drive unit,
The connecting portion has a connecting rod and a connecting hole into which the connecting rod is inserted,
A method for automatically supplying food ingredients, characterized in that the connecting portion switches between a connected state in which the connecting rod is inserted into the connecting hole, and a separated state in which the connecting rod is not inserted into the connecting hole. a food material delivery process in which food materials arranged in a plurality of rows are automatically delivered in the direction of their arrangement by a plurality of food material delivery mechanisms provided corresponding to each row of food materials arranged in the stocker body ;
a food material supply guiding step of receiving, by a food material supply guide section, one or more food materials sent out of the stocker body by the plurality of food material delivery mechanisms and guiding the food materials to a predetermined supply position;
a food material transfer step of receiving the food material supplied from the food material supply guide unit at the supply position and automatically transferring the received food material to a cooking device;
Including,
In the food material delivery step, the plurality of food material delivery mechanisms are divided into a plurality of shelves, and each shelf is provided with a food material supply guide portion;
The food transfer device has a food storage container for storing received food ingredients that is rotatably and vertically mounted at the end of an arm so that it can rotate between at least a receiving position and a removal position, and the food transfer device controls the food storage container to the receiving position at the removal position of each food supply guide section, and to the removal position at a position where the food ingredients are removed to the next process.This automatic food supply method is characterized in that the food transfer device controls the food storage container to the receiving position at the removal position of each food supply guide section, and to the removal position at the position where the food ingredients are removed to the next process.