Automatic cooking system and method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses an automatic cooking system and method thereof, wherein a food material conveying module comprises a lifting unit, a storage box and a vertically arranged conveying rail; the storage box is used for quantitatively storing food materials, and the storage box is arranged in the conveying rail; the lifting unit drives the storage box to lift and lower in the conveying rail; when a material taking manipulator clamps the storage box that rises to the top of the conveying rail and moves to the cooking module, the material taking manipulator rotates around its own axis and drives the storage box to flip, and adds food materials in the storage box to the cooking module; the liquid adding module is used to store cooking liquid and quantitatively add cooking liquid to the cooking module; the cooking module is used to place cooking liquid and food materials, and heat and cook the cooking liquid and food materials. The automatic cooking system and method thereof solve the problems of poor controllability and low precision of the timing and amount of adding food materials and seasonings during cooking in the existing automatic cooking machine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of food processing, in particular to an automatic cooking system and method thereof. Background Art

[0002] As the pace of modern cities accelerates, people have higher and higher requirements for the efficiency of serving meals, and automatic cooking machines are becoming more and more popular among the public. Automatic cooking machines can realize the functions of automatically adding and cooking ingredients through the cooking programs preset in the automatic cooking machines. However, the existing automatic cooking machines have the problem of low efficiency in adding ingredients when cooking, which not only affects the efficiency of serving meals, but also easily misses the best time to add ingredients. There is also the problem of inaccurate amount of ingredients added, and the seasoning cannot be automatically added to the appropriate amount at the best time point, resulting in the cooked dishes not meeting the taste of the public, and the quality of the products cannot be completely uniform. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the above-mentioned defects, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic cooking system and method thereof, which solves the problems of poor controllability and low precision of the timing and amount of adding ingredients and seasonings during cooking in existing automatic cooking machines.

[0004] To achieve this object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: an automatic cooking system, comprising a food delivery module, a gripping module, a liquid adding module and a cooking module;

[0005] The food delivery module includes a lifting unit, a storage box and a vertically arranged delivery rail;

[0006] The storage box is used for quantitatively storing food materials, and the storage box is arranged in the conveying guide rail;

[0007] The lifting unit drives the storage box to rise and fall in the conveying guide rail;

[0008] The gripping module is arranged at one side of the food conveying module, and the gripping module comprises a material taking manipulator for gripping the storage box; when the material taking manipulator grips the storage box that rises to the top of the conveying guide rail and moves to the cooking module, the material taking manipulator rotates around its own axis and drives the storage box to flip, and adds the food in the storage box to the cooking module;

[0009] The liquid adding module is used to store cooking liquid and quantitatively add cooking liquid to the cooking module;

[0010] The cooking module is used to place the cooking liquid and the food, and heat and cook the cooking liquid and the food.

[0011] It is worth noting that the lifting unit includes a lifting screw, a fixing nut, a support part and a driving mechanism;

[0012] The fixing nut is fixed in the conveying guide rail and is located at the lower end of the conveying guide rail, the lifting screw passes through the fixing nut and is vertically arranged in the conveying guide rail, and the thread on the outer wall of the lifting screw is meshed with the thread on the inner wall of the fixing nut;

[0013] The upper end of the lifting screw is provided with a support portion, and the lower end of the lifting screw is connected to the output end shaft of the driving mechanism;

[0014] The supporting portion is used to support the storage box.

[0015] Optionally, the gripping module further includes a multi-dimensional mechanical arm;

[0016] The lower end of the multi-dimensional robotic arm is rotatably arranged between the food conveying module and the cooking module, and the upper end of the multi-dimensional robotic arm is rotatably provided with the material taking robotic arm.

[0017] Specifically, the cooking module includes a cooking container and a heating unit, and the cooking container is placed on the upper surface of the heating unit;

[0018] The cooking container is used to place the food and the cooking liquid, and the heating unit is used to heat the cooking container;

[0019] The liquid adding module comprises a liquid storage tank and a liquid output mechanism;

[0020] The liquid storage tank is used to store the cooking liquid, and the liquid output mechanism is used to output the cooking liquid stored in the liquid storage tank;

[0021] One end of the liquid output mechanism is arranged in the liquid storage tank and is used to be immersed in the cooking liquid, and the other end of the liquid output mechanism faces the cooking container.

[0022] Preferably, it further comprises a recovery module, wherein the recovery module is arranged on one side of the clamping module;

[0023] The recovery module comprises a recovery inlet and a recovery storage chamber which are interconnected;

[0024] After the material-retrieving robot adds the food in the storage box to the cooking module, the material-retrieving robot drives the storage box to move to the recycling module and places the storage box into the recycling storage cavity through the recycling entrance.

[0025] It is worth noting that it also includes a stirring module, the stirring module includes a stirring mechanism and a fixed block, the stirring mechanism is fixedly connected to the fixed block;

[0026] The material taking robot is also used to clamp the fixed block, and the material taking robot drives the stirring mechanism to stir the cooking module through the fixed block.

[0027] The automatic cooking method of the automatic cooking system comprises the following steps:

[0028] A: quantitatively transporting the first liquid in the liquid storage tank to the cooking container;

[0029] B: controlling the heating unit to heat the cooking container to a preset first temperature;

[0030] C: The lifting unit drives the storage box to rise in the vertically arranged conveying guide rail, wherein a certain amount of food is placed in the storage box;

[0031] D: The material-taking robot grips the storage box that rises to the top of the conveying guide rail, and the multi-dimensional robot arm drives the material-taking robot to move to the cooking container. The material-taking robot rotates around its own axis and drives the storage box to flip, and adds the food in the storage box to the cooking container;

[0032] E: When the preset first time is reached, the second liquid in the liquid storage tank is quantitatively delivered to the cooking container;

[0033] F: When the preset second time is reached, the heating unit is controlled to stop heating the cooking container.

[0034] Optionally, step G is further included between step D and step E;

[0035] The step G is as follows: the material picking robot drives the storage box to move to the recovery module, and places the storage box into the recovery storage cavity of the recovery module through the recovery inlet of the recovery module.

[0036] Specifically, after step G and / or step E, step H is also included;

[0037] The step H is: the material taking robot clamps the stirring mechanism and drives the stirring mechanism to stir in the cooking container.

[0038] Preferably, before step A, step I is also included;

[0039] The step I is: selecting the automatic mode or the manual mode in the controller;

[0040] When the automatic mode is selected, perform steps A to F in sequence;

[0041] When manual mode is selected, the controller periodically prompts the steps to be performed.

[0042] One of the above technical solutions has the following beneficial effects: in the automatic cooking system, the food is put into the storage box, and the material taking manipulator can quickly pick up the storage box and pour it into the cooking module for cooking. Since the object picked up by the material taking manipulator is the storage box, not a single food, and the food stored in the storage box is quantitative, the material taking manipulator only needs to pick up the corresponding storage box each time when transporting food, which greatly shortens the transportation time compared with directly picking up food. Since the amount of food transported each time is constant, the amount of food added is guaranteed to be accurate, and it is not necessary to weigh the food taken by the material taking manipulator before transportation each time, which further improves efficiency, and can also prevent the food from falling during the food taking manipulator's transportation of food, resulting in inaccurate amount of food added, solving the problem of low food addition efficiency and inaccurate amount of food added in the existing automatic cooking machine during cooking. By setting a flow meter in the liquid adding module to deliver cooking liquid at a constant speed and time, the function of quantitatively adding cooking liquid to the cooking module is realized. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 2 is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of a food delivery module in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] Wherein: 1 food material conveying module; 11 conveying guide rail; 12 lifting unit; 121 lifting screw rod; 122 fixing nut; 123 supporting part; 13 storage box;

[0047] 2 gripping module; 21 material picking manipulator; 22 axis; 23 multi-dimensional manipulator;

[0048] 3 liquid adding module; 31 liquid storage tank; 32 liquid output mechanism;

[0049] 4 cooking module; 41 cooking container; 42 heating unit;

[0050] 5 stirring module; 51 stirring mechanism; 52 fixing block;

[0051] 6. Recovery module;

[0052] 7 workbench;

[0053] 8 control modules. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0055] In the description of the present invention, it is necessary to understand that the features defined as “first” or “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features, which are used to distinguish and describe the features, without any distinction of order or importance.

[0056] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0057] Combine the following Figures 1 to 3 , describes an automatic cooking system according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising a food delivery module 1, a gripping module 2, a liquid adding module 3 and a cooking module 4;

[0058] The food delivery module 1 includes a lifting unit 12, a storage box 13 and a vertically arranged delivery rail 11;

[0059] The storage box 13 is used to quantitatively store food materials, and the storage box 13 is arranged in the conveying guide rail 11;

[0060] The lifting unit 12 drives the storage box 13 to move up and down in the conveying rail 11;

[0061] The gripping module 2 is arranged at one side of the food conveying module 1, and the gripping module 2 includes a material taking manipulator 21 for gripping the storage box 13; when the material taking manipulator 21 grips the storage box 13 that rises to the top of the conveying guide rail 11 and moves to the cooking module 4, the material taking manipulator 21 rotates around its own axis 22 and drives the storage box 13 to flip, and adds the food in the storage box 13 to the cooking module 4;

[0062] The liquid adding module 3 is used to store cooking liquid and quantitatively add cooking liquid to the cooking module 4;

[0063] The cooking module 4 is used to place the cooking liquid and the food, and heat and cook the cooking liquid and the food.

[0064] like Figure 1As shown, the vertical direction is the up-down direction. Embodiment 1: In the automatic cooking system, the food is put into the storage box 13, and the storage box 13 can be quickly clamped by the material-taking manipulator 21, and poured into the cooking module 4 for cooking. Since the object clamped by the material-taking manipulator 21 is the storage box 13, not a single food, and the food stored in the storage box 13 is quantitative, the material-taking manipulator 21 only needs to clamp the corresponding storage box 13 each time when transporting food. Compared with directly clamping food, the transportation time is greatly shortened. In addition, since the amount of food transported each time is constant, the amount of food added is guaranteed to be accurate, and there is no need to weigh the clamped food before the material-taking manipulator 21 transports it each time, which further improves efficiency. In addition, the material-taking manipulator 21 can also prevent the food from falling during the food-taking process, which leads to inaccurate amount of food added. The problem of low efficiency and inaccurate amount of food added in the existing automatic cooking machine during cooking is solved.

[0065] The function of quantitatively adding cooking liquid to the cooking module 4 is achieved by arranging a flow meter in the liquid adding module 3 to deliver the cooking liquid at a constant speed and time.

[0066] It is worth noting that the material taking manipulator 21 rotates around its own axis 22 and drives the storage box 13 to flip. The storage box 13 will only rotate slightly around the axis 22, which can avoid excessive shaking during the flipping of the storage box 13 so that the ingredients are not thrown out of the cooking module 4, thereby ensuring that the amount of ingredients added is accurate. The cooking liquid can be soup, liquid seasoning, sauce, etc. The ingredients stored in the storage box 13 can be main ingredients (such as meat, eggs, vegetables, etc.) or auxiliary ingredients (such as ginger slices, shallots, star anise, powdered seasonings, liquid seasonings, etc.). According to different combinations of main ingredients and auxiliary ingredients, water-based dishes such as wonton noodles, beef brisket noodles, Guilin rice noodles, pickled fish, boiled fish, porridge or pork kidney soup can be cooked.

[0067] It is worth noting that if Figure 3 As shown, the lifting unit 12 includes a lifting screw 121, a fixing nut 122, a support portion 123 and a driving mechanism;

[0068] The fixing nut 122 is fixed in the conveying guide rail 11 and is located at the lower end of the conveying guide rail 11. The lifting screw 121 passes through the fixing nut 122 and is vertically arranged in the conveying guide rail 11. The thread on the outer wall of the lifting screw 121 is meshed with the thread on the inner wall of the fixing nut 122.

[0069] The upper end of the lifting screw 121 is provided with a support portion 123, and the lower end of the lifting screw 121 is connected to the output end shaft of the driving mechanism;

[0070] The supporting portion 123 is used to support the storage box 13 .

[0071] The driving mechanism is preferably a motor. Embodiment 2: The conveying rail 11 can hold multiple storage boxes 13 in the vertical direction; when the output end of the driving mechanism rotates clockwise, the lifting screw 121 rotates clockwise in the fixing nut 122. Since the fixing nut 122 is fixed, the lifting screw 121 will move upward relative to the fixing nut 122 during the rotation, thereby pushing the storage box 13 up through the support portion 123 until the storage box 13 at the top reaches the top of the conveying rail 11. After all storage boxes 13 are clamped by the material-retrieving manipulator 21, the output end of the driving mechanism rotates counterclockwise, and the lifting screw 121 rotates counterclockwise in the fixing nut 122. The lifting screw 121 will move downward relative to the fixing nut 122 during the rotation, driving the support portion 123 to descend. When the support portion 123 descends to the lowest position, a new storage box 13 storing food can be added to the conveying rail 11. The position of the fixing nut 122 is the lowest position of the support portion 123 , and is arranged at the lower end of the conveying rail 11 , which can increase the amount of the storage box 13 placed on the conveying rail 11 , thereby improving the gripping efficiency of the material picking robot 21 .

[0072] Alternatively, if Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the gripping module 2 further includes a multi-dimensional mechanical arm 23;

[0073] The lower end of the multi-dimensional robot arm 23 is rotatably disposed between the food conveying module 1 and the cooking module 4 , and the upper end of the multi-dimensional robot arm 23 is rotatably provided with the material taking robot 21 .

[0074] Embodiment 3: The automatic cooking system is provided with a plurality of groups of the food delivery modules 1. For example, when cooking pork loin soup, different groups of the food delivery modules 1 are used to store different food materials, such as chicken, pig brain and pork loin, and each storage box 13 of the food delivery modules 1 of the same group is placed with a fixed amount of corresponding food materials. Through the control of the controller, the multi-dimensional robot arm 23 first drives the material taking robot 21 to rotate a specific angle, so that the material taking robot 21 can be aligned with the conveying rail 11 of the food delivery module 1 storing the pork loin, and then the multi-dimensional robot arm 23 is adjusted to a specific height, so that the material taking robot 21 is accurately aligned with the storage box 13 located at the top of the conveying rail 11, and then the storage box 13 and the pork loin in the storage box 13 are transported to the cooking module 4, and the pork loin is poured into the cooking module 4. When in use, different quantities of ingredients can be ordered according to personal preferences. For example, after ordering twice the amount of pork loin, the multidimensional robot arm 23 drives the material taking robot 21 to transport a storage box 13 storing pork loin to the cooking module 4, and then the multidimensional robot arm 23 drives the material taking robot 21 back to the position of the original group of the food delivery module 1. The material taking robot 21 will continue to clamp a storage box 13 storing pork loin, and then transport the storage box 13 to the cooking module 4 through the multidimensional robot arm 23; after adding twice the amount of pork loin, the controller controls the multidimensional robot arm 23 to rotate to the food delivery module 1 storing pig brain and the food delivery module 1 storing chicken in turn, and the material taking robot 21 is used to clamp the corresponding ingredients. Such a technical solution can better meet the different preferences of each person, so that the cooking system can adapt to the same dish and cooking with different dosage requirements.

[0075] Specifically, the cooking module 4 includes a cooking container 41 and a heating unit 42, and the cooking container 41 is placed on the upper surface of the heating unit 42;

[0076] The cooking container 41 is used to place the food and the cooking liquid, and the heating unit 42 is used to heat the cooking container 41;

[0077] The liquid adding module 3 includes a liquid storage tank 31 and a liquid output mechanism 32;

[0078] The liquid storage tank 31 is used to store the cooking liquid, and the liquid output mechanism 32 is used to output the cooking liquid stored in the liquid storage tank 31;

[0079] One end of the liquid output mechanism 32 is disposed in the liquid storage tank 31 and is used to be immersed in the cooking liquid, and the other end of the liquid output mechanism 32 faces the cooking container 41 .

[0080] The heating unit 42 is preferably an induction cooker, and the heating unit 42 has a timing and temperature control function, so that the cooking time, heat and temperature can be controlled. The liquid adding module 3 can be provided in plurality, and the liquid output mechanism 32 of each liquid adding module 3 is controlled independently of each other. For example, when the cooking liquid includes a first liquid and a second liquid, wherein the first liquid is soup and / or sauce, and the second liquid is cooking wine, the first liquid is stored in one of the liquid adding modules 3, and the second liquid is stored in another of the liquid adding modules 3.

[0081] Embodiment 4: The liquid storage tank 31 is provided with a soup storage chamber, a sauce storage chamber and a cooking wine storage chamber, one end of the liquid output mechanism 32 is connected to the soup storage chamber, the sauce storage chamber and the cooking wine storage chamber respectively, and a control valve is provided on each connecting pipeline, so as to realize the function of adding different cooking liquids to the cooking container 41 at different times, so that the dishes are more in line with the tastes of the public. In addition, the liquid output mechanism 32 can be controlled by a controller to add different amounts of cooking liquid to the cooking container 41, so that the dishes can be adjusted according to the tastes of each person.

[0082] Embodiment 5: The controller can control the heating time and heating temperature of the heating unit 42. After the liquid output mechanism 32 adds the first liquid to the cooking container 41, the controller controls the heating unit 42 to increase the temperature and cook the first liquid over a high fire; after adding ingredients to the cooking container 41, the controller controls the heating unit 42 to cool down and cook the first liquid and the ingredients over a low fire; finally, after the liquid output mechanism 32 adds the second liquid to the cooking container 41, the controller controls the heating unit 42 to maintain the current temperature and cook the first liquid, the ingredients and the second liquid over a low fire, so that the dish can be cooked.

[0083] Preferably, it further comprises a recovery module 6, and the recovery module 6 is arranged on one side of the clamping module 2;

[0084] The recovery module 6 comprises a recovery inlet and a recovery storage chamber which are interconnected;

[0085] After the material taking robot 21 adds the food in the storage box 13 to the cooking module 4, the material taking robot 21 drives the storage box 13 to move to the recovery module 6, and places the storage box 13 into the recovery storage cavity through the recovery entrance.

[0086] The recycling storage cavity is used to temporarily store the used storage boxes 13. After a specified number of storage boxes 13 are accumulated in the recycling storage cavity, these storage boxes 13 can be taken out and cleaned for reuse, which is environmentally friendly and economical.

[0087] It is worth noting that it also includes a stirring module 5, the stirring module 5 includes a stirring mechanism 51 and a fixing block 52, the stirring mechanism 51 is fixedly connected to the fixing block 52;

[0088] The material taking robot 21 is also used to clamp the fixing block 52 , and the material taking robot 21 drives the stirring mechanism 51 to stir the cooking module 4 through the fixing block 52 .

[0089] The stirring mechanism 51 is preferably chopsticks or a soup spoon. The fixed block 52 is set to a block with the same volume and shape. Since the size standards of chopsticks and soup spoons are inconsistent, the stirring mechanism 51 is fixedly connected to the fixed block 52, and then the fixed block 52 is clamped by the material-retrieving manipulator 21. Each time the material-retrieving manipulator 21 clamps the stirring module 5, there is no need to adjust the force and tension, thereby improving the clamping efficiency.

[0090] In some embodiments, the automatic cooking method of the automatic cooking system comprises the following steps:

[0091] A: quantitatively transporting the first liquid in the liquid storage tank 31 to the cooking container 41;

[0092] B: controlling the heating unit 42 to heat the cooking container 41 to a preset first temperature;

[0093] C: The lifting unit 12 drives the storage box 13 to rise in the vertically arranged conveying rail 11, wherein a certain amount of food is placed in the storage box 13;

[0094] D: The material taking manipulator 21 grabs the storage box 13 that rises to the top of the conveying guide rail 11, and the multi-dimensional robot arm 23 drives the material taking manipulator 21 to move to the cooking container 41. The material taking manipulator 21 rotates around its own axis 22 and drives the storage box 13 to flip, and adds the food in the storage box 13 to the cooking container 41;

[0095] E: When the preset first time is reached, the second liquid in the liquid storage tank 31 is quantitatively delivered to the cooking container 41;

[0096] F: When the preset second time is reached, the heating unit 42 is controlled to stop heating the cooking container 41 .

[0097] In the automatic cooking method, the ingredients are put into the storage box 13, and the storage box 13 can be quickly clamped by the material picking robot 21, and poured into the cooking container 41 for heating by the heating unit 42 for cooking. Since the object clamped by the material picking robot 21 is the storage box 13 rather than a single ingredient, and the ingredients stored in the storage box 13 are quantitative, the material picking robot 21 only needs to clamp the corresponding storage box 13 each time it transports the ingredients. Compared with directly clamping the ingredients, the transportation time is greatly shortened. Since the amount of ingredients transported each time is constant, the amount of ingredients added is guaranteed to be accurate.

[0098] When the ingredients are not enough, the controller will stop taking orders and will display the missing ingredients and the quantity of the ingredients that are missing. Doing so can prevent the material taking manipulator 21 from running idle due to insufficient ingredients, thereby wasting time and increasing energy consumption.

[0099] It is worth noting that step G is also included between step D and step E;

[0100] The step G is as follows: the material taking robot 21 drives the storage box 13 to move to the recovery module 6 , and places the storage box 13 into the recovery storage cavity of the recovery module 6 through the recovery entrance of the recovery module 6 .

[0101] The recycling module 6 is used to temporarily store the used storage boxes 13 .

[0102] Optionally, step H is further included after step G and / or step E;

[0103] The step H is as follows: the material taking robot 21 clamps the stirring mechanism 51 and drives the stirring mechanism 51 to stir in the cooking container 41 .

[0104] Embodiment 6: After adding the first liquid and the ingredients to the cooking container 41, the stirring mechanism 51 is driven by the material taking robot 21 to stir, so that the first liquid and the ingredients are fully mixed; after adding the second liquid to the pot body, the stirring mechanism 51 is driven by the material taking robot 21 to stir, so that the first liquid, the ingredients and the second liquid are fully mixed, so that the cooked dish tastes better.

[0105] Specifically, before step A, step I is also included;

[0106] The step I is: selecting the automatic mode or the manual mode in the controller;

[0107] When the automatic mode is selected, perform steps A to F in sequence;

[0108] When manual mode is selected, the controller periodically prompts the steps to be performed.

[0109] When the automatic mode is selected, dishes that suit the public's taste can be cooked automatically and quickly; when the manual mode is selected, the controller will prompt the steps to be performed at a fixed time, and the user can add the ingredients according to the prompts. For example, when soup is needed, the controller will prompt the time and amount of soup. Therefore, users with no cooking experience can also cook dishes that suit their taste.

[0110] It is worth noting that a workbench 7 is further included, the clamping module 2 , the cooking module 4 and the stirring module 5 are arranged on the upper surface of the workbench 7 , and the food conveying module 1 is arranged on one side of the workbench 7 .

[0111] The clamping module 2 is arranged on the upper surface of the workbench 7 to facilitate its movement and is not easy to collide with the workbench; the cooking module 4 is arranged on the upper surface of the workbench 7 to facilitate the clamping module 2 to add ingredients to the cooking module 4; the stirring module 5 is arranged on the upper surface of the workbench 7 to facilitate the clamping module 2 to clamp the fixing block 52 of the stirring module 5.

[0112] Specifically, the liquid storage tank 31 is disposed in the workbench 7 , one end of the liquid output mechanism 32 is disposed in the workbench 7 , and the other end of the liquid output mechanism 32 passes through the upper surface of the workbench 7 .

[0113] The liquid storage tank 31 is arranged in the workbench 7 to save space. One end of the liquid output mechanism 32 is arranged in the workbench 7, and the other end of the liquid output mechanism 32 passes through the upper surface of the workbench 7, which can facilitate the one end of the liquid output mechanism 32 to be arranged in the liquid storage tank 31, and the cooking liquid is drawn to the other end of the liquid output mechanism 32 and discharged into the cooking container 41.

[0114] Optionally, the recovery module 6 is embedded in the workbench 7 , and a recovery inlet of the recovery module 6 is arranged on the upper surface of the workbench 7 .

[0115] The recovery module 6 is embedded in the workbench 7 to save space, and the recovery entrance of the recovery module 6 is arranged on the upper surface of the workbench 7 to facilitate the material taking robot 21 to place the storage box 13.

[0116] It is worth noting that it also includes a control module 8, which is arranged on the upper surface of the workbench 7;

[0117] The control module 8 is provided with one or more buttons selected from the group consisting of an automatic-manual switching button, a start button, a soup adding button, a temperature adjustment button, a material taking button, and a food quantity adjustment button;

[0118] The automatic-manual switching button is used to switch between the automatic mode and the manual mode of the automatic cooking system;

[0119] The start button is used to automatically start cooking when the automatic cooking system is in automatic mode;

[0120] The soup adding button is used to deliver the cooking liquid in the liquid storage tank to the cooking module when the automatic cooking system is in manual mode;

[0121] The temperature adjustment button is used to adjust the heating temperature of the cooking module when the automatic cooking system is in manual mode;

[0122] The material taking button is used for the clamping module to clamp the storage box of the food delivery module when the automatic cooking system is in manual mode;

[0123] The food quantity adjustment button is used to adjust the number of times the clamping module clamps the storage box of the food conveying module.

[0124] The control module 8 can be operated to make the food delivery module 1, the gripping module 2, the liquid adding module 3 and the cooking module 4 move regularly, so that dishes can be cooked. The control module 8 can be a computer, a single chip microcomputer or an embedded module, etc., and can be operated by voice commands, physical buttons, a touch screen, a mobile phone remote control or a mouse, etc. The above buttons can be separately set physical buttons or touch screen buttons, or buttons displayed on the display screen interface of the control module 8. The control module 8 can be set with one or more of the above buttons, and can have different combinations, which can be set as needed.

[0125] Other structures and operations of an automatic cooking system and method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention are well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0126] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "embodiment", "example", etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0127] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An automatic cooking system, characterized in that: It includes a food delivery module, a gripping module, a liquid adding module and a cooking module; The food delivery module includes a lifting unit, a storage box and a vertically arranged delivery rail; The storage box is used for quantitatively storing food materials, and the storage box is arranged in the conveying guide rail; The lifting unit drives the storage box to rise and fall in the conveying guide rail; The gripping module is arranged at one side of the food conveying module, and the gripping module comprises a material taking manipulator for gripping the storage box; when the material taking manipulator grips the storage box that rises to the top of the conveying guide rail and moves to the cooking module, the material taking manipulator rotates around its own axis and drives the storage box to flip, and adds the food in the storage box to the cooking module; The liquid adding module is used to store cooking liquid and quantitatively add cooking liquid to the cooking module; The cooking module is used to place the cooking liquid and the food, and heat and cook the cooking liquid and the food; It also includes a recovery module, which is arranged on one side of the clamping module; The recovery module comprises a recovery inlet and a recovery storage chamber which are interconnected; After the material-retrieving robot adds the food in the storage box to the cooking module, the material-retrieving robot drives the storage box to move to the recycling module and places the storage box into the recycling storage cavity through the recycling entrance.

2. An automatic cooking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting unit includes a lifting screw, a fixing nut, a supporting part and a driving mechanism; The fixing nut is fixed in the conveying guide rail and is located at the lower end of the conveying guide rail, the lifting screw passes through the fixing nut and is vertically arranged in the conveying guide rail, and the thread on the outer wall of the lifting screw is meshed with the thread on the inner wall of the fixing nut; The upper end of the lifting screw is provided with a support portion, and the lower end of the lifting screw is connected to the output end shaft of the driving mechanism; The supporting portion is used to support the storage box.

3. An automatic cooking system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The gripping module also includes a multi-dimensional mechanical arm; The lower end of the multi-dimensional robotic arm is rotatably arranged between the food conveying module and the cooking module, and the upper end of the multi-dimensional robotic arm is rotatably provided with the material taking robotic arm.

4. The automatic cooking system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The cooking module comprises a cooking container and a heating unit, wherein the cooking container is placed on an upper surface of the heating unit; The cooking container is used to place the food and the cooking liquid, and the heating unit is used to heat the cooking container; The liquid adding module comprises a liquid storage tank and a liquid output mechanism; The liquid storage tank is used to store the cooking liquid, and the liquid output mechanism is used to output the cooking liquid stored in the liquid storage tank; One end of the liquid output mechanism is arranged in the liquid storage tank and is used for being immersed in the cooking liquid, and the other end of the liquid output mechanism faces the cooking container.

5. The automatic cooking system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a stirring module, the stirring module includes a stirring mechanism and a fixed block, the stirring mechanism is fixedly connected to the fixed block; The material taking robot is also used to clamp the fixed block, and the material taking robot drives the stirring mechanism to stir the cooking module through the fixed block.

6. The automatic cooking method of the automatic cooking system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: A: quantitatively transporting the first liquid in the liquid storage tank to the cooking container; B: controlling the heating unit to heat the cooking container to a preset first temperature; C: The lifting unit drives the storage box to rise in the vertically arranged conveying guide rail, wherein a certain amount of food is placed in the storage box; D: The material-taking robot grips the storage box that rises to the top of the conveying guide rail, and the multi-dimensional robot arm drives the material-taking robot to move to the cooking container. The material-taking robot rotates around its own axis and drives the storage box to flip, and adds the food in the storage box to the cooking container; E: When the preset first time is reached, the second liquid in the liquid storage tank is quantitatively delivered to the cooking container; F: When a preset second time is reached, controlling the heating unit to stop heating the cooking container; Also included between step D and step E is step G; The step G is as follows: the material picking robot drives the storage box to move to the recovery module, and places the storage box into the recovery storage cavity of the recovery module through the recovery inlet of the recovery module.

7. An automatic cooking method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises step H after step G and / or step E; The step H is: the material taking robot clamps the stirring mechanism and drives the stirring mechanism to stir in the cooking container.

8. An automatic cooking method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises step I before step A; The step I is: selecting the automatic mode or the manual mode in the controller; When the automatic mode is selected, perform steps A to F in sequence; When manual mode is selected, the controller periodically prompts the steps to be performed.

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