Food material turn-over control method and related equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a food material turn-over control method which is applied to cooking equipment, the cooking equipment is provided with a mechanical arm used for driving an end effector, the method comprises the steps that food material information in a pot is recognized, and the food material information comprises at least one of the variety, the outline, the thickness, the density, the hardness, the volume and the mass center; and determining a turn-over mode according to the food material information, and controlling a mechanical arm to drive the end effector to turn over the food materials according to the turn-over mode. The turnover success rate of the food materials can be remarkably increased, the integrity of the food materials is effectively protected, and the highly anthropomorphic operation effect is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of kitchen appliances, and in particular, to a food turning control method, food turning control device, cooking equipment, and computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] During the cooking process, frying / roasting some specific ingredients can produce delicious dishes, such as fried eggs, fried steaks, pancakes, etc. Turning the ingredients over is one of the most important operations for frying / roasting ingredients.

[0003] During the implementation of this application, the inventors discovered that for ingredients of different varieties, shapes, hardness and sizes, such as eggs, pancakes, steaks, etc., the parameters required for flipping, such as force, direction and position, vary greatly. However, the flipping solutions of the prior art do not distinguish between the characteristics of the ingredients, and the implementation scheme is single, resulting in a low flipping success rate and easy damage to the ingredients. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a food turning control method, device and cooking device to significantly improve the success rate of food turning and effectively protect the integrity of the food.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for controlling food turning, which is applied to a cooking device, wherein the cooking device has a mechanical arm for driving an end effector, and the method comprises:

[0006] Identify food information in the pot, the food information including at least one of variety, outline, thickness, density, hardness, volume, and center of mass;

[0007] A turning mode is determined according to the food information, and the robot arm is controlled to drive the end effector to perform a turning operation on the food according to the turning mode.

[0008] In some possible implementations, the flipping mode specifically includes:

[0009] At least one of the prying flipping mode, the flipping mode against the pot wall mode and the flipping mode with a stir-frying spoon.

[0010] In some possible implementations, the prying and flipping mode specifically includes:

[0011] Get the type, outline and centroid position of the food;

[0012] Calculating the position, magnitude and direction of the force required to turn the food over according to the type, outline and center of mass position of the food;

[0013] Controlling the mechanical arm to drive the end effector to move to the force-bearing position, and after adjusting to the direction, driving the end effector to pry the food material to turn it over according to the force magnitude, position and direction; and / or

[0014] The turning mode against the pot wall specifically includes:

[0015] Controlling the end effector connected to the robot arm to push the food against the inner wall of the pot and then releasing the food, so that the food turns over under the resistance of the inner wall of the pot and the action of gravity; and / or

[0016] The flipping mode specifically includes:

[0017] The end effector connected to the robotic arm is controlled to completely scoop up the food that needs to be turned over, and then the food is thrown upward, so that the food turns over in the air and falls into the pot due to gravity.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the contour, thickness, and centroid position are identified by the following steps:

[0019] Acquire images of food ingredients through visual sensors;

[0020] Performing edge analysis on the image of the food, extracting edge features of the food, calculating the outline and thickness of the food according to the edge features, and calculating the centroid position of the food according to the outline and thickness; and / or

[0021] The variety of the ingredients is obtained by the following steps:

[0022] Acquire images of food ingredients through visual sensors;

[0023] Texture analysis is performed on the image of the food, texture features of the food are extracted, and the variety of the food matching the texture features is determined.

[0024] In some possible implementations, determining the flipping mode according to the food information specifically includes:

[0025] Determine whether the hardness of the food is lower than a preset threshold, and if so, use the turning mode against the pot wall; and / or

[0026] Determine whether the size of the food is greater than a preset threshold, and if so, use the flipping mode.

[0027] In some possible implementations, the size of the food is set to be the area or the area-to-thickness ratio; and / or the pushing speed of the flipping mode against the pot wall is the lowest gear.

[0028] In some possible implementations, after the turning over operation, the method further includes:

[0029] Detect whether the food is successfully turned over. If not, reselect at least one mode from the prying turning mode, the pot wall turning mode and the stir-fry turning mode to continue turning the food over until the turning over is successful.

[0030] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a food turning control device, which includes a memory and a processor, and the processor is used to execute instructions stored in the memory so that the control device performs the method as described above.

[0031] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cooking device, which includes the food turning control device as described above.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a program is stored. When the program is run on a computer, the computer executes the method described above.

[0033] The beneficial effects of this application are:

[0034] The embodiment of the present application significantly improves the success rate and efficiency of food flipping and effectively protects the integrity of the food by matching the applicable flipping mode according to the type, shape, size and other characteristics of the food, thereby achieving a highly humanized intelligent operation effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, a brief introduction will be given below to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0036] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of the food turning control method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0037] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of a food turning control device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail by way of implementation methods with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, but not all of the embodiments. In the absence of conflict, the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0039] It should be noted that: in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions; in the description of the present application, the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc. indicate directions or positional relationships based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, which are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present application; in the description of the present application, "first", "second", etc. are only used to distinguish each other, rather than to indicate their importance and order, etc.

[0040] In the description of this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a movable connection, or a detachable connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal communication of two components, etc. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0041] Please refer to Figure 1 The embodiment of the present application provides a food turning control method, which is applied to a cooking device, wherein the cooking device has a mechanical arm for driving an end effector, and the method comprises:

[0042] In step S01, the food information in the pot is identified, and the food information includes any at least one of the variety, outline, thickness, density, hardness, volume, and center of mass.

[0043] Specifically, visual sensors and temperature sensors can be used to identify food information in the pot, including visual identification of food material, thickness, density, visual judgment of thickness and volume, and calculation of the center of mass position.

[0044] In step S02, a turning mode is determined according to the food information, and the robot arm is controlled to drive the end effector to perform a turning operation on the food according to the turning mode.

[0045] The characteristics of food materials are mainly determined by their types. Usually, you only need to identify the type of food materials to determine the flipping mode to be used. For example, for fried eggs, steaks, pancakes, etc., you only need to identify the type of materials to determine the flipping mode.

[0046] In some possible implementations, the flipping mode specifically includes:

[0047] At least one of the prying flipping mode, the flipping mode against the pot wall mode and the flipping mode with a stir-frying spoon.

[0048] In some possible implementations, the prying and flipping mode specifically includes:

[0049] Get the type, outline and centroid position of the food;

[0050] Calculating the position, magnitude and direction of the force required to turn the food over according to the type, outline and center of mass position of the food;

[0051] The robot arm is controlled to drive the end effector to move to the force-bearing position, and after adjusting to the direction, the end effector is driven to pry the food material to turn it over according to the force magnitude, position and direction.

[0052] The prying flipping mode has high control accuracy and a wide range of applications, and is basically applicable to all kinds of food.

[0053] In some possible implementations, the flipping mode against the pot wall specifically includes:

[0054] The end effector connected to the robot arm is controlled to push the food material against the inner wall of the pot body and then release the food material, so that the food material turns over under the resistance of the inner wall of the pot body and the action of gravity.

[0055] The flipping mode against the pot wall can rely on the pot wall to provide a support surface, so it has the advantages of high success rate, good stability, and gentle operation. It is not easy to damage the ingredients. Therefore, for softer ingredients, the flipping mode against the pot wall is very suitable. In addition, you can also choose the flipping mode against the pot wall if you want a high success rate.

[0056] In some possible implementations, the flipping mode specifically includes:

[0057] The end effector connected to the robotic arm is controlled to completely scoop up the food that needs to be turned over, and then the food is thrown upward, so that the food turns over in the air and falls into the pot due to gravity.

[0058] The flipping mode mainly relies on gravity to achieve flipping, so it is suitable for some ingredients with a relatively large amount, such as steak, lamb chops, chicken breast, etc.

[0059] In some possible implementations, the contour, thickness, and centroid position are identified by the following steps:

[0060] Acquire images of food ingredients through visual sensors;

[0061] Performing edge analysis on the image of the food, extracting edge features of the food, calculating the outline and thickness of the food according to the edge features, and calculating the centroid position of the food according to the outline and thickness.

[0062] In some possible implementations, the variety of the food is obtained by the following steps:

[0063] Acquire images of food ingredients through visual sensors;

[0064] Texture analysis is performed on the image of the food, texture features of the food are extracted, and the variety of the food matching the texture features is determined.

[0065] In some possible implementations, determining the flipping mode according to the food information specifically includes:

[0066] Determine whether the hardness of the food is lower than a preset threshold, and if so, use the turning mode against the pot wall; and / or

[0067] Determine whether the size of the food is greater than a preset threshold, and if so, use the flipping mode.

[0068] In some possible implementations, the size of the food is set to be the area or the area-to-thickness ratio; and / or the pushing speed of the flipping mode against the pot wall is the lowest gear.

[0069] In some possible implementations, after the turning over operation, the method further includes:

[0070] In step S03, it is detected whether the food is turned over successfully. If not, at least one mode is reselected from the prying turning mode, the turning against the pot wall mode and the flipping mode to continue turning the food over until the turning is successful.

[0071] In some possible implementations, an image of the food after turning over may be obtained through a visual sensor, and whether the food is turned over successfully may be determined by identifying and comparing relevant parameters such as the position and shape of the food in the image.

[0072] The flipping success rate is an important evaluation parameter for the flipping results, but it also needs to be considered in combination with other actual situations. For example, for fried eggs, it is more important to protect the integrity of their shape. Therefore, the flipping operation does not need to be successful once. If the first operation fails, you can continue to select a suitable mode to repeat the flipping operation until the flipping is successful.

[0073] Based on the above examples, please refer to Figure 2 The present application also provides a food turning control device, which is applied to a cooking device, wherein the cooking device has a mechanical arm for driving an end effector, including:

[0074] The food information recognition unit 1 is used to recognize the food information in the pot, wherein the food information includes at least one of the variety, outline, thickness, density, hardness, volume, and center of mass;

[0075] The flipping execution control unit 2 is used to determine a flipping mode according to the food information, and control the robot arm to drive the end effector to perform a flipping operation on the food according to the flipping mode.

[0076] In some specific implementations, the flipping execution control unit 2 specifically includes:

[0077] Any at least one of the prying turning over execution control unit 21, the turning over against the pot wall execution control unit 22 and the flipping over by stirring the spoon execution control unit 23.

[0078] In some specific implementations, the prying and turning execution control unit 21 is used to:

[0079] Get the type, outline and centroid position of the food;

[0080] Calculating the position, magnitude and direction of the force required to turn the food over according to the type, outline and center of mass position of the food;

[0081] The robot arm is controlled to drive the end effector to move to the force-bearing position, and after adjusting to the direction, the end effector is driven to pry the food material to turn it over according to the force magnitude, position and direction.

[0082] In some specific implementations, the pan wall flipping execution control unit 22 is used to:

[0083] The end effector connected to the robot arm is controlled to push the food material against the inner wall of the pot body and then release the food material, so that the food material turns over under the resistance of the inner wall of the pot body and the action of gravity.

[0084] In some specific implementations, the flipping control unit 23 is used to:

[0085] The end effector connected to the robotic arm is controlled to completely scoop up the food that needs to be turned over, and then the food is thrown upward, so that the food turns over in the air and falls into the pot due to gravity.

[0086] In some possible implementations, the food information identification unit 1 includes:

[0087] The food size determination unit 11 is used to obtain an image of the food through a visual sensor;

[0088] Perform edge analysis on the image of the food, extract edge features of the food, calculate the outline and thickness of the food according to the edge features, and calculate the centroid position according to the outline and thickness. In some possible implementations, the food information recognition unit 1 also includes:

[0089] The food variety determination unit 12 is used to obtain the image of the food through a visual sensor;

[0090] Texture analysis is performed on the image of the food, texture features of the food are extracted, and the variety of the food matching the texture features is determined.

[0091] In some possible implementations, this embodiment also includes:

[0092] a flipping mode determining unit 3, for determining whether the hardness of the food is lower than a preset threshold, and if so, adopting the flipping mode against the pot wall; and / or

[0093] Determine whether the size of the food is greater than a preset threshold, and if so, use the flipping mode.

[0094] In some possible implementations, the size of the food is set to be the area or the area-to-thickness ratio; and the pushing speed of the flipping mode against the pot wall can be set to the lowest gear.

[0095] In some possible implementations, this embodiment also includes:

[0096] The detection unit 4 is connected to the flipping execution control unit 1 and the flipping mode determination unit 3, and is used to detect whether the food is successfully flipped. If not, at least one mode is reselected from the prying flipping mode, the pot wall flipping mode and the stir-fry flipping mode to continue flipping the food until the flipping is successful.

[0097] Since the food turning control device of the present embodiment is based on the device corresponding to the aforementioned food turning control method, any possible implementation method or combination thereof and technical effects in the aforementioned method embodiments can be extended to the present device and will not be described one by one.

[0098] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application also provides a food turning control device, which includes a memory and a processor, and the processor is used to execute instructions stored in the memory so that the control device executes a method as any possible implementation method in the above embodiments.

[0099] An embodiment of the present application also provides a cooking device, which includes a food turning control device as any possible implementation method of the above embodiments.

[0100] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program code. When the computer program code is executed on a computer, the computer executes a method of any possible implementation method in the above embodiments.

[0101] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program code, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method of any possible implementation method of the above embodiments.

[0102] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program. When the computer program code is executed on a computer, the computer executes a method of any possible implementation method in any of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0103] Those skilled in the art should be aware that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented with hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein the communication media include any media that facilitates the transmission of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that a general or special-purpose computer can access.

[0104] Note that the above are only preferred embodiments of the present application and the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and that various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, although the present application is described in more detail through the above embodiments, the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include more other equivalent embodiments without departing from the concept of the present application, and the scope of the present application is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A food turning control method, applied to a cooking device, wherein the cooking device has a mechanical arm for driving an end effector, characterized in that: The method comprises: Identify food information in the pot, the food information including at least one of variety, outline, thickness, density, hardness, volume, and center of mass; A turning mode is determined according to the food information, and the robot arm is controlled to drive the end effector to perform a turning operation on the food according to the turning mode.

2. The food turning control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flipping mode specifically includes: At least one of the prying flipping mode, the flipping mode against the pot wall mode and the flipping mode with a stir-frying spoon.

3. The food turning control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The prying and flipping mode specifically includes: Get the type, outline and centroid position of the food; Calculating the position, magnitude and direction of the force required to turn the food over according to the type, outline and center of mass position of the food; Controlling the mechanical arm to drive the end effector to move to the force-bearing position, and after adjusting to the direction, driving the end effector to pry the food material to turn it over according to the force magnitude, position and direction; and / or The turning mode against the pot wall specifically includes: Controlling the end effector connected to the robot arm to push the food against the inner wall of the pot and then releasing the food, so that the food turns over under the resistance of the inner wall of the pot and the action of gravity; and / or The flipping mode specifically includes: The end effector connected to the robotic arm is controlled to completely scoop up the food that needs to be turned over, and then the food is thrown upward, so that the food turns over in the air and falls into the pot due to gravity.

4. The food turning control method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The contour, thickness and centroid location are identified by the following steps: Acquire images of food ingredients through visual sensors; Performing edge analysis on the image of the food, extracting edge features of the food, calculating the outline and thickness of the food according to the edge features, and calculating the centroid position of the food according to the outline and thickness; and / or The variety of the ingredients is obtained by the following steps: Acquire images of food ingredients through visual sensors; Texture analysis is performed on the image of the food, texture features of the food are extracted, and the variety of the food matching the texture features is determined.

5. The food turning control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: Determining the flipping mode according to the food information specifically includes: Determine whether the hardness of the food is lower than a preset threshold, and if so, use the turning mode against the pot wall; and / or Determine whether the size of the food is greater than a preset threshold, and if so, use the flipping mode.

6. The food turning control method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The size of the food is set to be the area or the area-to-thickness ratio; and / or the pushing speed of the flipping mode against the pot wall is the lowest gear.

7. The food turning control method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that: After the turning operation, the method further comprises: Detect whether the food is successfully turned over. If not, reselect at least one mode from the prying turning mode, the pot wall turning mode and the stir-fry turning mode to continue turning the food over until the turning over is successful.

8. A food turning control device, characterized in that: The device comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the processor is used to execute instructions stored in the memory so that the control device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A cooking device, characterized in that: It includes the food turning control device as claimed in claim 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and when the program is executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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