Automatic cooking device and automatic cooking method

Abstract

To provide an automatic cooking device which detects a rotation position when an agitation member detachable from a container body rotates.SOLUTION: An automatic cooking device 10 comprises: a cooking container 300 having a bottomed cylindrical container body 310 for housing ingredients I and an agitation member 320 detachably attached to the container body 310; a container holding unit 200 which causes the agitation member 320 of the cooking container 300 to rotate while holding the cooking container 300; and a control unit 800 which drive-controls the container holding unit 200. Thus, the automatic cooking device 10 uses the agitation member 320 to agitate and cook the ingredients I housed in the container body 310. The automatic cooking device 10 comprises a rotation position detection mechanism of the agitation member 320 composed of a detected element 323 provided at the agitation member 320 and a detector 730 disposed outside the cooking container 300 to detect the detected element 323.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic cooking device, and in particular to an automatic cooking device that stirs and cooks ingredients contained in a cooking container having a container body that contains ingredients and a stirring member that is attached to the container body and rotates on its own axis. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the food and beverage industry has been moving toward automating cooking operations due to various factors, such as securing chefs, maintaining cooking skills, and improving the cooking environment. Therefore, conventionally, an automatic cooking device has been known that includes a container holding unit that holds a bottomed cylindrical cooking container, a rotating unit that rotates the cooking container held in the container holding unit freely between the front and rear areas of the cooking table, and a control unit that drives and controls the container holding unit and rotating unit, and that at least stirs and cooks ingredients contained in the cooking container, in which the cooking container has a stirring member that is provided on the inner bottom surface or inside surface of the container body and protrudes into the internal space of the container body (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-175791 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned automatic cooking device, since the stirring member rotates integrally with the container body of the cooking container, depending on the position at which the stirring member stops rotating when stirring cooking is completed, the stirring member may block the food inside the container body, making it difficult for the person plating the food to remove the food from the container body. On the other hand, if the stirring member is made detachable from the container body in order to more realistically and highly reproduce the chef's well-trained stirring technique, the automatic cooking device will not be able to detect the rotation stop position of the stirring member from the rotation stop position of the container body, making it even more difficult for the automatic cooking device to grasp the rotation position of the stirring member, compared to an automatic cooking device equipped with a cooking container in which the container body and stirring member rotate as one unit.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above, and the object of the present invention is to provide an automatic cooking device that grasps the rotational position of a stirring member that is detachable from the container body when it rotates. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention of claim 1 is an automatic cooking device comprising a cooking container having a bottomed cylindrical container body for containing ingredients and a stirring member that is detachably attached to the container body, a container holding unit that rotates the stirring member of the cooking container while holding the cooking container, and a control unit that drives and controls the container holding unit, and which stirs and cooks the ingredients contained in the container body with the stirring member, and which solves the above-mentioned problem by comprising a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member that consists of a detectable element provided on the stirring member and a detector that is arranged outside the cooking container and detects the detectable element.

[0007] The invention of claim 2 solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking device described in claim 1, the object to be detected has a magnet and the detector is a magnetic sensor.

[0008] The invention of claim 3 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking device described in claim 1, the container holding unit is capable of freely raising and lowering the cooking container in the forward and backward directions of the cooking table on which the container holding unit is placed, and the detector is positioned outside the range through which the cooking container passes when the cooking container is raised and lowered in the forward and backward directions of the cooking table.

[0009] The invention of claim 4 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking device described in claim 1, the stirring member having an inner surface facing the container body and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, and the detectable element being arranged on the outer surface of the stirring member.

[0010] The invention of claim 5 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking device described in claim 1, the container holding unit is capable of freely raising and lowering the cooking container in the forward and backward directions of the cooking table on which the container holding unit is placed, the detectable element is provided near the tip of the stirring member, and the control unit drives and controls the container holding unit so that when the cooking container is in a serving assistance position tilted forward, the tip of the stirring member is positioned in a retracted position farthest from the plate placed on the cooking table.

[0011] The invention of claim 6 is an automatic cooking method using an automatic cooking device equipped with a cooking container having a bottomed cylindrical container body for containing ingredients and a stirring member that is detachably attached to the container body, a container holding unit that holds the cooking container and allows it to rise and fall in the forward and backward directions of a cooking table while holding the cooking container and causes the stirring member to rotate on its axis, a control unit that drives and controls the container holding unit, and a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member that consists of a detectable element provided near the tip of the stirring member and a detector that is arranged outside the cooking container and detects the detectable element, the method comprising: a rotational position determination step in which the control unit determines the rotational position of the stirring member; a stirring cooking step in which the cooking container is in a cooking position tilted backward and the stirring member of the cooking container is rotated on its axis to stir and cook the ingredients contained in the container body; and a serving assist step in which the cooking container is tilted forward after the stirring cooking step is completed, wherein in the serving assist position, the tip of the stirring member is in a retracted position farthest from a plate placed on the cooking table, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 1, the device is equipped with a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member, which consists of a detectable element attached to the stirring member and a detector placed outside the cooking container to detect the detectable element.The detector detects the detectable element passing through the detector, and the control unit grasps the rotational position of the stirring member.Therefore, regardless of the engagement form between the stirring member and the container holding unit, it is possible to grasp the rotational position of the stirring member, which is detachable from the container body, when it rotates.As a result, when the person who serves the food in the cooking container on a plate after cooking is completed or when the cooking container is automatically cleaned, the stirring member can be automatically retracted to an optimal retracted position that does not interfere with serving or cleaning.

[0013] According to the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effects achieved by the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 1, the detectable element has a magnet and the detector is a magnetic sensor, so that the control unit can determine the rotational position of the stirring member by changes in the magnetic field around the detector. Therefore, compared to when the detector optically detects the detectable element, not only can the control unit reliably determine the rotational position of the stirring member even if cooking-related stains such as oil stains occur on the detector or the detectable element, but there is no impact on people performing cooking assistance work etc. around the automatic cooking device.In addition, compared to when the detector is a proximity sensor that detects the detectable element using eddy currents, detection performance can be ensured even if the relative distance between the detector and the stirring member is large, thereby improving the freedom of device design for the automatic cooking device.

[0014] According to the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effects achieved by the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 1, the detector is positioned outside the range through which the cooking container passes when the cooking container is raised and lowered in the front-to-back direction of the cooking table, so even if the container holding unit raises and lowers the cooking container in the front-to-back direction, the cooking container does not interfere with the detector, and the container holding unit can easily raise and lower the cooking container in the front-to-back direction to take various positions.

[0015] According to the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effects achieved by the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 1, the detectable element is arranged on the outer surface of the stirring member, which makes it difficult for ingredients, seasonings, etc. to adhere to the detectable element when the automatic cooking device stirs and cooks the ingredients, thereby preventing the detectable element from being soiled by ingredients, etc.

[0016] According to the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 5, in addition to the effects achieved by the automatic cooking device of the invention of claim 1, a detectable element is provided near the tip of the stirring member, and the control unit drives and controls the container holding unit so that when the cooking container is in the serving assist position in which it is tilted forward, the tip of the stirring member is positioned in a retracted position farthest from the plate placed on the cooking counter.This means that the tip of the stirring member is positioned on the upper side in the serving assist position, making it easier for the person plating the food to reliably remove the food from the cooking container when plating it on a plate.

[0017] According to the automatic cooking method of the invention of claim 6, a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member is provided, which consists of a detectable element attached to the stirring member and a detector placed outside the cooking container to detect the detectable element.The detector detects the detectable element passing through this detector, and the control unit grasps the rotational position of the stirring member.Therefore, regardless of the engagement form between the stirring member and the container holding unit, it is possible to grasp the rotational position of the stirring member, which is detachable from the container body, when it rotates. Furthermore, the system includes a rotation position grasping step in which the control unit grasps the rotation position of the stirring member, and a serving assist step in which the cooking container is tilted forward to a serving assist position after the stirring cooking step is completed.In the serving assist position, the tip of the stirring member is in a retracted position farthest from the plate placed on the cooking counter, and therefore the tip of the stirring member is positioned upward in the serving assist position, making it easier for the person plating the food to reliably remove the food from the cooking container when plating it on a plate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of an automatic cooking device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control unit 800 shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a left side view of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. [Figure 5] 3 is a front view of the cooking container 300 shown in FIG. 1 when ingredients are added to the cooking container 300. FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the left side of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] Enlarged view of part VII in Figure 6. [Figure 8] 2 is a left side view of the automatic cooking apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 in a serving assistance position. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the rotation range of the stirring member 320 in the cleaning posture. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The automatic cooking device of the present invention comprises a cooking container having a bottomed cylindrical container body for containing ingredients and a stirring member that is removably attached to the container body, a container holding unit that rotates the stirring member of the cooking container while holding the cooking container, and a control unit that drives and controls the container holding unit, and is an automatic cooking device that stirs and cooks ingredients contained in the container body using the stirring member, and is equipped with a stirring member rotation position detection mechanism consisting of a detectable element provided on the stirring member and a detector positioned outside the cooking container for detecting the detectable element, and any specific embodiment is acceptable as long as it grasps the rotation position of the stirring member that is removably attached to the container body when it rotates.

[0020] For example, the automatic cooking device of the present invention is mainly installed inside a restaurant, but the installation location of the automatic cooking device of the present invention is not limited to this and may also be installed in a convenience store, food court, business establishment, home, etc.

[0021] For example, the ingredients cooked by the automatic cooking device of the present invention may be any food ingredients such as rice, noodles, vegetables, fish, grains, and various seasonings.

[0022] For example, the automatic cooking device of this embodiment may have a container heating unit that inductively heats the cooking container to heat and cook the ingredients contained in the cooking container, or it may simply stir and cook the ingredients contained in the cooking container without heating them.

[0023] For example, in the automatic cooking device of this embodiment, it is preferable from the standpoint of maintenance and structural simplicity to connect the container holding unit and the stirring member by magnetic coupling, making the stirring member detachable from the container body and having the container holding unit rotate the stirring member, but any specific structure can be used to make the stirring member detachable from the container body, as long as the stirring member can rotate by the container holding unit without being affected by the rotation of the container body when the container body rotates by the container holding unit.

[0024] For example, the detection of the object to be detected by the detector is preferably magnetic detection, but optical detection using a laser or the like, or detection using eddy current, etc. may also be used. [Example]

[0025] An automatic cooking device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.

[0026] <1. Basic configuration of automatic cooking device> First, the basic configuration of the automatic cooking device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an automatic cooking device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the control unit 800 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a left side view of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. 1. In addition, ingredients are omitted in Figure 4.

[0027] First, the automatic cooking apparatus 10 is movably placed on a floor surface F, as shown in FIG. The automatic cooking device 10 comprises a cooking counter 100 serving as a base, a container holding unit 200 placed on the cooking counter 100, a cooking container 300 held by the container holding unit 200 so that it can rotate freely, a container heating unit 400 placed on the cooking counter 100 and induction heating the cooking container 300, a container washing unit 500 and a scraping unit 600 arranged on the cooking counter 100, a cover 700 that allows the opening of the cooking container 300 to be opened and closed freely, and a control unit 800 placed on the cooking counter 100 and providing integrated control of the entire automatic cooking device 10, and automatically cooks food by stirring and cooking ingredients contained in the cooking container 300.

[0028] The cooking table 100 has a plurality of casters 110 provided on the bottom surface, a sink 120 formed in the front area of ​​the top surface 100A, and a plate stand 130 that allows the sink 120 to be opened and closed freely and on which plates and the like can be placed. The plate stand 130 is slidable in the left-right direction to close the opening of the sink 120 and has a serving plate 131 on which plates for serving ingredients after stirring and cooking are placed, and a plate storage member 132 that houses the serving plate 131 and temporarily places plates, etc.

[0029] The container holding unit 200 has a handle 210 that is held by the user of the automatic cooking device 10, and as shown in Figure 4, the cooking container 300 can be freely raised and lowered in the front-to-back directions of the cooking table 100 by operating it. In the following, the position of the cooking container 300 in which the cooking container 300 and the container heating unit 400 are closest to each other as shown in P1 will be referred to as the "cooking position", the position of the cooking container 300 in which the side surface 311 of the cooking container 300 is tilted forward as shown in P2 will be referred to as the "serving assistance position", and the position of the cooking container 300 in which the opening surface of the cooking container 300 is facing downward as shown in P3 will be referred to as the "cleaning position". The container holding unit 200 also includes a built-in attitude maintaining member for maintaining the upright attitude of the container holding unit 200, as well as an attitude detection sensor for detecting the cooking attitude P1 and the cleaning attitude P3.

[0030] The container heating unit 400 is placed on the rear side of the sink 120 and heats the side surface 311 of the cooking container 300 by induction heating.

[0031] The container washing unit 500 is provided inside the sink 120 and sprays rinsing water and the like into the cooking container 300.

[0032] The scraping unit 600 is provided inside the sink 120 and removes stains such as burnt food adhering to the cooking vessel 300.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1, the cover 700 has an arm 710 attached to the control unit 800, and a cover main body 720 that is provided on the arm 710 and can rotate freely around a cover central shaft 711 that extends in the left-right direction. Most of the cover body 720 is made of a mesh so that the inside of the cooking vessel 300 can be seen when the opening of the cooking vessel 300 is covered.

[0034] The control unit 800 has an operation panel 810 for operation and an emergency stop button 820 for urgently stopping the cooking operation of the automatic cooking apparatus 10, and controls the operation of each unit based on input to the operation panel 810. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 800 is connected to the container holding unit 200, the container heating unit 400, the container washing unit 500, and the cover 700, and controls the driving of these units.

[0035] The control unit 800 further includes at least a processor 830, a main memory device 840, an auxiliary memory device 850, and a network interface 860, as shown in FIG. The components constituting the control unit 800 are connected via a bus 870, which is a data transmission path between the components. The processor 830 is realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and executes various processes according to programs stored in a main storage device or an auxiliary storage device. The main memory device 840 is configured with a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a flash memory, or the like, and temporarily stores data necessary for the control unit 800 to perform arithmetic processing. The auxiliary storage device 850 is implemented by a removable medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a memory card, or a read only memory (ROM), and has a recording medium. The network interface 860 communicates with other terminals, systems, etc. via a communication network including the Internet.

[0036] <2. Cooking vessel details> Next, the cooking vessel 300 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 to 7. FIG. 5 is a front view of the cooking container 300 shown in FIG. 1 when ingredients are added to the cooking container 300, FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the left side of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of part VII of FIG. 6. In FIG. 5, a dish D is placed on a serving plate 131 of a dish stand 130, and in FIG. 6, ingredients I are omitted.

[0037] The cooking container 300 is detachable from the container holding unit 200, and as shown in Figures 5 and 6, has a cylindrical container body 310 with a bottom that contains ingredients I, and a stirring member 320 that is detachably attached to the bottom of the container body 310 and stirs the ingredients I contained in the container body 310.

[0038] The container body 310 is rotatable about a container body rotation axis AC extending in the depth direction of the container body 310 as shown in FIG. 6 by power transmitted from the container body drive motor 220 (see FIG. 2) of the container holding unit 200.

[0039] A magnetized ferromagnetic material is provided on the bottom side of the stirring member 320, and a magnetic coupling mechanism is formed between the magnetized ferromagnetic material provided at the tip of the stirring member rotation shaft (not shown) of the container holding unit 200. The stirring member 320 is rotatable about the container body rotation axis AC by power transmitted from the stirring member drive motor 230 (see Figure 2) of the container holding unit 200 via a magnetic coupling mechanism, and rotates independently of the container body 310. Therefore, the automatic cooking apparatus 10 of this embodiment can rotate the stirring member 320 at a higher speed than the container body 310 or at a lower speed than the container body 310.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6, the stirring member 320 is formed of a cylindrical base 321 attached to the container body 310 and a spatula 322 attached to the side surface of the base 321.

[0041] Spatula 322 has a shape obtained by bending a flat plate in a complex manner, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, has inner surface 322a facing bottom surface 312 of container body 310, and outer surface 322b opposite inner surface 322a.

[0042] 3. Rotational Position Detection Mechanism of the Stirring Member 320 According to the cooking container 300 described above, the stirring member 320 is not formed axially symmetrically with respect to the container body rotation axis AC. Therefore, in order to more realistically and highly reproduce the skilled stirring technique of a chef, the control unit 800 needs to detect and grasp the rotational position of the stirring member 320 and control the rotation (rotation) of the stirring member 320. Furthermore, since the stirring member 320 rotates independently of the container body 310, the control unit 800 cannot estimate the rotational position of the stirring member 320 from the rotational position of the container body 310, and must directly detect the rotational position of the stirring member 320. Therefore, a mechanism for detecting the rotational position of the stirring member 320 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0043] In the automatic cooking apparatus 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a detection target 323 is provided on an outer surface 322b of the stirring member 320 near the tip of the spatula 322. This object to be detected 323 is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped case 323a attached to spatula 322, a magnet 323b housed in this case 323a, and a protective cover 323c that protects this magnet 323b.

[0044] A detector for detecting the magnetic force generated from the object to be detected 323 (magnet 323b) is provided as a magnetic sensor 730 built into the arm 710 of the cover 700, as shown in FIG. As shown in Figure 4, this magnetic sensor 730 is positioned outside the passing range S of the cooking container 300 when the user of the automatic cooking device 10 raises and lowers the cooking container 300 in the front-to-back direction of the cooking table 100 (i.e., when the position of the cooking container 300 is changed from the cooking position P1 to the cleaning position P3).

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the magnetic sensor 730 is connected to the control unit 800 and transmits various signals to the control unit 800. Therefore, the control unit 800 controls the motors of the container holding unit 200, the container heating unit 400, etc. based on the signal from the magnetic sensor 730.

[0046] 4. Automatic Cooking Method Using Automatic Cooking Device 10 Next, an automatic cooking method using the automatic cooking device 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 8 and 9. FIG. Each step will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a left side view of the automatic cooking apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 in the serving assist posture, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the rotation range of the stirring member 320 in the cleaning posture.

[0047] <Rotation position grasping step> When the stirring member 320 is attached to the container body 310 that is held in the container holding unit 200 of the automatic cooking apparatus 10, a rotation position grasping step is first performed as an initial setting.

[0048] In the rotation position detection step, when the attitude detection sensor of the container holding unit 200 detects that the cooking container 300 is in the cooking attitude P1, the control unit 800 rotates the stirring member 320 using power from the container holding unit 200. The control unit 800 then memorizes that the rotational phase of the stirring member drive motor 230 of the container holding unit 200 when the object to be detected 323 (i.e., the tip of the stirring member 320) comes closest to the detector 730 is the retracted position of the stirring member 320 (the position of the stirring member 320 where the tip of the stirring member 320 is at the topmost position). That is, this rotation position grasping step is a step in which the control unit 800 grasps the rotation position of the agitator 320 via the rotation phase of the agitator drive motor 230 of the container holding unit 200.

[0049] The automatic cooking method by the automatic cooking apparatus 10 of this embodiment is performed after the rotation position grasping step is executed. This automatic cooking method is carried out in the following order: (1) a stirring cooking step, (2) a serving assistance step, and (3) a container washing step.

[0050] <4.1. Stirring and cooking step> In the stirring cooking step, the control unit 800 detects whether the cooking vessel 300 is in the cooking position P1 shown in FIGS. When the cooking container 300 is in the cooking position P1, the control unit 800 controls the container heating unit 400 to induction heat the cooking container 300, while driving and controlling the container holding unit 200 to rotate the container body 310 of the cooking container 300 and rotate the stirring member 320 independently of the container body 310, thereby stirring and cooking the ingredients I while heating them. The rotation control of the cooking container 300 (container body 310, stirring member 320) by the container holding unit 200 and the heating control of the cooking container 300 by the container heating unit 400 are performed based on a cooking program stored in the control unit 800 based on the dish to be cooked in the automatic cooking device 10.

[0051] <4.2. Serving assistance step> After the stirring and cooking of ingredient I is completed, the control unit 800 rotates the stirring member drive motor of the container holding unit 200 to oscillate the stirring member 320 clockwise and counterclockwise several times, and then rotates the stirring member 320 to a retracted position. With the stirring member 320 rotated to the retracted position, the user of the automatic cooking apparatus 10 rotates the container holding unit 200 forward using the handle 210 to tilt the cooking container 300 forward to the serving assistance position P2 shown in Figures 4 and 8. The person plating the food (who may be the same person as the user of automatic cooking device 10) removes the food from cooking container 300 in plating assistance position P2. In addition, in the serving assistance position P2, as shown in Figure 8, the stirring member 320 is in a retracted position, so the tip of the stirring member 320 is farthest from the plate D placed on the serving plate 131 of the plate stand 130.

[0052] That is, the system includes a rotation position determination step in which the control unit 800 determines the rotation position of the stirring member 320, and a serving assist step in which the cooking container 300 is tilted forward from the cooking position P1 to the serving assist position P2 after the stirring cooking step is completed.In the serving assist position P2, the tip of the stirring member 320 is in a retracted position farthest from the plate D placed on the cooking counter 100, and therefore the tip of the stirring member 320 is positioned upward in the serving assist position P2, making it easier for the person plating the food to reliably remove the food from the cooking container 300 when plating the food on a plate.

[0053] <4.3. Container cleaning step> After the person plating the food removes the food from the cooking container 300 which is in the plating assistance position P2, the user of the automatic cooking device 10 rotates the container holding unit 200 further forward using the handle 210, tilting the cooking container 300 forward to the cleaning position P3 shown in Figure 4. At this time, the inner surface of the container body 310 comes into contact with the scraping unit 600. When the attitude detection sensor of the container holding unit 200 detects that the cooking container 300 is in the cleaning attitude P3, the container holding unit 200 rotates the container body 310 and sprays rinsing water, etc. from the container cleaning unit 500 toward the container body 310. This allows the dirt adhering to the container body 310 to be removed.

[0054] At this time, in order to ensure that the stirring member 320 is cleaned, the stirring member 320 is swung within a safe rotation range P as shown in Figure 9, in which the stirring member 320 does not interfere with the container cleaning unit 500 and the scraping unit 600 when the cooking container 300 is raised from the cleaning position P3. In addition, since the rotational position of the stirring member 320 is controlled so that the tip of the stirring member 320 is at the position farthest from the plate D placed on the serving plate 131 of the plate stand 130 in the serving assist position P2, the control unit 800 is aware of the rotational position of the stirring member 320 in the cleaning position P3 following the serving assist position P2. Therefore, the automatic cooking apparatus 10 of this embodiment is capable of swinging the stirring member 320 within the safe rotation range P under drive control by the control unit 800.

[0055] <5. Effects of the automatic cooking device 10> According to the automatic cooking device 10, which is one embodiment of the present invention described above, a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member 320 is provided, which consists of a detectable element 323 provided on the stirring member 320 and a detector 730 arranged outside the cooking container 300 and which detects the detectable element 323.The control unit 800 grasps the rotational position of the stirring member 320 when the detector 730 detects the detectable element 323 passing through this detector 730, and therefore, regardless of the engagement form between the stirring member 320 and the container holding unit 200, it is possible to grasp the rotational position of the stirring member 320, which is detachable from the container body 310, when it rotates.

[0056] Furthermore, because the detectable element 323 has a magnet 323b and the detector is a magnetic sensor 730, the control unit 800 determines the rotational position of the stirring member 320 from changes in the magnetic field around the magnetic sensor. Therefore, compared to when the detector optically detects the detectable element 323, not only can the rotational position of the stirring member 320 be determined reliably even if cooking-related dirt such as oil stains occurs on the detector or the detectable element 323, but there is no impact on people performing cooking assistance work around the automatic cooking apparatus 10.In addition, compared to when the detector is a proximity sensor that detects the detectable element 323 using eddy currents, detection performance can be ensured even if the relative distance between the detector and the stirring member is large, which improves the freedom of device design for the automatic cooking apparatus 10.

[0057] Furthermore, since the magnetic sensor 730 is positioned outside the passing range S of the cooking container 300 when the cooking container 300 is raised and lowered in the front-to-back direction of the cooking table 100, the cooking container 300 does not interfere with the magnetic sensor 730 even when the container holding unit 200 raises and lowers the cooking container 300 in the front-to-back direction, and therefore the container holding unit 200 can raise and lower the cooking container 300 in the front-to-back direction to easily take on various postures.

[0058] Furthermore, since the detectable element 323 is disposed on the outer surface 322b of the stirring member 320, the ingredients I, seasonings, etc. are less likely to adhere to the detectable element 323 when the automatic cooking device 10 stirs and cooks the ingredients I, thereby preventing the detectable element 323 from becoming soiled by the ingredients I, etc.

[0059] <Modification> Although an automatic cooking device according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the automatic cooking device of the present invention is not limited to the automatic cooking device 10 of the above-described embodiment.

[0060] For example, if the tip of the stirring member is in a retracted position farthest from a plate placed on the cooking counter when the cooking container is tilted forward to the serving assistance position, the timing of controlling the rotation of the tip of the stirring member to the retracted position farthest from the plate placed on the cooking counter can be any timing.

[0061] For example, in this embodiment, cleaning of the cooking container 300 was initiated when the posture detection sensor of the container holding unit 200 detected that the cooking container 300 was in the cleaning posture P3, but it may also be initiated based on input to the operation panel 810 of the control unit 800. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 10 Automatic cooking device 100... Cooking table 100A ··· Top 110 ··· Caster 120 ··· Sink 130 Plate stand 131 Serving plate 132 Plate receiving member 200 Container holding unit 210 ··· Handle 220 Container body drive motor 230 ··· Stirring member drive motor 300 Cooking vessels 310 Container body 311 ··· Side 312 Bottom 320 Stirring member 321 ... base 322 ··· Hera 322a...Inner surface 322b ··· External surface 323 ··· Detected object 323a ··· Case 323b Magnet 323c... Protective lid 400 ··· Container heating unit 500 ··· Container cleaning unit 600 ··· scraping unit 700 ··· Cover 710 Arm 711 ··· Cover center axis 720 ··· Cover body 730 Magnetic sensor (detector) 800 Control Unit 810 ··· Operation panel 820 ··· Emergency stop button 830 processor 840... Main memory 850...Auxiliary storage device 860 Network Interface 870 Bus F...Floor surface I... Ingredients D... Dish AC ··· Container body center axis P1...Cooking posture P2... Assistive position for plating P3: Cleaning posture S: Range of passage of cooking container P Safe rotation range

Claims

1. An automatic cooking device comprising: a cooking container having a cylindrical container body with a bottom for containing ingredients and a stirring member detachably attached to the container body; a container holding unit for rotating the stirring member of the cooking container while holding the cooking container; and a control unit for driving and controlling the container holding unit, wherein the stirring member stirs and cooks the ingredients contained in the container body, An automatic cooking apparatus characterized by comprising a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member, which comprises a detectable element provided on the stirring member and a detector arranged outside the cooking vessel to detect the detectable element.

2. the object to be detected has a magnet, 2. The automatic cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detector is a magnetic sensor.

3. The container holding unit is capable of raising and lowering the cooking container in the front-to-rear direction of a cooking table on which the container holding unit is placed, 2. The automatic cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detector is disposed outside a range through which the cooking container passes when the cooking container is raised and lowered in the front-to-rear direction of the cooking table.

4. the stirring member has an inner surface facing the container body and an outer surface opposite to the inner surface, 2. The automatic cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection object is disposed on an outer surface of the stirring member.

5. The container holding unit is capable of raising and lowering the cooking container in the front-to-rear direction of a cooking table on which the container holding unit is placed, the detection target is provided near the tip of the stirring member, The automatic cooking apparatus described in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit drives and controls the container holding unit so that the tip of the stirring member is positioned in a retracted position farthest from the plate placed on the cooking table when the cooking container is in a serving assistance position tilted forward.

6. An automatic cooking method using an automatic cooking device including a cooking container having a bottomed cylindrical container body for containing ingredients and a stirring member detachably attached to the container body, a container holding unit that holds the cooking container and allows it to rise and fall in the front and rear directions of a cooking table while rotating the stirring member, a control unit that drives and controls the container holding unit, and a rotation position detection mechanism for the stirring member that includes a detectable element provided near the tip of the stirring member and a detector that is arranged outside the cooking container and detects the detectable element, a rotation position grasping step in which the control unit grasps the rotation position of the stirring member; a stirring and cooking step of stirring and cooking the ingredients contained in the container body by rotating the stirring member of the cooking container in a cooking position where the cooking container is tilted backward; and a serving assist step of tilting the cooking vessel forward to a serving assist position after the stirring cooking step is completed. The automatic cooking method is characterized in that, in the serving assistance position, the tip of the stirring member is in a retracted position farthest from the plate placed on the cooking table.

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