Seasoning device

Abstract

To provide a seasoning device capable of changing the taste of food held by eating tools to a desired taste while suppressing a decrease in portability of the eating tools attached thereto. [Solution] The seasoning device comprises a first attachment part to which eating utensils for holding food are attached, a second attachment part to which a holding part for holding a flavoring solution that changes the taste of the food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment part is attached, and a discharge part that discharges the flavoring solution held in the holding part attached to the second attachment part onto the food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment part, and is portable together with both the eating utensil attached to the first attachment part and the holding part attached to the second attachment part.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seasoning device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Research and development is ongoing into devices that can reproduce desired tastes in the human mouth.

[0003] In this regard, a device is known that allows a person to perceive a desired taste by contacting the tongue with multiple samples containing electrolytes that cause the person to perceive a taste that can be perceived by humans and applying a voltage between the samples and the tongue (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-077276 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, devices such as those described in Patent Document 1 cannot change the taste of actual food to a desired taste. On the other hand, devices are also known that mix solutions that reproduce multiple tastes, such as the five basic tastes, in a container and provide the user with a liquid with a desired taste. Such devices are sometimes called seasoning appliances. However, because seasoning appliances contain tanks that hold multiple solutions, they are not very portable, and it can be difficult for users to change the taste of food to a desired taste in their daily lives.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the problems of the above-mentioned conventional technology, and provides a seasoning device that can change the taste of food held by the eating utensils to a desired taste while suppressing a decrease in the portability of the attached eating utensils. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a seasoning device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a first attachment portion to which an eating utensil for holding food is attached, a second attachment portion to which a holding portion for holding a flavoring solution that changes the taste of the food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment portion is attached, and a discharge portion for discharging the flavoring solution held in the holding portion attached to the second attachment portion onto the food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment portion, and is portable together with both the eating utensil attached to the first attachment portion and the holding portion attached to the second attachment portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a seasoning device can be provided that can change the taste of food held by the eating utensil to a desired taste while suppressing a decrease in the portability of the attached eating utensil. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a seasoning device 1. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the seasoning device 1 shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the configuration of the seasoning device 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] <Embodiment> Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] <Seasoning device overview> First, an overview of the seasoning device according to the embodiment will be described.

[0012] The seasoning device according to the embodiment includes a first attachment portion, a second attachment portion, and a discharge portion. The first attachment portion is a member to which eating utensils that hold food are attached. The second attachment portion is a member to which a holding portion is attached. The holding portion holds a flavor solution. The flavor solution is a solution that changes the taste of food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment portion. The discharge portion discharges the flavor solution held in the holding portion attached to the second attachment portion onto the food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment portion. The seasoning device is portable together with both the eating utensil attached to the first attachment portion and the holding portion attached to the second attachment portion. This allows the seasoning device to change the taste of food held by the eating utensil to a desired taste while minimizing a decrease in portability of the attached eating utensil. The configuration of the seasoning device is described in detail below.

[0013] <Configuration of seasoning device> The configuration of the seasoning device according to the embodiment will be described below using the seasoning device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as an example.

[0014] In the embodiments, for ease of explanation, a user of the seasoning device 1 will be referred to simply as a user. In addition, in this specification, the three-dimensional coordinate system TC is a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system that indicates directions in a diagram in which the three-dimensional coordinate system TC is drawn. In the following, for ease of explanation, the X-axis in the three-dimensional coordinate system TC will be referred to simply as the X-axis. In addition, in the following, for ease of explanation, the Y-axis in the three-dimensional coordinate system TC will be referred to simply as the Y-axis. In addition, in the following, for ease of explanation, the Z-axis in the three-dimensional coordinate system TC will be referred to simply as the Z-axis. In addition, in the following, as an example, a case will be described in which the negative direction of the Z-axis coincides with the direction of gravity. Therefore, in the following, for ease of explanation, the positive direction of the Z-axis will be referred to as the upward direction or simply "up," and the negative direction of the Z-axis will be referred to as the downward direction or simply "down."

[0015] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a seasoning device 1. Fig. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the seasoning device 1 shown in Fig. 1. More specifically, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the seasoning device 1 when the seasoning device 1 is cut along an imaginary plane that passes through the central axis of a cylinder SG1 (described later) and is parallel to the YZ plane. Here, the YZ plane is an imaginary plane spanned by two axes, the Y axis and the Z axis.

[0016] The seasoning device 1 is a device to which a user can attach a desired eating utensil from among eating utensils that hold food, and which changes the taste of the food held by the eating utensil. Here, the eating utensil may be an eating utensil such as a spoon, fork, chopsticks, etc., or a cooking utensil that can hold food such as a ladle, ladle, etc., or tableware such as a plate, bowl, etc. The holding of food by the eating utensil is achieved by placing the food on the eating utensil, or by holding the food between the eating utensil, etc. Below, as an example, a case will be described in which the eating utensil is a spoon CT, which is an example of an eating utensil, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0017] The seasoning device 1 also dispenses a flavor solution onto food held by the attached spoon CT. The flavor solution may be any solution that changes the flavor of the food. The flavor solution may be, for example, a powder that changes the flavor of the food, or steam that changes the flavor of the food. For example, the flavor solution may be a solution containing glutamic acid when enhancing the umami of the food. For example, the flavor solution may be a solution containing sodium bicarbonate when reducing the sourness of the food. For example, the flavor solution may be a solution containing both glutamic acid and sodium bicarbonate when enhancing the umami and reducing the sourness of the food. In this case, the mixing ratio of glutamic acid to sodium bicarbonate is predetermined based on the degree to which the umami of the food is enhanced and the degree to which the sourness of the food is reduced. When the taste of a food is changed using a flavoring solution and the flavoring solution contains multiple substances, the mixing ratio of the multiple substances contained in the flavoring solution may be predetermined through a prior experiment in which the flavor of the food is changed using the flavoring solution, or may be estimated using numerical simulation, machine learning, or the like. By appropriately selecting a flavoring solution, a user can change the flavor of the food they are about to eat to a matured flavor, an immature flavor, or the like. Details of flavoring solutions that change the flavor of food over time are described in detail in, for example, "Yoshiaki Miyashita, 'Chronospoon: Time-Controlling Seasoning Tableware,' Information Processing Society of Japan, Interaction 2024 Proceedings, pp. 404-409 (2024)," and therefore will not be described here. At least in the seasoning device 1 of this embodiment, the flavoring solution may be any solution that is edible and can change the flavor of food.

[0018] In the seasoning device 1, the flavor solution is held in a holding unit SG. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the holding unit SG is a single container configured as a cartridge detachably attached to the seasoning device 1 by a cylinder SG1 and a plunger SG2, but this is not limited thereto. The cylinder SG1 is a cylindrical cylinder. One of the two ends of the cylinder SG1 in a direction parallel to the extension direction of the cylinder SG1 is a first end where a nozzle for discharging the flavor solution held in the cylinder SG1 is formed. In this example, this direction is parallel to the X-axis. In this example, the first end of the cylinder SG1 is the end of the cylinder SG1 on the negative side of the X-axis. The other of the two ends is a second end where an opening for inserting the plunger SG2 into the cylinder SG1 is formed. In this example, the second end of the cylinder SG1 is the end of the cylinder SG1 on the positive side of the X-axis. A plunger SG2 is inserted into the cylinder SG1 through an opening formed at the second end of the cylinder SG1 and is provided on the cylinder SG1 so as to be slidable inside the cylinder SG1 in parallel with the direction of the arrow A. The taste solution held between the inside of the cylinder SG1 and the plunger SG2 is expelled from a nozzle formed at the first end of the cylinder SG1 as the plunger SG2 approaches the first end.

[0019] The seasoning device 1 includes, for example, an attachment part 11 to which the holding part SG is attached, an operation part 12, a control part 13, a drive part 14, a transmission mechanism 15, and an attachment part 16 to which the spoon CT is attached. The seasoning device 1 may not include the control part 13. In the seasoning device 1, the operation part 12, the drive part 14, and the transmission mechanism 15 may be integrally configured as a discharge part that discharges the flavor solution held by the holding part SG from a nozzle at a first end of the cylinder SG1. The seasoning device 1 may also include the holding part SG.

[0020] As described above, the attachment portion 11 is a member to which the holding portion SG is attached. The attachment portion 11 may have any configuration as long as it is capable of attaching the holding portion SG. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the attachment portion 11 has a mounting surface 11M on which the cylinder SG1 is placed and a fixing portion 11B that clamps the cylinder SG1 together with the mounting surface 11M to fix it so that it does not move. The fixing portion 11B is detachable from the mounting surface 11M. Therefore, by removing the fixing portion 11B from the mounting surface 11M, a user can easily replace the holding portion SG holding a certain taste solution with a holding portion SG holding a different taste solution. The attachment portion 11 is an example of a second attachment portion.

[0021] The operation unit 12 has an operation reception unit that rotates in response to a received operation, converts the mechanical displacement of the rotation of the operation reception unit into an electrical signal, and outputs the converted electrical signal to the control unit 13. The operation unit 12 is, for example, a rotary encoder, but is not limited to this. By rotating the operation reception unit of the operation unit 12, the user can specify the amount of taste solution held by the holding unit SG to be discharged.

[0022] The control unit 13 drives the drive unit 14 in response to an electrical signal from the operation unit 12. In other words, the control unit 13 drives the drive unit 14 in response to the amount of taste solution ejected specified via the operation unit 12. The control unit 13 is configured to include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Note that the control unit 13 may be configured to include another processor, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), instead of a CPU.

[0023] The driving unit 14 is an actuator, such as a servo motor, that is driven in response to a request from the control unit 13. Note that instead of a servo motor, the driving unit 14 may be another actuator that is driven in response to a request from the control unit 13.

[0024] The transmission mechanism 15 transmits the driving force from the drive unit 14 to the plunger SG2 and slides the plunger SG2 toward the first end of the cylinder SG1 in accordance with the driving force. In the example shown in Figures 1 and 2, the transmission mechanism 15 is a feed screw, but is not limited to this.

[0025] As described above, the attachment portion 16 is a member to which the spoon CT is attached. The attachment portion 16 may have any configuration as long as it is capable of attaching the spoon CT. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the attachment portion 16 is composed of two flat-plate-shaped members facing each other and substantially parallel to each other, and a flat-plate-shaped member connecting these two flat-plate-shaped members. Therefore, the attachment portion 16 uses its elastic force to hold the spoon CT sandwiched between the two flat-plate-shaped members immobile. In other words, the attachment portion 16 clamps the spoon CT using its elastic force. Therefore, a spoon of a different type than the spoon CT can also be attached to the attachment portion 16. In other words, the attachment portion 16 can be used to attach both an eating utensil X1 having a handle of a certain shape and an eating utensil X2 having a handle of a different shape to the eating utensil X1 as the eating utensil to be attached to the seasoning device 1. For the same reason, other eating utensils can also be attached to the attachment portion 16 instead of a spoon. For the same reason, the attachment portion 16 can also be used to attach cooking utensils having a portion equivalent to a clamping handle, tableware having a portion equivalent to a clamping handle, etc. Note that the attachment portion 16 may also be configured to be able to attach at least a part of an eating utensil, cooking utensil, or tableware that does not have a handle or a portion equivalent to a handle. Note that instead of being configured to clamp the eating utensil, the attachment portion 16 may be configured to be able to attach the eating utensil by other methods. The attachment portion 16 is an example of a first attachment portion.

[0026] Here, the spoon CT has a recess capable of storing the flavor solution. For an eating tool having such a recess, the attachment portion 16 may be configured to adjust the position of the recess of the attached eating tool to a position where the flavor solution dispensed from the nozzle at the first end of the cylinder SG1 can be received by the recess. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the attachment portion 16 clamps the eating tool between two flat plate-shaped members. Therefore, in this example, the attachment portion 16 is configured to adjust the position of the recess of the attached eating tool to a position where the flavor solution dispensed from the nozzle at the first end of the cylinder SG1 can be received by the recess.

[0027] The attachment portion 16 may be configured such that, when an eating tool is attached, the recess of the eating tool is positioned so that the recess can receive the flavor solution ejected from the nozzle at the first end of the cylinder SG1. In this case, the attachment portion 16 may be configured such that the position of the attached eating tool cannot be adjusted.

[0028] With the above-described configuration, the seasoning device 1 dispenses the flavoring solution held in the holder SG onto food held by the spoon CT attached to the attachment portion 16 in response to an operation received via the operating unit 12. The seasoning device 1 is portable, including both the spoon CT attached to the attachment portion 16 and the holder SG attached to the attachment portion 11. In other words, the seasoning device 1 can be lifted and moved (or used) together with both the spoon CT and the attachment portion 11 with one hand. In other words, the volume of the seasoning device 1 is approximately the same as or several times the volume of the smallest imaginary rectangular parallelepiped surrounding the spoon CT. This is because the holder SG, which holds the user's desired flavoring solution, is composed of a single container, thereby achieving a compact size of the seasoning device 1. This allows the user to easily change the flavor of the food to the desired flavor while eating the food, compared to when the seasoning device 1 is a large device such as a stationary home appliance. In other words, the seasoning device 1 can change the flavor of food held by the eating utensils to a desired flavor while minimizing the reduction in portability of the attached eating utensils. This means that the seasoning device 1 has a high degree of freedom in its use in daily life. As a result, the seasoning device 1 can also improve usability. Note that the smaller the holding unit SG of the seasoning device 1, the smaller the size of the drive unit 14 can be.

[0029] <First Modification of the Embodiment> A first modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the first modification of the embodiment, the holding part SG may be a bellows pipette instead of a single container formed by a cylinder SG1 and a plunger SG2. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the configuration of the seasoning device 1.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 3, when the holding unit SG is a bellows pipette, the transmission mechanism 15 is a mechanism that applies the driving force from the driving unit 14 to the bellows portion of the bellows pipette so that the bellows portion contracts. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the transmission mechanism 15 is a feed screw, as in Figs. 1 and 2, but is not limited to this. By providing such a transmission mechanism 15, the seasoning device 1 can eject a flavor solution from a nozzle of the holding unit SG, which is a bellows pipette, by pressing the bellows portion of the holding unit SG so that the bellows portion contracts.

[0031] When the holding part SG is a bellows pipette, the size of the seasoning device 1 in the direction in which the handle of the spoon CT extends can be reduced. That is, in this case, the seasoning device 1 can be more reliably miniaturized compared to when the holding part SG is composed of a cylinder SG1 and a plunger SG2.

[0032] <Modification 2 of the embodiment> A second modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the second modification, the holding unit SG is configured with multiple containers instead of a single container. For example, each of the multiple containers may all have the same configuration and may be configured with the cylinder SG1 and plunger SG2 described above, or may be a bellows pipette, or may be another type of container. Note that some or all of the multiple containers may have different configurations.

[0033] When the holding unit SG is composed of multiple containers, the transmission mechanism 15 is, for example, a mechanism that transmits the driving force from the drive unit 14 to each plunger SG2 and slides each plunger SG2 toward the first end of each cylinder SG1 in response to the driving force. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the transmission mechanism 15 is a feed screw, but is not limited to this. This allows the seasoning device 1 to dispense the flavoring solution held in each container of the holding unit SG attached to the attachment unit 11 onto food held by the spoon CT attached to the attachment unit 16. As a result, when the holding unit SG is composed of multiple containers, the seasoning device 1 can change the type of flavoring solution dispensed from each of the multiple containers. In other words, in this case, the seasoning device 1 can more reliably change the flavor of the food held by the eating utensil to a desired flavor.

[0034] The above-described items may be combined in any manner as long as the function of the seasoning device 1 is not impaired.

[0035] <Additional Notes> [1] A seasoning device comprising: a first attachment part to which eating utensils for holding food are attached; a second attachment part to which a holding part for holding a flavor solution that changes the taste of the food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment part is attached; and a discharge part for discharging the flavor solution held in the holding part attached to the second attachment part onto the food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment part, and which is portable together with both the eating utensil attached to the first attachment part and the holding part attached to the second attachment part. [2] The holding unit is a single container and includes a cylinder that holds the flavor solution and a plunger that is attached to the cylinder so as to be able to slide within the cylinder. The cylinder has a nozzle that ejects the flavor solution it holds. The ejection unit ejects the flavor solution from the nozzle onto food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment unit by sliding the plunger relative to the cylinder. [1] The seasoning device described in [3] The holding part is a bellows pipette, and the discharging part discharges the flavor solution from a nozzle of the bellows pipette onto the food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment part by pushing the bellows part of the bellows pipette so that the bellows part contracts. [4] The seasoning device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the eating tool has a recess capable of storing the flavor solution, and the second attachment part is arranged such that when the eating tool is attached, the recess of the eating tool is positioned so that the recess can receive the flavor solution ejected from the ejection part. [5] The seasoning device according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the eating implement has a recess capable of storing the flavor solution, and the second attachment part is capable of adjusting the position of the recess of the eating implement to a position where the flavor solution ejected from the ejection part can be received by the recess. [6] The seasoning device according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the eating implement is one of a spoon, a fork, chopsticks, a bowl, a plate, and a ladle. [7] A seasoning device described in any one of [1] to [6], wherein the second attachment portion can be used to attach either a first eating utensil having a handle of a first shape or a second eating utensil having a handle of a second shape different from the first shape. [8] A seasoning device according to any one of [1] to [7], comprising the holding portion. [9] The seasoning device described in [1], wherein the holding portion is composed of a plurality of containers, and the discharge portion discharges the flavor solution held by the plurality of containers onto food held by the eating utensil attached to the first attachment portion.

[0036] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and may be changed, replaced, deleted, etc., without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1...seasoning device, 11...first mounting portion, 11B...fixing portion, 11M...mounting surface, 12...operation portion, 13...control portion, 14...drive portion, 15...transmission mechanism, 16...second mounting portion, CT...spoon, SG...holding portion, SG1...cylinder, SG2...plunger

Claims

1. a first attachment portion to which an eating tool for holding food is attached; a second attachment portion to which a holding portion for holding a flavor solution that changes the taste of the food held by the eating tool attached to the first attachment portion is attached; a discharge unit that discharges the taste solution held in the holding unit attached to the second attachment unit onto the food held by the eating tool attached to the first attachment unit; Equipped with The eating implement is portable together with both the eating implement attached to the first attachment part and the holding part attached to the second attachment part. seasoning device.

2. the holding portion is a single container and includes a cylinder that holds the taste solution and a plunger that is provided in the cylinder so as to be slidable within the cylinder; the cylinder has a nozzle for discharging the flavor solution held therein; the discharge unit discharges the taste solution from the nozzle onto the food held by the eating tool attached to the first attachment unit by sliding the plunger relative to the cylinder. The seasoning device according to claim 1 .

3. the holding part is a bellows pipette, The discharge unit discharges the taste solution from a nozzle of the bellows pipette by pressing a bellows portion of the bellows pipette so that the bellows portion contracts toward the food held by the eating tool attached to the first attachment unit. The seasoning device according to claim 1 .

4. The eating tool has a recess capable of storing the taste solution, The second attachment portion is provided such that, when the eating tool is attached, the recess of the eating tool is positioned so that the recess can receive the taste solution discharged from the discharge portion. The seasoning device according to claim 1 .

5. The eating tool has a recess capable of storing the taste solution, The second attachment portion is capable of adjusting the position of the recess of the eating tool to a position where the taste solution discharged from the discharge portion can be received by the recess. The seasoning device according to claim 1 .

6. The eating utensil is any one of a spoon, a fork, chopsticks, a bowl, a plate, and a ladle. The seasoning device according to claim 1 .

7. The second attachment portion can be attached to either a first eating tool having a handle of a first shape or a second eating tool having a handle of a second shape different from the first shape. The seasoning device according to claim 1 .

8. The holding portion is provided. The seasoning device according to claim 1 .

9. The holding unit is composed of a plurality of containers, the discharge unit discharges the taste solution held by the plurality of containers onto food held by the eating tool attached to the first attachment unit. The seasoning device according to claim 1 .

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