4D food printing food production method and device

The 4D food printing device uses multi-food printing to control local color and shape changes by injecting ingredients with varying properties, addressing the limitations of existing technologies and enhancing food transformation capabilities.

JP2026042108APending Publication Date: 2026-03-11KDDI CORP
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-08-27
Publication Date
2026-03-11

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing 4D food printing technologies lack the ability to control local color and three-dimensional shape changes during cooking, limiting the creation of food products that can transform into any desired three-dimensional shape from a two-dimensional form.

Method used

A food manufacturing device using multi-food printing technology that selectively injects multiple types of ingredients with different expansion, contraction, and color change properties in response to heating and humidification, controlled by an ingredient arrangement map and injection control system.

Benefits of technology

Enables precise control over local color and three-dimensional shape changes in food products, allowing them to transform as intended during cooking, enhancing entertainment value and contributing to sustainable food production.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

We provide a food production method and food production device using 4D food printing that enables control of local morphological changes in food, and changes the shape of food more as intended during cooking. [Solution] The 4D food printing device 1 mainly consists of an ingredient DB 10 which registers the changes in morphology (shape, color) caused by heating and humidification during cooking for each ingredient ID that uniquely identifies a variety of ingredients; an ingredient arrangement map generation unit 20 which generates an ingredient arrangement map MP according to the food to be produced; an ingredient injection device 30 which individually injects multiple types of ingredients 31a, 31b...; a scanning mechanism 50 which scans the nozzle part of the ingredient injection device 30 in two or three dimensions on a food stage 40 to form food 70; and an injection control unit 60 which controls the injection position and injection amount of each ingredient 31a, 31b... by the ingredient injection device 30 based on the ingredient arrangement map M.
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing food using 4D food printing, and in particular to a method and apparatus for producing food using 4D food printing with multi-food printing technology, which produces food whose shape changes when cooked. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, research and development has been progressing on 4D food printing technology, which dynamically changes color and shape in response to humidity and temperature, with the aim of applying it to food decoration using molds and food printers.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a manufacturing and processing technology for mochi that adds value by forming an invisible layer on the surface of the mochi by coating, printing, stamping, spraying, etc., with any pattern such as letters or pictures, and then when the mochi is cooked, the pattern appears.

[0004] Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for producing mochi using a 3D food printer, in which a pot made from a mixture of gelatin, soy milk, and carp paste is combined with a dissolvable soup base using a 3D printed mold.

[0005] Non-Patent Document 2 discloses 4D food printing technology, which uses a 3D food printer to mold two-layer film-like pasta with different moisture absorption properties by combining gelatin, agar, cellulose, and starch into various geometric structure patterns, allowing the two-dimensional shape to transform into more complex three-dimensional shapes in response to moisture and temperature. Furthermore, the document discloses methods for designing and manufacturing digitally processed foods that allow for the creation of new textures and shaping effects, as well as compact transportation and storage.

[0006] Non-patent document 3 discloses a technology for designing and processing edible food items such as cookies, spoons, and forks that transform from a two-dimensional shape to a three-dimensional shape due to thermal expansion after cooking by molding rice flour into various linear patterns while changing the extrusion pattern, discharge pressure, or print width of a 3D food printer.

[0007] Non-Patent Document 4 discloses a food processing technology in which mochi is cut into pieces using a turtle-shaped mold with a shell pattern, and after heating, the mochi expands into a three-dimensional turtle shape.

[0008] Non-Patent Document 5 discloses a food processing technology that creates mochi snacks with various textures and three-dimensional shapes by processing mochi into specific shapes using a slicing machine and a cutting knife. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-000061 [Non-patent literature]

[0010] [Non-Patent Document 1] Mai Kodama et al. "Novel Soft Meals Developed by 3D Printing," Future Foods, 2017. https: / / www.intechopen.com / chapters / 56857 [Non-patent document 2] Wen Wang et al. "Transformative Appetite: Shape-Changing Food Transforms from 2D to 3D by Water Interaction through Cooking," in Proc. Of CHI, 2017 https: / / dl.acm.org / doi / 10.1145 / 3025453.3026019 [Non-patent document 3] Yumi Nishihara, Yasuaki Kakei. "Magashi: 4D printing of edible materials using rice flour paste," TVRSJ., 2021. https: / / www.jstage.jst.go.jp / article / tvrsj / 26 / 4 / 26_220 / _article / -char / ja / [Non-patent document 4] Kasho Souzen's "Red and White Tortoiseshell Mochi" https: / / souzen.co.jp / c / kkm [Non-patent document 5] Akebono Kogyo "Mochisura" https: / / www.akebono-sa.co.jp / products / detail / 182 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] However, prior art has not yet achieved 4D food printing technology, which allows for control of local color and three-dimensional shape through cooking.

[0012] In Patent Document 1, a pattern printed in advance on the surface of the mochi can be exposed using heat, but the three-dimensional shape cannot be controlled using heat.

[0013] In Non-Patent Document 1, it is possible to use a 3D food printer to mold gelatin, mochi, and other gelatin-like ingredients into three-dimensional shapes, but it is difficult to control the change in shape after heating.

[0014] In Non-Patent Document 2, geometric shape changes such as spiral structures can be controlled by bending pasta with a film-like two-layer structure due to moisture absorption and temperature changes, but it is not possible to control nonlinear organic shape changes caused by heat, such as those in mochi.

[0015] In Non-Patent Document 3, rice flour molded into a two-dimensional shape is thermally expanded, which allows for uniform control of the expansion of the entire shape, but it is not possible to control the local shape of a three-dimensional shape.

[0016] In Non-Patent Documents 4 and 5, a uniformly expanded three-dimensional shape can be generated by heating mochi formed into a two-dimensional shape, but because it is not possible to control the shape of the mochi locally, it is not possible to create a food product that can change into any three-dimensional shape that is completely different from the original two-dimensional shape.

[0017] The object of the present invention is to solve the above technical problems and provide a food manufacturing method and device using 4D food printing, which allows for control of the local color and three-dimensional shape of food by multi-food printing, which selectively prints multiple types of food ingredients that differ in their expansion, contraction, and color change properties in response to heating and humidification during cooking, and can change the shape of food as intended through cooking. [Means for solving the problem]

[0018] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by a food manufacturing device using 4D food printing that uses multi-food printing technology to manufacture food whose shape changes when cooked, and is equipped with the following configuration.

[0019] (1) The food injection device is equipped with a plurality of injection nozzles for injecting a plurality of types of food ingredients that undergo different morphological changes due to cooking, an ingredient arrangement map generation means for generating an ingredient arrangement map that determines the injection position of each ingredient based on the intended morphological changes due to cooking, a scanning means for scanning the position of each injection nozzle based on the ingredient arrangement map, and an injection control means for controlling the ingredients to be injected from each injection nozzle and their positions based on the ingredient arrangement map.

[0020] (2) The food material database records the morphological changes that occur for each food material due to cooking, and the food material arrangement map generation means includes a means for importing 3D model data of food after the intended morphological changes due to cooking, and a means for selecting multiple types of food materials based on the food material database and the 3D model data, and generates an food material arrangement map for the selected multiple types of food materials based on the 3D model data.

[0021] (3) The surface of the shaped food is covered with a visually opaque food material that does not hinder the transformation.

[0022] (4) The injection control means injects each ingredient so that each ingredient is at the same height in the produced food product. [Effects of the Invention]

[0023] According to the present invention, multi-food printing selectively injects multiple types of ingredients that have different expansion, contraction, and discoloration properties in response to heating and humidification during cooking, making it possible to control the local color and three-dimensional shape of food, thereby providing a food manufacturing method and device using 4D food printing that can change the shape of food as intended through cooking. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a 4D food printing device. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a 3D model that represents the shape of food after cooking. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an ingredient arrangement map. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a single extruder system. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a multi-extruder system. [Figure 6] This is a plan view of the rice cake after production and before cooking, in which the character "Yama" appears after cooking. [Figure 7] This is a plan view of rice cake with the character "Yama" (mountain) appearing after cooking. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a method for making emoticons appear on the surface of rice cakes after cooking. [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart showing a first method for manufacturing a 4D food using a 4D food printing device. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a second method for manufacturing a 4D food using a 4D food printing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of an apparatus (4D food printing apparatus) 1 that produces food using 4D food printing technology to which the present invention is applied. Food (4D food) whose color and three-dimensional shape (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as shape) change during cooking, and whose shape after cooking cannot be specifically predicted from its shape before cooking, is produced using multi-food printing technology.

[0026] As will be described in detail later, the 4D food printing device 1 of the present invention mainly comprises an ingredient database (DB) 10 which registers the morphological changes (expansion, contraction, discoloration) that occur in response to heating and humidification during cooking for each ingredient ID that uniquely identifies a variety of ingredients; an ingredient arrangement map generation unit 20 which generates an ingredient arrangement map M according to the food to be produced; an ingredient injection device 30 which individually injects multiple types of ingredients 31a, 31b...; a scanning mechanism 50 which scans the nozzle part of the ingredient injection device 30 in two or three dimensions on the food stage 40 to three-dimensionally form food 70; and an injection control unit 60 which controls the injection position and injection amount of each ingredient 31a, 31b... by the ingredient injection device 30 based on the ingredient arrangement map M.

[0027] The ingredient database 10, ingredient arrangement map generator 20, and injection controller 60 can be configured by installing an application (program) that realizes each of the functions detailed below on a general-purpose computer or server equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, bus, interface, etc., or on a portable smartphone or tablet device. Alternatively, they can be configured as a dedicated or single-purpose machine in which part of the application is implemented as hardware or software.

[0028] In this embodiment, we focus on edible rice cakes as an example of 4D food whose shape after cooking cannot be predicted from its shape before cooking. In particular, we explain the example of a 4D food in which the surface of the rice cake, which is flat before cooking [Fig. 1(a)], is heated during cooking [Fig. 1(b)], causing the character "mountain" (mountain) to appear in three dimensions [Fig. 1(c)].

[0029] Information on changes in form that occur during cooking is registered for each ingredient ID in the ingredient DB 10. This change information is information that describes how the form, such as shape or color, changes in response to stimuli such as heating and humidification during cooking, and includes expansion, contraction, and changes in color.

[0030] Hereinafter, the characteristics of the ingredient DB 10 will be described using the ingredient of rice cake as an example. In this embodiment, two kinds of ingredients with different thermal expansion coefficients (amounts of expansion) are used.

[0031] Focus will be placed on ingredients with high thermal expansion rates, such as glutinous rice flour (shiratama flour, mochi flour, dango flour), which has a high content of amylopectin, a starch molecule with a branched structure that is highly viscous and allows water and air to easily enter, thermal leavening agents (leavening powder, etc.) used in puffed foods (bread, pancakes, donuts, etc.), and other starch ingredients with high thermal expansion rates (wheat flour, potatoes, etc.). Because the thermal expansion rate of these ingredients changes when the moisture ratio is changed, a unique ingredient ID is assigned to each moisture ratio, and the ID is registered in the ingredient DB10 in association with the coefficient of thermal expansion (amount of expansion).

[0032] On the other hand, as an ingredient with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, we focused on a gel-like material made by mixing non-glutinous rice flour or high-amylose rice flour with water in a 1:1 ratio.These ingredients have low viscosity and are rich in amylose, a starch molecule with a linear structure that makes it difficult to trap water or air.We assigned them a unique ingredient ID and registered them in the ingredient database 10.

[0033] In addition, ingredients that shrink when heated, such as meat, can be classified by their thermal shrinkage rate, and by mixing them, ingredients with different thermal shrinkage rates can be registered in the ingredient DB10.

[0034] The data of the 3D model representing the cooked form of the food to be manufactured is input into the food ingredient arrangement map creation unit 20. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the 3D model data. If the character "mountain" is to be raised on the surface of the mochi, the 3D model data of the shape in which only the part of the character "mountain" is raised is input. This 3D model data is input into the food ingredient arrangement map generation unit 20 together with the information indicating that the food is "mochi".

[0035] The food ingredient arrangement map generation unit 20 includes a food ingredient selection unit 21, calculates the height of the part of the character "mountain" and the height of the part other than the character "mountain" from the 3D model data, and selects two types of food ingredients that will become equivalent to the 3D model due to the difference in the expansion rate of each food ingredient during the heat treatment at the time of cooking. The food ingredient arrangement map generation unit 20 arranges the IDs of the two selected food ingredients in a two-dimensional array based on the 3D model data.

[0036] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the food ingredient arrangement map M. At the position corresponding to the character "mountain", the ID of the food ingredient with a relatively large thermal expansion rate (here, food ingredient ID = 1) is arranged, and at the position not corresponding to the character "mountain", the ID of the food ingredient with a relatively small thermal expansion rate (here, food ingredient ID = 0) is arranged.

[0037] The food injection device 30 is configured to be able to selectively inject a plurality of types of food ingredients 31a, 31b..., and can adopt either a single extruder method (FIG. 4) or a multi-extruder method (FIG. 5).

[0038] Here, a multi-food print technology capable of injecting two types of food ingredients with different thermal expansion rates 31a and 31b will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this alone, and it can also be extended to a multi-food print capable of injecting three or more types of food ingredients by adding motors and nozzles according to the number of food ingredients as described later.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the single extruder method, which is composed of a main extruder 33 for injecting food ingredients and two syringe pump units 34a and b for supplying food ingredients to the main extruder 33.

[0040] In the single extruder method, the nozzle portion 33a of the main extruder 33 is scanned on the stage 40 along the food arrangement map M, and the motors M1, M2 of the syringe pump units 34 (34a, 34b) filled with the corresponding foods at the injection positions of each food are selectively driven to switch the foods supplied to the main extruder 33. Next, the amount of the foods 31a, 31b injected from the nozzle 33a is adjusted by controlling the rotational speed of the screw attached to the motor M3 of the main extruder 33.

[0041] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the multi-extruder method. Two types of foods 31a, 31b are respectively fed to the first and second extruders 35, 36, and injection control of each food is performed while switching the drive of each extruder 35, 36 at the injection position of each food according to the food arrangement map M.

[0042] The scanning mechanism 50 relatively moves at least one of the nozzle of the food injection device 30 and the stage 40 so that the food injection device 30 can inject each food at each position on the stage 40 as per the food arrangement map M.

[0043] In the present embodiment, the food 31b with a high coefficient of thermal expansion is selectively injected at the position where the character "mountain" appears, and the food 31a with a low coefficient of thermal expansion is selectively injected around the character "mountain". By controlling the unit injection amount of the foods 31a, 31b at each injection position to be the same or equivalent, the thickness of the mochi can be made uniform. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the mochi as the manufactured food appears to be a thin rectangular parallelepiped shape and is just a piece of typical "cut mochi", and the characteristics that predict morphological changes after cooking such as unevenness and color change on the surface are substantially not visualized.

[0044] On the other hand, if one looks closely at the surface of the mochi, the differences in shape, color, and texture due to the different ingredients can be visualized, as shown by the exaggerated dashed lines in Figure 6(b). Alternatively, depending on the combination of ingredients selected, the differences in color and texture of each ingredient may be noticeable in the finished food. In such cases, it is possible to uniformly cover the surface of the food with a visually opaque ingredient that does not interfere with the intended shape change during cooking.

[0045] When consumers heat and cook the mochi produced and sold in this way using a toaster or oven, the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient of each ingredient causes the part of the character "mountain" to rise above the surrounding area, resulting in the appearance of a three-dimensional character "mountain" as shown in Figure 7. This shape after cooking cannot be predicted from the shape before cooking after production, making it highly entertaining.

[0046] Figure 8 shows an example of the scanning method of two extruders in the production of 4D food in which emoticons appear on the surface of mochi. Figure 8(a) shows an example of scanning an ingredient with a relatively low expansion rate, and Figure 8(b) shows an example of scanning an ingredient with a relatively high expansion rate in the areas of the eyes, nose, and mouth where expansion is desired.

[0047] In the area of ​​the eyes, nose, and mouth that needs to be raised, a food ingredient with a relatively high expansion rate is injected along the outline as shown in Figure 1(b), and by further injecting food ingredients while scanning within the outline, a sufficient shape change can be achieved by cooking with heat, as shown in Figure 1(c).

[0048] In each of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which the shape is changed after cooking by using ingredients with different expansion rates in response to heat during cooking. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use ingredients that have different color changes in response to heat or humidification during cooking, so that the color, pattern or design changes after cooking.

[0049] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps of a food production method (4D food printing) using 4D food printing technology to which the present invention is applied.

[0050] In step S101, 3D model data (FIG. 2) that represents the shape of the food to be produced after cooking is input to the ingredient arrangement map generation unit 20. In step S102, based on the 3D model data and ingredient database 10, ingredient selection unit 21 selects multiple ingredients to be used in producing the food.

[0051] In step S103, an ingredient arrangement map M (FIG. 3) is generated based on the 3D model data and the ingredient selection results. In step S104, the selected ingredients are injected into the corresponding extruders of the ingredient injection device 30.

[0052] In step S105, injection of the first ingredient 31a, which has a relatively low thermal expansion coefficient, is initiated based on the ingredient arrangement map M. In step S106, it is determined whether injection of the first ingredient 31a is complete. Since it is initially determined that injection is not complete, the process proceeds to step S107, where the injection position is changed and the process returns to step S105. The injection and movement (scanning) of steps S105 to S107 are repeated until injection of the first ingredient 31a into all regions is complete. Once injection of the first ingredient 31a is complete, the process proceeds to step S108.

[0053] In step S108, injection of the second ingredient 31b, which has a relatively high thermal expansion coefficient, begins based on the ingredient arrangement map M. In step S109, it is determined whether injection of the second ingredient 31b is complete. Since it is initially determined that injection is not complete, the process proceeds to step S110, where the injection position is changed and the process returns to step S108. The injection and movement (scanning) of steps S108 to S110 are repeated until injection of the second ingredient 31b into all regions is complete. When injection of the second ingredient 31b is complete, the 4D food is complete.

[0054] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the steps of a second food production method using 4D food printing technology to which the present invention is applied. In the first method described above, injection of one ingredient begins after the other ingredient is completed, but in this embodiment, a Z-scan method with a single extruder is used, and ingredients are sequentially switched according to the injection position, allowing injection to be completed with just one scan.

[0055] The procedures of steps S101 to S104 are the same as those of the first method, and therefore will not be described further. In step S105a, a Z-scan is started with the food production position as the scanning range. In step S106a, it is determined whether or not the position is the injection position for the first ingredient. If the position is the injection position for the first ingredient, the process proceeds to step S107a, where the first ingredient is injected, and then the process returns to step S105a to resume the Z-scan. The procedures of steps S105a to S107a are repeated until the scanning position is no longer the injection position for the first ingredient.

[0056] Thereafter, if it is determined in step S106a that the scanning position is not the injection position for the first ingredient, the process proceeds to step S108a. If it is determined in step S108a that the scanning position is the injection position for the second ingredient, the process proceeds to step S109a, where the second ingredient is injected, and then the process returns to step S105a, where Z-scan is resumed. The procedure of steps S105a to S109a is repeated until the scanning position is no longer the injection position for the second ingredient.

[0057] If it is determined in step S108a that the injection position for the second ingredient is not reached, the process proceeds to step S110a, where it is determined whether the Z-scan is complete. If not, the process returns to step S105a, where injection of the first or second ingredient into the unscanned area is repeated.

[0058] According to the second method described above, it is possible to complete the scan in one go, and the time required for relative scanning of the injection nozzle 33a with respect to the stage 40 can be reduced compared to the first method, thereby shortening the manufacturing time of the 4D hood.

[0059] The 4D food produced by the above manufacturing method is shipped and put up for sale on the market, and when the consumer who purchased it cooks it at home, it changes shape in response to the heat and humidity stimuli, thereby exhibiting entertainment value.

[0060] Furthermore, according to each of the above-described embodiments, it is possible to provide safe and inexpensive entertaining foods, which can contribute to the promotion of global trends in "sustainability" by utilizing the power of entertainment. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to the achievement of Goal 4 (Quality Education for All) and Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) led by the United Nations through promotional activities in various fields. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1...4D food printing device, 10...foodstuff database (DB), 20...foodstuff arrangement map generation unit, 21...foodstuff selection unit, 30...foodstuff injection device, 33...main extruder, 33a...injection nozzle, 34a, 34b...syringe pump unit, 35, 36...first and second extruders, 40...foodstuff stage, 50...scanning mechanism, 60...injection control unit, 70...foodstuff, M1, M2, M3...motors

Claims

1. In this food manufacturing method using 4D food printing, food that changes shape when cooked is produced using multi-food printing technology. Each ingredient is placed in an ingredient injection device having an injection nozzle for injecting each of a plurality of ingredients that undergo different morphological changes when cooked; generating an ingredient arrangement map that determines the injection position of each ingredient based on the intended morphological changes caused by cooking; A food manufacturing method using 4D food printing, characterized by controlling the ingredients to be ejected from the ejection nozzle and their positions based on the ingredient arrangement map.

2. We have prepared a food ingredient database that records the morphological changes that occur during cooking for each ingredient. Prepare 3D model data of food after the intended transformation caused by cooking. Selecting each of the ingredients based on the ingredient database and 3D model data; The food manufacturing method using 4D food printing described in claim 1, characterized in that an ingredient arrangement map of the selected ingredients is generated based on the 3D model data.

3. The food manufacturing method using 4D food printing described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the manufactured food undergoes the intended morphological change through specified cooking.

4. The method for producing food by 4D food printing described in claim 3, characterized in that the intended morphological change cannot be specifically predicted from the shape of the produced food.

5. The food manufacturing method by 4D food printing described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the surface of the manufactured food is further covered with a visually opaque food ingredient that does not interfere with the morphological change.

6. The method for producing food using 4D food printing described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each ingredient is injected so that it is at the same height in the produced food.

7. The food manufacturing method using 4D food printing described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the multiple types of ingredients undergo different morphological changes when heated during cooking.

8. The method for producing food using 4D food printing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the multiple types of ingredients have different morphological changes in response to humidification during cooking.

9. The food manufacturing method by 4D food printing described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the morphological change is at least one of a change in the amount of expansion and a change in the amount of contraction, and a change in color.

10. The food product is made from two ingredients, One of the ingredients is a high-thermal expansion ingredient that is relatively viscous and is composed of glutinous rice flour with a high content of amylopectin, a starch molecule with a branched structure that allows water and air to easily enter, and water. The method for producing food using 4D food printing as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the other food is a gel-like material made by mixing water with either glutinous rice flour or high-amylose rice flour, which has a high content of amylopectin, a starch molecule with a linear structure that makes it difficult for water and air to penetrate, and is a low-thermal expansion food ingredient with relatively low viscosity.

11. This is a food manufacturing device that uses 4D food printing technology to produce food that changes shape when cooked using multi-food printing technology. a food material injection device having injection nozzles for injecting a plurality of types of food materials that undergo different morphological changes when cooked; an ingredient arrangement map generating means for generating an ingredient arrangement map that determines the injection position of each ingredient based on the intended shape change caused by cooking; a scanning means for scanning the position of the injection nozzle based on the food material arrangement map; A food manufacturing device using 4D food printing, characterized by having an injection control means that controls the ingredients and their positions to be injected from the injection nozzle based on the ingredient arrangement map.

12. The system has an ingredient database that records the morphological changes that occur during cooking for each ingredient, The ingredient arrangement map generating means A means for capturing 3D model data of food after intended morphological changes due to cooking; a means for selecting the plurality of ingredients based on the ingredient database and 3D model data; The food manufacturing device using 4D food printing as described in claim 11, characterized in that an ingredient arrangement map of the selected ingredients is generated based on the 3D model data.

13. The 4D food printing food manufacturing apparatus described in claim 11 or 12, further comprising a means for covering the surface of the manufactured food with a visually opaque food ingredient that does not interfere with the morphological change.

14. The food manufacturing apparatus using 4D food printing according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the injection control means injects each ingredient so that each ingredient is at the same height in the manufactured food.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

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