Automatic cooking device and automatic cooking method

Abstract

Provided is an automatic cooking device that detects the rotation position of a stirring member when the stirring member, which is detachable from a container body, rotates. An automatic cooking device 10 includes: a cooking container 300 including a bottomed cylindrical container body 310 that accommodates ingredients I, and a stirring member 320 detachably attached to the container body 310; a container holding unit 200 that rotates the stirring member 320 of the cooking container 300 while holding the cooking container 300; and a control unit 800 that drives / controls the container holding unit 200. The automatic cooking device 10 stirs and cooks the ingredients I accommodated in the container body 310 by the stirring member 320. The automatic cooking device 10 further includes a rotation position detection mechanism for the stirring member 320, the mechanism including a detection object 323 provided to the stirring member 320 and a detector 730 that is disposed outside the cooking container 300 and that detects the detection object 323.

Description

Automatic cooking device and automatic cooking method

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic cooking device and an automatic cooking method, and in particular to an automatic cooking device and an automatic cooking method for stirring and cooking ingredients contained in a cooking container having a container body for containing ingredients and a stirring member that is detachably attached to the container body and rotates independently of the container body.

[0002] In recent years, the food service industry has been moving toward automation of cooking operations due to various factors, such as securing chefs, maintaining cooking skills, and improving the cooking environment. Conventionally, an automatic cooking device has been known that includes a container holding unit that holds a cylindrical, bottomed cooking container, a rotation unit that rotates the cooking container held by the container holding unit between a front area and a rear area of ​​a cooking table, and a control unit that drives and controls the container holding unit and the rotation unit, and at least stirs and cooks ingredients contained in the cooking container, in which the cooking container has a stirring member that is attached to the inner bottom or inner surface of the container body and protrudes into the interior space of the container body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-175791

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned automatic cooking device, because the stirring member rotates integrally with the container body of the cooking container, depending on the rotation stop position of the stirring member when stirring cooking is finished, the stirring member may block the food inside the container body, making it difficult for the person serving 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, compared to the automatic cooking device equipped with the above-mentioned cooking container in which the container body and stirring member rotate integrally, the automatic cooking device cannot detect the rotation stop position of the stirring member from the rotation stop position of the container body, making it even more difficult to grasp the rotation position of the stirring member by the automatic cooking device.

[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 and an automatic cooking method that can grasp the rotational position of a stirring member that is detachable from the container body and rotates independently of the container body when it rotates relative to the container body.

[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 and rotates independently of the container body, a container holding unit that causes the stirring member of the cooking container to rotate 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 consisting of a detectable element provided on the stirring member and a detector positioned outside the cooking container that 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 detectable element 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 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 table.

[0011] The invention according to claim 6 is an automatic cooking device including a cooking container having a cylindrical container body with a bottom for containing ingredients and a stirring member that is detachably attached to the container body and rotates independently of 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. This cooking method comprises a rotation position grasping step in which the control unit grasps the rotation position of the stirring member, a stirring cooking step in which the stirring member of the cooking container is rotated on its axis while the cooking container is in a cooking position tilted backward to stir and cook the ingredients contained in the container body, 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, 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 counter, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem.

[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 and detects 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 and rotates independently of the container body, when it rotates relative to the container body.As a result, when the person plating 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 plating 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 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 on 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 becoming dirty with 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 sixth aspect of the invention, a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member is provided, which includes a detectable element attached to the stirring member and a detector located outside the cooking vessel for detecting the detectable element. The detector detects the detectable element passing through the detector, allowing the control unit to determine the rotational position of the stirring member. Therefore, regardless of the engagement form between the stirring member and the container holding unit, the rotational position of the stirring member, which is detachable from the container body and rotates independently of the container body, can be determined when the stirring member rotates relative to the container body. The automatic cooking method further includes a rotational position determination step in which the control unit determines the rotational position of the stirring member, and a serving assist step in which the control unit tilts the cooking vessel 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 positioned at a retracted position farthest from a plate placed on the cooking table, so that the tip of the stirring member is positioned upward in the serving assist position, allowing a person plating food to easily and reliably remove food from the cooking vessel when plating it on a plate.

[0018] 1 is a perspective view of an automatic cooking device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A system configuration diagram of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. 1. A hardware configuration diagram of the control unit 800 shown in FIG. 1. A left side view of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. 1. A front view of the cooking container 300 shown in FIG. 1 when ingredients have been added to the cooking container 300. A partial cross-sectional view of the left side of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. 5. An enlarged view of portion VII in FIG. 6. A left side view of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in FIG. 1 in the serving assistance position. A schematic diagram showing the rotation range of the stirring member 320 in the cleaning position.

[0019] The automatic cooking device of the present invention is an automatic cooking device that 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 and rotates independently of 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 uses the stirring member to stir and cook the ingredients contained in the container body, and is equipped with a stirring member rotation position detection mechanism consisting of a detectable element provided on the stirring member and a detector arranged outside the cooking container for detecting the detectable element, and the specific embodiment can be any as long as it grasps the rotation position of the stirring member that is removably attached to the container body and rotates independently of the container body when it rotates relative to the container body.

[0020] For example, the automatic cooking device of the present invention is mainly installed in 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.

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

[0026] <1. Basic Configuration of the Automatic Cooking Device> First, the basic configuration of the automatic cooking device 10 will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the automatic cooking device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a system configuration diagram of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the control unit 800 shown in Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a left side view of the automatic cooking device 10 shown in Figure 1. Note that ingredients are omitted from Figure 4.

[0027] First, as shown in Figure 1, the automatic cooking apparatus 10 is movably placed on a floor surface F. The automatic cooking apparatus 10 comprises a cooking counter 100 serving as a base, a container holding unit 200 placed on the cooking counter 100, cooking containers 300 rotatably held by the container holding unit 200, a container heating unit 400 placed on the cooking counter 100 and induction-heating the cooking containers 300, a container washing unit 500 and a scraping unit 600 disposed on the cooking counter 100, a cover 700 that opens and closes the opening of the cooking containers 300, and a control unit 800 placed on the cooking counter 100 and providing integrated control of the entire automatic cooking apparatus 10, and automatically cooks ingredients contained in the cooking containers 300 to prepare a dish.

[0028] Cooking table 100 has a plurality of casters 110 on the bottom surface, a sink 120 formed in the front region of top surface 100A, and a plate stand 130 that opens and closes sink 120 and on which plates and the like are placed. Plate stand 130 slides left and right to close the opening of 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 serving plate 131 and on which plates and the like are temporarily placed.

[0029] The container holding unit 200 has a handle 210 that is grasped by the user of the automatic cooking apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 4 , the user of the automatic cooking apparatus 10 can operate the cooking container 300 to raise and lower the cooking container 300 in the front-to-rear direction of the cooking table 100. Hereinafter, 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." The position of the cooking container 300 in which the opening of the cooking container 300 faces downward, as shown in P3, will be referred to as the "cleaning position." The container holding unit 200 includes a built-in position-maintaining member that maintains the raised and lowered positions of the container holding unit 200, as well as a built-in position detection sensor that detects the cooking position P1 and the cleaning position 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] 1, cover 700 has an arm 710 attached to control unit 800, and a cover body 720 that is rotatable about a cover central shaft 711 that is attached to arm 710 and extends in the left-right direction. Most of cover body 720 is mesh-like so that the inside of cooking vessel 300 can be seen when the opening of cooking vessel 300 is covered.

[0034] The control unit 800 has an operation panel 810 for operation and an emergency stop button 820 for emergency 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 Figure 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 operation of these units.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 3 , 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. 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 implemented by a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU), and executes various processes according to programs stored in the main memory device or auxiliary memory device. The main memory device 840 is implemented by a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a flash memory, or the like, and temporarily stores data necessary for the control unit 800 to perform arithmetic processing. The auxiliary memory 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 includes a recording medium. The network interface 860 communicates with other terminals, systems, etc. via a communication network, including the Internet.

[0036] 2. Details of Cooking Container Next, details of cooking container 300 will be described with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 to Fig. 7. Fig. 5 is a front view of cooking container 300 shown in Fig. 1 when ingredients have been added to cooking container 300, Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the left side of automatic cooking device 10 shown in Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of portion VII in Fig. 6. Note that in Fig. 5, a plate D is placed on serving plate 131 of plate stand 130, and ingredients I are omitted in Fig. 6.

[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 Figure 6 by power transmitted from the container body drive motor 220 (see Figure 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 stirring member 320 and 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 FIG. 2) of the container holding unit 200 via the 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] The spatula 322 has a shape formed by bending a flat plate in a complex manner, and as shown in Figures 5 and 7, has an inner surface 322a facing the bottom surface 312 of the container body 310, and an outer surface 322b opposite to the inner surface 322a.

[0042] 3. Rotational Position Detection Mechanism of Stirring Member 320 In the cooking container 300 described above, since the stirring member 320 is not formed axially symmetrically with respect to the container body rotation axis AC, in order to more realistically and accurately reproduce the chef's well-trained stirring technique, the control unit 800 must detect and grasp the rotational position of the stirring member 320 to control the rotation (rotation) of the stirring member 320. Furthermore, because 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 instead directly detect the rotational position of the stirring member 320. Therefore, the rotational position detection mechanism of the stirring member 320 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and other figures.

[0043] 7, in the automatic cooking apparatus 10 of this embodiment, a detectable element 323 is disposed on the outer surface 322b near the tip of the spatula 322 of the stirring member 320. This detectable element 323 is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped case 323a attached to the spatula 322, a magnet 323b housed in this case 323a, and a protective cover 323c that protects the magnet 323b.

[0044] 7 and other figures, a detector that detects the magnetic force generated by this detectable element 323 (magnet 323b) is provided as a magnetic sensor 730 built into arm 710 of cover 700. As shown in FIG. 4, this magnetic sensor 730 is located outside the passage range S of cooking container 300 when the user of automatic cooking apparatus 10 raises or lowers cooking container 300 in the front-to-rear direction of cooking table 100 (i.e., when the position of cooking container 300 is changed from cooking position P1 to cleaning position P3).

[0045] 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 signals from the magnetic sensor 730.

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

[0047] <Rotation Position Recognition Step> When the stirring member 320 is attached to the container body 310 held in the container holding unit 200 of the automatic cooking apparatus 10, a rotation position recognition 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 cooking attitude P1, the control unit 800 rotates the agitating member 320 using power from the container-holding unit 200. The control unit 800 then stores the rotation phase of the agitating member drive motor 230 of the container-holding unit 200 when the detected element 323 (i.e., the tip of the agitating member 320) comes closest to the detector 730 as the retracted position of the agitating member 320 (the position of the agitating member 320 where the tip of the agitating member 320 is at the uppermost position). In other words, this rotation position determination step is a step in which the control unit 800 determines the rotation position of the agitating member 320 via the rotation phase of the agitating member drive motor 230 of the container-holding unit 200.

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

[0050] 4.1. Stirring Cooking Step In the stirring cooking step, the control unit 800 detects whether the cooking container 300 is in the cooking position P1 shown in Figures 4 and 5. 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 to rotate the stirring member 320 independently of the container body 310, thereby stirring and cooking the ingredients I. The control of the rotation of the cooking container 300 (container body 310, stirring member 320) by the container holding unit 200 and the control of the heating of the cooking container 300 by the container heating unit 400 are executed based on a cooking program stored in the control unit 800 that is based on the dish to be cooked in the automatic cooking apparatus 10.

[0051] 4.2. Plating Assist Step After stirring and cooking the ingredients I, the control unit 800 rotates the stirring member drive motor of the container-holding unit 200 to swing the stirring member 320 clockwise and counterclockwise several times, and then rotates the stirring member 320 to the 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 plating assist position P2 shown in FIGS. 4 and 8 . The person plating the food (which may be the same person as the user of the automatic cooking apparatus 10) removes the food from the cooking container 300 in the plating assist position P2. In the plating assist position P2, the stirring member 320 is in the retracted position, as shown in FIG. 8 , so that 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 in the plating assist position P2, the user of the automatic cooking apparatus 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 FIG. 4 . At this time, the inner surface of the container body 310 abuts against the scraping unit 600. When the position detection sensor of the container holding unit 200 detects that the cooking container 300 is in the cleaning position P3, the container holding unit 200 rotates the container body 310 on its axis, and the container cleaning unit 500 sprays rinsing water or the like toward the container body 310. This removes dirt adhering to the container body 310.

[0054] To ensure reliable cleaning of the stirring member 320, the stirring member 320 is swung within a safe rotation range P (see FIG. 9 ) within which the stirring member 320 will not interfere with the container washing unit 500 or the scraping unit 600 when the cooking container 300 is raised from the washing position P3. The rotational position of the stirring member 320 is controlled so that the tip of the stirring member 320 is farthest from the dish D placed on the serving plate 131 of the dish stand 130 in the serving assist position P2. Therefore, the control unit 800 knows the rotational position of the stirring member 320 in the washing position P3 following the serving assist position P2. Therefore, the automatic cooking apparatus 10 of this embodiment is able to swing 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, the device is equipped with a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member 320, which consists of a detectable element 323 attached to 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 the detector 730, and therefore it is possible to grasp the rotational position of the stirring member 320, which is detachable from the container body 310, when it rotates, regardless of the engagement form between the stirring member 320 and the container holding unit 200.

[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 reliably determined 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 etc. 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 arranged on the outer surface 322b of the stirring member 320, 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 ingredients I, etc.

[0059] <Modifications> 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.

[0062] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic cooking device 100 Cooking table 100A Top surface 110 Caster 120 Sink 130 Plate rest 131 Serving plate 132 Plate storage member 200 Container holding unit 210 Handle 220 Drive motor for container body 230 Drive motor for stirring member 300 Cooking container 310 Container body 311 Side surface 312 Bottom surface 320 Stirring member 321 Base 322 Spatula 322a Inner surface 322b Outer surface 323 Detectable element 323a Case 323b Magnet 323c Protective lid 400 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 500 Container heating unit 500 Container cleaning unit 600 Scraper unit 700 Cover 710 Arm 711 Cover central axis 720 Cover body 730 Magnetic sensor (detector) 800 Control unit 810 Operation panel 820 Emergency stop button 830 Processor 840 Main memory device 850 Auxiliary memory device 860 Network interface 870 Bus F Floor surface I Ingredients D Plate AC Container body central axis P1 Cooking position P2 Serving assistance position P3 Cleaning position S Cooking container passing range P Safe rotation range

Claims

1. 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 and rotates independently of 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 uses the stirring member to stir and cook the ingredients contained in the container body, characterized in that it has a rotational position detection mechanism for the stirring member consisting of a detectable element attached to the stirring member and a detector placed outside the cooking container that detects the detectable element.

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

3. The automatic cooking device described in claim 1, characterized in that the container holding unit is capable of freely raising and lowering the cooking container in the front-to-back direction 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 front-to-back direction of the cooking table.

4. The automatic cooking device according to claim 1, characterized in that the stirring member has an inner surface facing the container body and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, and the detectable element is arranged on the outer surface of the stirring member.

5. The automatic cooking device described in claim 1, characterized in that 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 at a retracted position farthest from a plate placed on the cooking table.

6. An automatic cooking method using an automatic cooking device equipped with a cooking container having a cylindrical container body with a bottom for containing ingredients and a stirring member that is detachably attached to the container body and rotates independently of 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, which comprises a detectable element provided near the tip of the stirring member and a detector arranged outside the cooking container and detects the detectable element, the method comprising: a rotation position determination step in which the control unit determines the rotation position of the stirring member, a stirring cooking step in which the cooking container is 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 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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