Food material supply device, food material supply method, and food material supply program

Abstract

This food material supply device comprises: a storage part in which a food material is stored; a container installation part in which a container supplied with the food material stored in the storage part is to be installed; a container detection unit which detects the container installed in the container installation part; a display unit; an operation unit to which a user operation is inputted; and a control unit which controls the operation unit and the display unit. The control unit switches a display image to be displayed on the display unit according to a detection result of the container detection unit.

Description

Food material supply apparatus, food material supply method and food material supply program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a food material supply apparatus, a food material supply method and a food material supply program. The present application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-053195 filed in Japan on March 27, 2025, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a food material supply apparatus that supplies food materials into a container has been used. The food material supply apparatus serves food materials such as cooked rice into a container based on a user's operation input.

[0003] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-037163

[0004] However, when a user makes an incorrect operation input, food materials may not be properly served into the container.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a food material supply apparatus that allows a user to perform operation input so that food materials can be properly served into a container.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the present disclosure proposes the following means. The food material supply apparatus according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes: a storage unit in which food materials are stored; a container installation portion on which a container to be supplied with the food materials stored in the storage unit is installed; a container detection unit that detects the container installed on the container installation portion; a display unit; an operation unit to which a user's operation is input; and a control unit that controls the operation unit and the display unit, wherein the control unit switches a display image to be displayed on the display unit according to a detection result of the container detection unit.

[0007] The food material supply method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is a method for supplying food materials based on a user's operation input, wherein when it is detected that a container is installed on a container installation portion capable of supplying the food materials stored in a storage unit, supply of the food materials through the operation input by the user is enabled.

[0008] The food material supply program according to the third aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to enable supply of the food materials through the operation input by the user when it is detected that a container is installed on a container installation portion capable of supplying the food materials stored in a storage unit.

[0009] The food supply device, food supply method, and food supply program of this disclosure allow the user to input operations so that the food is properly placed in the container.

[0010] This is a perspective view showing a food supply device according to one embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of the food supply device. This is a control flowchart of the control unit of the food supply device. This is a diagram showing the initial image. This is a diagram showing an operation input image. This is a diagram showing an operation input image. This is a diagram showing a completed plating image. This is a diagram showing a liquid crystal display and operation buttons.

[0011] A food ingredient supply device 100 according to one embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 8. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the food ingredient supply device 100.

[0012] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the vertical direction in the food supply device 100 is defined as "upward direction Z," the vertically upward direction is defined as "upward Z1" in the upward direction Z, and the vertically downward direction is defined as "downward Z2" in the upward direction Z. Furthermore, among the horizontal directions perpendicular to the upward direction Z, the direction in which the user of the food supply device 100 is mainly positioned relative to the food supply device 100 is defined as "forward Y1," the direction opposite to forward Y1 is defined as "rear Y2," and the direction connecting forward Y1 and rear Y2 is defined as "front-back direction Y." Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the upward direction Z and the front-back direction Y is defined as "left-right direction X," one side of the left-right direction X is defined as "right X1," and the other side is defined as "left X2" in the left-right direction X.

[0013] The food supply device 100 is a device that supplies food ingredients such as cooked rice into a container S. The food supply device 100 comprises a housing unit 1, a hopper 2, a conveying unit 3, a supply unit 4, a container installation unit 5, a container detection unit 6, a total weight measurement unit 7, a touch panel 8, and a control unit 9.

[0014] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the food supply device 100. The housing 1 forms the exterior of the food supply device 100. The housing 1 comprises a front panel 10, a back panel 11, side panels 12, a lid 14 for opening and closing the opening 13, and legs 19. The front panel 10 is a member that forms the exterior of the front Y1 of the food supply device 100. The back panel 11 is a member that forms the exterior of the rear Y2 of the food supply device 100. The side panels 12 are members that form the exterior of both sides in the left-right direction X of the food supply device 100. The lid 14 is a member that forms the exterior of the upper Z1 of the food supply device 100. The legs 19 are provided at the bottom of the housing 1.

[0015] The hopper (storage section, containment section) 2 has a box shape that communicates with the opening 13 and is a component that can contain cooked rice in the containment space formed inside. The user can open the lid 14 and put cooked rice into the hopper 2 from the opening 13.

[0016] The conveying unit 3 conveys the cooked rice contained in the hopper 2 to the supply unit 4. The conveying unit 3 has a conveying screw 33 and a loosening roller 34.

[0017] The conveying screw 33 is formed spirally around a shaft 30 that extends in the front-rear direction Y. As the shaft 30 rotates, the conveying screw 33 conveys cooked rice to a loosening roller 34 located at the front Y1.

[0018] The loosening roller 34 is a drum that loosens the cooked rice conveyed by the conveying screw 33. The axis of rotation of the loosening roller 34 is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the conveying screw 33. Numerous claws 34a are provided on the outer circumference of the loosening roller 34. The cooked rice conveyed to the loosening roller 34 falls while being loosened by the claws 34a as the loosening roller 34 rotates.

[0019] The conveying unit 3 may also have a reverse screw. The reverse screw returns the excess rice that has been conveyed to the loosening roller 34 by the conveying screw 33. The reverse screw conveys the rice in the opposite direction to the conveying screw 33.

[0020] The supply unit 4 supplies cooked rice to the container S installed in the container installation unit 5. The supply unit 4 is located below the loosening roller 34 Z2. The supply unit 4 includes a measuring device 41 and a shutter 45.

[0021] The shutter (opening / closing cup) 45 is positioned on the path of the rice that falls through the loosening roller 34. The shutter 45 has a cup shape that bulges downwards to allow the rice to accumulate, and is made up of a pair of members that can be opened and closed downwards Z2. Therefore, the shutter 45 opens when supplying rice to the container S and closes when stopping the supply, thereby performing the operation of supplying and stopping the supply of rice to the container S.

[0022] The weighing device 41 weighs the cooked rice accumulated in the shutter 45 (i.e., the cooked rice that will be supplied to the container S installed in the container installation section 5). The weighing device 41 uses a load cell that converts the applied load into an electrical signal. The weighing device 41 uses, for example, a strain gauge as a detection element and converts the strain caused by the load into an electrical signal. The weighing result from the weighing device 41 is acquired by the control unit 9.

[0023] The container mounting section 5 is a component on which the container S is installed, and is located below the supply section 4 at Z2. The user can install the container S into the container mounting section 5 from the front Y1, right X1, or left X2 of the food supply device 100.

[0024] The container detection unit 6 detects that a container S has been placed in the container installation unit 5. The container detection unit 6 can be any sensor capable of detecting the presence or absence of a container S in the container installation unit 5, such as an optical sensor that optically detects the presence or absence of a container S, or a weight sensor that detects the presence or absence of a container S by a change in weight. The container detection unit 6 may also be able to determine the type of container S installed in the container installation unit 5 by detecting an identifier such as an RFID or a two-dimensional barcode provided on the container S.

[0025] The total weight measuring unit 7 is located on the leg portion 19 and measures the total weight of the food supply device 100. The total weight measuring unit 7 is, for example, a strain gauge. The measurement result from the total weight measuring unit 7 is acquired by the control unit 9.

[0026] The touch panel 8 is, for example, a resistive or capacitive touch panel. The touch panel 8 is mounted on the front panel 10 facing forward Y1. Input operations entered by the user into the touch panel 8 are acquired by the control unit 9. The touch panel 8 displays a display screen based on instructions from the control unit 9. The touch panel 8 functions as a display unit 81 for displaying the display screen and an operation unit 82 for inputting operations. Operation inputs to the touch panel 8 are acquired by the control unit 9.

[0027] The control unit 9 is a program-executable computer having a processor such as a CPU, a memory capable of reading programs, a storage unit capable of storing programs and data, and an input / output control unit. The functions of the control unit 9 are realized by the processor executing the programs provided to the control unit 9. The control unit 9 controls the transport unit 3, the supply unit 4, and the touch panel 8 based on input from the weighing device 41, the container detection unit 6, the total weight measurement unit 7, and the touch panel 8, etc.

[0028] Next, the operation of the food supply device 100 will be explained. The explanation will follow the control flowchart of the control unit 9 shown in Figure 3.

[0029] In step S110, the control unit 9 determines whether a container S has been placed in the container installation unit 5 based on the input from the container detection unit 6. When the control unit 9 determines that a container S has been placed in the container installation unit 5, it then executes step S120.

[0030] Figure 4 shows the initial image P0. When a container S is not placed in the container placement unit 5, the control unit 9 displays the initial image P0 as the display image on the touch panel 8, prompting the user to place the container S in the container placement unit 5, and does not display the operation input image P1 (see Figure 5) as the display image on the touch panel 8, prompting the user to input an operation to start supplying rice. Furthermore, when a container S is not placed in the container placement unit 5, the control unit 9 disables the supply of rice based on the user's operation input to the touch panel 8. Specifically, the control unit 9 prevents the rice supply operation by the transport unit 3 and the supply unit 4 from being performed even if the user inputs an operation. Therefore, when a container S is not placed in the container placement unit 5, the user cannot start supplying rice even if they operate the touch panel 8.

[0031] The control unit 9 calculates the amount of cooked rice stored in the hopper 2 based on the input from the total weight measuring unit 7. If the amount of cooked rice stored in the hopper 2 is small, the control unit 9 may display an image on the touch panel 8 prompting the user to add more cooked rice to the hopper 2.

[0032] Figure 5 shows the operation input image P1. In step S120, the control unit 9 displays the operation input image P1 as a display image on the touch panel 8 to prompt the user to input an operation to start supplying rice. The control unit 9 also enables the supply of rice based on the user's operation input to the touch panel 8. Specifically, the control unit 9 ensures that the transport unit 3 and the supply unit 4 perform the rice supply operation in response to the user's operation input. Therefore, the user can start supplying rice by operating the touch panel 8.

[0033] The operation input image P1 illustrated in Figure 5 includes a selection image P2 that prompts the user to select the amount of rice to be supplied. The selection image P2 illustrated in Figure 5 includes individual input buttons for each selectable amount of rice. The touch panel 8 can receive the user's selection input to the input button corresponding to the amount of rice. The selection input to the touch panel 8 is acquired by the control unit 9. Based on the selection input to the touch panel 8, the control unit 9 acquires the amount of rice to be supplied selected by the user. Note that the operation input image P1 may not include the selection image P2 and may only include an input button to start supplying rice. The amount of rice to be supplied shown in the selection image P2 is not limited to a numerical value. For example, the amount of rice to be supplied shown in the selection image P2 may be a large / medium / small serving or a size such as L (Large) / M (Medium) / S (Small). For example, the amount of rice to be supplied shown in the selection image P2 may be represented by an illustration. For example, the amount of rice to be supplied shown in selected image P2 may be expressed in calories corresponding to the amount of rice.

[0034] Figure 6 shows another operation input image P1. The control unit 9 may display a different operation input image P1 as a display image for each type of container S detected by the container detection unit 6. For example, when the control unit 9 determines that container S is a large size based on differences in weight, it changes the selection of the amount of rice to be supplied, as shown in Figure 6, to increase the amount of rice supplied. The control unit 9 can provide the user with an operation input image P1 that includes the optimal selection according to the type of container S installed in the container installation unit 5. If the amount of rice to be supplied is expressed in a way other than numerical values, such as size or illustration, the control unit 9 may change the corresponding amount of rice to be supplied for each type of container S detected by the container detection unit 6. For example, if container S is a small size, L (Large) is set to 300g, M (Medium) to 200g, and S (Small) to 100g. If container S is a large size, L (Large) is set to 400g, M (Medium) to 300g, and S (Small) to 250g. In this case, the size display included in the operation input image P1 will not be changed.

[0035] In step S130, the control unit 9 determines whether the user has made an operational input (including a selection input) to the touch panel 8. If the user has made an operational input to the touch panel 8, the control unit 9 then executes step S140.

[0036] In step S140, the control unit 9 supplies cooked rice to the supply unit 4. The control unit 9 rotates the conveying screw 33 and the loosening roller 34 to convey the cooked rice.

[0037] In step S150, the control unit 9 determines whether the measured value of cooked rice (measured by the measuring device 41) accumulated in the shutter 45 in the closed position has reached the selected amount. When the measured value of the accumulated cooked rice reaches the selected amount, the control unit 9 stops the rotation of the conveying screw 33 and the loosening roller 34, and then executes step S160.

[0038] In step S160, the control unit 9 moves the shutter 45 to the open position, causing the cooked rice to fall into the container S, thereby serving the cooked rice into the container S.

[0039] Figure 7 shows the completed plating image P3. In step S170, the control unit 9 displays the completed plating image P3 as a display image on the touch panel 8, prompting the user to remove the container S.

[0040] According to one embodiment of the food supply device 100, the user can input commands to ensure that food ingredients such as cooked rice are properly placed in the container S. When no container S is placed in the container placement section 5, the food supply device 100 disables the supply of food ingredients based on the user's input to the touch panel 8. Therefore, even if the user makes an incorrect input to the touch panel 8 when no container S is placed in the container placement section 5, food ingredients such as cooked rice will not be mistakenly supplied. Furthermore, the food supply device 100 can display an input image P1 as a display image according to the type of container S placed in the container placement section 5. Therefore, the user can input commands specific to the placed container S without hesitation.

[0041] As above, one embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like within a scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure are also included. In addition, the constituent elements shown in the above-described one embodiment and the modified examples described below can be combined appropriately as needed.

[0042] The food supply apparatus 100 has a so-called upper weighing structure in which the weighing device 41 weighs cooked rice accumulated on the shutter 45. However, the food supply apparatus 100 may have a so-called lower weighing structure in which the weighing device 41 is provided in the container installation section 5 for the container S. In a lower weighing type food supply apparatus, the control unit 9 opens the shutter 45 when it determines that the container S has been placed in the container installation section 5 based on an input from the container detection section 6. The container installation section 5 is provided with a weighing device that weighs the cooked rice supplied into the container S placed in the container installation section 5. When the weighed value of the cooked rice supplied into the container S reaches the selected amount, the control unit 9 stops the supply of cooked rice and closes the shutter 45.

[0043] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a liquid crystal display 81B and operation buttons 82B. Instead of the touch panel 8, the food supply apparatus 100 may include a liquid crystal display (display section) 81B and operation buttons (operation section) 82B. The operation buttons 82B are buttons that can detect operation input mechanically or electrically. The control unit 9 can inform a user of the amount of cooked rice to be supplied corresponding to each of the plurality of operation buttons 82B by displaying the operation input image P1 as a display image on the liquid crystal display 81B.

[0044] In the above embodiment, the control unit 9 switches the operation input image P1 including the selected image P2 in accordance with the detection result of the container S by the container detection unit 6. However, the control unit 9 may display other images in accordance with the detection result of the container S by the container detection unit 6. For example, the control unit 9 may display an image for notifying an ongoing campaign or the like related to the container S. For example, the control unit 9 may display an image for notifying a recommended menu or the like related to the container S.

[0045] The control unit 9 may display a selection image prompting the user to select how to serve the rice, based on the detection result of the container detection unit 6 for the container S. For example, the selection image may include input buttons to select how to serve the rice, such as piling it high or serving it flat. Based on the selection input to the touch panel 8, the control unit 9 acquires the serving method selected by the user. When serving rice into the container S, the control unit 9 adjusts the loosening roller 34 and the cover near the loosening roller 34 to serve the rice according to the selected serving method.

[0046] The operation input image P1 and completion image P3 may include images showing the remaining amount of cooked rice stored in the hopper 2, calculated based on the measurement by the total weight measuring unit 7 provided on the leg portion 19. The owner of the food supply device 100 can check the remaining amount of cooked rice stored in the hopper 2 to determine whether replenishment of cooked rice is necessary.

[0047] The program for the food supply device 100, etc., is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The program recorded on this recording medium is loaded into a computer system and executed. Here, "computer system" includes hardware such as the OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into the computer system. In addition, "computer-readable recording medium" may also include those that dynamically hold programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or communication lines such as telephone lines, and those that hold programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory inside the computer system that acts as a server or client in such cases. Furthermore, the above program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above, or it may be a program that can realize the above functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, or it may be realized using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0048] 100 Food Supply Device 1 Enclosure 2 Hopper (Storage section, Container section) 3 Conveying section 33 Conveying screw 34 Loosening roller 4 Supply section 41 Weighing device 45 Shutter (Opening / closing cup) 5 Container installation section 6 Container detection section 7 Total weight measurement section 8 Touch panel 81 Display section 81B Liquid crystal display (Display section) 82 Operation section 82B Operation buttons (Operation section) 9 Control unit P0 Initial image P1 Operation input image P2 Selection image P3 Completion image S Container

Claims

1. A food supply device comprising: a storage section for storing food ingredients; a container installation section for supplying the food ingredients stored in the storage section; a container detection section for detecting the containers installed in the container installation section; a display section; an operation section for receiving user input; and a control section for controlling the operation section and the display section, wherein the control section switches the display image displayed on the display section according to the detection result of the container detection section.

2. The food supply device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, when the container detection unit detects the container, displays an operation input image as the display image prompting the user to input an operation to start supplying the food, and enables the supply of the food by the user's operation input to the operation unit.

3. The food supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the container detection unit does not detect the container, the control unit does not display an operation input image as the display image prompting the user to input an operation to start supplying the food, and invalidates the supply of the food by the user's operation input to the operation unit.

4. The food supply device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit displays different operation input images as display images for each type of container detected by the container detection unit.

5. The food supply device according to claim 2, wherein the operation input image includes a selection image that prompts the user to select the amount of food to be supplied, and the operation unit is capable of receiving the user's selection input for the amount of food.

6. The food supply device according to claim 5, wherein the control unit changes the selection of the amount of food to be supplied for each type of container detected by the container detection unit.

7. The food supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display unit and the operation unit are an integrated touch panel.

8. A method for supplying food ingredients based on user input, wherein when it is detected that a container has been placed in a container installation section capable of supplying the food ingredients stored in a storage section, the method enables the supply of the food ingredients based on the user's input.

9. The food supply method according to claim 8, wherein a different operation input is provided to the user for each type of container detected.

10. A program for controlling a device that supplies food ingredients based on user input, wherein the program enables the supply of food ingredients based on the user's input when a computer detects that a container has been placed in a container placement section capable of supplying the food ingredients stored in a storage section.

11. The food supply program according to claim 10, which provides the user with different operation inputs for each type of container detected.

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