Automatic cooking machine having a blender
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Restaurants and beverage stores face challenges with labor-intensive ingredient preparation, leading to staff fatigue, accidents, and food waste due to the need for early preparation and frequent replacement of perishable items, which existing technologies fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
An automatic cooking machine with a control interface, heater, hopper, cooking pot, strainer, and blender, capable of automatically controlling ingredient quantity and cooking time, featuring a blocking element and driving mechanism to manage ingredient dispensing and blending, reducing human intervention and minimizing food waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If ingredients are cooked in advance to fulfill orders after business hours, then productivity is improved, but staff fatigue and accidents increase due to early preparation work
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by enabling ingredients to be cooked automatically in advance before business hours begin. The system allows users to pre-set cooking schedules, and the automatic cooking machine executes the cooking process without human intervention, thereby improving productivity while eliminating the need for staff to work early and reducing fatigue and accidents.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service through automatic cooking execution. Once the cooking parameters and schedule are set, the machine autonomously manages the entire cooking process including heating, timing, and ingredient processing, freeing staff from manual preparation work and allowing the system to serve itself during off-hours.
2Productivity
If staff work longer hours to handle preparation and cooking, then productivity is improved, but food waste increases due to cooking fails and ingredient spoilage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through precise control systems that monitor cooking parameters such as temperature, time, and ingredient quantity. The system automatically adjusts cooking conditions based on pre-set parameters and provides real-time status information, ensuring consistent cooking quality and preventing cooking failures that lead to food waste.
Solution Approach 2:
By enabling pre-cooking and scheduled cooking operations, the system prepares ingredients in advance according to predicted demand. This reduces the need for last-minute cooking and minimizes ingredient spoilage, as the automatic system can maintain optimal storage and cooking conditions without human error.
3Adaptability or versatility
If manual ingredient preparation is performed, then adaptability to different orders is improved, but labor costs and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by designing a multi-functional automatic cooking machine that can handle various types of ingredients and cooking methods through a unified system. The machine accepts different ingredient inputs via the hopper and feeding tube system, and can execute multiple cooking programs, thereby maintaining adaptability to different orders while reducing the need for multiple separate devices or complex manual procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical preparation operations with automated mechanisms. The hopper, feeding tube, and automatic dispensing system substitute for manual ingredient handling, while the controlled heating and timing mechanisms replace manual cooking supervision, thereby reducing operational complexity while maintaining versatility.
4Productivity
If ingredients are kept for extended periods after cooking, then productivity is improved by reducing preparation frequency, but food quality and safety deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system optimizes preliminary action by cooking ingredients in smaller, more frequent batches based on predicted demand patterns. This ensures that ingredients are prepared close to the time of service, maintaining freshness and quality while still reducing the need for last-minute manual preparation. The automatic scheduling system coordinates cooking cycles to match order patterns.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The automatic cooking machine efficiently manages ingredient preparation, reducing staff burden, minimizing waste, and ensuring consistent cooking quality by automating the cooking process, thereby improving operational efficiency and reducing labor costs.
Implementation Method 1
a heater, arranged on the base
Implementation Method 2
a blender, comprising: two cantilever arms, respectively arranged at two opposite sides of a top portion of the blender; multiple blending arms, respectively extending outwards from a main body of the blender
Implementation Method 3
a strainer, arranged to be capable of being placed in the cooking pot to receive ingredients, wherein the strainer is provided with one or more holders, a bottom and sidewalls of the strainer are provided with multiple filter pores
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic cooking machine includes: an upper portion provided with a connection port thereon; a control interface arranged to operably generate control commands based on a user's manipulations to control operation of the automatic cooking machine; a base; a heater arranged on the base; a supporting portion coupled between the upper portion and the base, and arranged to support the upper portion; a hopper for receiving materials and having a hollow feeding tube, wherein the feeding tube is detachably inserted into the connection port; a cooking pot capable of being heated on the heater; and a strainer capable of being placed in the cooking pot and receiving materials. The automatic cooking machine further comprises: a blender, comprising: two cantilever arms, multiple blending arms, a ring-shaped flange, and a positioning pillar.