Automatic home cooking machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a compact home cooking machine that can automatically cook and serve personalized food portions at a predetermined time, suitable for handicapped or elderly individuals who lack manual dexterity, and for busy individuals who do not have time to cook, as existing vending machines are costly, bulky, and lack personalization capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A compact home cooking machine with a food storage section, controllable dispensers, a rotatable insulating plate, and induction heating units that allows for the automatic preparation and cooking of food in a compact, above-counter or built-in format, enabling the preparation of a week's supply of meals with remote programming and local control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If existing vending machines are used to supply cooked food items, then food delivery is automated, but the machines are excessively costly and bulky for home use
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking machine is divided into distinct functional modules: a food storage section for dry ingredients, a dispensing section with multiple food dispensers for perishable items, a rotatable insulating plate for food delivery, and a cooking apparatus. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and enables a compact overall design suitable for home environments while maintaining automated food preparation capabilities.
2Extent of automation
If existing vending machines are used to supply cooked food items, then food delivery is automated, but the machines are excessively costly for home use
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking machine performs multiple functions within a single integrated unit: it stores both dry and perishable food items, automatically dispenses selected ingredients, rotates an insulating plate to deliver food to vessels, and cooks the prepared portions. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate appliances and reduces overall system cost while providing comprehensive automated meal preparation for home use.
3Volume of stationary object
If a compact home cooking machine is designed for above-counter or built-in space, then the machine is space-efficient, but it must still hold a large number of ready to prepare food portions in long-time frozen storage
Solution Approach 1:
The machine utilizes vertical space efficiently with the food storage section positioned above the dispensing section, and the rotatable insulating plate rotating in a horizontal plane below the freezer compartment. This three-dimensional arrangement maximizes storage capacity within a compact footprint suitable for above-counter or built-in installation, allowing sufficient food portions to be stored without requiring excessive horizontal space.
4Reliability
If multiple food dispensers are retained within a stationary freezer compartment, then perishable food storage is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple food dispensers serving different perishable food items are integrated within a single stationary freezer compartment, sharing common insulation and cooling infrastructure. The dispensers are arranged to interface with the rotatable insulating plate, which sequentially delivers selected items to food vessels. This merging approach maintains reliable perishable food storage while reducing overall system complexity compared to having separate refrigerated units for each ingredient.
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 machine provides a compact, efficient solution for preparing personalized meals, maintaining food quality, and ensuring independence for individuals with limited dexterity or busy schedules, while being cost-effective and user-friendly.
Implementation Method 1
a rotatable insulating plate located below said freezer compartment and formed with an aperture through which desired food products are gravitationally delivered either from said food storage section or from said dispensing section to an underlying one of the food vessels
Implementation Method 2
cooking apparatus adapted to cook the food products received within each of the food vessels
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic home cooking machine comprises a food storage section for dry and unperishable food products, means for controllably discharging food products from the food storage section, a dispensing section which includes a plurality of spaced controllable food dispensers retained within a stationary freezer compartment, a lower plate on which are positionable a plurality of food vessels, a rotatable insulating plate located below the freezer compartment and formed with an aperture through which desired food products are gravitationally delivered either from the food storage section or from the dispensing section to an underlying one of the food vessels located directly below the aperture, and cooking apparatus adapted to cook the food products received within each of the food vessels.