System and Method for Autonomously Cooking Food Products
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking grills for commercial kitchens require manual operation, leading to human error, inconsistencies in cooking quality, and inefficiencies due to non-uniform heating and heat loss.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous cooking grill with a rotating surface equipped with a processor, user interface, flipping station, temperature-probing station, ejecting station, and cleaning station, which uses a detection system to recognize food products and execute a cooking procedure based on the type of food.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual operation is used for cooking grills, then ease of operation is maintained, but human error and inconsistencies in cooking quality occur
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking grill system performs self-monitoring and self-adjustment through embedded sensors and control algorithms. The system automatically detects food presence, monitors cooking progress, and adjusts heating parameters without human intervention, enabling the system to serve itself while maintaining consistent cooking quality and eliminating human error.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor cooking conditions (temperature, food presence, cooking stage) and feed this information back to the control system. This feedback loop enables real-time adjustments to maintain optimal cooking parameters, ensuring consistent results while reducing reliance on manual operation.
2Temperature
If traditional heating methods are used, then device complexity is kept low, but non-uniform heating and heat loss occur
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is divided into multiple independent heating zones with individual temperature control. Each zone can be independently adjusted to achieve uniform heating across the entire cooking surface. This segmentation allows precise thermal management while maintaining relatively simple control logic for each individual zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts heating parameters (temperature, power level, heating duration) based on detected cooking conditions and food characteristics. By changing parameters in real-time rather than using fixed settings, the system achieves uniform heating without requiring overly complex hardware configurations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If fixed cooking configurations are used, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different food types is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking system transitions from static, fixed configurations to dynamic, adjustable parameters. The control system can modify heating patterns, temperature profiles, and cooking sequences in real-time based on the detected food type and cooking requirements, enabling high adaptability without adding significant physical complexity to the hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooking grill is designed with universal heating elements and control capabilities that can accommodate multiple food types and cooking methods. Rather than having dedicated systems for different food types, a single versatile system uses software-controlled parameter adjustment to handle various cooking requirements, reducing overall device complexity while maximizing adaptability.
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 autonomous cooking grill ensures safe, reliable, and efficient food cooking, eliminating human error and inconsistencies, while providing uniform heating and reducing heat loss.
Implementation Method 1
an array of heating elements... heating the food product
Implementation Method 2
a compressed air injection system for providing a bank of moving air over the food product during the early stages of cooking so as to break up the blanket of cold air over the food product
Data Source
AI summary
The autonomous cooking grill comprises a grate or griddle connected to a rotatable hub which is connected to a hub rotating means, all supported by a grill body, wherein when the hub rotating means is activated the hub rotates the grate. In a further embodiment, the autonomous cooking grill comprises a griddle connected to a rotatable hub which is connected to a hub rotating means, all supported by a grill body, wherein when the hub rotating means is activated the hub rotates the griddle. The autonomous cooking grill can have one or more of the additional features of autonomous flipper(s), autonomous ejector(s), autonomous grate cleaner(s) and autonomous temperature probe(s), and bins to store cooked food products ejected from the grill. The features are utilized with suitable food products, such as patties. The autonomous cooking grill can use gas (or alternatively electricity) for cooking and use an electric actuator to turn the grate or griddle. The autonomous cooking grill may additionally comprise a cover to partially cover the grill or griddle. In a further embodiment, there is additionally a center grill for manually cooking food.