Food and Beverage Dispensing Machine With Automatic Cooking Module
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic cooking machines require user initiation and cooking process and can only cook one batch of food at a time, resulting in long wait-times between when a user puts in an order and when they receive the food or beverage product, particularly if multiple users wish to use the machine simultaneously or in close succession. Those machines are ill-suited for a grab-and-go customer experience in which the machine preferably has a consistent supply of freshly cooked food prepared so that each user can quickly place their order and receive their food.
Innovation Solution
An automatic cooking machine that controls the timing and sequencing of the cooking process across multiple cookers to provide a consistent supply of freshly cooked food, managed by a processor that monitors cooker states, adds food and water, cooks, and dispenses food as needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single cooker is used to cook food items, then the device complexity is reduced, but the productivity decreases due to long wait times when multiple users want to use the machine simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking system is divided into multiple independent cookers (first cooker, second cooker, etc.), each capable of independently cooking food items. This segmentation allows parallel processing of multiple cooking tasks, thereby increasing overall productivity while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The processor proactively monitors the state of each cooker and initiates cooking cycles in advance based on predicted demand patterns. When a cooker becomes available or is about to complete its cycle, the system automatically prepares the next batch, ensuring continuous availability of cooked food items and reducing wait times for users.
2Ease of operation
If the machine waits for user initiation to start cooking, then the ease of operation is improved, but the loss of time increases due to delays between ordering and receiving food
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking system operates autonomously by automatically monitoring cooker states, selecting food items to be cooked, and initiating cooking cycles without requiring continuous user input. The processor manages the entire cooking workflow, including transferring food items from storage to cookers and monitoring cooking progress, thereby eliminating delays associated with manual initiation while maintaining simple user interaction.
3Productivity
If multiple cookers are managed manually, then the productivity increases, but the device complexity and difficulty of control increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The processor continuously receives feedback from each cooker regarding its current state (empty, cooking, or containing prepared food items). Based on this real-time feedback, the processor automatically makes decisions about which cookers to use next, what food items to prepare, and when to initiate cooking cycles, thereby managing multiple cookers efficiently without increasing operational complexity for the user.
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
Ensures a continuous and fresh food supply by managing multiple cookers to meet demand, reducing wait times and maintaining freshness.
Implementation Method 1
a controllable heating element to bring water in the cookers to a boil
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic cooking machine is managed by a processor that monitors the current state of each cooker in the machine—i.e., whether a given cooker is empty, is currently being used to cook food, or contains food that has already been prepared—and determines when more of the food item should be prepared. The processor can then instruct the machine to prepare the food by adding water to a cooker, heating the water, monitoring the water temperature, adding the food item to the cooker, and cooking the food item for a desired period of time. If the processor determines that more of the food item should be prepared, then it can instruct the machine to concurrently or sequentially prepare more of the food in a second cooker. The cooking machine may be used to cook perishable boba or tapioca pearls for dispensing in bubble tea.