System and method for control of multi-functional cooking apparatuses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-functional cooking apparatuses often require multiple vessels for preparing complex food products, leading to inefficient food processing due to incompatible ingredients and control parameter settings, resulting in sequential processing and increased preparation time and energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
A control system that utilizes a master cooking apparatus to delegate specific cooking steps to slave apparatuses with reduced functional scopes, allowing parallel processing and optimizing recipe program execution by matching technical capabilities of available slaves with required cooking steps, thereby reducing overall processing time and energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple multi-functional cooking apparatuses are used for parallel processing, then food processing efficiency is improved, but device complexity and safety requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cooking apparatus into a master device and multiple slave devices. The master device handles complex tasks requiring high performance and safety features, while slave devices handle simpler tasks with reduced functional scopes. This segmentation allows parallel processing to improve productivity without requiring all devices to have full complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces slave devices that are simpler, less expensive versions of the full-featured master device. These slave devices have reduced functional scopes and fewer safety features, making them cheaper to operate and maintain. They are deployed in larger numbers for parallel processing of less demanding tasks.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple vessels are used for preparing complex food products, then compatibility of ingredients and control parameters is improved, but processing time increases due to sequential vessel exchange
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooking process into different tasks that can be performed in parallel on different devices. By dividing the recipe steps between master and slave devices, multiple vessels can be used simultaneously without requiring sequential exchange, as each device maintains its own vessel throughout its assigned tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The master device acts as an intermediary that coordinates task distribution to slave devices. It analyzes the recipe program, identifies suitable tasks for slave devices based on their capabilities, and manages the parallel execution while maintaining overall process coordination, eliminating the need for vessel exchange.
3Manufacturing precision
If high performance cooking functions are used, then cooking quality is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by matching task requirements with device capabilities. Simple tasks that do not require high performance functions are assigned to slave devices with lower energy consumption, while only necessary complex tasks are performed by the master device with high performance functions. This ensures cooking quality is maintained only where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters by distributing different task sets to devices with appropriate capabilities. Slave devices operate with reduced functional parameters for simpler tasks, consuming less energy, while the master device uses full parameters only when required for complex cooking functions.
Data Source
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AI summary
Control system (100), method and computer program product for controlling a multi-function cooking apparatus master (200) and at least one multi-function cooking apparatus slave (300) for jointly processing one or more food products. The control system has a recipe program interface (120) to receive at least one recipe program (601) for preparing one or more food products wherein the at least one recipe program includes machine readable recipe program instructions configured to control functions (240, 340) of a cooking apparatus (200, 300) for executing food processing steps in accordance with the least one recipe program (601) For each food processing step, the recipe program provides information about the technical capabilities required for the execution of the food processing step. A program analyzer module (130) identifies, for a particular food processing step, at least one particular slave (200) providing a reduced functional scope (340) with technical capabilities which are sufficient to execute said particular food processing step, and extracts from the at least one recipe program (601) a partition (601s) including a program instruction subset associated with the particular food processing step. A recipe deployment module (140) deploys the extracted partition (601s) to the at least one particular slave (200) for execution, and further deploys the remaining program partition (601m) of the recipe program to the master (200).