Serving Tray Module With Hygienic Door and Auto Tray Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing daily life robots are limited to providing specific services, leading to underutilization and high development costs, with a need for robots that can offer various services while maintaining hygiene and quality.
Innovation Solution
A serving module and robot design that includes a tray system with a door, inner and outer lighting, and a tray moving device, allowing for hygienic service delivery, easy access, and visualization of available items, along with a controller and authentication module for efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a door is added to the tray entrance to maintain hygiene, then the hygiene level improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The serving module is divided into separate components: a main body housing, a removable tray, and a door mechanism. This segmentation allows the door to be independently controlled and maintained, reducing overall system complexity while achieving hygiene protection for the tray interior.
Solution Approach 2:
The door is designed to be dynamically openable and closable, allowing flexible control of access to the tray. This dynamic structure enables hygiene protection when closed while allowing easy access when opened, resolving the contradiction between maintaining hygiene and managing device complexity through adaptive operation.
2Loss of information
If lighting devices are installed inside the tray space to visualize articles, then the visibility of articles improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of illuminating the entire tray space uniformly, the lighting device provides focused illumination only on the articles or specific areas of interest. This partial action achieves effective visualization while minimizing the complexity and energy consumption of the lighting system.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting device is designed to automatically activate when the door is opened, using the door's operational state to trigger illumination. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for separate control systems, reducing device complexity while ensuring articles are visible when the tray is accessed.
3Loss of information
If multiple light sources are added to indicate door operation, then the information feedback improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The light sources use different colors to indicate different door states (e.g., green for open, red for closed). This color-coding system provides clear information feedback with simple binary states, reducing the complexity of control logic while improving information communication to users.
Solution Approach 2:
The light sources are activated periodically or sequentially based on door movement, rather than remaining constantly on. This periodic action provides necessary feedback information while reducing energy consumption and simplifying the control system compared to continuous illumination.
4Ease of operation
If a tray moving device is installed to move trays in and out, then the ease of operation improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tray moving device replaces manual mechanical pushing and pulling with an automated actuation system. This substitution provides easier operation through simple control input while the automated mechanism handles the complex motion requirements, effectively resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray moving device is designed to handle multiple tray types and sizes within the serving module, providing universal functionality. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanisms for different tray configurations, simplifying the overall device complexity while maintaining ease of operation across various scenarios.
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 solution enables the robot to serve multiple articles hygienically and efficiently, improving convenience and reducing service time while maintaining high quality and minimizing damage to the tray and its contents.
Implementation Method 1
an inner light emitting device installed on the inner cover; and an inner window configured to face the inner light emitting device and disposed in the inner cover. The inner light emitting device and the inner window may function as the inner lighting device.
Implementation Method 2
an outer light emitting device disposed on the upper plate; a top cover configured to cover the upper plate and the outer light emitting device and formed at one side thereof with a light transmitting portion; and an outer window disposed in the light transmitting portion and configured to transmit light emitted from the upper light emitting device.
Data Source
AI summary
According to the present embodiment, a serving module includes: a tray; a main body formed therein with a tray space configured to accommodate the tray and having a tray entrance; a tray moving device configured to move at least a part of the tray out of the tray entrance or move an entire of the tray into the tray space; a door configured to open and close the tray entrance; and a door driving device connected to the door to open and close the door.