CN111557598A

CN111557598A - Automatic change food and beverage equipment

Info

Publication number: CN111557598A
Application number: CN202010378388.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张传红; 陈昊; 吴啟菡; 曾勇; 周林伟
Original assignee: Guangdong Zhiyuan Robot Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Zhiyuan Robot Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-07
Filing date: 2020-05-07
Publication date: 2020-08-21

Abstract

The invention discloses automatic catering equipment, which comprises a feeding device, wherein the feeding device comprises a stock mechanism, a selecting and transporting mechanism, a cache mechanism and a discharging mechanism, the stock mechanism is provided with a plurality of stock layers, the cache mechanism comprises a cache conveying device and a cache area, and the selecting and transporting mechanism is used for transferring food materials in the stock layers to the cache area; a cooking device; and the conveying device can move to throw the food materials output by the discharging mechanism into the cooking device. According to the invention, before a new order is executed, the selecting and conveying mechanism firstly conveys materials on the stock mechanism to the cache region of the cache mechanism for storage, when the new order is executed, the conveying device of the cache mechanism can immediately convey and discharge the materials on the cache region, and the conveying device puts the materials into the cooking device for cooking. The invention realizes automatic material selection and cooking, does not need to consume the waiting time when the selecting and transporting mechanism takes materials from the stock mechanism, improves the meal delivery efficiency and is beneficial to continuous cooking.

Description

Automatic change food and beverage equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to automatic catering equipment in the technical field of catering.

Background

An automatic system for making snack foods may include an automatic frying device and an automatic water boiling device. Most of these current automatic cooking systems employ automatic cooking devices, such as fryers, saucepans, and the like, which feed ingredients into the automatic cooking devices by mechanically picking up the ingredients, and then output the cooked food. The automatic cooking devices described above all have the disadvantages of low efficiency or poor effect in automatic food supply, and thus improvement is needed.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems in the prior art and provides automatic catering equipment which can improve the catering efficiency.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the automatic catering equipment comprises a feeding device, wherein the feeding device comprises an inventory mechanism, a selecting and transporting mechanism, a caching mechanism and a discharging mechanism, the inventory mechanism is provided with a plurality of storage layers arranged along a first preset direction, the caching mechanism comprises a caching and conveying device and a caching area, the caching and conveying device is used for conveying materials on the caching area to the discharging mechanism, and the selecting and transporting mechanism is used for transporting food materials in the storage layers to the caching area; a cooking device for cooking food material; a carrying device which can move to throw the food material output by the discharging mechanism into the cooking device.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, further, the number of the buffer areas is two or more, and each buffer area is arranged along the second preset direction.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, further, the cache region has a plurality of cache bits, and at least one allowance sensor is disposed on each cache region, and the allowance sensor is used for sensing the food material allowance on the cache region.

According to the embodiment of the invention, further, each cache conveying device is arranged corresponding to more than two cache regions so as to be capable of conveying the materials of each cache region one by one; or the number of the cache transmission devices is equal to that of the cache regions, and the cache transmission devices are in one-to-one correspondence with the cache regions.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, further, the discharging mechanism includes discharging ports with the same number as the number of the buffer areas, and each buffer area is arranged corresponding to one discharging port.

According to the embodiment of the invention, further, the discharging mechanism comprises a door sealing device and a door sealing power device, the door sealing power device is used for driving the door sealing device to open or close the discharging ports, discharging slideways are arranged on the outer sides of the discharging ports, and the tail ends of the discharging slideways form a picking area of the carrying mechanism.

According to the embodiment of the invention, further, the cooking device comprises a body, a heating container and a lifting device, wherein a cooking cavity for bearing heat media is arranged on the heating container, a cooking container for containing food materials is arranged in the cooking cavity, the lifting device can lift or lower the cooking container from the cooking cavity, the cooking container is provided with a connecting part for being grabbed by the carrying device, and the cooking container is provided with a plurality of through holes for enabling the heat media to flow.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, further, the heating container is detachably connected to the body, and the heating container is removable from the body.

According to the embodiment of the invention, further, the automatic catering equipment further comprises a loading module and a conveying module, the conveying device can move to throw food in the cooking device to the loading module, and the conveying module is used for outputting the food after the food is loaded.

According to the embodiment of the invention, further, the food loading module comprises a tableware supply station and a food preparation station which are sequentially arranged on the conveying module along the conveying direction, the tableware supply station is provided with a tableware supply mechanism, and the conveying device can throw food in the cooking device to the food preparation station.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the catering station is provided with a catering mechanism, the catering mechanism comprises a driving structure and a gathering structure with a food material inlet and a food material outlet, the driving structure can drive the gathering structure to reciprocate between a first position and a second position, the carrying device can throw food into the food material inlet of the gathering structure, and the food material outlet of the gathering structure always faces tableware reaching the catering station in the reciprocating process of the gathering structure between the first position and the second position.

According to the embodiment of the invention, further, the automatic catering equipment further comprises a meal delivery module, the meal delivery module is provided with at least one meal delivery station, and the meal delivery station is positioned on the conveying path of the conveying module and behind the meal preparation station.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the transfer module further comprises a first transfer module and a second transfer module connected in series in the transfer direction, the first transfer module being adapted to transfer the dishes supplied from the dish supply module to the entrance of the second transfer module, and the second transfer module being adapted to transfer the dishes to the eating station.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, further, the first transfer module includes a first transfer platform, the second transfer module includes a second transfer platform, the second transfer platform is connected to the transfer end of the first transfer platform, and the joint of the first transfer platform and the second transfer platform forms an entrance of the second transfer module.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: according to the invention, before a new order is executed, the selecting and conveying mechanism firstly conveys materials on the stock mechanism to the cache region of the cache mechanism for storage, when the new order is executed, the conveying device of the cache mechanism can immediately convey and discharge the materials on the cache region, and the conveying device puts the materials into the cooking device for cooking. The invention realizes automatic material selection and cooking, does not need to consume the waiting time when the selecting and transporting mechanism takes materials from the stock mechanism, improves the meal delivery efficiency and is beneficial to continuous cooking.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is clear that the described figures are only some embodiments of the invention, not all embodiments, and that a person skilled in the art can also derive other designs and figures from them without inventive effort.

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a feeding device in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a single reservoir layer in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a handling mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a single cache region in an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another perspective of a single cache region in an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a view of a cooking device in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a food module and a transport module in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a food loading module and a transport module in an embodiment of the invention (with the carrier and dish output device omitted);

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a meal delivery module in an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship referred to in the description of the orientation, such as the upper, lower, front, rear, left, right, etc., is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for convenience of description and simplification of description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, the meaning of a plurality of means is one or more, the meaning of a plurality of means is two or more, and larger, smaller, larger, etc. are understood as excluding the number, and larger, smaller, inner, etc. are understood as including the number. If the first and second are described for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, they are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated or implicitly indicating the precedence of the technical features indicated.

In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly limited, terms such as arrangement, installation, connection and the like should be understood in a broad sense, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention in combination with the specific contents of the technical solutions.

Referring to fig. 1 to 2, the automatic catering equipment in the embodiment of the invention includes a feeding device 1, a cooking device 4 and a carrying device. The feeding device 1 is used for storing food materials to be cooked, after the food materials are output from the feeding device 1, the carrying device can move to throw the food materials output from the feeding device 1 into the cooking device 4, and the cooking device 4 cooks the food materials into food; the handling device then again sets in motion to take the food out of the cooking device 4.

The feeding device 1 includes an inventory mechanism 122, a shipping mechanism 123, a buffer mechanism 124, and an outfeed mechanism. The storage mechanism 122 is used for storing food materials, and the storage mechanism 122 has a plurality of storage layers arranged along a first preset direction. The buffer mechanism 124 includes a buffer transfer device for transferring the material in the buffer to a discharge mechanism, and a buffer area, wherein the discharge mechanism forms the output of the material. The selecting mechanism 123 is used for transferring the food materials in each storage layer to the buffer area. In order to improve the efficiency of buffer discharging, preferably, the number of the buffer areas is more than two, and each buffer area is arranged along the second preset direction. The discharging mechanism comprises discharge ports with the same number as the cache regions, each cache region is arranged corresponding to one discharge port, independent discharge of each cache region can be achieved, multiple food materials can be output at one time, and discharging speed is increased.

In one embodiment, the plurality of storage layers form a first storage area, and the buffer area forms a second storage area. Since the buffer is also a storage area, the amount of food material that can be stored in the feeding device 1 is increased to some extent by the buffer. Before a new order is not executed, namely before a discharging instruction of the food material is not received, the cache area already plays a role of storing the food material, and discharging can be regarded as directly discharging from one storage area (namely the second storage area), so that discharging can be quickly carried out.

In some embodiments, each stock area has a plurality of stock positions arranged along a third preset direction to increase the amount of the food materials that can be stored. To facilitate docking of the sortation mechanism 123 to the storage and buffer zones, each buffer zone is aligned with one of the storage layers, thereby eliminating the need for additional lifting of the sortation mechanism 123 to dock the buffer zones and storage layers during transport.

In some embodiments, the first predetermined direction is parallel to the second predetermined direction, or the first predetermined direction is the same as the second predetermined direction, so that the selecting and transporting mechanism 123 can transport the food material quickly, and the control is simpler.

The first preset direction and the second preset direction are both vertical directions. And the third predetermined direction in the embodiments is a horizontal direction along the width of the inventory zone.

In some embodiments, the sorting mechanism 123 is provided with a plurality of transfer positions arranged along the third preset direction, and correspondingly, each cache region is provided with a plurality of cache positions arranged along the third preset direction, so that batch caching can be realized.

In some embodiments, the inventory positions in each inventory zone, the transfer positions in the selection mechanism 123, and the buffer positions in each buffer zone are the same in number and correspond to each other one by one, so that a plurality of food materials arranged in a single inventory zone along a third preset direction can be transferred to the buffer zones by the selection mechanism 123 for temporary storage at the same time, thereby increasing the buffer efficiency without multiple transfers.

In some embodiments, particularly when the material is to be stored in a refrigerated manner, the system for buffering the discharge further comprises a refrigerating device. The refrigerating device comprises a refrigerator body 111 and a refrigerator door 112 capable of being opened and closed, a material rack 121 for installing the feeding device 1 is arranged in the refrigerator body 111, and a stock mechanism 122, a selecting and transporting mechanism 123 and a buffer mechanism 124 in the feeding device 1 are sequentially fixed on the material rack 121, so that the food materials can be refrigerated in the whole process of storage, selection and transportation, and buffer storage, and the state freshness of the food materials is guaranteed. In addition, the refrigerator door 112 can be opened to replenish or maintain the structure of each mechanism. Preferably, the tapping mechanism is located on a side of the cooler body 111 away from the cooler door 112 so that replenishment or maintenance operations do not affect the normal tapping.

In certain embodiments, the mechanism and coordination principles of inventory mechanism 122 and shipping mechanism 123 are as follows.

Referring to fig. 3, the stock mechanism 122 includes at least two layers of stock areas, each of which includes a belt mount 12201, a stock belt 12202, and two stock belt shafts fixed to the open end and the closed end of the belt mount 12201, respectively, the stock belt 12202 is tensioned around the two stock belt shafts, and a driven gear 12203 is connected to an end of the stock belt shaft located at the open end. A storage space capable of storing materials is formed above the upper transfer surface of the stocker belt 12202, and optionally, a belt support plate is provided inside the belt mounting frame 12201 to support the upper transfer surface of the stocker belt 12202.

Referring to fig. 4, the sorting mechanism 123 includes a sorting lift, a lift driving device, and at least one sorting zone. The transportation lifting device comprises two vertical lifting rods 12301, and two ends of the transportation area can move along the lifting rods 12301. The lifting driving device comprises a lifting driving belt 12302, two belt pulleys 12305 and a lifting driving motor 12304, the two belt pulleys 12305 are respectively positioned at the bottom end and the top end of the lifting rod 12301, the lifting driving motor 12304 is connected with and drives the belt pulley 12305 positioned at the bottom end, the lifting driving belt 12302 is tensioned on the two belt pulleys 12305, and the transportation area is connected with one side of the lifting driving belt 12302 through a pressing block 12303. When the lifting driving motor 12304 is turned on, the lifting driving belt 12302 is operated, and the picking area is lifted along the lifting rod 12301 along with the lifting driving belt 12302, thereby aligning with different stocking areas of the stocking mechanism 122. The selection area comprises a selection belt 12306, two selection belt shafts, a selection movement force device 12307, two belt mounting plates and a belt mounting bottom plate, wherein the belt mounting bottom plate is connected to the bottom ends of the two belt mounting plates. The two conveying belt shafts are arranged between the two belt mounting plates, the conveying belt 12306 is tensioned on the two conveying belt shafts, and the conveying direction of the conveying area is the same as that of the inventory area. The selective motion force device 12307 may be a motor fixed under the belt installation bottom plate, and the selective motion force device 12307 is connected to one end of the shaft of the selective motion belt near the stock area through a transmission mechanism. In addition, the staging area includes a linkage drive for driving the inventory belts 12202 in the inventory area, which is mounted below the belt mounting floor by a moving mechanism 12309. The linkage driving device comprises a linkage power device 12310 and a driving gear 12308, the linkage power device 12310 is connected with the driving gear 12308 through a transmission mechanism, and the driving gear 12308 is connected to the outer side of one of the belt mounting plates. Further, a limiting portal frame 12311 is arranged above the selecting belt 12306, the bottom of the limiting portal frame 12311 is fixed on the two belt mounting plates, and two sides of the limiting portal frame 12311 are provided with excess material sensors 12312 which can extend into the inventory area so as to detect the material allowance in the inventory area.

When the picking mechanism 123 is to remove a material from the stocker 122, the elevation driving means of the picking mechanism 123 is activated, and the pickup area is vertically moved along the elevating rod 12301, thereby aligning with the target stocker. At the moment, the lifting driving device is suspended, the selective movement force device 12307 is started, and the selective movement belt 12306 in the selective movement area starts to operate; meanwhile, the moving mechanism 12309 moves to enable the driving gear 12308 on the linkage driving device to be meshed with the driven gear 12203 in the inventory mechanism 122, and then the linkage power device 12310 is started, the linkage power device 12310 drives the inventory belt 12202 to run through the driving gear 12308 and the driven gear 12203, and the delivery directions of the inventory belt 12202 and the selection belt 2306 are consistent. The inventory belt 12202 transfers the material to the pick-up belt 12306, and the linkage power device 12310 is halted and the moving mechanism 12309 returns to its original position. The conveyer belt 12306 continues to run to transfer the material to the buffer area, and then the conveyer force device 12307 stops, and the conveyer mechanism 123 waits for the next order.

As described above, the buffer mechanism 124 includes a buffer transfer device and a buffer area.

Referring to fig. 5 to 6, the buffer area comprises an assisted transfer device and a buffer platform for placing food materials. In some embodiments, the buffer platform includes a buffer floor 12401 and an elongated support plate 12402, the support plate 12402 is secured to a top surface of the buffer floor 12401, and the buffer floor 12401 is secured to the stack 121 by a connection mounting plate 12404. The assisted transfer device can transfer the material on the selecting mechanism 123 to the supporting plate 12402, and the assisted transfer device comprises an assisted transfer element and a transfer power device for driving the assisted transfer element, and optionally, the assisted transfer element can be a transfer element such as an assisted roller or an assisted transfer belt. The helping hand conveying member is located between buffer memory platform and selection mechanism 123, and the direction of delivery of helping hand conveying member is unanimous with the direction of transportation of selection mechanism 123 to can provide power for the material, with it smoothly from selection mechanism 123 on the buffer memory platform of transporting to the buffer memory district. The conveying direction of the conveying element is parallel to the plane of the buffer storage platform, and preferably, the top surface of the conveying element is not lower than the top surface of the buffer storage platform, so as to prevent the materials from colliding with the side wall of the supporting plate 12402 when being transferred onto the buffer storage platform from the selecting and conveying mechanism 123, and ensure that the materials are smoothly conveyed onto the supporting plate 12402. Furthermore, a rubber layer can be arranged on the conveying surface of the power-assisted conveying element so as to increase the friction force between the power-assisted conveying element and the material.

In this embodiment, the assist conveyor is a power roller 12407. The conveying power device 12406 can be a motor, the conveying power device 12406 is fixed on the bottom surface of the supporting plate 12402 through a motor mounting plate 12405, a power-assisted synchronous belt 12409 and two power-assisted synchronous wheels 12408 are arranged on the motor mounting plate 12406, the conveying power device 12406 is connected with one of the power-assisted synchronous wheels 12408, and the other power-assisted synchronous wheel 12408 is connected with the power-assisted roller 12407. The buffer area bottom plate 12401 is provided with an assisting roller mounting block 12403, one end of the assisting roller 12407 is connected to the assisting roller mounting block 12403 in a rolling manner, and the other end of the assisting roller 12407 is installed on the motor mounting plate 12406 in a rolling manner and is connected with an assisting synchronizing wheel 12408.

There are many different embodiments for the buffer transfer device in the buffer mechanism 124 to realize the transfer of the food material in each buffer area.

In one embodiment, the number of the buffer transmission devices is equal to the number of the buffer areas, and the buffer transmission devices correspond to the buffer areas one by one. Optionally, the buffer conveying device includes a buffer guide rail 12410, a buffer pushing member slidably mounted on the buffer guide rail, the buffer pushing member extends above the buffer area, and a conveying power device 12415 drives the buffer pushing member to slide along the buffer guide rail 12410. The buffer pushing piece comprises a pushing rod 12413 and a pushing mounting plate 12412, the pushing rod 12413 is mounted on the pushing mounting plate 12412, and the pushing rod 12413 extends into the upper part of the supporting plate 12402. That is, the pusher attachment plate 12412 is slidable along the cache guide 12410 so that the pusher bar 12413 can move over the support plate 12402. When material is placed on the support panel 12402, the transfer power device 12415, which is optionally a motor, is activated. The transmission power device 12415 drives the material pushing mounting plate 12412 to move, and the material pushing rod 12413 pushes the material to move on the supporting plate 12402. Preferably, the two ends of the buffer guide rail 12410 are respectively provided with a limit part 12416 to prevent the buffer pusher from derailing.

In addition, as an equivalent alternative to the above-mentioned buffer conveying device, the buffer conveying device may also include a buffer conveyor belt, two buffer conveyor pulleys, and a conveying power device 12415, the buffer conveyor belt is tensioned on the two buffer conveyor pulleys, and the conveying power device 12415 drives one of the buffer conveyor pulleys. Instead of the support plate 12402, a buffer conveyor belt, two buffer conveyor pulleys are rotatably mounted on the buffer floor 12401 so that the upper conveying surface of the buffer conveyor belt forms a buffer space for the placement of material. When the buffer mechanism 124 receives a new order, the transfer power device 12415 is activated and the buffer conveyor belt transfers the material to the discharge mechanism.

Each buffer transfer device in the above two embodiments individually transfers for a single buffer. Because can convey alone to every buffer, consequently, the ejection of compact can be conveyed simultaneously to the material on each buffer to the efficiency of ejection of compact can reach more than the twice of the equipment of not establishing buffer gear 124, has reached the purpose of quick ejection of compact.

As another optional implementation, each buffer conveying device is arranged corresponding to more than two buffer areas so as to be capable of conveying the materials of each buffer area one by one, and each buffer conveying device can convey the materials on more than one buffer area, so that the arrangement number of the buffer conveying devices is reduced, the overall structure is simplified, and the cost is reduced. In this embodiment, a single buffer transmission device can perform transmission for every two, multiple, or all buffers, and the following description will take the example that a single buffer transmission device performs transmission for all buffers.

In some embodiments, the buffer memory conveying device comprises a vertical moving device, a vertical moving motor and a pushing device, wherein the pushing device is fixed on the vertical moving device, and the vertical moving motor can drive the pushing device to vertically move along with the vertical moving device; the pushing device comprises a horizontal guide rail, a telescopic buffer pushing piece and a pushing motor. When pushing and discharging materials in a certain cache region, the vertical moving motor drives the pushing device to ascend and descend to the same horizontal height as the corresponding cache region, then the cache material pushing piece extends to extend into the cache region, and the pushing motor pushes the cache material pushing piece to move along the horizontal guide rail so as to push the materials to move in the cache region. After the discharging is finished, the material pushing rod retracts to be standby, and the next order is waited. In these embodiments, the buffer transfer device may transfer the discharge material to one of the buffer areas immediately after transferring the discharge material to another buffer area, and while transferring the discharge material to another buffer area, the selecting and transporting mechanism 123 may transfer the material on the stock mechanism 122 to an empty buffer area for a subsequent order, thereby realizing continuous discharge of the material without interruption, and greatly improving the discharge efficiency. Of course, when the buffer transfer device is used for transferring each buffer zone independently, the effect of continuous discharging can be achieved.

Furthermore, each buffer area is provided with at least one allowance sensor 12411, and the allowance sensor 12411 is used for sensing the allowance of the food materials on the buffer area. In one embodiment, a remaining amount sensor 12411, such as an optical reflective sensor 12411, is disposed at an end of each buffer far from the discharge hole, and is used for sensing a distance of the food material closest to the remaining amount sensor 12411 to estimate the remaining amount of the food material on the buffer. As another equivalent embodiment, when the buffer transfer device includes the buffer pushing member, the number of the margin sensors 12411 on each buffer area is two or more, the two margin sensors 12411 are arranged at intervals on one side of the buffer area, and the margin sensors 12411 are used for sensing the position of the buffer pushing member. A mounting rail 12414 is provided on a side of the supporting plate 12402 remote from the picker mechanism 123, and the margin sensors 12411 are provided at equal intervals on the mounting rail 12414. Alternatively, the allowance sensors 12411 may be photoelectric sensors, sensing portions of the allowance sensors 12411 are higher than the top surfaces of the supporting plates 12402, and the allowance sensors 12411 respectively record the passing times of the buffer pushing members, so as to obtain the positions of the buffer pushing members, so as to evaluate and obtain the allowance of the materials in the buffer area.

The discharging mechanism comprises a sealing door, a sealing door power device, a controller and a first guide structure. In this embodiment, discharge mechanism still includes the discharge door mounting panel, and the discharge door mounting panel is fixed on work or material rest 121, and the discharge door mounting panel covers the end of all buffers, and all discharge gates all are located the discharge door mounting panel, seals a power device and is used for the drive to seal a door in order to open or seal the discharge gate. Optionally, a sealing door can be respectively arranged on each discharge port to realize the respective opening and closing of the discharge ports; as another embodiment, in this embodiment, the sealing door can be used to cover all the outlets. In this embodiment, the sealing door 20502 has at least two openings corresponding to the buffer areas, and the openings are spaced along the moving direction of the sealing door 20502, preferably, the openings are spaced at equal intervals. The door sealing power device 20504 drives the door sealing 20502 to move, so that all openings of the door sealing 20502 can be respectively aligned with each buffer area, and the state of opening the discharge port is realized; or the spacing spaces between the openings of the sealing door 20502 are respectively aligned with the buffer areas, so that the state of sealing the discharge port is realized, and the discharge of materials on the buffer mechanism 124 is avoided under the condition of no need of discharging.

The outer side of each discharge port is provided with a discharge slideway, and the discharge slideway 20509 is connected to the bottom of the discharge port and inclines downwards. The upper end of the discharging slide 20509 is fixed at the bottom of the discharging port, the discharging slide 20509 is arranged to be inclined downwards integrally, so that the material at the discharging port can be discharged naturally along the discharging slide 20509 without external force driving. Preferably, the side of the discharge chute 20509 connected to the discharge port is provided with a chute baffle 20510 to prevent the material from sliding out of the discharge chute 20509. Further, the tail end of discharging slide 20509 is provided with discharging sensor 20508, discharging sensor 20508 can be a photoelectric sensor to sense whether there is material discharged in slide 20509, so that an operator can be reminded to take material from discharging mechanism 125.

To provide for directional movement of the door seal 20502, the discharge mechanism further includes a first guide structure for limiting the path of movement of the door seal, and the door seal is attached to the first guide structure to ensure that the openings of the door seal 20502 are accurately aligned with the buffers after movement.

As one embodiment, the limiting member of the first guiding structure includes two guiding rails 20506 fixed on the discharging door mounting plate 20501, the two guiding rails 20506 are respectively located at two sides of all the openings, and two sides of the sealing door 20502 respectively slide along the two guiding rails 20506, so that the directional movement of the sealing door 20502 is ensured, and the sealing door is prevented from falling out of the discharging door mounting plate 20501.

As another embodiment, the limiting member of the first guiding structure comprises at least one guiding seat 20507 fixed on the discharging door mounting plate 20501, and the sealing door 20502 is inserted into the guiding seat 20507 through at least one guiding column 20505 and slides along the guiding seat 20507. The guide post 20505 may be fixed to the discharge door mounting plate 20501 as a stopper, and accordingly, the closing door 20502 is engaged with the guide post 20505 through the guide seat 20507 provided thereon. In this embodiment, two guide seats 20507 are provided on the door sealing mounting plate 20501, and accordingly, two guide posts 20505 are fixed to the door seal 20502 through a connecting block 20503. The door sealing power device 20504 is a cylinder, the output end of the door sealing power device 20504 is connected with the connecting block 20503, and the two guide columns 20505 are respectively positioned on two sides of the door sealing power device 20504. When the door sealing power device 20504 drives the door sealing 20502 to move, the two guide posts 20505 simultaneously slide along the corresponding guide seats 20507 to ensure that the sliding direction of the door sealing 20502 is unchanged.

The above two embodiments can be used alone or in combination in the discharging mechanism 125.

The automatic catering equipment comprises a processor which can process orders of users and send instructions. After receiving the order of the user, the processor starts the cache transfer device, opens the discharge port by controlling the door sealing power device, and conveys the food box carrying the food materials to the discharge chute 20509; the processor then controls the handling device to pour the food material into the cooking device 4.

Referring to fig. 7, the cooking device 4 includes a body, a heat generating device and a heating container 41, a cooking cavity for containing a heat carrier is provided in the heating container 41, the heat generating device is used for heating the heating container or a heat medium in the heating container, and the food material placed in the heating container 41 is heated and cooked by the heat medium. Obviously, the body can be formed integrally with the heating container 41, as in the prior art fryer structure, which is simple and low in cost. Preferably, the heating container 41 is detachably connected to the body, and the heating container 41 is configured to be removable from the body, so that when the heat medium needs to be replaced, the heating container 41 can be directly removed for replacement without disassembling the body and the heating container 41 integrally or by other tools.

The cooking cavity is internally provided with a cooking container 42 for placing food materials, the cooking container 42 is provided with a plurality of through holes capable of accommodating the circulation of heat medium, and the cooking container 42 can be a frying basket, a colander and the like according to the requirements of the food materials and the cooking mode. When cooking food materials, firstly, heat media such as oil, water and the like are poured into the cooking cavity of the heating container 41, then the food materials are placed into the cooking container 42 by the carrying device, and the cooking container 42 ensures that the food materials cannot be scattered in the cooking cavity randomly, so that the food materials can be conveniently fished out subsequently. Meanwhile, the through holes in the cooking container 42 enable the thermal medium to be in full contact with food materials in the cooking container 42, the cooking effect is guaranteed, when food is subsequently fished, the thermal medium can flow back to the cooking cavity through the through holes, the taste of the food is guaranteed, the thermal medium is not wasted, and frequent supplement is not needed. Of course, when the heat medium in the cooking chamber needs to be replaced, the cooking container 42 is lifted first, and the heating container 41 is taken out.

Further, the cooking apparatus 4 further comprises a lifting device 43, the cooking container 42 is detachably connected to the lifting device 43, and the lifting device 43 is used for lifting or lowering the cooking container 42 from the cooking cavity. Preferably, a hook part is provided on one side of the top of the cooking device 4, and the hook part can be hung on the lifting device 43. Before the food materials are placed into the cooking container 42 of the cooking device 4 by the carrying device, the lifting device 43 drives the cooking container 42 to rise so as to prevent the heat medium from being easily splashed out when the food materials are thrown into the cooking container 42, and then the lifting device 43 drives the cooking container 42 to fall into the cooking cavity together with the food materials after the food materials are thrown. When a certain cooking time is reached and the food needs to be taken out of the cooking container 42, the lifting device 43 drives the cooking container 42 to lift up with the food therein, and waits for the carrying device to take the cooking container 42 away, and since the cooking container 42 is separated from the cooking cavity at this time, the carrying device is convenient to take the cooking container 42 and the food therein away. The cooking container 42 has a connecting part for the carrying mechanism to grab, and after the carrying device takes the cooking container 42 through the grabbing connecting part, the lifting device 43 still keeps a static state, and the cooking container 42 is hung on the lifting device 43 again after the carrying device pours out the food. Preferably, after the cooking container 42 is hung on the lifting device 43 again, the lifting device 43 can still be kept still for the next feeding of the food material, so as to reduce the repeated movement of the lifting device 43. In addition, after the cooking is finished and the lifting device 43 drives the cooking container 42 to lift, the lifting device 43 can be preset to enable the bottom of the cooking container 42 to be higher than the top surface of the cooking cavity, so that when the carrying device is waited for a process of taking away food in the cooking container 42, heat medium attached to the food can naturally flow back to the cooking cavity through the through hole of the cooking container 42, the flavor of the food is guaranteed, and waste of the heat medium is avoided.

In the embodiment, there are a plurality of cooking containers 42, which can cook a plurality of food items at the same time.

Correspondingly, the discharge hole is also provided with a plurality of discharge holes so as to meet the requirement of continuous operation. In the case of a large order size, the continuous operation of the handling mechanism is maintained to speed up the rate of cooking output as much as possible.

In an embodiment, the number of the discharge ports may be less than the number of the cooking vessels in consideration of a longer cooking time and a relatively shorter discharge time.

The automated catering equipment in the embodiment further comprises a loading module 3 and a conveying module, and referring to fig. 1 in combination, the carrying device can also make a motion to throw food in the cooking device 4 to the loading module 3, and the conveying module is used for outputting the food after the food is loaded. The carrying device comprises a grabbing mechanism 2, the grabbing mechanism 2 can throw the food materials output by the discharging mechanism into the cooking device 4, the food in the cooking device 4 is thrown into the food loading module 3, and the conveying module conveys the food after being loaded to subsequent process equipment. After the processor controls the grabbing mechanism 2 to grab the food materials to pour into the cooking container 42, after a period of cooking time, the processor controls the grabbing mechanism 2 to pick up the connecting part of the cooking container, so that the cooking container 42 is turned over to send the food into the food loading module 3, and meanwhile, the processor also controls the conveying module. Optionally, the grabbing mechanism 2 comprises a mechanical arm, the mechanical arm can be used for throwing food materials into the cooking container 42 and picking up the cooking container 42, cooked food in the cooking container 42 is thrown into the food loading module 3, and the mechanical arm plays a plurality of roles in the catering equipment, so that the arrangement of redundant devices is reduced, the structure is simplified, and the cost is reduced.

Referring to fig. 8 to 9, the food loading module 3 includes a tableware supply station and a food preparation station sequentially arranged on the conveying module along the conveying direction, the tableware supply station is provided with a tableware supply mechanism, and the grabbing mechanism 2 can throw food in the cooking device 4 into the tableware reaching the food preparation station. The tableware supply mechanism comprises a tableware output device 321 and a first limiting device positioned at the outlet of the tableware output device 321, the first limiting device comprises two tableware baffles 311 which are respectively positioned at two sides of the tableware output device, a tableware falling space is formed between the two tableware baffles 311, and preferably, a first in-place sensor 313 is also arranged on each tableware baffle 311 to indicate that the tableware is in place. In the following, a cup is described as an example of the tableware, and it is obvious that other tableware with an opening, such as a bowl, a lunch box, or a dish, also belong to the tableware that can be supplied by the tableware output device 321. In this embodiment, the tableware output device 321 is a cup dropping device, and a plurality of dining cups are placed on the cup dropping device, and when preparing to load food, the cup separating motor on the cup dropping device is started, and the dining cups can be placed one by one into the tableware dropping space, and due to the limitation of the tableware baffles 311 on the two sides, the dining cups are prevented from being separated from the conveying module. After the dining cup enters the tableware falling space, the dining cup is conveyed to the catering station by the conveying module.

Be equipped with the mechanism of catering on the station of catering, the mechanism of catering includes drive structure to and have and eat the material entry and eat the structure 315 of gathering together of material export, it can throw in food to the edible material entry of gathering together the structure 315 preferably to snatch mechanism 2, the mechanism of catering still including being used for responding to the tableware and whether target in place the tableware sensing device, tableware sensing device respectively with snatch mechanism 2 and transport module electricity and be connected, both steerable snatch mechanism 2 and empty culinary art container 42, also can control opening and stopping of transport module. Also included is a position stop 316, the utensil sensing device being electrically connected to the drive mechanism for the position stop 316. After the cups are conveyed to the catering station by the conveying module, the tableware sensing device sends an instruction to stop the conveying module, at the moment, the in-place stopper 316 extends out to prevent the tableware from continuing to advance, the in-place stopper 316 also plays a role in preventing the tableware from turning on one side during loading, and meanwhile, the grabbing mechanism 2 also pours the food in the cooking device 4 into the food material inlet of the gathering structure 315. Food falls into the dining cup through the food outlet after being gathered in the gathering structure 315, the gathering structure 315 facilitates the carrying device to pour the food, and the food can accurately fall into the dining cup without scattering.

However, since the gathering structure 315 is in a gathering shape, when food passes through the gathering structure 315, the food is often stuck or stuck, and in order to completely discharge the food passing through the gathering structure 315 into the dining cup, the driving structure drives the gathering structure 315 to reciprocate between the first position and the second position. Meanwhile, in order to ensure that food can completely fall into the tableware, in the reciprocating process of the gathering structure 315 between the first position and the second position, the food material outlet of the gathering structure 315 always faces the tableware reaching the catering station, and the food material outlet can always be opposite to the bottom or the inner wall of the tableware. Alternatively, the drive structure may drive the gathering structure 315 to reciprocate, or reverse the reciprocating motion, in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal direction between the first position and the second position. Preferably, in the process that the gathering structure 315 reciprocates between the first position and the second position, the food material outlets are all higher than the tableware reaching the catering station, so as to avoid the gathering structure 315 scratching the tableware or the food in the tableware. To illustrate by taking the overturning reciprocating motion as an example, the gathering structure 315 can be fixed on the catering station through a horizontal rotating shaft, the first position and the second position are respectively located at equal height positions on two sides of the horizontal rotating shaft, the driving structure drives the gathering structure 315 to overturn around the horizontal rotating shaft, the food outlet of the gathering structure 315 continuously reaches the first position and the second position and reciprocates, and when the gathering structure 315 reaches a vertical state, the food outlet is located at the lowest point and is still higher than the tableware. Because the gathering structure 315 moves continuously, the food in the gathering structure 315 can be shaken off into the dining cup, and the food is prevented from being stuck in the gathering structure 315, and the gathering structure 315 moves along other directions in the same way.

Further, in order to ensure that the gathering structure 315 directionally moves in the preset moving direction, the gathering structure 315 is installed on the catering station through a second guiding structure. The second guiding structure includes a second moving member and a second limiting member, the second limiting member is used for limiting the moving stiffness of the second moving member, and the second moving member is directly or indirectly connected with the gathering structure 315. In some embodiments, the number of the second movable members is two, and the two second movable members are symmetrically fixed on the gathering structure 315, but of course, the two second movable members may also be symmetrically fixed on the gathering structure 315 through a connecting member. Correspondingly, the number of the second limiting parts is two, and the two second limiting parts are respectively arranged on two sides of the transmission module. The second limiting member may be a guide rod, and the second movable member may be a guide seat correspondingly, the guide seat is matched with the guide rod and can slide along the guide rod, the shape of the guide rod is consistent with the preset moving direction of the gathering structure 315, and the gathering structure 315 reciprocates in the vertical direction as an example.

The two guide rods are vertically arranged on two sides of the conveying module, the gathering structure 315 is fixed on the lifting mounting plate, guide seats are symmetrically arranged on two opposite sides of the lifting mounting plate respectively, and each guide seat is matched with the corresponding guide rod respectively. When the driving structure drives the gathering structure 315 to ascend and descend between the first position and the second position, each guide seat slides along the guide direction, so that the moving direction of the gathering structure 315 is limited, and food caused by the displacement of the gathering structure 315 is prevented from leaking out of the tableware. Preferably, the catering station is also provided with a bearing part, the tableware arriving at the catering station is positioned in the bearing part, and the bearing part plays a role of bearing the gathering structure 315 and also prevents food from splashing out during loading.

Referring to fig. 10, the automated catering device is further provided with a meal delivery module 5. The meal delivery module 5 has at least one meal delivery station located on the transport path of the transport module and behind the meal preparation station. Meal delivery module 5 includes at least one meal delivery mouth that can open and close, and meal delivery mouth is located one side or the top of transport module, and meal delivery station is formed to the relative position of meal delivery mouth on the transport module. The conveying module conveys the tableware after the food is loaded to the meal outlet station, the meal outlet is opened, and a user can take out the food loaded through the meal outlet. Specifically, in some embodiments, each meal outlet has a door mechanism, which includes a meal baffle 514 and a baffle cylinder 515, and the door mechanism is used to drive the meal baffle 514, so that the meal baffle 514 exposes or covers the meal outlet. Baffle cylinder 515 is connected with the treater electricity, and the user makes baffle cylinder 515 drive meal delivery baffle 514 remove thereby meal outlet opens through sending out meal getting instruction to the treater, such as payment voucher or meal getting sign indicating number etc. to the user, so that the user gets meal.

In the handling device, the conveying module can be an integrated device, on which the cutlery supply station, the catering station and the meal delivery station are distributed in the conveying direction in succession, two possible implementations and conveying means being provided below.

As an alternative embodiment, the transfer module may be a belt drive. The transfer module comprises a conveyor belt, which preferably may also be a spacer conveyor belt to space different cutlery from each other to avoid collisions between the cutlery. After the tableware falls into the tableware falling space, the conveying belt drives the tableware to move to the catering station for pause, and after the tableware is filled with food, the conveying belt drives the tableware to continue to move to the catering station for pause so as to take the food for a user. The conveying belt has high meal delivery efficiency, and the tableware which is prepared is conveyed to the meal delivery station while being conveyed from the tableware falling space, so that the conveying belt is suitable for continuous meal delivery requirements.

As another alternative, the conveying module may include a conveying platform, a linear guide rail, and a pushing member, after the tableware falls into the tableware falling space on the conveying platform, the pushing member pushes the tableware to the catering station and then pauses, after the tableware is loaded with food, the pushing member continues to push the tableware to the serving station and then pauses, after the tableware is loaded with food, the pushing member continues to push the tableware to move to the serving station and then pauses to fetch the tableware for the user. When the meal delivery requirement is not continuous, the pushing piece can flexibly convey the tableware according to the requirement, and can be more suitable for the flexible meal delivery requirement.

However, the meal demand of the user is not constant for the automated catering device. When the transmission module is an integral conveyor belt, a user delays to take meals, namely, when the meal delivery process is slow, the meal loading process cannot be smoothly carried out, so that the subsequent integral meal delivery efficiency is influenced; when the conveying module comprises the conveying platform and the pushing piece, the efficiency is obviously too low to meet the requirement when the meal requirement is large due to only one pushing piece. Therefore, preferably, the transfer module includes a first transfer module for transferring the dishes supplied from the dish supply mechanism to the inlet of the second transfer module and a second transfer module for transferring the dishes to a position opposite to the meal outlet, which are connected in series in the transfer direction.

Optionally, the first transfer module comprises a first transfer platform 314 and a first pusher 312, the first pusher 312 being mounted by sliding on a first guide rail so as to be movable therealong above the first transfer platform 314, the first linear guide rail being located to one side of the first transfer platform 314 and parallel to the first transfer platform 314; similarly, the second transfer module comprises a second transfer platform 511 and a second pusher 512, the second pusher 512 being mounted by sliding on a second guide rail so as to be able to move along the second transfer platform 511 above it, the second linear guide rail being located on one side of the second transfer platform 511 and being parallel to the second transfer platform 511. The first transfer platform 314 is connected to the second transfer platform 511, and the connection between the first transfer platform 314 and the second transfer platform 511 forms the entrance of the second transfer module. According to the needs of users, the first pushing member 312 pushes the meal to the meal preparation station for meal preparation operation, after meal preparation is completed, the first pushing member 312 pushes the meal to the inlet of the second conveying module, and then the second pushing member 512 pushes the meal to the corresponding meal outlet. When a user delays to take food, the second pushing part 512 is kept static, the first pushing part 312 can continue to push the food cups from the food falling space to the food preparation station for food preparation, the prepared food is pushed to the front of the inlet of the second conveying module by the first pushing part 312 for waiting, when the food outlet station is vacated, the first pushing part 312 pushes the food cups waiting in front of the inlet of the second conveying module into the inlet of the second conveying module, and then the second pushing part 512 can quickly push the food cups to the food outlet, so that the food outlet efficiency is integrally improved.

Preferably, one end of the first conveying platform 314 is connected to the middle of the second conveying platform 511, and correspondingly, meal outlets are provided at both ends of the second conveying platform 511. When meal on the meal delivery station with one end closest to the connecting part of the first conveying platform 314 and the second conveying platform 511 is delayed to be taken, the second pushing piece 512 can still push the loaded meal to the meal delivery station at the other end of the second conveying platform 511, so that the meal taking by a user at the back is not influenced, the meal distribution pause caused by the meal delivery failure is avoided, and the meal delivery efficiency is improved to a certain extent.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the embodiments shown and described, but is capable of numerous equivalents and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. An automated catering device, comprising:

the feeding device comprises an inventory mechanism, a selecting and transporting mechanism, a cache mechanism and a discharging mechanism, wherein the inventory mechanism is provided with a plurality of storage layers arranged along a first preset direction, the cache mechanism comprises a cache conveying device and a cache area, the cache conveying device is used for conveying materials on the cache area to the discharging mechanism, and the selecting and transporting mechanism is used for transferring food materials in the storage layers to the cache area;

a cooking device for cooking food material;

a carrying device which can move to throw the food material output by the discharging mechanism into the cooking device.

2. The automated catering device according to claim 1, wherein: the number of the cache regions is more than two, and each cache region is arranged along a second preset direction.

3. The automated catering device according to claim 2, wherein: the food material balance control device comprises a cache region and is characterized in that the cache region is provided with a plurality of cache positions, at least one allowance sensor is arranged on each cache region, and the allowance sensors are used for sensing the food material allowance on the cache regions.

4. The automated catering device according to claim 2, wherein: each cache conveying device is arranged corresponding to more than two cache regions so as to be capable of conveying the materials of each cache region one by one; or the number of the cache transmission devices is equal to that of the cache regions, and the cache transmission devices are in one-to-one correspondence with the cache regions.

5. The automated catering device according to claim 2, wherein: the discharging mechanism comprises discharging holes the number of which is the same as that of the cache regions, and each cache region is arranged corresponding to one discharging hole.

6. The automated catering device according to claim 5, wherein: the discharging mechanism comprises a sealing door and a sealing door power device, the sealing door power device is used for driving the sealing door to open or close the discharge ports, discharging slideways are arranged on the outer sides of the discharge ports, and the tail ends of the discharging slideways form a picking area of the carrying mechanism.

7. The automated catering device according to any of claims 1-6, wherein: the cooking device comprises a body, a heating container and a lifting device, wherein the heating container is provided with a cooking cavity for bearing heat-carrying media, the cooking cavity is internally provided with a cooking container for containing food materials, the lifting device can lift or lower the cooking container from the cooking cavity, the cooking container is provided with a connecting part for grabbing by a carrying device, and the cooking container is provided with a plurality of through holes for enabling the heat-carrying media to circulate.

8. The automated catering device according to claim 7, wherein: the heating container is detachably connected with the body, and the heating container can be taken out of the body.

9. The automated catering device according to any of claims 1-8, wherein: the automatic catering equipment further comprises a loading module and a conveying module, the carrying device can move to throw food in the cooking device to the loading module, and the conveying module is used for outputting the food after loading.

10. The automated catering device according to claim 9, wherein: the food loading module comprises a tableware supply station and a food preparation station which are sequentially arranged on the conveying module along the conveying direction, the tableware supply station is provided with a tableware supply mechanism, and the carrying device can put food in the cooking device to the food preparation station.

11. The automated catering device according to claim 10, wherein: the food matching machine is characterized in that the food matching station is provided with a food matching mechanism, the food matching mechanism comprises a driving structure and a gathering structure with a food inlet and a food outlet, the driving structure can drive the gathering structure to reciprocate between a first position and a second position, the carrying device can put food into the food inlet of the gathering structure, the gathering structure is located in the reciprocating motion process between the first position and the second position, and the food outlet of the gathering structure faces towards tableware reaching the food matching station all the time.

12. The automated catering device according to claim 10, wherein: the automatic catering equipment further comprises a meal delivery module, the meal delivery module is provided with at least one meal delivery station, and the meal delivery station is located on a conveying path of the conveying module and behind the meal preparation station.

13. Automated catering device according to claim 12, wherein: the transfer module includes a first transfer module and a second transfer module connected in series along a transfer direction, the first transfer module for transferring the dishes supplied from the dish supply module to an inlet of the second transfer module, the second transfer module for transferring the dishes to the dining station.

14. The automated catering device according to claim 13, wherein: the first conveying module comprises a first conveying platform, the second conveying module comprises a second conveying platform, the second conveying platform is connected with the conveying tail end of the first conveying platform, and an inlet of the second conveying module is formed at the connecting position of the first conveying platform and the second conveying platform.