CN209973652U - Automatic catering equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The application discloses automatic catering equipment which comprises a first transfer platform, a second transfer platform, an integral grabbing mechanism, a plurality of processing stations and a temporary storage platform, wherein the integral grabbing mechanism is used for integrally grabbing food containers from the first transfer platform and placing the food containers on the second transfer platform in an idle state; the second transfer platform sequentially conveys the carried food containers to a plurality of processing stations for corresponding processing; the integral grabbing mechanism further places the food container grabbed from the first transfer platform on the temporary storage platform in an idle state when the second transfer platform is in an occupied state. This application can be when a plurality of processing stations carry out processing to current food container, place next food container on being in idle state's the platform of keeping in for after the processing of current food container was accomplished, grab a food container from the platform of keeping in fast, improve machining efficiency.

Description

Automatic catering equipment

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of food machinery, in particular to automatic catering equipment.

Background

With the continuous progress of science and technology, the food processing industry is gradually developing towards the direction of industrialization, industrialization and automation, wherein, the food automatic processing machinery field especially receives attention, can directly replace the manual work to process food, improves the processing quality.

The inventor of the application finds in long-term research and development that only partial steps in the food processing process can be automatically realized in the current food processing field, the function is single, and after food materials in the current food container are completely processed in the food processing process, the next food container can be operated, and the processing efficiency is low.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The application provides an automatic food and beverage equipment to solve the technical problem that food processing equipment can only operate a food container at the same time among the prior art.

In order to solve the technical problem, a technical scheme that this application adopted provides an automatic food and beverage equipment, includes:

a first transfer platform for carrying a food container and conveying said food container to a processing zone;

the second transfer platform is arranged in the processing area;

the integral grabbing mechanism is used for integrally grabbing the food container from the first transfer platform and placing the food container on the second transfer platform in an idle state;

a plurality of processing stations to which the second transfer platform sequentially transfers the food containers carried thereby for respective processing;

and the integral grabbing mechanism is further used for placing the food container grabbed by the first transfer platform on the temporary storage platform in an idle state when the second transfer platform is in an occupied state.

This application is through setting up the automatic food and beverage equipment that includes a plurality of processing stations and the platform of keeping in, can carry out processing to current food container at a plurality of processing stations when, place next food container on the platform of keeping in that is in idle state for the back is accomplished in processing of current food container, grabs a food container from the platform of keeping in fast, improves machining efficiency.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive efforts, wherein:

FIGS. 1 to 3 are schematic structural views of the first embodiment of the automatic catering equipment;

FIGS. 4 to 7 are schematic structural views of a refrigerating chamber in a second embodiment of the automatic catering equipment according to the application;

figures 8 to 11 are schematic structural views of a gripper mechanism in an embodiment of a gripping mechanism according to the present application;

fig. 12 to 15 are schematic structural views of a transmission mechanism in an embodiment of the grasping mechanism of the present application;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are schematic views of the dispensing area of the third embodiment of the catering assembly according to the application;

FIGS. 18 to 22 are schematic views showing the structure of a tableware storage container in the fourth embodiment of the automatic catering apparatus according to the present application;

FIGS. 23-27 are schematic structural views of embodiments of the food container of the present application;

FIGS. 28 and 29 are schematic views showing the overall structure of a processing area in a fifth embodiment of the automatic catering apparatus according to the application;

FIGS. 30 to 34 are schematic views showing the structure of a cover taking station in the fifth embodiment of the automatic catering apparatus according to the application;

FIGS. 35 to 39 are schematic structural views of a first heating station in a fifth embodiment of the automatic catering equipment according to the application;

FIGS. 40 to 45 are schematic structural views of a second heating station in a fifth embodiment of the automatic catering equipment according to the application;

FIG. 46 is a schematic structural view of a sixth embodiment of the automatic catering equipment.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the first embodiment of the automatic catering apparatus of the present application includes a cabinet 10 and an extraction mechanism, wherein the cabinet 10 is divided into a refrigerating area 100, a distribution area 200, and a processing area 300; the refrigerated area 100 defines a refrigerated space for storing the food container 20, wherein at least two food materials are placed in the food container 20; an extraction mechanism for integrally extracting the food container 20 from the refrigerated area 100 to the processing area 300; the processing zone 300 comprises a plurality of processing stations for respectively processing at least two food materials to obtain processed food containers 20; the distribution area 200 includes distribution stations for distributing the processed food containers 20 after the extraction mechanism extracts the processed food containers from the processing area 300 to the distribution area 200.

According to the embodiment of the application, the automatic catering equipment comprising the cold storage area, the distribution area and the processing area is arranged, the storage, the processing and the full-automatic processing of distribution of food materials in the food container can be realized, manual operation is completely separated, and various food materials are processed respectively, so that the processing efficiency and the quality of the food materials are improved, a large amount of labor cost can be saved, and the sanitation problem caused by manual operation is avoided.

In the present embodiment, the cabinet 10 has a three-layer structure, and is divided into a cooling zone 100, a distribution zone 200, and a processing zone 300 in sequence from bottom to top along a vertical direction. In other embodiments, the cabinet 10 may be configured as a two-layer structure or a one-layer structure, and any two or three of the cooling zone 100, the distribution zone 200, and the processing zone 300 may be configured at the same layer, which is not limited herein.

The cabinet 10 is sequentially divided into a refrigeration area 100, a distribution area 200 and a processing area 300 from bottom to top along the vertical direction; the first integral gripping mechanism 210 is disposed in the refrigerated area 100 and is used for integrally gripping the food container 20 from the refrigerated area 100 to the distribution area 200; the first transfer platform 220 is disposed between the distribution area 200 and the processing area 300, and the first integral gripping mechanism 210 places the gripped food container 20 on the first transfer platform 220 and transfers the same from the first transfer platform 220 to the processing area 300; the second overall gripping mechanism 310 is disposed in the processing area 300 and is used for gripping the food container 20 conveyed by the first transfer platform 220 into the processing area 300 in order to process the food material in the food container 20 in the processing area 300.

In this embodiment, the automatic catering equipment may further include a main control system 400 and a second transfer platform 320 disposed in the processing area 300, wherein the second overall gripping mechanism 310 further places the food containers 20 on the second transfer platform 320, and the second transfer platform 320 sequentially transfers the food containers 20 to a plurality of processing stations for corresponding processing at the processing stations; in addition, the second integral gripping mechanism 310 may further grip the processed food container 20 from the second transfer platform 320, place the processed food container on the first transfer platform 220, and transfer the processed food container from the first transfer platform 220 to the distribution area 200 for distribution; the host system 400 is used to control the first global gripper mechanism 210, the first transfer platform 220, the second global gripper mechanism 310, and the second transfer platform 320.

Referring to fig. 2, 4 and 5, the second embodiment of the automatic catering equipment of the application comprises a refrigerating chamber 110, a grabbing mechanism 210 and a main control system 400, wherein the refrigerating chamber 110 is used for defining a refrigerating space 111; the grasping mechanism 210 is used for grasping the food container 20 from the accommodating frame 120 placed in the refrigerating space 111; the host system 400 is used to control the grasping mechanism 210. The refrigeration compartment 110 may be accommodated in the refrigeration area 100 of the first embodiment of the automatic catering equipment, the grabbing mechanism 210 may be the first overall grabbing mechanism 210 of the first embodiment of the automatic catering equipment, and the main control system 400 may be, but is not limited to, the main control system 400 of the first embodiment of the automatic catering equipment.

The sliding door 130 is provided at the top end of the refrigerating compartment 110, and the main control system 400 may further control the grasping mechanism 210 to push the sliding door 130 before and after grasping the food container 20, thereby opening and closing the sliding door 130.

In this embodiment, the automatic catering device further comprises a refrigerator (not shown in the figure) arranged inside the refrigerating space 111 or adjacent to the refrigerating space 111 for refrigerating the refrigerating space 111.

Referring to fig. 6, a supporting plate 140 for supporting the accommodating frame 120 is disposed in the refrigerating space 111, an information collecting system 141 is disposed on the supporting plate 140, the accommodating frame 120 is provided with an identification tag (not shown in the figure), the information collecting system 141 is configured to collect identification information of the identification tag and send the identification information to the main control system 400, and the main control system 400 matches the received identification information with identification information pre-allocated to the information collecting system and generates an alarm signal if the identification information is not matched.

The supporting plate 140 and the accommodating frame 120 are respectively provided with a fool-proof structure, which is matched with each other, and the fool-proof structure is set such that the identification tag is located in the collection range of the information collection system 141 when the accommodating frame 120 is placed in the supporting plate 140 in a manner limited by the fool-proof structure. In this embodiment, the fool-proof structure may include a positioning block 142 disposed on the supporting plate and a positioning groove 124 disposed at the bottom of the accommodating frame 120.

Referring to fig. 7 and 8, the grabbing mechanism 210 is provided with a distance sensor 213, the grabbing mechanism 210 drives the transmission distance sensor 213 to move above the accommodating frame 120, so that the distance sensor 213 detects distance information between the distance sensor 213 and an object below, the main control system 400 determines a reference point on the accommodating frame 120 according to the distance information detected by the distance sensor 213, and further controls the grabbing mechanism 210 to grab the food container 20 from the accommodating frame 120 with the reference point as a reference.

The receiving frame 120 includes a receiving frame body 121, and a first partition 122 and a second partition 123 that are disposed inside the receiving frame body 121 in a crossed manner, where the first partition 122 and the second partition 123 divide an inner space of the receiving frame body 121 into a plurality of sub-receiving spaces 111, and a reference point is a cross point of the first partition 122 and the second partition 123.

Specifically, the main control system 400 determines whether the first partition plate 122 and the second partition plate 123 are detected according to the distance information detected by the distance sensor 213 during the movement with the grasping mechanism 210, records the position information of the grasping mechanism 210 when the first partition plate 122 and the second partition plate 123 are detected, and further determines the position information of the intersection point according to the position information corresponding to the first partition plate 122 and the second partition plate 123 and the extending direction of the first partition plate 122 and the second partition plate 123, wherein the extending direction of the first partition plate 122 and the second partition plate 123 is predetermined or determined according to at least two pieces of position information corresponding to the first partition plate 122 and the second partition plate 123 respectively.

The food containers 20 are stacked in the vertical direction in the receiving frame 120, wherein the main control system 400 further controls the gripping mechanism 210 to change the stacking sequence of the food containers 20. Specifically, the main control system 400 collects the number of food items sold by the automatic catering device, further evaluates the hot food items, and further controls the grabbing mechanism 210 to replace the food container 20 corresponding to the hot food items to the top of the stack of the food container 20. In this embodiment, the main control system 400 controls the gripping mechanism 210 to exchange the food containers 20 corresponding to the hot-sold food items before receiving the orders corresponding to the hot-sold food items.

The structure and the control mode of the embodiment of the application are simple and feasible, manual operation can be completely separated, the processing efficiency and the quality are improved, and a large amount of labor cost can be saved.

Referring to fig. 4, 8 to 11, the embodiment of the grasping mechanism 210 of the present application includes a clamping jaw mechanism 211, where the clamping jaw mechanism 211 includes a supporting plate 2111, a plurality of supporting arms 2112, a plurality of movable arms 2113, a rotating plate 2114, and a motor 2115, and a through hole 2111a extending along a central axis is provided on the supporting plate 2111; the plurality of support arms 2112 are fixed to a first side of the support plate 2111, and the plurality of support arms 2112 are arranged to extend in a radial direction of a preset central axis and to expand radially; the plurality of movable arms 2113 are respectively supported on the corresponding support arms 2112 and can move along the radial direction of the central axis relative to the support arms 2112, wherein the movable arms 2113 are provided with extension portions 2113 a; the rotating disc 2114 can rotate around a central axis and is provided with a plurality of arc-shaped grooves 2114a, wherein the extension portion 2113a of each movable arm 2113 extends into the arc-shaped groove 2114a, so that the movable arms 2113 are driven by the extension portions 2113a to move along the radial direction of the central axis in the rotating process of the rotating disc 2114, and the opening and closing actions of the movable arms 2113 are further realized; the motor 2115 is fixed to a second side of the support plate 2111 opposite to the first side, and a rotation shaft of the motor 2115 extends to the first side of the support plate 2111 through the through hole 2111a and is connected to the turntable 2114 to drive the turntable 2114 to rotate about the central axis.

In this embodiment, the gripper mechanism 211 further includes a roller 2112b rotatably supported on the extension 2113a and positioned within the arcuate slot 2114 a. The jaw mechanism 211 further comprises a plurality of jaws 2116, wherein one end of the jaw 2116 is connected to the movable arm 2113 and extends parallel to the central axis, and the other end of the jaw 2116 is provided with a catch 2117 extending towards the central axis. The gripping mechanism 210 further comprises a transmission mechanism 212 connected to the gripper mechanism 211, wherein the transmission mechanism 212 comprises at least two translation assemblies that telescope in cascade.

Referring to fig. 12 and 13 together, the transmission mechanism 212 includes a support assembly 2121, a first translation assembly 2122 and a second translation assembly 2123, the first translation assembly 2122 being disposed on the support assembly 2121 and capable of translational movement relative to the support assembly 2121; the second translating element 2123 is disposed on the first translating element 2122 and is driven by the first translating element 2122 to move in translation relative to the support element 2121, and the second translating element 2123 is further capable of moving in translation relative to the first translating element 2122.

Specifically, the support assembly 2121 comprises a first support plate 2121a, a first slide rail 2121b, a first driving belt 2121c and a motor 2121d, wherein the first driving belt 2121c is driven by the motor 2121d to move;

the first translational assembly 2122 comprises a first sliding block 2122a supported on the first sliding rail 2121b, a second supporting plate 2122b disposed on the first sliding block 2122a, and a second sliding rail 2122c and a second driving belt 2122d disposed on the second supporting plate 2122b, wherein the second supporting plate 2122b is connected to the first driving belt 2121c, so that the first sliding block 2122a is driven by the first driving belt 2121c to translate along the first sliding rail 2121b, and the second driving belt 2122d is connected to the first supporting plate 2121a, so that the second supporting plate 2122b is driven by the first supporting plate 2121a to move during the translation of the second supporting plate 2122b relative to the first supporting plate 2121 a;

the second translating assembly 2123 comprises a second sliding block 2123a supported by the second sliding rail 2122c and a third supporting plate 2123b disposed on the second sliding block 2123a, wherein the third supporting plate 2123b is connected to a second driving belt 2122d, so that the second sliding block 2123a is driven by the second driving belt 2122d to translate along the second sliding rail 2122 c.

Referring to fig. 14 and 15 together, the driving mechanism 212 further includes a first clamp 2124, a second clamp 2125 and a third clamp 2126, wherein the first clamp 2124 is clamped on the first driving belt 2121c and fixedly connected to the second supporting plate 2122b, the second clamp 2125 is clamped on the second driving belt 2122d and fixedly connected to the first supporting plate 2121a, and the third clamp 2126 is clamped on the second driving belt 2122d and fixedly connected to the third supporting plate 2123 b.

In this embodiment, the translational direction of the second support plate 2122b relative to the first support plate 2121a and the translational direction of the third support plate 2123b relative to the first support plate 2121a are arranged in the same direction, such that the transmission mechanism 212 is extended as a whole when the motor 2121d rotates in a first direction, and the transmission mechanism 212 is shortened as a whole when the motor 2121d rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

A plurality of digging arms do not additionally occupy space in the opening and closing process in the embodiment of the application, so that the digging arms are not easy to interfere with other equipment, and the reliability is high. It will be appreciated that the gripping structure of the present embodiment may be used for gripping any object, such as containers, for example, provided in an automated catering machine for gripping food containers. The first overall grabbing mechanism 210, the second overall grabbing mechanism 310 and the third overall grabbing mechanism 240 in the embodiment of the automatic catering equipment of the application, and the grabbing mechanism 210 can adopt the specific structure of the grabbing mechanism in the embodiment.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, a third embodiment of the automatic catering equipment of the application includes a cabinet 10, a first overall grabbing mechanism 210, a first transferring platform 220, a second overall grabbing mechanism 310, a second transferring platform 320 and a main control system 400, wherein the structures of the cabinet 10, the first overall grabbing mechanism 210, the first transferring platform 220, the second overall grabbing mechanism 310, the second transferring platform 320 and the main control system 400 are referred to the first embodiment of the automatic catering equipment, and are not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 16 and 17 together, the automated catering equipment comprises a meal delivery platform 230 arranged in the distribution area 200, a third integral grabbing mechanism 240 and a container pushing mechanism 250, wherein the third integral grabbing mechanism 240 further grabs the food container 20 conveyed by the first transfer platform 220 to the distribution area 200 integrally onto the meal delivery platform 230 and pushes the food container to the meal outlet 101 by the container pushing mechanism 250.

In this embodiment, the meal delivery platform 230 is provided with a plurality of temporary storage positions 231, the container pushing mechanism 250 includes a push plate assembly 251 disposed on the meal delivery platform 230 and a push plate transmission mechanism 252 for transmitting the push plate assembly 251, at least one pushing position 2511 is disposed on the push plate assembly 251, sensors (not shown) capable of detecting whether to place the food container 20 are disposed on the temporary storage positions 231 and the pushing position 2511, respectively, and the third overall grasping mechanism 240 places the food container 20 in the temporary storage position 231 or the pushing position 2511 in an idle state.

Specifically, the third integral gripping mechanism 240 grips the food container 20 on the first transfer platform 220 onto the idle push station 2511 when there is a food taking instruction for the food container 20 on the first transfer platform 220, grips the food container 20 on the first transfer platform 220 onto the idle temporary storage station 231 when there is no food taking instruction for the food container 20 on the first transfer platform 220, and grips the food container 20 on the first transfer platform 220 onto the idle push station 2511 when there is no idle temporary storage station 231.

In this embodiment, the third overall grasping mechanism 240 may further exchange the food containers at the pushing station 2511 and the temporary storage station 231 according to the meal taking instruction. For example, currently, all the pushing stations 2511 store food containers, and the food container of one of the pushing stations 2511 has no food fetching instruction, at this time, if the food container of the temporary storage station 231 has a food fetching instruction, the food container of the temporary storage station 231 is exchanged with the food container of the pushing station 2511 which has no food fetching instruction.

In this embodiment, the container pushing mechanism 250 further retracts the food container 20 pushed to the meal outlet 101 and not taken out at a predetermined time, and is gripped by the third entire gripper mechanism 240 to the temporary storage 231 in the idle state.

Referring to fig. 18 and 19 together, the automatic food and beverage service equipment further includes a dish storage compartment 150 for storing a dish box 170 having dishes placed therein, and a dish pushing mechanism 160 for pushing the dish box 170 to the dish taking opening 102 according to a pushing state of the food container 20 by the container pushing mechanism 250. For example, when the container pushing mechanism 250 pushes the food container 20 to the outlet, the cutlery pushing mechanism 160 will push the cutlery box 170 to the cutlery access opening 102. In this embodiment, at least one of the first overall gripping mechanism 210, the second overall gripping mechanism 310, and the third overall gripping mechanism 240 may include a clamping jaw mechanism 211, wherein specific structures of the clamping jaw mechanism 211 refer to the above-mentioned embodiment of the gripping mechanism 210, and are not described herein again. In addition, the dish storage compartment 150 and the dish pushing mechanism 160 may be embodied as the storage compartment 150 and the dish pushing mechanism 160 in the fourth embodiment of the following automated catering apparatus.

Referring to fig. 1, 2, 18 and 19, the fourth embodiment of the catering apparatus of the present application comprises a storage bin 150 and at least one tableware pushing mechanism 160, wherein the storage bin 150 comprises a storage bin main body 151, the storage bin main body 151 defines an accommodating space 152, and the accommodating space 152 is used for accommodating a plurality of tableware boxes 170 stacked in a vertical direction; at least one cutlery pusher mechanism 160 is used to push cutlery boxes 170 adjacent the bottom wall of the cartridge body 151 out of the cartridge 150.

In this embodiment, the storage bin 150 further includes a partition 153, the partition 153 divides the accommodating space 152 into at least two sub-accommodating spaces 1521 in a direction perpendicular to the pushing direction of the tableware pushing mechanism 160, a plurality of tableware boxes 170 stacked in the vertical direction are placed in each sub-accommodating space 1521, and each sub-accommodating space 1521 is correspondingly provided with one tableware pushing mechanism 160.

The automatic catering device further comprises a main control system 400, wherein the main control system 400 independently controls the tableware pushing mechanism 160 corresponding to each sub-accommodating space 1521.

Referring to fig. 17, the automatic catering device further includes a food delivery platform 230 and a container pushing mechanism 250 disposed on the food delivery platform 230, the main control system 400 controls the container pushing mechanism 250 to push the processed food containers 20, wherein the main control system 400 further controls the tableware pushing mechanism 160 to sequentially push the same number of cutlery boxes 170 according to the number of the food containers 20 pushed by the container pushing mechanism 250. It will be appreciated that the container pushing mechanism 250 may be a container pushing mechanism as described in other embodiments of the catering assembly of the application.

Referring to fig. 20 and 21 together, the automatic catering apparatus further includes a first sensor group 154 for detecting whether the cutlery box 170 is placed in each sub-receiving space 1521 and a second sensor group 155 for detecting whether there is a cutlery box 170 that has been pushed.

Referring also to fig. 22, the storage bin 150 further comprises a bin door 156 movably connected with respect to the storage bin body 151, wherein when the bin door 156 is in a closed state, a bottom edge of the bin door 156 is spaced apart from a bottom wall of the storage bin body 151 by a predetermined distance in a vertical direction to allow the dish pushing mechanism 160 to push the dish box 170 out of a gap between the bottom edge of the bin door 156 and the bottom wall of the storage bin body 151.

In this embodiment, the storage bin 150 further comprises a lifting door 157 movably connected with respect to the storage bin main body 151, wherein when the lifting door 157 is in a closed state, the lifting door 157 blocks a gap between a bottom edge of the bin door 156 and a bottom wall of the storage bin main body 151, so as to prevent the cutlery box 170 from falling out of the gap when not required to be pushed; when the lift gate 157 is in the open state, the lift gate 157 is located above the gap between the bottom edge of the bin gate 156 and the bottom wall of the magazine main body 151 to allow the dish pushing mechanism 160 to push the dish cartridge 170 out of the gap between the bottom edge of the bin gate 156 and the bottom wall of the magazine main body 151.

The storage bin main body 151 further comprises a rear sidewall 1511 opposite to the bin door 156, and the tableware pushing mechanism 160 comprises a pushing block 161 and a pushing block transmission mechanism 162, wherein a bottom edge of the rear sidewall 1511 is provided with a notch (not shown) matching with the pushing block 161 to allow the pushing block 161 to reciprocate through the notch. In the present embodiment, the pusher actuator 162 is disposed on a side of the bottom wall of the storage main body 151 away from the dish box 170.

In this embodiment, the storage compartment 150 further includes a guiding frame 158 disposed on a side of the rear sidewall 1511 of the storage compartment main body 151 away from the cutlery box 170 and communicating with the notch, and the pushing block 161 is disposed in the guiding frame 158, so that the pushing direction of the pushing block 161 is limited by the guiding frame 158.

The embodiment of the application can automatically push the tableware box for the user to use by setting the automatic catering equipment comprising the storage bin and the tableware pushing mechanism, so that the processing efficiency and the quality of the automatic catering equipment are improved, a large amount of labor cost can be saved, and the sanitary problem caused by manual operation is avoided.

Referring to fig. 23 to 25, the food container 20 of the present application includes an outer container 201, a cover 202, a first inner container 203 and a second inner container 204, wherein the cover 202 is covered on the outer container 201 and forms an accommodating space in cooperation with the outer container 201; the first inner container 203 is arranged in the accommodating space and is used for accommodating a first food material; the second inner container 204 is stacked above the first inner container 203 and is used to contain a second food material.

Referring to fig. 26 and 27 together, a first annular platform 2011 is provided on the side wall of the outer container 201, and the height of the first annular platform 2011 is set such that when the first food material in the first inner container 203 is poured into the outer container 201 and the second inner container 204 is replaced into the outer container 201, the second inner container 204 is supported by the first annular platform 2011 and such that the second inner container 204 is spaced apart from the first food material poured into the outer container 201.

In this embodiment, at least two fasteners 2021 are provided at the open end of the lid 202, a first annular flange 2012 extending to the outside of the outer container 201 is provided at the open end of the outer container 201, and the fasteners 2021 can be engaged with the first annular flange 2012, so that the outer container 201 and the lid 202 are relatively fixed.

In the present embodiment, when the bottom of the second inner container 204 is supported on the opening end of the first inner container 203, the second inner container 204 is disposed to protrude from the opening end of the outer container 201, so that the catch 2021 of the lid 202 placed on the second inner container 204 is located above the engaging region of the first annular flange 2012, and thus the catch 2021 and the first annular flange 2012 are in a separated state, and when the second inner container 204 is supported on the first annular platform 2011, the catch 2021 is located below the engaging region of the first annular flange 2012, and thus the catch 2021 and the first annular flange 2012 can be engaged with each other.

In this embodiment, the sidewall of the lid 202 is provided with a second annular platform 2022, when the second inner container 204 is placed into the outer container 201 again, the second annular platform 2022 is supported on the first annular flange 2012, and the distance between the second annular platform 2022 and the open end of the lid 202 is set such that when the second annular platform 2022 is supported on the first annular flange 2012, the buckle 2021 is located below the first annular flange 2012, thereby achieving the snap-fit.

In this embodiment, the second inner container 204 is disposed to protrude from the open end of the outer container 201 to allow the first gripping mechanism to be clasped to the outside of the second inner container 204 and to remove the second inner container 204 from the outer container 201, and the open end of the second inner container 204 is provided with a second annular flange 2041 extending to the outside of the second inner container 204, wherein the second annular flange 2041 is adapted to be snapped onto the first gripping mechanism when the first gripping mechanism is clasped to the outside of the second inner container 204.

In this embodiment, the open end of the first inner container 203 is further covered with a sealing film 2031 for sealing the first inner container 203 to allow the second grasping mechanism to be attached to the sealing film 2031 and to take out the first inner container 203 from the outer container 201.

In this embodiment, a third annular flange 2032 extending outward of the first inner container 203 is provided at the open end of the first inner container 203, and the sealing film 2031 is fixed to the third annular flange 2032 in a fitting manner.

In this embodiment, the bottom of the second inner container 204 is supported on the open end of the first inner container 203, a fourth annular flange 2042 is protruded from the side of the bottom of the second inner container 204 away from the open end of the second inner container 204, and the fourth annular flange 2042 is sleeved on the periphery of the open end of the first inner container 203.

In the present embodiment, the first inner container 203 is supported on the bottom of the outer container 201, a positioning boss 2013 is provided on the bottom of the outer container 201 in a protruding manner toward the open end side of the outer container 201, a positioning groove 2033 is correspondingly provided on the bottom of the first inner container 203 away from the open end side of the first inner container 203, and the positioning boss 2013 and the positioning groove 2033 are fitted to each other.

This application embodiment can hold two at least kinds of edible materials through setting up the food container including first inner container and second inner container to can cooperate the realization to the automated processing of multiple edible material, satisfy the diversified demand of different users.

Referring to fig. 3, 25, 28 and 29, a fifth embodiment of the catering apparatus according to the present application comprises a first transfer platform 220, an integral gripper mechanism 310, a second transfer platform 320 and a plurality of processing stations, the first transfer platform 220 being adapted to carry food containers 20 and to transport the food containers 20 from other areas to a processing area 300; the integral gripping mechanism 310 is used for integrally gripping the food container 20 from the first transfer platform 220 and placing on the second transfer platform 320 in an idle state; the second transfer platform 320 is used for carrying the food container 20, wherein the food container 20 includes an outer container 201, a first inner container 203 disposed in the outer container 201, a second inner container 204 stacked on the first inner container 203, and a cover 202 covering the outer container 201, wherein the first inner container 203 contains a first food material, and the second inner container 204 contains a second food material. It is understood that the integral gripping mechanism 310 may be embodied as a second integral gripping mechanism 310 in other embodiments of the catering apparatus. In addition, in other embodiments, the automated catering assembly may not have the first transfer platform 220 and the integral gripping mechanism 310.

The second transfer platform 320 sequentially transfers the food container 20 to a plurality of processing stations, wherein the plurality of processing stations at least comprises a cover taking station 330, a first heating station 340 and a second heating station 350, and the cover taking station 330 is used for grabbing the cover body 202 from the outer container 201 of the food container 20; the first heating station 340 is used for heating the second food material in the second inner container 204; the second heating station 350 is for heating the first food material within the first inner container 203. It is to be understood that in other embodiments, the food containers 20 of the above-described configuration may not be processed by the automatic catering machine, and therefore the automatic catering machine may not be used to heat food containers provided with the first heating station 340 and the second heating station 350, such as food containers 20 containing only one food material or food material without heating, and in such cases, the automatic catering machine may include one of the heating stations 340/350 or none of the heating stations 340/350.

According to the embodiment of the application, the cover uncovering process of the automatic food container can be realized, and the food materials in the two inner containers can be respectively heated, so that the functions of the automatic catering equipment are more diversified; because the heating process is accurately controlled through machinery, the processing efficiency and the quality of food materials can be improved.

Referring to fig. 30, the cover taking station 330 includes a cover grabbing mechanism 331 and a cover calibration table 332, in which the cover grabbing mechanism 331 grabs the cover 202 from the outer container 201, releases the cover 202 to the cover calibration table 332, and then grabs the cover 202 again, and the cover calibration table 332 corrects the grabbing position of the cover grabbing mechanism 331 relative to the cover 202.

Referring to fig. 31 and 32 together, the cover 202 is disposed in a frustum shape with an open lower end, and the upper end surface of the cover calibration stand 332 is disposed to match the upper end surface of the cover 202, so that after the cover grabbing mechanism 331 releases the cover 202 to the cover calibration stand 332, the cover 202 falls down in the axial direction of the cover calibration stand 221, and the upper end surface of the cover 202 and the upper end surface of the cover calibration stand 332 are aligned with each other. In addition, the lid grasping mechanism 331 can further re-cover the re-grasped lid 202 to the outer container 201 of the processed food container 20.

Referring to fig. 25 and 26 together, before the lid grasping mechanism 331 grasps the lid 202 from the outer container 201, the first inner container 203 and the second inner container 204 supported on the first inner container 203 are provided in the outer container 201, and the second inner container 204 is provided to protrude from the open end of the outer container 201, so that the catch 2021 of the lid 202 supported on the second inner container 204 is positioned above the first annular flange 2012 of the outer container 201, and the catch 2021 and the first annular flange 2012 are in a separated state. Before the lid grasping mechanism 331 recloses the lid 202 to the outer container 201 of the processed food container 20, the first inner container 203 is removed from the outer container 201, and the second inner container 204 is supported on the first annular platform 2011, so that the snap 2021 can be positioned below the first annular flange 2012 and engaged with each other when the lid 202 is reclosed to the outer container 201 of the processed food container 20.

In this embodiment, the cover grabbing mechanism 331 may adopt a suction cup type grabbing manner, for example, the cover grabbing mechanism 331 includes a first suction cup 3311 and a first suction cup transmission mechanism 3312, the first suction cup 3311 is used for being sucked onto the cover 202, and the first suction cup transmission mechanism 3312 is used for transmitting the first suction cup 3311.

Referring to fig. 33 and 34, the cover calibration stand 332 is provided with a second annular flange 3321 on the upper end surface thereof, a recessed area 3322 is formed inside the second annular flange 3321, the upper end surface of the cover 202 is supported on the second annular flange 3321, and when the cover 202 is grabbed again by the cover grabbing mechanism 331, the first suction plate 3311 is attracted to the cover 202 at a position within the recessed area 3322.

In this embodiment, before the cover grabbing mechanism 331 re-closes the cover 202 to the outer container 201 of the processed food container 20, the second annular platform 2022 of the cover 202 is supported on the first annular flange 2012, the cover grabbing mechanism 331 further includes a cover grabbing mechanism 3313, the cover grabbing mechanism 3313 is provided with an accommodating chamber 3313a with an open end, the first sucker 3311 is disposed at the bottom of the accommodating chamber 3313a, the accommodating chamber 3313a is used for accommodating the area between the upper end surface of the cover 202 and the second annular platform 2022, the second annular platform 2022 is supported on the open end of the cover grabbing mechanism 3313, and when the cover 202 is re-closed to the processed outer container 201, the buckle 2021 and the first annular flange 2012 are engaged with each other by the pressure exerted on the second annular platform 2202 by the open end of the cover grabbing mechanism 3313. The inner surface of the accommodation chamber 3313a and the outer surface of the cover 202 may be in clearance fit.

This application embodiment snatchs the mechanism and the lid station of getting of lid correction platform including the lid through the setting, can realize snatching and the position correction of food container's lid automatically, breaks away from manual operation completely, improves food processing's machining efficiency and quality to can save a large amount of cost of labor, avoid because of the sanitary problem that manual operation produced.

Referring to fig. 26 and 35, the first heating station 340 comprises a first gripping mechanism 341, a first supporting mechanism 342 and a first heating mechanism 343, the first gripping mechanism 341 grips the second inner container 204 from inside the outer container 201 and places it on the first supporting mechanism 342, and the first heating mechanism 343 heats the second food material inside the second inner container 204; the first gripping mechanism 341 further grips the heated second inner container 204 and replaces it inside the outer container 201, wherein the first inner container 203 has been removed from the outer container 201 before the second inner container 204 is replaced inside the outer container 201.

Referring to fig. 36 and 37 together, the first catching mechanism 341 includes a fixed bracket 3411, a sliding rail 3412, two sliding blocks 3413, two holding plates 3414, a swinging rod 3415, two connecting rods 3416 and a motor 3417, wherein the sliding rail 3412 is mounted on the fixed bracket 3411; the two sliding blocks 3413 are respectively supported on the sliding rails 3412 in a sliding manner; the two holding plates 3414 are respectively and correspondingly arranged on the two sliding blocks 3413; the rocker 3415 is provided swingably about an axis located in a middle region of the rocker 3415; one end of each of the two connecting rods 3416 is hinged to a corresponding one of the two ends of the swinging rod 3415, and the other end of each of the two connecting rods 3416 is hinged to a corresponding one of the two sliding blocks 3413; the motor 3417 may be mounted on the fixed bracket 3411, and an intermediate region of the rocking beam 3415 may be fixed to an output shaft of the motor 3417.

Here, when the swinging rod 3415 swings around the axis, the swinging rod 3415 brings the two sliders 3413 close to and away from each other through the two connecting rods 3416, and further, when the two sliders 3413 close to each other, the two holding plates 3414 hold the second inner container 204 from both sides of the second inner container 204 to be held.

In this embodiment, the opposite edges of the two holding plates 3414 are provided with notches 3414a matching the shape of the second inner container 204, thereby holding the second inner container 204 in the notches 3414 a. The open end of the second inner container 204 is provided with a second annular flange 2041 extending outward of the second inner container 204, and when the two holding plates 3414 hold the second inner container 204 from both sides of the second inner container 204, the second annular flange 2041 is overlapped with the two holding plates 3414.

In this embodiment, the first gripping mechanism 341 further includes a horizontal driving mechanism 3418 and a vertical driving mechanism 3419 connected to the fixing bracket 3411, wherein the vertical driving mechanism 3418 and the horizontal driving mechanism 3419 are respectively used for adjusting the relative positions between the two holding plates 3414 and the second inner container 204 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction before the two holding plates 3414 hold the second inner container 204, and for conveying the second inner container 204 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction after the two holding plates 3414 hold the second inner container 204.

This application embodiment includes that the pendulum rod is connected with two connecting rods through the setting to control respectively with two of two connecting rods are connected and hold the piece, only need a drive arrangement to drive the pendulum rod can realize holding the control of piece to two, occupy small, control process is simple and the reliability is high. It will be appreciated that the first gripping mechanism may also be used to grip other containers than the second inner container described herein, in which case the first gripping mechanism may also be used in any product where gripping of a container is desired, for example in other stations of an automated catering facility where gripping is desired.

Referring to fig. 38 and 39 together, the first supporting mechanism 342 includes a supporting seat 3421 and a lifting mechanism 3422, wherein the supporting seat 3421 is used for accommodating the second inner container 204 to be heated; the first heating mechanism 343 includes a cover 3431 disposed above the support 3421 and a steam pipe 3432 disposed on the cover 3431, wherein the lifting mechanism 3422 lifts the support 3421 in a vertical direction to make the open end of the second inner container 204 contact with the cover 3431 to form a sealed space, and the steam pipe 3432 is connected to a steam generator (not shown) to deliver steam into the sealed space.

In this embodiment, the first heating mechanism 343 further includes a temperature probe 3433 provided on the cover 3431, and the temperature probe 3433 detects the temperature in the sealed space.

In this embodiment, the first supporting mechanism 342 further includes a first supporting plate 3423 and a second supporting plate 3424 spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction and a plurality of supporting columns 3425 supported between the first supporting plate 3423 and the second supporting plate 3424, the supporting seat 3421 is supported on a side of the first supporting plate 3423 away from the second supporting plate 3424, the jacking mechanism 3422 is disposed between the first supporting plate 3423 and the second supporting plate 3424, and the first supporting plate 3423 is provided with a through hole 3423a for allowing the jacking mechanism 3422 to pass through.

In this embodiment, the first supporting mechanism 342 further includes a guiding post 3426 connected to the supporting seat 3421 and extending in a vertical direction, and the first supporting plate 3423 is provided with a guiding hole 3423b for allowing the guiding post 3426 to pass through.

In this embodiment, the automatic dining apparatus further includes a processing platform 370, the second supporting plate 3424 is fixed on the processing platform 370, and the cover plate 3431 is fixedly disposed relative to the processing platform 370.

The embodiment of the application can realize automatic steam heating of food materials in the container, completely separate from manual operation, improve the processing efficiency and quality of the food materials, enable the food materials not to lose moisture easily in the heating process and guarantee the taste of the food materials. It will be appreciated that the first support means and the first heating means may be applied to any product in which it is desired to heat containers other than the second inner container as described herein, for example to other heating stations in an automated catering facility, and that the heating station may not include the first gripping means described above, the first support means directly supporting the container to be heated and heating it using the first heating means.

Referring to fig. 24, 27 and 40, the second heating station 350 includes a second grasping mechanism 351, a second supporting mechanism 352 and a second heating mechanism 353, the second grasping mechanism 351 grasps the first inner container 203 from the outer container 201 and places it on the second supporting mechanism 352, and the second heating mechanism 353 heats the first food material in the first inner container 203. The second support mechanism 352 further pours the first food material in the first inner container 203 into the outer container 201 after the heating of the first food material in the first inner container 203 is completed. The second transfer platform 320 further transports the outer container 201 into which the first food material has been poured to the first heating station 340, and the first gripping mechanism 341 further grips the heated second inner container 204 from the first supporting mechanism 342 and replaces the second inner container 204 into the outer container 201. The second transfer station 320 further transports the outer container 201, placed in the second inner container 204, to the decapping station 330, the decapping station 330 further recapping the lids 202 onto the outer container 201.

In this embodiment, the open end of the first inner container 203 is covered with a sealing film 2031 for sealing the first inner container 203.

Referring also to fig. 41, the second gripping mechanism 351 includes a suction cup 3511 and a suction cup driving mechanism 3512, wherein the suction cup driving mechanism 3512 is used for driving the suction cup 3511 so that the suction cup 3511 is attracted to the sealing film 2031 and the first inner container 203 is taken out of the outer container 201.

In the present embodiment, the suction cup driving mechanism 3512 includes a first suction cup driving mechanism 3512a and a second suction cup driving mechanism 3512b, wherein the first suction cup driving mechanism 3512a and the second suction cup driving mechanism 3512b are used to adjust the relative position between the suction cup 3511 and the first inner container 203 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction before the suction cup 3511 sucks the sealing film 2031, and to transfer the first inner container 203 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction after the suction cup 3511 sucks the sealing film 2031, respectively.

The setting of this application embodiment includes the mechanism that snatchs of sucking disc, covers the automation of seal membrane realization to first inner container through adsorbing and snatchs in first inner container, improves food machining efficiency, avoids the volume of the first inner container of restriction, and snatchs that the mechanism occupies the volume littleer. It will be appreciated that the second gripping mechanism may also be used to grip other containers than the second inner container described herein, in which case the second gripping mechanism may also be used in any product where gripping of a container is desired, such as in other stations of an automated catering facility where gripping is desired.

Referring to fig. 42 to 44, the second supporting mechanism 352 includes a supporting seat 3521, a first supporting seat transmission mechanism 3522 and a second supporting seat transmission mechanism 3523, and the second heating mechanism 353 includes a cover plate 3531 and a steam pipe 3532 disposed on the cover plate 3531, wherein the first supporting seat transmission mechanism 3522 transmits the supporting seat 3521 to the lower side of the cover plate 3531 along the horizontal direction, the second supporting seat transmission mechanism 3523 transmits the supporting seat 3521 along the vertical direction, so that the open end of the first inner container 203 contacts with the cover plate 3531 to form a sealed space, and the steam pipe 3532 is connected to a steam generator (not shown) to deliver steam into the sealed space.

In this embodiment, the second heating unit 353 further includes a temperature probe 3533 disposed on the cover plate 3531, and the temperature probe 3533 detects the temperature in the sealed space.

In this embodiment, the ends of the steam pipe 3532 and the temperature probe 3533 are disposed in a pointed shape to pierce the sealing film 2031.

The automatic steam heating of eating the material in can realizing the first inner container of this application embodiment breaks away from manual operation completely, improves machining efficiency and the quality to eating the material to make and eat the material and be difficult for losing moisture in the heating process, guarantee to eat the taste of material. It will be appreciated that the second support means and the second heating means may be applied to any product in which it is desired to heat containers other than the first inner container as described herein, for example to other heating stations in an automated catering facility, and that the heating station may not include the second gripping means described above, the second support means directly supporting the container to be heated and heating it using the second heating means.

In this embodiment, the automatic dining apparatus further comprises a processing platform 370, the first supporting seat transmission mechanism 3522 comprises a first slide rail 3522a mounted on the processing platform 370, a first slide block 3522b slidably supported on the first slide rail 3522a, and a first driving assembly 3522c for driving the first slide block 3522b to move along the first slide rail 3522 a; the second supporting seat transmission mechanism 3523 includes a second sliding rail 3523a mounted on the first sliding block 3522b, a second sliding block 3523b slidably supported on the second sliding rail 3523a, and a second driving assembly 3523c for driving the second sliding block 3523b to move along the second sliding rail 3523a, wherein the supporting seat 3521 is mounted on the second sliding block 3523b, and the cover plate 3531 is fixedly disposed relative to the processing platform 370.

Referring to fig. 45, the automatic catering equipment further includes a film cutting mechanism 354, the first supporting seat transmission mechanism 3522 further transmits the supporting seat 3521 to the lower side of the film cutting mechanism 354 along the horizontal direction after the heating is completed, and the sealing film 2031 is cut by the film cutting mechanism 354.

In this embodiment, the film cutting mechanism 354 cuts the sealing film 2031 into partial connection with the first inner container 203. Specifically, the film cutting mechanism 354 comprises a tubular cutter 3541 and a cutter transmission mechanism 3542, wherein the cutter transmission mechanism 3542 is used for transmitting the tubular cutter 3541 along the vertical direction, so that the tail end of the tubular cutter 3541 is pressed on the sealing film 2031, and then the sealing film 2031 is cut, a notch 3541a is arranged at the tail end of the tubular cutter 3541, so that when the tubular cutter 3541 cuts the sealing film 2031, a part of the sealing film 2031 corresponding to the notch 3541a is connected with the first inner container 203.

In this embodiment, the second supporting mechanism 352 further includes a cantilever 3524 for supporting the supporting base 3521, and the automatic catering device further includes an auxiliary supporting mechanism 355, wherein the auxiliary supporting mechanism 355 is supported below the cantilever 3524 during the process that the end of the cylindrical cutter 3541 is pressed against the sealing film 2031. The projection of the auxiliary supporting mechanism 355 on the horizontal plane relative to the supporting position of the cantilever 3524 is located outside the projection of the supporting seat 3521 on the horizontal plane.

This application can realize the automatic cutout to the seal membrane of first inner container through setting up the membrane cutting mechanism, and the seal membrane after the cutting keeps the part with first inner container to be connected, avoids causing the pollution to the first edible material in the first inner container, can improve machining efficiency and the quality to eating the material to can save a large amount of cost of labor, avoid because of the sanitary problem that manual operation produced. It will be appreciated that the second support means and the film cutting means may be used in any product where a film cutting operation is required to cut sealing films from containers other than the first inner container described herein, for example at other stations in an automated catering facility, and that such stations may not include the second gripping means and the second heating means described above. The second supporting mechanism can also be provided with a supporting seat transmission mechanism in a corresponding direction according to actual requirements.

In this embodiment, the first supporting seat transmission mechanism 3522 further transmits the supporting seat 3521 to the upper side of the outer container 201 along the horizontal direction after the cutting is completed, and the second supporting mechanism 352 further includes a turning mechanism 3525, wherein the turning mechanism 3525 turns over the supporting seat 3521, so as to pour the first food material in the first inner container 203 into the outer container 201.

In this embodiment, the automatic dining apparatus further includes a recycling area 356, the first supporting seat transmission mechanism 3522 further transmits the supporting seat 3521 to the top of the recycling area 356 along the horizontal direction after the first food material is poured into the outer container 201, and the turnover mechanism 3525 turns over the supporting seat 3521 again until the first inner container 203 falls into the recycling area 356 under the action of gravity.

In this embodiment, the turning mechanism 3525 further turns over the supporting seat 3521 in the reverse direction after the first food material is poured into the outer container 201 and before the supporting seat 3521 moves to the recycling area 356 until the open end of the first inner container 203 is kept facing upward, and turns over the supporting seat 3521 again after the supporting seat 3521 moves above the recycling area 356, so that the first inner container 203 falls into the recycling area 356 under the action of gravity.

In this embodiment, the second supporting mechanism 352 further includes an adsorbing mechanism 3526 disposed in the supporting base 3521, and the adsorbing mechanism 3526 is configured to adsorb the first inner container 203 when the supporting base 3521 is located above the outer container 201, and release the first inner container 203 when the supporting base 3521 is located above the recovering section 356.

This application embodiment is through setting up the supporting mechanism including supporting seat, first supporting seat drive mechanism and tilting mechanism, can automatic transmission supporting seat and will support in the outer container is poured into to the edible material of the first inner container in the supporting seat, breaks away from manual operation completely, improves machining efficiency and the quality to eating the material to can save a large amount of cost of labor, avoid because of the sanitary problem that manual operation produced. It will be appreciated that the second support means may be used in any product where it is desired to invert a container to invert other containers than the first inner container as described herein, for example at other stations in an automated catering facility, and that the station may not include the second gripping means and the second heating means described above. In addition, when the container does not need to be operated in the vertical direction, the second supporting seat transmission mechanism also can be omitted.

Referring to fig. 3, 28 and 46, a sixth embodiment of the automated catering apparatus according to the present application comprises a first transfer platform 220, a second transfer platform 320, an integral gripper mechanism 310, a plurality of processing stations and a buffer platform 360, the first transfer platform 220 being adapted to carry food containers 20 and to transfer the food containers 20 to a processing area 300; the second transfer platform 320 is disposed within the processing zone 300; the integral gripping mechanism 310 is used for integrally gripping the food container 20 from the first transfer platform 220 and placing on the second transfer platform 320 in an idle state; the second transfer station 320 transfers the carried food containers 20 in sequence to a plurality of processing stations for respective processing; the integral gripping mechanism 310 further places the food container 20 gripped from the first transfer platform 220 on the staging platform 360 in an idle state while the second transfer platform 320 is in the engaged state.

In this embodiment, the integral gripping mechanism 310 further grips the processed food container 20 from the second transfer platform 320 and places it on the first transfer platform 220. The integral gripping mechanism 310 further integrally grips the food container 20 from the buffer platform 360 and places it on the second transfer platform 320 in an idle state. Wherein the integral gripping mechanism 310 may be a second integral gripping mechanism 310 in other embodiments of the automated catering apparatus.

In this embodiment, the staging platform 360 is disposed below the horizontal transfer path of the global gripper mechanism 310 that transports the food product containers 20 between the first transfer platform 220 and the second transfer platform 320. Specifically, the staging platform 360 is lower in height than the second transfer platform 320 such that the overall gripper mechanism 310 is able to transfer food containers 20 between the first transfer platform 220 and the second transfer platform 320 in a horizontal transfer path of the same height regardless of whether food containers 20 are placed on the staging platform 360.

In this embodiment, the second transferring platform 320 is provided with a first sensor 321 triggered by the food container 20 to detect whether the second transferring platform 320 is in an idle state or an occupied state, and the buffer platform 360 is provided with a second sensor 361 triggered by the food container 20 to detect whether the buffer platform 360 is in an idle state or an occupied state.

This application embodiment can be when a plurality of processing stations carry out processing to current food container, place next food container on being in idle state's the platform of keeping in for after the processing of current food container was accomplished, grab a food container from the platform of keeping in fast, improve machining efficiency. It will be appreciated that the specific configuration of the food container in either the above described embodiments of the catering assembly or the gripping mechanism may be, but is not limited to, the configuration of the container shown in fig. 23-27.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application, and all modifications of equivalent structures and equivalent processes, which are made by the contents of the specification and the drawings of the present application or are directly or indirectly applied to other related technical fields, are also included in the scope of the present application.

Claims (10)

1. An automated catering apparatus, comprising:

a first transfer platform for carrying a food container and conveying said food container to a processing zone;

the second transfer platform is arranged in the processing area;

the integral grabbing mechanism is used for integrally grabbing the food container from the first transfer platform and placing the food container on the second transfer platform in an idle state;

a plurality of processing stations to which the second transfer platform sequentially transfers the food containers carried thereby for respective processing;

and the integral grabbing mechanism is further used for placing the food container grabbed by the first transfer platform on the temporary storage platform in an idle state when the second transfer platform is in an occupied state.

2. The automated catering assembly of claim 1, wherein the integral gripper mechanism further grabs the processed food container from the second transfer platform and places it on the first transfer platform.

3. The automated catering assembly of claim 2, wherein the integral gripper mechanism further grips the food product container in its entirety from the staging platform and places it on the second transfer platform in an idle state.

4. The automated catering assembly of claim 2, wherein the staging platform is disposed below a horizontal transfer path of the integral gripper mechanism that transports the food product containers between the first transfer platform and the second transfer platform.

5. The automated catering assembly of claim 4, wherein the staging platform is at a lower elevation than the second transfer platform such that the integral gripper mechanism is capable of transferring the food containers between the first transfer platform and the second transfer platform in a horizontal transfer path of the same elevation regardless of whether the food containers are placed on the staging platform.

6. The automated catering equipment according to claim 4, wherein the second transfer platform is provided with a first sensor which is triggered by the food container to detect whether the second transfer platform is in an idle state or an occupied state, and the buffer platform is provided with a second sensor which is triggered by the food container to detect whether the buffer platform is in an idle state or an occupied state.

7. The automated catering assembly of claim 1, wherein the food container comprises an outer container, a first inner container disposed within the outer container, a second inner container stacked on the first inner container, and a lid covering the outer container, wherein the first inner container contains a first food material and the second inner container contains a second food material;

the plurality of processing stations includes at least:

a lid picking station for picking the lid from the outer container;

a first heating station for heating a second food material in the second inner container;

a second heating station for heating the first food material in the first inner container.

8. The automated catering assembly of claim 7, wherein the lid removal station comprises a lid capture mechanism and a lid alignment station, wherein the lid capture mechanism captures the lid from the outer container and releases the lid to the lid alignment station before re-capturing the lid, and the lid alignment station corrects the capture position of the lid capture mechanism relative to the lid.

9. The automated catering apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first heating station comprises a first gripping mechanism, a first support mechanism and a first heating mechanism, the first gripping mechanism grips the second inner container from within the outer container and places it on the first support mechanism, and the first heating mechanism heats the second food material within the second inner container.

10. The automated catering apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second heating station comprises a second gripping mechanism, a second support mechanism and a second heating mechanism, the second gripping mechanism grips the first inner container from within the outer container and places it on the second support mechanism, and the second heating mechanism heats the first food material within the first inner container.

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