CN216260594U

CN216260594U - Device for simultaneously preparing a plurality of individualized formula products

Info

Publication number: CN216260594U
Application number: CN202120852472.5U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张晨光; 张敬贤
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-04-23
Filing date: 2021-04-23
Publication date: 2022-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2031-04-23

Abstract

The utility model relates to a device for simultaneously preparing individual formula products, belonging to the food processing technology, which is characterized in that: the device comprises a control system, a plurality of raw material units and a conveying mechanism; the raw material units are used for containing different raw materials; each raw material unit comprises a raw material bin, a feeding mechanism, a special and independent discharge port of the raw material unit and an identification unit; the method can provide a precisely prepared personalized product which is suitable for the customer for one time to several weeks according to the personalized requirements of the customer, such as the genetic characteristics, metabolic patterns, physiological parameters, age and the like.

Description

Device for simultaneously preparing a plurality of individualized formula products

Technical Field

The present invention relates to food processing technology, and in particular to a device for simultaneously dispensing a plurality of individualized formula products.

Technical Field

Each person should receive a nutritional supplement that best matches their metabolic pattern. Eating is a prerequisite for maintaining life activities, and reasonable nutrition supply is one of the most important means for maintaining healthy life. The nutritional supply required is also unique for each individual due to the uniqueness of the gene code, which determines the uniqueness of the metabolic pattern, and is the rationale for genomics. Meanwhile, each person needs to supply nutrients corresponding to the environment, age stage, sex and health condition.

In order to provide accurate and personalized nutrition, the ingredients of the nutrition product need to be prepared in accurate proportion, namely, the percentage content of the ingredients (such as carbohydrate, protein, fat, inorganic salts, trace elements, vitamins, function-strengthening elements, additives and the like) in the nutrition product needs to be accurately adjusted. The proportion of some ingredients in the nutritional product may be in the range of thousandths, ten-thousandths of a gram, and even lower, for example, the daily vitamin intake in humans may range from micrograms to milligrams. In the nutriment, the trace components play an important role in health, and the accurate preparation of the trace nutrient components in the nutriment is a key for accurately providing whether the nutriment achieves personalized nutrition. Existing nutritional supplements such as infant formula, and similar formula nutrition, are produced in large industrial quantities at the expense of personalization in exchange for acceptable manufacturing costs, for example, one blend in the order of tons, and then packaged in separate packages, each typically weighing in the range of a few grams to several kilograms, sufficient for a person to ingest over a period of weeks at a time.

As mentioned above, the industrial preparation of nutriment is usually performed on the order of one ton of material, and during the shelf life of food, the required amount of each person is measured on the order of kilograms, so the industrial preparation of nutriment cannot be performed precisely and individually for each person. However, personalized nutritional formulas are beneficial to the health of consumers, so the industry adopts rough classification of people and provides specific formula products for classified people to partially meet the requirements, for example, infant milk powder is formulated according to age groups, which is the greatest degree of personalization that can be achieved by industrialized mass production of nutrients. However, in terms of nutrition, the metabolic patterns of each individual are different, and if a more targeted personalized formula product can be provided, the nutritional supplement effect can be better, and the requirements of consumers are better met.

How to conveniently, quickly, low-cost and accurately prepare the nutriment according to the personalized formula of the client is always a difficult problem in personalized nutrition popularization.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model aims to provide a device capable of providing a personalized formula to accurately prepare a formula product, in particular to a device and a method for providing an accurately prepared personalized product which is suitable for one to several weeks according to the personalized requirements of customers (according to the genetic characteristics, metabolic patterns, physiological parameters, ages and the like); in order to realize the purpose, the utility model provides a device, a system and a method for accurately preparing a personalized formula product facing a client, and the technical scheme is as follows:

an apparatus for simultaneously dispensing a plurality of personalized formula products, characterized by: the device comprises a control system, a plurality of raw material units and a conveying mechanism;

the raw material units are used for containing different raw materials; each raw material unit comprises a raw material bin, a feeding mechanism, a special and independent discharge port of the raw material unit and an identification unit; in the use state, the raw material units are arranged in a preset mode which can be identified by the control system.

The feeding mechanism is controlled by the control system to start and stop, and moves raw materials with preset feeding amount from the raw material bin to the discharge hole so as to enter the receiving container;

the conveying mechanism is of a crawler-type conveying structure, a plurality of receiving container placing positions are arranged on the conveying mechanism, and each receiving container placing position is provided with a unique position label which can be identified by the identification unit; the conveying mechanism is used for moving the material receiving container placed at the material receiving container placing position to a material outlet of a raw material unit under the control system, and continuously moving the material receiving container to the material outlet of the next raw material unit after material receiving is finished;

the control system is configured to:

appointing a receiving container placing position for each personalized formula and extracting a position label of the receiving container placing position; generating a corresponding preset program based on each personalized formula;

the preset program comprises related raw material unit information, preset feeding amount information of each related raw material unit and a position label of a placement position of the receiving container;

and controlling the conveying mechanism to enable the material receiving container placed at the appointed material receiving container placing position to advance through each raw material unit according to the preset program, identifying related raw material units through the identification unit, and controlling the feeding mechanism in the related raw material units to feed raw materials with preset feeding quantity to the material receiving container by the control system after the material receiving container meets the related raw material units.

Preferably, the apparatus is characterized in that: the plurality of feedstock units may differ in capacity or load bearing extent;

the load bearing range of each of said units of feedstock to solid feedstock is independently selected from less than 20000Kg, less than 10000Kg, less than 5000Kg, less than 1000Kg, less than 100Kg, less than 80Kg, less than 60Kg, less than 40Kg, less than 20Kg, less than 10Kg or less than 5 Kg;

the weight-bearing extent of each of said units of feedstock to liquid feedstock is independently selected from less than 100000L, less than 50000L, less than 20000L, less than 10000L, less than 7000L, less than 5000L, less than 500L, less than 1000L, less than 500L, less than 300L, less than 150L, less than 100L, less than 70L, less than 50L, less than 30L, less than 20L, less than 10L or less than 5L;

or the capacity range of the raw material unit is 10-10000 times of the daily recommended amount of the raw material, preferably 10-3000 times;

preferably, the apparatus is characterized in that: the mixing device is also provided with one or more mixing mechanisms, the mixing mechanisms are controlled by the control system, and the raw materials received by the receiving container are uniformly mixed according to a preset program.

Preferably, the apparatus is characterized in that: the mixing mechanism is arranged at the position where the material receiving container is placed on the conveying mechanism and used for uniformly mixing raw materials in the material receiving container in the material receiving process or after the material receiving is finished.

Preferably, the apparatus is characterized in that: the mixing mechanism is also provided with an encapsulation unit which is used for encapsulating the receiving container after receiving all the related raw materials.

Preferably, any of the above devices, characterized by:

the placing position of the receiving container is also provided with a weighing device which is set to transmit weighing data to the control system in real time;

the weighing device is configured to start weighing weight data of related raw materials in the material receiving container when the material receiving container relatively moves to a discharge port position of a related raw material unit and transmit the weight data to the control system in real time, and when the weight data is different from a required quantity value of the related raw materials by an error within an allowable range, the control system closes the feeding mechanism in the current related raw material unit and controls the conveying mechanism to relatively move the material receiving container to convey the material receiving container to a discharge port of a next raw material unit.

Preferably, any of the above devices, characterized by: the weighing precision of the weighing device reaches 1/1000, 1/10000, 1/100000 or 1/1000000.

Preferably, any of the above devices, characterized by: further comprising a primary feed tank interfaced with said feed units, each of said feed units being replenished with feed in batches from said primary feed tank.

Preferably, any of the above devices, characterized by: the feeding mechanism comprises a feeder and a driving device thereof;

the feeder is a screw feeder, is positioned in the raw material bin and is connected with the driving device, and the driving device is controlled by the control system to start, pause and run so as to finish the preset feeding amount each time.

Preferably, any of the apparatus above, wherein the feeding mechanisms of at least two, three, four, five or all of the plurality of feedstock units have different feeding accuracies; the feeding precision is in the range of 0.01g-1 g.

Raw material unit: means for storing the ingredients of the ingredient, a single or simply mixed nutrient ingredient, is present in the ingredient compartment of the ingredient unit. Each raw material unit comprises a raw material bin, a discharge hole and a feeding mechanism; in the use state, a plurality of raw material units in the device are arranged in a manner that can be identified by the control system; each raw material unit is provided with a discharge port which is specially and independently used, namely, the discharge ports of the raw material units are separated from each other; the material units include, but are not limited to, plastic, metal, rubber, etc., and the shapes include, but are not limited to, funnel shapes, cone shapes, etc., which are conventional shapes in industry.

A feeding mechanism: the device which can be controlled based on the control system to quantitatively move the raw materials from the raw material bin to the discharge port and enter the receiving container can be, but is not limited to, various common feeding devices, such as a container, a screw (auger), a belt and the like or a combination thereof; and a driving device, such as various motors, mechanical devices and the like, is also attached. If liquid materials are conveyed, various metering pumps, peristaltic pumps and the like can be adopted.

A material receiving container: the container is used for containing various raw material mixed products, and different raw materials are moved from a raw material bin to a material receiving container through a feeding device. The material receiving container can be a container which can be used repeatedly, and is transferred to a final selling container for packaging and selling after material receiving is finished, for example, various funnel-shaped containers and mixing barrels are convenient to stir and mix uniformly in a circular shape; the material receiving container can be preferably a disposable container, the materials are mixed in the disposable container, then the material receiving container is packaged and is used as all or part of the final sale package, and the advantages of preventing cross contamination and better meeting the requirement of personalized nutrition are achieved. Can adopt the cylindrical container that plastics, metal commonly used on the market made, also can adopt the wide-necked bottle, can also use various flexible bags in addition, also can carry out mixing box packing under the circumstances that has the cooperation of outside support.

A weighing device: the weight of the mixing hopper or the weight in the raw material hopper can be measured, and various weight measuring devices such as a platform scale, a beam scale, a hanging scale and the like can be used.

A conveying mechanism: the conveying mechanism comprises a conveying track or a turntable, a material receiving container placing position which can be identified by a control system is arranged on the conveying mechanism, and the material receiving unit is controlled by the control system to be conveyed to each related raw material unit according to a preset program to receive each related raw material with a preset quantity; or the material receiving container may be fixed, and different material units may move, as shown in fig. 4, so as to achieve the purpose that the materials sent out by the different material units all enter the material receiving container; the raw material units and the receiving container can move according to a certain rule, so long as the purpose that the raw materials sent out by different raw material units enter the receiving container is achieved. Since the material units are generally heavier than the receiving container and may be of different sizes and quantities, a preferred embodiment is to move the receiving container and the associated weighing unit.

The material mixing mechanism comprises: the mechanism for mixing the raw materials entering the material receiving container can be used only by uniformly mixing the raw materials entering the material receiving container, if the raw materials are liquid, the raw materials can be uniformly mixed by self, and if the raw materials are powdery solid, the raw materials are mechanically uniformly mixed by means of external force. The mixing mechanism is a device for uniformly mixing the raw materials in the mixing unit, and can be selected from a propeller stirrer, a magnetic stirrer, a vibration mixer, an ultrasonic mixer, a beating-resistant homogenizer and the like.

A label unit: and printing information of each mixing, wherein the printed information is from a personalized nutrition scheme and is matched with the content of each mixing, and the printed information comprises but is not limited to personnel information, formula information, usage and dosage information, shelf life and other information.

The control system, the raw material unit, the transportation mechanism, the weighing device, the mixing mechanism, the packaging mechanism and the like are connected together, and the connection comprises electrical connection and mechanical structure connection. The electrical link includes various signal lines and power lines, including but not limited to RS232, 485, USB, Wifi, bluetooth and various signal transmission methods, and various voltage and circuit power connection methods according to the industry standard. The mechanical structure includes but is not limited to slide rail, mechanical arm, hinge, gear, crankshaft, fastener, rack, wheel set, shaft, etc. to fix and move the relative positions of the module units.

The raw material unit, the transportation mechanism, the weighing device and the mixing mechanism can be one or more.

The device of the utility model can also be connected with one or more of human body metabolism measuring equipment, gene measuring equipment and biochemical measuring equipment, and the method is characterized in that: the energy intake of the personalized nutrition program can be determined based on metabolic measurement equipment, the nutrient demand and the microorganism demand can be determined based on genetic measurement equipment and biochemical measurement equipment, and other laboratory physicochemical detection equipment such as a chromatograph, a spectrometer, a mass spectrometer and the like can be connected, and the individual nutrition program and the microorganism demand can be considered together as the biochemical measurement equipment.

The device can communicate with the relevant modules through a network, can communicate with the cloud data center for interaction and data storage, and can adopt the technology commonly used in the relevant fields as the corresponding technology. However, the device of the patent can download the personalized nutrition formula through the cloud center and prepare the nutriment according to the nutrition formula, which is one of the characteristics that the patent is different from the existing equipment.

The device provided by the utility model can efficiently and accurately prepare personalized formula products with different orders of magnitude (such as one-day-by-one, one-week-by-one, one-month-by-one and certain-scale customization) according to the personalized formula of a customer, and is used for providing nutrition personalized supply services in many occasions, such as but not limited to formula milk factories, supermarkets, convenience stores and fitness centers. The design of the device not only can avoid mutual pollution among raw materials, but also can ensure the accuracy of a large amount of components and particularly micro-components.

Description of the drawings:

the utility model is further illustrated by the accompanying drawings and the detailed description below:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a representative structure of an apparatus for dispensing a personalized formula according to the utility model

Wherein the control system 1 controls the transport mechanism 3 and the feeding mechanism 23.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for dispensing a personalized formula according to the present invention

Wherein a mixing mechanism 5 controlled by the control system 1 is arranged; in 2A, the mixing mechanism 5 is a mixing device independent of the conveying mechanism 3; 2B, the mixing mechanism 5 is embedded into a part of the conveying mechanism 3;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for dispensing a personalized formula according to the present invention

Wherein weighing devices 61 and/or 62 are provided which are controlled by the control system;

in 3A, the weighing device 61 is set to weigh the weight change of the raw materials in the receiving container, transmit the weighing data to the control system, and control the feeding mechanism 23 to stop in a closed-loop manner according to the weight increasing data of the principle in the receiving container;

3B, a weighing device 62 is arranged at the bottom of the raw material unit and is used for weighing the weight change of the raw materials in the raw material unit 2; in this solution, the weighing device 61 is also arranged at the bottom of the receiving unit.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for dispensing a personalized formula according to the present invention,

wherein the conveying mechanism conveys the raw material unit 2 under the control of the control system 1, and the material receiving container 4 is fixed;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for dispensing a personalized formula according to the present invention,

the raw material units 2 are different in size, and the feeding mechanisms 23 are different in size and specification;

FIG. 6 schematically shows an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for dispensing a personalized formula according to the present invention, wherein a raw material unit 2 is connected to a larger-capacity raw material container through a feeding line 7, and the raw material can be supplemented in real time;

in fig. 1 to 6, dashed lines with arrows indicate signal transmission relationships of respective components in the control system and the apparatus,

1-a control system, 2-a raw material unit, 21-a raw material bin, 22-a discharge port, 23-a feeding mechanism, 24-an identification unit, 3-a transportation mechanism, 31-a position label, 4-a material receiving container, 5-a mixing mechanism, 61, 62-a weighing device and 7-a material supplementing pipeline.

Detailed Description

The present invention is described below in conjunction with the attached drawings and the detailed description, but should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, the plurality of material units 2 are used for containing different materials; each raw material unit comprises a raw material bin 21, a feeding mechanism 23, a discharge port 22 and an identification unit 24, wherein the raw material unit is exclusive and independent to use; in the using state, the raw material units are arranged in a preset mode which can be identified by the control system;

the feeding mechanism 23 is configured to be controlled by the control system to start and stop, and move a preset feeding amount of raw materials from the raw material bin to the discharge port so as to enter the receiving container;

the conveying mechanism 3 is of a crawler-type conveying structure, a plurality of receiving container placing positions are arranged on the conveying mechanism, and each receiving container placing position is provided with a unique position tag 31 which can be identified by the identification unit 24; the conveying mechanism is used for moving the material receiving container placed at the material receiving container placing position to a material outlet of a raw material unit under the control system, and continuously moving the material receiving container to the material outlet of the next raw material unit after material receiving is finished;

the control system is configured to:

In some embodiments, the control system: the module for coordinating the cooperative operation of all parts of the whole device can be composed of a microprocessor and various electronic and electric elements, or an industrialized embedded computer or an industrial personal computer, and can operate corresponding software programs to complete the due operation. Comprises a calculation module, a control module and a signal processing module;

the calculation module is used for calculating the corresponding raw material units, the related raw material units and the transportation route of the transportation mechanism according to the personalized formula, and the starting/closing time, the running time and/or the running speed of the feeding mechanism in each related raw material unit; thereby obtaining a preset program; the control module controls the conveying mechanism and the feeding mechanism of the related raw material unit according to the preset program; in some aspects, the signal processing module is configured to process feedback information during operation of the apparatus, and adjust the control module according to the feedback information. In the scheme of closed-loop control of the weighing data, the signal processing module processes the real-time weighing data from the weighing device and adjusts the control module.

In the device of the utility model, the bearing ranges of the raw material units can be different; in different application scenarios, the load bearing range of each of the units of the raw material on the solid raw material is independently selected from the group consisting of less than 20000Kg, less than 10000Kg, less than 5000Kg, less than 1000Kg, less than 100Kg, less than 80Kg, less than 60Kg, less than 40Kg, less than 20Kg, less than 10Kg or less than 5 Kg;

the weight-bearing range of each of said units of raw material on liquid raw material is independently selected from the group consisting of "less than 100000L, less than 50000L, less than 20000L, less than 10000L, less than 7000L, less than 5000L, less than 500L, less than 1000L, less than 500L, less than 300L, less than 150L, less than 100L, less than 70L, less than 50L, less than 30L, less than 20L, less than 10L or less than 5L".

Or the capacity range of the raw material unit is 10-10000 times of the daily recommended amount of the raw material, and preferably 10-3000 times.

In some embodiments, the transport range of the transport mechanism is configured to allow for an increase or decrease in the number of feedstock units. The device of the utility model can be suitable for the individual configuration of formula products with as few as two or three raw materials or formula products with as many as dozens of raw materials, such as formula milk powder.

Material mixing mechanism and packaging mechanism

In some embodiments, on the basis of any one of the foregoing embodiments, a mixing mechanism 5 is further provided, and the mixing mechanism 5 is configured to be controlled by the control system 1, and mix the raw materials received by the receiving container 4 according to a preset program. As illustrated in fig. 2-3. The mixing mechanism can be selected from a propeller stirrer, a magnetic stirrer, a vibration mixer, an ultrasonic mixer and a beating-resistant homogenizer.

In an alternative embodiment, the mixing means 5 is arranged in the path of transport of the receiving container, for example, it is possible that the mixing means is arranged independently of or in the transport structure for the purpose of mixing the raw materials in the receiving container during receiving and transport or after all relevant raw materials have been received. Under the scheme, the material receiving container receiving one or more related raw materials is started to uniformly mix the material receiving container when passing through the position of the material mixing mechanism under the control of the control system.

The blending operation can be realized by the following schemes but not limited to: the material receiving container stays for a preset time to complete the uniform mixing by controlling the conveying mechanism, or the process of receiving the raw materials is completed under the condition of not suspending the conveying.

In combination with the above alternative, preferably, the mixing mechanism 5 is provided as a part of the transportation mechanism 3, and more preferably, the mixing mechanism 5 is provided at a placement position of the material receiving container 4 on the transportation mechanism 3, and one mixing mechanism 5 is provided at the placement position of each material receiving container, so that raw materials in the material receiving container are uniformly mixed in a material receiving process or after the material receiving is completed. For example, non-contact blending mechanisms may be employed, including but not limited to magnetic stirrers, vibratory blenders, ultrasonic blenders, and beater bar homogenizers. As illustrated in fig. 2B, the mixing mechanism is part of a transport mechanism, and in some embodiments, the mixing mechanism may be embedded in the transport mechanism to place the receiving container.

In another alternative embodiment, the mixing mechanism 5 has a receiving container carrying structure for accommodating the receiving container 4; or the mixing mechanism is arranged to contain the receiving container. In this scheme, compounding mechanism itself has the structure and the function of receiving the material container, can the mixing connect the raw materials simultaneously.

The mixing mechanism is transported together with the material receiving container by the transporting mechanism.

With reference to any one of the above optional embodiments, optionally, the mixing mechanism 5 is configured to mix the raw materials without contacting the raw materials in the receiving container. For example, a magnetic stirrer, a vibration mixer, an ultrasonic mixer and a beating-resistant homogenizer apply external forces such as vibration, shaking, rotation and the like to the material receiving container to realize uniform mixing; or alternatively, the mixing mechanism is arranged to uniformly stir the raw materials in the material receiving container, for example, a propeller stirrer, which penetrates into the raw materials to uniformly stir the raw materials.

With reference to any one of the above optional embodiments, the mixing mechanism further includes an encapsulating unit, configured to encapsulate the material receiving container after receiving all the relevant raw materials.

Implementation scheme for realizing closed-loop control of weighing device

In one group of embodiments of the utility model, on the basis of any one of the preceding embodiments, weighing

devices

61, 62 are further provided for weighing the weight change of the relevant raw materials, and are configured to transmit weighing data to the control system in real time; and the control system controls the feeding mechanisms in the corresponding related raw material units according to the weighing data of the related raw materials. As illustrated in fig. 3.

The weighing device can be various weight metering devices, such as a platform scale, a steelyard, a hanging scale and a weighing sensor chip.

In an alternative set of embodiments, the weighing data refers to a change in weight of the material in the receiving container; the weighing device 61 is configured to start weighing weight data of the relevant raw materials in the material receiving container when the material receiving container relatively moves to a discharge port position of the relevant raw material unit and transmit the weight data to the control system 1 in real time, and when the weight data is different from a required amount of the relevant raw materials by an error within an allowable range, the control system closes a feeding mechanism in the current relevant raw material unit and relatively moves the material receiving container to transmit the material receiving container to a discharge port of the next relevant raw material unit. As shown in fig. 3A.

In combination with this last alternative embodiment, a preferred embodiment is: in the device, the raw material units are arranged at fixed positions, and the conveying mechanism is used for conveying the receiving container to the discharge hole of each related raw material unit under the control of the control system; the weighing device is a part of the transportation mechanism and is arranged at the placing position of the receiving container. As shown in fig. 3A-B.

In combination with the above alternative embodiment, another preferred embodiment is: the weighing device is independent of the transport device. When the device operates, the receiving container can be placed on the device, and the weighing device can be an independent electronic scale or can be arranged at the bottom of the receiving container as a part of the receiving container; in either case, it is configured to be controlled by the control system to clear the previous data before receiving a new associated material and then begin weighing the new weight change and transmit the weighing data to the control system.

In another set of alternate embodiments, the weighing data refers to the weight change of the raw material in the raw material unit;

the weighing device is used for weighing weight reduction data of related raw materials in the related raw material unit and transmitting the weight reduction data to the control system in real time when the receiving container relatively moves to the discharge hole of the related raw material unit, and when the weight reduction data of the related raw materials and the required quantity of the related raw materials have an error within an allowable range, the feeding mechanism is closed and the receiving container is relatively moved and conveyed to the discharge hole of the next related raw material unit. As shown in fig. 3B.

In combination with the above alternative embodiment, another preferred embodiment is: the weighing device is arranged in association with a raw material unit. For example, one weighing device may be provided at the bottom of each raw material unit, or a plurality of raw material units may share one weighing device. In either case, it is configured to be controlled by the control system to clear the previous data before initiating the feed mechanism of a new associated ingredient unit and then begin weighing the new weight change and transmit the weighing data to the control system.

In combination with any of the above closed-loop control embodiments, the weighing apparatus is preferably used with a weighing accuracy of 1/1000, 1/10000, 1/100000 or 1/1000000.

The scheme can control the feeding mechanism by a weight change feedback control system detected by the weighing device, so that closed-loop control is realized, and the aim of high-precision mixing can be fulfilled. The driving of the feeding unit can be a stepping motor, a servo motor or various motors with coding feedback control, so that the control can be better and conveniently realized. Scheme for controlling feeding amount through operation amount, operation time or operation speed of motor and feeding mechanism

The utility model can also be closed-loop controlled independently of the control of the weighing device. Instead, the desired amount of feed is achieved by programming the amount of travel (e.g., number of turns, angle of rotation) or speed of travel of the feed mechanism 23, and in this manner allows the device to dispense multiple formula products simultaneously, as detailed below:

on the basis of an embodiment of any of the foregoing apparatuses, for a feed unit for solid feedstock, the feed mechanism comprises a feeder and a drive device therefor;

for a feed unit of liquid feed, the feed mechanism is selected from, but not limited to: metering pump, peristaltic pump, diaphragm pump, rotary vane pump.

In an alternative embodiment, it is preferred that the feeding mechanisms of at least two, three, four, five or all of the plurality of raw material units in the apparatus have different feeding accuracies.

The raw materials required by a type of formula food usually comprise macronutrients such as carbohydrates and proteins and also micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, and the proportion of the macronutrients in the formula is different from that of the micronutrients in thousands of times or even ten thousands of times. Therefore, the material units for containing different raw materials adopt feeding mechanisms with different feeding precisions, as shown in fig. 5, different material units adopt different sizes according to whether the contained raw materials are large or medium or micro, and particularly, the specification of the feeding mechanism 23 meets the feeding precision.

In combination with the above alternative embodiment, preferably, the feeding mechanism 23 of each of the raw material units is independently configured to have a feeding accuracy of 0.01 to 1g, preferably 0.1g,1 g.

In an alternative embodiment, preferably, the feed mechanism is a screw feeder;

the pitch of the screw feeder in each of the feed units is independently selected from a value between 0.1mm and 100mm, preferably between 1mm and 50 mm.

In an alternative embodiment, preferably, the feed mechanism is a screw feeder;

the screw diameter of the screw feeder in each of the feed units is independently selected from a value between 0.1mm and 100mm, preferably between 1mm and 50 mm.

In order to achieve the feeding accuracy, the skilled person can select a screw feeder that meets the requirements from the existing products.

On the basis of the above alternative embodiment, preferably, the driving device is a motor. Such as, but not limited to, a stepper motor or a servo motor, may control the rotation time, rotation speed, or rotation angle.

Development of the utility model

In some implementations, the aforementioned apparatus may further comprise a primary feed tank interfaced with the feed units, each of the feed units being replenished with feed in batches from the primary feed tank. Preferably, the butt joint is via the feed line 7. As shown in fig. 6.

In some implementation scenarios, the device can perform information interaction with a cloud data control center through a network to acquire and store personal data authorized by a customer and a personalized formula recommended according to the personal data;

personal data includes, but is not limited to: height, weight, blood type, gene, age, allergen, taste preference, specific physiological test data;

the personalized formulas include, but are not limited to: infant milk powder formula, infant complementary food formula, dietary supplement formula, beverage formula;

in some direct personal user-oriented application environments, any of the foregoing devices may further include a printing unit for printing information relating to the product being dispensed to the customer.

The utility model also provides a system for providing the personalized formula product preparation service, which is characterized in that,

the system comprises at least one set of devices in any scheme, wherein the devices are in information interaction connection through a network or a cloud data center; preferably, configured to:

allowing a customer to establish an account in the system, uploading a formula of a personalized formula product or uploading personal information for generating the formula of the personalized formula product, and storing information (including but not limited to the formula, preparation date, preparation amount of corresponding physiological data, preparation process video information and the like) of the personalized formula product of the customer at all times;

and allowing the customer or a service authorized by the customer to call up a formula based on the personalized formula of the customer at least one set of devices contained in the system and generate the preset program to control the set of devices so as to prepare the personalized formula of the customer.

Preferably, the system further comprises one or more of a metabolic measurement device, a genetic testing device and a biochemical measurement device, wherein the devices are connected with the system through a network, store and transmit the testing data of the customer according to the customer instruction, and generate a personalized formula for the customer.

The gene detection device can be a gene locus and fragment measuring device and can also be a sequencing device, including but not limited to PCR, a gene sequencer, mass spectrometry and the like. The personalized nutritional formula, such as the personalized amount of fat, protein, vitamins and various trace elements, is assisted to be confirmed through personalized gene information.

The biochemical measuring device is a generalized physical and chemical analysis index, and comprises but is not limited to determining the demand condition of a human body on nutrients by biochemical and immunological methods and the like, so that a personalized nutrition prescription is completed.

The measuring device can be directly connected with the system through various industrial communication protocols, and can also be connected with the system through various protocols of the Internet and the Internet of things or cloud storage data center intermediaries. Protocol types include, but are not limited to wifi, RS232 and related protocol families, TCP, UDP, IP protocol families, bluetooth, and the like.

Method for using device

A method of formulating a personalized formula, characterized by: with the apparatus according to any of the preceding aspects,

(1) providing a personalized formula to the device;

(2) a preset program generated by the device based on the personalized recipe,

(3) providing a receiving container to the device; the control system controls the conveying mechanisms and the feeding mechanisms in the related raw material units of the preset program according to the preset program, so that the material receiving container relatively moves to a discharge hole of one related raw material unit, and the feeding mechanisms of the related raw material units send required amount of raw materials to the material receiving container; then relatively moving the material receiving container to a material outlet of another related raw material unit of the preset program, and enabling a feeding mechanism of the other related raw material unit to send a required amount of raw materials to the material receiving container; and finishing the preset program.

In a preferred embodiment, the predetermined program comprises a running amount or running speed of the feeding mechanism which is set on the basis of the required amount of the relevant raw material in the personalized recipe.

In the embodiment where the feeder is a screw feeder, the operation amount refers to the number of turns of the screw feeder and the operation speed refers to the rotation speed of the screw feeder.

In combination with the above preferred embodiment, the control system preferably makes the material receiving container stay at the discharge port of each material unit for the same time, and controls the material feeding mechanism in the relevant material unit to be operated at a predetermined operation amount or operation speed to feed the material in a required amount for each relevant material.

In connection with the above preferred embodiment, preferably, a plurality of personalized recipes are provided to a device, the device generating a plurality of preset programs based on the plurality of personalized recipes; providing a corresponding receiving container for each personalized formula;

a plurality of receiving containers are simultaneously arranged on the conveying mechanism in sequence, and a device is started;

the conveying mechanism simultaneously conveys a plurality of receiving containers, so that the receiving containers stay at the discharge ports of the raw material units for the same time according to the arrangement sequence and then continue to move;

when the receiving container corresponding to a preset program advances to a discharge hole of a related raw material unit, the control system controls and starts the feeding mechanism to operate at a preset operation amount or operation speed so as to realize the feeding of the required amount of the related raw materials; when the receiving container enters the discharge hole of the non-related raw material unit, the feeding mechanism is not started.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises obtaining a customer-personalized recipe authorized by or provided by the customer, and generating the personalized control program for controlling the device based on the personalized recipe.

In an alternative embodiment, the system comprises at least one set of the devices which are connected through a network or a cloud data center for information interaction;

providing data storage space in the system to allow:

the customer establishes an account, uploads the personalized formula or uploads personal information for generating the personalized nutritional formula, and stores information of the personalized nutritional formula product of the customer in the past (including but not limited to the personalized formula, preparation date, preparation amount, preparation process video information and the like);

and allowing the customer or a service authorized by the customer to call up a personalized nutritional formula based thereon at least one set of the devices comprised by the system, and generating a personalized control program to control the set of devices to formulate a personalized nutritional formula product for the customer.

And part of the related raw materials in the raw material units are one or a mixture of a plurality of raw materials.

For example, the trace element raw material and the main nutrient raw material are mixed, and the daily average amount of the trace elements is extremely low, so that the precision of independent feeding is difficult to achieve, and the trace element raw material and the main nutrient raw material are mixed uniformly in proportion and then are fed accurately in proportion along with the main nutrient raw material.

Example 1.

As shown in fig. 3A, the control system generates a preset program after receiving the user-customized recipe data; the control system 1 controls the transportation mechanism 3 and the feeding mechanism 23 according to a preset program.

The feeding mechanism 23 comprises a screw feeder and a stepping motor, the stepping motor precisely rotates a preset angle according to a control instruction of the control system 1, the screw feeder can convey quantitative material powder to the receiving container 4, the diameter and the thread pitch of the screw feeder can be adjusted according to actual conditions, the feeding amount which can be achieved by the industry at present can be dozens of micrograms to dozens of kilograms, and the requirements of the utility model can be met.

The receiving container 4 can adopt a conventional hopper, and a wide-mouth bottle with a screw mouth is preferably adopted in the embodiment, the diameter of the wide-mouth bottle is 8cm, and the wide-mouth bottle can contain 500g to 5kg at a time. The material receiving container 4 is placed on the weighing device 61, and the weighing device 61 adopts a platform scale with the measuring range of 0-5000 g, and the accuracy is 0.1g or 0.01 g.

The weighing device 61 is mounted on the transport mechanism 3, and the transport mechanism 3 is a conveyor belt in this embodiment. The transport mechanism 3 may include a guide rail and a stage (for example, a wheel-driven cart type) that moves on the guide rail, and the stage is provided with a weighing device 61 (platform scale). The transport mechanism 3 transports the receiving container 4 to move among different discharging ports so as to receive the powder in different related raw material units 2 until receiving more raw materials related to a preset program.

The mixed raw materials in the material receiving container 4 can be mixed and mixed uniformly by a mixing mechanism and packaged, and the embodiment adopts a magnetic stirrer for mixing uniformly. The receiving container 4 in this embodiment adopts disposable wide-necked bottle, can regard as final sale packing to use, reduces the partial shipment step, can avoid the pollution better. In some embodiments, subsequent treatments, such as drying, sterilization, may also be performed.

The receiving container 4 may be a multi-use container in which the raw materials are mixed and then filled in other containers.

An example of a personalized recipe configuration procedure is as follows:

1. the control system generates a preset program after receiving the user personalized formula data, and relevant raw material units related to the preset program are No. 1, 2, 3, 6 and 8 raw material units; the preset program comprises parameters such as starting time of the respective feeding mechanisms in the 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, 6 th and 8 th raw material units, the number of rotation turns of screw rotators in the respective feeding mechanisms, and the starting position of the receiving container 4 on the conveying mechanism.

2. The receiving container 4 is placed on a platform scale placed on a carrier.

3. The control system 1 controls the objective table carrying the platform scale and the receiving container 4 to move to the discharge port 22 of the 1 st raw material unit 2;

4. the control system 1 controls the rotation of the screw feeding device of the feeding mechanism 23 of the raw material unit 2, and in the feeding process, when the rotation angle is close to a preset value, the end of the screw feeding device is controlled in a closed loop mode according to the weight of the raw material falling into the material receiving container 4 measured by the weighing device 61, so that the preset weight close to the raw material is accurately controlled. Finally, the weight of the material actually fed into the receiving container 4 is determined by the value returned by the weighing device 61 of the system, the quantity of the material falling into the receiving container 4 is determined by open-loop control according to the rotation turns of the screw rotator, and the material is considered to be qualified when the actual value and the preset value are in a certain range. In this way, the amount of each material in the final formulated product can be accurately determined.

5. The objective table carries the receiving container 4 to the discharge hole of the next raw material unit 2;

6. and repeating the steps 4-5 circularly until the receiving container 4 receives all the raw materials of No. 1, 2, 3, 6 and 8 raw material units in preset quantity.

7. And after the steps are completed, stirring and uniformly mixing, printing labels, packaging and the like can be carried out according to conditions.

The steps can complete the precise proportion of various components, and can meet the requirement of individual nutrition.

The material carrying range of the material receiving container 4 is 0-100 kg, the preferred range is 0-20 kg, the optional volume range of the material mixing unit is 0-150L, the preferred volume range is 0-30L, the weighing range of the weighing unit is 0-100 kg, the preferred weighing range is 0-20 kg, the weighing precision is 10 g-0.0001 g, the preferred weighing precision is 0.1 g-0.01 g, the optional range of the feeding precision of liquid and solid of the feeding unit is 0.001 g-100 g, the preferred feeding precision is 0.1 g-10 g, the diameter range of a screw rod feeder is 0.1 mm-100 mm, the preferred diameter range of the screw rod is 10 mm-50 mm, the range of the screw pitch of the screw rod is 0.1 mm-100 mm, and a variable screw rod and a variable diameter screw rod can be adopted;

various liquid pumps can be adopted for liquid delivery to meet the requirements.

The selection range of the capacity of the raw material unit is 10-10000 times of the daily average intake of the recommended human body of the corresponding content containing standard, the preferred range of the capacity is 10-3000 times, the selection range of the feeding precision of the feeding mechanism is 0.0001-10 times of the daily average intake of the recommended human body of the conveyed material standard, the preferred range of the feeding precision is 0.001-10 times, the range of the capacity of the material receiving container 4 is 0.1-200 times of the daily average recommended food consumption of the final product, and the preferred range of the capacity is 5-30 times.

The following equipment parameters were also used in this example:

in this embodiment, the receiving container 4 is a wide-mouth bottle, which has the advantage that the receiving container can be directly used as a commodity package. The specific implementation mode is that after the wide-mouth bottle serving as the material receiving container contains all preset components in proportion, the components are not uniformly mixed at this time, and a blending mechanism (a propeller stirrer) is used for stretching into the material mixing unit 301 for sufficient stirring so as to ensure that the components are uniformly mixed. In order to prevent the material powder from splashing out during stirring, the bottle mouth can be blocked by a corresponding structure. And after stirring is finished, withdrawing the stirring propeller stirrer, cleaning, and packaging the bottle mouth to be sold as an independent product. The label can be printed and pasted according to the actual amount of the material powder in the material receiving container, and the label can also contain corresponding information such as customer information and usage.

If the large package is not easy to use, the food can be packaged into small packages through common packaging equipment so as to be convenient to use, and the required equipment is food common packaging equipment.

In the embodiment, the stirrer and the stirring method can be selected from a propeller stirrer, a magnetic rod stirrer, a magnetic stirrer, a vibration stirrer and a rolling stirrer, and the propeller stirrer is preferably selected in the embodiment; the stirring method adopts high-speed stirring directly penetrating into the powder, thus achieving the purpose of quickly and uniformly mixing the solid powder. If the liquid is used, rolling stirring can be adopted, so that cross contamination can be avoided.

The propeller stirrer can adopt disposable products, and the material receiving container adopts a container which can be sold, so that the technical scheme of preventing cross contamination and simultaneously achieving convenient, quick, low-cost and accurate preparation of individual nutrition is achieved.

Example 2

The present embodiment is a relatively complicated scheme based on example 1, and the differences from example 1 include the following:

firstly, the raw material units are weighed, as shown in fig. 3B, compared with a scheme of weighing the material receiving container independently, more data can be obtained, for example, the weight of the powder entering the material receiving container should be equal to the reduction of the weight of the corresponding raw material unit, and the control system can perform various logic judgments according to the difference between the two values, such as whether the powder completely falls into the material mixing unit or whether a certain weighing device fails and the system weighing is wrong.

In addition, in this embodiment, the relevant material unit 2 and the feeding mechanism 23 are also moved simultaneously or separately, for example, fig. 4, the material unit and the feeding unit can be placed on a stage or a wheeled cart running on a guide rail, and a rotary mechanical structure is also an alternative.

Example 3

The present embodiment is the system for nutrition-added regimen assessment in example 2, and is added with a metabolic measurement device, which may be a metabolic measurement device based on a direct calorimetry method, a metabolic measurement device based on an indirect calorimetry method, or a metabolic calculation device based on a formula method, and the present embodiment prefers a metabolic measurement device based on an indirect calorimetry method to calculate personalized daily energy intake.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the present invention, and that changes and modifications to the above-described embodiments may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. An apparatus for simultaneously dispensing a plurality of personalized formula products, characterized by: the device comprises a control system, a plurality of raw material units and a conveying mechanism;

the raw material units are used for containing different raw materials; each raw material unit comprises a raw material bin, a feeding mechanism, a special and independent discharge port of the raw material unit and an identification unit; in the using state, the raw material units are arranged in a preset mode which can be identified by the control system;

the control system is configured to:

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of feedstock units may differ in capacity or load bearing extent;

or the capacity range of the raw material unit is 10-10000 times of the daily recommended amount of the raw material.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the capacity range of the raw material unit can be 10-3000 times of daily recommended amount of the raw material.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the mixing device is also provided with one or more mixing mechanisms, the mixing mechanisms are controlled by the control system, and the raw materials received by the receiving container are uniformly mixed according to a preset program.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein: the mixing mechanism is arranged at the position where the material receiving container is placed on the conveying mechanism and used for uniformly mixing raw materials in the material receiving container in the material receiving process or after the material receiving is finished.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein: the mixing mechanism is also provided with an encapsulation unit which is used for encapsulating the receiving container after receiving all the related raw materials.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1-6, wherein:

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein: the weighing precision of the weighing device reaches 1/1000, 1/10000, 1/100000 or 1/1000000.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8, wherein: further comprising a primary feed tank interfaced with said feed units, each of said feed units being replenished with feed in batches from said primary feed tank.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein:

the feeding mechanism comprises a feeder and a driving device thereof;

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the feed mechanisms of at least two, three, four, five, or all of the plurality of feedstock units have different feed accuracies; the feeding precision is in the range of 0.01g-1 g.