JP2022175788A - Automatic cooking facility - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an automatic cooking facility capable of automatically cooking a variety of dishes using a variety of ingredients easily.SOLUTION: An automatic cooking facility includes: a storage device 110 having a plurality of ingredient stockers 112 for storing ingredients in a rear area of the facility; a cooking device 120 disposed in a front area of the facility in front of the storage device 110 for stirring the ingredients and cooking a dish; an articulated robot arm 150 disposed in an intermediate area between the storage device 110 and the cooking device 120 for holding a conveyance container C for conveying the ingredients from a storage device side to a cooking device side; and a cooking control device 180 for at least drive-controlling the storage device 110, the cooking device 120, and the articulated robot arm 150. Supply ports of the ingredient stockers 112 are provided arranged in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction on the front face of the storage device 110 for each kind of ingredients. A supply port 112a of each ingredient stocker 112 and a cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120 are disposed in a movable range of the articulated robot arm 150.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic cooking facility, and more particularly to an automatic cooking facility that stirs and cooks ingredients contained in a cooking container.

In recent years, in the food and beverage industry, due to various circumstances such as securing cooks, maintaining cooking skills, and improving the cooking environment, the automation of cooking has progressed. Cooking automation is required.
Therefore, conventional automatic cooking equipment consists of a foodstuff holding/distributing module that is arranged in the upper area of the equipment and that dispenses a plurality of types of stored foodstuffs in respective required amounts, and a foodstuff holding/distributing module that is arranged substantially below the foodstuff holding/distributing module. A cooking module for cooking foodstuffs, and a transfer module disposed in an intermediate area between the foodstuff holding/distributing module and the cooking module for conveying the foodstuffs distributed from the foodstuff holding/distributing module to the cooking module are known. (For example, Patent Document 1).

U.S. Pat. No. 10154762 (especially FIGS. 15 and 16)

In the automatic cooking equipment as described above, since the food holding/dispensing module is arranged substantially above the cooking module, the food holding/dispensing modules storing different food must be arranged horizontally adjacent to each other. When trying to prepare a wide variety of ingredients for a wide variety of dishes, the frontage of the entire facility becomes long, and it becomes difficult to transfer the ingredients from the ingredients holding and distribution module to the cooking module. There is a problem that a wide variety of dishes cannot be prepared because the types of ingredients that can be stored in automatic cooking equipment are limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above. to provide cooking facilities.

The invention according to claim 1 is an automatic cooking facility for cooking ingredients, comprising: a storage device having a plurality of ingredient stockers for storing the ingredients in a rear area of the facility; and a front area of the facility in front of the storage device. and a cooking device arranged in an intermediate area between the storage device and the cooking device to carry the ingredients from the storage device side to the cooking device side. and a cooking control device that drives and controls at least the storage device, the cooking device, and the multi-joint robot arm, wherein the supply port of the ingredient stocker is connected to the storage device are arranged on the front surface of the robot arm in vertical and horizontal directions for each type of ingredient, and the supply port of each ingredient stocker and the cooking container of the cooking device are within the movable range of the multi-joint robot arm The cooking control device drives and controls the storage device and the multi-joint robot arm to discharge the ingredients from the supply port of the ingredient stocker into the transport container, and controls the multi-joint robot arm and the multi-joint robot arm. By driving and controlling the cooking device to put the ingredients in the transportation container into the cooking container of the cooking device, and by controlling the driving of the cooking device to stir and cook the ingredients in the cooking container, This is to solve the above-mentioned problems.

The invention according to claim 2, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking equipment described in claim 1, is characterized in that the cooking control device transports the ingredients from the transport container to the cooking container of the cooking apparatus by the articulated robot arm. During transfer, the cooking control device tilts the opening of the cooking vessel toward the articulated robot arm, or the cooking control device directs the opening of the cooking vessel vertically upward. This further solves the problems described above.

The invention according to claim 3, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking equipment described in claim 1 or claim 2, is characterized in that the cooking control device uses the articulated robot arm to move the transport container to the supply port of the ingredients stocker. The above-described problem is solved by the cooking control device opening the supply port of the ingredient stocker after moving the ingredient stocker to.

The invention according to claim 4, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprises , is attached to the side area of the cooking apparatus, thereby further solving the above-mentioned problems.

The invention according to claim 5, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking equipment described in claim 4, is characterized in that the cooking control device drives and controls the liquid ingredient supply device, and the cooking device heats the cooking container. The liquid food supply device includes a storage tank for storing the liquid food, a pump for pumping the liquid food from the storage tank, and a cooking container of the cooking apparatus from the pump to the liquid food. and a supply hose for supplying the liquid ingredients to the cooking apparatus, and the cooking control apparatus connects the supply hose of the liquid ingredient supply apparatus to the cooking apparatus while the cooking control apparatus is heating the cooking container with the container heating means of the cooking apparatus. By informing that the cooking container is retracted from above, the above-described problems can be further solved.

The invention according to claim 6 is, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a cleaning device for cleaning at least one of the cooking container of the cooking apparatus and the transportation container. The provision of the device further solves the problems mentioned above.

The invention according to claim 7, in addition to the configuration of the automatic cooking equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 6, is provided with a transportation container storage for flatly storing a large number of unused transportation containers. , the transport container storage is disposed within the movable range of the articulated robot arm, thereby further solving the above-described problems.

According to the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to claim 1, a storage device having a plurality of ingredient stockers for storing ingredients in the equipment rear area, and ingredients placed in the equipment front area in front of this storage device A cooking device for stirring and cooking food, an articulated robot arm holding a carrying container arranged in an intermediate area between the storage device and the cooking device for carrying ingredients from the storage device side to the cooking device side, and a storage A cooking control device for driving and controlling at least the device, the cooking device, and the articulated robot arm is provided, and the supply ports of the ingredients stocker are arranged vertically and horizontally on the front surface of the storage device for each ingredient type. By arranging the supply port of each ingredient stocker and the cooking container of the cooking device within the movable range of the multi-joint robot arm, even if a wide variety of ingredients are stored in the storage device, Since the articulated robot arm can also move in the vertical direction to receive the ingredients into the transport container, the multi-joint robot arm receives the ingredients discharged from the supply port of the ingredient stocker into the transport container and moves the ingredients into the transport container by the cooking control device. It is possible to put the ingredients in the cooking container into the cooking container of the cooking device, and the cooking device stirs and cooks the ingredients in the cooking container, and cooks a wide variety of dishes using a wide variety of ingredients. Automatic cooking can be done easily.

According to the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the effects of the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to claim 1, the cooking control device uses the articulated robot arm to transfer ingredients from the transport container to the cooking device. When transferring to a container, the cooking control device tilts the opening of the cooking container toward the articulated robot arm, or the cooking control device directs the opening of the cooking container vertically upward, Since the multi-joint robot arm can easily put the ingredients in the transport container into the cooking container, it is possible to reliably put the ingredients in the transport container into the cooking container. .

According to the automatic cooking equipment of the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effects of the automatic cooking equipment of the invention of claim 1 or 2, the cooking control device moves the transport container to the material stocker by means of the articulated robot arm. After moving to the supply port of the ingredients stocker, the cooking control device opens the supply port of the ingredients stocker, and the ingredients are discharged into the transport container in a state where the transportation container has moved to the supply port of the ingredients stocker. To reliably discharge ingredients from an ingredient stocker to a transport container.

According to the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to claim 4, in addition to the effects of the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, liquid ingredients are supplied to the cooking container of the cooking device. Since the liquid foodstuff supply device is attached to the side area of the cooking device, the ingredients are flavored with the liquid ingredients when the ingredients are stirred and cooked, so that more diverse dishes can be cooked. can.

According to the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to claim 5, in addition to the effects of the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to claim 4, while the cooking control device is heating the cooking container by the container heating means of the cooking device, Since the cooking control device retracts the supply hose of the liquid food material supply device from above the cooking container of the cooking device, the supply hose of the liquid food material supply device is not heated by the container heating means. Fire from the hose can be prevented.

According to the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to claim 6, in addition to the effects produced by the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, at least the cooking container or the transport container of the cooking device Since at least one of the cooking container and the transportation container can be washed without being replaced with an unused one, the cleaning device for cleaning one of the containers can be used repeatedly. Food can be automatically cooked efficiently.

According to the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to claim 7, in addition to the effects exhibited by the automatic cooking equipment of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the transport container storage is equipped with a multi-joint robot arm By being placed within the movable range of , the articulated robot arm can cook the next new dish simply by replacing the used transport container with an unused transport container, making cooking more efficient automatically. can cook.

The right perspective view of the automatic cooking equipment 100 which is 1st Example of this invention. The top view of the automatic cooking equipment 100 shown in FIG. The right side view of the automatic cooking equipment 100 shown in FIG. 2 is a rear view of the storage device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a right perspective view of a cooking device main body 122 of the cooking device 120 shown in FIG. 1; The system block diagram of the automatic cooking equipment 100 shown in FIG. The figure explaining ingredients injection|throwing-in to a cooking container. The figure explaining liquid ingredients injection|throwing-in to a cooking container. The figure explaining stirring cooking. A diagram for explaining the arrangement of food on a plate. The figure explaining washing|cleaning of a cooking container. The top view of the automatic cooking equipment 200 which is 2nd Example of this invention.

The automatic cooking equipment of the present invention includes a storage device having a plurality of ingredient stockers for storing ingredients in the rear area of the equipment, and a storage device arranged in the front area of the equipment in front of the storage device to stir and cook the ingredients to cook. a cooking device for cooking; an articulated robot arm holding a carrying container disposed in an intermediate area between the storage device and the cooking device for carrying ingredients from the storage device side to the cooking device side; and a cooking control device for driving and controlling at least the joint robot arm, and the supply ports of the ingredients stocker are arranged vertically and horizontally on the front surface of the storage device for each kind of ingredients, and the ingredients stocker. Each supply port and the cooking container of the cooking device are arranged within the movable range of the multi-joint robot arm, and the cooking control device drives and controls the storage device and the multi-joint robot arm to supply food from the supply port of the ingredient stocker. The ingredients are discharged into the transport container, the multi-joint robot arm and the cooking device are driven and controlled to put the ingredients in the transport container into the cooking container of the cooking device, and the cooking device is driven and controlled to enter the cooking container. Any specific embodiment may be used as long as it can easily and automatically cook a wide variety of dishes using a wide variety of ingredients by stirring and cooking the ingredients. .

For example, the automatic cooking equipment of the present invention is mainly installed in restaurants, but the place of installation of the automatic cooking equipment of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be food courts, offices, homes, etc. etc. may be installed.

For example, ingredients to be cooked by the automatic cooking equipment of the present invention may be rice, noodles, vegetables, fish, grains, various seasonings, or any other ingredients.

For example, regarding the specific arrangement form of the supply ports of the ingredient stockers in the storage device of the present invention, any arrangement can be made as long as they are arranged vertically and horizontally on the front surface of the storage device for each ingredient type. The front surface of the storage device may be inclined slightly forward or backward with respect to the installation surface such as the floor, the positions of the supply ports may be slightly offset in the front-rear direction, or An arrangement form in which these are combined may be used.

For example, the specific arrangement positions of the supply port of each ingredient stocker and the cooking container of the cooking device are such that the supply port of each ingredient stocker and the cooking container of the cooking device are arranged within the movable range of the multi-joint robot arm. The cooking device may face the storage device or may be positioned in front of and to the side of the storage device.

An automatic cooking facility 100, which is a first embodiment of the present invention, will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. FIG.

<1. Structure of automatic cooking equipment>
The structure of the automatic cooking equipment 100 will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.
Here, FIG. 1 is a right perspective view of the automatic cooking equipment 100 which is the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the automatic cooking equipment 100 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a rear view of the storage device 110 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a right perspective view of the cooking device body 122 of the cooking device 120 shown in FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram of the automatic cooking equipment 100 shown in FIG.
2 and 3, the door of the refrigerator 111 of the storage device 110 is closed.

First, the automatic cooking facility 100 is a facility for automatically cooking food by stirring and cooking ingredients, and is placed on a floor surface F as a whole as shown in FIGS.
The automatic cooking equipment 100 includes a storage device 110 for storing ingredients, a cooking device 120 for stirring and cooking the ingredients to cook a dish, and a liquid for supplying liquid ingredients to the cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120. A food supply device 130 and a cleaning device 140 for cleaning the cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120 are provided.
Furthermore, the automatic cooking equipment 100 includes a multi-joint robot arm 150 that holds a carrying container C that is arranged in an intermediate area between the storage device 110 and the cooking device 120 and that carries ingredients from the storage device 110 side to the cooking device 120 side. , a plate storage 160 for flatly storing a large number of unused plates D, a transporting container storage 170 for flatly storing a large number of unused transporting containers C, and each device of the automatic cooking equipment 100 as shown in FIG. and a cooking control device 180 that integrally controls the

<1.1. Storage device>
Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the storage device 110 for storing the ingredients described above is arranged in the rear area of the facility.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the storage device 110 includes a rectangular parallelepiped refrigerator 111 placed on a floor surface F, a plurality of ingredient stockers 112 for storing ingredients, and these ingredient stockers 112 and a controller 114 for controlling the refrigerator 111 and the ingredients stocker 112 .

As shown in FIG. 4, inside the refrigerator 111 described above, a plurality of shelves 111a are installed in the vertical direction.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the ingredient stockers 112 are placed on the shelf 111a and arranged in the horizontal direction.
Therefore, the ingredients stored in the ingredient stocker 112 are refrigerated by the storage device 110 .
In addition, in the present embodiment, one ingredient stocker 112 stores only ingredients of a single type.

The ingredient stocker 112 can be pulled out in the longitudinal direction, and the ingredients to be replenished can be thrown into the ingredient stocker 112 by pulling out the ingredient stocker 112 rearward from the refrigerator 111.例文帳に追加

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1 , the front end side of the ingredient stocker 112 protrudes from the refrigerator 111 when stored in the refrigerator 111 .
As shown in FIG. 3, an openable and closable supply port 112a is formed at the lower front end of the ingredient stocker 112 projecting from the refrigerator 111. As shown in FIG.
That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the supply ports 112a are provided on the front surface of the storage device 110 so as to be arranged vertically and horizontally for each type of ingredients.
The supply port 112a of each material stocker 112 (that is, all supply ports 112a) is arranged within the movable range RA of the articulated robot arm 150, as shown in FIG.

The hood cover 113, as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, is a member extending in the left-right direction that covers the upper front end of the ingredient stocker 112 projecting from the refrigerator 111, and the ingredients discharged from the supply port 112a is prevented from adhering to the ingredient stocker 112.

The controller 114 controls at least the temperature adjustment inside the refrigerator 111 and the opening and closing of the supply port 112a of the ingredients stocker 112 .

<1.2. Cooking device>
The cooking device 120 is arranged in the facility front area in front of the storage device 110, as shown in FIG.
The cooking device 120 has a plurality of cooking containers 121 which are bottomed cylindrical metal containers and a cooking device main body 122 .
The cooking apparatus main body 122 includes a cooking table 122a placed on the floor surface F, a container holding unit 122b holding the cooking container 121, and the container holding unit 122b provided between the cooking table 122a and the container holding unit 122b. It has a rotating unit 122c that moves up and down with respect to the cooking table 122a, and a controller 123 that controls at least the container holding unit 122b and the rotating unit 122c.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the cooking table 122a is a rectangular parallelepiped table having four legs and has a flat horizontal upper surface.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, a plate D is arranged on the front side of the upper surface of the cooking table 122a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the above-described container holding unit 122b is pivotally mounted on the cooking table 122a so that it can be raised and lowered in the longitudinal direction of the cooking table 122a about the pivot A1.
5, the container holding unit 122b includes a base frame 122b1 connected to the rotating unit 122c, a container heating means 122b2 for heating the cooking container 121, and a cooking container 121 provided on the base frame 122b1. A container rotation mechanism 122b3 that rotates the cooking container 121 around a central axis extending in the depth direction, a rotation support mechanism 122b4 that is pivoted on the base frame 122b1 and supports the rotation of the cooking container 121, and this rotation support mechanism 122b4. It has a rotation driving mechanism 122b5 that rotates the cooking table 122a in the front-rear direction with respect to the base frame 122b1.

The base frame 122b1 has a sector shape when viewed from the side, and has an inclined surface that is inclined forward as shown in FIG.
From the front end of this inclined surface, a vertical surface is formed which rises substantially perpendicularly to the inclined surface.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, the container heating means 122b2 described above is fitted on the inclined surface of the base frame 122b1.
Here, the container heating means 122b2 has a flat surface and is substantially flush with the inclined surface of the base frame 122b1.
The surface of the container heating means 122b2 faces the outer bottom surface of the cooking container 121 with a space therebetween.
A coil is installed inside the container heating means 122b2, and the container heating means 122b2 heats the cooking container 121 by induction heating.

Furthermore, the container rotation mechanism 122b3 described above is embedded in the base frame 122b1, and as shown in FIG. and a drive motor that allows the

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotation support mechanism 122b4 described above is pivotally mounted on the base frame 122b1 so as to be freely raised and lowered in the longitudinal direction of the base frame 122b1 about the rotation axis A2.
The rotation support mechanism 122b4 includes a worm gear that engages with the rotation drive mechanism 122b5, an annular member into which the cooking container 121 is inserted, and a container drop-off prevention portion (shown in FIG. 3) that prevents the cooking container 121 from dropping off from the annular member. Two pressing rollers that sandwich the lower collar portion 121a of the cooking container 121), and a container eccentricity suppressing portion that suppresses eccentricity when the cooking container 121 rotates (two rollers that contact the outer surface of the cooking container 121). and

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotation drive mechanism 122b5 includes a drive motor attached to the right side surface of the base frame 122b1 and a transmission shaft attached to the tip of the drive motor and rotating together with the drive motor. have.
This transmission shaft is, as shown in FIG. 5, a cylindrical worm having slanted teeth formed on its outer periphery to be screwed with the worm gear of the rotation support mechanism 122b4.
In FIG. 5, in which the bottom surface of the base frame 122b1 is kept substantially parallel to the top surface of the cooking table 122a, the transmission shaft extends vertically.
Therefore, when the drive motor is driven, the transmission shaft rotates, and the power of the drive motor is transmitted to the connecting shaft of the rotation support mechanism 122b4 via the worm gear of the rotation support mechanism 122b4 screwed with the transmission shaft.
Therefore, the rotation support mechanism 122b4 rises and falls with respect to the base frame 122b1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotating unit 122c includes an actuator 122c1 having one end connected to the cooking table 122a and the other end connected to the actuator 122c1 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the actuator 122c1. and a connecting shaft 122c2 extending in the left-right direction.
The actuator 122c1 is extendable in the longitudinal direction.
The connecting shaft 122c2, as shown in FIG. 5, is connected to the left side surface of the base frame 122b1 of the container holding unit 122b.

In the cooking apparatus 120 configured as described above, the controller 123 drives and controls the rotation drive mechanism 122b5 of the container holding unit 122b and the rotation unit 122c to receive ingredients from the transport container C into the cooking container 121. a cooking posture in which the cooking container 121 is tilted forward with respect to the cooking table 122a and rotated by the container rotation mechanism 122b3 to stir the ingredients; A serving posture in which the cooking container 121 is tilted forward from the cooking posture with respect to the table 122a and tilted toward the dish D arranged on the front side of the container holding unit 122b, and a rotation support mechanism 122b4 of the container holding unit 122b. The container holding unit 122b is tilted backward with respect to the base frame 122b1 to change the washing posture in which the cooking container 121 is washed on the rear side of the container holding unit 122b.
The opening 121b of the cooking vessel 121 of the cooking apparatus 120 is arranged within the movable range RA of the articulated robot arm 150 in the ingredients receiving posture.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pivot A1 of the container holding unit 122b with respect to the cooking table 122a is spaced forward from the rotation axis A2 with respect to the base frame 122b1 of the rotation support mechanism 122b4 of the container holding unit 122b in a side view. are placed.
As a result, the longitudinal position of the cooking vessel 121 in the serving posture and the longitudinal position of the cooking vessel 121 in the washing posture can be adjusted with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cooking table 122a by a single rotating shaft. Since the distance is increased in the front-rear direction as compared with the case of rotation, when the cooking container 121 is washed in the washing posture, the washing water for washing the inner surface of the cooking container 121 and the dirt adhering to the inner surface of the cooking container 121 will not reach the plate D. The cooking container 121 can be cleaned without staining the food or the dish D on which the food is served.

<1.3. Liquid Food Supply Device>
As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid foodstuff supply device 130 is attached to the right side area on the rear side of the cooking device 120 .
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the liquid foodstuff supply device 130 includes a plurality of storage tanks 131 for storing liquid foodstuffs (eg, liquid seasoning, water, soup, etc.), and the storage tanks 131 are mounted. , a pump 133 for pumping up the liquid food from the storage tank 131 , and a supply hose 134 for supplying the liquid food from the pump 133 to the cooking vessel 121 of the cooking apparatus 120 .

One storage tank 131 stores one type of liquid foodstuff.
The number of pumps 133 and supply hoses 134 is at least equal to the number of storage tanks 131, and the number of cooking containers 121 is also taken into consideration for improving cooking efficiency.
The supply hose 134 is movable vertically, forward, backward, leftward, and rightward by a hose moving mechanism (not shown).

<1.4. Cleaning device>
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning device 140 is arranged behind and adjacent to the cooking device 120, and the upper surface 141 is inclined forward.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper surface 141 is formed with a cylindrical opening 141a, and a washing nozzle 142 for spraying washing water is installed inside the opening 141a.
As shown in FIG. 3, the washing device 140 has an electromagnetic valve 143 arranged in a flow path connecting a water supply source (not shown) and a washing nozzle 142 to open and close the flow path.

Since the automatic cooking equipment 100 is provided with the cleaning device 140, the automatic cooking equipment 100 can be used repeatedly without exchanging the cooking container 121 after cooking with an unused cooking container 121 every time it cooks.

<1.5. Articulated robot arm>
As shown in FIG. 3, the articulated robot arm 150 is installed on a floor surface F, and includes a five-axis robot arm body 151 and a container holding mechanism connected to the tip of the robot arm body 151 to hold the transport container C. 152.
The container holding mechanism 152 has claws 152a that hold the transporting container C, and suction pads (not shown) that generate a negative pressure between the transporting container C and the transporting container C to adsorb the transporting container C. As shown in FIG.
Since the articulated robot arm 150 has the container holding mechanism 152, even if the transporting container C is tilted by driving the robot arm main body 151, the transporting container C is unlikely to fall off the claws 152a of the container holding mechanism 152. It's becoming

<1.6. Plate storage, transportation container storage>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plate storage 160 is attached to the side area of the articulated robot arm 150. As shown in FIG.
In this plate storage 160, a large number of unused plates D are stored flat.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport container storage 170 is attached to the front right side area of the cooking apparatus 120 (that is, in front of the liquid foodstuff supply apparatus 130), and is within the movable range RA of the multi-joint robot arm 150. are placed.
With this transporting container storage 170, the automatic cooking equipment 100 can cook the next new dish only by replacing the used transporting container C with an unused transporting container C by the multi-joint robot arm 150, so it is more efficient. You can automatically cook food.

<1.7. Cooking control device>
The cooking controller 180 includes at least a storage device controller 181 that controls the storage device 110 , a cooking device controller 182 that controls the cooking device 120 , and a liquid ingredient supply that controls the liquid ingredient supplier 130 , as shown at least in 6 . It has a device control section 183 , a cleaning device control section 184 that controls the cleaning device 140 , and an articulated robot arm control section 185 that controls the articulated robot arm 150 .

<2. Automatic cooking with automatic cooking equipment>
Next, automatic cooking by the automatic cooking equipment 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 7 to 11. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the introduction of ingredients into the cooking container, FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the introduction of liquid ingredients into the cooking container, and FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining stirring cooking. 10 is a diagram for explaining the serving of food on a plate, and FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining cleaning of the cooking vessel.
In addition, the following procedure is just an example, and is not limited to the following procedure.

<2.1. Taking out ingredients>
First, based on FIG. 3, take-out of ingredients is demonstrated.
When the automatic cooking facility 100 receives a cooking instruction to cook a predetermined dish, the cooking control device 180 drives and controls the robot arm main body 151 of the multi-joint robot arm 150 to remove unused food from the transport container storage 170. The transport container C is gripped.

Next, the cooking control device 180 drives and controls the storage device 110 and the articulated robot arm 150 to discharge the ingredients from the supply port 112a of the ingredient stocker 112 into the transport container C.

Specifically, the cooking control device 180 drives and controls the robot arm body 151 of the articulated robot arm 150 to move the transport container C to the ingredient stocker 112 of the storage device 110 containing the ingredients necessary for a predetermined dish. is moved to just below the supply port 112a.
As shown in FIG. 3, after the transport container C reaches directly below the supply port 112a of the ingredient stocker 112 of the storage device 110 containing the ingredients necessary for a predetermined dish, the cooking control device 180 controls the ingredient stocker 112. The supply port 112a of is opened, and the amount required for a predetermined dish is discharged from the material stocker 112 into the transport container C.
Thereafter, the ingredients are repeatedly discharged from the ingredient stocker 112 to the transportation container C until the transportation container C contains all the ingredients necessary for a predetermined dish.

It should be noted that the detection of whether or not the transporting container C has reached directly below the supply port 112a of the ingredient stocker 112 containing the ingredients necessary for a given dish is based on the transporting container detection mechanism provided in the ingredient stocker 112. Alternatively, it may be based on the pose and position of the articulated robot arm 150 .
Further, the amount of ingredients discharged from the ingredient stocker 112 to the transport container C may be the opening time of the supply port 112a of the ingredient stocker 112, or the ingredient weighing provided inside the ingredient stocker 112. A mechanism and an ingredient serving mechanism may be used.

<2.2. Inserting ingredients into cooking container>
Next, based on FIG. 7, the introduction of ingredients into the cooking container 121 will be described.
The cooking control device 180 drives and controls the cooking device 120 and the articulated robot arm 150 to put the ingredients in the carrying container C into the cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120 .

Specifically, the cooking control device 180 causes the cooking device 120 as shown in FIG. 7 to take the ingredients receiving posture.
That is, in the ingredients receiving posture, the bottom surface of the base frame 122b1 is kept substantially parallel to the top surface of the cooking table 122a and separated from the top surface of the cooking table 122a, and the opening 121b of the cooking container 121 is tilted toward the multi-joint robot arm 150. It faces the articulated robot arm 150 .
In this state, the cooking control device 180 drives and controls the articulated robot arm 150 to move the transport container C to the vicinity of the opening 121 b of the cooking container 121 and tilt the transport container C toward the cooking container 121 .
As a result, the ingredients in the transport container C are thrown into the cooking container 122 .
Here, since the articulated robot arm 150 has the container gripping mechanism 152, even if the transporting container C tilts as shown in FIG. .

<2.3. Supply of Liquid Ingredients to Cooking Container>
Next, based on FIG. 8, the supply of the liquid ingredients to the cooking container 121 will be described.
The cooking control device 180 drives and controls the cooking device 120 and the articulated robot arm 150 to supply ingredients in the transport container C to the cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120 .

Specifically, when the ingredients have been put into the cooking container 121, the cooking control device 180 causes the multi-joint robot arm 150 to place the used transport container C on a container placement table (not shown), thereby storing the transport container. An unused transporting container C is grasped from the storage 170 and retracted from the cooking apparatus 120 as shown in FIG.
Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the tip of the supply hose 134 of the liquid ingredient supply device 130 is extended until the tip of the supply hose 134 is positioned directly above the opening 121b of the cooking vessel 121. Then, as shown in FIG.
In this state, the cooking control device 180 drives the pump 133 of the liquid food material supply device 130 to supply the liquid food material necessary for a predetermined dish to the cooking container 121 .
When the supply of the liquid ingredients to the cooking container 121 is finished, the cooking control device 180 retracts the supply hose 134 from above the cooking device 120 .

<2.4. Cooking with stirring>
Next, based on FIG. 9, stirring cooking of ingredients is demonstrated.
The cooking control device 180 drives and controls the cooking device 120 to take the cooking posture as shown in FIG. 9, stirs and cooks ingredients put into the cooking vessel 121, and cooks a predetermined dish.

Specifically, the cooking control device 180 rotates the cooking container 121 about the central axis PC by the container rotation mechanism 122b3 in a state in which the cooking container 121 is tilted forward with respect to the cooking table 122a (that is, with respect to the horizontal plane). The ingredients and liquid ingredients are agitated in the cooking container 120 by rotating them.
In this state, by energizing the container heating means 122b2 and applying an alternating current, a magnetic flux that alternates at the same frequency as the alternating current is generated in the container heating means 122b2, and an induced current is generated in the cooking container 121 to cook. The container 121 heats up.
Heating of the cooking container 121 by the container heating means 122b2 in this cooking posture does not necessarily have to be performed intermittently, and heating may be performed or stopped as appropriate according to the content of the dish.

While the cooking control device 180 is heating the cooking container 121 with the container heating means 122b2 of the cooking device 120, the supply hose 134 of the liquid ingredient supply device 130 is retracted from above the cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120. .
Since the supply hose 134 is not heated by the cooking container 121 heated by the container heating means 122b2, ignition from the supply hose 134 can be prevented.

<2.5. Placing food on a plate>
Next, based on FIG. 10, the arrangement of food on a plate will be described.
The cooking control device 180 drives and controls the cooking device 120 to take the serving posture as shown in FIG.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, in the serving posture, the cooking control device 180 extends the actuator 122c1 of the rotating unit 122c to tilt the bottom surface of the base frame 122b1 with respect to the top surface of the cooking table 122a. The upper brim 121c of the cooking container 121 is maintained substantially parallel to the inclined surface of the base frame 122b1.
Therefore, in the serving posture, the cooking container 121 is tilted forward with respect to the plate D, and the food in the cooking container 121 slides down toward the plate D.
At this time, since the lower brim portion 121a of the cooking container 121 is held by the container drop-off preventing portion of the container holding unit 122b, the cooking container 121 does not come off from the container holding unit 122b.

In addition, in the serving posture, the cooking container 121 may or may not be heated by the container heating means 122b2.

<2.6. Cleaning the cooking container>
Finally, cleaning of the cooking vessel 121 will be described with reference to FIG.
The cooking control device 180 drives and controls the cooking device 120 to take the washing posture as shown in FIG.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, in the washing posture, the bottom surface of the base frame 122b1 is separated from the cooking table 122a while keeping the bottom surface substantially parallel to the cooking table 122a. 141 and almost parallel.
Therefore, the inner bottom surface of the cooking container 121 faces the opening 141a of the cleaning device 140 in the cleaning posture.
In other words, the opening 121b of the cooking vessel 121 faces downward.

In this state, the cooking control device 180 opens the electromagnetic valve 143 of the washing device 140.
As a result, the cleaning water W is sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 142 to clean the inner surface of the cooking container 121 .
Since the opening 121b of the cooking vessel 121 is directed downward, dirt adhering to the inner surface of the cooking vessel 121 flows down together with the cleaning water when the inner surface of the cooking vessel 121 is washed with the cleaning water W. Therefore, after washing the cooking container 121 in the washing posture, it is possible to make it difficult for washing water and dirt to remain on the inner surface of the cooking container 121 .

In the washing posture, the lower flange 121a of the cooking vessel 121 is held by the container drop-off preventing portion of the container holding unit 122b, so that the cooking vessel 121 does not drop out of the container holding unit 122b.

<3. Effect of Automatic Cooking Equipment 100>
According to the automatic cooking equipment 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the storage device 110 having a plurality of ingredient stockers 112 for storing ingredients in the rear area of the equipment, and the equipment in front of the storage device 110 A cooking device 120 is arranged in the front region to stir and cook the ingredients to cook the food, and a cooking device 120 is arranged in the intermediate region between the storage device 110 and the cooking device 120 to convey the ingredients from the storage device side to the cooking device side. A multi-joint robot arm 150 that holds the transport container C, and a cooking control device 180 that controls at least the storage device 110, the cooking device 120, and the multi-joint robot arm 150. A multi-joint robot arm 150 can move between a supply port 112a of each ingredient stocker 112 and a cooking container 121 of the cooking apparatus 120. By being arranged within the range, even if a wide variety of ingredients are stored in the storage device 110, the articulated robot arm 150 can also move in the vertical direction to receive the ingredients in the transport container C, so cooking control can be performed. By means of the device 180, the multi-joint robot arm 150 receives the ingredients discharged from the supply port 112a of the ingredient stocker 112 in the carrying container C and puts the ingredients in the carrying container C into the cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120. , the cooking device 120 can stir and cook the ingredients contained in the cooking container 121, and can easily and automatically cook a wide variety of dishes using a wide variety of ingredients.

Also, when the cooking control device 180 transfers ingredients from the transport container C to the cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120 by the multi-joint robot arm 150 , the cooking control device 180 moves the opening of the cooking container 121 to the multi-joint robot arm 150 . Since the multi-joint robot arm 150 can easily put the ingredients in the transport container C into the cooking container 121, the ingredients in the transport container C can be placed in the cooking container 121. Ingredients can be surely thrown in when throwing in.

In addition, the cooking control device 180 moves the transport container C to the supply port 112a of the ingredients stocker 112 by the multi-joint robot arm 150, and then opens the supply port 112a of the ingredients stocker 112, so that the transport container C Since the ingredients are discharged into the transporting container C while moving to the supply port 112a of the ingredients stocker 112, the ingredients can be reliably discharged from the ingredients stocker 112 to the transporting container C.

In addition, since the liquid ingredient supply device 130 that supplies the liquid ingredient to the cooking vessel 121 of the cooking apparatus 120 is attached to the side area of the cooking apparatus 120, the ingredients are not liquid when the ingredients are stirred and cooked. Because it is seasoned with ingredients, it is possible to cook a wider variety of dishes.

While the cooking control device 180 is heating the cooking container 121 with the container heating means 122b2 of the cooking device 120, the cooking control device 180 moves the supply hose 134 of the liquid ingredient supply device 130 from above the cooking container 121 of the cooking device 120. By retracting, ignition from the supply hose 134 of the liquid food supply device 130 can be prevented.

Next, an automatic cooking facility 200, which is a second embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 12 is a plan view of automatic cooking equipment 200, which is a second embodiment of the present invention.

The automatic cooking facility 200 of the second embodiment is an automatic cooking facility in which the positions of the cooking device 120, the liquid ingredient supply device 130, the washing device 140, and the plate storage 160 of the automatic cooking device 100 of the first embodiment are changed.
Many elements of the automatic cooking equipment 200 of the second embodiment are also common to those of the automatic cooking equipment 100 of the first embodiment. The detailed description will be omitted by replacing the terms.

Therefore, in the automatic cooking equipment 200 of the second embodiment of the present invention, the cooking device 220 is arranged on the left side of the equipment front area in front of the storage device 110, as shown in FIG.
The liquid food supply device 230 and the plate storage 260 are attached to the side of the cooking device 220, as shown in FIG.
11, the cleaning device 240 is arranged adjacent to the rear side (right side) of the cooking device 220. As shown in FIG.
Also, the articulated robot arm 250 is arranged in the intermediate region RC between the storage device 210 and the cooking device 220, as shown in FIG.

<Modification>
Although the automatic cooking equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the automatic cooking equipment according to the present invention is not limited to the automatic cooking equipment 100, 200 of the above-described embodiments.

For example, in the above-described embodiments, the storage device has a refrigerator, but as long as an ingredient stocker can be installed, it may have a freezer, or have a storage without a refrigeration/freezing device. Alternatively, it may have a combination of a refrigerator, a freezer, and a storage.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, one ingredient stocker stores only one type of ingredients, but one ingredient stocker may collectively store a plurality of ingredients.

For example, in the above-described embodiments, the washing apparatus washes the cooking vessel with washing water, but the method of washing the inner surface of the cooking vessel is not limited to washing with water.

For example, as long as the container holding unit rotates the cooking container in the depth direction and stirs and cooks the cooking container, the holding mechanism and rotation mechanism of the cooking container may be any mechanism.
In the above-described embodiment, the container heating means of the container holding unit heats the cooking container by an induced current. Any heater may be used as long as it can heat, for example, a radiant heater that heats the cooking container by heating with an electric heating wire, or a sheathed heater.

For example, the cleaning device may clean the transport container in addition to the cooking container of the cooking appliance.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the automatic cooking equipment takes out ingredients, puts ingredients into the cooking container, supplies liquid ingredients into the cooking container, stirs and cooks, Although the serving of food on the plate and the cleaning of the cooking container were automatically performed, it is not always necessary to perform the series of operations automatically.
In other words, the automatic cooking equipment takes out ingredients, supplies ingredients to the cooking container, supplies liquid ingredients to the cooking container, stirs cooking, arranges the food on the plate, and partly cleans the cooking container according to instructions. You can also do
Also, the order of the above operations may be appropriately changed according to the food to be cooked and the installation environment.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the automatic cooking equipment puts the ingredients into the cooking container after putting all the ingredients necessary for a given dish into the transport container. You can put in.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the cooking control device transfers ingredients from the transport container to the cooking container of the cooking device by the articulated robot arm, the cooking control device points the opening of the cooking container toward the articulated robot arm. Although it is tilted, the cooking control device may direct the opening of the cooking container vertically upward when the multi-joint robot arm transfers the ingredients from the transport container to the cooking container of the cooking device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100, 200...Automatic cooking equipment 110...Storage device 111...Refrigerator 111a...Shelf 112...Ingredient stocker 112a...Supply port 113...Food 114...Controller 120, 220 ... Cooking device 121 ... Cooking container 121a ... Lower flange 121b ... Opening 121c ... Upper flange 122 ... Cooking device main body 122a ... Cooking table 122b ... Container Holding unit 122b1 Base frame 122b2 Container heating means 122b3 Container rotation mechanism 122b4 Rotation support mechanism 122b5 Rotation drive mechanism 122c Rotation unit 122c1 Actuator 122c2 . Cleaning device 141 Upper surface 141a Opening 142 Cleaning nozzle 143 Solenoid valves 150 and 250 Articulated robot arm 151 Robot arm body 152 Container gripping mechanism 160 , 260... Plate storage boxes 170, 270... Transportation container storage boxes 180... Cooking control device 181... Storage device control section 182... Cooking device control section 183... Liquid ingredient supply device control Part 184... Cleaning device control part 185... Articulated robot arm control part

C... Transportation container D... Plate W... Washing water A1... Axis A2... Rotational axis PC... Central axis of cooking container RA... Movable range of articulated robot arm RC・・・ Intermediate region

Claims (7)

Automatic cooking equipment for cooking ingredients,
A storage device having a plurality of ingredient stockers for storing the ingredients in the rear area of the facility;
A cooking device that is arranged in the front area of the facility that is in front of the storage device and stirs and cooks the ingredients to cook the dish;
an articulated robot arm that holds a transport container that is disposed in an intermediate area between the storage device and the cooking device and that transports the ingredients from the storage device side to the cooking device side;
a cooking control device that drives and controls at least the storage device, the cooking device, and the articulated robot arm;
The supply ports of the ingredient stocker are arranged on the front surface of the storage device in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction for each type of the ingredient,
The supply port of each ingredient stocker and the cooking container of the cooking device are arranged within the movable range of the multi-joint robot arm,
The cooking control device drives and controls the storage device and the multi-joint robot arm to discharge the ingredients from the supply port of the ingredient stocker into the transport container, and the multi-joint robot arm and the cooking device. is driven and controlled to put the ingredients in the transportation container into the cooking container of the cooking device, and the cooking device is driven and controlled to stir and cook the ingredients in the cooking container. cooking facilities. When the cooking control device transfers the ingredients from the transport container to the cooking container of the cooking device by the multi-joint robot arm, the cooking control device directs the opening of the cooking container toward the multi-joint robot arm. 2. The automatic cooking equipment according to claim 1, wherein said cooking control device directs the opening of said cooking vessel vertically upward. The cooking control device opens the supply port of the ingredient stocker after the cooking control device moves the transport container to the supply port of the ingredient stocker by the multi-joint robot arm. The automatic cooking equipment according to claim 1 or claim 2. 4. A liquid foodstuff supplying device for supplying liquid foodstuffs to the cooking container of the cooking apparatus is attached to a lateral region of the cooking apparatus. Automatic cooking equipment. The cooking control device drives and controls the liquid ingredient supply device,
The cooking device has container heating means for heating the cooking container,
The liquid food material supply device has a storage tank for storing the liquid food material, a pump for pumping the liquid food material from the storage tank, and a supply hose for supplying the liquid food material from the pump to a cooking container of the cooking apparatus. death,
While the cooking control device heats the cooking container with the container heating means of the cooking device, the cooking control device retracts the supply hose of the liquid ingredient supply device from above the cooking container of the cooking device. The automatic cooking equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: 6. The automatic cooking equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a cleaning device for cleaning at least one of the cooking container of the cooking device and the transport container. Equipped with a transportation container storage that stores a large number of unused transportation containers flatly,
7. The automatic cooking equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the transport container storage is arranged within a movable range of the articulated robot arm.

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