Method and apparatus for automatically cooking user-customized food
Embodiments relate to a method of providing a cooking automation service that cooks a finished product without a user performing a separate cooking action, and an apparatus therefor. The method may include (a) a first step of generating order information corresponding to order details input by a user; (b) a second step of transmitting a first control command to a first module among the N modules according to the generated order information; (c) a third step of respectively transmitting a second control command to an (N−1)th control command to one or more of a second module to an (N−1)th module among the N modules; and (d) a fourth step of transmitting an N-th control command to an N-th module among the N modules.
1 . A modular automation apparatus, the apparatus comprising M (M is a positive integer) or more cooking modules comprising:
a first frame part having a predetermined shape;
N (N is a positive integer) or more ingredient discharge units comprising a storage part located inside the first frame part to store an ingredient; and a discharge part disposed on one surface of the storage part to discharges the ingredient stored in the storage part in such a manner that a discharge port is selectively opened or closed; and
a first container moving part comprising N or more first conveyor belts respectively located in front of the N or more ingredient discharge units so as to allow a container to move toward an ingredient discharge unit in a next sequence; and weight detection sensors located on the N or more first conveyor belts, respectively, so as to detect a weight of the container located on the first conveyor belt,
wherein the first conveyor belt comprises:
a position detection part that detects an area with which the container currently comes into contact within a surface area of the first conveyor belt to check a position of the container, and detects an angle or position of the discharge part to calculate an optimal position where the container can accurately and precisely contain the ingredient discharged by the discharge part; and
an adjustment driving part that receives the optimal position calculated by the position detection part to automatically adjust the position of the container so as to allow the container to reach the optimal position,
wherein the storage part comprises an inclined surface that allows the ingredient to roll down to a lower end of the storage part so as to be neatly loaded from the lower end,
the modular cooking automation device further comprising:
a container supply module comprising a second frame part to supply a container to the cooking module; and
a lifting module comprising a third frame part to receive a container from the cooking module so as to lift it to the outside, and
wherein the container supply module, the M cooking modules, and the lifting module can be arranged in any one of a horizontal ( ) shape, a vertical (I) shape, an L-shape and a -shape according to a user's space by connecting the first frame part, the second frame part, and the third frame part.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ingredient discharge unit further comprises:
a spiral-shaped shaft part located inside the storage part; and
a motor part that provides power to the shaft part, and
wherein when the motor part provides power to the shaft part, the shaft part rotates to push out the ingredient stored in the storage part in a direction where the discharge part is located.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second frame part included in the container supply module can be connected to the first frame part of the cooking module,
wherein the container supply module further comprises:
a container loading part located inside the second frame part, in which containers are loaded; and
a second container moving part including at least one second conveyor belt located in front of the container loading part, and
wherein when cooking starts, a container loaded inside the container loading part is dropped toward the second conveyor belt, and the second conveyor belt is driven to move the container to the first conveyor belt of the cooking module adjacent thereto.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the container supply module further comprises an ingredient refrigeration part comprising a cold air injection part that injects cold air to maintain a temperature of the ingredient stored in the storage part below a predetermined level, and
wherein the ingredient refrigeration part is disposed such that the cold air ejection part faces a direction in which the ingredient discharge unit is disposed.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the third frame part included in the lifting module can be connected to the first frame part of the cooking module, and
wherein the lifting module further comprises:
a third container moving part including a third conveyor belt that is located inside the third frame part to receive a container that has passed through a last unit among the N or more ingredient discharge units included in the cooking module from the first conveyor belt; and
a lifting part that lifts the received container to an outside of the third frame part.