Abstract:
An automated cooking system is disclosed which includes a wok for receiving food and heat, a stirrer capable of making swing and rotating motions in the wok, a sensor placed in the wok for measuring ambient data, a base unit housing a heating element for heating up the wok, the base unit also housing a controller for operating the heating element, the stirrer&#39;s swing and rotating motions and the sensor, and a computing device physically separated from the base unit yet signally coupled to the controller, the computing device storing a recipe which instructs the computing device to obtain the ambient data from and send operating commands to the controller.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to cooking apparatus, and, more particularly, to an automated cooking system and method. 
         [0002]    Home meal cooking has traditionally been a manual operation, i.e., cooking time, temperature and occasional stirring of food in a cooking utensil are determined and implemented by a human operator. Such traditional way of cooking is not only labor intensive, but also heavily rely on operators&#39; experience to make a good meal. 
         [0003]    Even though cooking recipes have been widely available, they mostly emphasize on ingredients and not much on the art of actual heating the food. 
         [0004]    As such, what is desired is a system and method that can automate much of the cooking process and provide a platform for people to share such automated cooking process. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  illustrates an automated cooking system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0006]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate details of an automated cooker shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary fixture for restraining the lid of the automated cooker shown in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  illustrates a stirrer driving mechanism. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating electronic components of automated cooking system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary temperature profile of a recipe displayed on the tablet computer. 
       
    
    
       [0011]    The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification are included to depict certain aspects of the invention. A clearer conception of the invention, and of the components and operation of systems provided with the invention, will become more readily apparent by referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodiments illustrated in the drawings, wherein like reference numbers (if they occur in more than one view) designate the same elements. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the description presented herein. 
       DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    The present invention relates to an automated cooking system and method. A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings. 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates an automated cooking system  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention. The automated cooking system  100  includes an automated cooker  102  and a tablet computer  150 . The tablet computer  150  wirelessly communicates with the automated cooker  102  to function as a remote controller and monitor as well as a cooking process programming device. The tablet computer  150  is of a common type having a touch display  153  and a stand  157 . In other embodiments, a laptop or a desktop or even a dedicated computing device with at least a processing unit and a storage can be used in place of the tablet computer  150   
         [0014]    Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the automated cooker  102  includes a wok  110  with a lid  120 , a base unit  130  and a stirrer actuator  140  mounted on the lid  120 . In a preferred embodiment, the base unit  130  uses inductive effect to generate heat in the wok  110 . In addition, a bar  125  is attached to the stirrer actuator  140 . One end of the bar  125  rests on a left riser  132 , and the other end of the bar  125  rests on a right riser  134 . The left riser  132  and the right riser  134  exemplarily protrude from the base unit  130 . Alternatively, the ends of the bar  125  can be extended downward to reach the base unit without any protruding member from the base unit  130 . In embodiments, power supply and control unit are housed in the base unit  130 . In order to supply power and conduct control signals to the stirrer actuator  140 , electrical contacts (not shown) are provided on an end of the bar  125  and on top of one of the risers  132  and  134 , so that when the bar  125  rests on the risers  132  and  134 , electrical connections are made between the two parts. Then the bar  125  serves as a conduit to hide electrical wires connecting the stirrer actuator to the base unit  130 . 
         [0015]    Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the bar  125  is separated from the lid  120  to avoid being heat up during cooking. However, when the bar  125  is made with a heat resistive material such aluminum, the bar  125  can come into contact with or even be part of the lid  120 . 
         [0016]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrates details of the automated cooker  102  shown in  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 2A , the automated cooker  102  further includes a stirrer  210  coupled to the stirrer actuator  140  which drives the stirrer  210  to make swing motion around a horizontal shaft  220  which is coupled to the stirrer actuator  140  through a vertical shaft  230 . Referring to both  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the stirrer  210 , along with the horizontal shaft  220  and the vertical shaft  230 , are driven by the stirrer actuator  140  to rotate around the stationary stirrer actuator  140 . The stirrer  210 &#39;s swing and rotating motion can stir food (not shown) inside the wok  110  during cooking. The swing and rotating speeds can be adjusted based on characteristics of the food under cooking. For the same reason, the stirrer  210  is replaceable. For thicker food, the stirrer  210  may have a thinner blade; while for lighter food, such as leafy vegetables, the stirrer  210  may have a wider blade. In addition, the blade of the stirrer  210  may form an oblique angle (not shown), which is adjustable, to the plane in which the stirrer  210  swings. 
         [0017]    Referring again to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a temperature sensor  240  is mounted on the bar  125  with a probe reaching into the wok  110 . Ambient temperature data is then relayed to a controller inside the base unit  130  via wires hidden inside the bar  125  and the riser  132  or  134 . Similarly, an image sensor  250  can also be mounted on the bar  125  for periodically taking images of the content in the wok  110 . The images are also transmitted to the controller inside the base unit  130 . In embodiments, a smell sensor (not shown) may also been installed. The smell sensor may detect a burn and immediately shut off the automated cooking system. 
         [0018]    Referring again to  FIG. 2B , risers  132  and  134  prevent the bar  125  from rotating relative to the base unit  130 , so that the lid  120  and the stirrer actuator  140  remain stationary when the stirrer  210  swings and rotates. Such feature is further depicted in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary fixture for restraining the lid  120  of the automated cooker  102  shown in  FIG. 2 . The fixture includes a notch  302  formed on top of the riser  120 . When an end of the bar  125  falls into the notch  302 , movement of the bar  125  will be restricted. Similarly, the riser  134  also has such a notch (not shown) for restricting the other end of the bar  125 . 
         [0020]    Referring again to  FIG. 3 , an exemplary conductive terminal  305  is provided at a bottom of the notch  302 . There is a corresponding conductive terminal (not shown) on a bottom surface of the bar  125 , so that when the bar  125  is placed in the notch  302 , the conductive terminals come into contact to make a connection between a wire in the riser  132  and a wire in the bar  125  for conducting electricity or control signal. In other embodiments, multiple conductive terminals, if needed, can be provided at the bottom or on a side of the notch  302 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  illustrates a stirrer driving mechanism. The stirrer  210  is attached to a first pulley  420 , which can rotate around a first axis  425 . Above the first pulley  420 , there is a second pulley  410  driven by an electrical motor (not shown) to rotate around a second axis  415 . The first and second pulleys  420  and  410  are linked by a belt  402 . When the second pulley  410  rotates counter clockwise, the belt  402  will move in a direction  408  and cause the first pulley  420  to also rotate counter clockwise. As a result, the stirrer  210  will swing in direction  428 . In a next cycle, the stirrer  210  swings in a direction opposite to the direction  428 . As the first pulley  420  and the belt  402  are located below the lid  120 , they have to be made with heat resistive materials. In embodiments, the first pulley  420  may be made from stainless steel, and the belt  402  may be made from Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or commonly known as Teflon. As the second pulley  410  is located above the lid  120 , it along with the electrical motor will not be exposed to excessive heat, so that they can be made with ordinary materials. In order to better engage the pulleys  410  and  420  with the belt  402 , corresponding teeth may be provided to surfaces of the pulleys  410  and  420  and the belt  402 . 
         [0022]    Referring to both  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the first axis  425  may be equivalent to the horizontal shaft  220 . The belt  402  may be housed in the vertical shaft  230  to which the first axis  425  and the second axis  415  are secured. A motor and gear system (not shown) which is mounted to a shell of the stirrer actuator  140  can drive the vertical shaft  230  to rotate in a horizontal plane. 
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating electronic components of automated cooking system  100  shown in  FIG. 1 . The automated cooking system  100  includes the tablet computer  150  and a controller  510  which controls a heating element  520 , a swing motor  520  and a rotation motor  530 . The heating element  520  is housed in the base unit  130  and may be of inductive type. The swing motor  520  drives the swing motion of the stirrer  210 . The rotation motor  530  drives the horizontal rotating motion of the stirrer  210 . In addition, one or more sensors  550  can be connected to the controller  510 . Sensors  550  may include temperature sensing, image capturing, smell detection and weight measurement. The controller  510  is then coupled to the tablet computer  150  either wirelessly or wired, and receives commands from and transmits sensed data to the tablet computer  150 . 
         [0024]    In operation, the tablet computer  150  may store one or more cooking recipes which determines various cooking parameters such as temperature target, heating timing and duration, and speeds and timing of stirrer&#39;s swing and rotation, etc. Upon an initiation of a recipe, the tablet computer  150  sends commands to the controller  510  to turn on the heating element  520  as well as turns on the swing motor  530  and rotation motor  540  after a predetermined period of time following the turn-on of the heating element  520 . In the beginning, speeds of the stirrer swing and rotation may be slow and gradually increase over time. The controller  510  may also activate the sensors  550  to periodically sample the ambient data such as temperature. Once a predetermined cooking time is reached, the tablet computer  150  sends a command to the controller  510  to turn off everything and at the same time produces a reminder, such as sound, to signal the completion of the cooking. Alternatively, the tablet computer  150  may command the controller  510  to reduce heat and turn off the swing motor  530  and the rotation motor  540 . In such a way, the automated cooking system  100  can keep the food warm after the cooking. During the keeping-warm period, the tablet computer  150  keeps measuring the temperature and controllably operates the heating element  520  to maintain a desired temperature. The tablet computer  150  may also control a weight sensor (not shown) situated beneath the wok  110  to monitor the weight of the wok  110 . Once the weight is below a predetermined level signally a removal of the food, the heating element  520  is turned off as well. 
         [0025]      FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary temperature profile of a recipe that is displayed on the tablet computer  150 . At time t1, the measured temperature is controlled to reach temperature T1, which is maintained until time t2. At time t3, temperature value is allowed to drop to T2 which is then maintained until t4. As  FIG. 6  illustrates, the automated cooking system  100  can finely adjust a cooking process in terms of temperature, duration and stirring with the control of the tablet computer  150 . Similarly, stirring speed and timing parameters can also be display on the tablet computer  150 . 
         [0026]    A recipe can be downloaded from the Internet or developed with the automated cooking system  100 . Developing a recipe is an empirical process, a user first manually operates the automated cooking system  100  by manually setting parameters such as temperature and stirring speed and timing and by physically observing the cooking effect. Once a desired result is achieved, the set of parameters can then be stored in a new recipe in the tablet computer  150 . The new recipe can be used to automatically control a future cooking process, and can also be shared with others over the Internet. In order to facilitate recipe trading, a market place can be formed over the Internet for recipe developers and buyers to meet. Once a recipe is purchased and downloaded to the tablet computer  150 , a cooking process specified by the purchased recipe can be exactly duplicated at the automated cooking system  100 . 
         [0027]    While this disclosure has been particularly shown and described with references to exemplary embodiments thereof, it shall be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the claimed embodiments.