US-12616326-B2 - Automated cooking system

US12616326B2US 12616326 B2US12616326 B2US 12616326B2US-12616326-B2

Abstract

A cooking assembly can include a cooking vessel, a mixer, and a motor. The cooking vessel can include a bottom contact portion including a first bore therethrough, a heating portion spaced above the bottom contact portion and including a second bore therethrough, and a sidewall connected to the heating portion and together with the heating portion configured to retain food in the cooking vessel. The mixer can be located within the cooking vessel, where the mixer configured to rotate relative to the heating portion. The motor can be connected to the mixer via the first bore and the second bore to drive the mixer to rotate.

Inventors

Michael Wang
MARCEL BOTHA
Simon Ellison

Assignees

GEN-X ROBOTICS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230926

Claims (14)

1 . An automated cooking system comprising: a housing; a wok removably supportable by the housing, the wok including a deflector formed of a wall of the wok and extending inward therefrom; a mixer spindle connected to the wok and rotatable with respect to the wok; an induction heater located at least partially within the housing and; a motor located at least partially within the housing; a motor spindle associated with the motor, the motor spindle releasably attachable to the mixer spindle; and a mixer releasably securable to the mixer spindle, the mixer configured to be driven to rotate relative to the wok by the motor via the motor spindle and the mixer spindle, the mixer including: a hub releasably securable to the mixer spindle; a blade extending outward from the hub, the blade configured to pass underneath the deflector as the mixer rotates within the wok; and a paddle extending outward from the hub opposite the blade, wherein the blade extends to the wall of the wok when the mixer is secured to the mixer spindle, and wherein a distance between the wall and the paddle is greater than a distance between the blade and the wall.
2 . The automated cooking system of claim 1 , wherein blade includes a spine extending outward from the hub to an edge of the blade along a top portion of the blade, the spine flaring outward to define wings on either side of the spine at the edge of the blade.
3 . The automated cooking system of claim 2 , wherein the blade includes a spine extending outward along a top portion of the blade from the hub to distal edge of the blade.
4 . The automated cooking system of claim 3 , wherein the blade includes a pair of edge surfaces extending outward from the hub, each edge surface connected to the spine, the spine and the edge surfaces together flaring outward to define wings on either side of the spine near the distal edge of the blade.
5 . The automated cooking system of claim 4 , wherein each of the edge surfaces are upswept from a bottom of the blade towards the spine.
6 . The automated cooking system of claim 4 , wherein the distal edge includes a recessed portion located below the distal edge, the recessed portion spaced away from the wall of the wok when the mixer is secured to the wok.
7 . The automated cooking system of claim 2 , wherein the paddle includes a pair of edges extending from the hub to a rounded tip of the paddle.
8 . An automated cooking system comprising: a housing, the housing including a housing collar protruding from the housing; a wok removably supportable by the housing, the wok including a spindle collar extending upward from a bottom surface of the wok, the housing collar engageable with a rim of the wok to support the wok; a lid coupled to the housing and movable between a covered position and an uncovered position, the lid substantially covering the wok when the wok is supported by the housing and when the lid is in the covered position; a mixer spindle connected to the wok and supported by the spindle collar, the mixer spindle rotatable with respect to the wok, the mixer spindle including: a body defining a coupling bore extending into the body from a topside of the mixer spindle; and projections extending upward from the body; an induction heater located at least partially within the housing and configured to heat the wok using induction when the wok is supported by the housing, the induction heater including an induction bore extending therethrough; a glass support connected to the induction heater, the glass support configured to contact the wok when the wok is supported by the housing, the glass support including a glass bore extending therethrough, the induction bore aligned with the glass bore, and the motor spindle extending through the glass bore and the induction bore; a motor supported by the housing; a motor spindle connected to the motor and releasably securable to the mixer spindle, the motor spindle including a plurality of teeth; a spindle seal at least partially insertable into the bore of the glass support and engageable with the induction heater to form a seal between the motor spindle, the glass support, and the induction heater; wherein the mixer spindle includes a bore defining a plurality of recesses configured to receive the plurality of teeth of the motor spindle to couple the mixer spindle to the motor spindle when the wok is supported by the housing; a mixer releasably securable to the mixer spindle within the wok, the motor operable to drive the motor spindle, the mixer spindle, and the mixer relative to the housing and the wok, and wherein the mixer includes teeth configured to engage the projections of the mixer spindle when the mixer is secured to the mixer spindle to transfer rotation from the motor to the mixer; a cap including a coupler insertable into the mixer and the coupling bore to secure the cap and the mixer to the mixer spindle; and a convection heater connected to the housing and configured to deliver hot air to the wok, wherein the rim includes rim ports configured to transfer the hot air from the convection heater into the wok, and wherein the housing collar includes collar ports connected to the convection heater, the collar ports alignable with the rim ports to deliver the hot air from the convection heater into the wok.
9 . The automated cooking system of claim 8 , wherein the mixer includes a bore configured to receive at least a portion of the mixer spindle therein.
10 . The automated cooking system of claim 9 , wherein the mixer includes a coupler extending into the bore to engage the mixer spindle and secure the mixer spindle to the mixer.
11 . An automated cooking system comprising: a housing; a wok supportable by the housing and removable therefrom, the wok including a deflector formed of a wall of the wok and extending inward therefrom; a mixer spindle connected to the wok and rotatable with respect to the wok; an induction heater located at least partially within the housing and; a motor located at least partially within the housing; a motor spindle associated with the motor, the motor spindle releasably attachable to the mixer spindle; and a mixer releasably securable to the mixer spindle, the mixer configured to be driven to rotate relative to the wok by the motor via the motor spindle and the mixer spindle, the mixer including: a hub releasably securable to the mixer spindle; a blade extending outward from the hub, the blade configured to pass underneath the deflector as the mixer rotates within the wok; and a paddle extending outward from the hub opposite the blade, wherein the blade extends to a wall of the wok when the mixer is secured to the mixer spindle, and wherein a distance between the wall and the paddle is greater than a distance between the blade and the wall.
12 . The automated cooking system of claim 11 , wherein the blade is symmetric about a transverse axis of the mixer, and wherein the blade is asymmetric about a longitudinal axis of the mixer.
13 . The automated cooking system of claim 12 , wherein blade includes a spine extending outward from the hub along a top portion of the blade to an edge of the blade to a distal edge of the blade, the spine flaring outward to define wings on either side of the spine at the edge of the blade, wherein the blade includes a pair of edge surfaces extending outward from the hub, each edge surface connected to the spine, the spine and the edge surfaces together flaring outward to define the wings on either side of the spine near the distal edge of the blade, wherein each of the edge surfaces are upswept from a bottom of the blade towards the spine, and wherein the distal edge includes a recessed portion located below the distal edge, the recessed portion spaced away from the wall of the wok when the mixer is secured to the wok.
14 . The automated cooking system of claim 13 , wherein the wok includes a spindle collar extending upward from a bottom surface of the wok, wherein the mixer is supported by the spindle collar, the mixer spindle rotatable with respect to the wok, and the mixer spindle including: a body defining a coupling bore extending into the body from a topside of the mixer; and projections extending upward from the body; wherein the mixer includes teeth configured to engage the projections of the mixer spindle when the mixer is secured to the mixer spindle to transfer rotation from the motor to the mixer; and a cap including a coupler insertable into the mixer and the coupling bore to secure the cap and the mixer to the mixer spindle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/930,529, filed Sep. 8, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/419,387, filed May 22, 2019; and Ser. No. 16/419,960, filed May 22, 2019, each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. BACKGROUND Foods sold at diners, restaurants, and fast food restaurants may require a relatively large amount of labor to prepare and deliver cooked food to a customer. Often, to prepare a dish, ingredients must be unpackaged by hand, measured by hand, and combined into a cooking apparatus, such as a pan, fryer, or oven. A chef or cook then often attends to the food during the cooking process before transferring the food to a plate or serving container. In some cases, a food expeditor (expo) may add garnishes and finalize preparations before delivery to a customer by a server or cashier. The resulting food must be delivered to be served while it is still fresh. The Chinese food service industry requires a relatively large amount of manual labor to prepare food for customers. Often, preparation of Chinese food requires intensive labor, such as operating a wok, which requires constant movement or agitation of the food to cook the food evenly and avoid burning. Some parts of the Chinese food industry have seen a rise in cost of food labor due to increases in wages and benefits in many major cities along with a labor supply issue caused in part by increasing education levels of the population. Moreover, many Chinese food restaurants lack standardized processes employed by other restaurants types (hamburger chains, for example), which could help offset the rising costs of Chinese food production. A lack of standardized processes and a reliance on manual labor make scaling of Chinese food (and similar cuisine) restaurants relatively difficult. There is a need in the art for improved apparatus and processes for cooking food that heats the food evenly and properly, avoids burning, and readily served in dishes or placed in containers for delivery. There is a further need in the art for improved apparatus and processes for preparing Chinese food that heats it evenly and properly, avoids burning, and is readily served in dishes or placed in containers for delivery. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals describe similar components in different views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes represent different instances of similar components. The drawings illustrate generally various examples discussed in the present application, but are not intended to be an exhaustive or exclusive collection of examples. FIG. 1A shows an isometric view of an automated cooking system in a first state, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 1B shows an isometric view of an automated cooking system in a second state, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 2A shows a top isometric view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 2B shows a side isometric view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 2C shows a top view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 3A shows an exploded top isometric view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 3B shows an exploded side view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 4 shows an exploded side isometric view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 5 shows side cross-sectional view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 6A shows an isometric view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. GB shows an isometric view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 6C shows a side view of a portion of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 7A shows a side cross-sectional view of a cooking vessel of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 7B shows a side cross-sectional view of a cooking vessel of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 8A shows a bottom isometric view of a cooking vessel of an automated cooking system, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 8B shows a bottom isometric view of a cooking vessel of an automated cooking system, according to one embodi