US-12617100-B2 - Countertop cooking robot

US12617100B2US 12617100 B2US12617100 B2US 12617100B2US-12617100-B2

Abstract

A countertop cooking appliance that uses machine learning models to automatically prepare a plurality of different meals is described. The appliance includes a micro dispensing system containing a plurality of pods having granular contents. The pod rotation mechanism moves a selected pod into a position above a pan to dispense the granular contents. The rotation element rotates the selected pod to dispense an amount of granular content from the dispensing section with each rotation of the selected pod by the rotation element. The appliance may also include a stirrer that uses at least one spatula to gradually contact substantially an entire area of the pan after the stirrer completes a rotation cycle. Control circuitry coupled to a macro ingredient delivery system, the micro dispensing system, the stirrer, a heating element, and sensors performs recipe methods using a plurality of computer vision models to monitor recipe progress.

Inventors

Raghav Parwal
Aditya Gupta
Rohin Malhotra
Hari Surya
Raghav Gupta
Shubham Sharma
Tushar Kumar

Assignees

Epifeast Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20241226

Claims (20)

1 . A countertop cooking appliance comprising: a macro ingredient delivery system; a micro dispensing system comprising a plurality of pods having granular contents, a rotation element, and a pod rotation mechanism, the pod rotation mechanism moving a selected pod into a position above a pan, each pod comprising a dispensing section and a storage section, the rotation element rotating the selected pod and the selected pod dispensing an amount of granular content from the dispensing section with each rotation of the selected pod by the rotation element; a stirrer comprising at least one spatula that gradually contacts substantially an entire area of one surface of the pan after the stirrer completes a rotation cycle; a heating element located underneath the pan a plurality of sensors oriented around the pan; and control circuitry coupled to each of the macro ingredient delivery system, the micro dispensing system, the stirrer, the heating element, and the plurality of sensors, the control circuitry executing recipe methods by regulating amounts of ingredients inserted into the pan using the ingredient delivery system, regulating amounts of at least one granular content using the micro dispensing system, and monitoring and regulating operation of the stirrer and heating element using data from the plurality of sensors, the regulating amounts of the at least one granular content being performed by providing instructions to the micro dispensing system regarding a number of rotations to perform via the rotation element of the at least one granular content.
2 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , the stirrer rotating on an off-center orbital path that accesses substantially an entire inner surface of the pan.
3 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 2 , the stirrer further comprising a fixed arm coupled to an eccentric arm, the eccentric arm being coupled to the at least one spatula and rotating around the fixed arm in a circular orbit, the at least one spatula separately rotating around the eccentric arm.
4 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 where the dispensing an amount of granular content within the dispensing section with each rotation of the selected pod by the rotation element is performed by: engaging, by a hatch located on an outer surface of the selected pod, with a stationary feature of the micro dispensing system during rotation of the selected pod, the engaging causing the hatch to open; dispensing, by the pod, the amount of granular content into the pan as the selected pod continues to rotate; and closing the hatch using a spring after dispensing the amount of granular content.
5 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , where the selected pod refills the dispensing section from the storage section during a portion of each rotation of the selected pod by the rotation element.
6 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 5 where the selected pod further comprises a funnel that guides the granular content during the portion of each rotation of the selected pod to the dispensing section.
7 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 where the control circuitry uses a PE sensor to confirm that the selected pod has been moved into the position above the pan.
8 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 where each pod is user-removable and refillable.
9 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 where the pod rotation system engages with the rotation element via a coupler, the pod rotation system being a carousel that permits the pods to freely traverse the coupler as the carousel is rotated.
10 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , the ingredient delivery system comprising a plurality of containers oriented around the pan, each container including a different ingredient and being coupled to a different ingredient motor, the ingredient motors moving in response to command signals from the control circuitry and emptying a selected ingredient when a request for the selected ingredient is received from the control circuitry.
11 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 10 , the ingredient delivery system further comprising a common pan enclosure having an outer surface that separates the ingredient motors from the pan and blocks any food material from reaching the ingredient motors.
12 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , further comprising a liquid dispensing system coupled to the control circuitry, the liquid dispensing system comprising one or more liquid containers and a pump, the pump dispensing liquid from a selected liquid container in response to a command signal from the control circuitry.
13 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , further comprising an exhaust system coupled to the control circuitry, the exhaust system comprising a fan positioned above the pan and proximate to a camera sensor, the exhaust system sucking air away from the pan and the camera sensor in response to a command signal from the control circuitry.
14 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , the monitoring and regulating operation of the stirrer and heating element using data from the plurality of sensors comprising the control circuitry receiving visual data from a camera sensor and applying a trained computer vision model to the visual data, the trained computer vision model outputting state data pertaining to a state of food being cooked in the pan, the control circuitry responding to the state data by adjusting one of an ingredient amount, a granular content amount, stirring behavior, or heating behavior.
15 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 14 , where the state data meeting a predetermined threshold triggers a next step of a recipe process.
16 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , in which the plurality of sensors includes a camera sensor oriented above the pan, the control circuitry including image processing circuitry that scans through image data received from the camera sensor to identify one or more visual cues associated with a current step of a recipe process.
17 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 16 , where the visual cues are set based on a previously dispensed ingredient or granular content.
18 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 16 , further comprising a lighting element located proximate to the camera sensor and coupled to the control circuitry, the lighting element providing light in response to a command signal from the control circuitry, the command signal being transmitted by the control circuitry when data from a lighting sensor indicates that camera performance may be degraded under current lighting conditions.
19 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , in which the control circuitry further stores sensor data obtained during a cooking process and transmits the stored sensor data to a cloud data server via a network connection.
20 . The countertop cooking appliance of claim 1 , in which the control circuitry, after a cooking process is complete, retrieves sensor data for food in the pan and applies a trained recipe mathematical model to the sensor data comparing the sensor data to previously-stored data associated with a target recipe, the trained recipe mathematical model outputting similarities to the target recipe and differences with the target recipe which the control circuitry uses to generate a displayable analysis report.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/615,467, entitled Countertop Cooking Robot, filed on Dec. 28, 2023, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to methods and devices providing a countertop cooking robot that cooks meals automatically. BACKGROUND The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions. Appliances for food processing have made numerous advances in recent years. However, fully automated meal preparation appliances have not been developed. Thus, a new solution is needed to provide a fully automated meal preparation appliance able to prepare multiple different recipes and adapt over time. SUMMARY Embodiments according to the present disclosure provide a countertop cooking appliance that uses machine learning models to automatically prepare a plurality of different meals. The appliance includes a macro ingredient delivery system for larger ingredients and a micro dispensing system containing a plurality of pods having granular contents. The micro dispensing system may also include a rotation element and a pod rotation mechanism. The pod rotation mechanism moves a selected pod into a position above a pan to dispense the granular contents (such as spices, or seasonings used in each recipe). Each pod may include a dispensing section and a storage section. The rotation element rotates the selected pod to dispense an amount of granular content from the dispensing section with each rotation of the selected pod by the rotation element. The appliance may also include a stirrer that uses at least one spatula to gradually contact substantially an entire area of at least one surface of the pan after the stirrer completes a rotation cycle. Cooking of the food is also performed using a heating element located underneath the pan and a plurality of sensors oriented around the pan. Control circuitry coupled to each of the macro ingredient delivery system, the micro dispensing system, the stirrer, the heating element, and the plurality of sensors performs recipe methods by regulating amounts of ingredients inserted into the pan using the ingredient delivery system, regulating amounts of at least one granular content using the micro dispensing system, and monitoring and regulating operation of the stirrer and heating element using data from the plurality of sensors. The regulating amounts of the at least one granular content may be performed by providing instructions to the micro dispensing system to perform a number of rotations via the rotation element of the at least one granular content. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer to like elements. Although the following figures depict various examples, the one or more implementations are not limited to the examples depicted in the figures. FIG. 1 illustrates a countertop cooking appliance that uses machine learning models to automatically prepare a plurality of different meals, in an embodiment. FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate exemplary stirrer sub-systems of the countertop cooking appliance with different spatula connectors attached. FIG. 3 depicts a sequence of images showing an exemplary rotation path of the stirrer arm of the stirrer sub-system. FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an exploded view and a side view respectively of a pod of the micro dispensing system of the countertop cooking appliance. FIG. 5 depicts a sequence of images showing exemplary motion of the carousel, containing a plurality of pods, of the micro dispensing system of the countertop cooking appliance, in an embodiment. FIG. 6 depicts a sequence of images showing exemplary dispensing rotation of a pod of the micro dispensing system, in an embodiment. FIG. 7 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a method of dispensing granular material as part of a recipe executed by the countertop cooking appliance, in an embodiment. FIG. 8 illustrates a top cross-section view of the countertop cooking appliance, in an embodiment. FIG. 9 illustrates a different top cross-section view of the countertop cooking appliance, in an embodiment. FIGS. 10A-10B illustrate a system block diagram of the countertop cooking appliance, in an embodiment. FIG. 11 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a method of executing a recipe automatically using a plurality of trained machine learning models in conjunction with the countertop cooking appliance, in an embodiment. FIG. 12 depicts a block diagram illustrating a data flow b