FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The embodiment herein generally relates to an automatic food processing system along with cloud based food ordering service. Particularly, the invention provides an automatic food processing system along with intelligent inventory control and cloud based food ordering/ receiving service. Further, the automatic food processing system can accept recipe from various cooking professionals and non- professionals and prepare the food accordingly without human intervention.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

[0002] In general a proverb from Tamil states that to win the heart of a person, first fill the person's stomach with tasty and healthy food. Nowadays people are interested in tasting a variety of food without spending a time to prepare the food. Some people or consumer may hire a chef/cook to prepare a food acceding to their taste. But the chef may not have the knowledge of a cooking variety of different places. Further, the same chef cannot play multiple roles as a nutritionist or dietician or naturopathy chef at the same time.

[0003] At the same time, the consumer has to depend on the chef or other restaurants. Obviously, a question of hygiene may arise due to human intervention while preparing/ cooking the food, which leads to unwanted side effects for the consumer. In order to avoid such situations, people may select the option of automated food cooking or processing system. In such systems also, partial human intervention may present.

[0004] In the market, many types of automated food cooking or processing systems are available. In all the automated food cooking system only predetermined or preloaded recipes can be prepared. Further, food ingredient stock of the automated food cooking may need a human intervention for manually uploading the ingredient stock. Furthermore, the automated cooking or processing system can be operated by a local interface. The consumer cannot select the food of his/her choice wherever the consumer may move.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need to develop a fully automated cooking system without any human intervention for placing an order for a preferred recipe using any type of available networking interface. Further, there is a need to develop a fully automated cooking system which can prepare food of any type food according to the recipe provided to the system. Furthermore, there is a need to develop a fully automated cooking system, which can be controlled by cloud network for providing recipes from any cooking professionals or non-professionals.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Some of the objects of the present disclosure are described herein below:

[0007] A main object of the present invention to provide a system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using cloud storage according to the preferred recipe.

[0008] Another object of the present invention to provide a system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using GSM interface, Wi-Fi, and local interface.

[0009] Still another object of the present invention to provide a system for ordering and receiving food from a hands-free automated cooking system.

[00010] Yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using various networks, which provide a freedom of food choice.

[00011] Another object of the present invention to provide a system for obtaining preferred food from the fully automated cooking system that can provide a solution for social issues like health, mal-nutrition, women empowerment and so on.

[00012] Another object of the present invention to provide a system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using cloud storage, in which anyone can publish their recipe into the cloud storage and also anyone can download any of the recipe. [00013] Another object of the present invention to provide a system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system that can be controlled by a cloud storage for providing recipe from dietician, amateur cooks, grandma recipe, medical recipe, professional chefs, naturopathy, custom made for infant to senile, nutritionist recipe, homemaker recipe and so on.

[00014] Another object of the present invention to provide a system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using cloud storage with an intelligent inventory control manager.

[00015] The other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated for illustration of preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[00016] In view of the foregoing, an embodiment herein provides a system for ordering and receiving food from a fully automated cooking system using various networks. According to an embodiment, a system for ordering and receiving food from a fully automated cooking system using interfaces such as Wi-Fi, GSM, local interface, and cloud network may develop according to the preferred recipe. The system may include a local interface, a Food Printer and a remote interface. The local interface comprises a display or an interface with a microcontroller of the Food Printer. From the local interface, the consumer can directly access the Food Printer for ordering preferred recipe. The remote interface may include but not limited to Wi-Fi interface, GSM mobile App/interface and so on.

[00017] According to an embodiment, the Food Printer may include an interface, an instrumentation unit, an embedded system and an automated cooking mechanism. Using the interface, the consumer or user can select multiple recipes at a time and can place the order for food using an ecosystem formed by the cloud storage. Further, the user or consumer can also upload or download recipes on to the cloud storage of their preference. The recipes can be selected based on a dietician, amateur cooks, grandma recipe, medical recipe, professional chefs, naturopathy, custom made for an infant to senile, nutritionist recipe, homemaker recipe and so on. Further, an intelligent inventory manager can also provide to monitor and control the stock or ingredient storage in the Food Printer.

[00018] According to an embodiment, the instrumentation unit comprises a sensor and actuators. The sensors can be utilized to detect the stock quantity or ingredients present in the automatic cooking mechanism (electromechanical device) for food preparation. Further, the sensor can also load the ingredients or stock into storage containers according to the requirement. The actuator can be activated by the microcontroller based on the recipe sequence selected. The embedded system may include a microcontroller unit for hosting all the recipes as a sequence program in a memory of the microcontroller.

[00019] According to an embodiment, the automated cooking mechanism (electromechanical device) comprises a storage container, a cooking process unit, and an output. The storage container may have multiple stored items separately for storing the stock/ingredients in the automated cooking mechanism. Further, the cooking process unit may start the food preparation based on the instruction for the preferred recipe, after receiving the appropriate ingredients. Finally, the prepared food may deliver to the output.

[00020] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [00021] The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical items.

[00022] Fig.1 illustrates a general view of the Food Printer system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using various communication networks, according to an embodiment herein;

[00023] Fig.2 illustrates a schematic architecture of the Food Printer system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using various communication networks, according to an embodiment herein;

[00024] Fig.3 illustrates an eco system of the Food Printer for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using various communication networks, according to an embodiment herein; and

[00025] Fig.4 illustrates an intelligent inventory control system of the Food Printer system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using various communication networks, according to an embodiment herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[00026] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.

[00027] As mentioned above, there is a need a fully automated cooking system without any human intervention for placing an order for a preferred recipe using any type of available networking interface. The embodiments herein achieve this by providing a system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using cloud storage/cloud along with interfaces such as Wi-Fi, GSM, and local interface according to the preferred recipe. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 4, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred embodiments.

[00028] According to an embodiment, a system for ordering and receiving food from a fully automated cooking system using cloud storage along with the interfaces such as Wi-Fi, GSM, and local interface may develop according to the preferred recipe. The system may include cloud storage, a local interface, a Food Printer and a remote interface. The cloud storage may be utilized for transferring and storing food recipes, user details, and food order and delivery details. The local interface comprises a display or an interface with a microcontroller of the Food Printer. From the local interface, the consumer can directly access the Food Printer for ordering preferred recipe. The remote interface may include but not limited to Wi-Fi interface, GSM mobile App/interface and so on. Further, the food printer can be built in place but not limited to home, restaurant and so on.

[00029] According to an embodiment, the Food Printer may include an interface, an instrumentation unit, an embedded system and an automated cooking mechanism. Using the interface, the consumer or user can select multiple recipes at a time and can place the order for food from an ecosystem formed by the cloud storage. Further, the user or consumer can also upload or download recipes on to the cloud storage of their preference. The recipes can be selected based on a dietician, amateur cooks, grandma recipe, medical recipe, professional chefs, naturopathy, custom made for an infant to senile, nutritionist recipe, home maker recipe and so on. Further, an intelligent inventory manager may also provide to monitor and control the stock or ingredient storage in the Food Printer.

[00030] According to an embodiment, the instrumentation unit comprises a sensor and actuators. The sensors can be utilized to detect the stock quantity or ingredients present in the electromechanical device for food preparation. Further, the sensor can also load the ingredients or stock into storage containers according to the requirement. The actuator can be activated by the microcontroller based on the recipe sequence selected. The embedded system may include a microcontroller unit for hosting all the recipes as a sequence program in a memory of the microcontroller.

[00031] According to an embodiment, the automated cooking mechanism (electromechanical device) comprises a storage container, a cooking process unit, and an output. The storage container may have multiple stored items separately for storing the stock/ingredients in the automated cooking mechanism. Further, the cooking process unit may start the food preparation based on the instruction for the preferred recipe, after receiving the appropriate ingredients. Finally, the prepared food may deliver to the output.

[00032] Fig.1 illustrates a general view of the Food Printer system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using various communication networks 100, according to an embodiment. The Food Printer system for ordering and receiving food from a fully automated cooking system using various communication networks comprises cloud storage/ cloud 104, a local interface, a Food Printer 105 and a remote interface. The cloud storage 104 can be utilized for transferring and storing food recipes, user details, and food order and delivery details. The local interface comprises a display or an interface with a microcontroller of the Food Printer. From the local interface, a consumer/ user 101 can directly access the Food Printer for placing an order for a preferred recipe. The remote interface may include but not limited to Wi-Fi interface, GSM mobile App/interface and so on. The user can access the Food Printer using a computing device 102 that may include but not limited to a PC, a laptop, tablet, and so on through Wi-Fi interface. The user can also access the Food Printer by means of cloud storage 104 using Wi-Fi interface. The user 101 can also use a mobile device 103 for accessing Food Printer by means of GSM (SMS texting), or mobile App/interface for placing an order for a food in the Food Printer. The Food Printer 105 may process the request from various interfaces and may provide instructions to instrumentation and automated cooking mechanism (electromechanical devices) to complete the process of food preparation of the preferred recipe. [00033] The term 'mobile device' referred herein may include but not limited to Smartphone, cell phone, and so on. The term 'computing device' referred herein may include but not limited to a personal computer (PC), laptop, tablet, IPad and so on.

[00034] Fig.2 illustrates a schematic architecture of the Food Printer system 200 for placing an order for a food and receiving food from a fully automated cooking system using various communication networks, according to an embodiment. The schematic architecture of the Food Printer system for placing an order for a food and receiving food from fully automated cooking system comprises cloud storage or cloud 104, a local interface 203, a Food Printer 105 and a remote interface 202. On the whole, the architecture of the Food Printer system for placing an order for a food and receiving food from a fully automated cooking system using various networks may include an internet of things (IOT) 201. The local interface 203 comprises a display or an interface 207 which may be connected to a microcontroller of the Food Printer. From the local interface 203, a consumer/ user 101 can directly access the Food Printer for placing an order for a preferred recipe.

[00035] According to an embodiment, the remote interface 202 may include but not limited to Wi-Fi interface, GSM mobile App/interface and so on. The user can access the Food Printer using a computing device 102 that may include but not limited to a PC, a laptop, tablet, and so on through Wi-Fi interface. The user can also access the Food Printer by means of cloud storage 104 using Wi-Fi interface. The user 101 can also use a mobile device 103 for accessing Food Printer by means of GSM (SMS texting), or mobile App/interface for placing an order for a food in the Food Printer. Further, the Food Printer majorly divided into local interface 203, embedded control system 204, instrumentation 205, and an automated cooking mechanism (electromechanical devices) 206.

[00036] According to an embodiment, the embedded system 204 present in the Food Printer includes a microcontroller unit 208 for hosting all the recipes as a sequence program in a memory of the microcontroller. The microcontroller 208 can facilitate uploading and download of recipes from the cloud storage. Further, the microcontroller can be interfaced from local LCD panel/ display or from remote either through GSM (SMS texting) mobile App interface or PC over Wi-Fi.

[00037] According to an embodiment, the instrumentation 205 present in the Food Printer includes a sensor 209 and an actuator 210. The sensors present in the instrumentation 205 unit can be utilized to detect the stock quantity or ingredients present in the automated cooking mechanism 206 for food preparation. Further, the sensor can also load the ingredients or stock into storage containers according to the requirement. The actuator 210 can be activated by the microcontroller 208 based on the recipe sequence selected. According to the recipe, the actuator 210 may generate the instruction set in a sequence to the automated cooking mechanism 206 for preparing the recipe. The typical sequence that may require preparing the food may be controlled by the actuator. That is the ingredients of required quantity may dispense from the storage container to a cooking vessel available in the cooking process unit can be controlled by the actuator.

[00038] According to an embodiment, the automated cooking mechanism (electromechanical devices) 206 may include a storage container, a cooking process unit 212, and an output 213. The storage container for storing the stock/ingredients in the automated cooking mechanism 206. The storage container may include a plurality of stored item such as stored iteml 211a, stored item2 211b and stored item3 211c. The storage container can be checked by the sensor before starting to prepare the recipe. According to the recipe, the actuator may instruct the storage container to provide the ingredients to the cooking process unit 212. Further, the cooking process unit 212 may start the food preparation based on the instruction for the preferred recipe. Finally, the prepared food may deliver to the output.

[00039] Fig.3 illustrates an ecosystem of the Food Printer 300 for ordering and receiving food from a fully automated cooking system using various communication networks, according to an embodiment. In the ecosystem of Food Printer, the recipes can be uploaded to the cloud storage 104 by professionals like a dietician, professional chefs, amateur cooks, nutritionist and non-professionals like grandma's recipe, medical recipe, naturopathy, custom made for an infant to senile, and homemaker. Any consumer or user can select any body's recipe according to their preference. Further, the recipes can be selected based on medical recipe 301, grandma recipe 302, dietician recipe 303, homemaker recipe 304, amateur cooks 305, nutritionist recipe 306, professional chefs 307, naturopathy 308, custom made for an infant to senile 309 and so on. From the cloud storage, the selected recipe can be provided to the Food Printer 105 for preparing the food. The user can select set of recipes at a time to be executed in tandem to prepare a multicourse meal. The user can design their own recipe and upload them into cloud storage 104 for publishing or download recipe from the cloud storage as designed by chef/expert/ nutritionist /amateur and so on. The user can send an order to Food Printer from a remote place and the user can set timing interval and be available to consume hot food.

[00040] According to an embodiment, the Food Printer may suggest a set of recipes based on health diagnostics to improve the quality of life of all individuals like students, homemakers, office goers, bodybuilders and so on. The Food Printer can cater multiple programs, which may help in having balanced nutrition depends on their need. Hence, each individual is unique. The Food Printer may also suggest cost effective alternatives for the same amount of nutrition. Thus provides more choices for the different privileged people. Further, the user can easily follow a diet program with the Food Printer. The diet program can function for wider requirements to cater to every stage of life.

[00041] Fig.4 illustrates an intelligent inventory control system of the Food Printer system for ordering and receiving food from fully automated cooking system using various networks, according to an embodiment. The intelligent inventory manager may assist the user 101 to query the grocery inventory and receive the stock status using a mobile App 402. The intelligent inventory manager can also generate or forward an order to a compatible supermarket system 403 to arrange for home delivery of groceries to the Food Printer system 105. Further, the intelligent inventory manager can also perform the inventory management on daily or weekly or monthly basis. The intelligent inventory manager can facilitate the user by providing a control of the cost of the monthly budget for the Food Printer system.

[00042] According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, a small to large family members at various age groups from kids to elders may have their own favorite food. For satisfying everyone's food requirement, the cook or the family member need to spend a lot of time in a kitchen. Hence, this problem can be solved by the Food Printer by drastically cut down the workload and the family member can operate the Food Printer at their own time and have their choice of food at their continence. The Food Printer may have a category of recipes for different age groups.

[00043] According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, if a person may move to a new place/ country, where the food culture is different means then the person has to suffer from non-availability of favorite food. But the Food Printer can solve this problem by providing food of the person's favorite from cloud storage.

[00044] According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, if both husband and wife are working and they have to depend on the maid. And the maid has to come on time without taking off. Sometimes the maid may not come due to personal reasons, that time the family members has to suffer. With Food Printer, these type of problem can be solved.

[00045] According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, if a person may want to taste his/her mother's food preparation every day even she may not available nearby, the Food Printer can have the option of providing food as such the person's mother's recipe.

[00046] According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, if a daughter doesn't know cooking even after marriage also, the Food Printer can solve the issue by providing food of family member's favorite. This may lead to women empowered and the women may not be regarded as kitchen slaves anymore. There would be a large change in the latitude of the society by and large.

[00047] According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, in a family mother may worry about nutritious food that has to be given to their kids. By utilizing the Food Printer's personal nutritionist assistant program, a healthy diet can build for the kids. The Food Printer may also suggest multiple options for the same nutrition value from budget to value buy at different cost. The user can choose the affordable one to satisfy nutrition need for the kids.

[00048] According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, for old parents providing healthy food on preferred time is difficult for new generation working persons. The Food Printer can solve the problem by providing healthy food that is suitable for old ages. The person can also select senile nutrient program as suitable from many options and track their food intake pattern from remote of their frequency of intake, calories/ nutritious value and can ensure that they take enough nutrition to keep them healthy. The Food Printer may also present a report on daily/weekly/monthly basis to alert the person if the old parent may skip the meal. The person can track the report from any location in the world.

[00049] According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, for a body builder a dietician assistant program may give a report on weight loss/ gain using the Food Printer. According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, for a patient the Food Printer can provide food according to the nature of disease or sufferings. According to an embodiment, for example in a situation, if a family may go for a picnic, there also the Food Printer can provide favorite food to the family members. The family members can get hygienic food from the Food Printer. According to an embodiment, for example in an extraordinary situation like natural calamities, the Food Printer can also arrange food in the troubled areas.

[00050] According to an embodiment, the Food Printer may provide some monetary benefits to the user. According to the Food Printer wastage of prepared food can be greatly reduced due to optimal cooking. Due to controlled cooking process, the possibility of occurrence of burnout may also get controlled. Further, the Food Printer can also improve health with tight monitoring and control of the nutritious intake. In the Food Printer, raw ingredients can be optimally utilized. That is the ingredients may not be thrown away due to over storage. The user may not require using frozen items with preservatives, which are harmful to health in long run. Further, the inventory manager can also provide a better cost control. Furthermore, with better diet control the user can prevent disease.

[00051] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.