WO2022172190A1

WO2022172190A1 - A cooking system for food products

Info

Publication number: WO2022172190A1
Application number: PCT/IB2022/051201
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matteo Benevento; Attilio GIULIANI
Original assignee: Smart Eat Solutions S.R.L.
Priority date: 2021-02-11
Filing date: 2022-02-10
Publication date: 2022-08-18
Also published as: IT202100003092A1

Abstract

A cooking system (1) comprises: - a cooking tank (2) for containing a cooking fluid; - a plurality of containers (6, 7) for containing food products; - introducing means (30) for introducing into the cooking tank (2) subsequent containers (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7), each container (6, 7) containing a respective food product; - a movement device (10) for moving inside the cooking tank (2) the containers (6, 7) introduced by the introducing means (30), the movement device (10) being configured to move each container (6, 7) for a cooking time which can be selected independently of the cooking time of the other containers (6, 7); - collecting means (35) for collecting from the cooking tank (2) subsequent containers (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7) after the food product contained in each container (6, 7) has been cooked by remaining in the cooking tank (2) for the corresponding cooking time.

Description

A COOKING SYSTEM FOR FOOD PRODUCTS

This invention relates to a system for cooking food products, which can be used in particular for cooking food inside an automatic dispenser (vending machine), or in a latest generation of automated kitchens.

The cooking system according to the invention allows loose food products to be cooked, particularly in the solid state, or food packaged in packages, whether vacuum sealed or not. If the food is packaged, the cooking system can cook solid food products, fluids with different degrees of viscosity or liquids.

The invention also relates to a method for cooking food, which may be used in the automatic catering sector, in particular inside an automatic dispenser or an automated kitchen.

In particular, the term "automatic dispenser" (or "vending machine") refers to machinery configured for dispensing products and services on request and after payment, for example by means of cash, credit cards and/or digital payment services (such as PayPal and the like).

Automatic dispensers have become increasingly widespread as they provide a fully automated service, with consequent possibility of operation 24 hours a day 7 days a week without requiring the presence of operators. Automatic dispensers differ according to the type of goods or service to be dispensed.

Purely by way of example, specialised automatic dispensers are present on the market for dispensing various types of products, such as food products, hot beverages, cold beverages, books, electronic material and much more. In the food sector, there are currently automatic dispensers configured for dispensing food products without subjecting them to a cooking process. These automatic dispensers are free of cooking devices and are limited to dispensing food products in the same state in which the food products have been inserted inside the automatic dispenser. There are also automatic dispensers designed for dispensing cooked food. These automatic dispensers usually comprise a microwave cooking device, as a result of which the food dispensed is not of excellent quality.

Moreover, the prior art automatic dispensers which dispense cooked food allow the cooking of a single product at a time, which is the cause of lengthy waiting times which discourage the use by potential users.

Moreover, cooking systems are available on the market which are able to process several foods simultaneously in order to reduce the waiting time for the users.

In particular, these systems comprise a conveyer which moves a plurality of containers, each of which contains a respective food product, along a linear movement path inside the cooking tank between an inlet station and an outlet station, according to a logic of the “first-in first-out" type. The first food which enters the cooking tank is therefore also the first food product which leaves the above-mentioned tank.

Disadvantageously, these systems are not able to process food products with different cooking times, which considerably limits the operational flexibility of the apparatus in which the cooking system may be inserted, whether it is an automatic dispenser or an automated kitchen.

US 2019/110639 discloses an example of a cooking system of known type. An object of the invention is to improve the prior art systems for cooking food products.

Another object is to provide a cooking system which allows the cooking of different types of food and which requires different cooking times.

A further object is to provide a cooking system which is able to provide good quality cooked food.

Another object is to provide a system for cooking food products which has an operational flexibility which is increased compared with the prior art devices, guarantees a high operational efficiency of the apparatus in which it is inserted, and reduces the operating costs relating to the process for cooking the food. The technical task indicated and the object specified are substantially achieved by a system for cooking food products according to claim 1 .

The dependent claims correspond to possible embodiments of the invention.

The invention can be better understood and implemented with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a non-limiting example embodiment of it and in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a system for cooking food products according to a possible embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 2 is a side view of the system for cooking food products of Figure 1 ;

- Figure 3 is a top view of a cooking tank of the cooking system of Figure 1 ;

- Figure 4 is a perspective view of a first container included in the system for cooking food products of Figure 1 ;

- Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second container of a type different from that of the container of Figure 4, which can be used in the system for cooking food products of Figure 1 .

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 denotes in its entirety a system for cooking food products which allows food products of different types to be cooked, both in the solid state, in the more or less viscous fluid state, and in the liquid state. As described in more detail below, the cooking system 1 allows loose or packaged food products to be cooked inside packages which may be vacuum sealed or not vacuum sealed.

The cooking system 1 may be inserted in an automatic device for dispensing food products ready to be eaten, or in a latest generation of automated kitchens.

The cooking system 1 comprises a cooking tank 2 designed to contain a cooking fluid and heating means, not illustrated, designed to impart heat to the cooking fluid.

The heating means may comprise an induction and/or gas heating device and/or comprising one or more electrical resistors and/or others. In the example shown, the cooking tank 2 is cylindrical in shape, but other geometries of the cooking tank 2 are possible.

Preferably, also, the cooking tank 2 may comprise at least one inlet opening 4 and at least one outlet opening 5, shown in Figure 2, designed, respectively, to allow an infeed and an outfeed of the cooking fluid into the cooking tank 2.

The inlet opening 4 may be positioned in a lower zone of the cooking tank 2, on a side wall of the cooking tank 2, in such a way that the fluid is sent to the cooking tank 2 in a non-radial, particularly tangential direction.

The outlet opening 5 may be located in a lower zone of the cooking tank 2, for example in a central region of a bottom wall of the cooking tank 2. Advantageously, the cooking fluid may be water, in such a way as to allow a multiplicity of food products, such as pasta and/or cereals of different types, to be cooked, and other foods intended to be cooked in a package, particularly vacuum sealed, such as veloute sauces, soups, sauces, ragout and the like.

In accordance with different possible embodiments of the invention, the cooking fluid may be frying oil, for example corn oil, peanut oil and/or sunflower oil without altering the inventive concept which forms the basis of the invention.

The cooking system 1 further comprises at least a first container 6 designed to receive food products of a first type and to contain the food products during the cooking. In particular, the first container 6 is designed to contain loose food products which are introduced in the cooking tank 2 without having been packaged in advance. The loose food products received in the first container 6 during the cooking may comprise, for example, pasta and/or cereals.

In the example shown, there is a plurality of first containers 6.

The cooking system further comprises at least a second container 7 designed to receive food products of a second type and to house the food products during the cooking. The elements which the second container 7 is designed to receive may be food products previously packaged, for example inside vacuum packages. Such foods products may comprise, for example, veloute sauces, soups, sauces, ragout or others.

In the example shown, there is a plurality of second containers 7.

By housing food products of different types in the first containers 6 and in the second containers 7, the cooking system 1 allows the cooking of both loose food products and food products already positioned inside a package, for example vacuum sealed.

Both the first container 6 and the second container 7 may have at least one opening 8, shown in Figures 4 and 5, to introduce in the corresponding container the food products to be cooked or to remove the food products from the corresponding container after cooking.

Moreover, the first container 6 and/or the second container 7 may have perforated side walls to allow the cooking fluid to enter the respective container to come into contact with the food product to be cooked, as well as obviously coming out of the container. For this purpose, in the example shown, the first container 6 and the second container 7 have side walls and/or a bottom wall on which a plurality of holes 9 are formed. According to an alternative version, the walls of the first container 6 and of the second container 7 may be made of metal mesh, in which case the cooking fluid can pass between one mesh and another.

The first container 6 and the second container 7 may be made of metal, plastic or other materials.

According to a possible embodiment and as illustrated in detail in Figure 4, the first container 6 may have a substantially tubular shape defined by at least one side wall 600 projecting from a supporting base 601 . The side wall 600 may have, for example, a cylindrical shape.

Advantageously, the supporting base 601 may have a protuberance 602, which projects towards the inside of the first container 6. The protuberance 602 may extend along an axis about which the side wall 600 extends. The protuberance 602 favours the generation of a whirling motion of the cooking fluid inside the first container 6 favouring a mixing and effective cooking of the loose food products present in the first container 6.

As shown more clearly in Figure 5, the second container 7 may have a substantially trapezoidal prismatic shape, which makes it possible to contain packages of food products having a plurality of different dimensions and geometries.

The cooking system 1 further comprises a movement device 10 for moving the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 inside the cooking tank 2. As described in more detail below, the movement device 10 allows the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 to be moved inside the cooking tank 2 for the time necessary to cook the particular food product present inside each first container 6 and inside each second container 7.

The cooking system 1 further comprises introducing means 30 for introducing inside the cooking tank 2 the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 in which the food product to be cooked has been previously inserted. Once introduced in the cooking tank 2, the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 are moved by the movement device 10.

More specifically, the introducing means 30 may comprise a first introduction device 31 for introducing into the cooking tank 2 the first containers 6, that is to say, the containers of the first type which the cooking system 1 is able to process. The introducing means 30 may further comprise a second introduction device 32 for introducing into the cooking tank 2 the second containers 7, that is to say, the containers of the second type which the cooking system 1 is able to process.

The first introduction device 31 is distinct from the second introduction device 32, so that the first containers 6 are introduced into the cooking tank 2 along a path different from the path followed by the second containers 7. More specifically, the first introduction device 31 is configured to release each first container 6 in a first introduction station 33, located in an upper region of the cooking tank 2. The second introduction device 32 is, on the other hand, configured to release each second container 7 in a second introduction station 34, which is also positioned in an upper region of the cooking tank 2. The first introduction station 33 is distinct from the second introduction station 34. In the example shown, the first introduction station 33 and the second introduction station 34 are located in two angularly distinct positions about a central axis of the cooking tank 2, for example in two positions almost diametrically opposite each other. However, this condition is not necessary.

Collecting means 35 are also provided for collecting from the cooking tank 2 the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 containing the respective food products after the cooking.

The collecting means 35 may comprise a first collecting device 36 for extracting the first containers 6 from the cooking tank 2, after the food product contained in each container 6 has been cooked. The first collecting device 36 may be configured to collect the first containers 6 from the cooking tank 2 in a first collecting station 38 positioned, for example, in an upper region of the cooking tank 2. The collecting means 35 may also comprise a second collecting device 37 for taking away from the cooking tank 2 the second containers 7 after the food products contained therein have been cooked. The second collecting device 37 may collect the second containers 7 in a second collecting station 39 located, for example, in an upper region of the cooking tank 2.

The first collecting device 36 is distinct from the second collecting device 37 so that the first containers 6 leave the cooking tank 2 following a path different from the path followed by the second containers 7 transported by the second collecting device 37. In the example shown, the first collecting station 38 and the second collecting station 39 are located in two angularly distinct positions relative to a central axis of the cooking tank 2, but this condition is not necessary.

The movement device 10 is configured to move both the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 inside the cooking tank 2. In particular, the movement device 10 receives the first containers 6 conveyed from the first introduction device 31 in the first introduction station 33 and delivers the first containers 6 to the first collecting device 36 in the first collecting station 38. Moreover, the movement device 10 receives the second containers 7 transported from the second introduction device 32 in the second introduction station 34 and delivers the second containers 7 to the second collecting device 37 in the second collecting station 39.

The movement device 10 is able to move each first container 6 and each second container 7 in the cooking tank 2 for a number of revolutions selected as desired. Moreover, the movement device 10 may stop inside the cooking tank 2, in which case the containers 6, 7 transported by the movement device 10 remain temporarily in a fixed position inside the tank. In that way, each first container 6 and each second container 7 may remain in the cooking tank 2 for a desired length of time. The time each first container 6 and each second container 7 remain in the cooking tank 2 defines the time for cooking the food product contained in the first container 6 or in the second container 7 considered.

The cooking time associated with each first container 6 or with each second container 7 may be selected independently of the cooking time associated with the other containers 6, 7, which at that moment are inside the cooking tank 2.

This is made possible by the fact that the introducing means 30 are independent of the movement device 10 and also by the fact that the collecting means 35 are independent of the movement device 10. That is to say, there is no mechanical connection between the introducing means 30 and the movement device 10, or between the movement device 10 and the collecting means 35, which forces the containers 6, 7 to follow a predetermined succession as regards their infeed into the tank 2 and their outfeed from the latter.

More specifically, the movement device 10 is configured for moving the containers along a flow inside the cooking tank 2, whilst the collecting means 35 are configured for moving the containers 6 or 7 along at least one flow away from the cooking tank 2. The flow in the cooking tank is independent of the flow away from the cooking tank 2, so that the logic unit of the cooking system can select whether a container 6 or 7 which has been carried by the movement device 10 close to the collecting means 35 has to be collected by the collecting 35 or has to pass beyond the collecting means 35 to remain longer in the cooking tank 2.

In other words, although the first introduction device 31 and the second introduction device 32 deposit the first containers 6 and the second containers 7, respectively, in sequence inside the cooking tank 2, and although the first collecting device 36 and the second collecting device 37 collect the first containers 6 and the second containers 7, respectively, in sequence from the cooking tank 2, the sequences with which the first containers 6 and the second containers 7, respectively, are introduced in the cooking tank 2 must not necessarily coincide with the sequence with which the first containers 6 and the second containers 7, respectively, are collected by the cooking tank 2.

In this way, it can happen that any container selected from among the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 remains in the cooking tank longer than another container selected from among the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 which has been introduced into the cooking tank 2 after the one mentioned above, or vice versa.

For example, it can happen that a certain first container 6, containing loose fresh egg pasta which cooks rapidly, remains inside the cooking tank 2 for a shorter cooking time than another first container 6, inside of which there is loose wholegrain rice, which requires longer cooking times. This occurs irrespective of the order in which the first container 6 containing fresh egg pasta and the first container 6 containing the wholegrain rice have been introduced into the cooking tank 2.

It may also happen that the cooking time associated with a certain first container 6 may also be different (longer or shorter) than the cooking time associated with a certain second container 7, or that the cooking times associated with two different second containers 7 are different from each other, depending on the food product contained in these containers.

In order to make what is described above possible, the cooking system 1 comprises a logic unit which, on the basis of the cooking time of each food product which the cooking system 1 is capable of processing, determines the instant in which the corresponding container 6, 7 must be extracted from the cooking tank 2, taking into consideration the instant in which the container 6, 7 in question has been introduced into the cooking tank 2. During the time a container 6, 7 remains inside the cooking tank 2, the container 6, 7 in question can be moved inside the cooking tank 2 by the movement device 10, or remain in a static position in the cooking tank 2, if the movement device 10 is stationary.

This makes it possible to obtain a cooking system 1 which is extremely flexible and versatile, which is able to cook food products, which are even very different from each other, in an optimum manner. It should be noted that the cooking of food products of different types may occur simultaneously, which makes it possible to limit the waiting times between the dispensing of a cooked food product and the dispensing of the next cooked food product.

The above makes the cooking system 1 which is particularly suitable for being inserted in an automatic dispenser of food products.

In the example shown, the movement device 10 comprises a movement carousel for moving the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 along a circular path inside the cooking tank 2. However, this condition is not necessary and the path of the first containers 6 and of the second containers 7 inside the cooking tank 2 might also be non-circular. For example, the cooking tank 2 might have an elongate shape and the movement device 10 could be designed to transport the first containers 6 and the second containers 7 along an oval, or elliptic, path or in any case corresponding to the shape of the cooking tank 2, inside the latter, or also forwards and backwards along a linear path in the cooking tank 2. The movement device 10 may be housed at least partly inside the cooking tank 2.

As shown more clearly in Figure 3, the movement device 10 defines in the tank 2 a plurality of housings 11 designed to house a first container 6 or a second container 7.

The movement device 10 may comprise a plurality of supporting elements 12 mutually connected to define the above-mentioned housings 11 .

If the movement device 10 is shaped like a carousel, the supporting elements 12 may be convergent towards a central portion of the movement device 10 and positioned substantially radially relative to an axis of rotation of the movement device 10. In other words, the supporting elements 12 may be shaped like radial rods which project towards a peripheral region of the cooking tank 2 from a central shaft 13 of the movement device 10.

The central shaft 13, which in the example illustrated extends vertically, is connected to a motor, not illustrated, so as to be driven in rotation to move the first containers 6 and/or the second containers 7 located in the housings 11 inside the cooking tank 2.

In order to be able to be transported by the movement device 10, each first container 6 and each second container 7 comprises a pair of supporting protrusions 14, which may be shaped like cylindrical pins. The supporting protrusions 14 may be provided in an upper zone of each first container 6 and of each second container 7, close to the respective opening 8.

In the case of the first containers 6, which are substantially cylindrical in shape, the supporting protrusions 14 may project towards the outside of each first container 6 from two diametrically opposite points of the side wall 600.

In the case of the second containers 7, the supporting protrusions 14 may project towards the outside of each second container 7 from two opposite side walls, particularly two larger walls, of the second container 7.

The supporting protrusions 14 of a container 6, 7 may lie on a shared plane. Each supporting element 12 of the movement device 10 is designed to receive and support a supporting protrusion 14 of a first container 6 or of a second container 7, in such a way that the first container 6 or the second container 7 is received in a housing 11 and has the supporting protrusions 14 resting on two adjacent supporting elements 12. The supporting protrusions 14 may engage with the adjacent supporting elements 12 by means of a snap fitting system. Each housing 11 is thus able to receive a first container 6 or alternatively a second container 7 at a time.

During the rotation of the central shaft 13, or more generally speaking during the movement of the movement device 10, the supporting elements 12 transport inside the cooking tank 12 the first container 6 or the second container 7 positioned in the corresponding housing 11 .

As shown more clearly in Figures 4 and 5, the first introduction device 31 , the second introduction device 32, the first collecting device 36 and the second collecting device 37 each comprise a pair of movement guides 16 and at least one movement carriage 17.

Each movement guide 16, which may comprise a shaped bar, is fixed relative to the cooking tank 2 and extends mainly outside the cooking tank 2 to define the path of the containers 6, 7, on the outside of the cooking tank 2, more specifically upstream and downstream of the latter.

A movement carriage 17 which may be, for example, connected to a drive transmission belt, not illustrated, positioned inside the guides 16, is movable along each pair of movement guides 16.

Each movement carriage 17 may in particular have two pins, each of which is slidable in a guide slot 15 provided in the pair of movement guides 16 along which the movement carriage 17 can slide.

Each first container 6 and each second container 7 is equipped with a coupling pin 18 (not shown in the drawings for the second containers 7). The coupling pin 18 is designed to be received in a coupling hole 19, made on each movement carriage 17, to allow each container 6, 7 to removably engage with a corresponding movement carriage 17.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the movement carriages 17 may have a different shape depending on whether they are destined to move the first containers 6 or the second containers 7.

In particular, each movement carriage 17 can be slidably moved along the corresponding pair of movement guides 16 to move each first container 6 and/or each second container 7 between a position closest to the cooking tank 2 and a position furthest from the cooking tank 2.

For example, the position closer to the cooking tank 2 may be defined at the introduction stations 33, 34 and/or at the collecting stations 38, 39. Moreover, in the case of the introducing means 30, the furthest position may be located close to filling means, not illustrated, designed to introduce the desired food product into the first container 6 and/or into the second container 7.

According to further possible embodiments, not illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, the introducing means 30 and/or the collecting means 35 may comprise handling devices, for example an anthropomorphic robotic arm, and/or a system of pulleys and/or a system of levers and/or other systems, without altering the concept which forms the basis of the invention.

The cooking tank 2 is equipped with a lid, not illustrated, in which there may be openings for the passage of the first containers 6 and of the second containers 7 containing the respective food products to be cooked or already cooked. The openings of the lid may be equipped with closing means which open automatically to let a container 6, 7 pass and then close. The cooking system 1 may also comprise a device (not illustrated in the accompanying drawings) for adjusting the cooking fluid designed to adjust at least one operating parameter of the cooking fluid.

Preferably, the adjustment device is configured for introducing a predetermined quantity of salt into the cooking tank 2 as a function of a preloaded logic.

In accordance with a preferred, non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the adjustment device may comprise a salinity measuring device designed to generate a signal representing the quantity of salt present in the cooking fluid and a release mechanism configured to release a quantity of salt as a function of the signal generated by the salinity measuring device and of a preloaded logic.

According to further possible embodiments, the release mechanism may release a quantity of salt as a function of further operating parameters (together with or alternatively to the above-mentioned signal generated by the salinity measuring device), for example correlated with the number of cooking cycles and/or the quantity of food product dispensed, without altering the inventive concept which forms the basis of the invention.

It is also possible that the adjustment device allows adjustment of the quantity of other soluble substances present in the cooking fluid, for example sugar, depending on the type of food product to be cooked. Advantageously, the cooking system 1 may further comprise a recycling device which allows the cooking fluid used to cook the food products contained in the first containers 6 and in the second containers 7 to be purified and reintroduced into the cooking tank 2 for subsequent uses.

The recycling device may comprise a device for purifying the cooking fluid designed to purify the cooking fluid which leaves the cooking tank 2 through the outlet opening 5.

In particular, the recycling device may be configured for drawing the cooking fluid from the cooking tank 2, through the outlet opening 5, for purifying the cooking fluid drawn and then reintroducing the cooking fluid in the cooking tank 2 through the inlet openings 4.

In this way, the cooking system 1 allows a reduction in the costs due to the continuous replacement of the cooking fluid.

It should be noted that the non-radial arrangement, for example tangential, of the inlet openings 4, through which the clean cooking fluid enters the cooking tank 2, allows the cooking fluid entering to easily mix with the cooking fluid already present in the cooking tank 2, which facilitates a homogeneous distribution of temperature and composition of the cooking fluid in the cooking tank 2. In order to favour the mixing of the cooking fluid in the cooking tank 2, it is possible that there is air in the cooking fluid which enters the cooking tank 2 through the inlet openings 4.

During the operation, a first container 6 and a second container 7 are normally kept respectively at a first filling position P1 and at a second filling position P2 outside the cooking tank 2, more specifically, at one end of the corresponding movement guides 16 furthest away from the cooking tank 2. When the logic unit included in the cooking system 1 receives the request for dispensing a predetermined food product to be cooked loose, the desired loose food product is poured into the first container 6 which was waiting in the first filling position P1. Similarly, when the request for dispensing a packaged food product is received, the package containing the desired food product is deposited in the second container 7 which was waiting in the second filling position P2.

The first container 6 or the second container 7 which have just received the desired food product in the first filling station P1 or, respectively, in the second filling station P2, are now moved downwards, that is, towards the cooking tank 2. More in detail, the first container 6 or the second container 7 move down towards the first introduction station 33 or, respectively, the second introduction station 34, sliding along the corresponding movement guides 16 using the movement carriage 17.

After reaching the first introduction station 33 or, respectively, the second introduction station 34, the movement carriage 17, connected to the first container 6 or to the second container 7 containing the food product to be cooked, is lowered into the cooking tank 2 below the level on which the containers 6, 7 transported by the movement device 10 move. In this way, the movement carriage 17 disengages from the first container 6 or from the first container 7 associated with it to be received by the movement device 10.

The movement carriage 17, which has just moved the container 6 or 7 into the cooking tank 2, remains below the level on which the containers 6, 7 are transported by the movement device 10 until the latter carries an empty container 6 or 7, of the type which that movement carriage 17 can transport, above the movement carriage 17. When this occurs, the movement carriage 17 rises along the corresponding movement guides 16 in such a way as to engage with the corresponding empty container 6 or 7. The movement carriage 17 continues to rise along the movement guides 16, until carrying the first empty container 6 or the second empty container 7, respectively, to the first filling position P1 or to the second filling position P2, waiting for a new food product to be cooked.

At the same time, the first container 6 or the second container 7 which has just entered the cooking tank 2 are received in an empty housing 11 and engage the supporting elements 12 of the movement device 10 through the supporting protrusions 14. The first container 6 or the second container 7 are thus delivered to the movement device 10, which keeps the container 6 or 7 in the cooking tank 2 for the cooking time selected by the logic unit on the basis of the type of food product present in the container 6 or 7.

When a container 6 or 7 arrives in the cooking tank 2, the movement device 10 is stationary.

The movement of the movement device 10 is controlled by the logic unit of the cooking system 1 , which at any instant knows the position of each first container 6 or each second container 7 present in the cooking tank 2.

The logic unit is also able to establish when each container 6 and 7 has remained in the cooking tank 2 for a sufficient cooking time and can therefore be extracted from the cooking tank 2.

Lastly, the logic unit recognises which are the empty housings 11 , in which it is possible to insert a new container 6 or 7 containing a food product to be cooked.

In this way, the movement device 10 enables the time the containers 6, 7 remain in the cooking tank 2 to be rendered independent of the moment the containers have been introduced in the cooking tank 2 or removed therefrom. Moreover, the movement device 10, moving inside the cooking tank 2, applies a sort of mixing action on the loose food products contained in the first containers 6. In effect, the cooking fluid can enter the first containers 6 through the openings made in the walls of the first containers 6.

When a first container 6 or a second container 7 has remained in the cooking tank 2 for a sufficient cooking time, it is moved to the first collecting station 38 or, respectively, to the second cooking station 39. At this point the movement device 10 stops.

A movement carriage 17 for moving the first collecting device 36 or the second collecting device 37 is present in the cooking tank 2, below the level on which is located the first container 6 or, respectively, the second container 7 positioned in the corresponding collecting station 38 or 39. This movement carriage 17 is moved upwards to engage with the container 6 or 7, which is thus separated from the movement device 10 and carried outside the cooking tank 2 along the movement guides 16 of the corresponding collecting device 36 or 37.

The container 6 or 7 is thus moved to a first unloading position Q1 (for the first containers 6) or to a second unloading position Q2 (for the second containers 7) in which the cooked food product can be removed from the container 6 and 7 to be further processed. The cooked food product may be removed from the container 6 or 7 by rotating the container 6 or 7 (as shown for the first containers 6 in the first unloading position Q1 in the example shown), or by opening one or more hatches optionally provided in a lower portion of the container 6 or 7 to make the food product fall.

According to a version not illustrated, the cooking system 1 might comprise containers of a single type, for example only the first containers 6 or only the second containers 7.

It should be noted that the invention achieves the preset aims by providing a system for cooking food products which can be used inside automatic dispensers and/or automated kitchens of the latest generation having an operational flexibility which is increased compared with the prior art devices, thanks in particular to the presence of a movement device 10 configured for moving in the cooking tank 2 the containers 6 or 7 for the cooking times independent of each other, which are specific for the particular food product to be cooked. Advantageously, the invention allows a simultaneous cooking of a plurality of food products, irrespective of the durations of the respective cooking periods, thereby overcoming the need for a product management logic with a first-in first-out philosophy which significantly affects the prior art cooking systems. The cooking system 1 is particularly flexible also from the design point of view, since the position of the introduction stations 33 and 34 and of the collecting stations 38 and 39 may be selected arbitrarily on the basis of the shape of the overall machine (for example, automatic dispenser or automated kitchen) in which the cooking system 2 will be inserted.

Claims

1. A cooking system comprising: a cooking tank (2) for containing a cooking fluid; a plurality of containers (6, 7) for containing food products; introducing means (30) for introducing into the cooking tank (2) subsequent containers (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7), each container (6, 7) containing a respective food product; a movement device (10) for moving inside the cooking tank (2) the containers (6, 7) introduced by the introducing means (30), the movement device (10) being configured to keep each container (6, 7) in the cooking tank (2) for a time which can be selected independently of the time for which the other containers (6, 7) remain in the cooking tank (2); collecting means (35) for collecting from the cooking tank (2) subsequent containers (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7) after the food product contained in each container (6, 7) has been cooked by keeping the corresponding container (6, 7) in the cooking tank (2) for the respective time. wherein said plurality of containers (6, 7) comprises first containers (6) and second containers (7), the introducing means (10) comprising a first introduction device (31) for introducing the first containers (6) into the cooking tank (2) and a second introduction device (32) for introducing the second containers (7) into the cooking tank (2), the first introduction device (31) being distinct from the second introduction device (32).

2. The cooking system according to claim 1 , wherein the movement device (10) is configured to move the containers along a flow inside the cooking tank (2), the collecting means (35) being configured to move the containers (6, 7) along at least one flow away from the cooking tank (2), the flow in the cooking tank (2) being independent of the flow away from the cooking tank (2), so that a logic unit of the cooking system (1 ) can select whether a container (6, 7) carried by the movement device (10) close to the collecting means (35) has to be collected by the collecting means (35) or has to pass beyond the collecting means (35) to remain longer in the cooking tank (2). 3. The cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the collecting means (35) comprise a first collecting device (36) for collecting the first containers (6) from the cooking tank (2) after the respective food products have been cooked, and a second collecting device (37) for collecting the second containers (7) from the cooking tank (2) after the respective food products have been cooked, the first collecting device

(36) being distinct from the second collecting device (37), and wherein optionally the first containers (6) have a shape different from the second containers (7).

4. The cooking system according to any preceding claim, wherein the movement device (10) has a plurality of housings (11) each of which may selectively receive one of the first containers (6) or one of the second containers (7) for moving it inside the cooking tank (2).

5. The cooking system according to any preceding claim, wherein the movement device (10) comprises a movement carrousel rotatable about a vertical axis and defining a substantially circular path of the containers (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7) inside the cooking tank (2).

6. The cooking system according to any preceding claim, wherein the movement device (10) comprises a plurality of supporting elements (12), each container (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7) having a pair of rest protrusions (14) which project from opposite zones of the container (6, 7) for engaging with two adjacent supporting elements (12) in such a way that the supporting elements (12) move the container (6, 7) in the cooking tank (2). 7. The cooking system according to any preceding claim, wherein the introducing means (30) and the collecting means (35) each comprise at least one pair of movement guides (16) which extend at least partly outside the cooking tank (2) and at least one movement carriage (17) movable along a respective pair of movement guides (16), the movement carriage (17) being reversibly engageable with a container (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7).

8. The cooking system according to any preceding claim, comprising a cooking fluid adjusting device suitable for adjusting at least one operating parameter of the cooking fluid, said adjusting device being configured to introduce into said cooking tank (2) a predetermined quantity of soluble material as a function of a preloaded logic.

9. The cooking system according to any preceding claim, comprising a purifying device for purifying the cooking fluid, the purifying device being in fluid communication with said cooking tank (2) and being configured to draw a quantity of the cooking fluid from said cooking tank (2), purify the cooking fluid drawn and reintroduce the cooking fluid into said cooking tank (2).

10. The cooking system according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one container (6) of said plurality of containers (6, 7) has a substantially tubular shape defined by at least one side wall (600) projecting from a supporting base (601), said supporting base (601) having a protuberance (602), which projects towards the inside of the container (6).

11. The cooking system according to any preceding claim, wherein each container (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7) comprises a perforated wall to allow the passage of the cooking fluid through the container (6, 7), the cooking tank (2) having at least one inlet opening (4) which opens tangentially into a side wall of the cooking tank (2) to introduce the cooking fluid, so that the cooking fluid exerts a mixing action on a loose food product present in at least one container (6, 7) of said plurality of containers (6, 7).

12. An automatic dispenser for food products, comprising a cooking system for cooking food products according to any preceding claim.

13. A method comprising the steps of: providing a cooking tank (2) containing a cooking fluid; introducing into the cooking tank (2) subsequent containers (6, 7), each of which contains a respective food product, the containers (6,

7) comprising first containers (6) and second containers (7); moving inside the cooking tank (2) each container (6, 7) which has been introduced in the cooking tank (2), so that each container remains in the cooking tank (2) for a time which can be selected independently of the time for which the other containers (6, 7) remain in the cooking tank (2); collecting from the cooking tank (2) subsequent containers (6, 7) which have been previously introduced in the cooking tank (2) after the food product contained in each container (6, 7) has been cooked by leaving in the cooking tank (2) the corresponding container (6, 7) for the respective time, wherein the first containers (6) are introduced into the cooking tank (2) by a first introduction device (31) and the second containers (7) are introduced into the cooking tank (2) by a second introduction device (32), the first introduction device (31) being distinct from the second introduction device (32).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first containers (6) receive a loose food product and the second containers (7) receive a packaged food product, optionally vacuum sealed.