CHEWING MACHINE

Abstract

The present invention relates to an in vitro system for automatic chewing of solid and semi-solid food intended to simulate the human chewing process of a food sample, comprising a lower toothed ring and an upper toothed ring; and further comprising a force lever consisting of an arm from which a lead weight hangs, which is moved along the arm via the traction exerted by an electric motor controlled by a microcontroller board, which is connected by a spindle to the upper toothed ring; and wherein the shearing action is provided by an electric motor controlled by a microprocessor board which is connected to the shaft of the upper toothed ring via a chain. A second objective of the invention comprises a method for automatic chewing with controlled force and a specific number of chewing cycles and shear angle.

Claims

1. An in vitro automatic chewing system for solid and semi-solid food (100), CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises: a lower toothed ring (2) and an upper toothed ring (1) in charge of crushing and generating a shear on a solid or semi-solid food, wherein the lower ring (2) is connected through a connecting rod system to an electric motor (24) that executes in number of chewing cycles controlled by a microcontroller card; the upper toothed ring (1) is in charge of exerting force and shear on the solid or semi-solid food; a force lever (16) is connected by a spindle to the upper toothed ring (1); the force lever is formed by an arm (16) from which a lead weight (14) hangs, which moves along the arm by means of the traction exerted by an electric motor (15) controlled by a microcontroller card; and wherein, the shearing action is provided by an electric motor (17) controlled by a microprocessor card which is connected to the shaft of the upper toothed ring (1) by means of a chain.

2. An in vitro method for automatic chewing of solid and semi-solid foods (100), CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises: having a lower toothed ring (2) and an upper toothed ring (1) and a safety cover (5), for crushing and generating a shear in a solid or semi-solid food, wherein the lower ring (2) is connected through a connecting rod system to an electric motor (24) which executes in number of chewing cycles controlled by a microcontroller card; wherein the upper toothed ring (1) is in charge of exerting force and shear on the solid or semi-solid food; providing a force lever (16) that is connected by a spindle to the upper toothed ring (1); wherein, the force lever is formed by an arm (16) from which a lead weight (14) hangs, which is moved along the arm by the traction exerted by a second upper electric motor (15) controlled by a microcontroller card; and wherein, the shearing action is provided by an electric motor (17) controlled by a microprocessor card which is connected to the shaft of the upper toothed ring (1) by means of a chain.

3. The automatic chewing method according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises: opening the safety cover (5) and placing a solid or semi-solid food sample homogeneously distributed on the lower toothed ring (2).

4. The automatic chewing method, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that, by means of a universal membrane type keypad of a control panel (3), parameters of compression force are set; once the compression force parameters are set, waiting for the second upper electric motor (15) to move the lead weight (14) through the inclined arm or force lever (16) to a specific position to achieve the preset force to be used for chewing the food.

5. The automatic chewing method, according to claim 3, CHARACTERIZED in that, by means of the universal membrane type keypad of a control panel (3), the parameters of number of chewing cycles of the shear angle to be used for chewing the food are set, by means of the inclined arm or force lever (16).

6. The automatic chewing method, according to claim 4, CHARACTERIZED in that, in addition, the safety cover (5) is to be closed and by means of the universal membrane type keypad of the control panel (3), and the chewing process is to be started.

7. The automatic mastication method according to claim 4, CHARACTERIZED in that, once the mastication process is completed, the safety cover (5) is opened and the lower toothed ring (2) is removed to extract the masticated sample.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0018] FIG. 1 depicts a main isometric view of the in vitro automatic chewing system of the invention.

[0019] FIG. 2 depicts another main isometric view of the in vitro automatic chewing system with touch control keypad and indicator display of the invention.

[0020] FIG. 3 depicts side views of the in vitro automatic chewing system of the invention.

[0021] FIG. 4 depicts a front view of the in vitro automatic chewing system of the invention.

[0022] FIG. 5 depicts a front view of the interior of the in vitro automatic chewing system of the invention.

[0023] FIG. 6 depicts a rear view of the interior of the in vitro automatic chewing system of the invention.

[0024] FIG. 7A depicts a detailed bottom view of the in vitro automatic chewing system of the invention.

[0025] FIG. 7B depicts a top view of the in vitro automatic chewing system of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0026] The first objective of the invention is to provide an in vitro automatic chewing system, which crushes a food with programmable force parameters, number of chewing cycles, and shear angle according to the user's previous requirements.

[0027] The force lever is the main physical component of the in vitro automatic chewing system proposed herein. The configuration of the force to be applied during mastication is achieved based on the lever principle, the force will vary according to the distance of the weight with respect to the pivot point through a lead weight of known mass and that according to the selected force moves along an inclined arm or force lever through a spindle system that is controlled with an electronically controlled electric motor to rotate in both directions, which can be a servomotor, stepper motor, or similar with the required force according to specifications. The opposite end of the lever is connected to the shaft supporting an upper toothed ring by means of a cord, this ring is responsible for transferring the force projected from the force lever to the solid or semi-solid food.

[0028] A connecting rod mechanism, which is coupled by a chain to an electronically controlled electric motor to rotate in both directions, which can be a servomotor, stepper motor, or similar with the required force according to specifications, allows the vertical movement of a lower toothed ring.

[0029] A motor coupled to the shaft of the upper toothed ring by means of a pair of sliding gears coupled by a chain allows the upper ring to rotate around its axis on the lower ring at specific angles, obtaining the shear between the two toothed rings.

[0030] The two toothed rings, upper and lower, are each formed by 21 molars made of resin and designed from the mold of normal human teeth, between which the solid or semi-solid food is located. The lower tooth ring is mounted on an aluminum plate and protected by a cylindrical cup.

[0031] The parameter setting, control and automation of the chewing process is handled by an electronic controller board, Arduino ATMega 2560 type, which has a series of digital and analog inputs/outputs, which are monitored and controlled using a programming language previously designed specifically for the functions enabled in the equipment. The electronic controller board is also in charge of monitoring a series of digital control and protection switches located in the different mechanisms of the equipment. The reading and setting of the different control parameters are entered by the user by means of a universal membrane type keyboard and are visualized by means of a 213 LCD screen, which are also read and controlled by the electronic controller card.

[0032] According to the mentioned mechanism, a first half of a chewing cycle starts when the lower toothed ring rises and impacts with the upper toothed ring, both toothed rings rise together to a specific distance, driven by the force of the lower electric motor, at which time the force is applied on the solid or semi-solid food. At the same time, the motor connected to the shaft of the upper toothed ring produces the circular motion at a specific angle, obtaining the shear between both toothed rings. Once both toothed rings are raised to their highest position, the second half of the chewing cycle begins, when the lower disc descends to its lowest position to start a new chewing cycle.

Detailed Description of the Chewing System:

[0033] The in vitro automatic chewing system (100) is shown in FIGS. 1 to 7. FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 describe the external components that allow the manipulation of the in vitro automatic chewing system (100) formed by a control panel (3), a feeding chamber (8) where the sample to be masticated and its safety cover (5) are located, ventilation grids (6), transport handles (7), lighting system (4), USB connector for data transfer (9), fuse (10), 220V power supply connector (11), and leveling feet (26).

[0034] FIG. 1 depicts the main component for reading and setting the different control parameters, which are entered by the user through a universal membrane type keyboard and are visualized by means of a 213 LCD display (3), which are also read and controlled by the microcontroller board.

[0035] FIG. 3 depicts the main components that allow the mastication of solid and semi-solid food inside the feeding chamber (8) according to the parameters set with the control panel (3). An upper toothed ring (1) and a lower toothed ring (2), shown in FIG. 4, are each formed by 21 molars made of resin and designed from the mold of normal human teeth, between which the solid or semi-solid food is located.

[0036] FIG. 5 depicts the main components that allow the vertical movement of the lower toothed ring (2) and exert the pressure on the upper toothed ring (1) to produce the breakage of the food. A connecting rod mechanism (25), which is coupled by a chain to a first lower electric motor (24) and electronically controlled with a first microstep driver controller (CW-8060) (13), that allows rotating in both directions and allows the vertical movement of the lower toothed ring (2); furthermore, the main components that allow a shearing movement of the upper toothed ring (1) are shown. A second electric motor (17) powered by an electric current source (20) and electronically controlled by a second microstep driver controller (CW-5045) (12) coupled to the shaft of the upper toothed ring (1) by means of a pair of sliding gears coupled by a chain allows the upper toothed ring (1) to rotate around its axis on the lower toothed ring (2) at specific angles, obtaining the shear between the two toothed rings (1, 2).

[0037] FIGS. 5 and 6 depict the main components that drive a chewing system. An inclined arm or force lever (16) is the main physical component of the in vitro automatic chewing system (100), which allows to apply a force during mastication, which is achieved based on the lever principle, the force will vary according to the distance taken by a lead weight (14) along the inclined arm or force lever (16). According to the force selected on the control panel (3), the lead weight (14) is moved along the inclined arm or force lever (16) by a spindle system which is controlled with a second upper electric motor (15) powered by an electric current source (20) and electronically controlled by the second microstep driver controller (CW-5045) (12) to rotate in both directions. The opposite end of the inclined arm or force lever (16) is connected to an upper shaft (23) that connects to the upper toothed ring (1), as shown in FIG. 5.

[0038] FIG. 5 depicts the main components that allow parameter adjustment, control, and automation of the chewing process. A microcontroller board of the Arduino ATMega2560 type (19), electrically powered by a low voltage source (18) is in charge of performing the control and management of the chewing parameters. The standard electronic development board has a series of digital and analog inputs/outputs (21, 22), shown in FIG. 6, which are monitored and controlled using a programming language previously designed specifically for the functions enabled in the equipment. The Arduino ATMega2560 microcontroller card (19) is also in charge of monitoring a series of digital switches for control and protection located in the different mechanisms of the equipment.

[0039] According to the described mechanism, a first half of a cycle starts, where the lower toothed ring (2) rises and impacts with the upper toothed ring (1), both together rise to a specific distance, driven by the force of the first lower electric motor (24), at which time the force coming from the inclined arm or the force lever (16) is applied on the solid or semi-solid food positioned on the lower toothed ring (2). At the same time, the second electric motor (17) produces a circular movement at a specific angle of the upper toothed ring (1), obtaining the shear between both toothed rings (1, 2). Once both toothed rings (1, 2) are raised to their highest position, the second half of the cycle begins when the lower toothed ring (2) descends to its lowest position to initiate a new chewing cycle.

Description of an Operating Method of the Chewing System:

[0040] a) Opening the safety cover (5) and placing a solid or semi-solid food sample homogeneously distributed on the lower toothed ring (2). [0041] b) By means of a universal membrane type keypad on the control panel (3), setting the compression force parameters; Once the compression force parameters are set, waiting for the second upper electric motor (15) to move the lead weight (14) through the inclined arm or force lever (16) to a specific position to achieve the preset force that will be used to chew the food. [0042] c) Using the universal membrane type keypad on the control panel (3), setting the parameters for the number of chewing cycles to be used to chew the food. [0043] d) Using the universal membrane type keypad on the control panel (3), setting the parameters for the number of chewing cycles of the shear angle to be used for chewing the food, by means of the inclined arm or the force lever (16). [0044] e) Closing the safety cover (5), and by means of the universal membrane type keypad on the control panel (3), starting the chewing process. [0045] f) Once the chewing process is finished, opening the safety cover (5) and removing the lower toothed ring (2) to extract the masticated sample.

Example of Application

[0046] In a first example of application, to crush a solid or semi-solid food using a specific compression force and a specific shear angle and varying the number of chewing cycles, the safety cover (5) is opened and the food is placed homogeneously distributed on the lower toothed ring (2) and the force, shear angle, and number of chewing cycles that the system will perform are set on the control panel (3). The safety cover (5) is closed and the control panel (3) is started to begin mastication. Once the chewing process is completed, the safety cover (5) is opened and the chewed food located on the lower toothed ring (2) is removed for subsequent size distribution analysis.

[0047] In a second application example, to crush a solid or semi-solid food using different compression forces, maintaining the shear angle and the number of chewing cycles, the safety cover (5) is opened and the food is placed homogeneously distributed on the lower toothed ring (2) and the control panel (3) is used to enter the force value, shear angle, and number of mastication cycles that the system will perform. The safety cover (5) is closed and the control panel (3) is started to begin mastication. Once the chewing process is completed, the safety cover (5) is opened and the chewed food located on the lower toothed ring (2) is removed for subsequent size distribution analysis.