JP3206391U - Expiration date management equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide a compact, easy-to-use, low-cost structure that does not require a complicated system or complicated input operation, and clearly and easily provides information on food information and expiration date of each food. A shelf-life management device that can notify consumers is provided. A shelf life management device for managing a shelf life of food, a clip portion for gripping a food to be managed or a package thereof, and a clip portion and a main body to hold the food. An informing means for informing the number of days until the expiration date, and further having a magnet 4 on the side surface of the main body 3, and the clip portion 2 has a magnetic portion made of a magnetic material that is attracted to the magnet 4. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a shelf life management device for managing the shelf life of food.

  Traditionally, food packages, containers, food names, contents, expiration dates, etc. have been displayed, but consumers should provide complete information on the expiration date of the food before placing it in the refrigerator. Because I do not remember, I often missed the expiration date. Therefore, a refrigerator is proposed in which food information is input to the refrigerator and the expiration date is displayed on the display for notification, and a refrigerator that reads the food information from the barcode and similarly displays the expiration date (for example, Patent Document 1). .

  The refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a display device attached to a door, and displays stored items in the refrigerator. This display device includes a display for displaying food stored in each room, and an input keyboard connected to the display. And in the refrigerator disclosed by this patent document 1, when the expiration date of the food input with the input keyboard approaches, the item column of the indicator on which the food name is displayed blinks or lights. .

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-311665

  However, the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a system that manually inputs food information such as the food name and expiration date of the food using an input keyboard and barcode before putting the food into the refrigerator. In addition, since the input keyboard and the barcode reader are provided, there are problems that the input operation is complicated, the structure is complicated, the convenience is inferior, and the manufacturing cost increases.

  Therefore, the problem of the present invention is that it does not require a complicated system and complicated input operation, is small and easy to use, has a structure suitable for cost reduction, and easily obtains food information and expiration date information of each food. It is an object of the present invention to provide a food management tag that can be clearly notified to consumers by a method.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a shelf life management device for managing the shelf life of food,
A gripping part for gripping the food to be managed or its packaging;
It is provided with the alerting | reporting means which alert | reports arrival of the number of days until the expiration date of the said foodstuff, or the expiration date, which is hold | maintained by the said holding part.

  According to such a device, the food to be managed or the package thereof is gripped by the gripping part and attached to the management target. Since the grasping unit holds notification means for notifying the number of days until the expiration date or the arrival of the expiration date, it is possible to notify the number of days until the expiration date or the arrival of the expiration date for the attached management target. Thereby, the expiration date of the management target can be clearly notified. By fixing to the opening of the package to be managed with the gripping part, it is possible to close the opening of the package that has been opened, and to reduce leakage of the contents from the opening or deterioration of the contents . It should be noted that the number of days until the expiration date includes a case where a minus display is included. In this case, the number of days after the expiration date can be notified.

  In the said device, it is preferable to further have a magnet in the side surface of the said holding part. In this case, the expiration date management device can be adsorbed to another magnetic member, and can be fixed to a metal part inside the refrigerator, a metal container or a lid, and not only the expiration date management but also food Can be easily organized.

  In the said device, it is preferable to further have a magnetic part which consists of a magnetic material adsorb | sucked to the said magnet. In this case, the expiration date management instruments can be connected to each other by adsorbing the magnet and the magnetic part, and the opened foods in the refrigerator can be grouped together for easier organization.

  In the above invention, the notification means includes an input interface for inputting a best-before date, and an output unit for outputting a difference between the time-limit input through the input interface and the current time or the arrival of the best-before date, and the output It is preferable that the part is disposed so as to be opposite to a position where the management object is gripped by the gripping part. In this case, for example, the remaining days of the expiration date or the arrival of the expiration date can be displayed on a liquid crystal screen, an LED light, etc., making it easier to see the information, and setting the expiration date by a simple operation such as pressing a button. be able to.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is small in size and easy to use without requiring a complicated system and complicated input operation, and has a structure suitable for cost reduction. Can be clearly notified to the consumer in a simple manner.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the expiration date management instrument which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the expiration date management instrument concerning an embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the expiration date management instrument concerning an embodiment from the upper surface side. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of the expiration date management instrument which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of the expiration date management instrument which concerns on embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of the expiration date management instrument which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the use procedure of the expiration date management instrument which concerns on embodiment.

(Configuration of expiration date management device 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments of a system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a shelf life management device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the expiration date management instrument 1 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the upper surface side, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the state of use.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the expiration date management device 1 according to the present embodiment is a device that manages the expiration date of food, and in the present embodiment, has a clip-type configuration. More specifically, the expiration date management device 1 is held by the clip portion 2 and the main body 3 that hold the food to be managed or its packaging, and the clip portion 2 and the main body 3, and is the number of days until the expiration date of the food or the expiration date. And an informing means 6 for informing the arrival of.

  The clip part 2 is a member that constitutes a gripping means together with the main body 3, and in the present embodiment, at least the outer surface is a member formed of a magnetic material such as a metal or a soft magnet. As shown in FIG. 2, the clip portion 2 is configured so as to be rotatable with respect to the main body 3 via a rotation portion 32 so that the tip is curved and gripped. One end of a spring 5 is connected to the back surface (on the rotating portion 32 side) of the clip portion 2 via an engaging portion 21, and the other end of the spring 5 is an engaging portion 31 formed on the side surface of the main body 3. The tip of the clip portion 2 is pressed against the side surface of the main body 3 by the elastic force of the spring 5.

  The tip of the clip portion 2 is pressed against the side surface of the main body 3 so that the management target can be gripped by the tip of the clip portion 2, as shown in FIG. 4, against the elastic force of the spring 5. When the rear end of the clip unit 2 is pinched with a finger, the tip is opened so that the management target can be pinched, and when the finger is released, the target is gripped.

  In the present embodiment, the main body 3 is a rectangular box, in which a battery and an electronic circuit driven by the battery are accommodated. A magnet 4 is attached to the side surface of the main body 3 opposite to the clip portion 2. With this magnet 4, the expiration date management instrument 1 can be attracted to a magnetic member such as iron, and can be fixed to a metal part inside the refrigerator, a metal container or a lid. Moreover, in this embodiment, since the outer surface of the clip part 2 has the magnetic part which consists of a magnetic material which adsorb | sucks to a magnet, the magnet 4 and the clip part 2 of the other expiration date management instrument 1 are made to adsorb | suck. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the expiration date management instruments 1 and 1 can be connected to each other.

  The informing means 6 is a part for informing the number of days until the expiration date, such as turning on and blinking the light emitters such as the LED light 62a and the lamp, displaying a message on the liquid crystal panel 62b, and a buzzer and sound from the speaker. By outputting sound, the number of days until the expiration date and the arrival of the expiration date are notified. The number of days until the expiration date is informed by diversifying the notification method, such as changing the light color of the illuminant in units of the number of days remaining until the expiration date or in units of one week, or changing the speed of blinking. You may let them. Further, when the expiration date has passed, it is changed to a light color indicating that, or a message and the number of days elapsed are displayed.

  In the present embodiment, specifically, in the present embodiment, the notification means 6, as shown in FIG. 6, includes an input interface 61 for inputting a best-before date, a difference between the time limit input via the input interface 61 and the current time. Output unit 62, memory 64, battery 65, and control unit 63 for controlling these operations.

  The input interface 61 is a button switch, and is an operation means for inputting the date of the expiration date by pressing or long pressing, and can be a button or a touch panel. On the other hand, the output unit 62 is a device that outputs the remaining days of the expiration date with numbers, symbols, or the like as light, sound, or messages, and includes, for example, an LED light 62a, a liquid crystal panel 62b, a speaker, and other output devices. The liquid crystal panel 62 b of the output unit 62 may be a touch panel superimposed on the input interface 61. Further, the remaining days or the sign of the expiration date may be simply displayed by the LED light 62a.

  The output unit 62 may be a device that notifies information as a communication signal through wireless communication such as WiFi or Bluetooth (registered trademark). In this case, a device that receives and outputs this communication signal is installed. As this receiving device, a WiFi router, a smart phone, a personal computer, and other devices compatible with IOT (Internet of Things) can be used.

  The memory 64 is, for example, a non-volatile storage device, and stores the expiration date (year / month / day) input by the input interface 61. The battery 65 is a power supply source such as a dry battery, a rechargeable battery, and other batteries. The control unit 63 is a calculation processing device that calculates the difference between the time limit input through the input interface 61 and the current time, and causes the notification means 6 to notify the number of days and time until the expiration date. It consists of a device such as a CPU.

  In the present embodiment, the notification means 6 are arranged so as to be opposite to the upper surface of the main body 3, that is, the position where the main body 3 holds the management target.

(Action / Effect)
The expiration date management instrument 1 having the above configuration is used as follows. First, the food which is the management object 7 or its packaging is gripped by the clip part 2 and the main body 3 and attached to the management object. And the control part 63 performs management of the expiration date as shown in FIG.

  Next, the user inputs the expiration date by an operation (S101). Specifically, the date of the expiration date is input by pressing a button switch or the like of the input interface 61 or pressing and holding the button. Alternatively, a touch operation on the touch panel superimposed on the output unit 62 may be performed. Here, the input information regarding the expiration date is stored in the memory 64.

  In this manner, after the setting of the expiration date is completed, the expiration date countdown is started (S102). The start of the countdown may be an operation for pressing the start button, or may be a trigger for starting the countdown as it is, with the end of the setting of the expiration date.

  The waiting state is continued until the expiration date is reached by the loop processing (“N” in S103), and during that time, the control unit 63 calculates the difference between the time limit input through the input interface 61 and the current time. Here, as the expiration date is reached, the remaining days such as “1 week remaining until the expiration date” and “3 days remaining” are notified step by step in units of 1 day, 1 week, or other cycle. Therefore, the control unit 63 calculates the deadline for each stage (remaining one week or three days) and monitors the arrival of each deadline.

  When the expiration date has arrived (“Y” in S103), the notification means 6 turns on / flashes the LED light 62a, a light emitting body such as a lamp, and displays a message on the liquid crystal panel. Or the arrival of the expiration date is notified by sound such as buzzer or voice (S104). The number of days until the expiration date is informed by diversifying the notification method, such as changing the light color of the illuminant in units of the number of days remaining until the expiration date or in units of one week, or changing the speed of blinking. Can be made.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the notification is to be ended (S105), and when the user consumes food or removes the clip unit 2 and operates the input interface 61 ("N" in S105), the countdown is performed. Exit. Here, since the expiration date of this expiration date is notified step by step, the expiration date of the next phase is calculated (subtraction of remaining days when the date changes, etc.) The arrival of the deadline is monitored (“Y” in S105).

  According to the expiration date management device 1 according to the present embodiment, since the notification means 6 for notifying the number of days until the expiration date is held in the main body 3, the number of days until the expiration date regarding the attached management target. Can be notified, and the expiration date of the management object 7 can be clearly notified. The opening 71 of the package that has been opened can be closed by fixing the opening to the opening 71 of the package of the management object 7 with the gripping portion, and the contents leak from the opening 71 or the contents deteriorate. Can be reduced.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, since the magnet 4 is further provided on the side surface of the main body 3, the expiration date management device 1 can be fixed to a metal part inside the refrigerator, a metal container or a lid, and only the expiration date management is performed. In addition, food can be easily arranged. Moreover, in this embodiment, since it has a magnetic part on the outer surface of the main body 3, the magnet 4 and the magnetic part of the main body 3 can be adsorbed, and the expiration date management instruments 1, 1 can be connected to each other. Organize opened foods in the refrigerator and make it easier. At this time, since the output unit 62 is arranged so as to be opposite to the position where the management target 7 is gripped by the gripping unit, the output unit 62 can be connected to the other expiration date management instruments 1 while holding the management target. Even when they are connected to each other, the output unit 62 is positioned on the upper surface side and is easy to see.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the structure is small and easy to use without requiring a complicated system or complicated input operation, and is suitable for cost reduction. Information can be clearly notified to consumers in a simple manner.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Expiration date management instrument 2 ... Clip part 3 ... Main body 4 ... Magnet 5 ... Spring 6 ... Notification means 7 ... Management object 21 ... Engagement part 31 ... Engagement part 32 ... Turning part 61 ... Input interface 62 ... Output part 62a ... LED light 62b ... liquid crystal panel 65 ... control unit 64 ... memory 65 ... battery 71 ... opening

Claims (5)

A shelf-life management device that manages the shelf-life of food,
A gripping part for gripping the food to be managed or its packaging;
An expiration date management instrument comprising: a notification unit that is held by the gripping unit and notifies the number of days until the expiration date of the food or the expiration date of the food.   The expiration date management device according to claim 1, further comprising a magnet on a side surface of the grip portion.   The expiration date management instrument according to claim 2, further comprising a magnetic part made of a magnetic material attracted to the magnet. The notification means includes
An input interface for entering the expiration date;
A difference between the time limit input through the input interface and the current time, or an output unit that outputs the arrival of the time limit, and the output unit is opposite to a position where the management target is gripped by the gripping unit. The expiration date management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the expiration date management device is arranged so as to be in the position.   The expiration date management instrument according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising a magnetic part made of a magnetic material adsorbed on the magnet.