JP7323163B2 - Producer selection device and producer selection method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a producer selection device and a producer selection method for selecting producers to produce eggshells or eggshell membranes.

Techniques for separating eggshell membranes from eggshells are conventionally known. Patent Literature 1 discloses a method of using the eggshell membrane as a fertilizer or using the eggshell membrane as a nutrient after separating the eggshell membrane from the eggshell.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-233120

The quality or components of eggshells and eggshell membranes (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "eggshells, etc.") vary depending on the type of feed for egg-laying chickens, the type of chickens, the breeding environment, and the like. Therefore, the quality or components of the eggshells that can be provided differ from one eggshell producer to another. Users who use eggshells, etc., would like to receive eggshells, etc. with quality or components suitable for their use, but conventionally, the quality or components of eggshells, etc. have not been managed, so users can obtain eggshells, etc. suitable for their use. I had a problem with it being difficult.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and provides a producer selection device and a producer selection method for making it easier for consumers of eggshells to obtain eggshells or eggshell membranes suitable for their uses. With the goal.

A producer selection device according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a storage unit that stores grades of eggshells produced by each of a plurality of eggshell producers in association with a plurality of producers that produce eggshells; an information acquisition unit for acquiring order information indicating the use of the eggshell; a specification unit for specifying a required grade, which is the grade of the eggshell required for the use indicated by the order information; the required grade; a selection unit that selects one or more of the producers from which to order the eggshells to be provided to the consumer by comparing the stored grades of the eggshells produced by the plurality of producers. . The selecting unit selects, for example, the one or more producers who produce eggshells of grade equal to or higher than the required grade.

The selection unit specifies a mixed grade that is a grade of mixed eggshells after mixing a plurality of eggshells of different grades, and produces the plurality of eggshells of different grades in which the specified mixed grade is equal to or higher than the required grade. may select two or more of said producers to

The selection unit specifies the mixing ratio of the plurality of eggshells for making the mixed grade equal to or higher than the required grade, and determines the amount of eggshells to be ordered from the two or more producers based on the specified mixing ratio. You may

The storage unit further stores component information indicating components contained in the eggshells produced by each of the plurality of producers in association with the plurality of producers, and the specifying unit is required for the application indicated by the order information. The required ingredient, which is the required ingredient, may be specified, and the selection unit may select the one or more producers who produce eggshells containing the required ingredient by referring to the ingredient information.

The order information acquisition unit further acquires required amount information indicating the amount of eggshells required by the consumer, and the storage unit associates the eggshells with the plurality of producers to produce eggshells produced by each of the plurality of producers. Production volume information indicating the amount of eggshells that can be produced may be further stored, and the selection unit may select the one or more producers based on the required volume information and the production volume information.

The selection unit specifies a mixed grade that is a grade of mixed eggshells after mixing a plurality of eggshells of different grades, the specified mixed grade is equal to or higher than the required grade, and the amount indicated by the required amount information Two or more of said producers may be selected to produce said plurality of different grades of eggshells required to produce said mixed eggshells above.

The storage unit stores the environmental data of the regions of the plurality of producers and the eggshells produced by the plurality of producers as information that associates the plurality of producers with grades of the eggshells produced by each of the plurality of producers. Stores a machine learning model learned by using data associated with grades as teacher data, and the selection unit inputs the environmental data of the regions of the plurality of producers into the machine learning model, The one or more producers may be selected by comparing output grades to the required grades.

The selection unit may associate attributes related to production conditions of the eggshells produced by the one or more selected producers with the consumer and store them in the storage medium.

The producer selection device includes an event information acquisition unit that acquires event information related to at least one of weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for products that use eggshells, and eggshell selection based on the event information. It may further include a prediction unit that predicts a required amount, and an information providing unit that provides the producer with information indicating the required amount predicted by the prediction unit.

The producer selection device includes an event information acquisition unit that acquires event information related to at least one of weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for products that use eggshells, and eggshell selection based on the event information. It may further include a prediction unit that predicts a production amount, and an information providing unit that provides information indicating the production amount predicted by the prediction unit to the consumer.

The producer selection device includes an event information acquisition unit that acquires event information related to at least one of weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for products that use eggshells, and eggshell selection based on the event information. a prediction unit that predicts the required amount and the production amount of eggshells; and the consumer who needs the eggshells and the producer who can supply the eggshells based on the required amount and the production amount predicted by the prediction unit. and providing information about the producer matched to the consumer, and providing information about the consumer matched to the producer.

A producer selection device according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a storage unit that stores grades of eggshell membranes produced by each of a plurality of producers who produce eggshell membranes in association with each other; An order information acquisition unit that acquires order information indicating the use of eggshell membranes from a consumer, a specification unit that specifies a required grade, which is the grade of eggshell membranes required for the use indicated by the order information, and the required grade. and the grades of the eggshell membranes produced by the plurality of producers stored in the storage unit, one or more producers to be ordered for the eggshell membranes to be provided to the consumer are identified. and a selection unit for selecting.

A producer selection method according to a third aspect of the present invention includes the steps of obtaining order information indicating the use of eggshells from an eggshell consumer, and requesting the grade of eggshells required for the use indicated by the order information By comparing the requested grade with the eggshell grades produced by each of the plurality of eggshell producers and stored in the storage unit in association with the plurality of eggshell producers, selecting one or more of said producers from which to order eggshells to be provided to a consumer.

A method for selecting a producer according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of obtaining order information indicating the use of the eggshell membranes from a consumer of the eggshell membranes; and comparing the required grade with the eggshell membrane grades produced by each of the plurality of eggshell membrane producers and stored in the storage unit in association with the plurality of eggshell membrane producers. and selecting one or more of said producers from whom to order eggshell membranes to be provided to said consumer by doing so.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is effective in the consumer of an eggshell becoming easy to obtain the eggshell or eggshell membrane suitable for a use.

It is a figure which shows the structure of an ordering system. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of a producer selection apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the site for eggshell orders. It is a figure which shows an example of the grade database classified by use. It is a figure which shows an example of a producer database. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the grade database by use; It is a figure which shows the other example of a producer database. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation sequence of an ordering system. It is a figure which shows the structure of a producer selection apparatus (modification). It is a figure which shows the structure of a matching system. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of a matching apparatus.

<First Embodiment>
[Overview of ordering system S1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an ordering system S1. The ordering system S1 is a system for, when receiving an order for eggshells, ordering eggshells from producers who can provide eggshells suitable for the intended use of the ordered eggshells.

The ordering system S1 includes a producer selection device 1, a plurality of consumer devices 2 (consumer device 2-1 to consumer device 2-m, where m is a natural number), a plurality of producer devices 3 (producer device 3 -1 to producer device 3-n, where n is a natural number). A producer selection device 1 is a computer that receives an order for eggshells from one of a plurality of consumer devices 2 and executes processing to place an order to one of a plurality of producer devices 3 according to the content of the received order. is.

The consumer's device 2 is a computer used by a business that manufactures and sells products using eggshells (for example, foods and regenerated medical products) (hereinafter referred to as "consumers"). The producer device 3 is a computer used by the producer. The consumer device 2 and the producer device 3 can transmit and receive data to and from the producer selection device 1 via the network N. Network N is, for example, the Internet.

The producer selection device 1 provides, for example, an eggshell ordering site accessible by the consumer device 2, and the consumer device 2 can order eggshells at the eggshell ordering site. In the eggshell ordering site, the consumer device 2 can input the usage and required amount of eggshells. The producer selection device 1 selects a producer capable of producing eggshells of a grade suitable for the input application. The producer selection device 1 sends order data to the producer device 3 of the selected producer to place an order for eggshells suitable for the use of the consumer.

A grade is an index for classifying eggshells based on the quality of the eggshells, and is represented by a numerical value or text corresponding to the quality. Since the type of feed given to the chickens raised, the type of chickens, the rearing environment, etc., differ from producer to producer, the quality, components, and supply capacity of eggshells to be produced differ from producer to producer. Therefore, the grade is determined for each producer. For example, a business operator who provides a service using the producer selection device 1 uses various data provided by the producer (for example, the type of feed, the type of chicken, the breeding environment), and the eggshell provided by the producer. is determined in advance based on the analysis results, etc. Grades are updated periodically, for example.

In general, facilities for producing eggshells and eggshell membranes by separating eggshells and eggshell membranes are installed in poultry farms, and the scale of individual producers is small. Therefore, it is difficult for individual consumers to find and place an order with a producer who can provide eggshells suitable for their intended use. On the other hand, in the ordering system S1, the producer selection device 1 manages the quality, ingredients, and suppliable amount of eggshells that can be provided by a large number of producers. By ordering through the site, you can easily obtain eggshells suitable for your application.
The configuration and operation of the producer selection device 1 will be described in detail below.

[Functional Configuration of Producer Selection Device 1]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the producer selection device 1. As shown in FIG. The producer selection device 1 has a communication section 11 , a storage section 12 and a control section 13 . The control unit 13 has an order information acquisition unit 131 , a specification unit 132 and a selection unit 133 .

The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving data between the consumer device 2 and the producer device 3 via the network N. FIG. The communication unit 11 has, for example, a communication controller, inputs data received from the consumer device 2 and the producer device 3 to the control unit 13, and transmits data input from the control unit 13 to the consumer device 2 or the production device. to the person's device 3.

The storage unit 12 has a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a hard disk. The storage unit 12 stores programs executed by the control unit 13 . The storage unit 12 also stores various data used by the control unit 13 to select a producer according to an order received from the consumer device 2, details of which will be described later.

The storage unit 12 stores, for example, an application-specific grade database that associates the application of the eggshell with the grade required for the eggshell. The storage unit 12 also stores grade information indicating the grade of the eggshells produced by each of the producers, in association with the producers who produce the eggshells. That is, the storage unit 12 stores a producer database that associates producers with grades of eggshells that the producer can provide.

The storage unit 12 may store, in the producer database, ingredient information indicating ingredients contained in eggshells produced by each of the producers in association with the producers. In the producer database, the storage unit 12 may further store production amount information indicating the amount of eggshells each of the plurality of producers can produce, in association with the plurality of producers.

The control unit 13 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and functions as an order information acquisition unit 131, a specification unit 132, and a selection unit 133 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 12. .

The order information acquisition unit 131 acquires various kinds of information from the consumer device 2 and the producer device 3 via the communication unit 11 . The order information acquisition unit 131 provides, for example, an eggshell ordering site that can be accessed by the consumer using the consumer apparatus 2, and acquires order information indicating the purchase conditions entered on the eggshell ordering site. As an example, the order information acquisition unit 131 acquires information indicating the use of eggshells and required amount information indicating the amount of eggshells required by the customer from the eggshell consumer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the eggshell ordering site. The screen of the eggshell ordering site shown in FIG. 3 is provided with columns for inputting the use of the eggshell, the required quantity, the desired delivery date, and the priority items. Applications are, for example, foods, cosmetics, regenerative medicine products, fertilizers, chalk, industrial filters and line powders. Regenerative medicine products are products used as artificial teeth and artificial bones, such as Bioapatite (registered trademark). The priority is a high-priority item among the demands that the consumer places on the eggshell, and is selected from, for example, quality, ingredients, cost, or delivery date.

When the consumer inputs the desired conditions in these fields and presses the "quote request" button, order information indicating a request for an estimate of cost, delivery date, etc. is sent from the consumer device 2 to the producer selection device 1. sent. When the consumer presses the "order" button, the consumer device 2 transmits to the producer selection device 1 order information indicating that the eggshells that meet the conditions are to be ordered. The order information acquisition unit 131 may acquire the order information sent by the consumer by e-mail or an SNS (Social Network Service) message. The order information acquiring unit 131 notifies the specifying unit 132 of the acquired order information.

In addition, the order information acquisition unit 131 acquires information such as the breed of chickens raised by the producer, the feed used, the breeding environment, the supply amount of eggshells, the price of eggshells, etc., from the producer device 3. good too. The order information acquisition unit 131 updates the producer database by storing these pieces of information in the storage unit 12 . The order information acquisition unit 131 may acquire analysis results of eggshell components produced by each producer from an external computer, and store the acquired analysis results in the storage unit 12 to update the producer database. .

The specifying unit 132 specifies a required grade, which is the eggshell grade required for the application indicated by the order information. The identification unit 132 identifies the required grade corresponding to the application by referring to the application-specific grade database stored in the storage unit 12 . The specifying unit 132 notifies the selecting unit 133 of the specified requested grade, the required amount of eggshells, the desired delivery date, and the priority items included in the order information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the application grade database. In the application-specific grade database shown in FIG. The grades of eggshells required when using eggshells for fertilizers and general industrial products are related. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the grades are shown in 10 stages, with 10 being the highest grade and 1 being the lowest grade. Products for specified industrial use are articles that come into contact with people or products related to food and drink, such as life-related products and beverage processing filters. Common industrial products are, for example, line powders.

For example, when the application is a regenerative medicine product or a drug-related product, the identifying unit 132 determines that grade 9 or higher is required for eggshells to be ordered. Further, when the application is feed, the specifying unit 132 determines that the grade of the eggshell may be 5 or higher.

The selection unit 133 selects one or more producers who produce eggshells of a grade equal to or higher than the required grade notified by the identification unit 132 by referring to the producer database stored in the storage unit 12 . That is, the selection unit 133 compares the requested grade notified from the identification unit 132 with the grades of eggshells produced by a plurality of producers registered in the producer database, thereby obtaining eggshells to be provided to consumers. select one or more producers from which to place an order for

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a producer database. In the producer database shown in FIG. 5, the producer, the grade of eggshells that the producer can provide, the characteristics of the eggshell components that the producer can provide, the amount of eggshell that the producer can supply in a month, associated with the price. Similar to FIG. 4, the grades are shown on a scale of 10, with 10 being the highest grade and 1 being the lowest. The ingredient profile shows which ingredients are present in more than the average eggshell. The eggshells provided by producers A and D contain a relatively large amount of magnesium (Mg). The eggshells provided by producers B, C, and F contain relatively large amounts of phosphorus (P).

Assume that the selection unit 133 receives from the specification unit 132 a notification that 10 kg of eggshells with a required grade of 8 or higher is required. In this case, the selection unit 133 selects the producer A and the producer C, who can provide 10 kg or more of eggshells with a required grade of 8 or higher in the producer database, as candidates for ordering. When a plurality of producers can be selected in this manner, the selection unit 133 selects the producer to order based on the priority items included in the order information.

For example, when the order information indicates that quality is given priority, the selection unit 133 selects the producer C with the highest quality. The selection unit 133 selects the producer A who can provide eggshells containing a large amount of magnesium when the order information indicates that priority is given to a large amount of magnesium. When the order information indicates that the cost is given priority, the selection unit 133 selects the producer A whose price is the lowest among those whose quality satisfies the required grade.

The selection unit 133 may select one or more producers based on the required amount of eggshells notified from the identification unit 132 and the production volume information included in the producer database. When the selecting unit 133 receives a notification from the specifying unit 132 that 12 kg of eggshells with a required grade of 8 or higher is required, the selecting unit 133 can provide the required amount or more of eggshells that meet the required grade within a desired delivery date of, for example, one month. As a producer, select producer A whose supply is larger than the required quantity. The selection unit 133 may select a plurality of producers when one producer cannot provide the required amount of eggshells. For example, when the order information indicates that quality is given priority, the selection unit 133 orders 10 kg of eggshells from producer C who can provide eggshells of higher quality than producer A, and orders the remaining eggshells from producer A. decides to order 2 kg eggshells from

(Producer selection based on ingredients required for eggshell applications)
In the above description, the selection unit 133 selects the producer based on the grade required for the use of the eggshell, but the selection unit 133 may select the producer based on other information. For example, the selection unit 133 selects one or more producers that produce eggshells containing required components that are required in applications where eggshells are used by consumers.

The storage unit 12 may store an application-specific ingredient database that associates the use of eggshells with the ingredients that should be contained in the eggshells so that the selection unit 133 can select such producers. . In the component database by application, for example, magnesium is the required component when eggshells are used to make artificial bones, and phosphorus is the required component when eggshells are used to make supplementary food for children. Something is registered.

The specifying unit 132 refers to the use-specific component database to specify required components that are required for the use indicated by the order information, and notifies the selecting unit 133 of the specified required components. The selection unit 133 selects one or more producers that produce eggshells containing the required ingredients by referring to the ingredient information corresponding to each producer shown in the producer database. By operating the selection unit 133 in this manner, the consumer can obtain the eggshell containing the components necessary for the use of the eggshell.

(Producer's choice when mixing multiple eggshells)
By the way, even if the supply of eggshells with a grade higher than the required grade produced by one producer is in short supply, there will be a shortage of eggshells with a higher grade than the required grade and eggshells with a lower grade than the required grade. By mixing , it may be possible to secure eggshells of the required grade or higher. Therefore, the selection unit 133 specifies a mixed grade, which is the grade of the mixed eggshell after mixing a plurality of eggshells of different grades, and produces a plurality of eggshells of different grades in which the specified mixed grade is equal to or higher than the required grade. You may select two or more producers to

As shown in FIG. 5, the grade of the first eggshell produced by producer C is 10, the grade of the second eggshell produced by producer F is 6, and the first and second eggshells are mixed. When the ratio (hereinafter referred to as “mixing ratio”) is α:β, the selection unit 133 calculates the mixing grade by (10×α+6×β)÷(α+β), for example. The selection unit 133 may specify the mixed grade by referring to data indicating the relationship between the mixed grade and the mixing ratio of the plurality of eggshells of the plurality of grades stored in the storage unit 12 in advance.

The selection unit 133 produces two or more eggshells of different grades necessary for producing mixed eggshells in which the specified mixed grade is equal to or higher than the required grade and is equal to or larger than the amount indicated by the required amount indicated by the order information. You can choose who. The selection unit 133, for example, specifies the mixing ratio of a plurality of eggshells for making the mixed grade equal to or higher than the required grade, and determines the amount of eggshells to order from two or more producers based on the specified mixing ratio. Specifically, the selection unit 133 identifies the required amount of each of the plurality of eggshells based on the required amount indicated by the order information and the specified mixing ratio, and selects two or more producers capable of providing the specified required amount of eggshells. choose who.

In order to select two or more producers, the selection unit 133 first selects all the combinations of a plurality of eggshells from which mixed eggshells with a mixed grade equal to or higher than the required grade can be obtained. The amount (first required amount) and the required amount (second required amount) of the second eggshell are calculated. Next, the selection unit 133 identifies all combinations of producers who can provide the first eggshells of the calculated first required amount or more and producers who can provide the second eggshells of the second required amount or more. The selection unit 133 selects one combination from all the specified combinations based on the priority indicated by the order information, the distance between the consumer and the producer, or the transportation cost of the eggshells.

For example, when the selecting unit 133 receives a notification from the specifying unit 132 that 12 kg of eggshells with a required grade of 8 or higher is required, the first eggshell with a grade of 10 and the second eggshell with a grade of 6 are mixed. Specify that the mixing ratio is 5:5 for the mixed grade of the mixed eggshell to be 8 or higher, which is the required grade. Subsequently, the selection unit 133 specifies that 12 kg×5/10=6 kg of the first eggshell and 12 kg×5/10=6 kg of the second eggshell are required based on the specified mixing ratio. The selection unit 133 selects the producer C who can provide 6 kg or more of grade 10 first eggshells and the producer F who can provide 6 kg or more of grade 6 second eggshells.

In this way, the selection unit 133 selects two or more producers from a plurality of producers so that the mixed grade after mixing a plurality of eggshells provided by a plurality of producers is equal to or higher than the required grade, Even if one producer cannot provide eggshells in excess of the required amount, it is possible to provide eggshells of the grade required by consumers.

[Other examples of eggshell grades]
In the above description, the case where the selection unit 133 uses a pre-numerical grade as the eggshell grade that the producer can provide is illustrated, but the selection unit 133 uses the eggshell grade as the eggshell quality. producers may be selected based on any factor

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the application grade database. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the producer database. In the use-specific grade database shown in FIG. 6, each of a plurality of uses is associated with a chicken type (for example, a breed), a feed type, and a chicken breeding environment required for each use. For example, when eggshells are used in regenerative medicine products, the conditions are that the chickens are free-range chickens, the feed is organic feed that does not contain feed additives such as antibiotics, and the chickens are raised free-range. ing. The specifying unit 132 specifies at least one factor among the chicken type, feed type, and chicken breeding environment required for the eggshell to be used, based on the use of the eggshell by the consumer.

In the producer database shown in FIG. 7, each producer is associated with the type of chicken, the type of feed, the breeding environment of chickens, the characteristics of ingredients, the amount of supply, and the price. The selection unit 133 selects producers who can provide eggshells that satisfy the element conditions specified by the specifying unit 132 by referring to the producer database shown in FIG. 7 .

[Operation sequence of ordering system S1]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an operation sequence of the ordering system S1. The sequence diagram shown in FIG. 8 starts from the time when the consumer inputs the order information such as the use and required amount of the eggshells on the screen of the eggshell ordering site displayed on the consumer device 2 and requests an estimate. . When the consumer device 2 acquires the request for quotation together with the order information input on the screen of the eggshell ordering site (S11), the consumer device 2 transmits order information indicating a request for quotation to the producer selection device 1.

In the producer selection device 1, when the order information acquisition unit 131 receives the order information, the specification unit 132 specifies the required grade (S12), and the selection unit 133 selects a production capable of providing eggshells of a grade matching the required grade. A producer is selected (S13), and an inventory confirmation request is transmitted to the producer device 3 of the selected producer. When receiving a reply that the eggshells are in stock from the producer device 3, the selection unit 133 calculates the cost of purchasing eggshells from the selected producer and creates estimate information (S14). The selection unit 133 transmits estimate information indicating the calculated cost to the consumer device 2 . Upon receiving a response from the producer device 3 that there is no stock, the selection unit 133 selects other producers who can provide eggshells of a grade matching the requested grade, and transmits an inventory confirmation request.

The consumer device 2 displays the estimated price indicated by the estimated information received from the producer selection device 1 on the screen of the eggshell ordering site (S15). When the consumer device 2 acquires the input of the order request on the screen of the eggshell ordering site (S16), the consumer device 2 transmits to the producer selection device 1 an order request indicating that the order request has been received. In the producer selection device 1, when the order information acquisition unit 131 acquires an order request, the selection unit 133 creates order information for placing an order with the producer selected at the time of receiving the estimate request ( S17), the order information is transmitted to the producer device 3; The order information includes information indicating the amount of eggshells to be ordered, the delivery date, and the delivery destination of the eggshells. If the producer produces multiple types of eggshells, the order information may include information for specifying the type of eggshell.

The producer device 3 that has received the order information notifies the content of the order to the producer by displaying or printing the order information. Producer device 3 transmits an order confirmation to consumer device 2 upon receiving an operation for receiving an order from the producer. The producer device 3 also outputs shipping information indicating the date of shipment, the name of the carrier, etc. (S18). For example, the producer device 3 transmits to the consumer device 2 shipping information indicating the shipping date, carrier name, and the like.

[Selection of producers to order eggshell membranes]
In the above description, the function of the ordering system S1, when receiving an order for eggshells, is to place an order with a producer who can provide eggshells suitable for the intended use of the ordered eggshells. In addition to or instead of this function, when receiving an order for eggshell membranes, the system S1 places an order with a producer capable of providing eggshell membranes suitable for the intended use of the ordered eggshell membranes. may have functions.

The operations of the order information acquiring unit 131, the specifying unit 132, and the selecting unit 133 when the ordering system S1 selects the producers to whom the eggshell membranes can be provided are the producers to which the ordering system S1 can provide the eggshells. is substantially equivalent to selecting However, in this case, the use of the eggshell membrane is associated with the grade required for the eggshell membrane in the grade database for each application used. For example, the required grade is relatively high when the eggshell membrane is used for foods or vaccines, and the required grade is relatively low when the eggshell membrane is used for industrial products (eg, functional films).

[First modification]
In the above description, the order information acquiring unit 131 acquires the usage and required quantity of eggshells input on the eggshell ordering site displayed on the consumer device 2, but the order information acquiring unit 131 may obtain order information, such as eggshell usage and required quantity, by other means. The order information acquisition unit 131 may acquire order information such as the use and required amount of eggshells by reading, for example, an order form sent by facsimile or a mailed order form.

In the above description, the selection unit 133 transmits the order data to the producer device 3 via the network N, but the selection unit 133 transmits the order slip to the producer by facsimile, You may carry out the processing which mails a slip to a producer.

[Second modification]
In the above explanation, the case where the consumer inputs the usage and required quantity of eggshells on the eggshell ordering site was exemplified. list screen may be displayed. The list screen displays the quality and ingredients of eggshells that can be provided for each producer. The list screen may display suitable uses for the eggshells that each producer can provide. In this case, the selection unit 133 of the producer selection device 1 selects the producer selected by the consumer on the eggshell ordering site. At this time, the selection unit 133 selects producers who can provide eggshells of quality or components suitable for the use of the eggshells acquired from the consumer, and displays the selected producers at the top of the list screen. good too.

[Third Modification]
In the above description, the order information acquisition unit 131 updates the producer database based on the information acquired from the producer device 3, but the order information acquisition unit 131 updates the producer database using other means. may be updated. The order information acquisition unit 131 estimates that the production amount of eggshells or eggshell membranes in a specific region fluctuates based on news acquired from, for example, a news site, and updates the producer database based on the estimated result. good too. For example, when the order information acquiring unit 131 acquires news that avian influenza has occurred, it may lower the grade of eggshells or the like of producers in the area where the avian influenza has occurred, or reduce the supply amount.

In addition, the order information acquisition unit 131 teaches data in which environmental data such as weather, temperature, and humidity in each producer's area and grades, ingredients, supply amounts, or prices of eggshells produced by the producer are associated. Machine learning models learned as data may be used to update the producer database. The order information acquisition unit 131, for example, inputs the environmental data of each region to the above machine learning model, and automatically creates a producer database based on the grade, ingredients, supply amount or price output from the machine learning model. You may update.

Further, the storage unit 12 may store the machine learning model as information that associates a plurality of eggshell producers with grades of eggshells produced by each of the plurality of producers. The selection unit 133 inputs the environmental data of each producer's region to the machine learning model, compares the grade output from the machine learning model with the required grade, and selects one or more eggshells to be ordered. You can choose a producer.

By operating the order information acquiring unit 131 and the selecting unit 133 in this way, the selecting unit 133 can It is possible to increase the probability that an appropriate producer can be selected. In addition, since the frequency of analyzing the eggshells of each producer can be reduced, the management cost of the producer database can also be reduced.

[Fourth Modification]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of a producer selection device 1a according to this modification. The control unit 13 of the producer selection device 1a further has an event information acquisition unit 134, a prediction unit 135, and an information provision unit 136 in addition to the configuration shown in FIG.

The producer selection device 1 shown in FIG. 1a can match consumers and producers even when the required amount of eggshells by consumers and the production volume of eggshells by producers are not clearly known. Specifically, the producer selection device 1a determines the required amount of eggshells and the supply amount of eggshells based on various events such as weather, epidemics of bird diseases, disasters, and changes in demand for products that use eggshells. Predict relationships, and based on the predicted results, introduce consumers to suppliers and introduce suppliers to consumers.

The event information acquisition unit 134 acquires event information related to at least one of weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for products using eggshells. The event information acquisition unit 134 acquires event information from an external server that provides event information, or acquires event information from the consumer device 2 and the producer device 3, for example. The event information acquisition unit 134 notifies the prediction unit 135 of the acquired event information.

The prediction unit 135 predicts at least one of the required amount of eggshells and the production amount of eggshells based on the event information acquired by the event information acquisition unit 134 . The prediction unit 135 predicts the relationship between events stored in the storage unit 12, such as weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for products using eggshells, and the required amount of eggshells or the production amount of eggshells. By referring to the data indicating, the required amount or production amount of eggshells when the event indicated by the event information occurs is predicted.

For each region associated with the event, the prediction unit 135 may predict the amount of demand that will occur in each region or the amount of production by producers belonging to each region. Areas associated with events are, for example, areas with extreme weather, areas with outbreaks of bird flu, areas with disasters, and areas with significant changes in demand for eggshell-based products.

The prediction unit 135 inputs the event information acquired by the event information acquisition unit 134 to the machine learning model created using the relationship between the combination of one or more events and the required amount of eggshells or the production amount of eggshells as teacher data. A prediction of eggshell requirements or production may be obtained from a machine learning model. The prediction unit 135 notifies the information provision unit 136 of the predicted required amount or production amount of eggshells.

The information providing unit 136 provides the consumer device 2 with information indicating the production volume predicted by the prediction unit 135 . The information providing unit 136, for example, transmits information indicating the predicted production volume of each of a plurality of producers to the consumer device 2, or publishes the predicted production volume on a website in a state accessible by the consumer device 2. . The information providing unit 136 may provide the producer device 3 with information indicating the required quantity predicted by the predicting unit 135 . The information providing unit 136 may provide information indicating the predicted production volume or the predicted required quantity in association with the information indicating the region.

The information providing unit 136 may further match consumers and producers based on the predicted required quantity and predicted production volume. The information providing unit 136, for example, matches consumers in regions where the predicted required amount has increased and producers in regions where the predicted production volume has increased, and provides information on the producers matched to the consumer device 2 of the consumer. provide information about consumers matched to the producer device 3 of the producer. By operating the information providing unit 136 in this way, it is possible to secure the eggshells that are expected to be required without the customer processing the order.

When there are multiple combinations of consumers and producers that can be matched, the information providing unit 136 selects the consumers based on the distance between the consumers and the producers or the cost of transporting the eggshells from the producers to the consumers. and producer may be selected. In addition, the information providing unit 136 may select a producer whose production volume is predicted to be the sum of the predicted demand quantity corresponding to the consumer and a margin added.

Note that the producer selection device 1a may predict not only the eggshells but also the required quantity and the production quantity of the eggshell membranes, and provide the consumer device 2 or the producer device 3 with information based on the prediction results. In addition to producers whose main business is to produce eggshells, producers include restaurants and food manufacturers (e.g. bakeries) who use eggs and discard eggshells and eggshell membranes. may include persons.

[Fifth Modification]
The producer selection device 1 can manage information for specifying producers selected by the selection unit 133 . Therefore, the producer selection device 1 identifies the attributes of the eggshells or eggshell membranes shipped from the producer to the consumer in order to ensure the traceability of the eggshells or eggshell membranes provided to the consumer. You may manage information for Traceability is the ability to trace where and how the eggshell or eggshell membrane was produced. The attributes of eggshells or eggshell membranes are properties related to production conditions of eggshells or eggshell membranes. It is a feature of the ingredients.

In order to ensure traceability, the selection unit 133 may store attributes related to production conditions of eggshells or eggshell membranes produced by one or more selected producers in a storage medium in association with consumers. The storage medium is, for example, the storage unit 12 , but the selection unit 133 may use a storage medium different from the storage unit 12 . The selection unit 133 may associate attributes related to production conditions of eggshells or eggshell membranes produced by one or more selected producers with consumers and store them in the blockchain.

For example, the selection unit 133 transmits order information to the producer device 3, and in response to receiving an order confirmation from the producer device 3, identifies the consumer by referring to the producer database shown in FIG. The attribute of the selected eggshell or eggshell membrane is stored in the storage unit 12 in association with the consumer identification information for the selection. The selection unit 133 may store the attribute of the eggshell or eggshell membrane in the storage unit 12 in association with the date of receipt of the order confirmation. The selection unit 133 may acquire the shipping information transmitted from the producer device 3 to the consumer device 2, and store the attribute of the eggshell or eggshell membrane in the storage unit 12 in association with the date on which the shipping information was acquired.

When the selection unit 133 acquires from the consumer device 2 information designating the date and information requesting confirmation of attributes of the eggshell or eggshell membrane purchased by the consumer, the selection unit 133 instructs the consumer device 2 to , the attribute of the eggshell or eggshell membrane stored in the storage unit 12 in association with the specified date is transmitted to the consumer device 2 . In this way, the selection unit 133 associates the eggshell or eggshell membrane with the customer who ordered the eggshell or eggshell membrane, and causes the storage unit 12 to store the attribute of the eggshell or eggshell membrane purchased by the customer, thereby enabling the eggshell or eggshell membrane used by the customer to be stored. Since the attributes of the film can be easily confirmed, traceability can be ensured.

Specifically, a consumer who sells products using eggshells or eggshell membranes shall, when selling products using eggshells or eggshell membranes, indicate the date of ordering the eggshells or eggshell membranes used in the product. By inputting to the consumer device 2, it is possible to grasp the attribute of the eggshell or eggshell membrane used in the product. Therefore, when a consumer sells a product with information on which farmer the eggshell or eggshell membrane used in the product was obtained from the egg of the chicken raised in what kind of environment, the product is sold. can do.

[Effect of Producer Selection Device 1]
As described above, the producer selection device 1 includes the specification unit 132 that specifies the required grade required for the application indicated by the order information received from the consumer device 2, the required grade, and the storage unit 12. and a selection unit 133 for selecting one or more producers to order the eggshells to be provided to the consumer by comparing the grades of the eggshells produced by the plurality of producers. With such a configuration of the producer selection device 1, consumers can easily obtain desired eggshells even if they do not know producers who can provide eggshells of a grade suitable for their intended use. Become.

Then, according to the ordering system S1, the amount of eggshells and eggshell membranes remaining as by-products for eating egg yolks or egg whites, which are treated as waste, is reduced, and they are stably delivered to consumers as raw materials for various products. becomes possible.

<Second embodiment>
[Overview of matching system S2]
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the matching system S2. The matching system S2 is a system for matching producers who may be able to supply eggshells with consumers who may need eggshells. The matching system S2 has a matching device 4 instead of the producer selection device 1 in the ordering system S1 shown in FIG.

The matching system S2 is based on various events such as weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, changes in demand for products that use eggshells, and the like. to predict the production volume of eggshells, and match consumers and producers based on the predicted results. Producers in this embodiment may include producers whose main business is to manufacture eggshells, as well as businesses such as restaurants and bakeries that use eggs and discard eggshells.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the matching device 4. As shown in FIG. The matching device 4 has a communication section 41 , a storage section 42 and a control section 43 . The control unit 43 has an event information acquisition unit 431 , a prediction unit 432 and an information provision unit 433 . The communication unit 41, storage unit 42 and control unit 43 correspond to the communication unit 11, storage unit 12 and control unit 13 in the producer selection device 1a shown in FIG. 9, respectively.

The event information acquiring unit 431, the predicting unit 432 and the information providing unit 433 have the same functions as the event information acquiring unit 134, the predicting unit 135 and the information providing unit 136 in the producer selecting device 1a shown in FIG. 9, respectively. The event information acquisition unit 431 acquires, for example, event information related to at least one of weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for products using eggshells. The prediction unit 432 predicts at least one of the required amount of eggshells and the production amount of eggshells based on the event information acquired by the event information acquisition unit 431 .

The information providing unit 433, for example, matches consumers in regions where the predicted required amount has increased with producers in regions where the predicted production volume has increased, and provides information on the producers matched to the consumer device 2 of the consumer. provide information about consumers matched to the producer device 3 of the producer.

Note that the matching device 4 may predict the required quantity and the production quantity of not only eggshells but also eggshell membranes, and match consumers of eggshell membranes with producers of eggshell membranes based on the prediction results. . In addition to producers whose main business is to manufacture eggshells, producers may include businesses such as restaurants and food manufacturers that use eggs and dispose of eggshells and eggshell membranes. .

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof. be. For example, all or part of the device can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in arbitrary units. In addition, new embodiments resulting from arbitrary combinations of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment caused by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment.

1 producer selection device 2 consumer device 3 producer device 4 matching device 11 communication unit 12 storage unit 13 control unit 131 order information acquisition unit 132 identification unit 133 selection unit 134 event information acquisition unit 135 prediction unit 136 information provision unit 41 communication Unit 42 Storage unit 43 Control unit 431 Event information acquisition unit 432 Prediction unit 433 Information provision unit

Claims (15)

By association with a plurality of producers that produce eggshells, grades of eggshells produced by each of the plurality of producers are stored, and uses of eggshells and grades of eggshells required for each use are associated with each use. a storage unit that stores a grade database ;
an order information acquisition unit that acquires order information indicating the use of the eggshell from the consumer of the eggshell;
a specifying unit that specifies a required grade , which is an eggshell grade required for a use indicated by the order information, by referring to the use-specific grade database ;
The one or more producers to be ordered for the eggshells to be provided to the consumer by comparing the requested grade with the grades of the eggshells produced by the producers stored in the storage unit. a selection unit for selecting
Producer selection device with The selection unit selects the one or more producers that produce eggshells of a grade equal to or higher than the required grade.
A producer selection device according to claim 1 . The selection unit specifies a mixed grade that is a grade of mixed eggshells after mixing a plurality of eggshells of different grades, and produces the plurality of eggshells of different grades in which the specified mixed grade is equal to or higher than the required grade. selecting two or more said producers to
3. Producer selection device according to claim 1 or 2. The selection unit specifies the mixing ratio of the plurality of eggshells for making the mixed grade equal to or higher than the required grade, and determines the amount of eggshells to be ordered from the two or more producers based on the specified mixing ratio. do,
4. A producer selection device according to claim 3. The storage unit further stores component information indicating components contained in eggshells produced by each of the plurality of producers in association with the plurality of producers,
The specifying unit specifies a required component that is a component required for the application indicated by the order information,
The selection unit selects the one or more producers who produce eggshells containing the required ingredients by referring to the ingredient information.
Producer selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The order information acquisition unit further acquires required amount information indicating the amount of eggshells required by the consumer,
The storage unit further stores production amount information indicating the amount of eggshells each of the plurality of producers can produce, in association with the plurality of producers;
The selection unit selects the one or more producers based on the required amount information and the production amount information.
Producer selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The selection unit specifies a mixed grade that is a grade of mixed eggshells after mixing a plurality of eggshells of different grades, the specified mixed grade is equal to or higher than the required grade, and the amount indicated by the required amount information selecting two or more said producers who produce said plurality of different grades of eggshells necessary to produce said mixed eggshells above;
7. A producer selection device according to claim 6. The storage unit stores the environmental data of the regions of the plurality of producers and the eggshells produced by the plurality of producers as information that associates the plurality of producers with grades of the eggshells produced by each of the plurality of producers. memorize a machine learning model trained using data associated with the grade of as training data,
The selection unit selects the one or more producers by inputting local environmental data of the plurality of producers into the machine learning model and comparing the grade output from the machine learning model with the required grade. select,
Producer selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The selection unit associates attributes related to production conditions of the eggshells produced by the one or more selected producers with the consumer and stores them in a storage medium.
Producer selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. an event information acquisition unit that acquires event information related to at least one of weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for eggshell-based products;
a prediction unit that predicts the required amount of eggshells based on the event information;
an information providing unit that provides the producer with information indicating the required amount predicted by the prediction unit;
further having
Producer selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. an event information acquisition unit that acquires event information related to at least one of weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for eggshell-based products;
a prediction unit that predicts eggshell production based on the event information;
an information providing unit that provides the demander with information indicating the production amount predicted by the prediction unit;
further having
Producer selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. an event information acquisition unit that acquires event information related to at least one of weather, bird disease epidemics, disasters, and changes in demand for eggshell-based products;
a prediction unit that predicts a required amount of eggshells and a production amount of eggshells based on the event information;
Based on the required amount and the production amount predicted by the prediction unit, the consumer who needs eggshells and the producer who can supply eggshells are matched, and the producer matched with the consumer an information providing unit that provides information and provides information on the consumer matched with the producer;
further having
Producer selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. In association with a plurality of producers producing eggshell membranes, the grade of the eggshell membranes produced by each of the plurality of producers is stored, and the uses of the eggshell membranes are associated with the grades of the eggshell membranes required for each use. a storage unit for storing the application-specific grade database ;
an order information acquiring unit for acquiring order information indicating the use of the eggshell membranes from a consumer of the eggshell membranes;
a specifying unit that specifies a required grade , which is the eggshell membrane grade required for the application indicated by the order information, by referring to the application-specific grade database ;
By comparing the requested grade with the grades of the eggshell membranes produced by the plurality of producers stored in the storage unit, one or more of the eggshell membranes to be ordered for the consumer. a selection unit that selects a producer;
Producer selection device with the computer runs
obtaining order information from an eggshell consumer indicating the intended use of the eggshell;
Identify the required eggshell grade required for the use indicated by the order information by referring to the use-specific grade database in which the use of the eggshell and the grade of the eggshell required for each use are associated. a step;
By comparing the required grade with the eggshell grades produced by each of the plurality of producers and stored in a storage unit in association with the plurality of eggshell producers, the eggshells to be provided to the consumer are obtained. selecting one or more said producers to place an order with;
Producer selection method with the computer runs
a step of obtaining order information indicating a use of the eggshell membrane from a consumer of the eggshell membrane;
The required grade, which is the eggshell membrane grade required for the use indicated by the order information, is obtained by referring to the use-specific grade database in which the use of the eggshell membrane is associated with the grade of the eggshell membrane required for each use. and
By comparing the requested grade with the grade of the eggshell membranes produced by each of the plurality of producers and stored in the storage unit in association with the plurality of producers producing the eggshell membranes, the eggshell membranes are provided to the consumer. selecting one or more said producers from which to order eggshell membranes;
Producer selection method with

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