EA039856B1 - Inventory-based tracking, dish recommendation, food freshness notification and consumption notification from personal food inventory - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a personal food inventory system (PFIS) allowing for storage of food items in a personal inventory associated with a user account, as well as tracking of food items consumed by a user of the account. The PFIS is linked to an application for communicating between the account user and the PFIS items that are received into the personal inventory and items consumed or otherwise removed from the personal inventory. The PFIS is linked to one or more preferred vendors for easy entry of items into the personal inventory. The PFIS also provides recommendation of dishes the account user can prepare based on the personal food inventory and/or a vendor inventory associated with the preferred vendor. The PFIS further provides user notifications for items nearing their expiry date. The PFIS also provides notification to the account user regarding usage of the personal food inventory system by tracking consumption.

Description

The present application claims priority under US Provisional Application No. 62/162,482, filed May 15, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/162,490, filed May 15, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/162,493, filed May 15, 2015; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/162,497, filed May 15, 2015; the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Background of the Invention

In 2010, 33.79 million tons of food was wasted in the United States of America, worth US$161.6 billion in retail equivalent. It is estimated that 4 billion tons of food is wasted globally every year; while in the United States alone, per capita levels of food waste have risen by 50% since 1974. Recycled food represents the largest category of municipal solid waste reaching landfills; and an estimated 30-50% of supermarket food is thrown out of the homes of the people who buy it.

A lot of food going to waste is the result of people simply not knowing what food is in their pantries and refrigerators, or not eating it before it goes bad. Because most households stock hundreds, if not thousands, of food items, it's difficult for people to keep track of exactly what foods they have and when they expire. In addition, many people go to grocery stores to buy groceries they don't need because they don't know they already have them at home and don't have a simple tool to help them check their stocks.

In addition, household stocks often contain a wide variety of foods, but people cannot come up with recipes that use exactly the ingredients they already have. Today's consumers are also concerned about a variety of nutritional issues, from desire for low-carbohydrate foods to food allergies, and therefore prefer to prepare meals that meet these characteristics.

The essence of the invention

The Personal Food Inventory System (PFIS) provides the ability to store food in a personal inventory linked to a user account, as well as track the food consumed by the user who owns this account. The PFIS system contains accounting data for each food item that is stored in personal stores, as well as various information about these products. The PFIS system is associated with an application that provides communication between the account user and the PFIS system to communicate information about products that enter personal stores and that are consumed or otherwise removed from personal stores. The PFIS system is associated with one or more preferred vendors to facilitate the entry of products into personal stocks. The PFIS system maintains an operational quantitative record of each food product.

The PFIS system also makes recommendations for meals that the account user can prepare from the products held in his personal inventory and/or in the inventory of the preferred seller. The PFIS system stores records of dishes, including identifiers of food items used as ingredients in dishes; and, upon request, determines a set of potential dishes recommended to the user, based on the availability of certain products in his stocks. Potential dishes are filtered and ranked according to various criteria set by the user, after which they are presented to the user through the application.

The PFIS system additionally sends notifications to the user regarding food products that are nearing the expiration date. The PFIS system stores information about the freshness of products contained in personal stocks; calculates how many days these products will remain fresh; and sends a notification to the account user indicating products nearing expiration date based on their freshness data.

The PFIS system also sends notifications to the account user regarding the use of the personal food inventory system based on consumption tracking results. The account user may have one or more purposes of consumption; the system may capture one or more consumption trends and send appropriate notifications to the account user via the application. Goals that PFIS can track include goals related to nutrition, savings, and recycling.

Brief description of the figures

In FIG. 1 is a high-level object diagram of a tracking and recommending system based on available food supply, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2 shows the system architecture of a personal food inventory controller according to one embodiment of the present invention.

- 1 039856

In FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a computer-implemented method for maintaining personal food stock levels in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a computer-implemented method for making meal recommendations based on available food stock, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5 illustrates an example of how a user interface receives a request for a dish according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 6A illustrates an example of how a user interface displays a selected dish according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 6B illustrates an example of how the user interface displays extended information about the selected dish according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a computer-implemented method for providing notification of end-of-life food products in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 8 illustrates an example of how a user interface sends a notification to a user according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a notification to a user regarding the use of a personal food inventory system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 10 illustrates an example of how a user interface sends a notification to a user based at least in part on one or more consumption goals and/or one or more food consumption patterns, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

System structure

In FIG. 1 is a high-level object diagram of a food-based tracking and recommending system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. A personal food inventory system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a cloud-based personal food inventory system 110; one or more preferred sellers 120; household 130 associated with the account; and at least one electronic device 140 per household. According to one of the embodiments of the present invention, the objects of the system are electronically interconnected via a network. The personal food supply system 110 is preferably remote from the retailer 120, the household 130, and the electronic device 140.

The cloud-based personal food inventory system (PFIS) 110 manages the system and method for maintaining the level of personal food inventory; providing recommendations regarding dishes, based on the availability of products in personal stocks; sending notifications about food products that are nearing the expiration date; and sending notifications to the user regarding the use of the personal food inventory system.

Also included in the system is one or more preferred merchants 120 selling food to system users, communicating transaction history messages, and providing information about purchased products. One or more preferred merchants 120 is preferred for a particular user account and is determined by the user during the account setup process. According to one embodiment of the present invention, other details are included in the setting, such as providing information about household appliances available for use in cooking. Although only one preferred merchant 120 is shown, the user may select more than one merchant during account setup, and even add or change merchants later.

Household 130 is represented in PFIS system 110 by one single account. The household is the entity in which the level of personal holdings is maintained, against which goals and trends are measured, and for which recommendations are made. A single user can act as a household; or it may be associated with many different users, but is usually considered to be the actual physical household.

Electronic device 140 may be a mobile phone, laptop, tablet computer, desktop computer, or other similar device. This document describes embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, and processes associated with their use. In some embodiments of the present invention, this device may be a portable communication device, such as a mobile phone, which also provides other functions, such as PDA and/or music player functions. Optionally, portable electrons can be used

- 2 039856 touch devices such as laptops or tablet computers with touch surfaces (eg touch screens and/or touchpads). It should also be understood that in some embodiments of the present invention, the described device is not a portable communication device, but is a desktop computer with a touch surface (eg, touch screen and/or touchpad). The electronic device 140 is used by the user of the PFIS system 110 to which the account is associated. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the device 140 has a voice recognition function that allows the user to easily remove food items from personal stores by simply saying aloud that a particular item has been consumed.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the PFIS system 110 comprises several databases 160-166 and a PFIS controller 155. Each database is implemented using a database management system and a storage device; wherein the database management system is a relational database management system, and the storage device is a disk drive or a solid state storage medium. The personal inventory database 160 stores personal food inventory information associated with the user account of the electronic device 140, which includes information specific to that account. The personal inventory database 160 contains various tables of user personal inventory data, food information, processing and consumption options, and other food tracking data associated with a particular account.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the personal inventory database 160 contains the following tables: a table of records or credentials associated with a particular account, including information such as the number of household members, user names and passwords, preferred vendor information, and etc. The database 160 may also include a user table indicating the user or users associated with a particular household account.

The database 160 may also include a food inventory table that displays the food inventory for each account, a list of food identifiers, and various product attributes. The personal food inventory records for each account include a description of each food item and its identifier. In the context of this document, the term food refers to a single food or ingredient. For example, the food item might be chicken, or mustard, or carrots, or black pepper. Each food item is an object in the table associated with a personal food supply for a specific account. For example, information about a food item in a table of food stocks (food stocks in the context of this document) may include: record number, food product identifier, description of the food, various nutritional properties, stock volume, consumption volume, consumption units, date of consumption , source of consumption, seller ID, transaction ID, seller purchase product ID, seller account ID, purchase volume, purchase date, product cost/purchase price, product suggested consumption date, expiration date, number of days remaining before expiration date, and threshold of freshness. In other embodiments, implementation of the present invention, information about the food product may be more or less than listed above; or the tables may be modeled from known food data (see, for example, USDA National Standard Food Nutrient Database Issue 27).

The global food database 162 includes all foods known to the PFIS system 110, including foods across all different user accounts. The global food database 162 contains the following tables: a food table that lists individual foods with an access key corresponding to a unique product identifier (FoodID). The global food database 162 also contains a food nutrient table with nutritional data for a fixed set of nutrients, accessed by a product ID key. If personal inventory database 160 lacks information about a particular product, the global product database 162 can be used to find this information because it covers many accounts.

The dish database 164 includes the following tables: a dish table with information about the cooked product. The food database 164 also includes a <FoodID, measure> list for each food in the dish with associated instructions; with each dish also having its own DishID. The dish database 164 also contains a food table with a list of dish identifiers (DishIDs). The food database 164 also includes a diet table listing <Mea1ID, day/time>

- 3 039856 (^Meal ID Day/Time>) with its own ID for each mode (MealPlanlD). The dish database 164 may also contain information about household appliances needed to prepare the dish.

The disposal database 166 may contain information on food waste disposal options at the location of the account user. The disposal database 166 may contain information on how to dispose of food waste that cannot be disposed of by conventional methods in the area where the account user is located. The PFIS controller 155 is described in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 2.

The Preferred Seller object 120 includes a food vendor database 175, a shopping database 180, and a card reader 185 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The retailer food database 175 includes the names of all the food products that the preferred retailer 120 sells, as well as detailed information about each of these products, similar to the data listed above in relation to the personal inventory database 160, but at the level of the preferred vendor 120. In the preferred vendor food vendor database 175, each product may be provided with a barcode, QR code, vendor product code, or other identifier to facilitate identification of a unique product in the vendor food vendor database 175. The purchase database 180 tracks all purchases made from the preferred merchant 120 with each transaction assigned a specific number, as well as information about each purchased food product, its cost, date of purchase, etc. The card reader 185 is a device located at the preferred merchant 120, which allows reading data from the corresponding user card 170, which binds the user to the corresponding account in the PFIS system. The user's card 170 can be read by a card reader 185 located at a point of sale, for example.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, household 130 is a group of users associated with an account who own physical inventory 135. Physical inventory 135 includes actual food items tracked by the food inventory system associated with household account 130.

The account user uses one or more electronic device 140 on which an application 165 is installed to enable the user to interact with the PFIS system 110. The application 165 may be downloaded to the electronic device 140 either directly from the PFIS system 110 or indirectly from a network source such as an application store into which the application comes from the PFIS system 110; in both cases, the application 165 is downloaded to the electronic device 140 for execution on said device; however, application 165 may also be an application installed by default on electronic device 140. Optionally, one or more electronic device 140 may include a scanning device 150 (or a video camera) and an electronic version of a card 170. Alternatively, a user of device 140 may have a physical card 170. The account user uses the scanner device 150 or the device's video camera 140 to read the barcode or other identifier of the food product in order to add the product to or remove it from the account user's personal inventory.

The application 165 provides interaction between the account user and the PFIS system 110 over the full range of system functionality. For example, application 165 displays all of the user interfaces described herein and illustrated, for example, in FIG. 5, 6A, 6B, 8, and 10. Application 165 enables an account user to communicate with PFIS system 110; add food to the inventory associated with the user account; exclude food from stocks; give recommendations on dishes; send notifications to the user; submit reports on the performance of functions, etc. Through the application 165, the user can enter into the PFIS system 110 all food items contained in the physical stores 135 of the household 130 as part of the initial system setup. Application 165 has various search, scan, and other capabilities to assist the user in the initial data entry. Application 165 facilitates the implementation by the user of all the functionality described in this document. Application 165 may also prompt the account user for information to facilitate notifications and other information, which may include the account user's email address, mobile phone number, and other contact information. In addition, as part of the account setup, a card 170 associated with the user account is issued for each account user. Data from the card 170 will be read by a card reader (eg, device 185) at the merchant's point of sale 120 to identify the user as the person to whom the account is associated. The card reader 185 is configured to transmit transactional information, including food purchase data, to the PFIS system 110 using the account information read from the card 170.

- 4 039856

In FIG. 2 shows the system architecture of a PFIS controller 155 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The PFIS controller 155 controls the functionality of the PFIS system 110; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. The PFIS controller 155 includes system modules 190 and a user interface (UI) module 195. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system modules include the modules described below. Modules are implemented as machine code that is executed by the processor. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in any embodiment of the present invention, the operations and functions of the modules are necessarily performed by the computer and not by the train of thought of the human mind.

The account module 205 keeps track of the various user accounts in the PFIS system 110 and, as data becomes available, distributes inventory information to the respective personal inventory in relation to the accounts.

The food module 210 receives and keeps track of individual food items and correlates identifiers with food items that are stored in a personal inventory database or global food database 162; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. If necessary, the food module 210 may search for food information from various sources in order to replenish the databases 160-166.

The restocking module 215 receives and keeps track of a plurality of food IDs purchased or otherwise obtained by the account user, determines the amount of each product to add to the personal inventory associated with the account, and updates the inventory data; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. All of the functions described herein in connection with personal restocking are performed by the restocking module 215 .

Consumables module 220 receives a notification that the food item associated with the account has been - at least partially - consumed, sets the amount of product consumed, and updates the personal inventory data; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. All functions described herein in connection with the consumption of personal supplies are performed by the consumable inventory module 220 .

The dish recommendation module 225 determines a set of potential dishes from the dish database with ingredients containing the given food items;

arranges potential dishes by ranking, taking into account various factors; and selects one or more dishes for visual presentation to the account user; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. All of the functions described herein in connection with recommending food to account users are performed by the food recommendation module 225 .

The sponsorship module 230 provides for the promotion of individual brands or products within an advertising or sponsorship campaign, during which sellers and/or food suppliers can promote products by displaying them more prominently in various interfaces of the application 165; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. All functions described herein in connection with sponsorship are performed by sponsorship module 230 .

The freshness module 235 calculates the number of days remaining before the expiration date of the food; identifies food items in personal stocks that are nearing their expiration date; and sends notifications to the user of the account about products with an expiration date; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. All functions described in this document in connection with recommended dates of consumption, spoilage and expiration of food products are performed by the freshness module 235.

The power module 240 reads and provides power information; information relevant to nutritional consumption purposes; and accepted nutrition guidelines for use in the system; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. The nutritional data may be used, for example, for the reporting functions described in connection with FIG. 9. All functions described herein in connection with power are performed by power module 240.

The recycling module 245 reads and provides recycling information, for example, to store it in the recycling database 166; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. This information may include details of food waste disposal options in the account user's location and/or information on how to dispose of food waste that cannot be disposed of normally in the account user's location. All functions described herein in connection with recycling are performed by recycling module 245 .

- 5 039856

The goal module 250 tracks consumption goals associated with user accounts; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. Intake goals can be nutritionally related, such as keeping the total fat content of the foods consumed at or below 25%; or non-nutrition goals such as reducing food waste, purchasing food at the lowest prices, etc. may be pursued. All functions described herein in connection with these goals are performed by the goal module 250. A trending module 255 tracks trends in food consumption by an account user; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. All functions described herein in connection with consumption trends are performed by trending module 255 .

The reporting module 260 provides reporting functions on the data stored by the PFIS system 110 and sends appropriate notifications based on consumption goals and trends or food consumption patterns; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. Various reporting options are available through application 165 as described in connection with FIG. 9 and 10. All functions described herein in connection with reporting are performed by reporting module 260.

A user interface (UI) module 195 manages the various user interfaces of the application 165; however, it is the only tool that performs this function. The UI module 195 converts the data of the PFIS system 110 for visual presentation to the user, and also transmits the data entered by the user in the application 165 back to the PFIS system 110. All functions described herein in connection with the user interfaces for application 165 are performed by UI module 195.

The modules described herein are by way of example only, and other embodiments of the present invention may use more or less modules, or modules in other configurations.

Process flow

In FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a computer-implemented method for maintaining personal food stock levels in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. This method is implemented by the cloud-based personal food inventory system (PFIS) 110 . The implementation of the method begins at the stage 310 of storing in the database 160 data on personal stocks of data on personal stocks of food products associated with a user account of an electronic device, for example, device 140. The database 160 contains, as described above, tables 160-166, in which data on personal food stocks are stored; information about the food itself; information about dishes that can be prepared from these products; and information on food waste disposal options. In one embodiment of the present invention, one account may be associated with multiple users and devices. For example, an account may be associated with a household, and each device associated with the household may be associated with that account. Data on personal stocks of food can be stored, for example, in the database 160 data on personal stocks.

Continuing with the household example, a household personal inventory database 160, such as 130, may include information about all of the food items contained in the physical inventory of household 130, such as 135, that are associated with that household. For example, the physical inventory 135 of household 130 includes every food item physically present in the household. As part of the initial setup of the system, the user may enter data on all food items in the physical stocks 135 of the household 130 into the PFIS system 110, for example, through the application 165. The application 165 has various search, scan, and other capabilities to assist the user with the initial data entry. . Alternatively, once the process has started, the user may decide not to enter the food items currently in their physical inventory, but to start using the system as described in this document and add food to the physical inventory as needed. how they become relevant to the function being used, so that the personal inventory database 160 becomes more and more accurate over time. For example, when a user makes a purchase, a new food item is added to the physical inventory 135 and data about that item is entered into the personal inventory database. When a user consumes a product, the user can update the list of products consumed from physical stores 135 but not originally included in personal stores. For example, application 165 might display the following message: Looks like you ate more apples than you had in stock. According to available data, there were 0 apples in stock, and you ate 1. Is that right?. Upon receipt of such a message, an apple that was not originally part of personal stocks can be added and then removed from these stocks, and marked as consumed.

The personal food inventory records for each account include a description of each food item and its identifier. As used herein, the term food refers to a single food or ingredient. For example, the food item might be chicken, or mustard, or carrots, or black pepper. Food items that are part of a dish or dish are also called dish ingredients.

In one of the embodiments of the present invention, personal food storage data may include other information associated with each product record (its credentials), for example, various attributes of the product, such as information about its nutritional properties, information about suitable reusable packaging, etc., as well as the number of units of the product in stock and the number of units of the product consumed, details of the seller indicating the source of the food and other data of a similar nature described above.

The next step 320 provides for obtaining a plurality of identifiers for foodstuffs to be added to personal stocks. Food items are added to personal stocks linked to the account.

The PFIS system 110 may obtain food identifiers in a variety of ways, and the PFIS system 110 supports input from a number of different sources. Many users are expected to shop at retail stores. Each user is given a card 170 that is linked to that user's account. The card 170 must be provided with a barcode or magnetic stripe, or both, to identify the user's account. Card data 170 is read by a card reader (eg, device 185) at the merchant's point of sale, identifying the user as the person to whom the account is associated. The card reader 185 is configured to transmit a list of purchased food products with their quantity directly to the PFIS system 110 using the account data read from the card 170. The message format for transmitting information about the purchase may take the following form, for example:

<?XML version=1.0 encoding=utf-8?>

<Header>

<MessageID> {1234} </MessageID>

<Action>httpd://pfis.com/UpdateFoodInventory</Action>

<UserAccount>9845323</UserAccount>

</Header>

<Body>

<Vendor>349095</Vendor>

<PurchaseDate>04-14-15</PurchaseDate>

<FoodList>

<food foodid=3939 quantity-'1></food> <food foodid=345332 quantity=2x/food>

</FoodList>

</Body>

</Message>

The PFIS system 110 receives the food list along with the account ID and adds the corresponding food products, their IDs, number of units, and any other received food information to the personal inventory database 160 .

In the Internet Merchant 120 example, one embodiment of the present invention performs a similar process, except that the card is not scanned. Instead of an account number, the merchant's payment processing system uses a username/password combination or other similar identifier obtained through a device at the point of sale to recognize the user as the person who owns the account. Once identified, the merchant's payment processing system transmits the purchased food information to the PFIS system 110 via the previously described application programming interface. In another embodiment of the present invention, the information may not be automatically transmitted to the PFIS system 110. For example, merchant 120 may instead provide account identifying information upon request. This request may be immediate, such as a request sent by the electronic device 140 at the point of sale of the merchant 120, forcing the merchant to immediately transmit the relevant information to the electronic device 140; or with a delay in time on a request containing information that identifies a transaction associated with a purchase. For example, a user can request information about a food item by providing the merchant 120 with a transaction ID, and the merchant in turn can provide all the information associated with the transaction, including the merchant IDs for each food item, purchase amount, date of purchase, etc. In some cases, the merchant 120 may provide partial information and allow the PFIS system 110 to access the merchant's food database 175, which contains additional information about purchased foods.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, information about a food item withdrawn from stocks (step 340) (or added to stocks (step 320)) can be obtained via application 165. In this example, the application 165 displays personal inventory to the user, and the user can select the product consumed and the amount of product consumed, which is then passed to the PFIS system 110 to update the personal inventory. In some cases, the system may advise the user to automatically delete food items, for example, due to their expiration date, and the PFIS system 110 creates a list of candidate products for deletion and visually presents this list to the user, who must confirm whether these products should really be deleted.

Another way to add food to or remove food from stocks is to use a scanning device (e.g., scanning device 150), for example, at the location of his or her physical stores 135. Scanner 150 reads a bar code, QR code, or a different product identifier, passes it to the application 165 for identification of the corresponding food product and its identifier in order to recognize the consumed product. In one embodiment of the present invention, the card may be a chip card, and the scanner 150 or device 140 may be configured to read data from chip cards. The user can then enter the amount of food consumed (or added) either through the scanner 150 itself or through the application 165. For foods that may not have barcodes, the manual entry described above can be used, for example, in combination with a search. products normally sold without bar codes, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Alternatively, the mobile device (e.g., device 140) may be configured to use a video camera on device 140 to capture food information and perform the functions described above in a manner similar to that of scanner 150, instead of using a separate scanner. In both input scenarios, the user enters food data by reading or otherwise capturing information that identifies the food, such as using a barcode, QR code, stockkeeping unit number, or other machine-readable product identifier. These machine-readable identifiers are then transmitted from the capture device to the PFIS system 110. An example message format is shown below:

<?XML version=1.0 encoding=utf-8?>

<Header>

<MessageId> {4321} </MessageID>

<Action>httpd://pfis.com/UpdateFoodInventory</Action>

<UserAccount>9845323</UserAccount>

</Header>

<Body>

<ConsumeDate>04-15-15</ConsumeDate>

<FoodList>

<food foodid=3999 quantity-'-1></food> <food foodid=343532 quantity=-0.5></food> </FoodList>

</Body>

</Message>

Upon receipt of product information that relates to personal inventory associated with an account, PFIS system 110 stores it in a personal inventory database (eg, database 160); however, it may additionally store general food information in a global food database (eg, database 162) related to the products of a plurality of users.

Once this information is received, the personal inventory data is updated at step 330 with the received set of food IDs and the purchase amounts of each of the personal inventory items that are associated with the account, along with the purchase dates of those items. For example, if a product was not previously in stock, then a new updated quantity will be received after updating the data. However, if the account has existing stocks of the food product, then after receiving the data on the purchased products, the number of units of the product is updated to reflect the previously held amount plus the number of newly purchased units of the product. As noted above, when more than one item of the same product is in stock, the PFIS system 110 can operate on a FIFO (first in, first out) basis, identifying only the stale product or storing separate food identifiers for different dates of purchase. or expiration date or other distinguishing features. If any information about the product is not contained in the information received from the seller 120; for example, if the seller does not have nutritional or similar information, then the product can be cross-checked against the global food database (for example, database 162) to see if the global database contains 162 data on products any additional information about this food product. Because the global product database 162 tracks food products across multiple users, it may contain additional product information beyond that obtained from a particular retailer 120. The update process (step 330) of the personal database

- 8 039856 stocks can be repeated whenever food items are added to or removed from stocks.

At a subsequent step 340, the PFIS system is notified that at least a portion of the food associated with the account has been consumed or expired. This notification contains an ID related to the food consumed and the number of units of the food consumed. For example, the user who owns the account provides information that a food item has been consumed by providing data about that food item and the number of units consumed. In one embodiment of the present invention, the user uses the application 165 to notify the PFIS system 110 that the food has been consumed. For example, application 165 may have an interface for an account user providing data about one or more foods consumed, such as the name of the food, the number of units or volume of the food consumed, and the shelf life of the remainder (for example, for foods stored in a refrigerator). To ensure proper accounting, the user will need to inform the system that the product is spoiled (and e.g. thrown away) rather than that it is consumed (e.g. eaten).

As in the previous case, a scanning device 150 or other electronic device 140 can be used to record information about a food product that is retrieved from personal stores; or the food product can be identified through the application 165. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, automatic destocking can be used for products known to the PFIS system 110 that are past their expiration date. In this example, when a product expires, it is marked for automatic removal from inventory upon confirmation by the user.

A message to remove products from stock may be transmitted to the PFIS system 110 by application 165 in the format shown above. In addition, the PFIS system 110 may need to authenticate the sender of the message, for example, by verifying the device 140 from which the message was sent, verifying the access rights of the account (eg, which members of the household 130 have the right to change the account, etc.). The PFIS system 110 then looks at the message, for example, to check if the update conflicts with another user's last activity within a given time period (eg, within the last 10 minutes). The PFIS system 110 starts by identifying the last account update, and if it fits within the predetermined time frame (10 minutes), then it compares the product data included in the update. If some of the products match (ie, the same product is updated by two account users), then the PFIS system 110 checks for duplicate input by asking the second user: User A reported that bananas are out. This is the same update as user A?. If yes, then the PFIS system 110 does not update the data for that product. If not, then the PFIS system 110 updates the data for that product. If the update was received before the specified time period, the PFIS system 110 considers this update as new.

The PFIS system 110 then checks the number of units of each product in personal inventory, and subtracts from that number the number of units consumed. If the number of items in personal stock decreases to zero, the application 165 sends the appropriate confirmation to the user: You have consumed all the bananas. This is true?. Thus, the application 165 and the PFIS system 110 work together to validate the stock update. If the total number of foods consumed gives a figure less than zero, then there is a problem. Application 165 might display the following message: Looks like you ate more apples than you had in stock. According to reports, there were 2 apples in stock, and you ate 3. Is that right?. The user can then select a Yes or No answer, indicating that an error occurred during the update, and enter the corrected number of units of the consumed product or the number of units of this product in stock. If the update of personal stocks is confirmed, the information about the consumed product is added to the information about the consumed foodstuffs.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the notification received at step 340 may relate to a meal being prepared and/or consumed that uses various foods. In this example, the user can provide information identifying the dish, for example by selecting a dish from a previously recommended list, and the system can match the food items included in this dish with the available products to calculate parts/parts of the corresponding foods/food item consumed. The PFIS system 110 may then prompt the user to confirm the amount of food consumed by asking: Did you prepare this dish using all of these ingredients?. Attached to this message is a list of foodstuffs with pre-checked boxes. The user can then confirm or uncheck (uncheck) the product. If any ingredient on the list was not used, the system flags it and asks if it was omitted or replaced. If this ingredient has been replaced, the system gives the user the option to select a replacement product. The system also allows the user to add a product and confirm this addition. Upon completion of this stage, the dish identifier can be transmitted to the PFIS system 110

- 9 039856 (DishID) to update relevant food items in personal stocks.

In response to receiving the notification, the PFIS system 110 automatically updates (step 350) the number of units of the food product that corresponds to the received identifier in the personal inventory associated with the account, based on the number of units of this product consumed. The system also saves updated information about the number of units of a product in inventory in the accounting data for that product. In one of the embodiments of the present invention, while storing current inventory information, the system may also store current and historical data on consumed volumes of products and other information.

If, at step 340, the PFIS system 110 received notification that the food product associated with the account was consumed in full (for example, due to a user report or the fact that the number of units of the product in stock minus the consumed number of units of this product is equal to zero), then in addition to the user confirmation step described above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the PFIS system 110 issues disposal recommendations to the user. For example, if the user has completely drunk the milk contained in the carton, then the system can provide information about the possibility of disposing of this package in a standard waste container in accordance with local disposal regulations in the area where the user's household 130 is located. For example, the user may obtain location information after setting up an account in the PFIS system 110, and the recycling database 166 may include information about recycling opportunities in a given area. In addition, if the carton does not fit into a typical local recycling program, then the PFIS system 110 can provide the user with information about the nearest recycling point, as well as provide a notification mechanism for whether or not it is recycled. This data is added to the personal inventory database, along with consumption information, for further use in reporting on disposal and similar purposes, such as those described below in connection with FIG. nine.

Stored purchase quantities, consumption information, recycled/recyclable packaging data and other data of this kind can be collected and used for various reporting functions, as well as to provide users with recommendations regarding, for example, whether the extent to which actual consumption for a particular account matches the nutritional goals set for that account, which will be discussed in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 9 and 10. In addition to reporting and nutritional functionality, reports can be provided that contain data such as spending statistics on purchases made, data on allegrenes in the ingredients of the food consumed, information on how many food packages were recycled, etc. The reporting system is further described below in connection with FIG. nine.

In FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a computer-implemented method for recommending dishes based on the available food supply, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In accordance with this method, at step 410, a plurality of dish records are stored in a dish database, such as database 164. Each dish entry includes a list of food identifiers that are part of that dish. In the context of this document, the term dish may refer to a dish served before a hot dish; spicy snack; garnish; or other food. Usually a dish is a portion of food prepared according to a specific recipe. For example, a meal may consist of several dishes, each prepared according to its own recipe. Thus, the dish records will contain the identifiers of all food items that are part of the dish, i.e. all the ingredients of the dish. The dish database 164 may be pre-loaded with various recipes; however, the user has the ability to add his own recipes to the dish database 164, while allowing other users of the PFIS system 110 to access them if needed. For example, if a user wishes to add a particular dish to the dish database 164, the application 165 may provide an interface to do so, including the ability to request information about the recipe and the ability to hide or share it. Dishes posted in the public domain are added to the database 164 on dishes, which can be accessed by any user. In one of the embodiments of the present invention, the application 165 has a search function for recipes.

In addition, at step 420, data is stored for one or more food stocks. Food stocks can be personal, or associated with a preferred vendor, or a combination of both. As mentioned above, in one embodiment of the present invention, there may be more than one preferred seller if the account user has selected the option with more than one preferred seller.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, personal food stock data that is associated with an electronic device user account is stored in a personal food stock database as described above. As mentioned above, personal food stock data can correspond to the physical stock of 135 food items associated with a user or household. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, one or more preferred merchants may be associated with an electronic device user account, the inventory of which may be available to the PFIS system 110. For example, if user A lives in a small town, then he can specify a local store as the preferred seller, and configure the system so that it takes into account the food sold by this store when issuing recommendations to the user. The seller's inventory corresponds to the physical inventory associated with a preferred seller 120, such as a specific retail store, store address, or warehouse where a particular preferred seller 120 stocks. dishes, which will be described below. The personal food inventory and/or seller inventory data contains a plurality of food records, and each such record includes a product identifier and information describing the food to which the identifier is associated, as described above.

In accordance with the method described, the system receives a request from a user for a dish recommendation at step 430, for example, through a user interface associated with application 165. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the user interface for application 165 can be displayed on a mobile device, for example, on electronic device 140 or on some other computing device. The request may be received at 430 using various filters or criteria, such as calorie, fat, and carbohydrate limits, or other nutritional parameters; exclusion of specific food products containing allergens that are intolerable or unacceptable for use for other reasons; cost data; the presence of products in personal stocks or in stocks of a preferred seller, or in both stocks; restrictions on the possibility of processing food packaging for reuse; time for preparing; data on the freshness of food contained in personal stocks at a given point in time; desired number of dishes or servings; whether to include dishes included in previously issued recommendations; or other criteria in relation to the requested dish or dishes. Thus, the user can make a request for a highly personalized dish or dishes based on their specific requirements, restrictions and wishes regarding the dish or dishes.

In FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a user interface 500 for receiving such a request according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the user interface 500 includes a radio selector 505 that selects whether to use personal stocks and/or vendor stocks as the basis for dish recommendations; the number of dishes provided as recommended (drop-down list 510a); dish type (drop-down list 510b); and meal times (drop-down list 510c). Other drop-down lists can be used to assist in the selection of a dish, such as type of cuisine (Chinese, Italian, etc.), cooking time, etc. Various filters 515 can also be applied. In this example, there are six options: < 500 calories, low carbohydrate content, no nuts, no dairy, low fat and no gluten proteins (gluten free). In various configurations of the user interface 500, other filters are provided, such as other food areas, different food exclusion options, freshness restrictions, the availability of a particular product in the local store, etc. The user can select the Add more filters button 517, which allows the user to set additional filters if, for example, the displayed number of filters is not enough. Alternatively, the user can specify which filters can be used as toggle buttons during initial system setup. In addition to the filters 515, the user can select by which criterion (or criteria) the filtered dishes should be ordered, which is done in the drop-down list 519. In this example, one of the ranking criteria 519 is shown; however, the user can apply additional criteria by setting their priority depending on their own preferences. Other ranking criteria 519 include cost (lower cost dishes ranked higher) and popularity of the dish (eg, on a rating scale of 1 to 10 across all recipes). In some embodiments, implementation of the present invention provides a drop-down list 520 Delete previously issued recommendations and/or a drop-down list 525 Provide necessary appliances. In the user interface 500 shown in FIG. 5, the sidebar 550 provides a number of other selectable application options 165 associated with other user interfaces in the application 165. According to other embodiments of the present invention, more or fewer filters or criteria 505 - 525 applicable to the dish request may be used. In yet another example, there are no toggle buttons 505 for the seller's personal or food supplies; while reserves, in accordance

- 11 039856 with which the food for the dish is selected are defined by the user outside the user interface 500, for example, as a setpoint or default option for the user interface 500.

Other criteria not specified by the user may also be applied, such as the promotion of certain brands or products as part of an advertising or sponsorship campaign.

Let's return to Fig. 4, which shows that the next step 440 searches and fetches a set of food identifiers corresponding to a set of product credentials, either from the personal inventory database to which the user account is associated and/or from the merchant database, for example, depending on the position of the switch button 505, if any. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the set of food product identifiers retrieved at step 440 is selected in accordance with the applied filters and criteria 505 - 525. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system receives direct access to the vendor database 175 immediately after receiving the request at step 430 to determine whether certain foodstuffs are present in the vendor database 175 . In other embodiments of the present invention, the existence of certain positions in the database 175 of the seller's database is determined periodically, and the corresponding data is stored in the global product database 162 until such time as they are requested. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system links data about food products and specific product brands available from the preferred retailer 120.

In the next step 450, a set of potential dishes is determined from the database of dishes that use foodstuffs as ingredients, correlated with the retrieved product identifiers. For example, by matching the retrieved product IDs with the product IDs that are part of the dishes contained in the dish database and the amount of product in the dish, a set of dishes can be determined that correspond to the product IDs retrieved in step 440. In the example shown in FIG. 5, dishes are filtered by type as dishes served before hot; by time of reception as dishes served for lunch; and by the number of servings as dishes to be prepared in two servings (510a - 510c); at the same time, additional filters were applied, according to which only dishes with an energy value of less than 500 calories, low in carbohydrates and gluten-free (filters 515) should be displayed; after which the dishes that meet the specified criteria are ranked (519) by caloric content so that the dishes with the lowest calorie content are at the top of the list. In other embodiments of the present invention, other ranking algorithms may be applied.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, as an alternative to applying filters and criteria 505-525 at step 440 to extract a set of food identifiers, these filters and criteria 505-525 can be applied at step 450 of determining a set of potential dishes. Typically, the user chooses whether to apply filters and criteria to a food or dish during the initial setup of the system; at the same time, by default, filters and criteria are applied at the dish selection stage.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in the next step 460, the set of candidate dishes is ranked - at least in part - by the percentage of foods to which the retrieved identifiers are related in the candidate dish. In other words, when ranking 460 potential dishes, the identifiers of the food items contained in the corresponding stocks are taken into account. For example, if at step 440 the food identifiers were retrieved from the personal inventory database, then the ranking 460 would be based at least in part on the percentage of foods in the dish that are contained in the personal inventory database. Thus, in this example, the dishes that rank higher, in addition to meeting other criteria and filters, are characterized by the highest percentage of products (ingredients) included in their composition in personal food stocks according to the personal stocks database. Similarly, if at step 440 the food identifiers were retrieved from the seller's food database, then the ranking 460 will be based at least in part on the percentage of foods in the dish that are in the seller's inventory database. Thus, in this example, the higher-ranking dishes have the highest percentage of their ingredients in the seller's inventory, according to the seller's inventory database.

After the potential dishes are lined up at step 460 in order of their priority, at step 470, one or more dishes are selected from the set of potential dishes for visual presentation to the user; the selection being based, at least in part, on the ranking principles described above. According to one embodiment of the present invention, filters and criteria 505-525 are applied in this selection step such that all dishes are first ranked in step 460 and then filters and criteria 505-525 are applied in step 470. Some filtering criteria may be applied in other stages. For example, options such as the specific number of dishes requested via the number of dishes drop-down list 510 and the choice of answering the question whether to delete previously issued recommendations specified in the drop-down list 520 cannot be applied until the stage selection 470. In addition, previously recommended dishes, even if they were removed from the list for a while, will eventually return to the list of potential dishes.

After making a selection at step 470, at step 480, a user interface is opened containing information describing one or more of the selected dishes. Information about the selected dishes is stored in personal stock data to create and maintain a list of previously issued recommendations in order to prevent the system from re-issuing recommendations for the same dish. In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the display can show the number of food choices that match each filter and criteria, allowing the user to apply additional filters or criteria if too many dishes are displayed and see which filters have eliminated the most choices. if too few dishes are displayed. An example is category 605b in FIG. 6A.

In some embodiments of the present invention, various user interface configurations may provide additional functionality. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a user can select a large number of meals and use a calendar to set up a meal plan. In one example, a user may receive alerts that a preferred vendor does not have a specific product for a selected dish. With this information, the user can choose whether to add another preferred vendor 120, whether to select another substitute ingredient, whether to select a dish without the missing product, etc.

In FIG. 6A illustrates an example of a user interface 600 displaying dishes selected at step 470 and related information according to one embodiment of the present invention. The user interface 600 displays the two resulting dishes 610a and 610b. In this example, the user requested two meals using the following filters: low calorie, low carb, and no gluten proteins, ranked by calorie. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the display order is determined at the ranking stage 460 and at the selection stage 470. For each dish 610, the user interface 600 displays the name of the dish and filter information in various categories 605a-605c. Each category 605a-605c is optionally activated, allowing the user to rearrange the order of the displayed dishes if necessary. The Get More Dishes control option is also optionally enabled, allowing the user to add new items to the list of displayed dishes 610. Additional information can also be set to be displayed for each selected dish 610.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, interface 600 may display additional information. For example, optionally activated controls enable the user to retrieve the recipe for dish 610; list of kitchen equipment necessary for preparing dish 610; a list of food products that must be purchased to prepare dish 610; information about the nutritional properties of the dish 610; and the like. In addition, food vendors and/or food vendors may sponsor enhanced food display by interface 600, such as by financially supporting a particular food item in dish 610. In one embodiment of the present invention, interface 600 indicates sponsorship of a particular food item. product, as described in more detail in connection with FIG. 6B.

In FIG. 6B illustrates an example of a user interface 600' displaying dishes selected at step 470 after selecting dish 610a according to one embodiment of the present invention. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the user interface 600' provides extended information 612 about the dish 610a. In this example, the details 612 of dish 610a are expanded to display each food item in dish 610a and the quantity in that dish, as well as the number of servings of dish 610a and details for each serving of the filters applied. In addition, the extended area 612 contains one or more optional controls 620 and 625, for example, to select the option 620 to print the recipe of the dish 610a or the option 625 to display or print the shopping list needed to prepare the dish 610a. According to one embodiment of the present invention, in the case where the stocks for retrieving a plurality of food identifiers at step 440 are the stocks of the seller, the system provides an additional filter applied after selecting option 625 Shopping list, which takes into account the presence of food in the user's personal stocks and removes them from the shopping list.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the shopping list is compiled by the account user after a certain period of time has elapsed, for example, after the food has been consumed, i. when personal food supplies are reduced

- 13 039856 went to zero. At this point, the PFIS system 110 asks the user if the food should be added to the shopping list. In other embodiments of the present invention, the shopping list is compiled in accordance with recommended and selected meals. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the shopping list contains information from the merchant 120 about the availability of certain brands, the location of the aisles in the store, prices, and other information related to the user of the account purchasing food. Thus, the application 165 also assists the account user in the shopping planning process, and not only in the preparation of a meal plan.

This example also shows that the extended area 612 contains the Sponsorship option 630 corresponding to a particular food item in the selected dish 610a. This example shows a discount coupon for one of the food items included in dish 610a. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the sponsored product may be promoted as follows. As an example of dish 610a, consider a chicken satay. This dish includes chicken breast and peanut sauce. However, there are many different brands of chicken breasts and peanut sauce. In the illustrated example, the coupon is for a specific brand of chicken breasts; at the same time, the user is indicated that this product is sponsored. As such, sponsorship does not affect food rankings, but it may affect which brands are shown as available for purchase after a dish is recommended. In another embodiment of the present invention, the sponsor may influence the inclusion of a particular food item in a recipe recommended to the user, provided that the requirements for all other user-defined filters and criteria are met.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system links data about the ingredients needed to prepare a dish and / or about specific products / brands of this ingredient available from the preferred seller 120. When there are multiple positions of the same ingredient, application 165 may provide data on various brands and their prices so that the user can select the required item and/or the desired price. This aspect also helps the user to plan their expenses for purchasing groceries. This selection process also allows you to promote a sponsored product and/or take advantage of discount coupons.

In FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing notification of expired food according to one embodiment of the present invention. By providing the user with information about foods that are nearing their expiration date, the method described encourages the user to consume those foods, which reduces food waste.

According to this method, personal food stock data, to which an electronic device user account is associated, is stored in a personal stock database, for example, in database 164. As described above with respect to other methods, personal food stock data is included in credential or product records, each containing a food product identifier and information describing the food product to which the identifier is associated. According to this method, each product record contains the recommended consumption date of the product and its expiry date. For example, in some cases, the recommended date of consumption of the product may be the date of purchase; or it may be set by the vendor 120; or this date may be the date of opening the package.

The expiration date can be obtained from various sources. For example, some food products are sold with an expiration date. In this case, a specified expiration date can be used, which can be indicated by the seller of the food product, providing other information about this product, for example, through a message that is transmitted to the PFIS system 110 after the food item is added to personal supplies. Similarly, some products are sold with an expiration date. In this case, the expiration date can be determined by the type of food in combination with the date of implementation. However, some foodstuffs do not have any date, and their expiry date can be calculated by type of food, taking into account the date of purchase.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system keeps track of a total of five dates related to food freshness: (1) date of purchase; (2) date of opening/defrosting; (3) the date the storage format was changed; (4) expiration date; and (5) the date by which the product is recommended to be consumed. Of these five dates, only dates (4) and (5) are relevant to the user; however, the system can use all five dates to provide accurate product freshness information.

In some cases, food freshness data is provided by the vendor 120. In the absence of such information, the food database 162 labels each product as high risk or low risk. High risk foods are

- 14 039856 Foods that may be harmful to health if consumed after the expiration date, such as meat, poultry and dairy products. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the source of such information is data provided by the USFDA (Food and Drug Administration USA). If a product is considered a high risk product, application 165 will prompt the user to enter data on the expiration date of the product after it has been added to personal stocks.

For low-risk foodstuffs, personal inventory database 160 will store additional information regarding food storage, such as chilled, frozen, or opened. Whenever a user performs an action related to a food item (e.g., opens a package), that action is logged in the application 165. By default, the system assumes that the product is stored in the same way as at the preferred retailer's point of sale 120, and the user must manually change this default setting if a different storage format is used.

According to one of the embodiments of the present invention, the expiration date is counted from the moment the package with the product is opened, determined, for example, by the date of commencement of consumption. When adding products to personal food supplies, for example, in the manner described in connection with FIG. 3, for each such product, a recommended date for its use and an expiration date for its expiration date are established. In some cases, more than one date may be associated with the freshness of a food item. For example, some products may have a date after which the product is no longer considered fresh but still safe to eat; and a second date after which the product is no longer safe to eat. For some foodstuffs, such as meat or poultry, a day may be specified corresponding to the date before which the food must either be eaten or frozen. If this date is reached and the product is placed in the refrigerator, the account user can update this information in the personal inventory data, after which a new period during which the product remains fresh is determined, based on the length of time the product remains fresh after freezing (for example, before frostbite occurs, etc.). In some cases, the freshness information may be obtained from the merchant 120 with other transactional data on the product after the product has been purchased. In other cases, information about the usual shelf life of foodstuffs may be obtained from another data source.

For each personal food item, at step 720, the described method calculates the remaining number of days between the current date and the product's expiration date that the product remains fresh. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the calculated number of such days that the product remains fresh is also stored in the data on personal food stocks. Alternatively, the system may have data on the length of time the product remains fresh, from which the expiration date of this product can be calculated, and then the number of days between the current date and the expiration date, which will be the remaining number of days during which the product will retain its freshness.

It then proceeds to step 730 where the described method determines one or more food items in personal inventory for which the remaining number of days calculated at step 720 that the product will remain fresh is less than a predetermined threshold number. The threshold number may vary depending on the product. For example, some foods, such as eggs or chicken, may have a fixed shelf life beyond which they are unsafe to eat, while other foods, such as crackers or canned foods, may have a longer shelf life. According to one of the embodiments of the present invention, this threshold number can be set in advance; or it may be a standard threshold number for each product; and/or it may be user-defined. In some embodiments of the present invention, this threshold number may be a relative rather than an absolute number, such as saying that 90% of the days that a food product will remain fresh have elapsed. Some products may have multiple thresholds; for example, one could refer to the end of a food's freshness period, and the other could refer to the days since the end of its freshness period (for example, if a particular food is no longer fit for consumption). In one embodiment of the present invention, the freshness status of a particular product is based on data provided by food experts or recognized in generally accepted documents regarding freshness, shelf life, appearance, and other factors that affect the quality of products.

In addition, different units of food may have different remaining days for which they remain fresh. For example, a user may buy a loaf of bread once a week, even if not all of the bread is used up. So the bread bought

- 15 039856 is the first to reach its freshness threshold earlier than the next week's bread, and therefore two different threshold numbers can be applied. In one embodiment of the present invention, the default PFIS system 110 follows a first-in-first-out basis for multiple items of the same food item. In another embodiment of the present invention, each individual package is tracked separately. For example, the first milk carton may be linked to an earlier purchase date and the second milk carton to a second later purchase date so that the user can distinguish between the two items in the PFIS system 110. A user who has the application 165 at the point of sale makes fewer unnecessary purchases due to the fact that he always has information on the number of units of products in personal stocks at hand for making decisions.

After determining at step 730 whether one more food product for which the remaining number of days during which this product will remain fresh is less than a predetermined threshold number, proceeds to step 740, at which the described method sends a notification to the user identifying one or more products , identified earlier at step 730, as a product that is nearing the expiration date. The user can be sent notifications of various types. For example, the notification may be provided in the PFIS application 165, transmitted via email or via a pop-up window on the user's device or computer, transmitted via text message, or in other electronic form. Notifications can be sent to the user on an ongoing basis (for example, as the product reaches a minimum freshness threshold), on a periodic basis (for example, once a week or once a day), or only upon request. These filters are applied when the notification is ready to be sent. For example, if according to the selected time frame, a notification can only be sent once a week, then all notifications will be collected and stored during the week. By default, the system is configured in such a way that once a day it informs the user about food products that are nearing the expiration date.

In FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a user interface 800 sending a notification to the user at step 740 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this example, two notifications 810a and 810b are shown, each with a food item and the remaining time it will remain fresh. Each product is also paired with a respective control 815a or 815b that allows these notifications to be removed individually, as well as a separate control 820 for removing all notifications 810a and 810b at once. In some embodiments of the present invention, another control 830 is provided to enable the user to receive recipes that use products that are nearing expiration date as notified. In this example, recipes can be ranked by which ones contain the most food items that are nearing their expiration date. If several dishes at once with the same number of products with an expiration date occupy the same place in the ranking, then the system can apply other filters, for example, which are used in the selection of dishes described above, for example, by cost, calorie content, etc.

In FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a notification to a user regarding the use of a personal food inventory system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In accordance with the method described, personal food inventory data associated with an electronic device user account is stored at step 910 in a personal food inventory database consisting of individual records or credentials for individual food items. Each food item record contains various attributes of that food item. For example, data such as information about its nutritional properties, information about the recyclability of packaging, and other attributes described above in relation to the personal inventory database 160 can be stored along with the identifier and description of the product.

At 920, the method determines one or more consumption goals associated with the account. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the purpose of consumption may be based on the principles of proper nutrition. For example, a nutritional consumption goal may be to keep the total fat content of the food consumed at 25% or less. Other consumption goals may be pursued, such as those related to nutrition, such as eating low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, and gluten-free foods, as well as non-nutrition-related goals, such as ensuring low levels of food waste, using the cheapest products, and e.g. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the purpose of consumption may be based on factors unrelated to proper nutrition. For example, the purpose of consumption may be related to the number of packages for consumed products that are recyclable. For example, the goal could be that at least 60% of recyclable packaging is used for consumable products. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system tracks consumption on a per-account basis. For example, after setting up, the user selects the number of users associated with the account, which may correspond, for example, to the number of people living in the household. Thus, consumption goals related to proper nutrition, recycling opportunities and other aspects become the goals of the household, and not individual users, as well as consumption trends.

In accordance with the described method, at 930, one or more food consumption trends are determined for an account owned by the user. For example, by tracking food consumption, the system continuously monitors what foods are being consumed and identifies trends in food consumption. For example, if a user spends more on food than their budget allows, the system can help them identify the most expensive products or those that are bought but not consumed before their expiration date. For example, with regard to costs, the user is able to identify specific recipes for which expensive products are purchased. In this example, the database tracks spending and identifies anomalies by distinguishing levels of food spending. Thus, the goal may be to identify cost variances.

Identified trends do not have to coincide with consumption goals. For example, even if the user has not set a low-fat diet as their goal, the system can determine whether the user includes high-fat foods in their diet based on generally accepted dietary guidelines and thereby identify a trend. For example, the system can estimate the total calories contained in all foods consumed over a certain period, and then determine, for example, how many grams of fat they had or how many calories this amount of fat provided, and then compare these numbers with generally accepted nutritional guidelines. regarding low-fat diets.

The described method also issues a notification (step 940) based at least in part on one or more consumption goals and one or more food consumption patterns. For example, the system may provide various reporting functions. Reports allow you to determine, for example, how successful the user is in achieving the set goal / goals. The system can then provide the user with recommendations, either on how to achieve one or more consumption goals more quickly and/or on how to change the identified undesirable trends. For example, if there is a goal related to proper nutrition, in addition to reporting on the extent to which this goal is achieved, recipes can be offered to the user to help the user achieve this goal.

In FIG. 10 illustrates a user interface 1000 providing a notification 940 to a user based at least in part on one or more consumption goals and one or more food consumption patterns, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In this example, reporting interface 1000 displays three consumption targets 1005: Nutrition (1005a), Utilization (1005b), and Waste (1005c). In the illustrated example, option 1005b Disposal is selected. The user interface 1000 displays the name 1010 of the goal, as well as detailed results of tracking how the set goal is being achieved, including total scores 1015 and percentage scores 1020, as well as indicators of how far the user has progressed towards achieving consumption goals, indicated by the overall position 1025. One or more recommendations 1030 may be issued to achieve the goal. In some cases, the recommendation may be issued via an optional control that provides details on how best to achieve the consumption goal. For example, for the purpose of increasing recycling rates, information may be provided on which manufacturers produce products with a higher content of recycled materials; what products cannot be recycled, what the user would like to avoid; and, among other things, suggested alternatives to purchased products that do not contribute to the achievement of the goal associated with disposal. In addition, one or more detailed recommendations may be issued via optional controls 1035 that provide more detailed information necessary to achieve the goal. In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, a Find Nearest Recycling Recycling Control 1035 is provided to help the user achieve a recycling goal. To remove recommendations, there is another control element, indicated by the position 1040. Depending on the purpose of consumption, different controls and information are displayed.

Additional aspects

In some parts of the description above, embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in terms of algorithms and symbolic representation of information operations. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are commonly used by data scientists to convey the essence of their work to others in the field. It should be understood that although these operations are described in functional, computational or logical terms, they are implemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,

- 17 039856 microcode or similar means. To implement these operations, the data management service may use a non-volatile computer-readable medium in which the operations are stored as instructions executable by one or more processors. Any of the operations, processes or steps described herein may be performed using one or more processors. Moreover, it has also been recognized that it is sometimes convenient to refer to these agents as modules without loss of generality. The described operations and associated modules may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

In the context of the present invention, any reference to one of the embodiments of the present invention or an embodiment of the present invention means that a particular element, feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with any embodiment of the present invention is included in at least one of the embodiments of the present invention. The phrase in one of the embodiments of the present invention, appearing throughout the text of the submitted document, does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment of the present invention.

In the context of the present invention, it is intended that the terms contains, containing, includes, including, has, having, and any derivatives thereof are used to denote a non-exhaustive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or device that contains a specific list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements, but may include other elements not explicitly listed or inherent in such a process, method, article, or device. Also, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the conjunction or refers to an inclusive OR, not an exclusive OR. For example, condition A or B is considered satisfied in any of the following cases: condition A is true (or present), and condition B is false (or absent); condition A is false (or absent), and condition B is true (or present); both conditions A and B are true (or present).

In addition, indefinite articles are used to describe the elements and components of the embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein. This is done solely for convenience and conveying the general meaning of the embodiments of the present invention. This description should be considered as including one or at least one option, and the singular also includes the plural, unless it is clear that it is intended otherwise.

Additional alternative designs and functionalities may be implemented to ensure the security and continued tracking of personal data. Thus, while specific embodiments of the present invention and their scope have been illustrated and described, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the precise structure and components described herein. Various changes, modifications and variations may be made to the scheme of implementation, principles of operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

CLAIM

Claims (19)

CLAIM 1. A network method for correcting a shopping list, which includes the following steps: a) storing in the personal inventory database in the Personal Food Inventory System (PFIS): i) user account for the PFIS system; and ii) a food credential comprising food identifiers associated with a user account and food inventory quantities, the food credential being generated at a merchant's POS terminal; b) receiving from the seller's POS terminal a list of purchased food products associated with a user account, the list of purchased food products containing food credentials; c) updating the quantity of foodstuffs in the personal stock database in the PFIS system based on the list of foodstuffs purchased; d) generating a shopping list associated with a user account, wherein the shopping list excludes food items available in the personal inventory database in the PFIS system based on the amount of food items in stock; e) receiving and storing data on the volume of consumption of one or more foodstuffs by the user; f) subtracting the amount of consumption of one or more foodstuffs stored in step (e) from the amount of stocks of one or more foodstuffs to generate an adjusted amount of stocks of one or more foodstuffs; - 18 039856 g) providing a graphical user interface (GUI) that communicates with the system PFIS over a computer network, and the GUI contains: i) elements transmitting an appropriate notification to the user if the corrected stock quantity of one or more foodstuffs generated in step (f) is less than zero; and ii) interface elements that allow the user to adjust the amount of inventory; h) updating the stock quantity of one or more food items in the food records in the personal stock database in the PFIS system, replacing said quantity with the adjusted stock quantity of one or more food items; and i) correcting the shopping list generated in step (d) based on the amount of stock of one or more food items updated in step (h). 2. The network method of claim 1, wherein the GUI further comprises (a) elements receiving input for correcting the shopping list by adding food items to the shopping list that were incorrectly listed as being in the personal inventory database. 3. The network method of claim 1, wherein the GUI further comprises (a) elements receiving input to correct the shopping list by removing food from the shopping list that was incorrectly listed as missing from the personal inventory database. 4. The network method of claim 1, wherein the GUI further comprises (a) elements receiving input to correct the shopping list by changing the incorrect number of food items. 5. The network method of claim 1, further comprising (a) receiving, using the GUI, a request for a recommendation for a dish containing a criterion selected by the user; (b) retrieving from the database of dishes in the PFIS system a candidate dish containing an ingredient corresponding to a food item identifier stored in the personal inventory database, based on a user-selected criterion; and (c) displaying the candidate dish to the user using the GUI. 6. The network method of claim 1, further comprising (a) tracking a consumption trend associated with a user account based on input received from the user, taking into account the consumption of food products associated with the user account; and (b) comparing the consumption trend with the consumption purpose associated with the user account. 7. The network method of claim 6, further comprising (a) transmitting to the user a message containing a comparison of a consumption target with a consumption trend. 8. The network method according to claim 1, wherein the GUI further comprises elements receiving consumption amount data. 9. The network method according to claim 1, wherein the data on the amount of consumption contains the date of consumption and the source of consumption. 10. A method for correcting accounting data on personal food stocks, which includes the following steps: a) maintaining in the database on personal stocks in the system (PFIS) accounting for personal stocks of food: i) user account for the PFIS system; and ii) a food credential comprising food identifiers associated with a user account and food inventory quantities, the food credential being generated at a merchant's POS terminal; b) receiving from the seller's POS terminal a list of purchased food products associated with a user account, the list of purchased food products containing food credentials; c) updating the quantity of foodstuffs in the personal stock database in the PFIS system based on the list of foodstuffs purchased; d) receiving and storing data on the volumes of consumption of one or more foodstuffs by the user; e) subtracting the amount of consumption of the one or more food items stored in step (d) from the stock amount of the one or more food items to generate an adjusted stock amount of the one or more food items; f) providing a graphical user interface (GUI) that communicates with the system - 19 039856 PFIS over a computer network, and the GUI contains: i) elements transmitting an appropriate notification to the user if the corrected stock quantity of one or more foodstuffs generated in step (f) is less than zero; and ii) interface elements that allow the user to adjust the stock of one or more food items in response to the notification received; and g) adjusting the stock quantity of one or more food items in the food records in the personal stock database in the PFIS system, replacing said quantity with the adjusted stock quantity of one or more food items. 11. The network method of claim 10, wherein the GUI further comprises (a) elements receiving inputs for correcting the amount of stock of a food item in the personal stock database by adding a food item that has been incorrectly listed as missing from the database. about personal stocks. 12. The network method of claim 10, wherein the GUI further comprises (a) elements receiving inputs for correcting the stock amount of a food item in the personal stock database by removing a food item that was incorrectly listed as available from the database. data on personal stocks. 13. The network method of claim 10, wherein the GUI further comprises (a) elements receiving inputs for adjusting the amount of food stock in the personal stock database by changing the number of food units. 14. The network method of claim 10, further comprising (a) receiving, using the GUI, a request for a recommendation for a dish containing a criterion selected by the user; (b) retrieving from the database of dishes in the PFIS system a candidate dish containing an ingredient corresponding to a food item identifier stored in the personal inventory database, based on a user-selected criterion; and (c) displaying the candidate dish to the user using the GUI. 15. The network method of claim 10, further comprising (a) tracking a consumption trend associated with a user account based on input received from the user; and (b) comparing the consumption trend with the consumption purpose associated with the user account. 16. The network method of claim 15, further comprising (a) transmitting to the user a message containing a comparison of a consumption target with a consumption trend. 17. The network method of claim 10, wherein the GUI further comprises elements receiving consumption volume data. 18. The network method of claim 10, wherein the consumption volume data includes the date of consumption and the source of consumption. 19. A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium designed to store executable computer program instructions, during the execution of which the steps of the method according to claim 1 are implemented.