Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
  • G01N33/0001—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00 by organoleptic means
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
  • G01N33/02—Food
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
  • G01N33/02—Food
  • G01N33/04—Dairy products
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
  • G01N33/02—Food
  • G01N33/14—Beverages

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for analyzing industrial products, to a measurement interface for implementing the method and to an electronic system for implementing the interface.
• - red lighting can be used to hide the color feature; the tasting stations are separated from one another so that the testers do not influence each other by their behavior;
• descriptors are poorly rated or not noted at all.
• the list of descriptors for a cake is: chocolate, sweet, bitter, crisp.
• the tester gives his perceptions about these descriptors in the order of the list.
• he if he first perceived the bitterness then the chocolate taste and that he first notes the chocolate descriptor, because at the top of the list, he will note the descriptor bitterness with a delay sufficient to distort the result by relation to its real perception. This problem is all the more important as the list of descriptors proposed to the testers is long.
• the expected results are distorted since, with such methods, the products are not only characterized by the intensity of the descriptors but also and especially by the chronology of appearance of these descriptors. So, the tester wasting time consulting the list to find the descriptor he just felt while he continues to feel other descriptors, the risk of inversion of the order of appearance of these descriptors is critical and the notation is then distorted.
• the present invention aims to eliminate this problem of influence of the testers both in their perception, but also in the retranscription of this perception, for the improvement of physical measurements of an industrial product translated by organoleptic perceptions.
• the invention proposes to provide a measurement interface submitting descriptors in a relative arrangement such that the testers are not influenced by the order of their materialization and whatever the descriptor and whatever the descriptor domain (taste, textural, olfactory, sensory, visual, auditory, tactile, etc.).
• the subject of the invention is a method for analyzing food, cosmetic and / or hygiene industrial products with a view to characterizing them, distinguishing them and / or modifying them in order to improve them by analyzing them. responses from a panel of testers, according to certain descriptors, said method comprising the steps of:
• the subject of the invention is also a measuring interface for implementing the above method in which there is included a plurality of number of input fields corresponding to the number of descriptors chosen in step (a) of the method, said gripping zones being homogeneously distributed, without indication of order and in the same reading direction in at least one section of at least one conical curve around the center of the interface.
• the invention relates to an electronic system for implementing the above interface, which system:
• an occurrence time may be zero if the tester has not selected the descriptor during the tasting; performs a statistical treatment on the boxes according to a method previously chosen by the operator;
• FIG. 1 a screen of a state-of-the-art measurement interface whose descriptor entry fields are in the form of a list;
• FIG. 2 a measurement interface according to the invention having 16 concentrically distributed acquisition zones;
• FIGS. 3a and 3b an input zone according to a binary mode in
• FIGS. 5a and 5b an input zone according to a discrete mode in a value range
• FIGS. 6 to 10 a measurement interface according to the invention having 1 to 15 input zones distributed according to an ellipse;
• FIGS. 11 to 13 an interface according to the invention having respectively 5, 7 and 9 gripping zones according to a lower half-ellipse;
• FIG. 14 an interface according to the invention having 11 gripping zones distributed along two concentric half-ellipses;
• FIG. 15 a graphical recording illustrating analysis results according to the method of the invention;
• Fig. 16 a graphical record illustrating middle centered cake analysis results
• Figure 17 a graphical record illustrating analysis results according to a descriptor of several cakes of different brands centered on the average.
• the descriptors are given by way of indicative and nonlimiting example, the invention does not relate to the provision of defined descriptors in a given domain, but to an interface capable of receiving information in the form of data, irrespective of the nature of this information, and to simplify data entry and improve their accuracy in the context of an industrial process for the analysis and / or improvement of manufactured products.
• organoleptic is to be understood as characterizing the property of a body to stimulate any type of sensory receptor (taste, olfactory, visual, auditory, tactile).
• the screen of FIG. 1 is an example of a state-of-the-art interface used for organoleptic analyzes.
• the work requested here to a panel of testers aims to "note” biscuits based on sponge cake, orange marmalade and chocolate.
• the interface I proposes a list L of eleven descriptors D with respect to each of which is present a continuous scale E of intensity provided with a cursor C movable by the testers.
• FIG. 2 One embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2 in the form of a screen constituting an interface 100 comprising a plurality of numbering input areas 110 corresponding to the number of descriptors chosen for the analysis.
• the input areas are constituted by buttons comprising at least one sector bearing the title of the descriptor.
• the interface of FIG. 2 comprises sixteen input areas 110 corresponding to sixteen descriptors.
• the input areas are distributed along two concentric ellipses, E1 and E2, around the center O of the screen.
• the gripping zones 110 are distributed in such a way that the testers apprehend them as a whole without any preference for one or the other. other.
• the input areas 110 are displayed in the same reading direction so that the notation by the testers is performed during the perception of the descriptors and not in the order of the reading sequence of the input areas of these descriptors.
• the testers do not need to act on the interface, for example by turning it, to read the input areas and note the descriptors.
• no signs or inscriptions should be included in the entry fields that might prompt the testers to write the descriptors in a specific order.
• no order indication should be written on the interface or on the input fields.
• input fields should not be numbered or hierarchical with consecutive letters.
• the distribution is made such that the gripping zones 110 between the two ellipses are distributed in a staggered pattern.
• buttons When the buttons only include an input area, they are simply activated when the testers select them, for example with the click of a mouse. This type of button is shown in Figures 3a and 3b.
• buttons changes color between the unselected state and the selected state.
• This binary mode in all / nothing is used for example to note the presence or absence of a descriptor in a product (static method of notation), or to note the moment of its appearance or not during the determination of the organoleptic chronology of a product by dynamic method (see definition below).
• buttons may comprise at least two sectors, one with the title of the descriptor, the other having a means of notation of the descriptor. This type of button is shown in Figures 4, 5a and 5b.
• the button of FIG. 4 presents a second sector bearing on a continuous range of values materialized by a continuous gradient.
• the tester moves the cursor anywhere in the range according to its appreciation.
• the button of FIG. 5a comprises a title sector of a descriptor is a sector divided into a discrete number of values, three in the exemplary embodiment.
• a cursor appears and the tester places it on the value he wishes to assign ( Figure 5b).
• buttons such as those shown in Figures 3 to 5 is particularly advantageous in organoleptic analysis by dynamic methods.
• a dynamic method consists in measuring the sensations perceived over time during the tasting of a product. The fact of being able to be part of the time makes it possible to measure the dynamics of a product and to highlight the evolution of the sensations perceived throughout its tasting.
• An interface according to the invention does not influence the testers on the order of notation of the descriptors, on the one hand the testers select the descriptors in the real order in which they perceive them but they note the descriptors in a precise way since they note them at the same time as they select them, that is, at the same moment they feel them.
• Time - Intensity consists in measuring the evolution of a single descriptor over time.
• STI Super-Intensity
• the Temporal Dominance of Sensations consists in measuring at every moment the most important descriptor to describe the product.
• FIGS. 6 to 10 show an interface for the implementation of the method in which an analysis manager has chosen respectively two, three, seven and fifteen descriptors for determining the organoleptic characteristics of an X biscuit.
• the manager collects answers, for each tester, according to the answer mode chosen, records the answers and analyzes them according to a statistical method.
• the descriptors are represented on input zones 110 homogeneously distributed according to an ellipse E3 around the center O.
• the interfaces represented are computer screens.
• the center O of the interface around which the input areas 110 are distributed may be empty, present information or else, and this is the case, present a button 120 "Start" activatable.
• the button 120 starts a timer as soon as it is activated by a tester, thus marking the beginning of the tasting.
• the collection step is to collect responses for each tester as a function of time.
• the zones of seizures are homogeneously distributed around a center O so that the tester has a priori no unconscious preference for a particular descriptor as a function of its position.
• the gripping zones are homogeneously distributed along a half-ellipse.
• the half-elliptical zones of seizures, E4 and E5 are located, in use position, below the foci of the half-ellipse.
• the number of descriptors proposed is advantageously between two and sixteen, preferably 10, for a good readability and so that the testers have no difficulty in finding the descriptors.
• the manager realizes groupings of close descriptors in the same category (for example the "dry cheese” and "sulfur cheese” can in certain cases be grouped under the descriptor “cheese”").
• a descriptor is quoted for all products at the same time, it is best not to keep it.
• it is important to keep a descriptor quoted for only two products because it is then possible to discriminate them.
• a descriptor cited for all products but at different times is also to be kept in the list of descriptors.
• FIG. 1 An example of a statistical analysis result of an experiment conducted on a tester panel for a cake X is shown in FIG.
• Reading the graph of figure 15 teaches that the cake X is perceived successively "dominant chocolate” in attack (zone 1), then “dominant orange” (zone 2), then “dominant acid” (zone 3) then “dominant orange” “(zone 4) and again” dominant chocolate “(zone 5) at the end of the mouth.
• an electronic computer system is used to collect, analyze, store and represent the results in an automated manner. The timing is then very precise.
• an example of an electronic system for implementing a measurement interface comprises a computer screen and a central unit equipped with digital and electronic means known to those skilled in the art to engage the following actions:
• FIG. 15 shows that the chocolate descriptor was typically perceived by the testers at times 3 to 10 seconds, at times 21 to 26 seconds, then at times 29 to 43 seconds), an occurrence time may be zero if the tester has not selected the descriptor during the tasting;
• the system further stores in each box a descriptor intensity for each tester, a descriptor intensity being a continuous value of a range of values.
• Such a system is advantageous when the experiment consists in testing only one product at a time.
• This representation makes it possible to quickly visualize the average sequence of descriptors characterizing the product significantly compared to other products.
• This representation gives the "organoleptic spectrum" of a product and allows an effective comparison with other products by comparing recordings of the same type made for other products.
• Reading the graph of Figure 16 teaches that the cake X is perceived chocolate 6 attack, then little acid 7, then chocolate 8 then orange 9 and very chocolate 10 at the end of the mouth compared to other products.
• Figure 17 shows the citation curves of a single descriptor for all products as a function of time.
• the dominant value range as a function of time is referenced 11 to 14. This representation makes it possible to differentiate the products by the perceived sequencing of the descriptor under consideration.
• a variant of the electronic system previously described consists in initializing the memory, storing the number and the identification of the products to be tested, and, during the training step.
• multidimensional memory forming a multidimensional memory of boxes whose dimension corresponds to the descriptors, a dimension corresponds to the testers, and a dimension corresponds to the tested products, each box corresponding to the combination of a descriptor, a tester and a product.
• the system also stores in each box at least one descriptor intensity for each tester, a descriptor intensity being a continuous value of a range of values.
• the tests for one or more products can be repeated several times for the same tester and the same descriptors. Each test is then called "repetition".
• a variant of the electronic systems previously described consists of initializing the memory, memorizing the number and the identification of the repetitions and, during the step of formation of the multidimensional memory, forming a multidimensional memory of boxes of which an additional dimension corresponds to the repetition.
• each box corresponding to the combination of a descriptor, a tester, a repetition and a product.
• Reading the graph of Figure 17 teaches that the product W is perceived most pasty 11 in attack, then it is the V 12, the Z 13, and the W 14 is again perceived very pasty compared to others in persistence .
• it may be realized, during the implementation of the method, in the step of analyzing the responses: a filtering of non-representative data detected during the analysis of the responses; data processing according to the statistical method for characterizing the products.
• the electronic system determines and initiates, prior to the statistical processing step, the boxes comprising a non-representative result with respect to all the boxes according to the descriptors chosen by an operator.
• the relevance and precision of the organoleptic analyzes are therefore essential for the manufacture and marketing of such products, an interface allowing, by its very structure, to improve these analyzes and consequently to improve the products. Thanks to the method, the interface and the electronic system according to the invention, many products can be analyzed: cosmetic products or hygiene (analysis of their fat touch or not, their ability to be absorbed by the skin, their fragrance, their texture, etc ).
• the interface is a touch screen computer.
• the tester no longer uses mice but taps directly on his screen.
• the interface is a sheet of paper on which the gripping zones are printed and homogeneously distributed in at least one section of at least one conical curve around a center of the interface.
• Each input field includes a descriptor title field, a notation area (for example, intensity), and optionally, if using a dynamic method, at least one area where the testers record an identifier. order of occurrence of the descriptor (timed time or sequence number). In case of use of sequence number, it will be the sequence that will be analyzed. The same descriptor can obviously appear several times, for example in second and sixth position. In which case the tester will fill the area with the numbers 2 and 6.

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• 2004
  • 2004-08-20 FR FR0409033A patent/FR2874432A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 2004-09-27 US US10/951,235 patent/US7577530B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2005
  • 2005-08-16 EP EP05798349A patent/EP1779106A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-08-16 WO PCT/FR2005/002088 patent/WO2006021688A1/fr active Application Filing

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