EP3311129A1

EP3311129A1 - Arrangement and method for the processing and monitoring food portions in a meal service chain

Info

Publication number: EP3311129A1
Application number: EP15896235.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pekka Hautala; Jukka Penttinen
Original assignee: Menumat Oy
Current assignee: Menumat Oy
Priority date: 2015-06-22
Filing date: 2015-06-22
Publication date: 2018-04-25
Also published as: WO2016207472A1; EP3311129A4

Abstract

The object of the invention is an arrangement and a method for processing and monitoring food portions in a meal service chain, which food portions are manufactured in a factory (101) and equipped with an identification code, and transported to customers. The arrangement comprises a cold-storage space (1) for food portions and a heating means (2), and also a control system (3) provided with a user interface, and a central database (105) of the meal service company. The arrangement comprises means for monitoring the temperature of the food portions in the delivery chain from the factory (101) to the customers, and means for connecting the temperature data to the identification code (34) of the food portion, and means for transmitting the monitored temperature data to the central database (105).

Description

ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR THE PROCESSING AND MONITORING FOOD PORTIONS IN A MEAL SERVICE CHAIN

The object of the invention is an arrangement as defined in the preamble of claim 1 and a method as defined in the pre^¬ amble of claim 13 for the processing and monitoring food portions in a meal service chain.

Conventionally, the processing of foodstuffs, especially of foodstuffs for a home, comprises a shopping trip to a store, the storing of the foodstuffs in a refrigerator or deep- freezer, and the preparation of food e.g. on a cooker ring, in an oven or in a microwave oven. In practice a lot of time is spent on collecting foodstuffs and correspondingly the processing of foodstuffs for preparing food requires a lot of different apparatuses and utensils that take a lot of space and also form complex entities that are, among other things, difficult to maintain owing to their different na^¬ tures. In addition there are many groups of people, such as elderly people, handicapped people and also children, who are unable or incompetent to prepare their food portions themselves using current methods and apparatuses.

Various food automatons, or automatic or semi-automatic food machines, later called shortly food automats, which are able to prepare food by heating pre-frozen portions, have been developed to rectify the aforementioned problem. For exam^¬ ple, the Swedish patent publication no. SE 459618 discloses a food automat, which prepares various food portions accord- ing the choice of the user. A problem with this apparatus, however, as with other corresponding prior-art apparatuses is, among others, the extremely complex construction, which makes the apparatus expensive and one that requires a lot of maintenance, although despite this susceptible to malfunc- tion. The apparatus comprises, among other things, electric motors and transporter belts, which comprise a lot of moving parts, which are additionally in demanding conditions in the cold space and can therefore easily become unserviceable. Generally speaking, apparatuses according to prior art, in which the storage, transport and heating of food portions is integrated into one, thus have as a problem the magnitude of the manufacturing costs of the apparatuses and consequently an expensive purchase price, and also that the technical operating reliability has, in practice, been poor owing to the complex construction. One problem in prior art has been the monitoring of condition of food portions in the delivery chain from the factory to the end user. If the temperature of the frozen food por^¬ tions increases too high the quality may suffer and even if the temperature is not cold enough in some phase, cold chain breaks and food portions may spoil. So, one important char^¬ acteristic to monitor is the temperature of food portions in different phases.

Before food portions are brought to end users' food automats it is generally good to monitor different characteristics about food portions in different phases from factory to the food automats. The data from monitoring can be later used for different actions related to the food portions. The different phases include for example production of food portions, transportation of food portions from a factory to storages, storage of food portions, transportation of food portions from storages to customers and storage of food portions in a cold-storage space of a food automat of a customer .

In prior art there does not exist a solution to reliably monitor the condition of food portions in all phases in the chain from a production plant to an end user. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks and to achieve an operationally reliable, and as service-free as possible, arrangement and method for the storage and heating of food portions as well for enabling the serving of them. Daily food portions can be prepared with the apparatus according to the invention in both homes and institutions as well as in small offices where food is eaten, thereby considerably reducing the amount of work needed. Preparing daily food portions will be easier and will also become possible for people who cannot prepare their food themselves, or are unwilling or incompe^¬ tent to do so. Another object of the present invention is to be able to monitor different characteristics about food portions, such as temperature, in different phases of food portions' way from a producer to customers. In order to achieve these objectives, the arrangement of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the characteriza- tion part of claim 1. Correspondingly, the method according to the invention is characterized by what is presented in the characterization part of claim 13. Other preferred embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is presented in the other claims.

One significant advantage of the arrangement and the method according to the invention - or more briefly and in other words, of the solution - with respect to the food automats of prior art is that the manufacturing costs will decrease, in which case the price of the apparatus will decrease and the technical operating reliability will nevertheless at the same time improve. In this case by means of the arrangement all groups of people are provided with an easy and effort^¬ less as well as a labor-saving, space-saving, and economical method for foodstuff supply in the home, in institutions and also in small offices. In this case elderly people, handi^¬ capped people and also children can easily prepare food themselves and can themselves decide what they eat in their homes and when they eat.

Another advantage of the solution according to the invention is that monitoring of the nutrition level is easy to imple- ment, in which case users can themselves regulate the most pleasing and healthy diet for them. Nutrition intake, consumption habits, costs and other related aspects can be regularly monitored using the information collected in the database of the apparatus, and if desired reports can be printed with a printer connected to the apparatus.

In addition, the solution according to the invention comprises the possibility, depending on the application, to maintain a connection via a telecommunication network or other suitable communication network with a supplier of foodstuffs or with some other organizations or persons, such as relatives, and also to monitor the user of the apparatus via information network. In addition, different instructions can be given and a program, e.g. as entertainment, can also be sent via the network.

Yet another advantage of the solution according to the invention is that food portions can be monitored in all phases in the chain from a producing factory to heating of food portions for a meal. By monitoring food portions it can be noticed if, for example, some food portions have not been in cold enough temperature during transportation or some other phase in the chain. Monitoring also makes it possible to notice if wrong food portions are accidentally delivered to a customer and many other things, such as an expiration day of the food portion.

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by the aid of one preferred embodiment with reference to the attached drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 diagrammatically presents different phases of food portions' way from a producing factory to custom- ers,

Fig. 2 diagrammatically presents a total solution according to the invention, Fig. 3 presents a partly simplified front view of the cold- storage space of the arrangement according to the invention with the door removed,

Fig. 4 presents an oblique top view of the oven of the arrangement according to the invention,

Fig. 5 presents an oblique top view of a storage shelf intended for a food portion of the arrangement ac^¬ cording to the invention,

Fig. 6 presents a top view of the storage shelf according to Fig. 5 when empty and

Fig. 7 presents a top view of the storage shelf according to Fig. 5 with a food portion.

Fig. 1 presents different phases in the delivery chain of food portions from a manufacturing factory to customers or end users. Food portions are produced in factories 101 where they are equipped with an identification code such as a barcode or alike. The identification code of a food portion contains information of the food portion. This information can include an identification name or number of the food portion, ingredients of the food portion, a manufacturing date and an expiration date of the food portion, heating instructions for the food portion and other useful informa^¬ tion. This information is also saved in a central database 105 of the meal service company, for example through inter^¬ net .

Food portions are freezed at the factory 101 and transported to delivery cold-storages 103 with transportation vehicles 102, such as trucks. When a food portion leaves the factory 101, the identification code is used to send information about this phase to the central database 105 of the meal service company.

Food portions are kept cold also in transportation vehicles 102. Temperature in a cold room of transportation vehicles is monitored continuously or time-to-time so that it is noticed either in essentially real time or after the deliv^¬ ery if for some reason temperature is or has been too high during the transportation and the cold chain has broken. When food portions arrive in the delivery cold-storage 103, identification codes of the food portions are read and in^¬ formation about the food portions and their condition is updated to the central database 105. This information in^¬ cludes for example the identification name or number of the food portion, the arrival date of the food portion, tempera- ture of the food portion during transportation, etc. If temperature has been too high, cold chain has broken.

From the delivery cold-storages 103 food portions are deliv^¬ ered to customers with transportation vehicles 104, such as vans. Food portions of each customer or end user are packed for example in their own iceboxes. In this phase the identi^¬ fication codes of each food portion can also be read, which helps to pack right food portions in right iceboxes. Again, information can be updated also to the central database 105. Also a datalogger or alike equipped with a thermometer or temperature sensor is put inside each icebox. The datalogger is arranged to save temperature measurements to its memory. At a customer, the food portions are removed from the icebox and placed into a cold-storage space 1 of the customer's food automat. In this phase the identification codes of each food portion are read with the reader means of the food automat and information of each food portion and also a location of each food portion in the cold-storage space 1 are saved to the memory of the food automat's control system 3. Also information from the datalogger's memory is read. This way it is noticed if temperature inside the icebox has been too high and the cold chain has broken in some phase. This information is updated also to the central database 105. The datalogger can also be equipped with a transmitter means to send its measuring data automatically to the cen^¬ tral database 105 during the transportation and/or thereaf^¬ ter . When a customer or end user takes a food portion from the cold-storage space 1, the control system 3 identifies the food portion with help of the sensors in the cold-storage space 1. After that the customer should put the food portion to the oven 2 of the arrangement for heating. When the cold food portion is put to the oven 2, a temperature sensor in the oven 2 notices that temperature inside the oven 2 de^¬ creases and the control system 3 turns the oven 2 on auto- matically. If the customer for example takes a food portion from the cold-storage space 1 but forgets to put it to the oven 2, the control system 3 notices this and may, for exam^¬ ple, remind the customer to put the food portion to the oven 2. The oven 2 is not turned on before the food portion is placed inside the oven 2.

Information about food portions is updated to the central database 105 in different phases with help of identification codes of food portions. This makes it possible to monitor a location and temperature the food portions and possibly also some other information concerning the food portions at the customer's cold-storage space 1. When monitoring the tem^¬ perature of the food portions all the time from the factory 101 to the oven 2 of the customer it is easy to notice if the cold chain has broken in some phase.

The food automat belonging to the invention presented in Fig. 2 comprises at least a deep-freezer or refrigerator that functions as a cold-storage space 1, a circulating-air oven or corresponding that functions as a heating means 2, a control system 3 comprising at least a computer or microprocessor, one or more user interfaces 4, and also a system server 5. The central database 105 can be stored in the system server 5 or it can be in a separate unit, which is connected to the system server 5. The ready, pre-frozen food portions are placed for storage into the deep-freezer that functions as a cold-storage space 1, which deep-freezer is at a suitably low temperature for deep-frozen storage. Alternatively, the ready, pre-cooled food portions are placed for storage into the refrigerator that functions as a cold-storage space 1, which refrigerator is at a suitable temperature for refrigerated storage. In one preferred embodiment of the invention all the food por^¬ tions in the apparatus are stored at the same temperature, but there can also be differences in the storage tempera^¬ tures. The circulating-air oven that functions as a heating means 2 is fitted to heat a food portion to an even tempera^¬ ture that is suitable from the viewpoint of the user either by means of resistance heating technology, microwave heating technology, or a combination of these, or by means of some other heating technology suited to the purpose.

The user interface 4 is e.g. in connection with the heating means 2, via which heating means 2 the user interface 4 is connected to the control system 3 of the apparatus according to the arrangement, which control system comprises the pro^¬ grams and actuators needed by the apparatus. The control system 3, which functions as the data processing part, is connected to the cold-storage space 1 in order to e.g. track, monitor and control the functions and temperature of the cold-storage space 1. The control system 3 is further connected to the heating means 2, in order to e.g. track, monitor and control the functions and temperature of the heating means 2. The control system 3 is also connected to a public telecommunication or data network, such as e.g. the internet, and possibly also to a data communications net^¬ work. The control system 3 comprises at least a processor part, a data communication part, which comprises the neces^¬ sary data communication functions, a control part, which comprises the necessary control functions, monitoring func^¬ tions and regulation functions, and also connection means for receiving and sending information. Telecommunications can be used for ordering new foodstuffs from the foodstuffs supplier. This function can be auto^¬ matic, in which case a new order is placed when the food- stuffs decrease below the minimum set quantity. The order can also be manual, in which case the user defines the quan^¬ tity and type of the foodstuffs by means of the user inter^¬ face 4 of the apparatus. By means of the network interface it is also possible to transmit fault information about any defects that possibly occur in the apparatus and alerts about depletion of the food, and also to send data to be heard from the loudspeaker 6 of the apparatus, which is placed in connection with the heating means 2, e.g. on the base of the heating means 2. For tracking and monitoring the apparatus and the use of the apparatus e.g. a phone can be used, by means of text messages, or a second computer, from which also the content and quantity of food portions of an apparatus in the placement location can be viewed. This type of external computer can be e.g. a system server 5 connected to the network.

The control system 3 further offers the possibility of con^¬ trolling the nutritional amounts and quality of the food^¬ stuffs, either automatically or by guiding the user. Moni- toring of the nutrition level can be easily implemented, in which case if the user needs a diet the control system 3 ensures that it is implemented.

The deep-freezer or refrigerator that functions as a cold- storage space 1 can be freely positioned, even in another space with respect to the heating means 2, because the con^¬ nection between the control system 3 of the cold-storage space 1 and the heating means 2 is wireless, e.g. a Blue^¬ tooth, infrared, radio or some other corresponding wireless connection. Both the control system 3 of the cold-storage space 1 and the heating means 2 comprise appropriate connec^¬ tion means for the connection. The connection between the control system 3 of the cold-storage space 1 and the heating means 2 can also be wired. Additionally, there can also be two units of the heating means 2, both of which comprise a connection to the control system 3. In this case a number of food portions can be prepared simultaneously.

The identification of food portions is based on a barcode system, the advantage of which are such clear markings that the arrangement according to the invention reliably identi- fies the foodstuffs brought into the apparatus, which e.g. the distribution vehicle 104 of the food shop or other service organization brings on the basis of an order directly to the user of the apparatus. Fig. 3 presents the cold-storage space 1 of the arrangement according to the invention, as viewed from the front and with the door removed. The cold-storage space 1 is in prin^¬ ciple a conventional deep-freezer, inside which is fitted a shelving structure 7 provided with side walls and rear walls, which shelving comprises a plurality of shelf spaces 9a provided with support means 8 and guide means 9, in which shelf spaces are stored shelves 13 that are empty or that contain food portions 14 and that function as the storage means of food portions 14. In Fig. 3 some of the shelf spaces 9a are left empty for the sake of clarity and a food portion 14 is visible on only one topmost shelf 13. At the point of each shelf space 9a on the rear wall of the shelv^¬ ing structure is a switch 10, which is fitted to indicate whether a food portion 14 is on the shelf 13 or not. The cold-storage space 1 also comprises a door switch 12, which is fitted to monitor the opening and closing of the door, as well as a temperature sensor 11 for monitoring the tempera^¬ ture of the cold storage of the cold-storage space 1. In addition, at least the main components of the control system 3 are disposed in the compressor part of the cold-storage space, where they are in a safe place and out of the way. Fig. 4 presents the circulating-air oven that functions as the heating means 2 of the arrangement according to the invention. The oven comprises a frame part 15 and a hood 16 that is open at its base and hinged to the frame part with a hinge 17, which hood is fitted to turn to the open position from the front upwards by lifting it with the handle 18. The heating elements of the oven are inside the hood 16. Either one or a number of food portions can be heated with the oven at one and the same time. The frame part of the oven com- prises a plurality of parallel connectors 19, which can be e.g. USB connectors or corresponding connectors. A barcode reader 4a can be connected as one user interface to one connector 19 and e.g. also a USB memory stick 4b can be connected as a user interface to a second connector 19. Additionally, the frame part comprises a signal lamp 20, a pushbutton 21 and an iButton reader 22 that in a way also function as a user interface. The signal lamp 20, e.g. a LED light, indicates the functioning of the oven. For example, it is unlit in its normal state, flashes during heating of the oven and is continuously lit when the food is ready. The pushbutton 21, which is an information button, can be pressed at any time whatsoever, in which case the apparatus announces in speech what it is doing or when it will be ready or what the situation is. For example, when pressing the pushbutton 21 in the heating phase the apparatus an^¬ nounces in speech how much heating time remains. In another phase the apparatus announces the information of the phase in question. Correspondingly, an iButton reader is connected to escort memories, into each of which some code, e.g. the letters and numbers Al, A2, B3, etc, is programmed. Commands can be transmitted to the control system 3 with the escort memory and via the control system to the system server 5, in which case different commands are given with escort memories of different colors. For example, by means of escort memories a person can listen to his/her own voice mailbox, can choose whether to listen to radio broadcasts or not, and also can send a call request e.g. to his/her relative, in which case the system sends a call request by text message to a pre^¬ selected mobile phone number, etc.

Fig. 5 presents a storage shelf 13 intended for a food por^¬ tion 14 of the arrangement according to the invention. The shelf 13 is essentially the shape of a right-angled box and it contains an essentially flat base 23, sidewalls 24, a front wall 25 forming a handle, and a rear wall 26, which extends from the second side edge of the shelf 13 to ap^¬ proximately the midpoint of the shelf 13 in the width direc^¬ tion. In addition, the outer surface of one sidewall 24 comprises a guide rail 33, which can be fitted into the guide means 9 in the shelving structure 7. A mechanical, spring-like sensing means 28 is fixed to the rear wall 26 of the shelf 13, which sensing means comprises at least a fix^¬ ing part 31, a presser part 30 disposed in connection with it, and a sensor part 29 disposed in connection with the presser part 30, which sensor part is at an angle of essentially 90° with respect to the presser part. The sensing means 28 together with the parts are a spring element that is a flat bar in its shape, the presser part 30 of which is disposed at the point of the open rear end of the shelf 13, where there is no rear wall 26. At the bottom of the shelf 13 there is also a limiting means 27, which is fitted to support a food portion 14 disposed on the shelf 13 and to keep the food portion in the front part of the shelf. Figs. 6 and 7 present a top view of the storage shelf ac^¬ cording to Fig. 5. In the situation according to Fig. 6 the shelf 13 is empty, in which case the spring-like sensing means 28 is free and turned under the force of the spring force to such a position that the sensor part 29 is in the at least partly empty place of the food portion, i.e. in the middle of the front part of the shelf. At the same time the presser part 30 is turned towards the inside of the shelf 13 such that when the empty shelf 13 is in its position in the shelf space 9a, the switch 10 on the rear wall of the shelv^¬ ing structure 7 is in the pushed-out position, in which case the control system 3 has received information that the shelf 13 that was pushed inside is empty.

Correspondingly, in the situation according to Fig. 7 the food portion 14 is placed on the front part of the shelf 13. The sensing means 28 is implemented such that when placing a food portion 14 into its position, the sensor part 29 of the sensing means 28 must be turned to the side towards the second sidewall 24, in which case it remains between the food portion 14 and the sidewall 24. At the same time the presser part 30 turns backwards so much that when pushing the shelf 13 into its position after filling the presser part 30 presses the switch 10 to the inner position, in which case the control system 3 of the guide receives infor^¬ mation that the shelf 13 that was pushed inside contains a food portion 14. A barcode 34 is on the lid of the food portion 14 for identifying the food portion.

In the arrangement according to the invention deep-frozen food portions 14 are filled into the cold-storage space 1 of the apparatus e.g. such that at first a memory stick 4b and a barcode reader 4a are fixed into the USB connectors 19 for entering information relating to the food portions into the control system 3 of the apparatus. The memory stick 4b con^¬ tains, among other things, the identification code of each food portion 14, both the written and the spoken name of the food portion, and also the heating instruction of the food portion. The barcode 34 of the food portion 14 is read with the reader 4a of the barcode before placing the food portion into the shelf space 9a of the cold-storage space 1. The food portion 14 is put on any empty shelf 13 whatsoever, which is then pushed into its position in an empty shelf space 9a of the shelving structure 7. When the shelf 13 is pushed to the bottom in the shelf space 9a, the switch 10 triggers and the guide of the apparatus detects that a food portion came into the shelf space 9a. Thus the control sys^¬ tem 3 of the apparatus receives information about into which shelf space 9a the food portion came, and at the same time information at least about what the name and the heating instruction of the food portion 14 are.

When the user of the apparatus wants to have a meal, he/she selects the desired food portion from the menu, which is also provided with the numbers of the food portions. The front edge of the shelves 13 comprise corresponding numbers and the user starts the apparatus by opening the door of the cold-storage space 1, in which case the door switch detects that the door has opened and sends information about it to the control system 3 of the apparatus. After this the user pulls the shelf 13 that is provided with the number he/she selected out of the shelf space 9a, takes the food portion from the shelf 13, pushes the shelf 13 back into its posi^¬ tion and closes the door of the cold-storage space 1, in which case the door switch 12 of the apparatus again reacts. Pulling out the shelf 13 simultaneously causes triggering of the switch 10, in which case the control system 3 receives information about the taking of the food portion 14 and announces the name of the food portion aloud via the loud- speakers 6.

Next the user puts the food portion 14 into the heating means 2 inside the hood 16. The control system 3 has infor^¬ mation about the taking of the food portion from the cold- storage space 1, so the control system 3 monitors that the food portion is put into the heating means 2 within an ap^¬ propriate time. The heating space of the heating means 2 comprises a temperature sensor, by means of which the appa^¬ ratus measures the internal temperature of the oven of the heating means 2. If the temperature starts to decrease owing to the cold deep-frozen portion, the apparatus infers that a food portion is in the oven and starts automatically to warm the food portion in connection with the provision of the food portion according to the heating instruction it receives, simultaneously monitoring the internal temperature of the oven by means of the temperature sensor.

Also a number of food portions can be heated with the oven at the same time. The system is able to change the heating program according to need. If a food portion 14 is not detected in the oven of the heating means 2, i.e. the temperature in the oven does not decrease sufficiently, the apparatus does not start the heating function at all. In that case the apparatus of the user detects a malfunction, in which the food portion 14 is removed from the cold space 1 of the apparatus, but it is not put into the oven of the heating means 2. This is regis^¬ tered as an event in the total system, from where informa^¬ tion can be transmitted onwards to the system server 5. Also in this case the apparatus of the user, among other things, prompts with speech to put the food portion 14 into the oven and gives other instructions. This is a good safety solution e.g. for demented people.

When the food portion 14 is heated and ready, the control system 3 of the apparatus notifies this in speech, in which case the food portion 14 can be moved out of the oven of the heating means 2 by hand.

In the arrangement according to the invention different services, including telecommunication connections, e.g. via the internet, are produced for the apparatus of the user. The services comprise e.g. various alarms when the user does something wrong. An example that can be given in this case is that the customer has not placed the food portion into the oven or has not taken a meal by a certain time. Other necessary alarms can also be given. Additionally, the pro^¬ viders of a service or e.g. relatives provided with user passwords and user rights can record reminders and send them via the internet to the apparatus of the user and tell in the user interface of the browser of their own computer at what time and on what day the reminder is to be sent and also whether the reminder is of a non-recurring or recurring nature. Reminders sent as speech messages can concern cater^¬ ing, the taking and dosage of medicines and other necessary matters. The reminder and the instructions must be acknowl^¬ edged via the pushbutton 21 of the apparatus of the user. Additionally, the apparatus of the user is provided with means, by the aid of which it also functions as a media means, such as e.g. a radio, to which a program can be sent via the internet. Likewise, e.g. bingo-playing and corre^¬ sponding entertainment games can be sent via the apparatus.

It is essential to the arrangement and method according to the invention to have sufficient means and processes to monitor the condition of the food portions 14 in their delivery chain from the factory 101 to the end user. If the temperature of the frozen food portions 14 increases too high the quality may suffer and even if the temperature is not cold enough in some phase, cold chain may break and food portions 14 may spoil. So, one important characteristic to monitor is the temperature of the food portions 14 in dif- ferent phases of the delivery chain. The different phases include for example production of the food portions 14, transportation of the food portions 14 from the factory 101 to storages, storage of the food portions 14, transportation from storages to customers and storage of the food portions 14 in the cold-storage space 1 of the food automat of the customer. The data from monitoring can be later used for different actions related to the food portions 14.

Another essential feature of the arrangement according to the invention is that the food portion 14 and its heating instruction are paired with each other such that the apparatus knows which food portion 14 is on which shelf 13 and which heating instruction is connected to which food portion 14. This is important because the heating instructions of different food portions differ considerably from each other, in which case only with correctly performed heating is it possible to receive good-quality home-cooked food as the end result .

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiment example presented above, but that it may vary within the scope of the claims to be presented below. Thus, for example, the arrangement is described above as a separate apparatus, but the arrangement can also be implemented as an integrated structure, in which the cold-storage space, the heating means, the user inter- face and the control system form a single domestic appliance entity .

It is also obvious to the person skilled in the art that the spring-like sensing means on the shelf that is presented can be structurally different to what is described above. It can be a rod, or corresponding, provided with a spring, which pushes a food portion towards the rear end of the shelf when the food portion is placed onto the shelf. In this case a detent on the rear end of the rod triggers the switch on the rear wall of the shelving structure in the same way as the presser part of the spring-like sensing means when placing a shelf back into its position. When there is no food on the shelf the spring pushes the rod forwards, as far as the point where the detent of the rod triggers the switch when placing an empty shelf back into its position. The sensing means can thus be any structure whatsoever that detects a food portion on the shelf and that also identifies into which shelf space the shelf is being placed. It is also obvious to the person skilled in the art that the name, heating instruction and other possible identification information of a food portion can be given to the control system of the apparatus of the user in another manner than by means of a memory stick connected to the USB connector in connection with the input of a food portion. All the identi^¬ fication information together with the names and heating instructions can be e.g. pre-entered in the memory of the control system beforehand. In this case only updating of the information in the memory when new food portions, which have not previously been used in the arrangement, come into use is sufficient. Correspondingly, all the identification in- formation together with the names and heating instructions of food portions can also be pre-entered in advance in the server of the service provider, from where they are downloaded in connection with the input of a food portion, e.g. via the internet or other suitable data transfer net- work or communication network, to the apparatus of the user.

It is further obvious to the person skilled in the art that the identification of a food portion can be performed in different way than in connection with taking from the shelf. A food portion can be identified e.g. in connection with placement in the oven using RFID technology or using some other corresponding identification technology. In this case the heating instruction corresponding to the latest food portion is given to the control system.

It is further obvious to the person skilled in the art that the alarms, reminders and instructions in the arrangement can be sent also by text messages and by e-mail. Furthermore, it is obvious to the person skilled in the art instead of a barcode system the identification of food por^¬ tions can be based on another solution, such as on a magnetic stripe or corresponding, by means of which the markings about food portions brought to the cold-storage space are made adequately clear.

Claims

1. Arrangement for processing and monitoring food portions in a meal service chain, which food portions (14) are manu- factured in a factory (101) and equipped with an identifica^¬ tion code (34), and transported to customers or end users, and which arrangement comprises at least a cold-storage space (1) for food portions (14) together with a storage means (13) of the food portions (14), and a heating means (2), and also a control system (3) provided with a user interface (4), and a central database (105) of the meal service company, characterized in that the arrangement com^¬ prises means for monitoring the temperature of the food portions (14) in the delivery chain from the factory (101) to the customers or end users, and means for connecting the temperature data to the identification code (34) of the food portion (14), and means for transmitting the monitored temperature data to the central database (105) .

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for monitoring the temperature of the food por^¬ tions (14) include a temperature sensing element connected with a memory element into where the measured temperature data is saved and from where the measured temperature data is retrieved and checked at least before the food portions (14) are placed to the cold-storage space (1) of the cus^¬ tomer or end user.

3. Arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the means for monitoring the temperature of the food portions (14) is a datalogger or alike equipped with a tem^¬ perature sensing element, which datalogger is placed into an icebox with the food portions (14) collected for one cus^¬ tomer and transported from a delivery cold-storage (103) to the customer.

4. Arrangement according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that in addition of the datalogger the arrangement comprises temperature sensing elements and data transmission elements for measuring temperature and sending measured temperature data of the food portions (14) in different phases of the delivery chain of the food portions (14); at least in the factory (101) manufacturing the food portions (14), in a transportation vehicle (102) transporting the food portions (14) from the factory (101) to the delivery cold-storage (103), and also in the customer's cold-storage space (1), all of the aforementioned being capable to pro^¬ vide the measured temperature data together with the identi^¬ fication code (34) to the central database (105) of the meal service company.

5. Arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arrangement comprises means (10, 28) for identifying the placement location of a food portion (14) disposed the cold-storage space (1) in connection with placing a food portion (14) in the cold-storage space (1)

6. Arrangement according to claim 5, characterized in that the storage means (13) of the food portions (14) comprises essentially mechanical sensing means (28) for identifying the presence of a food portion (14) in the storage means (13), and in that the cold-storage space (1) comprises switches (10) in connection with the control system (3) that are situated for each shelf space (9a) to be received by the storage means (13), which switches are fitted to detect on the basis of the position of the sensing means (28) whether a storage means (13) placed into the cold-storage space (1) contains a food portion (14) or not.

7. Arrangement according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the rear part of the sensing means (28) comprises a presser element (30), which is fitted to trigger the switch (10) disposed in connection with the shelf space (9a) when a food portion (14) is in the storage means (13) .

8. Arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cold-storage space (1) and the heating means (2) are separate units, which comprise contact means, by the aid of which the cold-storage space (1) and the heating means (2) are fitted to communicate between themselves either wirelessly or via wireline.

9. Arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heating means (2) is provided with a loudspeaker (6), and in that the arrangement comprises means for informing about the preparation of the heating of a food portion (14) and about other matters for notification or reminding by speech via the loudspeaker (6) .

10. Arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arrangement comprises means for recording reminders and instructions in speech message for^¬ mat and for sending the aforementioned reminders and in^¬ structions, as well as e.g. radio programs and entertainment programs, such as games, via the internet or corresponding telecommunication network to the apparatus of the user.

11. Arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arrangement comprises an iButton reader (22) and escort memories, into each of which some code is programmed, with which commands are transmitted to the control system (3) and via the control system (3) to the system server (5), for listening to e.g. a voice mailbox or radio broadcasts or for sending a call request, in which case the system is fitted e.g. to send a call request by text message to a pre-defined phone number.

12. Arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arrangement comprises at least means (4a, 4b) for identifying the name and the heating instruction of a food portion (14) disposed the cold-storage space (1) in connection with placing a food portion (14) in the cold-storage space (1), and the food portion (14) and its heating instruction are paired with each other such that the apparatus knows which food portion (14) is on which shelf (13) and which heating instruction is connected to which food portion (14) .

13. Method for processing and monitoring food portions in a meal service chain, in which method the food portions (14) are manufactured in a factory (101), packed and freezed for their delivery chain, equipped with an identification code (34) and transported deep-frozen to customers or end users where the food portions (14) are disposed in the cold- storage space (1) for storage and heated with the heating means (2) for eating, characterized in that the temperature of the food portions (14) is monitored during the whole delivery chain from the factory (101) to the cold-storage space (1) of the customer, and the monitored temperature data is transmitted to a central database (105) of the meal service company.

14. Method according to claim 13, characterized in that the monitored temperature data measured in different points of the delivery chain, for example in the factory (101), in a transporting vehicle (102) between the factory (101) and a delivery cold-storage (103), in the delivery cold-storage (103), in a transporting vehicle (104) between the delivery cold-storage (103) and the cold-storage space (1) of the customer, and in the cold-storage space (1) of the customer, is read in different phases of the delivery chain and/or transmitted to the central database (105) of the meal ser^¬ vice company.

15. Method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the temperature of the food portions (14) is measured with a temperature sensing element connected with a memory element into where the measured temperature data is saved and from where the measured temperature data is retrieved and checked at least before the food portions (14) are placed to the cold-storage space (1) of the customer or end user .

16. Method according to claim 13, 14 or 15, characterized in that the temperature of the food portions (14) is measured with a datalogger equipped with a temperature sensing ele^¬ ment, which datalogger is placed in an icebox with the food portions (14) collected for one customer and transported from the delivery cold-storage (103) to the customer.

17. Method according to any of claims 13-16 above, characterized in that the temperature conditions of the food por^¬ tions (14) during the delivery chain are checked at latest when placing the food portions (14) into the cold-storage space (1) of the customer.

18. Method according to any of claims 13-17 above, characterized in that a heating instruction for each food portion (14) is identified at the latest before the food is heated.

19. Method according to any of claims 13-18 above, characterized in that the heating instruction and name of each food portion (14) are identified by means of the user inter^¬ face (4) and are sent to the control system (3) of the appa^¬ ratus .

20. Method according to any of claims 13-19 above, characterized in that the food portion (14), its name and its heating instruction are paired with each other such that the apparatus knows which name and which heating instruction is connected to which food portion (14) .

21. Method according to any of claims 13-20 above, characterized in that in the placement location of a food portion (14) in the cold-storage space (1) is identified mechani^¬ cally by means of switches (10) and sensor means (28) .

22. Method according to any of claims 13-21 above, characterized in that different services are produced for the apparatus of the user via, among other things, telecommunication connections, e.g. the internet, which services com- prise e.g. alarms given in speech or with sound signals or light signals when the user does something wrong, and also reminders to be sent as speech messages, which can concern catering, the taking and dosage of medicines and other nec^¬ essary matters, which reminders are acknowledged by means of a pushbutton (21) .

23. Method according to any of claims 13-22 above, characterized in that a radio program and entertainment games intended to be played by the user are sent to the apparatus of the user via telecommunication connections.