FI119486B - Nutrition monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

119486

FIELD OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to monitoring and controlling the intake of nutrients.

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THE INVENTION OF THE INVENTION

The trend in consumer behavior is clearly towards healthier eating habits and lifestyles. The content of nutrition, such as nutrients and their intake and monitoring of intake, is of increasing importance to consumers. Consumers want to improve their health and wellbeing through eating. This has led to e.g. the proliferation of functional foods. Consumers also have growing fears about the safety of food, such as the nutritional safety of food, the expansion of food supply and product refinement.

Consumers need to meet these information needs in a way that they do not have to do anything 20 different from current and everyday life. There is a need for an easy-to-use computing tool to design a consumer-friendly diet without the need for a huge amount of information and readiness for the consumer.

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SIA. There is a need for a system that allows implementing a learning food system; and

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]; ·; * For closer interaction between different actors • · «! * It is significant in the monitoring of nutrient intake that there is long-term • available information on consumption, which can be used to study the dietary intake and effects of i #: p: 30 individual consumers or populations.

• * · *, Nutrient composition management is under development assistance systems. US 5412564 describes a system with a computer having a memory for all nutrients in it. The computer is organized, for example, in a retail store or • 2 119486 restaurant, so the nutrient supply is finite and maintainable. Each customer using the system is provided with a smart card that stores their new purchases 5 and calculates their average consumption using historical data. Historical data works on an already-rapid basis, so old data is removed from the new ones. After the calculation, the computer tells the customer the average consumption. The problem with the publication system 10 is the need for a smart card. A separate smart card is expensive. Further, in the system according to the publication, the consumption is shown to the customer at the checkout counter. This overloads the cash registers and it is not possible to carry out a more detailed analysis in peace. 15 If a similar computer were to be arranged at home, a smart card reader would be required. Further, maintaining a database would be very complicated, especially if the customer operates several different shops and restaurants. Further, in the system of reference 20, the smart card is customer-specific, although in reality the customer often purchases food for more than one person, for example, I I Φ Y * them. The system cannot be used extensively *. *: Research on nutrient intake.

The basic arrangements of US 6387049 and US 6024281 are similar to US 5412564 I * · *, so the basic problems are similar.

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In particular, the control of several movements is a problem for reference publications. Reference publications do not provide ·, ·. • 30 solutions for managing multiple people with a single · · customer ID. Further, the protection of the anonymous - *** identity is unclear from the reference publications.

: .j.i Customers are not willing to join a system that can identify them, · · * *. 35 more people eating and drinking habits • ♦ * ..! are a sensitive thing.

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PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new type of system and method for collecting and structuring the characteristics of foods purchased by consumers, such as nutrient information, and providing it to consumers to enable them to make healthy and adventurous food choices and research data for individual and population use. level.

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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for collecting and structuring the characteristics of foods purchased by consumers, such as nutrient information, and providing it to the consumer so that the consumer can make healthy and adventurous food choices and enable the use of historical data for research purposes. level.

... Consumer identification is done by · ·; . which is used in connection with a food payment transaction, and which identifier is available for all payment transactions at cash registers where identification 25 is provided, so that the customer can use the same single * identifier throughout the grocery store. Preferably, this identifier ·· «uses a bar code, such as an EAN or UPC bar code, so that the identifier is globally unique • ·. ···. 30 and can be read at checkouts ♦ · * * 'barcode scanners.

·. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · a woman that conveys to the consumer • *. ···. 35 What kind of properties does the food he purchases contain. The user ID is unique and anonymous, so it cannot be used to infer the user's identity. The user ID can be distributed to consumers in such a way that the consumer's personal information and identifier cannot be combined. However, the unique identifier mah-5 makes it possible for the consumer to communicate anonymously with the system and to provide information about the system without disclosing his or her identity. For example, the consumer can provide the system with information about himself and his family via the internet so that the system or the consumer can parse the information with the particular consumer or household which has more members. If desired, the system can combine different tags under one or a new tag.

15 The system is also characterized in that both the consumer identifier and the food identifiable identifier are branched from the identifier reader, such as a barcode reader, to the nutrient server.

20 This nutrient server retrieves from the database, based on the food's unique identifiers ... the food properties in the database.

*, · • · · I, The nutrient server counts the properties of a single purchase • * · * · '· food and may or may not be f · · *. *. *. 25 flies below the consumer identification to send it ··· * .. . · Forwarded to the web server.

· # • The web server collects, under each consumer identity, all food properties from different locations, identified by: *. 30 under the tag. The consumer can view • ·. ···. information using a unique identifier and • * * · * password that may be associated with the website.

Information collected on a web server can ·· ♦ be used for research purposes both by the individual and by the ♦ J ·. ·. 35 working group level.

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the invention, and Figure 2 shows a system diagram of an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 shows a functional block diagram of a method 10 according to the invention. The method begins with product identification, step 10. Product identification refers to any product identification, for example, a food purchased in a shop or a restaurant meal. Typically, the product is identified by 15 bar codes or a magnetic sticker. In an embodiment of the invention, the information is transmitted to two different destinations. From the point of view of paying for the purchases, the information is passed to the cash register system, step 15, and then to be debited, for example, to a credit card, step 16.

Payment arrangements are not essential to the invention, but any payment and cash system • · ·. pa, as long as the product information is branchable.

• · t * · *; Once the products have been identified, the customer will be identified by the same means as the product identification, such as a barcode or a magnetic sticker. add a code.

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After identifying the customer, the nutritional composition of the products purchased from the database is sought • ♦, ···. 30 set based on the product identifier, step 12. The nutrient compositions of the products · · "* are calculated and structured under the customer identifier, step 13. Finally, the nutritional values • ·« are presented to the customer, step 14. Preferably, the presentation is arranged on a web server. . ·· ♦, 35 browse your data wherever you are • Customers can also • ♦ edit their calculations using a browser.

6 119486 This is necessary, for example, when a customer has purchased food for an event that involves more diners than normal. In this case, it is easy to distribute larger quantities to more than one. Such a system opens up opportunities for many easy-to-implement further developments. For example, the system may include an automatic food recommendation provider to control the meal 10 or connect it to other health promoting systems.

Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment of the invention. The system shown in the figure includes a product 20 having a unique product identifier, an identifier reader 21, a cash register system 22, a nutrient server for calculating nutrient quantities 23, a database of food properties 24, a web server 25, a consumer database of purchased food properties 29 To the Internet 26 and a terminal 27 also connected to the Internet.

... An essential part of an embodiment of the invention is the branch cable 28, which is connected between the reader · · · "21 and the cash register system 22 and the nutrient server • ·" 25 23. In this way, the nutrient information is obtained. ... * easily into two independent systems ·· · • \ ϊ If necessary, the branch cable can be: ***!

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In the embodiment of the invention, the product is identified with a ". ·. 30" bar code, which is a very common • ·. ··· application. Therefore, it is also advisable to use a bar code to identify the customer, as it does not cause t *: · Additional hardware requirements If there is a magnetic sticker instead of a barcode, the identification 35 can be performed on one of these, and the customer may be provided with a * *, ··· card containing both codes • ·.

119486 The system nutrient server 23 is connected to the nutrient database 24. The database may be a single store or multiple database shared between multiple stores. Nutrient Service-5 Iin 23 calculates a customer's purchase of a nutrient composition from database data. The client 27 can browse his data using the terminal 27. The terminal may be any terminal equipped with a browser.

The customer connects to the web server 25, which has 10 interfaces to the customer's nutrition information. The customer logs into the web server 25 using the same unique identifier that was used to identify him or her at the store. If the customer has the means to read barcodes, the identifier can be read in the same way as in the shop 15. Typically, however, the customer enters their identifier using the keyboard. The identifier used is unique and random, so the identity of the customer cannot be determined by the identifier alone. The web server will continue to check if 20 or more customers have one or more members and distribute the nutrients according to the instructions given by the customer ....

• · · * ♦ ·. The invention is not limited to the above examples, but many modifications are possible within the scope of the inventive idea defined by the claims.

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Claims (17)

A system for calculating a nutrient composition, the system comprising: a cash register system (22) having unique product-5 ID reading means (21); a database (24) storing the nutritional values of the products sold; and a nutrient server (23) for calculating a customer's nutrient composition; 10 characterized in that the system further comprises: a cash register (22) reading means (21) arranged to identify the customer and a branch (28) coupled to branch the cash register (22) reading data to the cash register payment system and nutrient server (22). 23) as independent entities. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the unique product identifier is a bar code. The system of claim 1. , known for its unique product identifier • t · is a magnetic sticker. • «» *. * 25 The · · · ··· * system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the product identifier ·· ♦ * · · ϊ. * Is able to determine the properties of the foodstuff. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that the food properties comprise nutrients. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that the food properties comprise other additives. ··· 35 A process according to any one of the preceding claims 1 - · »« ·, ·. A system according to claim 6, characterized in that the system further comprises a web server (25) for browsing and processing the nutritional composition of the nutrient composition from a database (29) storing the characteristics of the food products purchased on a per-consumer basis. System according to claim 7, characterized in that the system is provided with means for distributing the nutrient composition of the customer to several persons. 8 119486 A method of calculating a nutrient composition, the method comprising the steps of: reading the unique identifiers of the products into the checkout system using the cash register system reading means; searching the database for the nutritional values of the said products; and 15 calculating the nutritional composition of the customer's purchase based on the nutritional values of said products; characterized in that the method: identifies the customer by means of a unique anonymous identifier using the product identification means of the cash register system; and transmitting the read-only paths of said read-only means on said reading means by means of a branching • · t; , the cash register payment system, and the nutrition server, which is arranged to perform the aforesaid retrieval and calculation of the nutritional composition of the purchases. * · · • *,! A method according to claim 9, characterized in that the customer and the products are identified by a unique bar code. The method of claim 9, · ·, ···. known for recognizing the customer and • · *! * products from a unique magnetic sticker. ·· j The method according to claim 9, 10 or 11, characterized in that the product identifier * ·. 35 is able to determine the properties of a foodstuff, such as nutrients. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 9 to 12, characterized in that the nutrient compositions are processed and browsed on a web server. Method according to one of the preceding claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the nutrient composition of the customer is distributed to several persons. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 9 to 14, characterized in that the information on foodstuffs purchased at different locations is collected in one place for the customer in a single entity. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 9 to 15, characterized in that for research purposes the food purchasing behavior of anonymous consumers is monitored. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 9 to 16, characterized in that an anonymous consumer is provided with guidance for the consumption of nutrients. • t · • · · »·» * • • • • • • i * · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• · • • «« * * t · · · · · · t t t t t t t ··· * · * · · · · · • 119486 li