GB2409093A

GB2409093A - Fridge and freezer contents organiser.

Info

Publication number: GB2409093A
Application number: GB0328706A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin William Spenceley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-12-09
Filing date: 2003-12-09
Publication date: 2005-06-15
Also published as: GB0328706D0

Abstract

The fridge and freezer contents organiser comprises a chart attached to a fridge/freezer by means of magnets or a magnetic layer. Food items are represented by small counters which are placed on the chart when corresponding items are placed in the frideg/freezer. The counters preferably show the particular food, the type of food, e.g. meat, fish, rations, fruit and veg., misc. etc., and the optimum or maximum storage life. Two strips signifying 3 month and 6 month limits may also be used to indicate freezer food which is approaching the end of its life. Food items can be identified by placing corresponding counters on the food via a specialised bag clip. The chart may be subdivided into days (for fridges) or months (tor freezers). A store for unused counters may be provided which can be used to help create a shopping list. The chart may be electronic and the counters may be automatically detected as they are put into or taken out of the freezer by a form of electronic tagging. The contents of the freezer (or lack of) can then be communicated directly to a phone or PDA, e.g. to update a shopping list.

Description

Specification for a Freezer Contents Organiser.

Background

Many households use the freezer to store food for later use. I Jnfortunately once food enters the freezer it can end up being wasted. This can be down to a number of reasons: 1. Out of sight, out of' Mind.

Food can easily be forgotten, only to be discarded long after its safe storage life has expired. Food ending up in garage freezers or at the bottom of deep trays are easier to forget about.

2. Confusion over different storage times for different food types.

3. Unlabelled food may become unrecognizable.

Since it is easier to choose recognizable food items rather than an unrecognizable bag oi frozen food, the unrecognizable item end up being left in the freezer! The Freezer Contents Organiser solves these issues, ensuring frozen food is used within their specified time period. This is accomplished by managing the freezer items on a easily visualise diagram which can be placed in plain sight in the Kitchen. Page

Essential Features The basic essentials of the Freezer Contents Organiser include: Freezer Contents Chart (see diagram 1) This is a colour (magnetic or steel) board, it displays 12 columns representing the months of the year and a number of coloured rows representing the basic food types i.e. Meat, Fish, Fruit and Vegetables, Emergency Rations (prepared food types), Miscellaneous (Ice Cream, Cheese etc.). In between each month will be a plain vertical gap.

Magnetic Food Information Counters (see diagram 2).

These counters are small square magnetic 'badges'(around 2-3 ems in size). Each counter will show a picture and description of the frozen food item (e.g. Lamb Chops, Bread, Broccoli, Soup etc.), its storage life and colour for its basic food type. The storage life will be placed vertically and be coloured corresponding to the latest limit strip (see below). If freezing period is less than its limit period its colour will be less prominent, highlighting its storage limit difference.

Magnetic 3 month and 6 Month Limit Strips (see diagram 3).

Those strips highlight two important and commonly quoted time limits for freezer food.

They are placed 3 and 6 months prior to the current month. The two strips are coloured differently and tie up with the vertical storage life colours found on the food counters.

They will be long enough to be placed vertically on the Freezer Contents Board. Since the limit strips simply help visualise the time limits they can be optional.

Month Counters These will he smaller counters to he used with the Freezer label counter holders (see below).

Freezer Label Counter Holders.

These will hold a food information counter as well as a in a visible way and will be designed keep close a plastic bag airtight.

A small wallet sized steel/magnetic board with a plastic cover.

This board will hold 'Information Counters' which are out of stock in the home and need purchasing. i.e. A shopping list! This board will be attached to the fridge and taker away for shopping trips. The plastic cover will prevent the counters from being lost.

loge 2 How the Freezer Contents Organiser is used.

If the year board is magnetic it can be placed directly on the Fridge door, else it will be placed on a suitable wall, perhaps in the Kitchen.

As Food is added to the Freezer by the Kitchen Manager' (we will call the 'Housewife'), a food information counter (diagram 2) representing the food type is placed onto the board in the month column it was purchased and frozen. Preferably the counter should also be placed in the appropriate food type row (for better identification). The counters are colour co-ordinated to th, appropriate food category.

If an appropriate counter is missing, the Housewife will be able to order one or enter the appropriate information onto an appropriate blank counter. There will be blank counters for each food type and storage period.

If the food item is not easily recognisable e.g. Meat, the Housewife can add a similar counter and an appropriate month counter to a counter holder and attach it to the food items plastic bat This counter holder will be a modification of commonly available food bag 'pegs'.

If similar food items are added to the freezer, the housewife can write over both the counters with say, a number, to identify the food item. This int'ormation will then be able to be wiped of at a later time to allow the counters reuse. However, if an appropriate month counter is used wi the food counter, identification will become less of an issue in the freezer.

At the start ot' using a the Freezer Organiser, the two month limit strips are placed onto the board, 3 and 6 months behind the current month. As each month passes, the two time limit strip are moved (by the housewife) to the appropriate column gaps. e.g. 6 months ago and 3 months ago. Since each counter has a corresponding time limit, the housewife will be able to quickly assess which foods are nearing their storage limit. Since some food items should be kept for shorter periods, these items will not contain the corresponding full limit colours, instead only tl storage period is displayed (or a fainter colour will be used).

If a food item passes the time limit period, it will be up to the housewife to either use, keep or throw away the expired food item.

Once a food item is used from the Freezer, the housewife will be able to add the counter to her shopping list wallet' or retune it to the rest of the unused counters.

Page 3 Variations on the Design Splitting the board into more specialised food categories.

Because some customers are vegetarian or vegan, not all the categories will be of use to them. The magnetic boards could be made of a single category. Customers will be able to choose the boards appropriate to them. Other categories could be provided e.g. Fruit, Vegetables, Home cooked etc. Fridge Organiser To manage high volumes of food within (restaurant) fridges, a food organiser can be developed. Split into 14 day intervals the food boards will manage fresh food counters.

As food is added to the fridge they can be tagged by the day they are added to the fridge.

Automating The Freezer Contents Organiser Using the same principles described above, it will be possible to integrate the contents organiser into the fridge or freezer (which ever is visible to the housewife) or built as a standalone electronic board.

By 'electronically tagging' the counters and making the year board being able to read the counters and where they are placed, it will be possible to make the freezer intelligen in recognising which food items are nearing their expirey date. A light/and or message display will highlight these items need using. If the housewife places the counters onto the 'shopping list pad', the Freezer would communicate with the housewife's mobile phone/or PDA (via Bluetooth) and update the housewife's shopping list held on the device. By removing counters from the shopping list, the fridge will automatic remove the items from the list.

Alternative Usage Instead of placing the flood counters on the month they enter the freezer. They can be placed upto the month which the food can be safely stored. The housewife will then know when the current month reaches the food counter' the corresponding food will need to be used before the end of the month.

Page 4

Claims

Claims 1. A Freezer Contents Organiser (as described herein), consisting

of a coloured (magnetic or steel) board designed to help organise and inform the user on maximum and current storage life of freezer contents, through the appropriate placement of corresponding food counters.
2. A Freezer Contents Chart (see Claim 1) separated into its individual food categories allowing the user to customise the freezer contents chart to their appropriate needs e.g. Vegetarian, Vegan.
3. A Fridge Organiser Chart used very much in the same way as Claim 1, but the time periods are split into day intervals.
4. Using the Principles described in Claim 1, the Freezer Contents Organiser is built into the fridge with counters being monitored by a form of electronic tagging'. The current freezer contents information (contents, shopping list etc) can then be displayed on a fridge display or communicated directly to a phone or PDA for use away from the Freezer (or Fridge).