JP2000180031A - Food managing device and food contacting chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of rottenness because of food being left unused and to suppress unnecessary purchase of food by a method wherein data, such as a purchase food name, during management of a stock is rapidly, simply, and high-efficiently inputted. SOLUTION: A surface image, such as a paper surface, pressed by a scanner operation means 22, is read as image data. Image data is stored on an image memory means 24 by a control means 23 and displayed on a display means 25. Further, a food management device 16 is provided to consist of a communication control means 26 to perform control of transmission and receipt of a signal to and from a remote communication terminal apparatus 28 through a public telephone circuit network. Since the receipt and memo of a purchase food are stored as they are by providing the food management device, management of a food stock and electronic ordering are simply practicable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food management device capable of storing food and a food storage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A so-called refrigerator, for example, is generally known as a conventional food management device and food storage, and with the recent increase in size, performance and function, a large amount of food can be stored for a longer time. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 7484. Hereinafter, a conventional food storage device will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional food management apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conventional food management device. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator main body, and a food management device 3 is installed in front of a door 2 of the refrigerator 1. The food management device 3 includes a display 4 such as a liquid crystal display, a character input key 5 used for inputting a food without a barcode, and a barcode reader 6 for inputting food identification information, that is, a barcode attached to the food. It is composed of

[0004] Reference numeral 7 denotes an input means 7 for reading an input of the bar code reader 6, which is connected to a determination means 8.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a character input unit 9 for detecting an input of the character input key of a food without a bar code. The deciding means 8 decides a food name based on the input from the input means 7 or the character input means 9. The food name determined by the determination means 8 is stored in the storage means 10 and the display means 11 is operated to display and output on the display 4.

[0005] The operation of the food storage device configured as described above will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart showing the entire control program stored in a microcomputer. Normally, for example, the name of the currently stored food, the date of purchase, and the like are displayed as S1 on the display 4 of the food management device 3 provided on the front surface of the door 2 of the refrigerator 1.

When a new food is to be put into the refrigerator 1, if the food has a barcode, the process proceeds from S2 to S3, where the barcode reader 6 detects the barcode and the input means 7 reads the barcode. . Next, in S4, the food name and the like are determined by the determination means 8 from the food identification information described in the barcode, and the contents are stored in the storage means 10. Then, the process proceeds to S5, where the display unit 11 displays the food name or the like determined by the determining unit 8 on the display unit 4.

Here, when a food without a bar code is to be inserted, the process proceeds from S2 to S6, where a specific food name is selected by the character input key 5 provided on the food management device 3, and the character input means 9 is used to select a character. Enter the input. Next, proceeding to S4, the food name and the like are determined by the determination means 8 from the character input information, and the contents are stored in the storage means 10. Then, the process proceeds to S5, where the display unit 11 displays the food name or the like determined by the determining unit 8 on the display unit 4.

That is, when storing packed meat and fish in the food storage device 1, food identification information is read by the bar code reader 6, and what food is contained is displayed on the display 4 of the food management device 3. It can be displayed and used for inventory management.

Eggs and vegetables without a barcode can be used in the same way by selecting and inputting a food name using the character input keys 5.

[0011]

However, in the above configuration, it is not only necessary to read barcodes of purchased foods one by one, but in the case of foods without barcodes, it is necessary to input characters when inputting food names. Each character must be input one by one by hitting the input key 5, which is very troublesome and troublesome especially when storing a large amount of food.

An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems and to provide a food management apparatus and a food storage box which can save the trouble of reading and inputting the information of stored food.

[0013] In addition, in the above-described conventional configuration, when ordering food through a communication terminal device such as a market in a remote place and a public line network, the character input key 5 is hit when inputting a desired food name. There is a disadvantage that it is necessary to perform input, which is very troublesome and troublesome.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a food management apparatus and a food storage that can easily order desired food when ordering food electronically.

[0015]

In order to solve this object, a food management apparatus and a food storage according to the present invention comprise a scanner operating means for reading a surface image such as a pressed paper surface as image data, and the scanner operating means. Scanner operation start means for starting the operation of the scanner, image storage means for storing image data, control means for storing the image data read by the scanner operation means in the image storage means and displaying it on the display means, It is provided with communication control means for controlling transmission and reception of signals to a local communication terminal device via a public line network or the like.

Thus, even a person who is unfamiliar with a machine such as a computer can easily input a food name using a receipt or the like on which the name of the purchased food is written, thereby not only eliminating the complexity of the input operation but also the food material. Electronic ordering can be easily performed.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scanner operating means for reading a surface image such as a pressed paper surface as image data, and a scanner operating start for starting the operation of the scanner operating means. Means, image storage means for storing image data, and control means for storing the image data read by the scanner operation means in the image storage means and displaying the image data on the display means, and purchasing the food. Receipts and the like can be read and displayed directly by the scanner means, which has the effect of simplifying input of food names and the like.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect of the present invention, the scanner operation starting means comprises a touch panel or a voice input, so that pressing a paper surface such as a receipt without pressing a switch each time. In addition to starting the scanner operation, since the scanner operation is started by voice without using a hand, the input operation is simplified.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect of the present invention, there is further provided communication control means for controlling transmission and reception of signals to a remote communication terminal device via a public line network or the like. Since it is a product, it has an effect that electronic ordering can be easily performed using paper or a receipt on which desired food is written.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing provided with a door, a storage room for storing foods formed in the housing, and a paper surface pressed against the outer shell of the housing. Scanner operation means for reading the surface image of the scanner image data, scanner operation start means for starting the operation of the scanner operation means, image storage means for storing image data, image data read by the scanner operation means It is provided with a food management device comprising a control means for storing in the image storage means and displaying on the display means, which can directly read and display a receipt or the like from which the food was purchased by the scanner means, and a name of the food to be stored in the storage room. Can be input on the outer shell of the storage.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the scanner operation start means of the food management apparatus is a touch panel or a voice input, and only by pressing a paper surface such as a receipt. In addition to starting the scanner operation, the scanner operation is started by voice without using a hand.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is further provided communication control means for controlling transmission and reception of a signal to a remote communication terminal device via a public line network or the like. Electronic ordering can be easily done using paper or receipts on which the desired food is written.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the food in the storage room is cooled and stored. Prevent accidental consumption of expired foods.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a food management apparatus and a food storage according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The same components as those in the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a food management apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the food management apparatus of the present invention. The food management apparatus according to the present embodiment can be applied to a so-called refrigerator, for example, as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 denotes a storage room for storing food in a refrigerator room 13 for refrigerated storage of food in a food storage main body (for example, a refrigerator) and a freezer room 14 for freezing and storing food. Reference numeral 15 denotes a door which is attached to the front of the opening of the refrigerator compartment 13 so as to be openable and closable. Reference numeral 16 denotes a food management device which is attached to an arbitrary position on the front of the door 15. When the food storage 12 is tall,
An easy-to-operate position is selected, for example, the food management device 16 is installed on the front surface of the fourth door 17.

The food management device 16 includes a display 18 such as a liquid crystal display, an optical scanner 19 provided on the front of the display 18 for inputting an image on a pressed paper surface,
A scanner operation switch 20 for instructing the operation of the scanner 19 is provided.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a scanner operation start means for detecting an input of the scanner operation switch 20. Reference numeral 22 denotes a scanner operating means for operating the scanner 19 in response to an input signal from the scanner operation starting means 21 to read an image as image data. The control means 23 stores the image data read by the scanner operation means 22 in the image storage means 24 and operates the display means 25 to display and output the image data on the display 18 as an image.

Reference numerals 26 and 27 denote communication control means for controlling transmission and reception of signals via a public line network or the like. The control means 23 and the remote terminal (for example, supermarket) communication terminal equipment 2
8 is connected. The operation of the food management apparatus configured as described above will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart showing the entire control program stored in a microcomputer. Normally, a food management device 16 provided on the front surface of the door 13 of the refrigerator compartment 15 of the food storage 12
For example, the name of the food currently stored, the date of purchase, and the like are displayed as S10 on the display 18 of.

When the newly purchased food is put in the food storage 12, the receipt or the like purchased in S 11 is pressed against the display 18, and the scanner operation switch 20 determines that there is an input by the scanner operation start means 21. I do. Next, in S12, a command is issued from the scanner operation start means 21 to the scanner operation means 22 to operate the scanner 19 to read the receipt paper as image data.

In step S13, the read image data is stored in the image storage unit 24 through the control unit 23, and the display unit 25 displays the image data on the display unit 18 in step S14.

That is, since the contents of the receipt from which the food has been purchased are displayed on the display unit 18 as it is, the name, quantity, price, etc. of the food can be easily and quickly input without any trouble, and inventory management can be easily performed. .

Further, as long as the food storage device 12 can be frozen and refrigerated, or can be cooled and stored in a temperature range (partial freezing, chilled, etc.) between freezing and refrigeration, as is apparent in the present embodiment, it is also necessary to purchase the food storage device 12. It is not necessary to enter a food name for each food item that is stored, so it is possible to store food quickly in hot summer months, not only to maintain freshness, but also to make it easier to keep the food stored for a long time since the purchase date. It is possible to calculate and prevent food spoilage due to forgetting to store it.

In this embodiment, the scanner starting means 21 may be a touch panel or a voice input. This eliminates the need for complicated key input, and enables the elderly and those unfamiliar with the machine to use it very easily.

Further, when ordering food through the communication terminal device 28 in a remote market or the like and a public line network or the like, a previously purchased receipt or the like can be used, or a memo in which the name of the desired food is written can be used. A marketer in a remote place can directly read the order, and it is very easy and accurately and efficiently to place an electronic order for food unlike telephone order.

[0037]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scanner operating means for reading a surface image such as a pressed paper surface as image data, and a scanner operation starting means for starting the operation of the scanner operating means. And image storage means for storing the image data, and control means for storing the image data read by the scanner operating means in the image storage means and displaying the image data on the display means, so that the contents of the receipt from which the food was purchased remain unchanged. It can be displayed, and the food name, quantity, price, etc. can be entered easily and quickly without any hassle.

The invention described in claim 2 is the first invention.
According to the invention described in (1), the scanner operation start means is made to be a touch panel or voice input, so that complicated key input is unnecessary, and even the elderly and those unfamiliar with machines can use it very easily. .

The third aspect of the present invention provides the first aspect.
In addition to the invention described in the above, it is provided with communication control means for controlling the transmission and reception of signals via a public line network or the like to a remote communication terminal device, using a previously purchased receipt or the like, By using a memo with the name of the food you want to read, the marketer in a remote location reads the order directly,
Unlike the telephone order, it is very easy and accurate to efficiently order the food electronically.

In the invention according to claim 4, the housing is provided with a door, a storage room for storing foods formed in the housing, and an outer shell of the housing, and is pressed against the housing. Scanner operating means for reading a surface image such as a paper surface as image data, scanner operation starting means for starting operation of the scanner operating means, image storing means for storing image data, and image data read by the scanner operating means. Is stored in the image storage means and a control means for displaying the food on the display means.The receipt or the like from which the food was purchased can be directly read and displayed by the scanner means, and the food stored in the storage room can be displayed. The input of names and the like can be done easily and easily with the outer shell of the storage.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the scanner operation starting means of the food management apparatus is a touch panel or a voice input, and only by pressing a paper surface such as a receipt. In addition to starting the scanner operation, the scanner operation can be started by voice without using a hand, and the input of the name of the food to be stored in the storage room can be performed very easily.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is further provided communication control means for controlling transmission and reception of signals to a remote communication terminal device via a public line network or the like. You can easily place an electronic order using paper or a receipt that describes the food you want.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the food in the storage room is cooled and stored, and the food can be quickly stored such as in a hot summer season. In addition to maintaining freshness, it is possible to easily calculate the number of days elapsed from the purchase date of food stored for a long period of time, and to prevent food spoilage due to forgetting to store and accidental eating and drinking of expired food. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a food management apparatus and a food storage according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the food management apparatus and the food storage of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional food management device and a food storage box.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing operations of a conventional food management device and a food storage box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 12 food storage 13 refrigeration room 14 freezer room 16 food management device 18 display 19 scanner 20 scanner operation switch 21 scanner operation start means 22 scanner operation means 23 control means 24 image storage means 25 display means 26, 27 communication control means 28 communication Terminal equipment

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Katsumi Endo 4-5-2-5 Takaida Hondori, Higashi Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Refrigerating Machinery Co., Ltd. 4-5-2-5 Matsushita Refrigeration Machinery Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Naoiso Sakagami 4-2-2-5 Takaida Hondori, Higashi-Osaka-shi, Osaka Matsushita Refrigeration Machinery Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3F022 BB02 FF01 MM03 MM08 MM11 MM36 MM51 PP04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A scanner operating means for reading a surface image, such as a pressed paper, as image data, a scanner operation starting means for starting operation of the scanner operating means, an image storing means for storing image data, A food management apparatus comprising: a control unit for storing image data read by the scanner operation unit in the image storage unit and displaying the image data on a display unit. 2. The food management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scanner operation start means is a touch panel or a voice input. 3. The food management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising communication control means for controlling transmission / reception of signals to a remote communication terminal device via a public line network or the like. 4. A housing having a door, a storage room for storing foods formed in the housing, and an outer shell of the housing,
Scanner operating means for reading a surface image such as a pressed paper surface as image data, scanner operation starting means for starting operation of the scanner operating means, image storing means for storing image data, and the scanner operating means A food storage provided with a food management device comprising control means for storing read image data in the image storage means and displaying the read image data on a display means. 5. The food storage according to claim 4, wherein the scanner operation start means of the food management device is a touch panel or a voice input. 6. The food storage box according to claim 4, wherein the food management apparatus includes communication control means for controlling transmission and reception of signals to a remote communication terminal device via a public line network or the like. 7. The food storage according to claim 4, wherein the food is cooled and stored in the storage room.