JP2001221791A - Food inspection method and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a food inspection method and its device capable of easily inspecting whether the food is harmful to a health condition of a specific person or not before he eats it. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a slave machine 2 having a rod- shaped probe 5 detecting a specific constituent and a master machine 1 separated from the slave machine 2. After the probe 5 is inserted into the food for determining whether the specific constituent is contained or not, the detection result on the slave machine 2 side is read on the master device 1 side by means of a determining means 47 arranged in the device for easily inspecting whether the food is harmful to the tested person or not when he eats it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food inspection method and apparatus which can easily inspect a food before eating it to determine whether the food is harmful to a specific person having, for example, an allergic disease. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, there are many people who cause allergic poisoning due to various things, such as allergic poisoning caused by food, drugs, and chemicals generated from building materials. The present invention pays particular attention to foods. Poisoning of the food often involves ingestion of fish and shellfish and meat of poor freshness, and egg yolk, dairy products, buckwheat and the like often result from ingestion of the substance itself.

[0003] For example, histamine which reacts in tuna, mackerel, and the like has attracted attention in poisoning of fish and shellfish and meat. Histamine is not present in fresh seafood and meat, but is produced by decarboxylation from histidine, a free amino acid in protein tissues, by being contaminated by microorganisms having strong histidine decarboxylase activity.

[0004] Histamine is a food poisoning substance such as tuna and mackerel, and is a typical substance of putrefactive amines used as a freshness index of fish and shellfish and meat. That is, allergy-like poisoning occurs when a food that has accumulated a large amount of histamine is consumed. It is said that this symptom causes redness on the face and the like several minutes to several hours after a meal, followed by itching and rash spread throughout the body. In particular, tuna, mackerel, bonito,
Blue fish such as sardine and horse mackerel, beef and the like have a high free histidine content and are said to be foods that are susceptible to histamine poisoning.

[0005]

In order to prevent food poisoning accidents, it is necessary to pay attention to the quality of fish and seafood, especially freshness. However, even if no abnormalities are found in mere visual or olfactory findings, there are some that contain a small amount of histamine of 100 to 500 mg / 100 g, and its management is extremely difficult.

On the other hand, in the case of egg yolk, dairy products, buckwheat flour, etc., which are problematic in atopic allergy, if the product is put in front of the eyes without being processed, the food ingredients can be easily judged, so that allergy Someone who has no words. However, it is not uncommon for a person to give his / her mouth without knowing when it is processed and delivered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and its object is to easily examine whether a food is harmful to a health condition before a specific person eats the food. It is intended to provide a food inspection device capable of performing the above.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a food inspection method, comprising: a detection slave unit having a rod-shaped sensor capable of detecting a specific component contained in food; A parent machine equipped with determination means capable of determining whether the food is harmful to a specific person from the result is prepared independently of the child machine, and the sensor is inserted into the food. After detecting the presence or absence of the component, the result of the detection is read by the master unit to determine whether the food is harmful or harmless. According to this method, when the sensor of the slave unit is inserted into the food, and then the detection result is read by the master unit, the components of the food are detected,
The examiner can easily inspect whether eating the food causes no harm.

[0009] In the food inspection method of the present invention, the sensor can detect a plurality of components, and the detection sensitivity is provided to be switchable by an examiner who handles the sensor. According to this method, the same inspection device can be used by multiple persons by changing the components that can be detected by the sensor according to the examiner each time, even if the food is harmful to eating. Can be done.

Further, in the food inspection method of the present invention, the examiner is distinguished from the fingerprint of the finger picking the slave. According to this method, if the fingerprint of the examiner is registered in advance, the examiner can automatically switch the components that can be detected by the sensor simply by holding the child device with the finger to inspect the food. You can do it.

The food inspection apparatus according to the present invention comprises a detection slave unit and a master unit which can be separated and docked from each other. When the slave unit is brought into close contact with food, specific components in the food are included. Is included, a rod-shaped sensor indicating a reaction to the specific component, means for detecting the presence or absence of the specific component from the reaction of the sensor, and input / output of data with the master unit. Data input / output means for performing, the master unit, a data input / output means connectable to the data input / output unit on the slave unit side, and a specific person from the detection result and the reference data on the slave unit side Determining means for determining whether the food is harmful or harmless. According to this configuration, when the sensor of the slave unit is inserted into the food, a specific component contained in the food can be easily detected, and the detection result is subsequently transmitted to the master unit via the data input / output unit. When sent to the side, the component (food) on the parent machine side
Can be easily determined to be harmful or harmless to a specific person.

The food inspection apparatus of the present invention is provided with an insertion port for inserting and docking the sensor of the slave unit into the master unit, and when the sensor is inserted into the insertion port and docked. And a connecting means for electrically connecting the master unit and the slave unit to each other. According to this configuration, when the sensor is inserted into the insertion port on the master device side, the master device and the slave device are electrically connected to each other, and data of the data between the master device and the slave device is connected via this connection. The exchange can be performed easily.

Further, the food inspection apparatus of the present invention has a configuration in which the master unit is provided with a fixing member which can be carried by attaching the master unit to an examiner's arm. According to this configuration, the base unit can be easily used anywhere by attaching the base unit to the arm and carrying the sub unit in the back or in the pocket of the clothes.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a food inspection apparatus shown as an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, this food inspection device is mainly composed of a base unit 1 formed approximately in the size of a wristwatch and a slave unit 2 formed in the size of an electronic thermometer. A belt 3 as a fixing member is attached to the base unit 1, and the base unit 1 can be wrapped around the arm of a user or the like with the belt 3, and the handset 2 can be carried around a bag or a pocket of clothes. It has a structure that can be inserted and carried.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of the slave unit 2. The configuration of the slave unit 2 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The slave unit 2 has a housing 4 and a probe as a sensor provided in a state of protruding from a part of the housing 4 in appearance. Five. A touch panel 6 (hereinafter, referred to as “touch surface 6”) is provided at a portion where the user (examiner) picks and holds the housing 4 from both sides with two fingers. When the user touches the touch surface 6 with a finger, the power switch 7 (see FIG. 2) in the touch surface 6 is turned on, and a fingerprint of the user's finger touching the touch surface 6 can be read. It has become.

The probe 5 is a rod having a sharp tip.
One end side is fixedly attached to the housing 4.
Further, electrodes 8a and 8b for data connection with the master unit 1 are provided on the tip side of the probe 5, and when the probe 5 is stabbed into the food F to be inspected or the like, the probe 5 is inspected. A detector 9 that reacts when a predetermined specific component is present in the food F and outputs a detection result is provided.

Next, a control circuit configuration in the housing 4 will be described. In the housing 4, a control unit 21 composed of a microcomputer (microcomputer) for controlling the whole of the slave unit 2, and used for operating the control unit 21 or holding the memory 23. A battery 22 is provided as a power supply. The control unit 21 and the battery 2
2, the power switch 7 is interposed. The control unit 21 includes a component detection unit 24 having the detector 9 of the probe 5.
Are connected, a fingerprint recognizing unit 25 for recognizing the fingerprint of the user who touched the touch surface 6, and a user determining unit 26 for specifying the user from the fingerprint detected by the fingerprint recognizing unit 25. Is connected. The memory 23 stores a program for executing the slave unit 2 according to a predetermined procedure. The memory 23 also stores fingerprint data used by the user determination unit 26 and component detection by the component detection unit 24. Are stored. In addition, the child device 2
An input / output unit (I / O unit) 27 for exchanging data with master device 1 is provided.

In the handset 2 configured as described above, a very small current from the battery 22 always flows through the memory 23, and the stored data is held in a read / write state. On the other hand, the power switch 7 is off when the user does not touch the touch surface 6 and grips the housing 4, and turns on when the user touches the touch surface 6 and grips the housing 4. In the standby state, the fingerprint of the finger touching the touch surface 6 at this time is recognized by the fingerprint recognition unit 25, and the user (detection) is performed based on the recognition data and the reference data of the examiner stored in the memory 23 in advance. Judge). When the power switch 7 is turned on and the probe 5 is pierced into the food F to be inspected and touches the food, the probe 5 is detected from the information obtained through the detector 9 and the data stored in the memory 23. The components in the food detected by the child 9 can be detected. In this detection, a component to be detected by the detector 9 can be switched by changing the sensitivity of the detector 9. That is, for example, when it is desired to detect the freshness of fish and shellfish, the sensitivity is switched to a detection mode that shows a strong reaction to histamine. Therefore, if the probe 5 is pierced into the seafood as the food F to be inspected and the detector 9 detects histamine therein, it can be determined that the freshness is poor. Also, if you are allergic to egg yolk and want to know if yolk is used in food, switch the sensitivity to a detection mode that shows a strong response to egg yolk, If you have allergies and want to know whether or not buckwheat is used in food, switch the sensitivity mode to a detection mode that shows a strong response to buckwheat, and use I do. In addition, this switching can be automatically set by the fingerprint of the user, or can be switched by operating the input operation unit 33 of the base unit 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of the master unit 1. As shown in FIG. The configuration of the base unit 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The base unit 1 has a housing 31 and a display unit 32 having a display surface exposed on the housing 31 in appearance.
, An input operation unit 33 having operation buttons 33 a and 33 b provided on a housing 31, a speaker 34, and a probe 5.
And a receiving port 35 for electrically docking the slave unit 2 by receiving the leading end of the slave unit 2. Although not shown, the probe 5 of the slave unit 2 is
When the distal end of the probe 5 is inserted, an electrode that is electrically connected to the electrodes 8a and 8b provided on the probe 5 is provided.

Next, a control circuit configuration in the housing 31 will be described. In the housing 31, a control unit 41 configured by a microcomputer (microcomputer) that controls the entire main unit 1 is used to operate the control unit 41 or hold the memory 43. A battery 42 is provided as a power supply. Control unit 41 and battery 42
A power switch 44 operated by the input operation unit 33
Is interposed. In addition to the receiving port 35 being connected to the control unit 41 via an input / output unit (I / O unit) 45, the slave unit 2 is connected between the input / output unit 45 and the control unit 41.
And a component detected by the probe 5 based on the result of comparison by the comparison unit 46 is a component harmful to a specific person or the like. Determination unit 47 for determining whether or not
Is connected. The memory 43 stores a program for processing the base unit 1 in a predetermined procedure, and also stores data and the like used by the comparison unit 46 and the determination unit 47. Further, the control section 41 includes an audio output control section 48 for controlling the speaker 34 and a display section 32.
Is connected to a display control unit 49 for controlling. Further, the input operation unit 33 is provided with a communication circuit unit 50. The communication circuit unit 50 can rewrite data and programs in the memory 43 by sending rewrite data and the like from the host computer.

Next, the operation of the whole food detecting device will be described. First, the latest program data and determination data are rewritten and recorded in the memory 43 of the master unit 1 from the host computer (personal computer) via the communication circuit unit 50 and the input operation unit 33. Rewriting of this data is periodically performed by the user. Before a particular person (here, the examiner) eats the food, a probe is used to determine whether the food is harmful to the examiner's health or whether the seafood is fresh. 5 to be inspected food F
To detect the component. The detection here is manually switched as described above or automatically switched by a fingerprint. Next, the tip of the probe 5 in the slave unit 2 is inserted into the receiving port 35 of the master unit 1 in a standby state. Then, the detection result detected by the slave unit 2 is sent to the comparison unit 46 via the I / O unit 45 of the master unit 1 to determine the detection result, and the determination result at this time is transmitted to the audio output control unit 48. The examiner is notified by the speaker 34 via the display control unit 49, and is displayed on the display unit 32 via the display control unit 49.
The notification and display include whether the examiner eats the test food without harm, and the freshness of the food.

As described above, in the food inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the probe 5 (sensor) of the slave 2 is inserted into the food, and then the probe 5 is inserted into the receiving opening of the master 1. Then, from the detection result detected by the probe 5, it is possible to easily inspect the freshness of the food or whether there is no harm if eaten by a person having a specific allergy. As a result, it is possible to prevent a person from eating the food without knowing that it contains something harmful to eat. In addition, since the main unit 1 is provided with the belt 3 and attached to the examiner's arm so that it can be carried, the main unit 1 is attached to the arm and the sub unit 2 is carried in a bag or a pocket of clothes. This makes it easy to use anywhere. In addition, since the detector 9 of the probe 5 can detect a plurality of components and the detection sensitivity can be switched and used by the examiner,
The same inspection device can be used by multiple people. Further, since the discrimination of the examiner is recognized from the fingerprint of the finger pinching the slave unit 2, if the examiner's fingerprint is registered in advance,
The sensitivity of the detector 9 of the probe 5 can be automatically switched simply by the examiner picking and holding the slave unit 2 with a finger, thereby simplifying the operation.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
As is clear from the above embodiment, when the probe (sensor) of the slave unit is inserted into the food, and then the probe is docked to the master unit, the freshness or identification of the food is determined from the detection result detected by the probe. It is possible to easily check whether or not a person with allergy does not cause harm when eating. Thus, it is possible to prevent a person from eating something harmful when eating it without knowing it.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a food inspection apparatus shown as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of a slave unit of the food inspection apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of a parent machine of the food inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base unit 2 Remote unit 3 Belt (fixing member) 4 Housing 5 Probe 6 Touch panel (touch surface) 9 Detector 21 Control unit 23 Memory 24 Component detection unit 25 Fingerprint recognition unit 26 User determination unit 27 Input / output unit (I / O part) 31 housing 32 display part 33 input operation part 33a, 33b operation button 34 speaker 35 reception port 41 control part 43 memory 44 power switch 45 input / output part (I / O part) 46 comparison part 47 judgment part 48 sound output control Section 49 Display control section 50 Communication circuit section F Food to be inspected

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A detection slave unit having a rod-shaped sensor capable of detecting a specific component contained in food, and said food being harmful to a specific person based on a result detected by said sensor. A parent device having a determination unit capable of determining whether or not there is provided is prepared independently of the child device, and after inserting the sensor into food to detect the presence or absence of the component, the detection result The food inspection method is characterized in that the parent machine reads the data to determine whether the food is harmful or harmless. 2. The food inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is capable of detecting a plurality of components, and the detection sensitivity is switchable by an examiner who handles the sensor. 3. The food inspection method according to claim 2, wherein said examiner is distinguished from a fingerprint of a finger pinching said slave unit. 4. A detection slave unit and a master unit which are made separable and dockable from each other, wherein the slave unit, when brought into close contact with food, contains a specific component in the food. A bar-shaped sensor showing a reaction to the specific component, means for detecting the presence or absence of the specific component from the reaction of the sensor, and data input / output means for inputting / outputting data with the master unit The parent machine, the data input / output means connectable to the data input / output means on the slave device side, the food is harmful to a specific person from the detection result and the reference data on the slave device side A food inspection device comprising: a determination unit that determines whether the food is harmless. 5. An insertion port for inserting and docking the sensor on the slave unit side in the master unit, and when the sensor is inserted into the insertion slot and docked, the master unit and the master unit are connected to each other. 5. The food inspection apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising connection means for electrically connecting the slave units to each other. 6. The food inspection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the master unit is provided with a fixing member for attaching the master unit to an examiner's arm and carrying the master unit.