JP2006117304A - Container device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container device for improving convenience through sufficient information management even when the computerization of home electric appliances progresses. <P>SOLUTION: This container device has a container main body 1 and a cover part 2 matching the main body 1. The amount of an object held in the main body 1 is detected and the information of the amount detected is maintained. In addition, whether the main body 1 is closed by the cover part 2 or not is detected, and the information of the amount of the object detected is maintained at the timing when the main body not closed is closed by the part 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a container device used for food preservation and the like.

  In recent years, wireless tags (RFID tags) have attracted attention for purposes such as food management. Specifically, an RFID tag that records the type of the food is attached to each food item, and when managing the quantity and type of food in a storage such as a refrigerator, it is recorded in the RFID tag. Read and use information.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an egg information management system that manages unique information of eggs packaged in a packaging container. Information such as the expiration date of eggs is recorded on the IC tag provided by this system, and the information can be used at home.
JP 2003-325074 A

  However, at home, for example, purchasing meat together and taking out a portion of it every time it is cooked, storing it after it has been prepared to some extent, storing it, and taking out only the necessary amount as needed Is generally done. For this purpose, Tupperware (registered trademark) or the like is generally used.

  As described above, when the package at the time of purchase is transferred to Tupperware (registered trademark) or the like, the information on the RFID tag attached to the package at the time of purchase cannot be used. Therefore, a device for storing and displaying information may be incorporated in the transfer container, and information may be input from a keyboard, for example. However, in general, if it is necessary to input information on a large number of foods to be purchased one by one, it takes time and is not convenient.

  In addition, in the case of food that is taken out and cooked as necessary, the management of the internal volume in the transferred container can be grasped only by a method such as judging by appearance. In this case, in the future, when information processing of home appliances advances, sufficient information management cannot be performed, and convenience is low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a container device that can improve convenience.

  The present invention for solving the problems of the conventional example is a container device including a container main body and a lid corresponding to the container main body, and detects the amount of an object held in the container main body. And a lid detecting means for detecting whether or not the container main body is sealed by the lid portion, and a lid detecting means for detecting whether or not the container body is sealed by the lid portion. The holding means holds information on the amount of the object detected by the internal volume detection means at a timing when the state is changed from the state not sealed by the part to the state sealed by the lid.

  The present invention for solving the problems of the conventional example is a container device including a container main body and a lid corresponding to the container main body, and the amount of an object held in the container main body is reduced. From content detecting means for detecting, holding means for holding information on the amount of the detected object, lid detecting means for detecting whether or not the container body is sealed by the lid, and a wireless transmission device Receiving means for receiving the signal, wherein the holding means holds information relating to the signal received by the receiving means in a state where the lid portion does not seal the container body.

  In these, the amount of the object may be at least one of the weight or the number of objects. Moreover, you may further provide the display means which displays the information hold | maintained at the said holding means. Furthermore, you may further provide the means to transmit the information hold | maintained at the said holding means with respect to a portable terminal.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the container device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a container body 1 and a lid portion 2 corresponding to the container body 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the container body 1 includes a weight sensor 11 serving as an internal volume detection unit, a lid sensor 12, an information holding unit 13, an information communication unit 14, a control unit 15, and a power supply unit 16. Including the main body side device 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the lid 2 includes an information communication unit 21, a control unit 22, an information holding unit 23, a wireless reading unit 24, a display unit 25, and a power supply unit 26.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the weight sensor 11 may be a known sensor such as a so-called load cell type sensor using a strain body and a strain gauge. The output of the weight sensor 11 is A / D converted as necessary, and is output to the control unit 15 as content information.

  The lid sensor 12 detects whether or not the container body 1 is sealed by the lid 2. Specifically, a permanent magnet is attached to the lid 2, and a hall element (magnetic field sensor) as the lid sensor 12 is attached to the container body corresponding to the permanent magnet. Thereby, when the container main body 1 is covered with the lid part 2, a magnetic field is detected. Therefore, while this magnetic field is detected, it is determined that the control unit 15 is sealed by the lid 2 based on the detection signal of the sensor 12 of the lid 2. The lid sensor 12 may be a switch arranged so as to be turned on when the lid portion 2 is sealed and turned off when the lid portion 2 is removed.

  The information holding unit 13 can be realized by a storage element such as SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). The information holding unit 13 holds information according to an instruction input from the control unit 15. Further, when there is a read request from the control unit 15, the information holding unit 13 outputs the content of the held information to the control unit 15.

  The information communication unit 14 transmits information wirelessly in accordance with an instruction input from the control unit 15. The information communication unit 14 receives a signal that arrives wirelessly, and outputs information obtained by demodulating the signal to the control unit 15.

  The control unit 15 is a CPU, for example, and operates according to a program stored in a program memory (not shown). The control unit 15 executes processing for causing the information holding unit 13 to hold the internal volume information output from the weight sensor 11 at a predetermined timing, processing for transmitting the internal volume information via the information communication unit 14, and the like. Specific contents of the processing of the control unit 15 will be described in detail later.

  The power supply unit 16 supplies power to each part of the container body 1. Specifically, the power supply unit 16 includes a rechargeable secondary battery and a charging device. Here, the charging device charges the secondary battery by receiving power supply from the outside by electromagnetic coupling.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the information communication unit 21 of the lid 2 performs wireless communication with the information communication unit 14 on the container body 1 side. The information communication unit 21 transmits information wirelessly in accordance with an instruction input from the control unit 22. The information communication unit 21 receives a signal that arrives wirelessly and outputs information obtained by demodulating the signal to the control unit 22.

  The control unit 22 is a CPU, for example, and operates according to a program stored in a program memory (not shown). Specifically, the control unit 22 stores information received by the information communication unit 21 in the information holding unit 23 and causes the display unit 25 to display and output the information. The control unit 22 also performs processing such as storing information read by the wireless reading unit 24 in the information holding unit 23 and causing the display unit 25 to display and output the information. The contents of processing by the control unit 22 will be described in detail later.

  The information holding unit 23 can be realized by a storage element such as an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). The information holding unit 23 holds information according to an instruction input from the control unit 22. In addition, when there is a read request from the control unit 22, the information holding unit 23 outputs the content of the held information to the control unit 22.

  The wireless reading unit 24 receives a signal from a wireless transmission device that transmits a wireless signal, such as an RFID tag, and outputs information obtained by demodulating the signal to the control unit 22. The display unit 25 is a liquid crystal display or the like. The display unit 25 displays and outputs information in accordance with instructions input from the control unit 22.

  The power supply unit 26 supplies power to each unit of the lid unit 2. Specifically, the power supply unit 26 includes a chargeable / dischargeable secondary battery and a charging device. Here, the charging device charges the secondary battery by receiving power supply from the outside by electromagnetic coupling.

  First, the operation of the control unit 15 on the container body 1 side will be described. In the present embodiment, the control unit 15 detects the timing at which the state in which the container body 1 is not sealed by the lid 2 is changed to the state in which the container main body 1 is sealed by the lid 2. And the content information output from the weight sensor 11 is acquired at the detected timing. That is, since it is assumed that the amount of food or the like held by the container body 1 is changed only after the lid 2 is removed and the contents are taken out, the timing when the lid is opened and closed. By measuring, the processing efficiency can be improved and the reduction in power can be promoted. The control unit 15 stores the acquired content information in the information holding unit 13. Further, the control unit 15 transmits the acquired content information to the lid unit 2 side via the information communication unit 14.

  The control unit 22 on the lid 2 side stores the information received by the information communication unit 21 in the information holding unit 23. Specifically, the information received by the information communication unit 21 here is content information transmitted from the container body 1 side. That is, the control unit 22 accepts the content information measured on the container body 1 side and stores it in the information holding unit 23. The control unit 22 also stores information read by the wireless reading unit 24 in the information storage unit 23. Here, the information read by the wireless reading unit 24 is information received from an RFID tag attached to a food package or the like, for example, and specifically, a specific food type (such as “ground beef”). Name), expiration date, expiry date, production area, processing method and other information.

  The control unit 22 causes the display unit 25 to display and output the information held in the information holding unit 23. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the display unit 25 displays information on the type of food and the expiration date, and content information measured on the container body 1 side.

[Operation example]
Next, the operation of the container device according to the present embodiment will be described. Here, it is assumed that an RFID tag that holds the type of food and the expiration date information is attached to the package of the purchased food.

  The user of the container device brings the lid 2 close to the package of the purchased food. Then, the wireless reading unit 24 of the lid unit 2 receives the food type and the expiration date information from the RFID tag attached to the food package. These pieces of information are output to the control unit 22, and the control unit 22 holds the information in the information holding unit 23.

  The user stores the food in the package in the container body 1 in a state where the lid of the container device is opened (a state where the container body 1 is not sealed with the lid 2). Then, the container body 1 is sealed by the lid 2. Then, it detects that the cover part sensor 12 became the state sealed with the cover part 2, and the control part 15 acquires content-volume information based on the output of the weight sensor 11 at this timing. Here, the content information is the weight of the stored food.

  The control unit 15 stores the internal volume information in the information holding unit 13 and transmits the internal volume information to the lid unit 2 via the information communication unit 14. The control unit 22 of the lid unit 2 receives the content information via the information communication unit 21 and stores it in the information holding unit 23. Then, the information stored in the information holding unit 23 is displayed and output on the display unit 25 (FIG. 4).

  Thereafter, in order to use a part of the food stored in the user, when the lid 2 is opened and the contents are taken out, the container device operates as follows.

  After the user removes a part of the contents, the lid 2 is closed (the container body 1 is sealed with the lid 2), and it is detected that the lid sensor 12 is sealed by the lid 2. Then, the control unit 15 acquires the content information using the weight sensor 11 at this timing. The content information acquired here is a value obtained by subtracting the used amount from the result of the previous measurement because a part thereof is used. The control unit 15 overwrites and stores the content information in the information holding unit 13, and transmits the content information to the lid unit 2 via the information communication unit 14.

  Here, the control unit 15 overwrites and stores the content information acquired from the weight sensor 11 in the information holding unit 13 as it is, but instead, it may be as follows. That is, (1) the information holding unit 13 holds “0” (for example, weight 0 gram) as the content information, and the content information indicating that the content is from the weight sensor 11 to W gram (W> 0). Is received, the acquired content information is stored in the information holding unit 13 as newly stored contents. (2) The information holding unit 13 holds W ′ (W ′> 0) as content information, and the content from the weight sensor 11 is W grams (W> 0, W ≠ W ′). When the internal content information to be expressed is accepted, the acquired internal content information is overwritten in the information holding unit 13 as if the contents were used or added. (3) The information holding unit 13 holds “0” (for example, weight 0 g) as the internal volume information, and the internal volume represented by the internal volume information received from the weight sensor 11 is a predetermined threshold value ω. When the content information indicating that less than W-gram (ω> W ≧ 0) is accepted, it is assumed that the content is used up, and the information is not stored in the information holding unit 13. In the case where it is determined that the content is used up as in (3), the control unit 15 uses the information communication unit 14 to indicate that the content is used up to the lid unit 2 ( For example, content information indicating that the content is “0”) may be transmitted.

  The control unit 22 of the lid unit 2 receives the content information via the information communication unit 21 and stores it in the information holding unit 23. Then, the information stored in the information holding unit 23 is displayed and output on the display unit 25. In the information displayed here, the information on the type of food and the expiration date is the same as the original, but the content information is updated by the amount used. As described above, in the container device according to the present embodiment, if an RFID tag is attached to a food package or the like, the information can be input by bringing the lid 2 close to the RFID tag that holds information related to the food. The content information can be displayed together.

[Modification of information input]
The wireless reading unit 24 of the lid 2 receives a signal from a wireless transmission device that transmits a radio signal such as an RFID tag when the lid 2 is separated from the container main body 1 (the container main body 1 is not sealed). You may make it receive. For this purpose, similarly to the lid part sensor 12 of the container body 1, the lid part 2 is provided with a switch or sensor for detecting that the container body 1 is sealed, and is separated from the container body 1 by the output of the switch or sensor. May be detected.

  According to this, only when the lid 2 is removed and brought close to the RFID tag, the information of the RFID tag is read. For example, the package with the RFID tag comes close to the container body 1 in a sealed state. The information is not erroneously read.

[Erase Information]
Further, the control unit 15 of the container main body 1 and the control unit 22 of the lid unit 2 perform a process of erasing information stored in the information holding unit 13 and the information holding unit 23. Specifically, when the content information (weight information) output from the weight sensor 11 is less than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 15 determines that the stored food is used up, and the information The information stored in the holding unit 13 is deleted. Further, information indicating that “weight is 0” is transmitted to the lid portion 2 side as the internal volume information.

  When the control unit 22 of the lid unit 2 receives that the internal capacity is exhausted (such as internal content information indicating that “weight is 0”), the control unit 22 determines that the contents are used up, and sends the information to the information holding unit 23. Delete stored information.

  In addition, each information holding unit 13 is detected by detecting that it has been washed or placed upside down for a predetermined time with the lid 2 and the container body 1 being separated for drying. The contents of 23 may be erased. In this case, the control unit 15 of the container body detects that the lid 2 and the container body 1 are separated (not sealed) by the lid sensor 12 or the like. Further, it is detected that it is placed upside down by an inclination sensor using fluid flow or rolling of a metal ball.

  The control unit 15 measures the time placed upside down by a timer (not shown), and when the time exceeds a predetermined time, the control unit 15 stores the information in the information holding unit 13 as having been washed and dried and the content is lost. Erase the information. In this case, when the control unit 15 detects that the lid 2 is next sealed, information indicating that the contents are used up on the lid 2 side (for example, the content is “0”). Content content information) is transmitted. And the control part 22 of the cover part 2 receives the information showing that the said content was used up, and erase | eliminates the content of the information holding part 23. FIG.

  Further, an RFID tag that emits a signal (predetermined signal) for instructing to erase information is used, and control is performed when the wireless reading unit 24 of the lid 2 receives a signal for instructing to erase the information. The unit 22 may erase the contents of the information holding unit 23 and transmit an erasure instruction indicating that the information should be erased to the container body 1 side via the information communication units 14 and 21. In this case, the control unit 15 on the container body 1 side deletes the contents of the information holding unit 13 when receiving the deletion instruction.

[Another example of content information]
In the description so far, the case where the content information is weight has been described as an example, but the content information may be the number of contents stored. The quantity of contents can be detected by, for example, counting the number of RFID tags if RFID tags are attached to the individual articles stored.

  Further, N spaces partitioned from each other in the container main body 1 by partitioning or the like may be defined, and the weight sensor 11 may be provided for each space. In this case, if the contents are put into each space one by one, the quantity of the contents can be detected by the number of weight sensors 11 that detect a weight of a predetermined threshold value or more.

  Further, when a plurality of spaces are defined in this way and the weight sensor 11 is provided for each space, the control unit 15 may acquire information regarding the weight of each content in each space. In this case, it is good also as content-volume information of the whole content in the container main body 1 by calculating the sum total of the information of each weight. In the case where the partition is detachable, the total information can be used when the contents are inserted without the partition.

[Another example of information provision]
Furthermore, although the cover part 2 was provided with the display part 25 here and demonstrated as an example the case where the control part 22 displays information with respect to the said display part 25, it replaced with this and the container main body 1 side also displays a display part. The control unit 15 receives information on the type of contents stored via the information communication units 14 and 21 and displays the same display as that shown in FIG. May be.

  In addition, at least one of the information communication units 14 and 21 of the container main body 1 or the lid 2 communicates with, for example, a home appliance or a modem device in the vicinity (around several meters or at most about 100 meters), and other home appliances Information such as the type of contents and content information may be transmitted and output to a product (such as a refrigerator).

  Furthermore, information such as the type of contents and content information may be transmitted and output to a mobile phone or the like via a network or communication with a mobile phone network or the like.

It is explanatory drawing showing the outline | summary example of the container apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the example of a structure by the side of the container main body which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the example of a structure by the side of the cover part concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of a display of information.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container main body, 2 Lid part, 11 Weight sensor, 12 Lid part sensor, 13, 23 Information holding part, 14, 21 Information communication part, 15, 22 Control part, 16, 26 Power supply part, 24 Wireless reader part, 25 Display Department.

Claims (5)

A container device comprising a container body and a lid corresponding to the container body,
Internal volume detection means for detecting the amount of the object held in the container body;
Holding means for holding information on the amount of the detected object;
Lid detecting means for detecting whether or not the container body is sealed by the lid,
The holding means holds information on the amount of the object detected by the internal volume detection means at a timing when the state is changed from being not sealed by the lid to being sealed by the lid. Container device to do. A container device comprising a container body and a lid corresponding to the container body,
Internal volume detection means for detecting the amount of the object held in the container body;
Holding means for holding information on the amount of the detected object;
Lid detecting means for detecting whether or not the container body is sealed by the lid;
Receiving means for receiving a signal from the wireless transmission device,
The container device is characterized in that the holding means holds information relating to a signal received by the receiving means in a state where the lid portion does not seal the container main body. The container device according to claim 1 or 2,
The container device is characterized in that the amount of the object is at least one of the weight and the number of objects. The container device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A container device further comprising display means for displaying information held in the holding means. The container device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The container apparatus further comprising means for transmitting information held in the holding means to the portable terminal.

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