JP2010272010A - Apparatus, method and program for support of menu decision - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a menu decision support apparatus that enables a user to select a desired color-balanced menu in a simple operation. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus includes: an input means (1); a menu search means (3) for searching a memory means (2) storing information about foodstuffs and information about dishes for menu candidates in consideration of color on conditions, including foodstuff and menu conditions, input by the input means; and a display means (4) for displaying menu candidates found by the menu search means and displaying the information about a dish selected from the displayed menu candidates by an operation of the input means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a menu decision support device.

  It is a big trouble for many housewives to make a menu while considering daily variations in consideration of the taste and physical condition of the person who eats, seasonal ingredients, etc. In the past, cookbooks and cooking magazines were often referred to when creating a menu, but there were many proposals for a single dish, and there were few proposals for a menu by combining multiple dishes.

  In addition, the contents of cookbooks and cooking magazines are fixed, are not scalable, and the user searches for a desired dish by hand. Furthermore, to save the menu information of your choice, paper-based storage is the mainstream, and if the stored menu information increases, it is often difficult to find the desired menu information again.

  Recently, the number of services providing food information on the Internet is increasing, and by accessing a site that provides such services on a personal computer, the contents are updated daily, and there are many menus that meet the conditions. Searching for things is getting easier. Furthermore, it is becoming easier for portable information terminals to receive menu proposals using dedicated software. However, although convenience when making a menu with such services has increased, there are advantages and disadvantages, such as poor portability in personal computers and poor display properties in personal digital assistants, and there is still room for improvement. is there.

  The menu support apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 displays a dish image, searches the displayed dish image, and determines a dish to be included in the menu. In this conventional menu support device, the user can look at images of a large number of dishes and select a favorite dish from among them visually and intuitively to determine the menu.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-219965

  As described above, cooking books and cooking magazines have many proposals for a single dish, few proposals for menus that combine a plurality of dishes, and there are difficulties in using them for menu search. In addition, the contents are fixed, and there is an inconvenience that searching is impossible.

  By using websites on the Internet, the inconvenience of cookbooks and cooking magazines is being eliminated, but there are not many sites that offer menus that meet the needs of users, and balance the ingredients you want to use. Proposals that I used often were not made.

  Moreover, in the conventional menu support apparatus described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that it is difficult to determine whether or not the menu contains a desired food because the presented image is viewed and selected.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a menu decision support device that allows a user to select a desired menu with a simple operation.

  The menu decision support device of the present invention searches for menu options from the input means and the storage means for storing information on food ingredients and information on menus based on conditions including conditions on food ingredients and menus inputted in the input means. A menu search means and a display for displaying the menu candidates searched by the menu search means in consideration of the menu color information, and displaying information related to the menu selected by the operation of the input means from the displayed menu candidates Means.

  The conditions relating to the food and menu may include food that you want to use and / or food that you do not want to use.

  The information relating to the menu stored in the storage means includes image information of the menu, and the menu search means performs color analysis of the image information of the menu and searches for the menu candidate based on the color analysis result. May be.

  The storage means may also record a menu history selected from the menu candidates, and the menu search means may search for the menu candidates based on the history recorded in the storage means.

  The menu-related information stored in the storage means may include information indicating whether or not the menu is a standard menu, and the food and menu conditions may include a condition regarding whether or not a standard menu is desired.

  When a plurality of menus are proposed in combination, the menu search means may search for menu candidates so that cooking methods for each menu do not overlap.

  The information on the ingredients stored in the storage means includes information on the seasonal time for each ingredient, and the menu search means is based on the date and time acquired by the calendar means. Menus using seasonal ingredients may be preferentially searched as menu candidates.

  Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information by GPS information is further provided, information about the seasonal time of each food is different for each region, and the menu search means is the position acquired by the position information acquisition means Menus using seasonal ingredients specified based on information may be preferentially searched as menu candidates.

  The storage means stores in advance at least some of the conditions relating to the food and menu, and the menu search means searches for a menu candidate based also on the conditions stored in advance in the storage means. Good.

  A portable terminal device includes the input unit, the display unit, and the menu search unit, the portable terminal device communicates wirelessly with a server including the storage unit, and the menu determination support device includes the portable terminal device You may make it further provide the display apparatus which communicates by radio | wireless and displays the information regarding the said menu.

  The portable terminal device includes the input unit and the display unit, the server includes the menu search unit, the portable terminal device communicates wirelessly with the server, and the menu determination support device includes the portable terminal device You may make it further provide the display apparatus means which communicates by radio | wireless and displays the information regarding the said menu.

  The menu decision support device of the present invention allows a user to select a desired menu with a simple operation.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the menu decision assistance apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the menu decision assistance apparatus of this invention. It is a table | surface which shows the item contained in recipe card information. It is an example of a recipe card. It is a figure explaining the algorithm which considers the combination of a menu with a color. It is a figure explaining the algorithm which selects a menu with good coloring. It is a figure explaining the "short time" mark displayed on the menu candidate presentation screen. It is a figure explaining selection of a menu candidate by ingredients on a menu candidate presentation screen. It is a figure explaining the proposal which changed the display order in the presentation screen of a menu candidate. It is a table | surface which shows the item of the information regarding a foodstuff. It is a table | surface which shows the item of user information. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the menu proposal in the menu determination assistance apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of condition input. It is a figure which shows an example which mounts the menu decision support program of this invention in another apparatus.

Hereinafter, the menu decision support apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the menu decision support device of the present invention. The menu decision support device of this example includes an input unit 1, a storage unit 2, a menu search unit 3, and a display unit 4.

  The input means 1 is used by a user to operate a function of the menu decision support device or to input conditions for menu search, etc. A dedicated key for a specific function is provided. Various forms such as a keyboard, a keypad, a touchpad, a mouse, and a trackball may be included.

  The memory | storage means 2 stores the information regarding a menu, the information regarding the foodstuff used for a menu, and user information which are mentioned later. It is desirable that the read / write nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory is used.

  The menu search means 3 controls the entire menu decision support device, searches for and proposes an appropriate menu for the user in consideration of conditions input by the user, and the like. It consists of a CPU, RAM, hard disk and the like.

  The display means 4 displays a condition input screen, a screen for presenting the searched menu, a screen for displaying a detailed recipe for the selected menu, and the like. It consists of a liquid crystal display.

  The menu decision support device of the present invention can take various forms. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the menu decision support device of the present invention. The menu decision support device according to the present embodiment includes a terminal device 11, a server 12 including a storage unit, and a display device 13.

  The terminal device 11 includes the input unit 1 and the display unit 4 of FIG. The server 12 in FIG. 2 includes storage means similar to the storage means 2 in FIG. The terminal device 11 and the server 12 preferably communicate wirelessly (that is, the terminal device 11 and the server 12 are each provided with a communication means not shown). The menu search means 3 in FIG. 1 may be provided in either the terminal device 11 or the server 12. The display device 13 preferably has a larger screen than the display means of the terminal device 11, and preferably communicates with the terminal device 11 wirelessly to display detailed information on the menu that is finally selected. is there.

  The terminal device 11 is for a user to search for a desired menu for the hand, and is a portable device. By making the terminal device portable, the user can consider the menu without choosing a place, and can bring it with him / her after shopping after determining the menu.

  The server 12 proposes a menu to the terminal device 11 in response to a menu proposal request from the terminal device 11. The server 12 may be configured to be able to respond to requests from a plurality of terminal devices 11 used by different users.

  The terminal device 11 may have a position information acquisition function that detects its current position by receiving GPS information of an artificial satellite. Such current position information is used when searching for seasonal foods by the menu search means 3, as will be described later.

  The information regarding the menu stored in the memory | storage means 2 is demonstrated. Information about the menu is stored as recipe card information for each menu. FIG. 3 is a table showing items included in the recipe card information. The menu search means 3 searches for a menu to be proposed in consideration of the conditions described later and these items. For each item, whether or not to display on the menu proposal screen on the display means 4 is defined. This setting is preferably changeable (can be customized) according to the user's preference. For example, some people find it more convenient to display “whether it is a classic” or “spicy” on the search result display screen.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a recipe card.
The item “dishes name” in FIG. 4 is the name of the menu. This item is displayed on the menu proposal screen. In order to obtain seasonal information (described later), the names of dishes are analyzed, and for example, dishes containing keywords such as “chilled OO” in winter and “XX hot pot” in summer are excluded. This exclusion keyword (exclusion keyword) is stored in the storage means and can be customized (modified) by the user. The menu search means is preferably provided with a calendar function (clock function for understanding the month and day), and it can be grasped by this calendar function whether the present is winter or summer.

  The item “finished image” in FIG. 4 is a photograph at the completion of the menu. This item is displayed on the menu proposal screen. For example, when color information is extracted from this and proposed by combining a plurality of menus, an arrangement with a good color balance is made. Actually, for example, RGB values of menu candidate images in the combination are extracted, the vector distance of each image is measured, and the combination with the longest vector distance is proposed among the combination candidates. Moreover, you may display on a detailed screen with the cooking procedure in the case of the display of the cooking means mentioned later.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an algorithm that considers a menu combination by color based on image information of a completed image. As an example, consider selecting a menu to be combined with the main menu from multiple menus. First, the RGB values of each image of the main menu and the menu of combination candidates are extracted. Next, the vector distance between the RGB value of the main menu and the RGB value of the menu of each combination candidate is calculated. Then, the menu with the longest vector distance from the main menu is selected as the menu to be combined with the main menu.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, a salad to be combined with curry rice is selected from salad 1 or salad 2. The RGB value of the curry rice image is (r ₀ , g ₀ , b ₀ ), the RGB value of the image of salad 1 is (r ₁ , g ₁ , b ₁ ), and the RGB value of the image of salad 2 is (r ₂ , g ₂ , b ₂ ). The vector distance between the RGB value of the curry rice image and the RGB value of the salad 1 image is

となる。これらのベクトル距離が長いほうのサラダをカレーライスとの組み合わせにおいて選択する。 The vector distance between the RGB value of the curry rice image and the RGB value of the salad 2 image is

It becomes. The salad with the longer vector distance is selected in combination with curry and rice.

  When extracting the RGB values of the menu image, it is desirable to extract only the dish portion, excluding portions such as dishes and backgrounds such as dishes.

  In addition, when a single menu is proposed, it is expected that a menu with a well-balanced nutrition can be selected by selecting a colorful menu including garnish. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an algorithm for selecting a colorful menu based on image information of a completed image. First, RGB values of a plurality of points are extracted from candidate menu images. Then, the vector distances between the points in each menu are summed, and the menu with the longest total vector distance is proposed.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, points 1 to 4 are arbitrarily selected in the finished image, and RGB values are selected. The RGB value of point 1 is (r ₁ , g ₁ , b ₁ ), the RGB value of point 2 is (r ₂ , g ₂ , b ₂ ), and the RGB value of point 3 is (r ₃ , g ₃ , b ₃ ) Suppose that the RGB value of point 4 is (r ₄ , g ₄ , b ₄ ). The total vector distance between these points 1 to 4 is (between point 1 and point 2) + (between point 1 and point 3) + (between point 1 and point 4) + (between point 2 and point 3) + (Between point 2 and point 4) + (between point 3 and point 4),

ということになる。（１／６を掛けているのは、距離を正規化するため。）この値が大きいほど、色のバリエーションに富む献立であるということになる。

It turns out that. (Multiplying 1/6 is to normalize the distance.) The larger this value, the richer the color variation.

In the example of FIG. 5, the method of using only one representative color as the color of each menu is shown. However, when a plurality of colors are to be handled, the above distances are obtained for all color combinations, and By obtaining the average of the distances, the same processing can be performed. For example, the RGB values of the curry and rice image are (r ₀₁ , g ₀₁ , b ₀₁ ) and (r ₀₂ , g ₀₂ , b ₀₂ ), and the RGB value of the salad 1 image is (r ₁₁ , g ₁₁ , b _11). ) And (r ₁₂ , g ₁₂ , b ₁₂ ), and the RGB values of the image of the salad 2 are (r ₂₁ , g ₂₁ , b ₂₁ ) and (r ₂₂ , g ₂₂ , b ₂₂ ), curry rice And the distance between these salads can be calculated by the following formula.

The vector distance between the RGB value of the curry rice image and the RGB value of the salad 1 image is

となる。 The vector distance between the RGB value of the curry rice image and the RGB value of the salad 2 image is

It becomes.

  The salad with the longer vector distance may be selected in combination with curry and rice. Note that the value of (4) or (5) is multiplied by 1/4 (divided by 4) in order to normalize the distance. In general, when the RGB value of the menu A is represented by m and the RGB value of the menu B is represented by n, the sum of the distances of the RGB values may be divided by m × n. Become.

  When extracting the RGB values of the menu image, it is desirable to extract only the dish portion, excluding portions such as dishes and backgrounds such as dishes. It is possible to automatically exclude the tableware and background, but in the recipe card, prepare an item "sample color data", and there are sample values of representative color data for that menu, A method of recording an arbitrary number of coordinate values of representative colors is conceivable. The item “sample color data” in FIG. 4 shows this example.

  The item “required time” in FIG. 4 is the time taken for the menu to be completed. This item is displayed on the menu proposal screen. It will be used as a judgment material when the user selects the proposed menu. For example, if the required time is less than a predetermined time, for example, 20 minutes or less, a mark indicated by “time reduction” or the like (hereinafter referred to as “time reduction” mark) is displayed on the menu candidate presentation screen, Improve convenience for users who can't make something to hang.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the “short time” mark displayed on the menu candidate presentation screen. In the example of FIG. 7, the “short time” mark is displayed on the menu names 1 and 4.

  The item “foodstuff” in FIG. 4 is a material for making the menu. This item is displayed on the menu proposal screen. When making a menu proposal, there may be a menu proposal that uses a specific material extracted according to a search condition given by the user, or a proposal from a plurality of foods. When making menu proposals from multiple ingredients, make sure that menus using the same ingredients are not lined up. For example, during the menu displayed simultaneously on one screen on the menu candidate presentation screen, the menu of the specific food is selected so that it does not become more than half.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining selection of a menu candidate by food on the menu candidate presentation screen. On the menu candidate presentation screen, five menus with menu names 1 to 5 are displayed on one screen. In these menus, make sure that the main ingredients are not more than half. In the example of FIG. 8, since five menus are displayed on one screen, the number of foods using the same main ingredient should not be more than three. In the example of FIG. 8, two menus using food A (menu names 1 and 2), two menus using food B (menu names 3 and 4), and one menu using food C ( Menu name 5).

  When proposing multiple menus in combination, make sure that the ingredients in the menu decided earlier do not enter the menu decided after that, so that the ingredients are not sluggish in one meal. Is desirable. In this case, it is desirable that not only the main ingredients but also all ingredients are not allowed to spill.

  The main ingredients can be recognized for each menu by attaching the attribute “main” to the ingredients in the item “food ingredients”, and can be cut out from the item “dishes name”. FIG. 4 shows an example of a menu in which the main ingredient of the menu is known by adding the attribute (main) to the information of the menu ingredients. In addition, if the dish name includes “Chicken XX”, “XX Tofu” and the names of ingredients, it can be recognized as the main ingredient. If multiple ingredients names are included, each is designated as the main ingredient. In addition, in the case of the dish names “meat OO” and “fish XX”, it is possible to select an ingredient that is considered to be meat or fish from the ingredients and recognize it as the main ingredient. In addition, as a method of selecting ingredients that are considered to be meat or fish from among ingredients, so that pork, chicken, beef, etc. can be recognized as meat, and sword fish, sardine, mackerel, etc. can be recognized as fish For example, a method of storing food material information such as food material type information in the storage unit 2 as a food material database is conceivable. FIG. 10 shows an example of the data structure in which the food type information is stored in the food database in this way.

  In the case of ingredients that can be used for multiple meals once purchased, such as somen, you may make suggestions by changing the soup, condiment, and garnish.

  For example, when a request for the same ingredient is made in a short period of time when the day is changed, it may not be selected if the same proposal as the previous one is made, so for example, it may be displayed first on the menu candidate display screen in the previous display. Menus other than the selected menu are displayed first, and the menu displayed first in the previous display is displayed last.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a proposal in which the display order on the menu candidate presentation screen is changed. If the menu displayed first on the first day on the menu screen is the menu names 1 to 6, the menu names 11 to 15 other than the menu names 1 to 6 are displayed first on the second day. The menu names 1 to 6 are displayed last. In order to enable such display, the storage device stores information on what menu was proposed and in what order (menu history information) for a predetermined number of days (for example, for one week). In addition, when displaying the menu, the menu without any duplication is displayed with reference to the menu history information.

  The item “type of dish” in FIG. 4 is a type of dish such as rice, noodles, other staple foods, side dishes, soup. In FIG. 4, the underlined items (main food (rice), side dishes) indicate that this menu type. This item is displayed on the menu proposal screen. When a plurality of menus are proposed in combination, for example, proposals are made in the order of staple food (rice, noodles, other staple foods) → side dish → soup. As for menus belonging to a plurality of types of dishes, it is desirable not to select menus that overlap in the types of menus previously determined. For example, if ramen is decided as a staple food, the side dish suggests a menu with a low soup content and the proposal of soup is omitted. This mechanism will be briefly described. Each menu is accompanied by information indicating the type of dish, but this information can be assigned to a single menu. For menus that belong to more than one dish type, you can see what menu type the menu belongs to, so if such a menu is selected and determined by the user, the dish type for that menu Even if there are multiple, each can be considered as determined. Then, for the types of dishes that have been determined to have been determined, the menu proposal may be skipped. In the case of the illustrated ramen, since one menu called “ramen” belongs to noodles and soup, the proposal of soup is omitted (skip).

  The item “genre” in FIG. 4 is a cooking style such as Japanese food, Western food, Chinese, and others. In FIG. 4, the underlined (Western food) indicates that this menu is a genre. This item is displayed on the menu proposal screen. For example, if a menu of a certain genre is decided, it is suggested that a menu of garnishing to be determined subsequently be more than half that of the same genre.

  The item “cooking procedure” in FIG. 4 is displayed on a detailed screen displayed when a confirmation operation is performed on the menu proposal screen. Ask the user to read the cooking procedure displayed on the details screen and determine if they can make it. When actually making the selected menu, the user's viewability may be enhanced by displaying the cooking procedure on a separate screen.

  The item “texture” in FIG. 4 is a feeling when eating a dish such as crunchy, hokuhoku, suri, trowel, sticky, mochimochi, crisp. In FIG. 4, the underlined (sold) indicates the texture of this menu. This item is not displayed on the menu proposal screen. This item is not a search key when searching for menus, but when combining multiple menus, the texture of the menu is selected by removing the texture of the first menu and selecting the next menu. By making the difference, it is possible to provide freshness of the meal.

  The item “Soup degree” in FIG. 4 is an approximate measure of the amount of water in the menu. This item is not displayed on the menu suggestion screen, but a “high soup” mark may be displayed for a menu with a large amount of water. In this way, for example, even if it is not a dish name that indicates that the soup content is high, such as “XX soup”, it is understood that the soup content is high. When a plurality of menus are proposed in combination, variations in texture can be increased by preventing those with high soups from overlapping.

  The item “basic” in FIG. 4 is a basic menu that everyone knows and can often eat. In FIG. 4, “O” is written for the standard dish, and “-” is written for the other dishes. This item is not displayed on the menu proposal screen. There are two types of users: people who want to choose a classic, and those who want to increase their repertoire by choosing something other than a classic, depending on their cooking experience and preferences. In consideration of this, at the time of menu proposal, you may make a proposal by mixing the standard and those that are out of the standard. Specifically, for each type of dish, we propose half of the classic and the other. In addition, from the past history of menu proposals to users, for users who do not choose a standard at all, it may be set in the data for the user so as to propose after removing the standard. .

  The item “cooking method” in FIG. 4 is a cooking means such as boiling, baking, frying, stir-frying, steaming, or boiling. In FIG. 4, the underlined (boiled and fried) indicates that this menu cooking method. This item is not displayed on the menu proposal screen. It is desirable that this item not overlap when a combination of menus is proposed. The cooking method for the menu selected first should be removed when the menu is selected next time. However, this does not have to be taken into account when the types of dishes are different, such as staple food and soup.

  The items “spiciness” and “hardness” in FIG. 4 indicate whether the menu is difficult or hard, respectively. In FIG. 4, “◯” is described for spicy and hard materials, and “-” is described for those that are not. This item is not displayed on the menu proposal screen. For example, hard foods and spicy foods are omitted when an eating target is requested by a child. Similarly, when the target of eating is an elderly person, it may be proposed that the hard food is removed and the one with a high soup content is more than half of the number of proposals.

  The information regarding the foodstuff stored in the memory | storage means 2 is demonstrated. FIG. 10 is a table showing information items related to foodstuffs. Such food material data is stored for each food material.

The item “foodstuff” in FIG. 10 is the name of the foodstuff.
The item “type” in FIG. 10 is the type of food (meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, seasonings, etc.).

  The item “season” in FIG. 10 indicates a time when the ingredients are good and delicious. This item is used as a judgment material when suggesting a menu that suits the season. The seasonality of each region may be defined, the location of the user may be acquired by a position information acquisition function such as GPS, and seasonal foods suitable for the region where the user is present may be preferentially proposed. Seasonal ingredients are not only cheap and often nutritious, but they also increase satisfaction with a seasonal meal. In addition, foods that are not seasonal are often not available for fresh foods, so it is likely that users will not make menus that contain such foods and will not choose them. Therefore, it is desirable to weight the seasonal ingredients and propose a menu that includes the seasonal ingredients. When a menu candidate is presented, if there is a designated ingredient, the display order may be preferentially increased if it is a seasonal period. In addition, since seasonal foods may not be available, it is desirable to delay the display order of menu candidates that contain the foods.

  The item “main food” in FIG. 10 indicates whether the food can be the main food (◯) or not (×). The main ingredient is a key ingredient that is important for determining characteristics such as taste of meat such as meat and fish. Since there are many users who do not like to eat dishes with the same main ingredients at once, it is used as information for selecting dishes so that the main ingredients are not duplicated as much as possible.

  The item “Standiness” in FIG. 10 indicates the probability that the food is always available. The initial value can be created from statistical data of general households, etc., but it is also possible to grasp and correct the tendency of the user while continuing to use the apparatus of the present invention. This makes it possible to reduce the user's time to go shopping by preferentially using high-value ingredients.

  FIG. 11 is a table showing items of user information held by the storage unit 2. Each item of user information is registered in advance when the user uses the menu decision support apparatus of the present invention for the first time, and is effective until changed next time.

  The item “NG food” in FIG. 11 is to be registered if there is a food that the user does not like. When there are NG foods, menus that contain NG foods must be excluded when a menu is proposed to the user.

  The item “Stand-by” in FIG. 11 is for a user to register any food that is often prepared by the user. By doing so, the trouble of the user who inputs the same food every time a menu request is made can be saved. Even if it is not entered in the food designation at the time of the menu request, there is a high possibility of making a menu using the ingredients that are always available, so the display order may be given higher priority.

  The item “NG cooking method” in FIG. 11 is for registering a cooking method that the user does not like. When there is an NG cooking method, the menu for performing the NG cooking method is always excluded when the menu is proposed to the user.

  The item “past selection menu history” in FIG. 11 is a record of information about menus selected since the user started using the menu decision support apparatus of the present invention. Specifically, the data number of the menu name is written in a predetermined history area of the storage means. For example, the tendency of menus that the user likes is analyzed from the past selection menu history, and menus close to the user's preference are preferentially proposed in future proposals.

  The item “standard” in FIG. 11 specifies whether to prefer the standard menu defined by the above-mentioned recipe card information item “standard”. For those who prefer a standard menu, we propose a menu selected according to other conditions from all menus including the standard menu. For users who do not like the standard menu, a menu selected according to other conditions from menus other than the standard menu is proposed. However, if the number of menus selected in this way is less than or equal to the predetermined number, a standard menu may be proposed with a lower display priority.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a menu proposal procedure in the menu decision support apparatus of the present invention.

  In step S101, the user operates the input unit 1 in accordance with the message displayed on the display unit 4 to register user information as shown in FIG. As described above, each item of user information is registered when the user uses the menu decision support apparatus of the present invention for the first time, and is valid until the next change. In use, this step is skipped.

  In step S <b> 102, the menu decision support device is activated and an initial screen is displayed on the display unit 4.

  In step S103, the user operates the input unit 1 according to the message displayed on the display unit 4 to input the menu search condition. At this time, the message displayed on the display means 4 prompts the user to input a condition for selecting a menu, and an interactive menu selection operation is started from here.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the condition input procedure in step S103 of FIG.

  In step S201, the conditions of the ingredients to be used are specified. The menu decision support device displays a message “What do you want to use?”. For example, the user designates an ingredient that he or she wants to use, such as an ingredient that becomes a refrigerator or an ingredient that is planned to be bought on the way home. It is desirable to allow multiple entries for this item.

  In step S202, the conditions of the target person are specified. The menu decision support device displays the message “Who will eat?” The user designates the type of person who eats the menu, for example, small children, junior and senior high school students to adults, and elderly people. A plurality of items may be designated.

  In step S203, a menu type condition is designated. The menu decision support device displays the message “What kind of dish is it?”. The user designates the type of dish such as staple food, main dish, side dish, soup, etc., for which a menu proposal is desired. A plurality of items may be designated.

  In step S204, the condition of the genre of cooking is designated. The menu decision support device displays the message “What genre do you want to eat?”. The user designates Japanese food, Western food, Chinese, others, entrusted, etc. A plurality of items may be designated.

  The user can also pass through the input of these conditions. The menu decision support apparatus treats the passed condition as if there is no particular desired condition (for example, if the genre to be eaten is passed, it is determined that anything can be proposed, whether Japanese, Western or Chinese). However, if the input of the ingredient condition is skipped, the ingredient having a high “permanent” level in the ingredient database and the ingredient designated as “permanent” in the user information are preferentially used.

  Returning to FIG. 12, the description will be continued. In step S104, the menu search unit 3 searches the storage unit for menu options that meet the conditions based on the user information registered in step S101, the conditions input in step S103, and the like, and presents them on the display unit 4. .

Candidates for suggesting a single menu are, for example,
1. Desired ingredients (optional input each time)
2. NG food (pre-registered in user information)
3. Type of cuisine (optional input each time)
4). Genre (optional input each time)
5). Eat target (optional input each time)
6). 6. A colorful menu for photos Seasonal ingredients (detected from calendar and GPS function)
8). 8. Exclude menu names that do not match the season Use of classic dishes10. Select in consideration of the conditions in the order of the regular ingredients.

When proposing multiple menus in combination, one item candidate is, for example,
1. Type of cuisine (optional input each time)
2. Desired ingredients (optional input each time)
3. NG food (pre-registered in user information)
4). Genre (optional input each time)
5). Eat target (optional input each time)
6). 6. A colorful menu for photos Seasonal ingredients (detected from calendar and GPS function)
8). 8. Exclude menu names that do not match the season Use of standard menu.
10. Regular ingredients.
Select in consideration of the conditions in order. After one item is decided, other candidates are, for example,
11. Types of dishes12. Desired ingredients 13. NG foodstuff14. 14. Exclude ingredients determined in the first menu Exclude texture determined by the first menu 16. Exclusion of cooking method decided in the first menu 17. A condition such as selecting a menu that increases the color distance from the first menu can be considered.
In this way, it is possible to propose a highly nutritious menu that suits the user's preference by combining and setting conditions in consideration of the priority order.

  There may be any number of menu candidates displayed on the menu candidate presentation screen, and a predetermined number may be displayed in the order satisfying the conditions. On the menu candidate display screen, a message such as “recommended is XX” may be displayed to indicate the number of menu candidates.

  If there is no menu satisfying the conditions, a message such as “There is no recommended menu, please review the conditions.” May be displayed, and the process may return to the condition input in step S103. Also, even if there is no menu that meets the conditions, after displaying a message such as "There was no suggestion menu that meets the conditions, I looked for recommendations from XX", then present alternative menu options You may do it.

  When the user operates the input unit 1 to select a menu from the candidates displayed on the display unit 4, a display screen for the selected menu is displayed on the display unit 4 in step S105. On this proposal screen, as described above, specific items of recipe card information as shown in FIG. 3 are displayed. The user returns to the menu candidate display screen in step S104 by operating the input means 1, such as when he / she does not like the menu displayed on the proposal screen or when he / she wants to see another menu proposal screen. Can do.

  If the user likes the menu displayed on the proposal screen and performs a confirmation operation using the input means 1, the display means 4 displays the cooking procedure for the confirmed menu in step S106. At this stage, it may be possible to return to the menu candidate display screen in step S104 or the proposal screen in step S105 by operating the input means 1. For example, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 11 can store the cooking procedure for such a menu so that it can be browsed when actually cooking. In addition, the cooking procedure of such a menu can be transmitted to the display device 13 so that it can be viewed on a larger screen.

  In step S107, an end screen including a message such as “Thank you. Good meal” is displayed on the display means 4, and the operation ends.

  The input means 1 may include a dedicated operation key for operating a specific function. The operation keys include the following, for example.

  The “search” key is a key operated when the user receives a menu proposal. When the “search” key is operated after the user inputs desired conditions, these conditions are transmitted to the menu search means 3.

The “return” key is a key for performing an operation of returning from the current display screen to the previous display screen.
The “first” key is a key for canceling all selection / suggestion of the current menu and returning to the initial screen. Before returning to the initial screen, a warning display such as “Are all conditions input cleared? Are you sure?” May be performed.

  The “detail” key is a key for performing an operation for displaying the details of the menu. When the user selects and operates a menu for which the user wants to see detailed contents on the menu candidate presentation screen, the contents of the recipe card are displayed.

  The “keep” key is a key for performing an operation of marking a favorite menu among the presented menu candidates. In view of other menus, only menus with keep marks can be displayed, and a menu to be finally selected can be determined.

  The “again” key was a favorite among the suggested menus, but for example, it was n’t possible to make it because the ingredients were not available, or because it took too much time, it could n’t be made today. The key to do. A menu with such a mark may be given a higher priority in display order if other conditions are met when a menu is proposed for the next and subsequent times.

  The “determined for this” key is an operation key for performing an operation of determining a menu that is finally selected from the currently presented menu candidates.

  The “quit” key is a key for performing an operation to stop receiving a proposal when there is no favorite among the currently proposed menu candidates.

  The “add side dish” key is an operation key for performing an operation of adding the number of side dishes to the initially inputted menu number condition.

  The “add food” key is used to add another condition when there is no favorite menu item currently being presented.

  As described above, the menu decision support apparatus according to the present invention stores information about the menu in the storage unit 2, and the storage unit 2 based on the conditions input by the user and / or the conditions registered in advance. By detecting and presenting a menu candidate from the menu and displaying detailed information such as how to make a menu selected from the menu candidates, the user can select a desired menu with a simple operation.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a terminal device 11 and a server 12 that communicate with each other wirelessly are configured. In other words, the user can consider the menu without choosing a place, and can bring it with him / her after shopping after the menu has been decided.

  Furthermore, by providing the display device 13 that communicates with the terminal device 11 wirelessly, when the user actually makes a menu, it is possible to refer to how to make the menu displayed on a large screen.

  The present invention may be realized not only by a single function, but also by other devices (microwave oven, refrigerator, mobile phone, electronic dictionary, etc.) equipped with the menu decision support program of the present invention. For example, if it is a microwave oven, the menu using a microwave oven by a cooking method may be displayed preferentially. If it is a refrigerator, you may preferentially propose the foodstuffs stocked in conjunction with the inventory management function in the refrigerator. In the case of a mobile phone or an electronic dictionary, a function for storing and displaying a shopping memo when there is a food item to be purchased after deciding a menu may be installed. FIG. 14 shows an example of mounting the program of the present invention on such other devices.

  The present invention can be used for a menu decision support apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input means 2 Storage means 3 Menu search means 4 Display means 11 Terminal apparatus 12 Server 13 Display apparatus

Claims (13)

Input means;
Menu search means for searching for a menu candidate from storage means for storing information on food and information on menu based on conditions including conditions on food and menu input in the input means;
Displaying a menu candidate searched by the menu search means in consideration of information on the menu color, and displaying information related to the menu selected by the operation of the input means from the displayed menu candidates. Menu decision support device characterized by this.   The menu decision support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the condition relating to the food and the menu includes a food that the user wants to use and / or a food that the user does not want to use. Information about the menu stored in the storage means includes image information of the menu,
The menu decision support device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the menu search means performs color analysis of the image information of the menu and searches for the menu candidate based on a color analysis result. The storage means also records a menu history selected from the menu candidates,
4. The menu decision support device according to claim 1, wherein the menu search unit searches for the menu candidate based on the history recorded in the storage unit. 5. The information relating to the menu stored in the storage means includes information indicating whether or not it is a standard menu,
5. The menu decision support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the condition relating to the food and menu includes a condition as to whether or not a standard menu is desired.   The menu according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the menu is proposed by combining a plurality of menus, the menu search means searches for menu candidates so that cooking methods for each menu do not overlap. Decision support device. A calendar means for obtaining the date and time;
The information on the ingredients stored in the storage means includes information about the season of each ingredient,
7. The menu search unit according to claim 1, wherein the menu search unit preferentially searches for a menu using seasonal ingredients based on the date and time acquired by the calendar unit as a menu candidate. Menu decision support device. It further comprises position information acquisition means for acquiring position information,
Information about the seasonal time of each ingredient is prescribed for each region,
The menu determination support according to claim 7, wherein the menu search unit preferentially searches for a menu using seasonal ingredients based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit as a menu candidate. apparatus. The storage means stores in advance at least some of the food and menu conditions,
9. The menu decision support device according to claim 1, wherein the menu search unit searches for a menu candidate based on a condition stored in advance in the storage unit. A portable terminal device includes the input means, the display means, and the menu search means,
The portable terminal device communicates wirelessly with a server having the storage means,
The menu decision support device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a display device that wirelessly communicates with the portable terminal device and displays information related to the menu. apparatus. A portable terminal device includes the input unit and the display unit,
A server comprises the menu search means;
The mobile terminal device communicates with the server wirelessly,
The menu decision support device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the menu decision support device further comprises display device means for wirelessly communicating with the portable terminal device to display information on the menu. Support device. An input step of receiving an input of conditions including conditions relating to food and menu in the input means;
A menu search step of searching for a menu candidate from storage means for storing information on food and information on menu based on conditions including the condition on food and menu input in the input step;
Determining the color distance based on the color information of the menu;
A display step of displaying on the display means the menu candidate searched in the menu search step, and displaying on the display means information related to the menu selected by the operation of the input means from the displayed menu candidate. Menu decision support method to do.   A menu decision support program for causing a computer to execute the menu decision support method according to claim 12.

Images