JP2018032289A - Freshness date management system and portable information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a freshness date management system and a portable information terminal capable of easily managing the freshness date of food without requiring time and labor of a user.SOLUTION: A freshness date management system 1 includes: a two-dimensional code printing part 11 for printing a two-dimensional code representing at least a freshness date of food on a receipt issued when the food is sold; a two-dimensional code reading part 21 for reading the two-dimensional code printed on the receipt; a food consumption determination part 23 for determining whether the food having the freshness date has been consumed in the case that a predetermined period before the freshness date represented by the two-dimensional code read by the two-dimensional code reading means arrives; and a freshness date warning part 24 for outputting a warning message in the case that the food consumption determination part 23 does not determine that the food has been consumed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an expiration date management system and a portable information terminal for managing the expiration date of food.

  Conventionally, in each household, the purchased food is stored without being aware of the expiration date, and when the expiration date of the food is confirmed, the expiration date has often passed. In particular, fresh foods that need to be stored in the refrigerator have a short period of time from purchase until the expiration date, so if you do not manage the expiration date of the food stored in the refrigerator, There was a problem that it was likely to occur.

  In order to solve such a problem, for example, Patent Document 1 attaches an ID tag in which the type of food is written when the food is stored in the refrigerator, and the food to the refrigerator is attached to the ID tag. Information related to storage date and time is written with a reader / writer, and information indicating the food storage date and time of the food stored in the refrigerator, the type of food, and the expiration date of the food is displayed on the display unit provided in the refrigerator or external device It is described that the expiry date of the food stored in the refrigerator is notified.

JP-A-2005-37086

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary for a user who has purchased a food to prepare an RF-ID tag corresponding to the type of the food and to attach the RF-ID tag to the food. There is a problem that it is very time-consuming for the user.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and provides a shelf life management system and a portable information terminal that can easily manage the shelf life of food without taking the user's trouble. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, a shelf life management system according to the present invention includes a two-dimensional code printing unit that prints a two-dimensional code representing at least a shelf life of the food on a receipt issued at the time of selling the food, A two-dimensional code reading means for reading the two-dimensional code printed on a receipt; and a pre-determined period before the expiration date represented by the two-dimensional code read by the two-dimensional code reading means. Food consumption determining means for determining whether or not a food having a time limit has been consumed; and a expiration date warning means for outputting a warning message when the food consumption determining means determines that the food is not consumed. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, when the expiration date management system reads the two-dimensional code printed on the receipt of the food purchased by the user and determines that the food is not consumed when a predetermined period before the expiration date arrives. Since the warning message is output, the user can easily manage the expiry date of the food without trouble. In addition, when food is consumed, an unnecessary warning message can be prevented from being output.

  In the above invention, it comprises consumption information setting means for setting a consumption flag indicating that the food has been consumed by an external input, and the food consumption determination means is configured to use the consumption information setting means to When the finished flag is set, it is determined that the food corresponding to the consumed flag is consumed.

  According to the present invention, when a food is consumed, the user can prevent an unnecessary warning message from being output by performing an input operation for setting a consumed flag corresponding to the food.

In the above invention, the food consumption determination means repeats the determination at a predetermined cycle until it is determined that the food has been consumed.
According to the present invention, since the warning message continues to be output at a predetermined cycle until the food is consumed, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting that the expiration date of the food has arrived, and that the expiration date has passed. After that, you can know that there are foods that have expired.

In the above invention, the predetermined period is shortened as the expiration date approaches.
According to the present invention, the number of times that the user recognizes that the expiration date has come increases as the expiration date approaches, and the expiration date can be prevented as much as possible before the food is consumed.

In the above invention, the expiration date represented by the two-dimensional code printed by the two-dimensional code printing means is obtained from the two-dimensional code displayed on the food delivery note or the food package. It is characterized by.
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the expiration date of a foodstuff can be managed from the shipment stage of a foodstuff using a two-dimensional code.

  In addition, the portable information terminal according to the present invention includes a two-dimensional code reading unit that reads a two-dimensional code that represents at least the expiration date of the food, and is printed on a receipt issued when the food is sold. A food consumption determining means for determining whether or not the food having the expiration date has been consumed when a predetermined period before the expiration date represented by the two-dimensional code read by the code reading means has arrived; and the food A expiration date warning unit that outputs a warning message when the consumption determination unit determines that the food is not consumed is provided.

  According to the present invention, the portable information terminal reads a two-dimensional code printed on a receipt of food purchased by the user, and warns when the food is determined not to be consumed when a predetermined period before the expiration date arrives. Since the message is output, it is possible to easily manage the expiration date of the food without the user's trouble. In addition, when food is consumed, an unnecessary warning message can be prevented from being output.

It is a whole lineblock diagram of the expiration date management system concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the receipt issuing apparatus which comprises the expiration date management system which concerns on the embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the receipt which the receipt issuing apparatus which comprises the expiration date management system which concerns on the embodiment issued. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the display of the portable information terminal which comprises the expiration date management system which concerns on the embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the portable information terminal which comprises the expiration date management system which concerns on the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the receipt issuing apparatus which comprises the expiration date management system which concerns on the embodiment performs. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the portable information terminal which comprises the expiration date management system which concerns on the embodiment, when storing the purchased foodstuff. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the portable information terminal which comprises the expiration date management system which concerns on the embodiment, when the predetermined period before the expiration date of food arrives.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an expiration date management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the expiration date management system 1 includes a receipt issuing device 10 and a portable information terminal 20, which are connected by a communication network 40 such as the Internet or a wireless communication line. Yes.

The receipt issuing device 10 is, for example, a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal installed in a grocery store.
The receipt issuing device 10 includes, as hardware, a CPU, a storage device such as a RAM, a ROM, and a hard disk, a communication interface, an input / output interface such as an input key and a display, and a printing device. The storage device stores software such as various data and programs.

  The data stored in the storage device of the receipt issuing device 10 includes, for example, the type of each food sold at the grocery store, the food name, the selling price, the date of arrival, the date of manufacture, the expiration date, and the manufacturing factory. There are data such as name, production line, allergen, storage method, raw materials, additives, nutrients, place of origin, JAN code, product specific code. The JAN code is a code that represents the name of a manufacturer that manufactures food and the name of the food. Among these data, data such as food name, date of manufacture, expiration date, manufacturing factory name, manufacturing line, allergen, storage method, raw materials, additives, nutritional ingredients, place of origin, JAN code, product specific code, etc. When food is delivered from a food manufacturer to a grocery store, the two-dimensional code representing the data displayed on the delivery note of the food or the two-dimensional code representing the data displayed on the food packaging or package Is read by the scanner or the like and taken into the receipt issuing device 10.

Moreover, as a program memorize | stored in the memory | storage device of the receipt issuing apparatus 10, for example, the program for reading the barcode stuck on the food and acquiring the information regarding the said food, the program for generating the two-dimensional code, There are programs for printing receipts and the like.
The CPU of the receipt issuing device 10 reads out these programs stored in the storage device and executes processing according to the programs, whereby the two-dimensional code printing unit 11 shown in FIG.

  The two-dimensional code printing unit 11 prints a two-dimensional code representing the expiration date of the food on a receipt issued when the food is sold. In addition to the expiration date, the information represented by the two-dimensional code includes various information related to the food (food name, food type, sales price, arrival date, date of manufacture, factory name, production line, allergen, Various information such as storage method, raw materials, additives, nutritional components, place of origin, JAN code, product specific code), sales date and time, store name, etc.

  Note that data such as the expiration date of food may be stored in a server on the communication network 40. In this case, when printing a receipt, the receipt issuing device 10 receives these pieces of information from the server via the communication network 40.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a receipt issued by the receipt issuing device 10. In this example, a QR code (registered trademark) is printed on the receipt as a two-dimensional code.

(Configuration of portable information terminal)
Next, the configuration of the portable information terminal 20 will be described. The portable information terminal 20 is a terminal having an imaging function, a communication function, a sound output function, a data input function, a screen display function, a timekeeping function, and the like. As hardware, a CPU, a storage device such as a RAM and a ROM, and a communication An interface, an input / output interface such as operation buttons, a display, and a speaker, and a camera are provided. The storage device of the portable information terminal 20 stores software such as various data and programs.

  As data stored in the storage device of the portable information terminal 20, for example, a food name of a food purchased by a user having the portable information terminal 20, the expiration date, and a consumed flag indicating that the food has been consumed Further, data indicating the timing for outputting a warning message regarding the expiration date of food, image data for displaying various screens on the display, data such as a cycle for outputting a warning message, and the like are stored.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a setting screen displayed on the display of the portable information terminal 20. Using this setting screen, the user can input information such as the time to output a warning message for each food, the period, the shortening time when the period is gradually shortened, the consumption flag, etc. It is stored in the storage device of the information terminal 20. In addition, about the time to output a warning message, a period, and the shortening time when shortening a period, you may enable it to set a different value for every kind of foodstuff.

  Moreover, as a program memorize | stored in the memory | storage device of the portable information terminal 20, the program for image | photographing an image, the program for decoding and interpreting a two-dimensional code, It is warned that the expiration date of food is approaching A program for outputting a warning message to be output, a program for storing data such as a timing, a period, a shortened time, and a consumption flag for outputting a warning message input from the outside in a storage device are stored. These programs can also be downloaded from a server via the communication network 40. When the CPU of the portable information terminal 20 executes the program, the function shown in FIG.

The two-dimensional code reading unit 21 reads and decodes a two-dimensional code representing the expiration date of the food from the receipt, and converts the expiration date of the food represented by the two-dimensional code into a format that can be recognized by the CPU.
The consumed information setting unit 22 sets a consumed flag indicating that the food has been consumed. Specifically, the consumed flag is stored in the storage unit by an external input by the user from the setting screen shown in FIG.

The food consumption determination unit 23 determines whether or not the food having the expiration date has been consumed when a predetermined period before the expiration date represented by the two-dimensional code read by the two-dimensional code reading unit 21 arrives. To do. In the present embodiment, when the consumed flag corresponding to the food is set, the food consumption determination unit 23 determines that the food is consumed.
Further, the food consumption determination unit 23 determines whether or not the food is consumed until it is determined that the food is consumed according to the output timing, the cycle, and the shortened time set in advance from the setting screen illustrated in FIG. repeat. In this case, the food consumption determination unit 23 repeats the determination by shortening the cycle by a preset shortening time. Therefore, as the expiration date approaches, the determination cycle of whether or not the food expenses have been consumed becomes shorter.

The expiration date warning unit 24 outputs a warning message to the display when the food consumption determination unit 23 determines that the food has not been consumed. Examples of warning messages include “Ham's expiration date is two days away” and “Two hours have passed since the expiration date of potato salad”. Note that the warning message may be output by voice from a speaker.
The expiry date warning means 24 outputs a warning message every time the food consumption determination unit 23 makes a determination as long as the food is not consumed, so that the expiration date of the user approaches as the expiry date of the food approaches. The number of times of recognition increases, and it is possible to prevent the expiration date before the food is consumed as much as possible.

(Receipt issuing process)
Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the procedure of the process performed by the receipt issuing device 10 of the expiration date management system 1 when issuing a receipt at a grocery store will be described. Here, it is assumed that a bar code representing a product-specific code is attached to the package of each food sold at the grocery store. In addition, information such as food name, food type, date of manufacture, expiration date, JAN code, manufacturing factory name, manufacturing line, allergen, storage method, raw materials, additives, nutritional ingredients, place of origin, product-specific code, etc. Is stored in advance in the receipt issuing device 10 by reading a two-dimensional code representing the information displayed on the delivery note of the food by a scanner or the like at the time of delivery from the food manufacturer to the grocery store. It is assumed that It is also assumed that the sales price, arrival date, store information, etc. of the food X are stored in advance in the receipt issuing device 10.

First, the user A hands over the food X to be purchased at the grocery store to a clerk in the vicinity of the receipt issuing device 10. The store clerk performs an operation of reading the barcode attached to the food X using the barcode reader, and an operation of inputting the product unique code to the receipt issuing device 10.
The CPU of the receipt issuing device 10 stores information corresponding to the product specific code (type of food X, food name, selling price, date of arrival, date of manufacture, expiration date, JAN code, name of the manufacturing plant, manufacturing line, allergen Storage method, raw material, additive, nutritional component, place of origin, etc.) from the storage device. Then, the receipt issuing device 10 generates a two-dimensional code by two-dimensionally encoding the acquired information, the current date and time, and the store information (step S101). Then, the CPU of the receipt issuing device 10 uses the printing device to print the quantity, price, deposited amount, change, etc. of the sold food X on paper and issue a receipt of the food X in two dimensions. The code printing unit 11 prints the two-dimensional code on the receipt (step S102), and issues a receipt as shown in FIG.

(Food storage processing)
Next, a procedure of processing performed by the portable information terminal 20 of the expiration date management system 1 when storing the food X purchased by the user A at the grocery store will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.
First, when the user A stores the food X in, for example, a refrigerator, the user A performs an operation of photographing a two-dimensional code of a receipt issued when the food X is purchased using the camera of the portable information terminal 20. . Thereby, the two-dimensional code reading unit 21 of the portable information terminal 20 images the two-dimensional code of the receipt (step S201) and decodes the two-dimensional code (step S202).

  The CPU of the portable information terminal 20 then decrypts the decrypted information (type of food X, food name, date of manufacture, expiration date, purchase date, JAN code, manufacturing factory name, manufacturing line, allergen, storage method, raw material, Additives, nutritional components, place of origin, etc.) are stored in the storage device (step S203).

(Expiration date warning process)
Next, a procedure of processing performed by the portable information terminal 20 of the expiration date management system 1 when a predetermined period before the expiration date of the food X arrives will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. Here, from the setting screen shown in FIG. 4, a warning message is output in advance in a cycle of 2 days from 7 days before the expiration date, and data indicating that the cycle of 2 days is reduced by 12 hours is stored in the storage unit of the portable information terminal 20 It is assumed that the consumption flag is not set.

The CPU of the portable information terminal 20 determines whether or not 7 days (predetermined period) before the expiration date of the food X has arrived using the time measuring unit (step S301).
If it is determined that 7 days before the expiration date has arrived, the food consumption determination unit 23 refers to the consumption flag to determine whether or not the food X has been consumed (step S302).
When it is determined that it has not been consumed (step S302: No), the expiration date warning unit 24 outputs a warning message, for example, “The expiration date of food X is 7 days left” on the display (step S303). ).
Next, when two days (predetermined period) have passed since the warning message was output (step S304: Yes), the food consumption determination unit 23 determines whether or not the food X has been consumed (step S305). If it is determined that it has not been consumed (step S305: No), the expiration date warning unit 24 outputs a warning message (step S306). Next, the CPU of the portable information terminal 20 shortens the predetermined period “2 days” by 12 hours and sets it to “1.5 days” (step S307), returns to step S304, and the food X The process is repeated until it is decided that is consumed.

As described above, if the user performs an operation of reading the two-dimensional code printed on the receipt of the purchased food with the portable information terminal 20, the food is displayed when a predetermined period before the expiration date of the food arrives. When not consumed, a warning message is output from the portable information terminal 20, so that it is possible to easily manage the expiration date of the food without trouble, and that the expiration date elapses before the food is consumed. It is possible to avoid as much as possible. In addition, a warning message can be prevented from being output when food is consumed.
Further, since the portable information terminal 20 continues to output a warning message at a predetermined cycle unless it is determined that the food has been consumed, the user can remember that the expiry date of the food has arrived, Further, it is possible to know that there is a food whose expiration date has expired even after the expiration date has passed.
In addition, since the predetermined period can be shortened as the expiration date approaches, the number of times that the user recognizes that the expiration date has come closer as the expiration date approaches, and the expiration date expires before consumption. It can prevent as much as possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the consumed flag is set, the food consumption determining unit 23 determines that the food corresponding to the consumed flag has been consumed as a method for determining whether or not the food has been consumed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when sold food is stored in a refrigerator, it may be determined whether or not the food has been consumed based on an image of the inside of the refrigerator. In this case, when food is stored in the refrigerator, the expiration date of the food and the image of the food are associated with each other and stored in the portable information terminal 20, and installed in the refrigerator each time the refrigerator door is opened and closed. The inside of the refrigerator is imaged by the camera, and the portable information terminal 20 receives the image taken from the camera and performs image recognition to determine whether or not the food exists in the refrigerator. Alternatively, it may be recognized from the video image in the refrigerator that the food is taken out from the refrigerator after being stored in the refrigerator, and when the food is taken out, it may be determined that the food is consumed.

In the above-described embodiment, the warning message is output until the food is consumed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the warning message may be stopped when the expiration date is reached. You may enable it to set the period and period which output the warning message after expiration of a time limit. Thereby, even after the expiration date set by the food manufacturer has passed, a warning message can be output at a predetermined cycle for the output period set by the user. Such a configuration is effective when discarding food whose expiration date has passed, or when the food can be consumed without any problem until a certain period of time even after the expiration date set by the food manufacturer. .
In addition, the food data for which the consumed flag is set may be automatically deleted from the storage unit of the portable information terminal 20 after a certain period has elapsed.
Further, the data representing the expiration date itself may not be stored in each of the devices 10 and 20, and the expiration date may be calculated according to a predetermined algorithm from the date of manufacture and the type of food.
In addition, each function which the portable information terminal 20 which concerns on embodiment mentioned above has may be distributed and arranged in a plurality of devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Expiration date management system 10 ... Receipt issuing device 11 ... Two-dimensional code printing part 20 ... Portable information terminal 21 ... Two-dimensional code reading part 22 ... Consumed information setting part 23 ... Food consumption determination unit 24 ... Expiration date warning unit 40 ... Communication network

Claims (6)

Two-dimensional code printing means for printing a two-dimensional code representing at least the expiration date of the food on a receipt issued at the time of selling the food;
Two-dimensional code reading means for reading the two-dimensional code printed on the receipt;
Food consumption determination means for determining whether or not the food having the best before date has been consumed when a predetermined period before the best before date indicated by the two-dimensional code read by the two-dimensional code reading means has arrived; ,
A expiration date management system comprising: a expiration date warning unit that outputs a warning message when the food consumption determination unit determines that the food is not consumed. Consumed information setting means for setting a consumed flag indicating that the food has been consumed by input from the outside,
The said food consumption determination means determines that the food corresponding to the consumed flag is consumed when the consumed flag is set by the consumed information setting means. The expiration date management system described in 1.   The expiration date management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the food consumption determination means repeats the determination at a predetermined cycle until it is determined that the food is consumed.   The expiration date management system according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined period is shortened as the expiration date approaches.   The expiration date represented by the two-dimensional code printed by the two-dimensional code printing means is obtained from the two-dimensional code displayed on the delivery note of the food or the package of the food. The expiration date management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Two-dimensional code reading means for reading a two-dimensional code representing at least the expiration date of the food printed on a receipt issued when the food is sold;
Food consumption determination means for determining whether or not the food having the best before date has been consumed when a predetermined period before the best before date indicated by the two-dimensional code read by the two-dimensional code reading means has arrived; ,
A portable information terminal comprising: expiration date warning means for outputting a warning message when the food consumption determination means determines that the food is not consumed.

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