JP6168702B2 - Cooking price search device and cooking price search method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention enables a restaurant price search device to search and refer to a restaurant menu as needed, and to search for a difference in the price of each restaurant. And a cooking price search method.

  The restaurant menu can be viewed only by entering the store unless it is a fast food store or chain store. There are only a few restaurants on the Internet that introduce menus of restaurants. For example, the price range according to the day and night, or XX courses and XX unlimited dishes are recommended. In many cases, it only shows the price.

  It would be very convenient if the restaurant menu could be referred to via the Internet. However, there is currently no website that provides an unspecified number of users with a restaurant menu.

  And it is only disclosed that a prior art document can make a registered member refer to the menu of a specific store. For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-102342), a registered user (member) notifies a registered user when a registered user (member) notifies the user of a desired food or genre for a delivery service of a registered restaurant. An apparatus that selects a menu that meets a condition based on the preference information and provides it to a registered user is disclosed.

JP 2004-102342 A

  In view of the background as described above, the present invention provides a cooking price search device that allows an unspecified number of people to search and refer to a restaurant menu in a timely manner as necessary. Objective.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
A menu database storage unit that stores and stores a menu database for each restaurant that associates the name of a dish with each price of the name of the dish, and associates the store name and location information of the restaurant,
Search request accepting means for presenting a search item that can be searched using the menu database of the menu database storage unit and receiving a search request;
A search result for generating search result information by performing a search corresponding to the search item requested by the search request received by the search request receiving means, and providing the generated search result information in response to the search request Information generating and providing means;
A generation storage means for generating a menu database for each restaurant and storing it in the menu database storage unit,
The generation storage means
A collection means for collecting menu images of restaurants posted via the Internet;
Character information extraction means for extracting characters from the menu image and converting them into character information;
Restaurant information acquisition means for acquiring at least the name and location information of the restaurant that provides the menu included in the menu image from the character information from the character information extraction means or information accompanying the menu image;
Based on the character information from the character information extraction means, extract the name of the dish and the price of the name of the dish in association with each other from the extracted writing and price characters, and the restaurant information Menu database generation means for generating a menu database for each restaurant by associating the store name and location information of the restaurant acquired by the acquisition means;
A cooking price search apparatus comprising:

  In the present invention configured as described above, the collecting means collects menu images of restaurants posted via the Internet on, for example, blog sites, word-of-mouth sites, SNS (Social Networking Service), and the like. The collecting means accepts and collects menu images posted directly from the restaurant or the user through the Internet.

  Then, character information extraction means extracts character information from the collected menu image. The restaurant information acquisition unit detects and acquires the store name from the character information extracted by the character information extraction unit, and acquires the location information of the restaurant from, for example, information on a telephone number and an address. Alternatively, when the menu image is photographed image information taken at a restaurant, the restaurant information acquisition means acquires the location information of the restaurant and the restaurant name from the accompanying information such as Exif information. can do.

  The menu database generation means extracts the item name of the dish and the price information of the item name of the dish in association with each other from the item writing and price character information extracted by the character information extraction means. Then, the menu database generation means associates the correspondence information between the extracted product name and price information with the restaurant name and location information of the restaurant acquired by the store information acquisition means, thereby providing a menu database for each restaurant. Is generated. The generated menu database for each restaurant is accumulated and held in the menu database storage unit.

  The search request receiving means presents search items that can be searched using the menu database in the menu database storage unit to the user, and receives a search request from the user. The search result information generation / providing means generates a search result information by performing a search corresponding to the search item requested by the search request received by the search request receiving means, and corresponds the generated search result information to the search request. To the user.

  If the search request is a menu of a restaurant selected and designated by the user, the search result information generation providing means generates menu information of the specified restaurant as search result information with reference to the menu database storage unit. , To provide to users.

  According to the dish price search device according to the present invention, an arbitrary user can make a search request in a timely manner as necessary, and can acquire menu information of a designated restaurant, and can provide a menu for each price of a restaurant. You can easily search for differences.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of the communication system containing embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the server apparatus of the menu site of embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the flowchart for demonstrating the example of a production | generation process operation of the menu database in embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the menu database in embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the menu database in embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen used for description of the example of a search process provided by the server apparatus of embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen used for description of the example of a search process provided by the server apparatus of embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen used for description of the example of a search process provided by the server apparatus of embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen used for description of the example of a search process provided by the server apparatus of embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen used for description of the example of a search process provided by the server apparatus of embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen used for description of the example of a search process provided by the server apparatus of embodiment of the dish price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows a part of flowchart for demonstrating the search processing operation example in the server apparatus of embodiment of the cooking price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows a part of flowchart for demonstrating the search processing operation example in the server apparatus of embodiment of the cooking price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows a part of flowchart for demonstrating the search processing operation example in the server apparatus of embodiment of the cooking price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows a part of flowchart for demonstrating the search processing operation example in the server apparatus of embodiment of the cooking price search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows a part of flowchart for demonstrating the search processing operation example in the server apparatus of embodiment of the cooking price search apparatus by this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a dish price search device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An embodiment of the dish price search apparatus described below is a case where the dish price search apparatus is configured as a server apparatus connected to a communication network including the Internet.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a communication system including a server device 1 constituting a dish price search device according to the present invention. The server device 1 is a menu site connected to a communication network, in this example, the Internet 2. Is provided. The Internet 2 includes a blog site 3 (server), a word-of-mouth posting site (server) 4, an SNS (Social Networking Service) site (server) 5, a photo sharing site (server) 6, and a restaurant website. (Server) 7 etc. are connected. A plurality of blog sites 3, word-of-mouth posting sites 4, SNS sites 5, photo sharing sites 6, and restaurants' homepage sites 7 are connected to the Internet 2.

  The Internet 2 also includes, for example, a high-function mobile phone terminal called a personal computer or a smartphone, or a user terminal 8 composed of a tablet PC (PC is an abbreviation for personal computer) and a personal computer installed in a restaurant. A store terminal 9 is also connected. A plurality of these user terminals 8 and store terminals 9 are also connected to the Internet 2. Further, in this example, the Internet 2 is also connected to a map site (server) 10 having a service function for performing a nearest search of a specified position or a surrounding search of a specified position with respect to map data. Has been.

  A user of the user terminal 8 consisting of a personal computer or a mobile phone terminal or a user of the store terminal 9 posts a blog to the blog site 3 through the Internet 2, posts a review to the review posting site 4, and SNS Post a message on Site 5. At that time, in the message from the user terminal 8 or the store terminal 9, photograph information (including photograph image information and Exif (Exchangeable image file format) information as accompanying information) taken by the camera is posted. There are many cases. The posted photo information often includes image information of restaurant menu images. For example, a user of the user terminal 8 takes a picture of a menu at a restaurant that he / she visits, and uses the photographed image information (image information of the menu image) as a blog site 3, a review posting site 4, an SNS site 5, a photo sharing site 6, etc. If you post to In addition, the store clerk and the owner (owner) of the restaurant terminal 9 of the restaurant take a picture of the menu of the restaurant, and use the photographed image information (image information of the menu image) as the blog site 3, the word-of-mouth posting site 4, and the SNS site. 5. In some cases, posting to the photo sharing site 6 or the like.

  In the Exif information accompanying the photo information, the user terminal 8 and the store terminal 9 receive a signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite in addition to information such as a shooting date and time and shooting conditions at the time of shooting. When a GPS positioning function for detecting the current position is provided, information on the shooting location is also included. Since the menu is usually photographed in a restaurant, it is estimated that the image information of the menu image includes the location information of the restaurant.

  In this specification, the photographic image information includes not only the still image captured image information but also the moving image captured image information. Moreover, the photograph information photographed by the camera may be taken into the user terminal 8 or the store terminal 9 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, for example, or via a card type memory such as an SD card. May be taken into the user terminal 8 or the store terminal 9. The user terminal 8 and the store terminal 9 store the image information of the photograph information obtained by photographing the menu together with the accompanying information in the built-in memory, and read and add it when posting a blog, posting a review, posting an SNS message, or the like. In some cases, posting or posting of photo information obtained by photographing a menu to the photo sharing site 6 together with accompanying information is possible.

  The blog site 3 publishes the poster's blog through the Internet 2. When the blog has photo information, the photo image information is also released simultaneously. Also on the word-of-mouth posting site 4, word-of-mouth and photographic image information are released simultaneously. In the SNS site 5 as well, participants often exchange messages between friends, and when photo information is added, the photo information is also released through the Internet 2. In the photo sharing site 6, posted photo information is stored together with Exif information as accompanying information, and is also made public through the Internet 2. Therefore, when the menu information is included in the photo information, the server apparatus 1 collects the menu image from the blog site 3, the word-of-mouth posting site 4, the SNS site 5, and the photo sharing site 6 through the Internet 2. It is possible.

  In addition, on the website 7 of the restaurant home page, menu images may be posted on the home page. Therefore, the server device 1 can also collect menu images posted on the restaurant home page through the Internet 2.

  The server device 1 of the menu site crawls the blog site 3, the word-of-mouth posting site 4, the SNS site 5, the photo sharing site 6, and the store homepage site 7 connected to the Internet 2, and is published on these sites. A menu image and Exif information associated therewith, and a function of storing and holding the image information of the collected menu image and the associated information.

  Further, the server device 1 has a function of accepting posting of a menu image (image information obtained by taking a picture of a menu) for its own URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Therefore, in this embodiment, the store terminal 9 can also post directly to the server device 1 a menu image obtained by photographing the menu of its own restaurant with a camera. Further, in this embodiment, the server device 1 not only posts the menu image from the store terminal 9, but also when the user of the user terminal 8 posts the menu image acquired by photographing, the menu image Accept posts. And the server apparatus 1 memorize | stores and hold | maintains the image information of the menu image which received those contributions with the attached Exif information.

  Then, the server device 1 extracts character information including product writing and price from the stored image information of the menu image, and creates and accumulates a menu database for each restaurant using the extracted character information. Furthermore, the server apparatus 1 acquires the restaurant name and location information of the restaurant that provides the menu included in the menu image, and includes them in the menu database of each restaurant. As will be described later, the restaurant name and location information of a restaurant may be obtained by searching based on character information extracted from a menu image, or obtained based on Exif information attached to the menu image. .

  Using the menu database generated and accumulated as described above, the server device 1 provides menu information of a restaurant that has been selected and specified in response to a search request from the user terminal 8 or is displayed on the menu. For example, price information corresponding to the type, item, and item name of the dish is provided to the user terminal 8.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the server apparatus 1 performs the nearest search of the restaurant of the provided menu information and the periphery search according to the request | requirement from the user terminal 8 by cooperation of the map site 10. It also has functions.

[Configuration example of server device 1 of menu site]
In this example, the server device 1 has a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 2 in order to realize the processing functions described above. That is, the server device 1 in this example includes a control unit 101, a communication interface 102, a menu image collection unit 103, a character information extraction unit 104, a menu image reception unit 105, a restaurant information acquisition unit 106, a menu database with respect to the bus 100. The generating unit 107, the menu database storage unit 108, the search request receiving unit 109, the search result information generation providing unit 110, the nearest / periphery search processing unit 111, and the menu image storage unit 112 are connected.

  The control unit 101 controls the overall operation of the server device 1 and is configured by a computer.

  The communication interface 102 is an interface for connecting to the Internet 2 and transmitting / receiving information through the Internet 2.

  The menu image collection unit 103 crawls the blog site 3, the word-of-mouth posting site 4, the SNS site 5, the photo sharing site 6, and the store homepage site 7 connected to the Internet 2, and is published on these sites. The menu image and the Exif information associated therewith are collected, and the image information of the collected menu image and the Exif information that is the accompanying information are stored in the menu image storage unit 112.

  The menu image receiving unit 105 receives the image information of the menu image and the accompanying Exif information posted directly from the store terminal 9 or the user terminal 8 to the server device 1, and stores and stores them in the menu image storage unit 112.

  The character information extraction unit 104 is a functional unit that recognizes characters from a photographic image, extracts characters, and converts them into character information. Can be. Further, the character information extraction unit 104 may be configured by a functional unit that extracts characters from the menu image using an OCR (Optical Character Reader) and converts them into character information.

  The character information extraction unit 104 reads the menu image information stored and held in the menu image storage unit 112, and from the menu image, the written characters, the price characters, the restaurant name characters, the phone number characters And so on. Then, the character information extraction unit 104 transfers the character information of the extracted characters to the restaurant information acquisition unit 106 and the menu database generation unit 107.

  The restaurant information acquisition unit 106 acquires the restaurant name from the character information from the character information extraction unit 104 if the restaurant name can be acquired. And the telephone number is often described in the restaurant menu. In addition, the sites connected to the Internet 2 include sites that can search for corresponding subscriber names and addresses from telephone numbers. Using this, the restaurant information acquisition unit 106 receives the character information of the telephone number from the character information extraction unit 104, and uses the telephone number to register the subscriber name and the telephone number corresponding to the telephone number through the Internet 2. An address, that is, a restaurant name in this case, is acquired, and the address is acquired. And based on the acquired address, the positional information (latitude, longitude) is obtained from the map site 10, for example.

  The restaurant information acquisition unit 106 acquires the shooting position, that is, the position information of the restaurant, from the Exif information that is accompanying information of the menu image even if the telephone number cannot be acquired from the menu image. And the restaurant information acquisition part 106 acquires the shop name of a restaurant from the map site 10 using the positional information on a restaurant.

  As described above, the restaurant information acquisition unit 106 acquires the restaurant name and address (including position information acquired as necessary) based on the character information extracted by the character information extraction unit 104. Moreover, the restaurant information acquisition part 106 acquires a restaurant name, location information, and an address based on the Exif information, when Exif information is attached to the menu image. Then, the store name information, address, and location information of the acquired restaurant are matched to determine the store name, address, and location information of the restaurant that provides the menu included in the menu image, and the determined store name of the restaurant The address and position information are sent to the menu database generation unit 107.

  In this embodiment, the restaurant information acquisition unit 106 receives the character information extracted by the character information extraction unit 104 and the Exif information attached to the menu image information in order to further ensure the accuracy of the acquired information. However, either one of them may be used. Further, the information acquired in any one of them may be used as it is, and the matching may not be performed.

  The menu database generation unit 107 selects the types of dishes provided by restaurants such as Chinese food, Japanese food (Japanese food), Western food (Western food), and mixed food from the character information extracted by the character information extraction unit 104. Authorize. In this case, if possible, for example, Chinese cuisine, Beijing cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Shanghai cuisine, etc., Japanese cuisine, kaiseki cuisine, sushi restaurant, soba restaurant, udon restaurant, eel restaurant, etc. For example, sub-categories such as French, Italian and Spanish will be certified.

  In addition, the menu database generation unit 107 uses the character information of the item writing and the price of the character information extracted by the character information extraction unit 104 to determine each of the dish item, the dish item name, and the dish item name. The price is extracted in association with the price. Here, the dish item means a group consisting of a group of product names such as noodles, rice, soups, course dishes, and the like. Further, in this example, the cooking items include course dishes and dishes with ranks such as plum, bamboo, pine, upper, middle, and lower. For example, in the case of Chinese food, the name of the dish means the name of each dish, such as ramen, fried rice, or Chinese bowl. Further, if the item is a course dish, the product name is the name of a course such as a plum course, a bamboo course, a pine course, or a special course. In addition, if the item has a rank such as plum, bamboo, pine, top, middle, or bottom (for example, octopus, bamboo shoots, etc.), the name of the rank such as plum, bamboo, pine, top, middle, or bottom is the product name. It is said.

  The menu database generation unit 107 associates the type, item, item name, and item price of these dishes with each other, and associates the restaurant name, address, telephone number, and position information of the restaurant acquired by the restaurant information acquisition unit 106. A menu database for each restaurant is generated. In this embodiment, the menu database for each restaurant includes the storage position (menu image address) in the menu image storage unit 112 of the menu image of the restaurant. This is because the menu image can be provided as a search result. The menu data generation unit 107 accumulates and stores the generated menu database for each restaurant in the menu database storage unit 108.

  The menu image collection unit 103, the character information extraction unit 104, the menu image reception unit 105, the restaurant information acquisition unit 106, and the menu database generation unit 107 described above are not limited to the character information extraction unit 104. The processing function can be executed using a software program.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an example of the flow of processing from collection and reception of menu images to menu database creation. In the following description of the flowchart of FIG. 3, the control unit 101 softens all of the menu image collection unit 103, the character information extraction unit 104, the menu image reception unit 105, the restaurant information acquisition unit 106, and the menu database generation unit 107. A case will be described where the program is executed using a wear program.

  First, the control unit 101 crawls the above-described site on the Internet 2 to search for a restaurant menu image (step S101). And the control part 101 discriminate | determines whether the menu image was able to be acquired (step S102), and when it discriminate | determines that it was not able to acquire, the posting from the store terminal 9 of the restaurant or the posting from the user terminal 8 is carried out. Is determined (step S103). If it is determined in step S103 that the posting of the menu image has not been accepted, the control unit 101 returns the process to step S101 and repeats the processes after step S101.

  When it is determined in step S102 that the menu image has been acquired, or when it is determined in step S103 that the posting of the menu image has been received, the control unit 101 acquires the acquired menu image or the image information of the menu image received by the posting. Is stored in the menu image storage unit 112 together with the Exif information which is accompanying information (step S104).

  Next, the control unit 101 extracts characters such as restaurant names, product descriptions, prices, and telephone numbers from the menu image stored in the menu image storage unit 112 by the function of the character information extraction unit 104, and converts the characters into character information. (Step S105). Next, the control unit 101 acquires the restaurant name, address, and location information of the restaurant based on the telephone number extracted from the menu image by the function of the restaurant information acquisition unit 106 (step S106), and displays the menu image. Based on the accompanying Exif information, the location information, store name, and address of the restaurant are acquired, and the store name, address, and location information of the restaurant are specified (step S107).

  Next, the control unit 101 uses the character information extracted in step S105 and the restaurant name, address, position information, and the like of the restaurant specified in step S107, and the menu of the restaurant that provides the menu of the menu image. A database is generated and stored in the menu database storage unit 108 (step S108). Next to step S108, the control unit 101 returns the process to step S101, and repeats the processes after step S101.

  Examples of the menu database stored in the menu database storage unit 108 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 each show an example of a menu database for one restaurant. The data structure of the menu database in this example is as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, and includes a restaurant name (restaurant name), a dish type, an address and location information, a telephone number, and a menu image address. The data structure is such that the items of the dish, the names of the dishes belonging to the respective items, and the prices of the names of the dishes are associated with each other.

  The example of FIG. 4 is a menu database of a restaurant where the cuisine type is Chinese cuisine, and the example of FIG. 5 is a menu database of a restaurant where the cuisine type is Japanese food and the subcategory is an eel shop. The address includes position information (latitude and longitude) as described above. As described above, the menu image address is address information in the menu image storage unit 112 of the menu image collected or received by posting. With this menu image address, the corresponding menu image can be easily read out.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the menu database of this example, the item includes a course dish, each course name is shown as the item name of the item of the course dish, and the price of the dish of each course name Are recorded in association with each other. Similarly, for a dish whose item has a rank, the rank name is shown as the item name, and the price of the dish having the rank name is recorded in association with the rank name.

  The server device 1 of this embodiment uses the menu database generated and accumulated as described above, accepts a search request from any user, and provides and specifies menu information of the specified restaurant. A function is provided to provide a list of food types, items, and product names in order of price. In addition, the server device 1 of this embodiment also has a function of responding to the convenience of the user by performing a nearest search or a peripheral search for a restaurant with a store name designated by the user. The search request receiving unit 109, the search result information generation / providing unit 110, and the nearest / periphery search processing unit 111 are functional units for that purpose.

  The search request receiving unit 109 has a function of presenting search items that can be searched using the menu database stored in the menu database storage unit 108 to the user of the user terminal 8 and receiving a search request from the user. When receiving a search request from the user, the search request receiving unit 109 sends the search request to the search result information generation / providing unit 110.

  The search result information generation providing unit 110 searches the menu database in the menu database storage unit 108 based on the search item content requested by the search request received from the search request receiving unit, generates search result information, and generates the search result information. The search result information is provided to the user terminal 8 that has requested the search.

  When receiving the designation of the restaurant name and the nearest search instruction from the user of the user terminal 8, the nearest / periphery search processing unit 111 includes the location information of the designated restaurant on the map site 10. A nearby search request is sent to obtain the nearest search result, and the obtained nearest search result is transferred to the user terminal 8. Further, when the nearest / periphery search processing unit 111 receives a designation of a restaurant name and an instruction for a peripheral search from the user of the user terminal 8, the map site 10 includes location information of the designated restaurant. A peripheral search request is sent to acquire the peripheral search result, and the acquired peripheral search result is transferred to the user terminal 8.

  In the server device 1 of this embodiment, the search request accepting unit 109 has a store search for providing the corresponding menu information from the store name of the restaurant as a major item of the search item, and the type and item of the dish. , It is possible to perform a dish search that provides a corresponding price order list from the product name.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search screen display image displayed on the display screen 8 </ b> D of the display of the user terminal 8 when a store search is requested from the user terminal 8. As shown in FIG. 6, the search screen includes a region range designation column 21 for performing a search, a check column 22 for accepting designation of whether to display a list in ascending order of price, and a list display in descending order of price. A check field 23 and a search item display field 24 for accepting designation of whether or not to perform are provided. The search screen further receives an icon button (store search button) 25 for receiving a store search instruction, an icon button (food search button) 26 for receiving a dish search instruction, and a search execution instruction. Icon button (execution button) 27, an icon button (end button) 28 for receiving an end instruction, and an icon button (return button) 29 for receiving an instruction to return to the previous display screen are displayed. .

  The area range designation column 21 is a column for narrowing down and designating the area range for which the user requests a search. For specifying the narrowing down of the area range, for example, a list of area areas that can be narrowed down is displayed as a pull-down menu for the user, and is accepted by selection from the pull-down menu. The search result information generation / providing unit 110 searches only the menu database of restaurants existing in the designated area based on the location information of the menu database of restaurants in the menu database of the menu database storage unit 108. And

  The check column 22 is clicked to give a check mark when the user wants to provide a list in ascending order of cooking prices. Similarly, the check column 23 is clicked to give a check mark when the user wants to provide a list in descending order of cooking price. When the search target item is a dish name, the search result information generation / providing unit 110 refers to the check column 22 or the check column 23 and displays the list in ascending order of price. When the search target item includes a plurality of product names such as the type of dish and the item, the search result information generation providing unit 110 displays the average price of the prices of the plurality of product names or the plurality of product names. Based on the lowest price, the list is displayed in order from the lowest price to the highest price.

  In the search item display field 24, item names that can be selected and specified by the user among the search items specified by either the store search button 25 or the dish search button 26 are displayed as icon buttons (item name buttons) 30, respectively. ing.

  The display content of the search item display field 24 in FIG. 6 is a display image of an initial screen for search that is displayed in the same manner in both store search and dish search. That is, only the item name button 30 for the type of dish such as Chinese, Japanese, Western, or mixed is displayed in the search item display field 24 of the initial search screen. Then, in the search item display field 24 of the initial screen for search, the display contents after one of the dish type item name buttons 30 is designated by the user are different between the store search and the dish search.

  In the state of the initial screen for search in FIG. 6, when the store search button 25 is selected, and, for example, “Chinese” is selected as the dish type and the operation button 27 is instructed, the display image of the search item display field 24 is For example, as shown in FIG. That is, the search result information generation providing unit 110 that has received the instruction from the user terminal 8 via the search request receiving unit 109 selects a Chinese restaurant in the Tokyo area as a regional range in the menu database storage unit 108. Extracted from the menu database, the list of restaurant names of the restaurants is displayed side by side in ascending order of price in this example. In the search item display column 24, the display image can be vertically scrolled, and it is needless to say that the display image portion that is not displayed on one screen can be viewed by the user performing a scroll operation. .

  Although omitted in FIG. 7 for simplicity of illustration, if the menu database includes subcategories such as Beijing cuisine and Cantonese cuisine for Chinese cuisine, the search is performed according to the subcategory. It goes without saying that you can do it.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the search result information generation / providing unit 110 displays, in the search item display field 24, in addition to the list of restaurants in the search result, a menu is displayed by clicking “Store name”. The message “Masu” is displayed. The search request receiving unit 109 sends this display image information to the user terminal 8 for presentation.

  When the user of the user terminal 8 clicks the desired store name on the display screen of FIG. 7, it is passed to the search result information generation / providing unit 110 via the search request receiving unit 109. Then, the search result information generation and provision unit 110 generates a display image (see FIG. 8) for displaying the menu information of the restaurant with the designated store name in the search item display field 24 and sends it to the user terminal 8. In this case, the search result information generation / providing unit 110 reads out the menu image stored in the menu image storage unit 112 as the menu information to be provided by using the menu image address of the menu database of the designated restaurant. To be provided to the user terminal 8.

  The search result information generation / providing unit 110 generates a menu table from the menu database stored in the menu database storage unit 108 instead of the menu image stored in the menu image storage unit 112, and the user terminal 8 You may make it send to.

  As shown in FIG. 8, at this time, the search result information generation / providing unit 110 combines the nearest search button 31 and the surrounding search button 32 each including an icon button in the search item display field 24 for displaying the restaurant menu. To display.

  Therefore, the user of the user terminal 8 can make a nearest search request to the server device 1 by clicking on the nearest search button 31, and can also click on the neighborhood search button 32 to click on the nearest search button 32. A peripheral search request can be sent to the server device 1. In the server device 1, when the nearest / neighbor search processing unit 111 receives these nearest search requests or neighborhood search requests through the search request accepting unit 109, it cooperates with the map site 10 as described above. Thus, the search result of the nearest search or the search result of the peripheral search is sent to the user terminal 8.

  Further, a case will be described in which the dish search button 26 is selected on the search initial screen in FIG. 6, one of the dish types is selected, and an operation instruction for the execution button 27 is given. At this time, in the search item display field 24, first, a list of items for the selected dish type is displayed, and for one of the items for the dish, an instruction to expand the name of the lower layer is displayed. When it is done, a list of the names of all dishes included in the dish item is displayed. FIG. 9 shows that when the dish search button 26 is selected, Chinese is selected as the dish type, the operation button 27 is instructed, and a list of items is displayed. It is an example of the display screen of the display of the user terminal 8 when an instruction to expand the product name is made. As shown in FIG. 9, other display parts other than the display contents of the search item display field 24 are the same as in the case of store search.

  That is, the search result information generation / providing unit 110 that has received the click of the dish search button and the selection instruction of the type of cuisine via the search request accepting unit 109, based on the menu database in the menu database storage unit 108, The list information of items that can be searched as Chinese items of the type is generated and sent to the user terminal 8 through the search request receiving unit 109. Then, the search result information generation / providing unit 110 that has received an instruction to develop the name of the lower layer of the noodles of the cooking item via the search request accepting unit 109, based on the menu database in the menu database storage unit 108, List information of item names that can be searched as noodles of Chinese items of the same type is generated and sent to the user terminal 8 through the search request receiving unit 109.

  Then, when the user of the user terminal 8 selects a desired product name, for example, “church men” on the display screen of FIG. 9 and operates the execution button 27, it generates search result information via the search request receiving unit 109. It is passed to the providing unit 110. Then, the search result information generation and provision unit 110 extracts the price of the designated product name from the menu database in the menu database storage unit 108, and associates the product name with the restaurant name of the restaurant, in ascending order or descending order. Display images to be displayed in a list in a specified order are generated and sent to the user terminal 8. FIG. 10 shows an example of the display screen of the display of the user terminal 8 at that time, and the list is displayed in ascending order of price.

  In addition, in this embodiment, not only the list of restaurants and prices in the order of cheaper or higher price for each product name, but also the list of restaurants and prices in the order of cheaper or higher price for each item are also search targets. It can be specified as an item. That is, in this case, in this example, the execution button 27 is clicked with one of the items selected on the display screen of FIG.

  Then, the search result information generation / providing unit 110 refers to the menu database in the target area range in the menu database of the menu database storage unit 108 and, for example, the average price for the specified item in the menu database of each restaurant A display image is generated that is displayed in a list in the order specified in the order of cheap or high, in association with the calculated price, the item, and the restaurant name of the restaurant. send. In addition, as a standard to decide the order of cheaper or higher order for items, it is not the average value of multiple product names included in the item, but the cheapest order is based on the lowest price, and the highest order is the highest. A value may be used as a reference.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a display screen on the display of the user terminal 8 for the search result information when a search for an item is requested. This is a case where a course dish is selected and specified as an item. This is an example in which the average values of a plurality of product names included are arranged in ascending order based on the average value. As shown in FIG. 11, in the case of this example, the price for each course name of the course dish of each restaurant is displayed.

  In the dish search, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the search item display field 24 displays a guidance message “A menu is displayed when a store name is clicked” together with the list. Then, when the user of the user terminal 8 clicks on one store name in the same manner as in the store search, as shown in FIG. 8, a screen for displaying a restaurant menu of the store name is displayed in the search item display field. 24. Then, in the same manner as described above, it is possible to perform a nearest search or a periphery search for a restaurant where a menu is displayed.

  In the above example, it is possible to provide a list of restaurants and prices in ascending or descending order of price for each product name or item, but not only for each product name or item, but also for each type of dish. It is also possible to search and provide a list of restaurants and prices in ascending or descending order.

  The search request accepting unit 109, the search result information generating / providing unit 110, and the nearest / periphery search processing unit 111 described above can all be executed by the control unit 101 using a software program. is there.

  12 to 16, when the control unit 101 executes all of the processing functions of the search request receiving unit 109, the search result information generation providing unit 110, and the nearest / periphery search processing unit 111 using a software program. The flowchart of the example of the flow of processing from acceptance of a search request to search result generation provision is shown.

  First, the control unit 101 waits for access from the user terminal 8 (step S201). When the control unit 101 determines that the access from the user terminal 8 has been received, the control unit 101 displays an initial search screen as shown in FIG. (Step S202).

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether the store search button 25 is selected, the dish type is selected, and the execution button 27 is operated to make a store search request (step S203). When it is determined in this step S203 that a store search request has been made, the control unit 101 generates a store search screen as shown in FIG. 7 and sends it to the user terminal 8 (step S204).

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not a store name of one restaurant has been clicked on the store search screen as shown in FIG. 7 (step S205). The menu information of the restaurant with the selected store name, in this example, the menu image (see FIG. 8) is sent to the user terminal 8 (step S206).

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not a nearest search request has been made by operating the nearest search button 31 on the display screen shown in FIG. 8 (step S207). When it is determined in step S207 that the nearest search request has been made, the control unit 101 acquires the location information of the restaurant selected in step S205 from the menu database storage unit 108, and includes the location information including the location information. A search request is sent to the map site 10, and a nearest search result including map information including the nearest station is acquired from the map site 10 and sent to the user terminal 8 (step S208).

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the return button 29 has been operated (step S209). If it is determined that the return button 29 has been operated, the process returns to step S204, and the processes after step S204 are repeated. . When it is determined in step S209 that the return button 29 is not operated, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the end button 28 is operated (step S210), and determines that the end button 28 is not operated. Sometimes, the process returns to step S209, and when it is determined that the end button 28 has been operated, this processing routine is ended.

  When it is determined in step S207 that the nearest search request has not been made, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the neighborhood search request has been made by operating the neighborhood search button 32 (step S221 in FIG. 13). When it is determined in this step S221 that the neighborhood search request has been made, the control unit 101 acquires the location information of the restaurant selected in step S205 from the menu database storage unit 108, and includes the location search including the location information. A request is sent to the map site 10, and a peripheral search result including map information including information on other nearby stores is acquired from the map site 10 and sent to the user terminal 8 (step S 222). And the control part 101 advances a process to step S209, and repeats the process after this step S209.

  When it is determined in step S221 that a peripheral search request has not been made, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the return button 29 has been operated (step S223). When it is determined that the return button 29 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S221. It returns to S204 and repeats the process after this step S204. When it is determined in step S223 that the return button 29 is not operated, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the end button 28 is operated (step S224), and determines that the end button 28 is not operated. Sometimes, the process returns to step S207, and when it is determined that the end button 28 has been operated, this processing routine is ended.

  If it is determined in step S203 that the store search request has not been made, the control unit 101 selects the dish search button 26, selects the dish type, and operates the execution button 27 to make a dish search request. It is determined whether or not it has been made (step S231 in FIG. 14). When it is determined in step S231 that a dish search request has been made, the control unit 101 generates a dish search screen as shown in FIG. 9 and sends it to the user terminal 8 (step S232).

  When it is determined in step S231 that a dish search request has not been made, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the end button 28 has been operated (step S233), and when it has determined that the end button 28 has not been operated. Then, the process returns to step S203, and when it is determined that the end button 28 has been operated, this processing routine is ended.

  Then, after step S232, the control unit 101 determines whether one of the items is selected and the execution button 27 is operated on the dish search screen as shown in FIG. 9 (FIG. 16). Step S251). If it is determined in step S251 that one of the items has been selected and the execution button 27 has been operated, the control unit 101 refers to the check columns 22 and 23 to determine whether the list list is displayed in ascending order. It is determined whether the order is higher (step S252).

  Then, the control unit 101 generates, for the selected item, a list in which the correspondence information between the store name, all the item names included in the item, and the respective prices is arranged in the order of cheap or high determined in step S252. Then, it is sent to the user terminal 8 (step S253).

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the store name has been clicked from the list (step S254). If it is determined that the store name has been clicked, the process proceeds to step S206 in FIG. Run. If it is determined in step S254 that the store name has not been clicked, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the return button 29 has been operated (step S255). If it is determined that the return button 29 has been operated, the process is performed. Returning to step S202, the processing after step S202 is performed. If it is determined in step S255 that the return button 29 has not been operated, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the end button 28 has been operated (step S256), and has determined that the end button 28 has not been operated. Sometimes, the process returns to step S251, and when it is determined that the end button 28 has been operated, this processing routine is ended.

  When it is determined in step S251 that no item has been selected or the execution button 27 has not been operated, the control unit 101 has selected the item name and has operated the execution button 27. If the product name is selected and it is determined that the execution button 27 is operated, the check columns 22 and 23 are referred to, and the display order of the list is in ascending order or descending order. Is discriminated (step S258).

  And the control part 101 produces | generates the list | wrist list which arranged the correspondence information of the store name and the price of the product name for the selected product name in the order of cheap or high determined in step S258, and sends it to the user terminal 8. (Step S259). And the control part 101 advances a process to step S254, and performs the process after this step S254.

  If it is determined in step S257 that no product name has been selected or the execution button 27 has not been operated, the control unit 101 advances the process to step S255, and performs the processes in and after step S255.

  When it is determined in step S205 in FIG. 12 that the store name has not been clicked, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the return button 29 has been operated (step S241 in FIG. 15), and the return button 29 has been operated. If it is determined that the process has been performed, the process returns to step S202, and the processes subsequent to step S202 are performed. When it is determined in step S241 that the return button 29 is not operated, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the end button 28 is operated (step S242), and determines that the end button 28 is not operated. Sometimes, the process returns to step S205, and when it is determined that the end button 28 has been operated, this processing routine is ended.

[Effect of the embodiment]
As described above, the server device 1 as an embodiment of the dish price search device collects menu images through the Internet or receives and obtains posts, and extracts characters from the menu images. A menu database for each restaurant can be generated and stored. And the server apparatus 1 receives the search request | requirement about the menu of the restaurant from arbitrary users by using this accumulated | stored menu database, and provides the menu information of the restaurant which a user desires suitably. Can do.

  Moreover, in the server apparatus of the above-mentioned embodiment, while being able to obtain a list of restaurants and their prices in order of price for each type and item of dish, the menu information of the desired restaurant is obtained from the list. Convenient to do.

  Moreover, in the server apparatus of the above-mentioned embodiment, since the nearest search and the periphery search about the restaurant which provides the menu of menu information can be performed, for the user, the nearest station or the periphery of the restaurant It is easy to know, very convenient and easy to use.

[Other Embodiments or Modifications]
In the above-described embodiment, in order to generate the menu database, only the image information of the menu image is collected through the Internet or a posting is received. However, there are many cases where a blog, a word of mouth, or a message posted by SNS includes a store name, a product name, and a price. Therefore, in the present invention, messages posted by blogs, word-of-mouth and SNS are collected through the Internet, and the server apparatus 1 receives the posts directly, analyzes the character information of those messages, and analyzes the information. It is also possible to generate a menu database using the results. Furthermore, in the present invention, any information related to menus that can be collected through the Internet can be used to generate a menu database.

  In the above embodiment, in the store search, the list of restaurants is provided only in order from the lowest to the highest price for each type of dish, but the price of each item in the lower layer of the type of dish is A list of restaurants may be provided in ascending order or in descending order.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the server apparatus 1 which is embodiment of a dish price search apparatus cooperated with a map site and performed the nearest search and the periphery search, the server apparatus 1 itself uses a map database. Needless to say, the nearest search and the peripheral search may be performed.

  Moreover, although the above embodiment demonstrated providing the menu of the food always provided in a restaurant, also about a so-called weekly menu and a daily menu, it collects a menu image or accepts posting, Similarly to the above, a menu database of weekly menus or daily menus for each restaurant may be generated and stored. Then, for the search items that can be searched by the user, the user is provided with items related to the weekly menu and the daily menu, and, as described above, a list of restaurants in order of price for each type of dish, item, and product name. While providing it as a search result, the information of the weekly menu or daily menu of the restaurant specified by the user can also be provided to the user.

  In the above-described embodiment, the client terminal sends a search request to the server device 1 which is an embodiment of the dish price search device through a communication network. However, as a dish price search apparatus that accepts a search request and provides a search result, a so-called stand-alone apparatus is configured that accepts a user's search request through an operation unit included in the dish price search apparatus itself. You can also

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Control part, 11 ... Map data storage part, 12 ... NW data storage part for pedestrians, 13 ... NW data storage part for motor vehicles, 14 ... Route search part, 15 ... Memory part, 18 ... Route guidance process part, 19 ... Current position measurement unit, 151 ... Route search result storage unit

Claims (13)

A menu database storage unit that stores and stores a menu database for each restaurant that associates the name of a dish with each price of the name of the dish, and associates the store name and location information of the restaurant,
Search request accepting means for presenting a search item that can be searched using the menu database of the menu database storage unit and receiving a search request;
A search result for generating search result information by performing a search corresponding to the search item requested by the search request received by the search request receiving means, and providing the generated search result information in response to the search request Information generating and providing means;
A generation storage means for generating a menu database for each restaurant and storing it in the menu database storage unit,
The generation storage means
A collection means for collecting menu images of restaurants posted via the Internet;
Character information extraction means for extracting characters from the menu image and converting them into character information;
Restaurant information acquisition means for acquiring at least the name and location information of the restaurant that provides the menu included in the menu image from the character information from the character information extraction means or information accompanying the menu image;
Based on the character information from the character information extraction means, extract the name of the dish and the price of the name of the dish in association with each other from the extracted writing and price characters, and the restaurant information Menu database generation means for generating a menu database for each restaurant by associating the store name and location information of the restaurant acquired by the acquisition means;
A cooking price search device comprising: 2. The dish price according to claim 1, wherein the menu database generation unit determines a dish type of the restaurant from the character information from the character information extraction unit and includes it in the menu database. Search device. 3. The menu database generating unit determines a food item of the restaurant from the character information from the character information extracting unit, and includes the item in the menu database. The dish price search device described in 1. The collection unit includes a menu image reception unit that receives a post of a menu image from a restaurant, generates the menu database from the menu image received by the menu image reception unit, and additionally stores the menu database in the menu database storage unit. The dish price search apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The search request reception means presents a list of restaurant names as the search items,
The search result information generation / providing means, when receiving a search request accompanied by a store name selection instruction from the list, provides information on the menu of the restaurant of the store name specified by the selection instruction in response to the search request. The dish price search device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The search request accepting means presents a list of dish names as the search items,
When the search result information generation / providing means receives a search request accompanied by an instruction to select a product name from the list, the search result information generation / providing unit corresponds to the search request a list in order of price of the selected product name for a restaurant. The dish price search apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the dish price search apparatus is provided. The search request receiving means presents a list of dish types as the search items,
When the search result information generation / providing means receives a search request accompanied by a selection instruction of a dish type from the list, the search result information generation / providing means corresponds to the search request with a list in order of price for the restaurant of the selected dish type. The dish price search apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the dish price search apparatus is provided. The search request accepting means presents a list of food items as the search items,
When the search result information generation / providing means receives a search request accompanied by a selection instruction of a dish item from the list, the search request information generation means provides a list in order of prices of restaurants for the selected dish item. The dish price search apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the dish price search apparatus is provided corresponding to The search result information generation / providing means provides the list including the restaurant names in the price order list, and when the store name is instructed to be selected in the price order list, the food and drink of the store name instructed to be selected The dish price search apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein information on a shop menu is provided in response to the search request. The search request receiving means presents a nearest search as the search item,
The search result information generation / providing means performs the nearest search based on the location information of the restaurant of the selected store name, and provides the search result. 9. The dish price search device according to 9. The search request receiving means presents a peripheral search as the search item,
The search result information generation / providing means performs the peripheral search based on the location information of the restaurant with the selected store name, and provides the search result. The dish price search device described in 1. A communication unit connected to the communication network;
The search request accepting means sends the search item to the client device via the communication network through the communication unit and presents the search request from the client device sent through the communication network. Accepted through
The search result information generation / providing means sends the search result information to the client device via the communication unit via the communication network. The dish price search device described in 1. A menu database storage unit for storing and storing a menu database for each restaurant that associates the name of the dish with the price of each item name of the dish, and associates the store name and location information of the restaurant, storage means, and search A dish price search performed by a dish price search apparatus comprising request receiving means, search result information generation providing means, collection means, character information extraction means, restaurant information acquisition means, menu database generation means, and storage means. A method,
The search request receiving means presents a search item that can be searched using the menu database of the menu database storage unit, and receives a search request;
The search result information generation / providing means generates a search result information by performing a search corresponding to the search item requested in the search request received in the search request receiving step, and searches the generated search result information. A search result information generation and provision process provided in response to a request;
A collecting step in which the collecting means collects menu images of restaurants posted via the Internet;
The character information extracting means extracts characters from the menu image and converts them into character information; and
The restaurant information acquisition means acquires at least the restaurant name and location information of the restaurant that provides the menu included in the menu image from the character information extracted in the character information extraction step or the information accompanying the menu image. Restaurant information acquisition process,
Based on the character information extracted in the character information extraction step, the menu database generation means associates the item name of the dish with the price of the item name of the dish from the extracted item writing and price characters. A menu database generating step for generating a menu database for each restaurant by extracting and associating the store name and location information of the restaurant acquired in the restaurant information acquiring step;
A storage step in which the storage means stores and holds the menu database for each restaurant generated in the menu database generation step in the menu database storage unit;
A cooking price search method.

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