JPH11211305A - Home catering refrigerator for the aged and safety confirming system employing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm preservation of daily provision of meal and safety of the aged based on the taking in and out of a tray by providing three independent refrigerating rooms in a refrigerator such that the shelf of each room can take in and out a plurality of trays each mounting a meal and providing a sensor. SOLUTION: Three refrigerating rooms 1a-1c with three doors of independent structure are arranged laterally in a refrigerator and a plurality of trays 2 each mounting a meal are contained vertically in each room at a constant interval such that they can be taken in and out in the lateral direction. Trays 2 for one week are contained in each room of the refrigerator while being inserted into a unit shelf 3. Each refrigerating room is provided with a sensor for detecting taking out of the tray 2 at each time of meal. The sensor detects variation of weight or detects taking in and out of tray using infrared rays and a detection signal is transmitted to a host computer where the using state is managed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator for storing home meals for the elderly and a safety confirmation system for the elderly using the refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the establishment of long-term care insurance, companies have been studying ways to support the life of the elderly in Japan. As for the method, the delivery cost is high and it is not feasible as a business, and at present it is supported by volunteer activities. It is important for the elderly to be reassured and to receive meals continuously, and it is important for someone to check their activities at all times, but it is very difficult to check them without violating their private lives. There is a method of contacting elderly people using channel wiring of, and a method of checking the safety by attaching a sensor to a water heater such as a pot, etc.
Not a definitive method. Troubles such as changes in the physical condition of the elderly, cerebrovascular disorder, heart disease, and accidents require immediate treatment, and in many cases, prompt treatment on the day can help. There are many accident reports, and in this case, sudden cases that cannot be contacted by themselves are common, and it is a system that is desired in an aging society where intensive management of safety confirmation regularly throughout the day . In addition, there are many cases in which the spouse who cares for the care recipient needs to harm their health, and the symptoms of the care recipient need to be worse. There have already been accidents that have made it difficult to judge even if the situation has deteriorated.

[0003] The rhythm of life of the elderly is generally planned and operated based on the intervals between meals and meal times during the morning, noon and evening. It is more desirable that the older the elderly, the more wake-up and sleep time have a regular rhythm, and the more stable the meal intake time. For this reason, it is important to check the daily life of the elderly according to their individual characteristics from the time of daily meal intake. It is considered that it is desirable to convert the data and confirm the safety of living data together. In particular, a method that can always confirm safety is indispensable for supporting the elderly living alone and elderly couples who need care. The first guideline is thought to be a method of checking the health status of the elderly based on their eating habits that match the lifestyle pattern of the elderly. No system has been proposed so far.

[0004] A drastic change in the intake time of meals by the elderly can be considered as a change in physical condition or an accident, and it becomes a barometer for confirming safety and grasping the state of health. When a large amount may be consumed at a time, it may be used as a basis for determining the onset of dementia in addition to the consumption of visitors, and the limitations of living alone become apparent. Stable time consumption and the amount of meals are indicators of health,
A decrease or excess is an indication that some health is harmed. Therefore, the present inventor provides home delivery of meals for the elderly in a certain area on a regular basis (on a weekly basis), and confirms the intake of meals during the regular meals for the elderly to continuously generate data. (I.e., grasping the use situation of the school lunch storage refrigerator), various methods for confirming the health status and safety of elderly people living alone, elderly couples, couples requiring nursing care, etc. were examined.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator for storing meals for a plurality of days supplied to the elderly at home (refrigerator for storing home meals for the elderly). Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for confirming the safety of elderly people using such a refrigerator (elderly person safety confirmation system). The present inventor has set up a refrigerator that introduces a school lunch delivery system that can regularly deliver elderly people to the chilled distribution of regular meals for the elderly, for example, morning, day, and night in weekly units.
By setting one meal on a plate and sorting and delivering it, checking it with a sensor (light or sensing) based on meal intake, and using a telephone line etc. to enter the living data of the elderly in a intensive fixed area, The inventor of the present invention has found that it becomes possible to provide a system that can quickly judge living activities when a meal time slot is too open or there is no response during a breakfast time slot.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A refrigerator for storing home meals for the elderly according to the present invention is a refrigerator for storing meals for a plurality of days supplied to the elderly at home. A refrigerator for storing lunch, a refrigerator for storing lunch for lunch, and a refrigerator for storing lunch for night, at least three independent refrigerators,
Each of the refrigeration compartments has a structure capable of accommodating a plurality of trays on which a single meal is placed at intervals above and below each other. That a sensor capable of detecting the fact is provided, and that the refrigerator is provided with a transmission means for transmitting a signal from the sensor to a host computer connected to the refrigerator by a communication line. It is characterized by being.

[0007] The system for confirming the safety of the elderly according to the present invention is installed in each home for the elderly and stores a plurality of days of meals to be supplied to the elderly. And a host computer connected by the system, the system for confirming the safety of the elderly at home by managing the use status of the refrigerator of the elderly at home by the host computer, wherein the refrigerator is used in the morning A refrigerator for storing lunches, a refrigerator for storing lunches for the day, and a refrigerator for storing lunches for the night, at least three independent refrigerators, Each of the refrigerator compartments has a structure that can store a plurality of trays on which a single meal is placed at intervals above and below each other, and the trays that are contained in each refrigerator compartment are taken in and out. Can detect The refrigerator is provided with transmission means for transmitting a signal from the sensor to the host computer. Storage means capable of storing data from the storage device, and the safety of each home-bound elderly can be determined based on the data stored in the storage means, and when there is an abnormality in taking out and taking in the tray, this can be automatically detected. It is characterized by comprising a data processing means and an output means capable of outputting abnormal data detected by the data processing means.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, a refrigerator for storing home meals for the elderly according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a refrigerator for home-based lunch storage of the present invention having three refrigerator compartments. In the refrigerator of this figure, three refrigerator compartments are arranged side by side. The invention is not limited to such an arrangement. In the refrigerator of FIG. 1, there are a refrigerator room 1a for storing a lunch for the morning, a refrigerator room 1b for storing a lunch for the day, and a refrigerator room 1c for storing a lunch for the night. Each refrigerator compartment is independent from each other. Each refrigerator compartment can be opened and closed by an opening / closing door, and inside each refrigerator compartment, as shown, a plurality of trays 2 (lunch is omitted in the drawing) on which a single meal is placed are provided. The trays are stored so as to be able to be taken in and out in the horizontal direction at regular intervals vertically (the state when the tray at the lowermost position of the refrigerator compartment on the right side is pulled out is shown).

In the refrigerator of FIG. 1, one week's worth of trays 2 is housed in each refrigerator compartment in a state of being inserted into unit shelf frame 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. Each tray may be housed in a shelf provided in the refrigerator compartment so that it can be taken in and out. There are many types of meals for the elderly, such as swallowing meals and chewing meals, which are difficult to physically ingest, and there are many mistakes in setting and delivering seasonally selectable menus. As shown in FIG. 1, a shelf layout system that uses the refrigerator of the present invention having a structure suitable for supplying one week of lunch as one unit and stores meals separately from morning, day, and night By adopting a logistics system and its management system, it is possible to classify and deliver meals in the morning, day, and night on a weekly basis for each individual, thereby preventing troubles in delivery, and also allowing one meal for each individual from the factory. Can be delivered reasonably.

[0010] In the refrigerator of the present invention, each refrigerator compartment is provided with a sensor capable of detecting that the accommodated tray has been taken in and out. It is possible to detect whether or not the tray has been taken out, and although not shown, sensors are mounted inside the respective refrigerator compartments at positions corresponding to the respective trays. At this time, as the sensor, a sensor that detects a change in weight when the tray is taken in and out, and a sensor that detects the tray taking in and out by infrared rays are generally used, but are not limited thereto. In FIG. 1, a display lamp 4 provided on the right side of the position of each tray is for displaying a position of a tray to be taken out or a position of a tray which has not been taken out yet. In the case of the provided refrigerator,
It is possible to prevent the elderly from taking out another tray by mistake.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator of the present invention further includes a transmitting means for transmitting a signal relating to the loading and unloading of the tray from the sensor to a host computer (not shown). The refrigerator of the present invention and the host computer are connected by a communication line such as a telephone line. Thus, when an elderly person takes out one of the trays, the sensor detects this and sends a signal to the host computer. The host computer receives this signal and receives data on refrigerator usage status for each elderly person. Is stored and stored, and based on this data,
At regular intervals, it is determined whether or not a meal is consumed, whether or not a large amount is consumed at a time, and the like, and whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the life of the elderly is managed. In addition, the display lamp 5 provided in the upper right position of the opening / closing door of each refrigerator compartment is for displaying morning, day, night and night, and the display lamp corresponding to the meal time is turned on. In the case where such a display lamp is provided, it is possible to effectively prevent an elderly person from taking out an incorrect tray in the refrigerator compartment.

Although not shown in FIG. 1,
In general, staple foods, main dishes, side dishes, soups, and desserts are placed on each tray as one serving, and these are usually packaged in aseptic packaging or vacuum cooking packaging,
The elderly themselves cook in the microwave as needed. Of course, each meal is provided based on personal information such as the history of the elderly, physical condition, and calories required for each elderly person. Is preferably selected. It is preferable that the trays accommodated in the refrigerator of the present invention are color-coded so that it is easy to distinguish between morning, day, and night.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the appearance of the refrigerator for storing home lunches for the elderly of FIG. 1 when the open / close door of each refrigerator compartment is closed, and FIG. 3 is the same as the refrigerator of FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing the internal structure of the refrigerator for home-based lunch storage of the present invention in which four refrigerator compartments having an internal structure are arranged in a 2 × 2 arrangement.
FIG. 4 is an external view of the refrigerator in FIG. 3. The configurations of the refrigerators of FIGS. 3 and 4 are all the same as the configurations of the refrigerators of FIGS. 1 and 2, and the use of the fourth refrigerator compartment 1 d is not limited. It can be used for purposes such as cooling, which is very convenient.

Next, an example of the system for confirming the safety of the elderly according to the present invention using the above-mentioned refrigerator is shown in FIG. 5, and the configuration of this system will be described. This system is installed in each home for the elderly and can store multiple days of meals supplied to the elderly.
And the host computer 8 connected by the communication line 7. The host computer 8 stores data on the usage status of the refrigerator transmitted from the installed refrigerator 6 so that the elderly can eat regularly. This is a system for confirming whether or not you are taking (confirming survival). The structure of the refrigerator 6 used in the safety confirmation system of the present invention is as described above, and the host computer 8 connected to the refrigerator 6 stores data from each refrigerator relating to taking in and out of the tray, that is, taking out and taking out the tray. Storage means 9 capable of storing data relating to the elapsed time and the position of the tray that has been taken in and out, and based on the data stored in the storage means 9, it is determined whether each home-bound elderly person is safe. Data processing means 10 capable of automatically detecting abnormalities, and output means 11 capable of outputting abnormal data when the tray processing abnormalities are detected by the data processing means 10. doing.

In this system, the sensor reacts at the same time as the tray on which the meal for one meal is taken in the morning, afternoon, evening, etc., and data relating to the tray removing time is transmitted to the host computer of the management headquarters in a certain area. Safety is automatically confirmed and recorded by three meals a day. When there is a change in the recorded meal time interval, there is a high possibility that the physical condition of the elderly has changed, and it is possible to respond quickly by managing the change in the time interval. Elderly people generally eat breakfast early in the morning, but it is possible that some change in physical condition occurred in the middle of the night, such as when breakfast was not consumed in the morning. In the system of the present invention, such an emergency related to the life of the elderly can be automatically detected, and the host computer 8 operates the operating device (keyboard) so as to search for the food intake state of each elderly. Etc.) 12 are generally connected. In the present invention, the abnormal data from the data output unit 11 is generally sent to the display device 13 (for example, a display or a printer) and output.

The following embodiment is a specific example of the refrigerator for home-based lunch storage for the elderly according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this.

EXAMPLE A unit shelf frame (345 mm wide × 310 mm high) capable of collecting and storing a total of eight trays at an interval of 35 mm
1 x 450mm) can be accommodated in each refrigerator compartment, and the refrigerator for home-based lunch storage of the present invention (1400mm in width x 750mm in height x 650mm in depth) having the structure of Fig. 1 arranged side by side ). Then, this refrigerator was connected as shown in FIG. 5 and used as the safety confirmation system for the elderly of the present invention. When this system was used, the system was more private than the system for confirming safety by delivering meals once a day. It was possible to more accurately grasp the rhythm of daily life of the elderly without committing the problem, and this was suitable for centrally managing the health of many elderly.

[0017]

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, each serving is served in the morning,
Day and night can be classified and collected, and sensors attached to each shelf in each refrigerator compartment can detect the drawer tray with meals and confirm the safety of the elderly. It is very suitable for the elderly, and the response of each elderly person to storage of food and consumption by the refrigerator is converted into data, so that it is possible to respond quickly, and a caregiver is needed based on the state of daily meal intake. Alternatively, it is possible to determine the limit of nursing care at home, which can lead to nursing care at facilities.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing the internal structure of a refrigerator for home-based lunch storage of the present invention having three refrigerator compartments.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the appearance of the refrigerator for home-based lunch storage of the elderly of FIG. 1 when the open / close doors of each refrigerator compartment are closed.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the internal structure of the refrigerator for home-based lunch storage of the present invention in which four refrigerator compartments having the same internal structure as the refrigerator of FIG. 1 are arranged in a 2 × 2 arrangement.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the appearance of the refrigerator of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an elderly person safety confirmation system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a to 1d Refrigerator room 2 Tray 3 Unit shelf frame 4, 5 Indicator lamp

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator for storing lunches for a plurality of days to be provided to elderly people at home, wherein the refrigerator stores a refrigerator room for storing lunches for morning use and a lunch room for lunches. Refrigeration room, and a refrigeration room for storing lunch for the night, at least three mutually independent refrigeration rooms, each of the refrigeration room has a plurality of trays loaded with a single meal. It has a structure that can be stored at intervals above and below each other, and each refrigerator compartment is provided with a sensor that can detect that a stored tray is taken in and out, and that the refrigerator has The present invention also provides a refrigerator for home lunch storage for the elderly, wherein a transmission means for transmitting a signal from the sensor is provided to a host computer connected to the refrigerator via a communication line. 2. A refrigerator installed in each home at home for the elderly and capable of storing meals for a plurality of days supplied to the elderly, and a host computer connected to each refrigerator by a communication line, A system for confirming the safety of the elderly by managing the use status of the refrigerator of the elderly at home by the host computer, wherein the refrigerator is
It has at least three independent refrigeration compartments: a refrigeration compartment for storing morning lunch, a refrigeration compartment for storing lunch for lunch, and a refrigeration compartment for storing lunch for night. Each of the refrigerating compartments has a structure capable of accommodating a plurality of trays on which a single meal is placed at an interval above and below each other. A sensor capable of detecting that the refrigerator, the refrigerator is provided with transmission means for transmitting a signal from the sensor to the host computer, and the host computer,
A storage unit capable of storing data from each refrigerator relating to taking in and out of the tray, and determining the safety of each home-bound elderly person based on the data stored in the storing unit. An elderly person's safety confirmation system, comprising: a data processing means capable of automatically detecting; and an output means capable of outputting abnormal data detected by the data processing means.