KR101717691B1

KR101717691B1 - Taste recognition apparatus

Info

Publication number: KR101717691B1
Application number: KR1020160021474A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 김동출
Original assignee: 주식회사 디씨케이컨설팅; 김동출
Priority date: 2016-02-23
Filing date: 2016-02-23
Publication date: 2017-03-20

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device to objectively measure taste, for example, food taste; comprising: a sensor unit measuring a taste of an evaluation object, obtaining electric signal value of a size corresponding to the taste of the evaluation object; a memory unit storing taste evaluation parameters obtained from sensory evaluation results of a taste tasted by each person based on each concentration of taste evaluation reference substances representing a specific taste; and an operation unit to perform an operation to quantify the electric signal value as a taste value which is able to be perceived by a person based on the electric signal value and the taste evaluation parameter.

Description

{TASTE RECOGNITION APPARATUS}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a taste measurement device for measuring taste, which is a sensation felt by humans when a substance such as food is put on a tongue, The present invention relates to a taste measuring apparatus for quantitatively displaying a taste of a human being, rather than displaying the size of the measured electric signal.

The taste of a substance such as food is usually expressed by the so-called omi (sweet taste) such as sweetness, salty taste, sour taste, bitter taste and rich flavor. In addition, the action by the pain nerves and the tactile nerves .

In this specification, the type of taste will be described in addition to the oomi (gomi) as well as the types of tastes and spicy tastes.

In recent years, taste of food or the like is detected by using a taste sensor that can replace one of human senses, which is one of the five senses, and the result of the detection is visually displayed by a graph or the like to evaluate the taste of the food or the like (For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2) have been developed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a conventional taste measurement apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional taste measurement device 210 includes a sensor portion 101j provided with a sensor fluke 101j for taste measurement by a molecular film that outputs an electric signal for presenting at least one kind of taste information A solution inserting section 213 arranged at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction and having a plurality of inserting sections 321 for selectively inserting a blood measuring solution, a reference taste measuring solution and a cleaning solution, An arm drive section 214 for moving the sensor section 215 with respect to the predetermined insertion section 321 of the solution insertion section 213 and an electric signal indicating the taste information output from the sensor probe 101j A sensor body 212 for enabling measurement for taste recognition of the blood taste measurement solution, and an operation item necessary for measurement for taste recognition with respect to the sensor body 212, And the user In some provided with a touch panel 211, the CPU board control of the sensor body (212).

The taste measurement apparatus 210 includes a normal measurement mode, a maintenance measurement mode executed before the normal measurement mode, and a sensor check mode executed prior to the maintenance measurement mode.

In the taste measurement by the taste measurement apparatus 210, first, a sensor check mode is executed in the sensor unit 215 to confirm whether or not the sensor unit 215 can appropriately perform the taste measurement. As a result, When it is confirmed that the taste measurement can be appropriately performed by the sensor unit 215, the sensor unit 215 executes the normal measurement mode to perform the taste measurement, and from the sensor probe 101j of the sensor unit 215 And performs measurement for flavor recognition of the blood taste measurement solution based on the electric signal that presents the taste information to be output.

In addition, the taste measurement device 210 is provided with a measurement setting application necessary for taste recognition of the sensor main body 212 and an analysis application required for analyzing measurement results for taste recognition by the sensor main body 212 And is connected to a server 220 having a database storing various data necessary for measurement for taste recognition and various data required for analysis of measurement results for taste recognition so as to enable data transmission .

The taste measuring apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is also known as a taste measuring apparatus similar to Patent Document 1.

However, all of the taste measuring apparatuses 210 of the prior arts 1 and 2 of Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a taste measurement result, that is, a taste measurement result obtained from the taste measuring sensor, for example, a value of an electrical signal such as a voltage or a current It can not be easily recognized how much the person tastes about the taste evaluation object depending on the numerical value expressed by the magnitude of the electric signal which is the output value of the taste measurement device 210 There is a problem.

Patent Document 1: International Publication WO2008 / 081524 pamphlet (disclosed on July 10, 2008) Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 3547760 (published on March 23, 2004)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a taste measuring sensor capable of objectively measuring the taste of each oomi, It is an object of the present invention to provide a taste measurement apparatus for quantifying and displaying an electric signal value (voltage value or current value) obtained by a taste measurement sensor as a taste that can be perceived by a person.

The taste measuring apparatus of the present invention for solving the above problems comprises a sensor unit for measuring a taste of a taste evaluation object and obtaining an electric signal value of a size corresponding to the taste of the taste evaluation object, A storage unit for storing taste evaluation parameters obtained from the sensory test results of the taste of each person according to the concentration of the substance; and a storage unit for storing the taste signal, To a value of " 1 "

Preferably, the taste evaluation parameter is obtained by obtaining, as a result of the sensory test, an evaluation value indicating the degree of taste of a person perceived with respect to the concentration of the reference substance as a score in a predetermined numerical range, log-logistic model using curve fitting using a nonlinear least squares method. The lower limit value and the upper limit value indicating the minimum value and the maximum value of the taste for each taste basic substance, respectively, and the lower limit value and the upper limit value, respectively, The ED50 indicating the concentration of the taste base material and the slope indicating the slope of the logistic curve near the ED50.

Preferably, the quantification is performed by the following equation,

C is the inclination, c is the lower limit value of the taste evaluation parameter, d is the upper limit value of the taste evaluation parameter, ED50 is the concentration of the taste base material when the taste of the middle of the maximum intensity of taste is felt, And the value represents the concentration value (mM) converted into the concentration of the substance exhibiting the taste.

Preferably, the display device further includes a display unit for displaying a result of the operation for quantifying the electrical signal value as a taste value recognizable by a human.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the taste measurement system of the present invention includes any one of the above-described taste measurement devices, and a server which is communicable with the taste measurement device via a communication network and is installed outside the taste measurement device.

According to the taste measurement apparatus of the present invention, the taste of a taste evaluation object to be flavored is not displayed as the value of the electrical signal corresponding to the concentration of the taste object, but the electrical signal value is quantified as the taste of the taste The information can be exchanged quantitatively and objectively, and it is possible to communicate the taste of the food or the like between producers and consumers such as foods and the like .

In addition, differences in the degree of taste felt by people, races, and regions can be stored in a server, which can be used to calculate the taste selectively for each region and each race.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a taste measurement apparatus of the prior art,
2 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a taste measurement apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 3 is a view showing the result of performing a sensory test using a NaCl solution as a reference substance of salty taste,
FIG. 4 is a graph showing an average value of evaluation values of NaCl concentration in FIG. 3,
5 is a view showing a result of performing a sensory test using sucrose solution as a reference substance of sweet taste,
FIG. 6 is a graph showing an average value of the evaluation value of each sucrose concentration in FIG. 5,
7 is a view showing a result of a sensory test performed using a tartaric acid solution which is a reference substance of sour taste,
FIG. 8 is a graph showing an average value of evaluation values of the concentration of tartaric acid in FIG. 7,
9 is a view showing a result of performing a sensory test using a MSG (Monosodium Glutamic Acid)
FIG. 10 is a graph showing an average value of MSG evaluation values by concentration in FIG. 9;
11 is a view showing a result of a sensory test performed using a tannic acid solution, which is a reference substance of astringent taste;
FIG. 12 is a graph showing an average value of evaluation values of concentration of tannic acid in FIG. 11,
13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a modification of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a taste measurement apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2, the taste measurement apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes a taste measurement device body 30 and a sensor probe 31a exposed to the outside of the taste measurement device body 30, The apparatus main body 30 includes a sensor unit 31, an operation unit 33, a storage unit 35, and a display unit 37.

The sensor probe 31a is a portion for directly contacting a taste evaluation object such as food or the like and measuring taste from the taste evaluation object. For example, the sensor probe 31a may be a separate sensor flow Or a sensor flob having a configuration capable of collectively measuring a plurality of tastes as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-0045367 may be used.

The sensor unit 31 converts the measured value corresponding to the degree of taste measured by the sensor probe 31a from the taste evaluation object into an electrical signal such as a voltage value or a current value and outputs the electrical signal to the calculating unit 33 do.

Although the sensor flap 31a is connected to the sensor unit 31 and the sensor flap 31a is provided outside the main body 30 in the present embodiment, The portion 31 may be integrally formed in the main body 30. [

The operation unit 33 quantifies the taste measurement value of the taste evaluation object measured by the sensor probe 31a and converted into the electric signal by the sensor unit 31 to the degree of the taste felt by the person and outputs it to the display unit 37 And details of the quantification method will be described later.

The storage unit 35 executes a sensory test for examining the degree of taste of a person by the concentration of the reference substance with respect to a predetermined number of people using a reference substance indicating each taste, , An evaluation value indicating the degree of taste of a person perceived with respect to the concentration of the reference substance as a score between 0 and 10 was obtained for each concentration of the reference substance and the mean value was subjected to curve fitting using a logarithmic least squares method to a log logistic model (Hereinafter, referred to as " taste evaluation parameter "). The taste evaluation parameter is a value obtained by dividing the taste of the taste evaluation object made by the operation section 33 by the degree of taste Quantification, and the details will be described later.

The display unit 37 visually displays a value obtained by quantifying the taste measurement value of the taste evaluation object made by the operation unit 33 to the degree of the taste felt by a person.

Next, a quantification method for quantifying the measured value of the taste of the taste evaluation object to the degree of the taste felt by a person will be described.

First, a taste evaluation parameter for each taste including salty taste, sweet taste and the like is obtained.

Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show a process for obtaining a taste evaluation parameter for salty taste, Fig. 3 is a view showing a result of performing a sensory test using NaCl solution, which is a reference substance of salty taste, , The horizontal axis represents the concentration of NaCl and the vertical axis represents the degree of salty taste from 0 to 10, and the most salty taste is 10 points, the salty taste Is not considered to be at all.

Fig. 4 is a graph showing an average value of the NaCl concentration-dependent evaluation values in Fig. 3. In this case, an average value obtained at each concentration of NaCl as a reference substance of salty taste is represented by an open circle, The results are shown by solid lines in the logistic model using the nonlinear least squares method.

Next, Figs. 5 and 6 show a process for obtaining taste evaluation parameters for sweetness, Fig. 5 is a view showing the result of performing a sensory test using a sucrose solution as a reference substance of sweet taste, Fig. 5 The sucrose, the reference substance of sweetness, was administered to 15 Korean adults. The horizontal axis represents the concentration of sucrose, the vertical axis represents the degree of sweetness from 0 to 10, and the sweetest taste 10 points, and when the sweetness is not felt at all, it is 0 point.

Fig. 6 is a graph showing an average value of the sucrose concentration-dependent evaluation values in Fig. 5. In this case, an average value obtained at each concentration of sucrose, which is a reference substance of sweet taste, is shown by an open circle, The solid line shows the result of curve fitting using the nonlinear least squares method in log logistic model.

7 and 8 show a process of obtaining a taste evaluation parameter for sour taste. Fig. 7 is a view showing a result of performing a sensory test using a tartaric acid solution which is a reference substance of sour taste, and a sensory test of Fig. , The horizontal axis represents the concentration of tartaric acid, and the vertical axis represents the degree of acidity from 0 to 10, indicating the taste that is most appreciable at 10 points, the sour taste Is not considered to be at all.

Fig. 8 is a graph showing an average value of the evaluation values for each concentration of tartaric acid in Fig. 7. In this case, an average value obtained at each concentration of tartaric acid, which is a reference substance of sour taste, is shown by an open circle, The solid line shows the result of curve fitting using the nonlinear least squares method in log logistic model.

9 and 10 show a procedure for obtaining a taste evaluation parameter for a richness taste. FIG. 9 is a view showing a result of performing a sensory test using a MSG solution, which is a reference substance of a richness taste, and a sensory test of FIG. The MSG was used as a reference material for 24 Korean adults. The horizontal axis represents the concentration of MSG and the vertical axis represents the degree of saturation from 0 to 10, and the taste with the strongest flavor , And the case where the user can not feel the fullness at all is regarded as 0 point.

Fig. 10 is a graph showing an average value of MSG evaluation values of the MSG in Fig. 9. In this case, an average value obtained at each concentration of MSG, which is a reference substance of the richness taste, is represented by an open circle, The solid line shows the result of curve fitting using the nonlinear least squares method in log logistic model.

Figs. 11 and 12 show the process of obtaining taste evaluation parameters for astringent taste, Fig. 11 is a view showing the result of performing a sensory test using a tannic acid solution as a reference substance of astringent taste, and the sensory test of Fig. , The horizontal axis represents the concentration of tannic acid, and the vertical axis represents the degree of darkness from 0 to 10, indicating that the tastes that are felt the most are 10 points, Is not considered to be at all.

Fig. 12 is a graph showing an average value of the tannic acid concentration-based evaluation values shown in Fig. 11, in which an average value obtained at each concentration of the tannic acid, which is a reference substance of bitter taste, is represented by an open circle, The solid line shows the result of curve fitting using the nonlinear least squares method in log logistic model.

Taste evaluation parameters are obtained from the results obtained through the above processes. Table 1 summarizes the taste evaluation parameter values obtained from the sensory evaluation results using the reference substances of respective tastes, which are shown in Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 will be.

Material name slope Lower limit value Upper limit value ED50 NaCl -0.01 (0.130) 0.843 (0.261) 9.39 (0.32) 119 (15) saccharose -0.840 (0.200) 0.412 (0.560) 10.3 (0.90) 147 (40) Tartaric acid -0.927 (0.105) 1.28 (0.230) 9.58 (0.27) 13.2 (1.5) MSG -0.781 (0.189) 0.617 (0.595) 10.3 (0.80) 13.2 (1.5) tannin -1.28 (0.09) 3.18 (0.09) 10.4 (0.20) 0.718 (0.047)

In Table 1, the lower limit value and the upper limit value respectively indicate the minimum value and the maximum value of the taste of each of the salty taste, sweet taste, sour taste, richness taste and salty taste, and ED 50 represents the taste of each half Respectively, and the slope represents the slope of the loglogic curve near the ED 50. The numbers in parentheses indicate the standard deviation of each parameter.

For example, the taste evaluation parameter values shown in Table 1 are stored in advance in the storage section 35 of the taste measurement apparatus 100 described above, The operation unit 33 of the sensor unit 31 is measured from the taste evaluation object by the sensor flood 31a and stored in the storage unit 35 in accordance with the signal value converted into the electric signal by the sensor unit 31, To the value of the taste that can be perceived by a person by the following expression (1), and outputs the value f (x) of the quantified taste to the display unit 37.

Here, b represents the slope, c represents the lower limit value of the taste evaluation parameter, d represents the upper limit value of the taste evaluation parameter, and ED50 represents the concentration of each flavor base material when the taste of half the (maximum) intensity of the taste is felt. X represents a concentration value (mM) obtained by converting the taste value measured by the taste measurement apparatus 100 of the present invention into the concentration of the taste-indicating substance.

Next, the sweet taste was measured for the ice bars of five commercially available products by the taste measurement apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, and Table 2 shows the sweet taste measurement results for each of the five samples.

Sample number Sweetness score One 5.30 2 5.24 3 5.37 4 5.39 5 5.24

The sweetness score of each of the ice bars in the above table is obtained by modeling the sensory evaluation result of FIG. 6, and comparing the sweetness intensity felt by a person with the sweetness concentration of each of the ice bars measured by the taste measurement apparatus 100 of the present invention It is quantified as a score between 1 and 10.

From the results shown in Table 2, it can be seen that five icebreakers currently on the market are manufactured to have a similar sweet taste and are commercially available. The taste of the taste evaluation object can be evaluated by the taste evaluation It can be seen that the electric signal value obtained from the concentration of the substance showing a specific taste of the object can be quantified and displayed as a taste of the taste of a person.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the present invention.

13 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a taste measurement system 1000 according to a modified embodiment of the present invention. The taste measurement apparatus 100 'of the taste measurement system 1000 of the modification is similar to the taste measurement apparatus 100 The tastee measurement apparatus 100 'of the present modification is configured to transmit the taste measurement result of the taste evaluation object calculated by the calculation unit 33 to the server 50 installed outside via the communication network 70, And the third party connects to the server 50 via the communication network 70 using the portable communication terminal 91 such as a smart phone, the PDA 92, the PC 93, and the like , The taste measurement result stored in the server 50 can be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the quantified taste measurement results are displayed by being divided into numerical values ranging from 1 to 10. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the case of salty taste, there is no salty taste, It may be expressed in terms of degree of knitting, such as dull, moderate weave, very slight weave, slight weave, weave weave, very much weave, etc., which is the same for other flavors.

31 sensor unit
31a sensor probe
33 Operation unit
35 memory unit
37 Display
39 communication section
50 servers
70 networks
91 mobile communication terminal
92 PDA
93 PC

Claims

A sensor unit for measuring the taste of the taste evaluation object and obtaining an electric signal value of a size corresponding to the taste of the taste evaluation object,
A storage unit for storing taste evaluation parameters obtained from the sensory evaluation results of the taste of each person for each concentration of the taste evaluation reference substance showing a specific taste;
And an operation unit for performing an operation for quantifying the electric signal value as a taste value that can be perceived by a person based on the electric signal value and the taste evaluation parameter,
Wherein the taste evaluation parameter includes:
As a result of the sensory test, an evaluation value showing the degree of taste of a person perceived with respect to the concentration of the reference substance as a score in a certain numerical range was obtained, and the average value was calculated using a logarithmic least- By curve fitting,
A lower limit value and an upper limit value respectively representing the minimum value and the maximum value of the taste for each flavor basic substance and an ED50 indicating the concentration of each taste substance when the taste of the middle taste of the taste is felt, And a slope indicative of a slope of the log logistic curve.

delete

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the quantification is performed by the following equation.

Where d is the upper limit value of the taste evaluation parameter, ED50 is the concentration of the taste base material when the taste of the middle of the maximum intensity of the taste is felt, x is the electric signal And the value represents the concentration value (mM) converted into the concentration of the substance exhibiting the taste.

The method according to claim 1 or 3,
And a display unit for displaying a result of an operation for quantifying the electric signal value as a taste value perceivable by a person.

A tastant measurement device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
And a server that is communicable with the tastee measurement device via a communication network and stores a taste measurement result of the taste evaluation object, which is installed outside the taste measurement device and is evaluated by the taste measurement device.