KR20010074277A - Portable Diet Controller and Diet Control Method Using the Diet Controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A portable diet controller and the method for controlling the diet are provided to keep the diet program with the interest, and to improve the result of the diet program by receiving the direct management through the network. CONSTITUTION: A user inputs the personal information(S1), configures the purpose of the diet program(S2), and selects an avatar symbolizing a branch of the user(S3). The diet program is started(S4). The user periodically repeats the courses of inputting activity amount comprising an exercise and took food(S7-S12).

Description

Portable Diet Controller and Diet Control Method using the Diet Controller

The present invention relates to a diet control processing method using a portable diet control terminal and a diet controller. In particular, the present invention operates in a portable terminal including a microprocessor and a data storage device such as a dedicated terminal, PDA, wireless Internet terminal, and evaluates the weight change state of the user based on inputs for the user's exercise amount and food intake By expressing the result of the evaluation as an appropriate avatar that resembles the user's current state, the user can properly and effectively realize the user's weight loss goal, and can usually perform an unpleasant diet program. It relates to a diet control processing technology.

In modern people, obesity rate is increasing due to overnutrition and lack of exercise, and diseases such as obesity are increasing, and interest in diet is increasing.

A conventional terminal type diet controller is a technique disclosed in US Patent No. 5,673,691. The technology disclosed by this US Patent Publication is a portable diet control device, which includes a microprocessor, a memory, an input key, and a display device, and the user can display user information such as weight, height, gender, and age. After inputting and setting a diet goal, the user may regularly input his / her food intake and exercise performance state to manage the progress of the diet program by specifying food intake and exercise amount.

However, the conventional diet controller of such a configuration simply transmits the progress status to the user in text, and thus does not cause the user to have much interest. In addition, since a fixed form of the program proceeds continuously and in the long term, the program has a problem such as giving a boring feeling to the user and stopping the use of the diet controller.

The present invention solves the problems of the conventional diet controller described above, so that the progress of the diet program can be carried out with interest, and in case of success or failure of the diet program, the joy of achievement or disappointment due to the failure is increased. It is an object of the present invention to provide a diet controller to enable a diet program to be continued.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a diet controller of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a simplified view showing the entire procedure of the user running a diet program with a diet controller of the present invention,

3 is a diagram briefly illustrating a procedure of specifically proceeding a diet program after a user sets up a diet program model with the diet controller of the present invention;

4 is a view for explaining the contents of the prescription mode provided based on the diet program goal setting contents and the current diet progress status;

5 is a diagram briefly illustrating a user setting process such as setting user information and a diet program goal input to a diet controller of the present invention and selecting an avatar to replace the user himself;

6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display displayed on a diet controller when a user is running a diet program;

7 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example of a process of a user inputting an exercise amount while a diet program is in progress;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display for inputting an exercise amount after selecting a type of exercise performed by a user in FIG. 7;

9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display of a process of a user inputting a food intake amount during a diet program;

10 is an exemplary screen illustrating the quantification of food so that the user can input the input amount as a value close to the actual calorie intake in the process of inputting the food intake,

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display of a warning screen that warns when a user's exercise amount and intake amount are not satisfactory for the progress of a diet program.

12 and 13 are screen display examples presenting prescriptions for diet success in a diet program progress state to date.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: Diet controller 10: I / O device (including driver)

20: first storage device 21: second storage device

According to a first aspect of the present invention provided as a technical means for realizing the above object, it is configured to include an input device, an output device, a central processing device and a first memory device for storing a series of command data to be executed in the central processing device. A portable diet controller, comprising: a second memory device for storing user setting information including body related information such as height, weight, gender, age, and weight loss target, weight loss period, and diet program achievement goal information; A third memory device for storing a plurality of images and various evaluation statements of the avatar selected by the user as a character to represent the user; and, when the diet program starts, the amount of food intake per user per day evaluated based on the user setting information; An input example of the amount of activity is presented through an output device, and the user inputs the input device. Input / output control means 10 for requesting the user to input his or her actual food intake and amount of activity through the input device 12, and when the food intake and amount of activity are input by the user, immediately increases or decreases the amount of calories held by the user. After the calculation, the result is compared with the calorie burning target for the day to prepare a diet achievement, and the output device causes the image of the evaluation text and the avatar stored in the third memory device to vary and output according to the diet achievement evaluation result. A portable diet controller comprising a control means for controlling an output device and a diet control method using the portable diet controller are provided.

By providing the present invention having such a configuration, it is possible to proceed with their own diet program while visually checking the avatar on behalf of the user, and also to check the avatar of various characters according to the degree of diet achievement, It became possible to proceed more interesting. In particular, it can be designed to enjoy a variety of games at the same time, such as Tamagotchi game in addition to the diet program with their avatar, thereby increasing the utilization of the product.

In addition, according to the present invention, in the above-described portable diet controller, each of the avatars recorded in the third memory device and provided in various ways according to the diet achievement are sequentially replaced and outputted with at least two or more images generating a dynamic effect. It can be configured to.

By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to obtain the effect of a dynamic character even with limited resources due to the lack of a storage device of the portable terminal.

Further, according to the present invention, the input request means provides a plurality of example images prepared for each food as an example of food intake input, and the fourth memory for recording a number of sample images to be provided for each food by the input request means It is further desirable to include the device as well.

In this way, by allowing the user to select the amount of food close to the amount directly eaten by the image representing the degree of food intake, so that the amount of food ingested by the user and the actual amount of food intake can be closer to the value By reducing the input error occurring between the two, it is possible to input the calorie intake per day relatively accurately, thereby increasing the effect of diet control.

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned portable diet controller records the input result when the actual food intake and activity amount are input by the user, and transmits the input data to the member management server which is remotely connected to the portable diet controller. In addition, it is also good to include a network communication means for receiving new information from the server for member management.

In this way, the portable diet controller of the present invention can be updated by accessing a service web page provided by a distributor or the like directly or via a PC or a mobile phone. As a result, part of the program algorithm can be improved or the character image used for the avatar can be supplemented and expanded, thereby eliminating the boredom that can be felt by repeating the same program even for long-term users. In addition, since the progress of the diet program progressed by the user can be periodically provided to the service provider, the service provider can monitor and manage the progress of the diet program of the user to increase the progress of the diet program, even in the case of the user Overcoming the monotony that comes from running a diet program just by talking to the terminal and receiving a variety of diet counseling and diet control provided by service providers can increase the performance of the diet program.

In addition, according to the present invention, the controller means for measuring the time elapsed after the user inputs the amount of food intake or activity, and when the period measured by the time means elapsed a certain period, an alarm sound or alarm It is preferable to include an alarm means for generating a vibration.

By providing the present invention of such a configuration, the user proceeds with a diet program in a manner that is careful not to drop the effect of the diet by negligently proceeding the diet program.

In addition, according to the present invention, the portable diet controller may be configured to be a wireless Internet terminal connected to a wireless Internet server. By adopting such a configuration, any terminal that can be connected to the wireless Internet can be used as the portable diet controller according to the present invention, so that the features of the present invention can be implemented in a client / server environment.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings to explain the configuration and operation of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of the diet controller according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the diet controller of the present invention includes a power supply unit 11, an input / output control unit 10, a data communication signal processing unit 17, a control processing unit 18, and storage units 20 and 21. It consists of the main components.

The power supply 11 is configured to include a battery to supply operating power to each part of the circuit. The input / output control processing unit 10 is composed of an input device 12 including several keypads and an output device 13 including a display screen as shown in the example of FIGS. 5 to 13.

The input data input from the input device 12 is converted by the input device interface 12 into data in a format that can be processed by the control processing device 18. In addition, a voice recognition module is added to the input / output interface to allow a user to perform a voice command. In this case, the input device 12 includes a microphone to recognize the voice command.

Data to be output to the output device 13 is converted by the output device interface 12 into data in a format that the output device can recognize. In addition, the output device 13 is preferably configured to include a speaker to enable a variety of sound output. In addition, a voice synthesis module may be added to the output device interface 15 to increase the output effect.

The control processing unit 18 configured to include a microprocessor operates in accordance with a series of control processing instructions recorded in the control program recording area of the control command storage device 20 provided in the form of a ROM. Specifically, the control processing unit 18 reads the control command of the control command storage device 20, puts it in the RAM 19, and records the data input from the input device 12 and the recording of the storage device 21 in a given sequence. The calculation operation given on the basis is performed and the result is output to the output device 13, and the result is recorded in the designated recording area of the storage device 21 capable of nonvolatile recording update such as EPROM.

The user setting information is recorded in the storage device 21. The user setting information is user personal information and diet program information set when the user starts the diet program. User personal information is user personal information that is input according to the procedure shown in FIG. 5 and includes physique information such as height and weight, gender information, birthday information, job information, normal amount of activity, favorite exercise or diet program in progress. User personal information, such as input information for inputting exercise, mainly eating food, and the like, diet program setting information about a target period, target weight (or weight loss), etc., as a goal of the diet program, and the user Avatar selection information to use.

The storage device 21 also records user input information. The user's input information is information about an activity and an intake amount input by the user every day as the progress of his / her diet program after the user's setting is finished and the diet program is started.

In addition, the user input information recorded in the memory device 21 may include diet program evaluation information such as a weight change amount, a current weight, and the like calculated from the user's activity and intake.

The storage device 21 also records various prescriptions provided on the basis of the user's current progress. For example, after a user initially sets a goal of a diet program, prescriptions such as what kind of exercise should be performed to what extent, what kind of food should be eaten, and the like are prescribed. Since the evaluation of the diet program that has been carried out to date, prescriptions for what type of exercise, how much food to eat, and how much to eat to achieve the goal are included.

The storage device 21 also records a number of images for displaying a plurality of avatars provided for user selection. This image is preferably a plurality of still image files that can give a video display effect, and when configured to give a video display effect in a format in which these files are sequentially replaced and displayed, the image can be varied even with a limited storage capacity. The avatar of the main character having the character can be displayed. In this case, the image file may be a live-action photographic image or an image to give an animation effect. However, at least some of a plurality of image files that may interest the user in the case of showing a result or going to failure according to the progress of the diet program should be stored. In addition, in relation to the avatar selected by the user, in order to increase the utilization of resources when displaying images differently from various program progress results, the data communication signal processing unit 17 (communication interface) to be described later rather than storing all of the images It is a good idea to connect to the network via a network so that part of the image is updated. In this case, more limited image effects can be achieved with limited resources.

A plurality of messages are recorded in the message recording area of the storage device 21 as text data to be provided to the user during the setting or the progress of the diet program.

The timer 16 incorporates a system clock or other timekeeping means to time the time, in particular the time elapsed after the user inputs his food intake or activity.

The alarm processor 17 includes a mechanism for controlling an alarm sound or a vibration for alarm so that an alarm is issued when a time elapsed by the timer 16 has elapsed for a certain period of time. It alerts and urges you to proceed.

The data communication signal processor 22 is a communication interface for connecting to a data network, and is configured to include a wired / wireless communication modem. The diet controller user of the present invention can be provided with the latest avatar or the latest diet program by accessing the network through the data communication signal processor 22. In addition, through the data communication signal processor 22 to manage whether a diet program set by the user of the diet controller 1 is properly realized, the user inputs are collected or provided to the manager server at a time. By adding such a function, the remote counselor can clearly know the progress of the client's diet program, and manage the diet program progress by appropriately conducting a corresponding counseling so that the user can further increase the effect of diet control. It became.

In addition, the data communication signal processor 22 may receive at least a portion of user setting information and user input information set directly by the user on the Internet web site. By adopting such a configuration, various characters and the like can be freely input using an internet terminal, so that an input process of user setting information and the like can be performed more easily, and more detailed input can be performed.

2 briefly illustrates the entire procedure of the user performing a diet program with the diet controller of the above-described configuration.

As shown in Figure 2, in order to proceed with the diet program with the diet controller of the present invention, as the premise, the user inputs personal information (step S1), after setting the goal of the diet program (step S2), A preset process is required to select the avatar to be used to symbolize the alter ego (step S3).

When the preset ends, the diet program starts (step S4), and the user periodically repeats the process of inputting the amount of activity and food intake including the amount of exercise regularly in step S7. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display displayed on a diet controller when a user is running a diet program. As shown in this figure, one avatar previously selected by the user is displayed on the display screen of the diet controller, and the avatar is changed to reflect the results of the diet program up to now. If the current state is not satisfactory, the state is changed to the fat avatar as shown in FIG. In addition, a kind of warning message may be displayed, and as the state becomes more severe, the avatar may be displayed as an image symbolizing another more severe form.

FIG. 3 is a control process flowchart showing in more detail a procedure of immediately inputting a food intake and exercise amount shown in FIG. 2.

In the screen display example of FIG. 6, when the user inputs his or her active amount and food intake amount and selects a “menu” by a key operation or a voice command so as to confirm the diet performance evaluation to date, the user may input the amount or amount of activity. The display screen as in the example of FIG. 7 is displayed first, and the user selects an appropriate one from the places classified by category and inputs the contents thereof (step S22). Then, if the user designates the type of activity (eg, skipping rope), as shown in the example of FIG. 8, a screen of an example of the display screen for entering the exercise amount in more detail is displayed. On this screen, the user enters his or her exercise amount.

At this time, if the user presets the type of exercise that will be mainly performed during the diet program, the display may display the corresponding exercise first, thereby easily configuring the input.

On the other hand, if there is no exercise, what other activities were performed, such as sleep, sitting, heavy labor, categorized into activity categories, and the contents and amount of the activity can be entered. Meanwhile, if the user faithfully performs the setting of FIG. 5 and inputs his job type, labor intensity, working time, and usual walking time in advance, it may be determined that calories are properly consumed to a corresponding degree. In such a case, it is more preferable to configure the type and amount of the activity only when the special activity is different from usual.

After finishing inputting the user's activity, the screen illustrated in FIG. 9 for inputting the food intake amount is displayed, and the user inputs the type and amount of food (step S23).

In particular, when inputting the type and amount of food, people often do not know how much is quantitative, so it is good to display a food image that is easy to check the quantitative food for comparison. 9 and 10 illustrate screen display examples for inputting a food intake amount.

When the user enters the activity amount and food intake (step S7), the diet controller immediately responds to the input of the activity amount and food intake to calculate the calorie increase and decrease to evaluate the achievement (steps S8, S24), and as a result, the goal of the day Have a number of calories burned and your progress toward your goals. This way, you can see at a glance what you are aiming for today and how far you have achieved it.

In addition, in relation to the display of the user avatar, the avatar is changed based on the overall evaluation result of the diet program that the user has performed so far (steps S9, S25, S26), and when the performance is good, the appearance is thinner and cooler (Fig. 6). And, when the outcome is bad, the avatar's appearance is changed and displayed in a fatter or ugly form and the like (FIG. 11).

12 is a screen displayed when a prescription is selected based on the current diet program progress, and provides various prescriptions necessary for weight loss for each field. If the user selects the exercise in this screen display example, as shown in the example of FIG. 13, the recommended exercise (or the exercise set by the user in advance) is displayed together with the recommended exercise time so that the user Automatically calculate and show how much exercise you should take when you prescribe.

In order to increase the utilization of the diet controller, when the user does not input any activity or food intake for a certain period of time (step S5), to generate an alarm sound or alarm vibration (step S6) the user feels obligated Let's proceed with a diet program. In the case where such results are repeated, the manager is notified of the contents immediately through the data communication network, and the counseling about the progress of the diet program is made possible through a telephone. can do.

Although the configuration of the present invention has been described in detail as described above, the present invention is not limited to the above description and can be modified and modified in various forms within the scope of the present invention by those skilled in the art. .

For example, in the present specification, a description will be made of a dedicated diet controller that operates independently by incorporating all modules. However, some modules may be placed in a wireless internet server, and a basic mobile communication terminal having a wireless internet access function is provided. Thought can also be realized. However, even in this case, since the configuration of the present invention is functionally separated between the server and the client through a network, the present invention can be regarded as an invention within the scope of the present invention.

By providing the present invention of the above-described configuration, by allowing the user to proceed with the progress of the diet program with interest, and in the case of success or failure of the diet program to increase the joy of achievement or disappointment due to failure, You can continue your diet program. In addition, by allowing the user to be directly managed by reporting the performance of the diet program progress through the network, it is possible to increase the performance of the diet program.

Claims (12)

In a diet control method using a portable diet controller configured to include an input device, an output device, a central processing unit and a storage unit for storing a series of command data to be executed in the central processing unit. The user inputs user setting information including body related information such as his / her height, weight, gender, age, weight loss goal, and diet program achievement goal information such as weight loss period, and selects an avatar representing a character. To do that, When the diet program is started, an input example of a daily food intake and activity amount for each user evaluated based on user setting information is presented through an output device, and a user may input his or her actual food intake and activity amount to the input device. Requesting input via When the user inputs food intake and activity, the step of calculating the increase or decrease of calories held by the user and comparing the result with the calorie burning target for one day, Diet control using a portable diet controller comprising the step of informing the user of the diet program achievement results by varying the image of the avatar representing the user according to the degree of calorie combustion target and output with a message Way. The method of claim 1, Each of the avatars provided differently according to the diet achievement level alternately outputs at least two or more images to generate a dynamic effect. The method of claim 1, The step of requesting to input the food intake, provides a sample image that can be compared with the actual intake for the selected food diet control using a portable diet controller, characterized in that to select the amount ingested from the provided example image Way. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, When the actual food intake and activity amount are input by the user, the input result is recorded, and the input data is transmitted to the member management server remotely connected to the portable diet controller, and the new information is received from the member management server. Steps, And improving the performance of the diet controller based on the new information received from the remote member management server. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Determining whether a period of time has passed since the user finally inputs a food intake or activity amount, If the user does not input any time so that a certain period of time, the alarm control method using a portable diet controller, characterized in that it comprises the step of generating an alarm sound or alarm vibration. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The portable diet controller is a diet control method using a portable diet controller, characterized in that the wireless Internet terminal connected to the wireless Internet server. A portable diet controller configured to include an input device, an output device, a central processing unit, and a first memory device 20 for storing a series of command data to be executed in the central processing unit. A second memory device 21 for storing user setting information including body related information such as height, weight, gender, age of the user, and diet program achievement goal information such as weight loss goal and weight loss period; A third memory device 21 for storing a plurality of images and various evaluation texts of the avatar selected by the user as a character to represent himself, When the diet program is started, the user inputs an example of an appropriate amount of daily food intake and activity for each user evaluated on the basis of user setting information through an output device, thereby allowing the user to input his or her actual food intake and activity through the input device. Input and output control means 10 for requesting input through the input device 12, When the food intake and activity amount are input through the input device 12 by the user, the user immediately calculates the amount of increase and decrease of calories possessed by the user, and compares the result with the calorie burning target for one day to prepare a diet achievement level. And a control processor 18 for controlling the output device to output variously changed images of the evaluation text and the avatar stored in the third memory device according to the diet achievement evaluation result. Portable Diet Controller. The method of claim 7, wherein Portable avatar controller, characterized in that each of the avatars recorded in the third storage device is provided in a variety of changes depending on diet achievement is at least two or more images to be sequentially output to generate a dynamic effect. The method of claim 7, wherein The input request means provides a number of example images prepared for each food as an example of food intake input, And a fourth memory device for recording a number of example images to be provided for each food item by the input request means by a quantity. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, When the actual food intake and activity amount are input by the user, the input result is recorded, and the input data is transmitted to the member management server remotely connected to the portable diet controller, and the new information is received from the member management server. A portable diet controller, characterized in that it also comprises a network communication means. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, Time means for measuring the time elapsed after the user inputs the amount of food intake or activity, And a warning means for generating an alarm sound or an alarm vibration when the period measured by the time means passes a predetermined period. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, The portable diet controller comprises a wireless internet access processor for accessing a wireless internet server.