JP7150526B2 - Retention period management device, retention period management method, and retention period management program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a retention period management device and the like.

In restaurants and the like, refrigerators are used to store foods, and ingredients are taken out of the refrigerator when cooking the foods. Each food product has an expiration date set by the manufacturer, and employees check the expiration date of the food in the refrigerator and take measures such as throwing away the food that has passed the expiration date. .

There is a conventional technique that detects information about the proper storage period for each food stored in a refrigerator and calculates the effective period based on the detected proper storage period for each food.

JP 2017-133825 A WO 2003/021399 JP-A-2004-178452 JP-A-11-224427 JP-A-2001-061457

However, the conventional technology described above has a problem that it is impossible to specify the shelf life of food.

The expiration date of the food set by the manufacturer is the expiration date on the premise that the food is stored in a predetermined temperature environment. For example, the predetermined temperature environment is such that "food is refrigerated at 5°C or less".

2. Description of the Related Art In restaurants and the like, various foods are stored in refrigerators, and employees often open and close the refrigerator door many times in order to take out desired foods. Refrigerators have the function of controlling the temperature so that the interior is kept at a preset temperature. Resulting in.

As described above, if the temperature inside the refrigerator rises temporarily, the specified temperature environment, which is the basis for setting the expiration date of the food, cannot be temporarily satisfied. (storable period) may be shorter.

In one aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage period management device, a storage period management method, and a storage period management program capable of specifying the storage period of food.

In the first proposal, the retention period management device has a storage unit, an acquisition unit, and a correction unit. The storage unit stores information on a storage period when the food is stored in the first temperature environment. The acquisition unit acquires information on a second temperature environment within the storage where the food is stored. The correction unit performs correction to shorten the storage period when the first temperature environment and the second temperature environment are different.

It is possible to specify the shelf life of food.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the retention period management device according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of an expiration date table. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of statistical information. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of an outside air influence table. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of accumulated time per day. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the retention period management device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the integrated time calculation process. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of total influence time calculation processing. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer that implements the same functions as the retention period management device.

Exemplary embodiments of the retention period management device, the retention period management method, and the retention period management program disclosed in the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this Example.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, this system has a repository 50 and a retention period management device 100. FIG. The retention period management device 100 is connected to the repository 50 via the network 10 . Note that the retention period management device 100 may be directly connected to the repository 50 . Also, the retention period management device 100 may be connected to a repository other than the repository 50 .

Storage box 50 is a storage box for storing food, and corresponds to, for example, a refrigerator, a freezer, or the like. The storage box 50 has an RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) reader, and reads information about the expiration date of the food from an IC tag or the like attached to the food stored by itself. The information on the expiration date of the food read from the IC tag includes information on the food ID uniquely identifying the food, the name of the food, and the expiration date.

The storage 50 transmits information about the expiration date of the food and information about the temperature environment inside the storage 50 to the storage period management device 100 . In the following description, the information about the temperature environment inside the storage 50 will be referred to as "internal temperature environment information" as appropriate. Although illustration is omitted, the repository 50 is assumed to have a communication device for performing data communication with the retention period management device 100 .

Here, if a temperature sensor is provided inside the storage 50, the storage 50 stores the temperature information measured by the temperature sensor in the internal temperature environment information, and updates the internal temperature environment information at predetermined time intervals. , to the retention period management device 100 . In the following description, temperature information measured by the temperature sensor is referred to as "sensor-measured temperature". The sensor-measured temperature is provided with information for identifying whether it is refrigerator temperature information, freezer temperature information, or room-temperature storage temperature information.

If the storage 50 is equipped with a counter that counts the number of times the door has been opened and closed, the storage 50 stores the information on the number of times the door has been opened and closed in the internal temperature environment information. The storage box 50 transmits the internal temperature environment information to the retention period management device 100 each time the door is opened and closed.

By the way, when the storage 50 is not equipped with a temperature sensor and a counter, the storage 50 stores information indicating that the temperature sensor and the counter are not equipped in the internal temperature environment information, and manages the storage period. Send to device 100 .

The storage period management device 100 holds information about the expiration date of the food transmitted from the storage 50, and based on the temperature environment suitable for storing the food and the internal temperature environment information received from the storage 50, A device for specifying the shelf life of food.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the retention period management device according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, this retention period management device 100 has a communication section 110, a timer 115, a storage section 120, and a control section .

The communication unit 110 is a processing unit that performs data communication with the repository 50 via the network 10 . Communication unit 110 is an example of a communication device. The control unit 130 , which will be described later, exchanges data with the storage 50 via the communication unit 110 .

Timer 115 is a timer that outputs information on the current date and time and the day of the week to control unit 130 .

The storage unit 120 has an expiration date table 121 , statistical information 122 and an outside air effect table 123 . Storage unit 120 corresponds to a storage device such as a semiconductor memory device such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), and flash memory.

The expiration date table 121 is a table that holds information on expiration dates of foods stored inside the storage box 50 . FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of an expiration date table. As shown in FIG. 3, this expiration date table 121 associates food IDs, food names, expiration dates, and storage periods. The food ID is information that uniquely identifies the food ID. The food name is the name of the food. The expiry date indicates the expiry date of the food when the food is stored in the optimum storage temperature range. The storable period is the period from the current date and time to the expiration date.

The optimum storage temperature range for food differs depending on the food to be stored refrigerated, the food to be stored frozen, and the food to be stored at room temperature. The expiration date table 121 may hold information on the optimum storage temperature range for each food item. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the type of food can be distinguished by the symbol at the beginning of the food ID.

The statistical information 122 is a table that holds the average number of opening/closing times (statistical information) for each day of the week when the storage is normally used. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of statistical information. As shown in FIG. 4, this statistical information 122 holds the number of times of opening and closing (number of times of opening and closing per day) for each storage type and day of the week. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the statistical information 122 includes the number of times of opening/closing for each day of the week when the type of storage is refrigerator and the number of times of opening/closing for each day of the week when the type of storage is freezer. The statistical information 122 also includes the number of openings and closings for each day of the week when the storage type is normal temperature storage, and the number of openings and closings for each day when the storage type is other storage.

For example, if the storage type is "refrigerator", the number of open/close operations per day is "50" on Monday. In the case where the storage type is "refrigerator", the number of opening/closing times per day is "43" on Tuesday. When the storage type is "refrigerator", the number of openings and closings per day is "37" on Wednesday. When the storage type is "refrigerator", the number of times of opening/closing is "40" per day on Thursday. When the storage type is "refrigerator", the number of times of opening/closing is "42" on Friday. When the storage type is "refrigerator", the number of times of opening and closing per day is "40" on Saturday. In the case where the storage type is "refrigerator", the number of opening/closing times per day is "35" on Sundays.

The outside air effect table 123 is a table that holds information on the time (seconds) that the temperature environment inside the storage will affect the food until it returns to the original temperature environment when the storage is opened and closed once. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of an outside air influence table. As shown in FIG. 5, this outside air influence table 123 includes the types of foods and the period of influence for each season (when the storage is opened and closed once, the temperature environment inside the storage is returned to the original temperature environment). time to affect food storage).

For example, the influence time corresponding to the food type "E (egg)" and the season "spring" is "100 seconds (same below)". The influence time corresponding to the food type "E (egg)" and the season "early summer" is "150 s". The influence time corresponding to the food type "E (egg)" and the season "midsummer" is "220 s". The influence time corresponding to the food type "E (egg)" and the season "late summer" is "200 s". The influence time corresponding to the food type "E (egg)" and the season "autumn" is "150 s". The influence time corresponding to the food type "E (egg)" and the season "winter" is "0 s".

For example, "March to May" for spring, "June" for early summer, "July and August" for midsummer, "September" for late summer, "October and November" for autumn, and "December" for winter. "Month to February".

Returning to the description of FIG. Control unit 130 has acquisition unit 131 , correction unit 132 , and notification unit 133 . The control unit 130 corresponds to, for example, an integrated device such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Also, the control unit 130 corresponds to, for example, an electronic circuit such as a CPU or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit).

The acquisition unit 131 is a processing unit that acquires information about the expiration date of food and internal temperature information from the storage 50 . Acquisition unit 131 stores information about expiration dates of foods in expiration date table 121 . The acquisition unit 131 acquires information on the current date and time from the timer 115 , calculates the storable period from the date and time of the expiration date to the current date and time, and stores it in the expiration date table 121 .

Here, the acquisition unit 131 executes the following different processes depending on the contents of the internal temperature information. First, the case where the internal temperature environment information includes the temperature measured by the sensor will be described. The acquisition unit 131 compares the optimal storage temperature range of the food with the temperature measured by the sensor, and calculates the accumulated time by accumulating the time when the temperature measured by the sensor is not included in the storage temperature range. Acquisition unit 131 calculates the accumulated time for each day, and outputs information on the calculated accumulated time to correction unit 132 .

The optimum storage temperature range for food differs depending on the food to be stored refrigerated, the food to be stored frozen, and the food to be stored at room temperature. For example, the acquisition unit 131 calculates the accumulated time for each different storage temperature range.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of accumulated time per day. In the graph shown in FIG. 6, the vertical axis is the axis corresponding to sensor-measured temperature, and the horizontal axis is the axis corresponding to time. In the example shown in FIG. 6, it is out of the optimum storage temperature range 20 at times T ₁ , T ₂ , T ₃ , T ₄ and T ₅ during 00:00 to 24:00 (one day). In this case, the integrated time for one day is the time obtained by integrating (totaling) the times T ₁ , T ₂ , T ₃ , T ₄ and T ₅ .

Next, the processing of the acquiring unit 131 when the internal temperature environment information includes information on the number of times the door has been opened and closed will be described. The acquiring unit 131 calculates the count value of the number of times of opening and closing for each day by incrementing the number of times of opening and closing each time the number of times of opening and closing of the door is acquired. Note that if the storage 50 has a plurality of types of doors, the obtaining unit 131 may count, for example, the number of times the refrigerator door is opened and closed, and the number of times the freezer door is opened and closed.

Acquisition unit 131 refers to outside air influence table 123 and identifies the current season based on the current date and time information obtained from timer 115 . The acquisition unit 131 multiplies the influence time corresponding to the food type in the current season by the count value to calculate the “total influence time” per day for each food type.

For example, if the current season is "spring" and the food type is "egg", the influence time is "100s". When the daily count value is 50, the total influence time per day for the food type “egg” is “50×100 s=5000 s”. Acquisition unit 131 calculates the total influence time for the type of food identified from the food ID registered in expiration date table 121 . Acquisition unit 131 outputs the total influence time for each type of food to correction unit 132 .

Next, the processing of the acquisition unit 131 when the internal temperature environment information includes information indicating that the temperature sensor and the counter are not provided will be described. The acquisition unit 131 refers to the statistical information 122 and identifies the number of openings/closings per day based on the current day of the week information obtained from the timer 115 and the storage type. The acquisition unit 132 may estimate the type of storage based on the type of food registered in the expiration date table 121 or may acquire information on the type of storage from the storage 50 .

For example, if the storage type is "refrigerator" and the current day of the week is "Monday", the number of open/close operations per day is "50". After identifying the number of openings and closings per day, the acquisition unit 131 multiplies the influence time corresponding to the type of food in the current season by the number of openings and closings to obtain the total influence per day for each type of food. Calculate time. Acquisition unit 131 calculates the total influence time for the type of food identified from the food ID registered in expiration date table 121 . Acquisition unit 131 outputs the total influence time for each type of food to correction unit 132 .

The correction unit 132 is a processing unit that corrects the shelf life of each food registered in the expiration date table 121 based on the information acquired from the acquisition unit 131 . Processing when the correction unit 132 acquires the integrated time from the acquisition unit 131 and processing when the total influence time is acquired will be described.

Processing when the accumulated time is acquired from the acquisition unit 131 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the accumulated time for the food type "egg" is acquired. The correcting unit 132 identifies records classified into types of eggs included in the expiration date table 121 and identifies the storable period included in the identified records. The correction unit 132 updates the storable period with a value obtained by subtracting the accumulated period from the specified storable period.

Processing when the total influence time is acquired from the acquisition unit 131 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the accumulated time for the food type "egg" is obtained. The correcting unit 132 identifies records classified into types of eggs included in the expiration date table 121 and identifies the storable period included in the identified records. The correction unit 132 updates the storable period with a value obtained by subtracting the total influence time from the specified storable period.

Here, the correcting unit 132 may perform processing for further correcting the post-update storable period. For example, the correction unit 132 may divide the post-update storable period (hours) by “24 (hours)” and round off the result of the division after the decimal point. For example, assume that the storable time after update is "50 hours". In this case, the storable time "50 hours" may be corrected to "48 hours (2 days)".

The notification unit 133 compares a preset threshold period with the storable period value of the expiration date table 121, and determines whether or not there is food whose expiration date is less than the threshold period (food whose expiration date has passed). The notification unit 133 notifies the terminal device of the user of the information on the food whose expiration date has passed, if the food has expired. Alternatively, the notification unit 133 may cause the display of the storage box 50 or the like to display the information on the expired foods.

The notification unit 133 may cause the display or the like of the storage 50 to display the latest storable period information of each food stored in the storage 50 when there is no expired food.

Next, an example of the processing procedure of the retention period management device 100 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the retention period management device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the acquisition unit 131 of the storage period management device 100 acquires the expiration date information of the food from the storage box 50 and registers it in the expiration date table 121 (step S101).

The acquisition unit 131 calculates the storable period TG based on the current date and time and the expiration date of the food, and registers it in the expiration date table 121 (step S102). The acquisition unit 131 acquires the internal temperature environment information from the storage 50 (step S103). The acquisition unit 131 determines whether a temperature sensor is installed in the storage 50 (step S104).

If a temperature sensor is installed in the storage 50 (step S104, Yes), the acquisition unit 131 executes an accumulated time calculation process (step S105), and proceeds to step S107. On the other hand, if no temperature sensor is installed in the storage 50 (step S104, No), the acquisition unit 131 executes total influence time calculation processing (step S106), and proceeds to step S107.

The correction unit 132 of the retention period management device 100 updates the storable period TG in the expiration date table (step S107). The notification unit 133 of the storage period management device 100 determines whether the possible storage period TG is 24 hours or longer (step S108). If the storable period TG is 24 hours or more (step S108, Yes), the notification unit 133 displays information on the storable period of the target food (step S109).

On the other hand, if the storable period TG is less than 24 hours (step S108, No), the notification unit 133 notifies a warning (step S110).

Next, an example of the processing procedure of the integrated time calculation processing shown in step S105 of FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the integrated time calculation process. As shown in FIG. 8, the acquisition unit 131 of the retention period management device 100 acquires the sensor-measured temperature (step S201). The acquisition unit 131 compares the sensor-measured temperature with the optimal storage temperature range, and determines whether the sensor-measured temperature is included in the optimal storage temperature range (step S202).

If the sensor-measured temperature is within the optimal storage temperature range (step S202, Yes), the obtaining unit 131 proceeds to step S205. On the other hand, when the sensor-measured temperature is not included in the optimum storage temperature range (step S202, No), the obtaining unit 131 proceeds to step S203.

The acquisition unit 131 counts the time Ti until the temperature measured by the sensor falls within the optimum storage temperature range (step S203). The acquisition unit 131 updates the accumulated time (step S204).

If one day has not passed (step S205, No), the obtaining unit 131 proceeds to step S201. On the other hand, if one day has passed (step S205, Yes), the acquiring unit 131 ends the integrated time calculation process.

Next, an example of the processing procedure of the total influence time calculation processing shown in step S106 of FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of total influence time calculation processing. As shown in FIG. 9, the acquisition unit 131 of the retention period management apparatus 100 determines whether or not a counter is installed in the storage (step S301). If a counter is installed in the storage box 50 (step S301, Yes), the acquisition unit 131 proceeds to step S302. If no counter is installed in the storage box 50 (step S301, No), the acquisition unit 131 proceeds to step S303.

In step S302, the obtaining unit 131 counts the count value C of the number of times of opening and closing in one day (step S302), and proceeds to step S304. In step S303, the acquisition unit 131 estimates the number of times of opening/closing (count value C) based on the statistical information 122 (step S303).

The acquisition unit 131 identifies the influence time T of each food based on the outside air influence table 123 (step S304). The acquisition unit 131 calculates the total influence time for each food (step S305), and ends the total influence time calculation process.

Next, the effects of the retention period management device 100 according to this embodiment will be described. The storage period management device 100 acquires the internal temperature environment information from the storage 50, and shortens the storage period of the food when the temperature environment of the food stored in the storage 50 is not within an appropriate storage temperature range. make corrections to This makes it possible to accurately specify the shelf life of food.

When a temperature sensor is installed in the storage 50, the storage period management device 100 compares the optimum storage temperature range of the food with the temperature measured by the sensor, and the temperature measured by the sensor is not included in the storage temperature range. Calculate the accumulated time by accumulating the time. The shelf life management device 100 makes corrections to shorten the shelf life of the food based on the accumulated time. As a result, the temperature sensor can be used to accurately specify the storable period of the food.

When a door opening/closing counter is installed in the storage cabinet 50, the storage period management device 100 calculates the total influence time based on the count value of the number of openings and closings and the influence time for each type of food. , making modifications that shorten the shelf life of food. As a result, it is possible to accurately specify the storable period of the food based on the number of times the food is opened and closed without using a temperature sensor.

The storage period management device 100 estimates the count value of the number of openings and closings based on the statistical information, calculates the total influence time, and stores the food even if the storage box 50 is not equipped with an open/close counter and a temperature sensor. Make modifications to shorten the possible period. As a result, even without a temperature sensor and an open/close counter, the storable period of food can be specified with high accuracy based on the number of open/close operations.

The shelf life management device 100 corrects the shelf life of the food, and performs a process of notifying a warning when the shelf life is less than the threshold value. In this way, it is possible to notify information about foods that have passed their expiry dates or foods that should be avoided even before their expiry dates.

Next, an example of the hardware configuration of a computer that implements the same functions as the retention period management apparatus 100 shown in the above embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer that implements the same functions as the retention period management device.

As shown in FIG. 10, a computer 200 has a CPU 201 that executes various arithmetic processes, an input device 202 that receives data input from a user, and a display 203 . The computer 200 also has a reading device 204 that reads programs and the like from a storage medium, and an interface device 205 that exchanges data with other devices via a wired or wireless network. The computer 200 also has a RAM 206 that temporarily stores various information, and a hard disk device 207 . Each device 201 - 207 is then connected to a bus 208 .

The hard disk device 207 has an acquisition program 207a, a correction program 207b, and a notification program 207c. The CPU 201 reads out the acquisition program 207a, the correction program 207b, and the notification program 207c and develops them in the RAM 206. FIG.

Acquisition program 207a functions as acquisition process 206a. The modification program 207b functions as a modification process 206b. Notification program 207c functions as notification process 206c.

The processing of the acquisition process 206 a corresponds to the processing of the acquisition unit 131 . The processing of the correction process 206 b corresponds to the processing of the correction unit 132 . The processing of the notification process 206 c corresponds to the processing of the notification unit 133 .

Note that the programs 207a to 207c do not necessarily have to be stored in the hard disk device 207 from the beginning. For example, each program is stored in a “portable physical medium” such as a flexible disk (FD), CD-ROM, DVD, magneto-optical disk, IC card, etc. inserted into the computer 200 . Then, the computer 200 may read and execute each program 207a to 207c.

10 network 50 storage 100 retention period management device 110 communication unit 115 timer 120 storage unit 121 expiration date table 122 statistical information 123 outside air influence table 130 control unit 131 acquisition unit 132 correction unit 133 notification unit

Claims (5)

a storage unit for storing information on a storage period when food is stored in a first temperature environment, and statistical information for each day of the week regarding the number of opening and closing times of the door of the storage where the food is stored ;
an acquisition unit that executes a process of acquiring information on a second temperature environment in the storage and a process of estimating the time that the food stored in the storage will be affected based on the statistical information; ,
a correction unit that performs correction to shorten the storage period based on the estimated time when the first temperature environment and the second temperature environment are different;
A retention period management device characterized by comprising: The acquisition unit acquires information on the second temperature environment from a temperature sensor in the storage, and the correction unit, when the first temperature environment and the second temperature environment are different, determines the 2. The storage period management device according to claim 1, wherein correction is performed to shorten the storage period based on the time until the second temperature environment becomes the same temperature environment as the first temperature environment. . 3. The storage period management device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that issues a warning when the storage period becomes shorter than a predetermined period. A computer-executed retention period management method comprising:
referring to a storage device that stores information on the storage period when the food is stored in the first temperature environment and statistical information for each day of the week regarding the number of times the door of the storage where the food is stored is opened ;
Acquiring information on a second temperature environment in the storage where the food is stored;
Based on the statistical information, estimate the time to affect the food stored in the storage,
A retention period management method, comprising: executing a correction process for shortening the retention period based on an estimated time when the first temperature environment and the second temperature environment are different. to the computer,
referring to a storage device that stores information on the storage period when the food is stored in the first temperature environment and statistical information for each day of the week regarding the number of times the door of the storage where the food is stored is opened ;
Acquiring information on a second temperature environment in the storage where the food is stored;
Based on the statistical information, estimate the time to affect the food stored in the storage,
A storage period management program, characterized in that, when the first temperature environment and the second temperature environment are different, a correction process for shortening the storage period is executed based on the estimated time .

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