Food information management system

• US 7,096,221 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2001
• Issued: 08/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakano, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Choules, Jack M.
• Application Number:
  US09/901,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20020059175A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,868 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/10, 707/104.1, 705/15, 705/22, 705/28, 700/213, 700/215, 283/80, 283/83, 235/375, 235/385, 406/37
• US Class Current: 340/6.1
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2700/08 Sensors using Radio Frequency Identification [RFID]
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A food information management system includes a food database (11) containing food cooking conditions for cooking foods, and nutritive ingredients, energy-producing values and weight of foods, and information storage mediums (20, 20a). Each information storage medium is attached to a food package (21a) containing a processed food (21) and storing food information including food ID information specifying a food. When cooling the processed food (21), the food ID information stored in the food information storage medium (20, 20a) is read by a read means. Food information about a food specified by the food ID information is retrieved from the food database (11), an output means receives the food information, and a display means displays the food information.

Claims

1. A food information management system, comprising:

a food processing plant for producing and shipping food in food packages, each of the food packages comprising an RFID tag storing at least food identification information relating to the food in the food package;

a food information center comprising a food database, the food database comprising food information including cooking information classified by the food identification information;

read means for reading the food identification information provided on the RFID tags and for sending the food identification information to the food information center;

output means for receiving the food information from the food information center; and

display means capable of displaying the food information;

wherein;

when the read means sends the food identification information to the food information center, the food information center retrieves the food information associated with the food identification information, and sends the food information to the output means;

the read means and the output means are provided in a cooking device, and the read means and the output means interact with the food information center remotely over a network; and

the display means is connected to the output means.

2. The food information management system according to claim 1, wherein the food information comprises cooking conditions for cooking the food, nutritive ingredients in the food, energy-producing values of the food and a weight of the food.

3. The food information management system according to claim 1, wherein the food information comprises nutritive ingredients in the food, forbidden ingredients in the food, energy-producing values of the food and a weight of the food.

4. The food information management system according to claim 1, wherein the network is the Internet.

5. A food information management system, comprising:

a food processing plant for producing and shipping food in food packages, each of the food packages comprising an RFID tag storing at least food identification information relating to the food in the food package;

a food information center comprising a food database, the food database comprising food information including cooking information classified by the food identification information;

read means for reading the food identification information provided on the RFID tags and for sending the food identification information to the food information center;

output means for receiving the food information from the food information center; and

display means capable of displaying the food information;

wherein;

when the read means sends the food identification information to the food information center, the food information center retrieves the food information associated with the food identification information, and sends the food information to the output means;

the read means and the output means are provided in a refrigerator, and the read means and the output means interact with the food information center remotely over a network; and

the display means is connected to the output means.

6. The food information management system according to claim 5, wherein the food information comprises cooking conditions for cooking the food, nutritive ingredients in the food, energy-producing values of the food and a weight of the food.

7. The food information management system according to claim 5, wherein the food information comprises nutritive ingredients in the food, forbidden ingredients in the food, energy-producing values of the food and a weight of the food.

8. The food information management system according to claim 5, wherein the network is the Internet.