Meal information supply system and meal information supply service method thereof

• US 7,182,248 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2001
• Issued: 02/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Infrontia Corporation (NEC Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NEC Infrontia Corporation (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Ookushi, Yasunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hess; Daniel A.
• Application Number:
  US10/013,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20020099771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,902 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 705 2- 3, 128/921, 434/127
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/921 Diet management

Abstract

The meal information supply system includes a small-sized portable terminal for reading a bar code of meal data indicative of the contents of an individual meal taken by a user to obtain the meal data and a meal information supply server for receiving, from the portable terminal of a user, a notification of meal data of the user in question through a communication network, analyzing the contents of the meal indicated by the meal data, totalizing, managing and analyzing information about intake including information of a calorie and a food group of a meal taken by each user with respect to each user, generating data of advice on management of eating habits of the user in question and notifying meal information of analysis results to the user through a communication network.

Claims

1. A meal information supply system, comprising:

a handheld user terminal which obtains meal data indicative of the contents of an individual meal taken by a user;

a meal information supply server which receives a notification of said meal data from said user terminal and analyzes the contents of a meal indicated by said meal data to notify said user of meal information of analysis results, wherein

said meal information supply server totalizes, manages and analyzes information about intake including information of a calorie and a food group of a meal taken by each said user and supplies meal information of analysis results to said user, wherein

said server supplies additional information about health based on the contents of meal data taken by said user, wherein at the supply of said additional service, an extra charge is collected from said user, wherein

said meal information includes indication of meals, nutritive elements and food groups taken for a fixed time period, as well as advice on eating habits optimum for each individual taking the individual'"'"'s age, sex, physical features, daily customs, having disease or not and wishes into consideration, wherein

said handheld user terminal includes a connection interface that connects to an external terminal, and wherein

said external terminal transmits said meal data to said meal information supply server through a communication network.

2. The meal information supply system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said meal information supply server totalizes, manages and analyzes information about intake including information of a calorie and a food group of a meal taken by each said user based on said meal data notified with respect to each said user and notifies meal information of analysis results to said user, and

based on said intake information of each said user, generates data of advice on management of eating habits of the user in question to notify the user in question of said meal information with the generated data included.

3. The meal information supply system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said user terminal comprises a bar code reader which receives supply of said meal data of a meal taken by said user as bar code indication, wherein said bar code is read to obtain the meal data in question.

4. The meal information supply system as set forth in claim 3, further comprising a book having a list of bar codes indicative of meal data of individual meal and food material, with reference to which book a user obtains meal data of a meal taken by himself/herself.

5. The meal information supply system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said meal information supply server receives a notification of said meal data through a communication network and gives a notification of said meal information through the communication network.

6. The meal information supply system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said meal information supply server includes account management unit which manages accounts of a service charge of each said user.

7. A user terminal for meal management, comprising:

a memory which records meal data indicative of the contents of an individual meal taken by a user,

a bar code reader which obtains said meal data indicated by a bar code,

a meal information supply server of said meal data, which analyzes the contents of a meal taken by said user based on said meal data, and

a notification unit which outputs said meal data obtained to notify said meal data to said meal information supply server, wherein

said user terminal is handheld, wherein

said handheld user terminal includes a connection interface that connects to an external terminal, and wherein

said external terminal transmits said meal data to said meal information supply server through a communication network, wherein

said server totalizes, manages and analyzes information about intake including information of a calorie and a food group of a meal taken by each said user based on said meal data notified with respect to each said user and supplies meal information of analysis results to said user, wherein

said server supplies additional information about health based on the contents of meal data taken by said user, wherein at the supply of said additional service, an extra charge is collected from said user, wherein

said meal information includes indication of meals, nutritive elements and food groups taken for a fixed time period, as well as advice on eating habits optimum for each individual taking the individual'"'"'s age, sex, physical features, daily customs, having disease or not and wishes into consideration.

8. The user terminal for meal management as set forth in claim 7, further comprising a connection interface for the connection with said external terminal device to notify said meal information supply server of said meal data obtained through said terminal device.

9. The user terminal for meal management as set forth in claim 7, wherein said handheld terminal has a strap for the carriage of the terminal hanging on the neck.

10. A meal information supply service method, comprising the steps of:

receiving a notification of meal data from a handheld user terminal for obtaining said meal data indicative of the contents of an individual meal taken by a user,

totalizing, managing and analyzing information about intake including information of a calorie and a food group of a meal taken by said user based on said meal data notified to said user and notifying meal information of analysis results to said user, and

supplying a totalization result of said meal information determined based on the contents of a meal taken by said user and said advice on management of eating habits and additional service of supplying additional information about health, wherein at the supply of said additional service, an extra charge is collected from said user, wherein

said meal information includes indication of meals, nutritive elements and food groups taken for a fixed time period, as well as advice on eating habits optimum for each individual taking the individual'"'"'s age, sex, physical features, daily customs, having disease or not and wishes into consideration, wherein

said handheld user terminal includes a connection interface that connects to an external terminal, and wherein

said external terminal transmits said meal data to said meal information supply server through a communication network.

11. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 10, further comprising a step of, based on said intake information of each said user, generating data of advice on management of eating habits of the user in question to notify the user in question of said meal information with the generated data included.

12. A meal information supply service method, comprising the steps of:

receiving a notification of meal data from a handheld user terminal for obtaining said data indicative of the contents of an individual meal taken by a user,

totalizing, managing and analyzing information about intake including information of a calorie and a food group of a meal taken by said user based on said meal data notified to said user and notifying meal information of analysis results to said user, and

supplying a totalization result of said meal information determined based on the contents of a meal taken by said user and said advice of management of eating habits and additional service of supplying additional information about health, wherein at the supply of said additional service, an extra charge is collected from said user, wherein,

said meal information includes indication of meals, nutritive elements and food groups taken for a fixed time period, as well as advice on eating habits optimum for each individual'"'"'s age, sex, physical features, daily customs, having disease or not and wishes into consideration, wherein

notifying a party concerned in diner business of specifications of a bar code indicative of said meal data of an individual meal in advance,

said party concerned in diner business of indicating said meal data of a meal to be supplied to a user as a bar code to said user,

said user obtaining said meal data of a meal supplied by said party concerned in diner business by the function of a bar code reader provided at a user terminal, and

said user receiving a notification of meal data from said user terminal indicative of the contents of an individual meal taken by said user, wherein

said user terminal includes a connection interface that connects to an external terminal, and wherein

said external terminal transmits said meal data to said meal information supply server through a communication network.

13. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 12, further comprising a step of providing said user with a book having a list of bar codes indicative of meal data of individual meal and food material, with reference to which book a user obtains meal data of a meal taken by himself/herself.

14. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

setting up a web site for the supply of service to said user, and

putting an advertisement of said party concerned in diner business on said web site to collect an advertisement fee.

15. A meal information management program readable by a computer, comprising the functions of:

receiving a notification of said meal data from a handheld user terminal for obtaining meal data indicative of the contents of an individual meal taken by a user,

totalizing, managing and analyzing information about intake including information of a calorie and a food group of a meal taken by said user based on said meal data notified to said user and notifying meal information of analysis results to said user, and

supplying a totalization result of said meal information determined based on the contents of a meal taken by said user and said advice of management of eating habits and additional service of supplying additional information about health, wherein at the supply of said additional service, an extra charge is collected from said user, wherein,

said meal information includes indication of meals, nutritive elements and food groups taken for a fixed time period, as well as advice on eating habits optimum for each individual'"'"'s age, sex, physical features, daily customs, having disease or not and wishes into consideration, wherein

said handheld user terminal includes a connection interface that connects to an external terminal, and wherein

said external terminal transmits said meal data to said meal information supply server through a communication network.

16. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the functions of:

generating data of advice on management of eating habits of the user in question based on said intake information of each said user, and

notifying the user in question of said meal information with the generated data included.

17. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the functions of:

receiving a notification of said meal data through a communication network, and

giving a notification of said meal information to said user through the communication network.

18. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 15, further comprising an account management function of managing accounts of a service charge of each said user.

19. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 15, wherein said user terminal has a function of reading said meal data indicated by a bar code, a function of recording and holding said meal data read in an internal memory and a function of outputting each said meal data held in said memory to notify said meal data to a meal information supply server which analyzes the contents of a meal taken by a user in question based on said meal data.