Actual cooking result management method, content management method, server, and cooking apparatus

• US 7,685,256 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2002
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sano, Masaaki, Kudo, Takahiro, Ozawa, Jun, Matsuura, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn; Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Joo; Joshua
• Application Number:
  US10/474,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20040107178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,855 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709217-219, 709223-225, 700/1, 700/90
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/688 for thawing

Abstract

For cooking data provided via a communication network, use track records of the cooking data corresponding with their actual use status are accurately managed. When receiving a request for transmission of cooking data from a terminal (S11), a server transmits the cooking data to the terminal (S12, S13), and at this time receives use history data with a microwave oven for previously transmitted cooking data (S14). The server manages use track records of the cooking data based on use history data received from terminals.

Claims

1. A cooking track record management method using a server capable of transmitting information to a terminal via a communication network, the terminal exchanging information with a plurality of appliances, each of the plurality of appliances having at least one of cooking function, browsing function and printing function, the server including a cooking data database storing a plurality of recipes, the method comprising the steps of:

transmitting a first recipe read from the cooking data database to the terminal requesting transmission of the first recipe, the terminal corresponding to a first user of a plurality of users;

receiving from the terminal use history data specific to the first user, the use history data including a number of times that a recipe from the plurality of recipes has been prepared by the first user using at least one of the plurality of appliances;

maintaining use history data specific to each of the plurality of users in a use history database, wherein the use history data for each of the plurality of users is determined by acquired use history specific to each user;

managing use track records of the recipes stored in the cooking data database based on the use history data in the use history database, wherein the use track records indicate popularity of each of the plurality of recipes among the plurality of users; and

recommending a second recipe of the plurality of recipes to a second user of the plurality of users based on the popularity of the second recipe and the use history data of the second user in the use history database.

2. The cooking track record management method of claim 1, wherein the server receives the use history data for previously transmitted cooking data from the terminal when the server receives a request for transmission of cooking data from the terminal or when the server transmits cooking data to the terminal.

3. The cooking track record management method of claim 1, wherein the server transmits the managed use track records of recipes to a terminal which requests transmission of the use track records.

4. The cooking track record management method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of appliances is a microwave oven.

5. The cooking track record management method of claim 1, wherein the first recipe transmitted to the terminal is given to an appliance of the plurality of appliances via a recording medium, wherein the appliance has cooking function, and the use history data of the appliance is given to the terminal via the recording medium.

6. The cooking track record management method of claim 1, wherein at least one appliance of the plurality of appliances having cooking function has a communication function and operates as the terminal.

7. The cooking track record management method of claim 1, wherein the terminal transmits use history data to the plurality of appliances including appliances having cooking function.

8. The cooking track record management method of claim 7, wherein the use history data includes data representing a use frequency of at least one of the plurality of recipes for each appliance.

9. The cooking track record management method of claim 1, wherein the server transmits advertisement information-inserted cooking data, and

the server computes browse frequency of the advertisement-information inserted cooking data based on the use history data for at least one of the plurality of recipes.

10. A cooking track record management method using a server capable of communicating with a terminal via a communication network and the terminal exchanging information with a plurality of appliances, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving use history data for a first user of a plurality of users, the use history data of the first user including at least one of browsing history of at least one of a plurality of recipes by any one of a plurality of appliances corresponding to the first user, and printing history for at least one of the plurality of recipes by any one of the plurality of appliances corresponding to the first user, from a terminal of the first user;

maintaining use history data for each of the plurality of users in a use history database, wherein the use history data for each of the plurality of users is determined by acquired use history specific to each user of the plurality of users;

managing a use track record of the recipes based on the use history data in the use history database, wherein the use track records indicate popularity of each of the plurality of recipes among the plurality of users; and

recommending a second recipe from the plurality of recipes to a second user of the plurality of users based on the popularity of the second recipe and the user history data of the second user in the use history database.

11. A system for transmitting information to a terminal via a communication network and the terminal exchanging information with a plurality of appliances, the system comprising:

a cooking data database storing a plurality of recipes;

an output module embodied as computer executable instructions residing on a computer memory that transmits at least one of the plurality of recipes read from the cooking data database to the terminal of a first user of a plurality of users requesting transmission of the at least one of the plurality of recipes,

an input module embodied as computer executable instructions residing on a computer memory that receives use history data for the first user including at least one of browsing history of at least one of the plurality of recipes by any one of the plurality of appliances corresponding to the first user, and printing history for at least one of the plurality of recipes by any one of the plurality of appliances corresponding to the first user, from the terminal;

a use history database that maintains use history data for each of the plurality of users, wherein the use history data for each of the plurality of users is determined by the acquired use history specific to each user;

a management module embodied as computer executable instructions residing on a computer memory that manages use track records of the recipes stored in the cooking data database based on the use history data in the use history database, wherein the use track records indicate popularity of each of the plurality of recipes among the plurality of users; and

the output module further transmits a second recipe from the plurality of recipes to a second user of the plurality of users based on the popularity of the second recipe and the user history data of the second user in the use history database.

12. A cooking track record management method, for managing a plurality of recipes associated with a plurality of users, using a server capable of transmitting information to a terminal via a communication network, the terminal exchanging information with a plurality of appliances each of the plurality of appliances having at least one of cooking function, browsing function and printing function, the server including a cooking data database storing the plurality of recipes, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving each of the plurality of recipes by the cooking data database;

transmitting a first recipe of the plurality of recipes from the cooking data database to the terminal requesting the first recipe for a first user of the plurality of users;

acquiring, from the terminal, use history data specific to each of the plurality of users using the plurality of appliances, wherein the use history data including a number of times a recipe, from the plurality of recipes, was prepared by each user using at least one of the plurality of appliances;

maintaining a user history for each of the plurality of users at a use history database, wherein the user history for each of the plurality of users is determined by the acquired use history data specific to each user and using each of the plurality of appliances;

generating and managing, at a cooking track record database, use track records for each of the plurality of recipes based on all user histories stored in the use history database, wherein the use track records indicate popularity of each of the plurality of recipes among all the plurality of users; and

recommending a second recipe of the plurality of recipes to a second user of the plurality of users based on the popularity of the second recipe and the user history for the second user from the use history database.