Method and system for monitoring quality of food

• US 9,087,333 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2011
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Korea Food Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Korea Food Research Institute
• Inventors: Kim, Byeong Sam, Kim, Ji Young, Kim, Jong Hoon, Kim, Ouiwoung, Kwon, Ki Hyun, Park, Yong Kon, Kim, Yoon Sook, Koo, Junemo
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): POINT, RUFUS C
• Application Number:
  US13/877,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20130214938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,384 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.07, 340/870.16, 340/540, 340/10.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0832 Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of monitoring food quality including (a) receiving an environmental factor value sensed during transporting by a moving sensor tag attached to a container or palette on which a plurality of food is stacked, a time value sensing the environmental factor, and food information from a distribution company server; (b) receiving an environmental factor value sensed by a fixed sale sensor tag which matches the food information stored in the moving sensor tag, a time value sensing the environmental factor, and food information from the distribution company server; (c) measuring a current quality index for each individual quality analysis item and a total quality index based on the food information sensed by the moving sensor tag and the fixed sale sensor tag, the environmental factor values, and the time values sensing the environmental factors; (d) setting price of the food based on the measured quality index for each individual quality analysis item and total quality index; and (e) transmitting bar code information or electronic tag information (food information) corresponding to a plurality of food which matches inherent IDs of the fixed sale sensor tags, the quality index for each individual analysis item of the food, the total quality index, and the price of the food to the distribution company server.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring food quality, the system comprising:

a sensor tag, when transporting of the food starts, the sensor tag senses an environmental factor at preset time intervals, and when the sensed environmental factor value is not included in a preset environmental factor value range of the food, adjusting a time interval to sense the environmental factor, and transmits an environmental factor value sensed, a time sensing the environmental factor and product information on the food to a sensor tag reader, the sensor tag being attached to a container or palette on which food is stacked;

a sensor tag reader for transmitting the environmental factor value sensed by the sensor tag, a time sensing the environmental factor, and product information on the food transmitted through the sensor tag to a distribution company server;

a distribution company server for transmitting the environmental factor value sensed by the sensor tag, a time sensing the environmental factor, and product information on the food transmitted through the sensor tag reader to a food quality monitoring server;

a food quality monitoring server for measuring a food quality index by using an equation including at least one of values changed per unit time in a particular temperature for at least one of the quality indexes of each food, said quality indexes including any of a reaction speed constant, a reaction degree, activation energy, a frequency constant, a temperature coefficient and a mean kinetic temperature, based on at least one of the environmental factor values sensed by the sensor tag, the time sensing the environmental factors, and the product information on the food transmitted through the distribution company server; and

transmitting bar code information or electronic tag information corresponding to the food and the measured quality index to the distribution company server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor tag senses an environmental factor, when a preset transporting hour passes, or the food arrives at a preset particular area, adjusting a time interval to sense the environmental factor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein adjusting the time interval to sense the environmental factor is to narrow the interval to sense the environmental factor.

4. The system of claim 1, the system further comprising a food information reading device installed in a store, for transmitting bar code information or electronic tag information extracted by reading a bar code or electronic tag of the food detected within a predetermined range to the distribution company server;

and receiving a quality index of the food corresponding to the bar code information or electronic tag information extracted from the distribution company server and a price linked with the quality index of the food from the distribution company server and displaying them,

wherein the distribution company server identifies a quality index of the food corresponding to the received bar code information or electronic tag information, a total quality index, and a price linked with the quality index of the food based on the bar code information or electronic tag information transmitted from the food quality monitoring server, and transmits them to the food information reading device.

6. The system of claim 2, the system further comprising a sensor tag control terminal for determining a current position in real time through a GPS module and transmitting a signal of informing that the food arrives at a preset particular area to a sensor tag.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the quality index of the food includes a temperature history during distribution process of a food, a quality index for each individual quality analysis item and a total quality index,

wherein the quality index for each individual analysis item of the food indicates a nutritive component value for each nutritive component remaining in the food and is expressed by a percentage (%) or a numerical value, and the total quality index of the food indicates a relative value according to freshness of the food and is expressed by a percentage (%) or in a level (best, excellent, and normal).

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the food quality monitoring server sets an expiration date of the food based on the measured quality index of the food and transmits the expiration date to the distribution company server.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the product information contains at least one of a product name of the food stacked in the container or palette, an inherent ID of the sensor tag attached to the container or palette, and initial quality information on the food.

5. The system of claim , wherein the sensor tag does not store the sensed environmental factor value in the memory when the sensed environmental factor value is equal to a previously sensed environmental factor value and stores the sensed environmental factor and the time of sensing the environmental factor in the memory when the sensed environmental factor value is different from the previously sensed environmental factor value.