Meal information supply system and meal information supply service method thereof

• US 20020099771A1
• Filed: 12/13/2001
• Published: 07/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Infrontia Corporation (NEC Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NEC Infrontia Corporation (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Ookushi, Yasunori
• Granted Patent: US 7,182,248 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• 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 user terminal which obtains meal data indicative of the contents of an individual meal taken by a user, and

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.

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.

3. 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.

4. The meal information supply system as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said user terminal includes

a bar code reader which receives supply of said meal data of a meal taken by said user as bar code indication, wherein

read said bar code to obtain the meal data in question.

5. The meal information supply system as set forth in claim 4, 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.

6. 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.

7. The meal information supply system as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said user terminal includes

a connection interface which transmits said meal data obtained to an external terminal device.

8. 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.

9. 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, and

notification unit which outputs said meal data obtained 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.

10. The user terminal for meal management as set forth in claim 9, further comprising

a connection interface for the connection with an external terminal device

to notify said meal information supply server of said meal data obtained through said terminal device.

11. The user terminal for meal management as set forth in claim 9, further comprising

communication unit which communicates said meal data to said meal information supply server through a communication network.

12. The user terminal for meal management as set forth in claim 9, which is

a small-sized portable terminal.

13. The user terminal for meal management as set forth in claim 9, which is

a small-sized portable terminal having a strap for the carriage of the terminal hanging on the neck.

15. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising

a step of totalizing, managing and analyzing 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 notifying meal information of analysis results to said user.

16. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 15, 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.

17. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 15, 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, and

as service to be provided to each said user, basic service of 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 esthetics and health, wherein

at the supply of said additional service, an extra charge is collected from a user in question

18. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising:

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

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

a step of said user of obtaining said meal data of a meal supplied by said parity concerned in diner business by the function of a bar code reader provided at said user terminal.

19. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 18, 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.

20. The meal information supply service method as set forth in claim 18, 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.

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

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

analyzing the contents of a meal indicated by said meal data to notify said user of meal information of analysis results.

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

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

analyzing the contents of a meal indicated by said meal data, and

notifying said user of meal information of analysis results.

22. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 21, further comprising the functions of:

totalizing, managing and analyzing 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

notifying meal information of analysis results to said user.

23. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 22, further comprising the functions of:

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

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

24. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 21, 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.

25. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 21, further comprising

an account management function of managing accounts of a service charge of each said user.

26. The meal information management program as set forth in claim 21, 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.