Intelligent refrigerator diet management method

Abstract

The invention discloses an intelligent refrigerator diet management method, which specifically comprises the following steps: S1, pre-storing existing food material information in an intelligent refrigerator, and performing face recognition on the intelligent refrigerator by a user; s2, the intelligent refrigerator recognizes a user and generates a catalog of dishes capable of being made and nutrients contained in the dishes; s3, the intelligent refrigerator displays a plurality of menus meeting the nutrient requirements of the user for the user to select; s4, after the user selects one menu, the intelligent refrigerator displays required food materials and dish making methods; s5, the intelligent refrigerator judges whether the food materials are sufficient or not; and S6, when the food materials are insufficient, the intelligent refrigerator recommends the food materials which can be purchased by the user and the weight according to the remaining space and the remaining food materials. According to the method, each output menu can be made by relying on the existing food materials, the intelligent refrigerator is prevented from recommending invalid menus, and the implementability is improved; whether the food materials are sufficient or not is judged, the purchasable food materials are recommended to the user, and the user can purchase the food materials conveniently.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of meal management, and in particular to a meal management method for an intelligent refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] The existing refrigerator meal management system has a recipe recommendation function, as shown in the patent application number CN201910888007.4, which can recommend recipes based on the user's health condition and eating habits, making it convenient for users to cook and manage their health. However, the existing system is not based on ready-made ingredients in the refrigerator, resulting in the recommended recipes may not be implemented due to lack of ingredients, thereby reducing the practicality of the system. In addition, the existing system lacks the function of judging the remaining amount of ingredients and the function of recommending ingredient purchases, which makes it inconvenient for users to replenish ingredients. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In order to solve the shortcomings of the existing refrigerator system, which is less practical and inconvenient for users to replenish ingredients, the present invention proposes an intelligent refrigerator meal management method, which makes recipe recommendations based on existing ingredients and recommends supplementary ingredients based on remaining ingredients, making it convenient for users to replenish ingredients.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: A smart refrigerator meal management method, comprising the following specific steps: S1: The smart refrigerator pre-stores the existing food information, and the user performs facial recognition on the smart refrigerator; S2: The smart refrigerator recognizes the user and generates a list of dishes that can be prepared based on the available ingredients, as well as the nutrients contained in each dish; S3: The smart refrigerator assembly can prepare dishes from the dish catalog and display multiple recipes that meet the user's nutrient requirements for the user to choose from; S4: After the user selects a recipe, the smart refrigerator displays the required ingredients and the cooking method, making it easy for the user to select the ingredients and make the dish; S5: The smart refrigerator determines whether the food is sufficient based on the remaining food; S6: When food is insufficient, the smart refrigerator recommends the user the food and weight that they can purchase based on the remaining space and remaining food.

[0005] Furthermore, when new ingredients are placed in the smart refrigerator, they need to be put in a fresh-keeping bag with a built-in identity tag, which is bound to the ingredient information. When the ingredients in the fresh-keeping bag are placed in the smart refrigerator, the smart refrigerator reads the identity tag, weighs the ingredients, and updates the weight information to the ingredient information in preparation for steps S2 and S5.

[0006] Furthermore, when food is first placed in the smart refrigerator, the shelf life t_shelf life is determined according to the type of food. The smart refrigerator records the time of first placement t_beginning, and the storage time t_save = t_current - t_beginning, where t_current is the current time. When t_save / t_shelf life ≥ 80%, the smart refrigerator reminds the user that the food is about to expire and please consume it as soon as possible.

[0007] Furthermore, the smart refrigerator calculates the freshness f of the ingredients based on t_shelf-life and t_storage, and the freshness f is stored in the ingredient information. In step S3, the recipe containing the ingredient with the lowest freshness f is displayed first.

[0008] Furthermore, freshness f = 1-t_storage / t_shelf life.

[0009] Furthermore, in step S5, the smart refrigerator calculates the amount of nutrients Sum1 of the remaining food and the amount of nutrients Sum2 required by the user in the next 48 hours. When Sum1 ≥ Sum2, it indicates that the food is sufficient, otherwise it indicates that the food is insufficient.

[0010] Furthermore, the ingredients are divided into vegetables, aquatic products and meat, and a vegetable area, a aquatic product area and a meat area are set in the smart refrigerator for storing vegetables, aquatic products and meat respectively. In step S6, the smart refrigerator detects the remaining space in the vegetable area, the aquatic product area and the meat area respectively, and calculates the nutrient gap based on the nutrients of the remaining ingredients and the nutrients required by the user in the next 96 hours, and calculates the weight of the vegetables, aquatic products and meat to be purchased based on the nutrient gap. The volume of the vegetables to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the vegetable area, the volume of the aquatic products to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the aquatic products area, and the volume of the meat to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the meat area.

[0011] Furthermore, in step S6, the ratio of the sum of the volume of the vegetables to be purchased and the remaining vegetables to the volume of the vegetable area is less than or equal to 90%; the ratio of the sum of the volume of the aquatic products to be purchased and the remaining aquatic products to the aquatic products area is less than or equal to 90%, and the ratio of the sum of the volume of the meat to be purchased and the remaining meat to the volume of the meat area is less than or equal to 90%.

[0012] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: 1. It ensures that each output recipe can be made with existing ingredients, preventing the smart refrigerator from recommending invalid recipes and improving feasibility; 2. It determines whether the ingredients are sufficient and recommends purchasable ingredients to the user; 3. It recommends ingredients based on the remaining space to prevent ingredients from not being able to be placed in the smart refrigerator; 4. It ensures the air circulation inside the smart refrigerator, which is beneficial to the preservation of ingredients and the operation of the smart refrigerator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 Flowchart of the dietary management method of an embodiment.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a flow chart of an embodiment for determining whether food is sufficient and calculating the weight of food. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The technical solution of the present invention will be further specifically described below through embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0016] like Figures 1 to 2 As shown, a smart refrigerator meal management method, the specific steps are: S1: The smart refrigerator pre-stores the existing food information, and the user performs facial recognition on the smart refrigerator.

[0017] The smart refrigerator includes a refrigerator body, a camera, a controller and a display. The refrigerator body is internally refrigerated and is used to store food. The camera and the display are connected to the controller and installed on the front side of the refrigerator body. The controller is pre-entered with user information, user health data, facial data, food database and other information, wherein the user information includes the user's name, gender and age, and the user's health data includes at least blood pressure, blood lipids, body fat percentage, weight, blood sugar and other data. The user's health data can be measured through a physical examination in a hospital or a physical examination robot, and manually input into the controller of the smart refrigerator, or the smart refrigerator automatically reads it from a wearable device. The controller can adopt an Android system and, after having a corresponding health program built in, can calculate the amount of nutrients that the user needs to consume for each meal through the user's health data, wherein the nutrients specifically include fat, Fat amount, protein amount, carbohydrate amount and sugar amount. For example, 10-20g of fat is needed for breakfast, 20-30g of fat is needed for lunch, and 10-20g of fat is needed for dinner. The amount of other nutrients is similar. The food database includes various common ingredients on the market, the shelf life of each ingredient, the nutrient composition, the density of each ingredient and other information. In addition, the smart refrigerator pre-stores food information, including the name of the ingredient and the weight information. The name of the ingredient can be identified by the visual system built into the refrigerator, and the weight information can be measured by the weighing sensor built into the refrigerator. The user stands in front of the smart refrigerator, and the camera captures the user's face. After successful pairing with the built-in face data, the user information and current time are displayed on the display. The current time is used to automatically determine the meal the user wants to make, or the user can choose the meal to be made by himself.

[0018] S2: The smart refrigerator recognizes the user and generates a catalog of dishes that can be made based on the available ingredients, as well as the nutrients contained in each dish.

[0019] The controller is pre-installed with a cooking application. According to the ingredients and weight already in the refrigerator body, the ingredients are combined and input into the cooking application to generate multiple dishes that can be made. The nutrient composition of the corresponding dishes is calculated based on the ingredients and quantities required for the dishes.

[0020] For example, there are three kinds of ingredients in the refrigerator: 100g of green vegetables, 100g of pork and 100g of fish. When combining them, first combine them individually. There are four combinations: 100g of green vegetables, 100g of pork and 100g of fish. Enter them into the cooking application respectively, and you can get up to three dishes that can be made. Then combine two ingredients in pairs, and you will get three combinations: 100g of green vegetables + 100g of pork, 100g of green vegetables + 100g of fish, and 100g of pork + 100g of fish. Enter them into the cooking application respectively, and you will get up to three dishes that can be made. A maximum of three dishes can be prepared, and then the three ingredients are combined in groups of three to produce a combination of 100g green vegetables + 100g pork + 100g fish. When input into the cooking application, a maximum of one dish can be obtained; when the number of ingredients in the refrigerator body is less than or equal to five, the maximum number of ingredients that can be combined when the management system of this application is combined is the number of ingredients in the refrigerator body; when the number of ingredients in the refrigerator body is greater than five, the maximum number of ingredients that can be combined when the management system of this application is combined is five, so as to save the calculation amount of the controller.

[0021] S3: The smart refrigerator combination can prepare dishes from the dish catalog and display multiple recipes that meet the user's nutrient requirements for the user to choose from.

[0022] The dishes calculated in step S2 are combined to obtain multiple recipes, each containing 1-4 dishes. The specific number of dishes can be set separately. Furthermore, the recipes are screened a second time. Specifically, for each recipe, the amount of ingredients required for each dish is added together. If the amount of ingredients required for a recipe exceeds the amount of existing ingredients, the recipe is discarded. For example, a recipe contains three dishes. The first dish requires 40g of greens, the second dish requires 60g of greens, and the third dish requires 30g of greens. For these three dishes, a total of 130g of greens is required, which exceeds the 100g of greens currently in the refrigerator. This indicates that the existing greens are insufficient to prepare the three dishes in this recipe, and the recipe is discarded. This ensures that each output recipe can be prepared using the available ingredients, preventing the smart refrigerator from recommending invalid recipes and improving feasibility. The recipes output by the smart refrigerator are ultimately displayed to the user on a display screen for selection.

[0023] S4: After the user selects one of the recipes, the smart refrigerator displays the required ingredients and the cooking method of the dish, making it convenient for the user to select the ingredients and make the dish.

[0024] The display uses a touch screen. After the user clicks on one of the recipes, the required ingredients and quantities are displayed on the display. For example, the display shows that 40g of green vegetables are needed. When the user takes the green vegetables, he or she can directly take out 40g of green vegetables, which is convenient for the user to select from the refrigerator body. The display also shows the preparation methods of each dish, where the preparation methods can be presented in the form of pictures, texts or videos. The preparation methods of dishes are pre-built into the storage device of the controller. The controller calls the data in the storage device for display according to the dishes to be prepared.

[0025] S5: The smart refrigerator determines whether there is enough food based on the remaining food.

[0026] The smart refrigerator can measure the weight of the remaining ingredients based on the built-in weighing sensor, and determine whether the ingredients are sufficient based on the weight of the remaining ingredients.

[0027] S6: When food is insufficient, the smart refrigerator recommends the user the food and weight that they can purchase based on the remaining space and remaining food.

[0028] The volume of the ingredients recommended by the smart refrigerator cannot exceed the remaining space, in case the purchased ingredients cannot be placed in the refrigerator body.

[0029] As an implementation method, when new ingredients are placed in the smart refrigerator, they need to be put in a fresh-keeping bag with a built-in identity tag, and the identity tag is bound to the ingredient information; when the ingredients in the fresh-keeping bag are placed in the smart refrigerator, the smart refrigerator reads the identity tag, weighs the ingredients, and updates the weight information to the ingredient information in preparation for steps S2 and S5.

[0030] When new ingredients are placed in the smart refrigerator, they need to be put in a fresh-keeping bag. The fresh-keeping bag is disposable and sealed to ensure hygiene and prevent odor contamination, extending the shelf life of the ingredients. The fresh-keeping bag can also be made of reusable materials, which is more environmentally friendly and cost-saving; the identity tag can be an RFID tag, which comes with the name of the ingredient.

[0031] After new ingredients are placed in the refrigerator body, the refrigerator body has a built-in card reader and weighing sensor. The refrigerator body detects the entry of ingredients with identity tags through the card reader, weighs the ingredients using the weighing sensor, and updates the measured weight to the ingredient information corresponding to the identity tag, so that the smart refrigerator can know the corresponding ingredient name and weight through the identity tag on the fresh-keeping bag.

[0032] When the user takes food, he takes out the fresh-keeping bag of the corresponding food from the refrigerator body. After taking out an appropriate amount of food from the fresh-keeping bag, he puts the remaining food back into the refrigerator body. The weighing sensor reweighs the food and updates the measured remaining weight to the food information corresponding to the identity tag, so that the smart refrigerator can retrieve the name and weight of the remaining food in real time.

[0033] As an implementation method, when food is first placed in the smart refrigerator, the shelf life t_shelf life is determined according to the type of food. The smart refrigerator records the time of first placement t_beginning, and the storage time of the food t_save = t_current - t_beginning, where t_current is the current time. When t_save / t_shelf life ≥ 80%, the smart refrigerator reminds the user that the food is about to expire and please consume it as soon as possible.

[0034] The smart refrigerator determines the name of the ingredient based on the identity tag. After the ingredient with the identity tag enters the smart refrigerator, the smart refrigerator has a built-in ingredient database that contains the corresponding shelf life of each ingredient. The shelf life of the corresponding ingredient is determined based on the ingredient database. When t_storage / t_shelf life ≥ 80%, it indicates that the ingredient is about to expire. The smart refrigerator will issue a voice prompt or push a reminder message to the user's mobile phone to remind the user to eat it as soon as possible to prevent food waste.

[0035] As an implementation method, the smart refrigerator calculates the freshness f of the ingredients based on t_shelf life and t_storage, and the freshness f is saved in the ingredient information. In step S3, the recipe containing the ingredient with the lowest freshness f is displayed first.

[0036] In step S3, the recipes containing the ingredients with the lowest freshness f are displayed first. For example, the smart refrigerator calculates that there are three recipes. The first recipe requires the ingredients: green vegetables (high freshness) + fish (high freshness); the second recipe requires the ingredients: pork (medium freshness) + green vegetables (high freshness); the third recipe requires the ingredients: beef (low freshness) + potatoes (medium freshness); then the display will prioritize displaying the third recipe containing beef with low freshness, the second recipe containing pork with medium freshness, and finally the first recipe with both ingredients having high freshness. It recommends that users give priority to eating the ingredients with the lowest freshness to prevent expired ingredients from being wasted.

[0037] As an implementation method, freshness f = 1-t_storage / t_shelf life.

[0038] The initial freshness of ingredients is 1. By default, the freshness of ingredients is the highest when they are just put into the smart refrigerator. As the storage time increases, the freshness decreases linearly. For example, the shelf life of vegetables is 5 days. When the storage time is 4 days, the freshness is 0.2; when the storage time is 5 days, the freshness is 0, indicating that the vegetables are expired.

[0039] As an implementation method, in step S5, the smart refrigerator calculates the amount of various nutrients Sum1 of the remaining food and the amount of various nutrients Sum2 required by the user in the next 48 hours. When Sum1 ≥ Sum2, it indicates that the food is sufficient, otherwise it indicates that the food is insufficient.

[0040] By default, the user eats breakfast, lunch and dinner a day. In addition, the user can also set to eat only breakfast and dinner every day, or eat breakfast and dinner on weekdays and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on weekends. The specific settings can be made by the user. In step S5, the smart refrigerator calculates the nutrients of the remaining ingredients according to the weight of the remaining ingredients S1. For example, the nutrients of the remaining various ingredients are added together to obtain 100g of fat, 500g of protein, 30g of sugar, and 1000g of carbohydrates. In the next 48 hours, the user needs to eat two breakfasts and two dinners. A total of 80-90g of fat, 350-450g of protein, 20-30g of sugar, and 800-900g of carbohydrates are needed. The amounts of the above four nutrients can be obtained from the remaining ingredients, indicating that the remaining ingredients are sufficient. Otherwise, it indicates that the ingredients are insufficient. For example, the total protein of the remaining ingredients is only 200g, and in the next 48 hours, the user needs to consume 350-450g of protein, then the protein gap is 150-250g, which makes it convenient for the smart refrigerator to recommend the ingredients that the user needs to purchase based on the nutrient gap.

[0041] As an implementation method, the ingredients are divided into vegetables, aquatic products and meat. A vegetable area, a aquatic product area and a meat area are set in the smart refrigerator for storing vegetables, aquatic products and meat respectively. In step S6, the smart refrigerator detects the remaining space in the vegetable area, the aquatic product area and the meat area respectively. The smart refrigerator calculates the nutrient gap based on the nutrients of the remaining ingredients and the nutrients required by the user in the next 96 hours, and calculates the weight of the vegetables, aquatic products and meat to be purchased based on the nutrient gap. The volume of the vegetables to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the vegetable area, the volume of the aquatic products to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the aquatic products area, and the volume of the meat to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the meat area.

[0042] The smart refrigerator manages the food in different areas according to the types of food, which can prevent the food from being mixed with other foods and keep the food at its own suitable storage temperature to extend the shelf life. In step S6, the refrigerator can estimate the volume occupied by the food in each area through sensors such as the visual system and the depth camera, and then estimate the remaining space in the vegetable area, the aquatic product area and the meat area. For example, the remaining space in the vegetable area, the aquatic product area and the meat area is 1L. The smart refrigerator counts the amount of various nutrients in the remaining food and obtains 100g of fat, 200g of protein, 30g of sugar and 700g of carbohydrates. In the next 48 hours, the user needs to consume 200-300g of fat, 300-500g of protein, 50-60g of sugar and 700g of carbohydrates. If the amount of water is 900-1200g, the gaps in various nutrients are: 100-200g of fat, 100-300g of protein, 20-30g of sugar, and 200-500g of carbohydrates. When recommending ingredients to be purchased, the smart refrigerator will base its recommendations on the user's eating habits. For example, if the user eats more seafood, followed by vegetables, and the least meat, the priority of the recommendations will be fish, vegetables, and meat from high to low. For example, fish is used to fill the gaps in protein and fat. When the volume of fish to be purchased is greater than 1L, meat is used to fill the gaps in protein and fat to ensure that the purchased ingredients can eventually be placed in the smart refrigerator. After purchase, the ingredients can supply the user with at least 96 hours of consumption to reduce the frequency of purchases.

[0043] As an implementation method, in step S6, the ratio of the sum of the volume of vegetables to be purchased and the remaining vegetables to the volume of the vegetable area is less than or equal to 90%; the ratio of the sum of the volume of aquatic products to be purchased and the remaining aquatic products to the aquatic products area is less than or equal to 90%, and the ratio of the sum of the volume of meat to be purchased and the remaining meat to the volume of the meat area is less than or equal to 90%.

[0044] Through the above settings, after the purchased ingredients are placed in the corresponding areas, there will be at least 10% space remaining in the vegetable area, aquatic product area and meat area, ensuring a certain amount of air circulation, which is conducive to the preservation of ingredients and the operation of the smart refrigerator.

[0045] It should be understood that those skilled in the art can make improvements or changes based on the above description, and all such improvements and changes should fall within the scope of protection of the appended claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A smart refrigerator meal management method, characterized in that: The specific steps are: S1: The smart refrigerator pre-stores the existing food information, and the user performs facial recognition on the smart refrigerator; S2: The smart refrigerator recognizes the user and generates a list of dishes that can be prepared based on the available ingredients, as well as the nutrients contained in each dish; S3: The smart refrigerator assembly can prepare dishes from the dish catalog and display multiple recipes that meet the user's nutrient requirements for the user to choose from; S4: After the user selects a recipe, the smart refrigerator displays the required ingredients and the cooking method, making it easy for the user to select the ingredients and make the dish; S5: The smart refrigerator determines whether the food is sufficient based on the remaining food; S6: When food is insufficient, the smart refrigerator recommends the user the food and weight that they can purchase based on the remaining space and remaining food.

2. The intelligent refrigerator meal management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When new food is placed in the smart refrigerator, it needs to be put in a fresh-keeping bag with a built-in identity tag, which is bound to the food information; When food wrapped in fresh-keeping bags is placed in the smart refrigerator, the smart refrigerator reads the identity tag, weighs the food, and updates the weight information to the food information for step S2 and S5.

3. The intelligent refrigerator meal management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When food is first placed in the smart refrigerator, the shelf life t_shelf life is determined based on the type of food. The smart refrigerator records the time of first placement t_beginning, and the food has been stored for t_save = t_current - t_beginning, where t_current is the current time. When t_save / t_shelf life ≥ 80%, the smart refrigerator reminds the user that the food is about to expire and please consume it as soon as possible.

4. The intelligent refrigerator meal management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The smart refrigerator calculates the freshness f of the ingredients based on t_shelf-life and t_storage. The freshness f is stored in the ingredient information. In step S3, the recipe containing the ingredient with the lowest freshness f is displayed first.

5. The intelligent refrigerator meal management method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Freshness f = 1-t_storage / t_shelf life.

6. The intelligent refrigerator meal management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, the smart refrigerator calculates the amount of nutrients Sum1 of the remaining food and the amount of nutrients Sum2 required by the user in the next 48 hours. When Sum1 ≥ Sum2, it indicates that the food is sufficient, otherwise it indicates that the food is insufficient.

7. The intelligent refrigerator meal management method according to claim 6, characterized in that: Ingredients are divided into vegetables, aquatic products and meat. A vegetable area, a aquatic product area and a meat area are set in the smart refrigerator for storing vegetables, aquatic products and meat respectively. In step S6, the smart refrigerator detects the remaining space in the vegetable area, the aquatic product area and the meat area respectively. The smart refrigerator calculates the nutrient gap based on the nutrients of the remaining ingredients and the nutrients required by the user in the next 96 hours, and calculates the weight of the vegetables, aquatic products and meat to be purchased based on the nutrient gap. The volume of the vegetables to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the vegetable area, the volume of the aquatic products to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the aquatic products area, and the volume of the meat to be purchased does not exceed the remaining volume of the meat area.

8. The intelligent refrigerator meal management method according to claim 7, characterized in that: In step S6, the ratio of the sum of the volume of the vegetables to be purchased and the remaining vegetables to the volume of the vegetable area is less than or equal to 90%; the ratio of the sum of the volume of the aquatic products to be purchased and the remaining aquatic products to the aquatic products area is less than or equal to 90%, and the ratio of the sum of the volume of the meat to be purchased and the remaining meat to the volume of the meat area is less than or equal to 90%.

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