Recipe proposal device, recipe proposal method, recipe proposal program, and recipe proposal system

Abstract

To enhance an accuracy of information on a food material held as an assumption of a proposal of a recipe.SOLUTION: A recipe proposal device 10 comprises: a first food material information acquisition part 11 that acquires first food material information as information of a food material held in a predetermined space by a user, causes the first food material information acquired to be stored in a food material holding information storage part 22; a second food material information acquisition part 12 that acquires second food material information as information on the food material added to the food material to be held, and makes the food material holding information storage part 22 store the second food material information acquired; a first provision part 13 that refers a recipe information store part 21 that stores recipe information associated with a recipe and a food material used for the recipe, and extracts the recipe of which the food material to be used is stored in the food material holding information storage part 22 as a proposal recipe; and an output part 14 that outputs the proposal recipe to a user device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recipe suggestion device, a recipe suggestion method, a recipe suggestion program, and a recipe suggestion system. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a technique for suggesting recipes based on ingredients. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a device that provides multiple recipes based on information on ingredients owned by a user. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-81496 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional recipe suggestion systems determine ingredients to be used based on images taken inside the refrigerator. However, when determining ingredients based on images, if there are ingredients with similar appearances, it is difficult to accurately determine which ingredients can be used in the recipe, or it takes time to correct the determination results. In addition, when there is a new ingredient, it is necessary to put it in and then take a picture of it.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the accuracy of information on ingredients held, which is the premise for proposing recipes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a recipe suggestion device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a recipe suggestion device that suggests cooking recipes to a user device, and includes: an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information of ingredients possessed by a user; a first ingredient information acquisition unit that acquires first ingredient information, which is information on ingredients possessed by the user in a specified space, and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient possession information storage unit; a second ingredient information acquisition unit that acquires second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the possessed ingredients, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient possession information storage unit; a recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates a recipe with ingredients used in the recipe; a first suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts recipes for which the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit as suggested recipes; and an output unit that outputs the suggested recipes to the user device.

[0007] A recipe proposal method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a recipe proposal method in a recipe proposal device that proposes cooking recipes to a user device, the recipe proposal device including an ingredient possession information memory unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information of ingredients possessed by a user, and a recipe information memory unit that stores recipe information associating a recipe with ingredients used in the recipe, and the recipe proposal method includes a first ingredient information acquisition step of acquiring first ingredient information, which is information about ingredients possessed by the user in a specified space, and storing the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient possession information memory unit, a second ingredient information acquisition step of acquiring second ingredient information, which is information about ingredients added to the possessed ingredients, and storing the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient possession information memory unit, a first proposal step of referring to the recipe information memory unit and extracting a recipe in which the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information memory unit as a suggested recipe, and an output step of outputting the suggested recipe to the user device.

[0008] A recipe proposal program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a recipe proposal program for causing a computer to function as a recipe proposal device that proposes cooking recipes to a user device, the recipe proposal device comprising an ingredient possession information memory unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information of ingredients possessed by the user, and a recipe information memory unit that stores recipe information associating a recipe with ingredients used in the recipe, and the recipe proposal program causes the computer to realize a first ingredient information acquisition function that acquires first ingredient information, which is information about ingredients possessed by the user in a specified space, and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient possession information memory unit, a second ingredient information acquisition function that acquires second ingredient information, which is information about ingredients added to the possessed ingredients, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient possession information memory unit, a first proposal function that refers to the recipe information memory unit and extracts recipes in which the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information memory unit as suggested recipes, and an output function that outputs the suggested recipes to the user device.

[0009] A recipe suggestion system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a recipe suggestion system that suggests cooking recipes to a user device, and includes: an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information of ingredients possessed by a user; a first ingredient information acquisition unit that acquires first ingredient information, which is information on ingredients possessed by the user in a specified space, and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient possession information storage unit; a second ingredient information acquisition unit that acquires second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the possessed ingredients, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient possession information storage unit; a recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates a recipe with ingredients used in the recipe; a first suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts recipes for which the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit as suggested recipes; and an output unit that outputs the suggested recipes to the user device.

[0010] According to this aspect, first ingredient information regarding ingredients held in a specified space and second ingredient information regarding ingredients added to the held ingredients are obtained, and ingredient holding information is generated based on the two pieces of ingredient information, the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information, thereby improving the accuracy of the information on held ingredients.

[0011] In the recipe suggestion device according to another aspect, the first ingredient information acquirer may acquire the first ingredient information based on an image captured of the space holding the ingredient.

[0012] According to this aspect, the first food ingredient information can be obtained by a simple means such as capturing an image of the space in which the food ingredients are stored.

[0013] In the recipe suggesting device according to another aspect, the second ingredient information acquiring unit may acquire the second ingredient information based on purchase data relating to ingredients purchased by the user.

[0014] According to this aspect, the second ingredient information can be obtained by a simple means such as obtaining purchase data related to ingredients purchased by the user.

[0015] In another aspect, the recipe suggestion device may further include an ingredient information update unit that updates the ingredient possession information based on user input, and the first suggestion unit may re-extract the suggested recipe based on the ingredient possession information updated by the ingredient information update unit.

[0016] According to this aspect, the ingredient possession information can be updated based on input by the user, so that the accuracy of the ingredient possession information can be further improved.

[0017] In another aspect of the recipe suggestion device, the ingredient information update unit may delete ingredients used in a recipe selected by a user from the suggested recipes output by the output unit from the ingredient possession information storage unit, and the first suggestion unit may re-extract the suggested recipe based on the ingredient possession information from which the ingredients have been deleted by the ingredient information update unit.

[0018] According to this aspect, when a dish is prepared based on a proposed recipe and the ingredients used in that recipe are consumed, the recipe is input by the user, and the ingredients used in the recipe are deleted from the ingredient possession information, thereby maintaining the accuracy of the ingredient possession information.

[0019] In another aspect of the recipe suggestion device, the ingredient information update unit may delete ingredients specified by the user from the ingredient possession information, and the first suggestion unit may re-extract the suggested recipe based on the ingredient possession information from which the ingredients have been deleted by the ingredient information update unit.

[0020] According to this aspect, when a dish is prepared based on a proposed recipe and the ingredients used in the recipe are consumed, the ingredients are input by the user, and the input ingredients are deleted from the ingredient possession information, thereby maintaining the accuracy of the ingredient possession information.

[0021] In another aspect of the recipe suggestion device, the first suggestion unit extracts a recipe group consisting of a plurality of recipes as suggested recipes, and when extracting as the suggested recipe one recipe that uses an ingredient stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit as a duplicate-restricted ingredient, which is an ingredient that is not duplicated and extracted as an ingredient used in a plurality of recipes, other recipes stored in the recipe information storage unit that use ingredients that fall under the duplicate-restricted ingredient may not be extracted as suggested recipes.

[0022] According to this aspect, multiple recipes are extracted from the recipe information based on the ingredient possession information, and if one of the extracted recipes uses a duplicate-restricted ingredient, other recipes using the duplicate-restricted ingredient are not extracted, so that dishes of the extracted multiple recipes can be prepared simultaneously. Therefore, multiple meal recipes can be obtained based on each of the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information obtained once.

[0023] In another aspect of the recipe suggestion device, the first suggestion unit may repeat the following steps for first to nth times to extract recipes in which all of the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit, calculate a score for all of the extracted recipes based on a predetermined weighting, extract one of a predetermined number of recipes with the highest score as the i-th (i=1, 2, ... n) recipe, and delete the ingredients used in the i-th recipe from the ingredient possession information.

[0024] According to this aspect, the proposed recipes that include, preferentially, recipes with high scores calculated based on a predetermined weighting are extracted. In addition, since one recipe is extracted by one process of calculating the score for each recipe, the amount of calculation required for the process of extracting the proposed recipes from a group of recipes can be reduced.

[0025] In another aspect of the recipe suggestion device, the first suggestion unit may generate one or more recipe groups consisting of combinations of multiple recipes in which all of the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and the overlap-restricted ingredients do not overlap with each other in each recipe, calculate a score for each of the multiple recipes included in each recipe group based on a predetermined weighting, and extract the recipe group with the largest total score of the multiple recipes included therein as the suggested recipe.

[0026] According to this aspect, a recipe group consisting of multiple recipes that can be cooked simultaneously is comprehensively extracted, and the recipe group with the highest calculated score is extracted as the suggested recipe. In this way, by expressing the priority of the ingredients for the suggestion to the user in advance as a weighting for the ingredients, it is possible to extract a recipe group consisting of recipes that are desired to be suggested to the user with higher priority.

[0027] In a recipe suggestion device according to another aspect, the first suggestion unit may calculate a score for each recipe based on at least one of a weighting preset for each ingredient and a weighting preset for each recipe.

[0028] According to this aspect, by assigning appropriate weights to recipes and ingredients in advance, it is possible to extract recipes that you would like to preferentially suggest to the user and recipes that use ingredients that you would like the user to preferentially consume.

[0029] In another aspect, the recipe suggestion device may further include a designation receiving unit that receives a user designation for one or more of the multiple recipes included in the proposed recipes output by the output unit, and when a duplicate-limited ingredient is used in a recipe for which a designation has been accepted by the designation receiving unit, the first suggestion unit may be configured to re-extract at least one recipe in which all of the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and the duplicate-limited ingredient is not used.

[0030] According to this aspect, the output unit outputs the suggested recipes consisting of the recipe group, so that even if a recipe has been suggested to the user once, it is possible to re-extract recipes included in the recipe group other than the recipe specified by the user, thereby enabling the user to receive a suggested recipe that he or she desires.

[0031] In another aspect, the recipe suggestion device may further include a designation receiving unit that receives a user designation for one or more of the multiple recipes included in the suggested recipes output by the output unit, and when a duplicate-limited ingredient is used in a recipe among the suggested recipes output by the output unit for which the designation was not accepted by the designation receiving unit, the first suggestion unit may re-extract at least one recipe in which all of the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and the duplicate-limited ingredient is not used.

[0032] According to this aspect, the output unit outputs the suggested recipes consisting of the recipe group, so that even if a recipe has been suggested to the user once, it is possible to re-extract recipes included in the recipe group other than the recipes not specified by the user, thereby enabling the user to receive a suggested recipe that he or she desires.

[0033] In another aspect, the recipe suggestion device may further include a second suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts one or more recipes in which all of the remaining ingredients, excluding a predetermined number of ingredients, from the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient retention information storage unit, and the output unit may output the recipe suggested by the second suggestion unit.

[0034] According to this aspect, even if a recipe cannot be prepared using only the ingredients contained in the current ingredient possession information, a recipe that can be prepared by adding a predetermined number of ingredients is extracted, thereby making it possible to expand the variety of recipes suggested to the user.

[0035] A recipe suggestion device according to another aspect may further include a recommended ingredient storage unit that stores recommended ingredients recommended for purchase to a user, and the second suggestion unit may extract one or more recipes that use the recommended ingredients, and all ingredients other than the recommended ingredients used in the recipe are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit.

[0036] According to this aspect, recipes that can be cooked are extracted by adding recommended ingredients to ingredients included in the current ingredient possession information, so that the user can be encouraged to purchase the recommended ingredients. Effect of the Invention

[0037] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the accuracy of information on ingredients held, which is the premise for suggesting recipes. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0038] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a device configuration of a recipe suggestion system including a recipe suggestion device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the recipe suggestion device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the recipe suggestion device. [Figure 4] 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating an example of a configuration of recipe information stored in a recipe information storage unit and an example of stored data. [Diagram 5] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of foodstuff possession information stored in a foodstuff possession information storage unit and stored data. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of recipe history information stored in a recipe history storage unit; FIG. [Figure 7] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of ingredient history information stored in an ingredient history storage unit. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram showing an example of recommended ingredient information stored in a recommended ingredient information storage unit. FIG. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing the process contents of an extraction process for extracting a recipe in the first suggestion unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on a user terminal on which a suggested recipe is displayed. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for inputting consumed ingredients on a user terminal. [Figure 12] A figure showing an example screen on a user terminal displaying a recipe that can be cooked by adding a certain ingredient to the ingredients included in the ingredient possession information. [Figure 13] 13 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen that accepts a user's designated input for a recipe group displayed on a user terminal. FIG. [Figure 14] 4 is a flowchart showing the process of a recipe suggestion method performed in the recipe suggestion device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0039] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated description will be omitted.

[0040] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the device configuration of a proposal system including a recipe proposal device according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the proposal system 1 includes a recipe proposal device 10 and multiple user terminals T (user devices). The recipe proposal device 10 is a device that proposes cooking recipes to users. Specifically, the recipe proposal device 10 proposes recipes to users by transmitting recipe information to the user terminal T. The recipe proposal device 10 and the user terminal T are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network N.

[0041] The user terminal T is a device operated by a user, which transmits a recipe proposal request to the recipe proposal device 10, and receives and displays recipe information returned in response to the request. The device constituting the user terminal T is not limited, and may be, for example, a stationary or portable personal computer, or a portable terminal such as a highly functional mobile phone (smartphone), a mobile phone, or a personal digital assistant (PDA). Although three user terminals T are shown in FIG. 1, the number of user terminals T is not limited.

[0042] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the recipe suggestion device 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the recipe suggestion device 10 functionally comprises a first ingredient information acquisition unit 11, a second ingredient information acquisition unit 12, a first suggestion unit 13, an output unit 14, an ingredient information update unit 15, a second suggestion unit 16, and a designation reception unit 17. Each of these functional units 11 to 17 is realized by loading a server program P1 (recipe suggestion program) into a processor 101, which will be described with reference to Fig. 3, and executing the program. Each functional unit will be described later. Note that, although each of the functional units 11 to 17 is configured in the recipe suggestion device 10 in this embodiment, they may be configured in a distributed manner in multiple computers.

[0043] Furthermore, the recipe proposal device 10 includes storage means such as a recipe information storage unit 21, an ingredient possession information storage unit 22, a recipe history storage unit 23, an ingredient history storage unit 24, and a recommended ingredient information storage unit 25. Note that, although these storage units 21 to 25 are configured in the recipe proposal device 10 in the example shown in Fig. 2, they may be configured as elements of the recipe proposal system 1 in other devices configured to be accessible from the recipe proposal device 10.

[0044] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the recipe suggestion device 10, and shows a server computer 100 that functions as the recipe suggestion device 10.

[0045] As an example, the server computer 100 includes, as hardware components, a processor 101, a main memory unit 102, an auxiliary memory unit 103, and a communication unit 104.

[0046] The processor 101 is a computing device that executes an operating system and application programs. Examples of processors include a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU), but the type of the processor 101 is not limited to these. For example, the processor 101 may be a combination of a sensor and a dedicated circuit. The dedicated circuit may be a programmable circuit such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or may be another type of circuit.

[0047] The main storage unit 102 is a device that stores programs for implementing the recipe suggestion device 10 and the like, and calculation results output from the processor 101. The main storage unit 102 is configured, for example, with at least one of a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0048] The auxiliary storage unit 103 is generally a device capable of storing a larger amount of data than the main storage unit 102. The auxiliary storage unit 103 is configured with a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The auxiliary storage unit 103 stores a server program P1 for causing the server computer 100 to function as the recipe suggestion device 10, and various data. In this embodiment, a recipe suggestion program for realizing the recipe suggestion device 10 is implemented as the server program P1. In addition, when each of the storage units 21-25 is included in the recipe suggestion device 10, each of the storage units 21-25 may be configured in either the main storage unit 102 or the auxiliary storage unit 103.

[0049] The communication unit 104 is a device that executes data communication with other computers via the communication network N. The communication unit 104 is configured by, for example, a network card or a wireless communication module.

[0050] Each functional element of the server is realized by loading a corresponding server program P1 onto processor 101 or main memory unit 102 and having processor 101 execute the program. Server program P1 includes code for realizing each functional element of the corresponding server. Processor 101 operates communication unit 104 in accordance with server program P1, and executes reading and writing of data in main memory unit 102 or auxiliary memory unit 103. Each functional element of the corresponding server is realized by such processing.

[0051] The server program P1 may be provided in a form fixedly recorded on a tangible recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, etc. Alternatively, at least one of these programs may be provided via a communication network as a data signal superimposed on a carrier wave.

[0052] Each server may be composed of one or more computers. When multiple computers are used for one server, these computers are connected to each other via a communication network to logically configure one server.

[0053] Referring again to FIG. 2, each storage unit of the recipe suggestion device 10 will be described. The recipe information storage unit 21 is a storage means for storing recipe information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of recipe information stored in the recipe information storage unit 21. As shown in FIG. 4, the recipe information includes a recipe name, and ingredients used in the recipe are associated with the recipe name. For example, a recipe with the recipe name "nikujaga" (beef and potatoes) uses ingredients such as potatoes, ground beef, and onions. The recipe information also includes information such as text and images for guiding the user on how to cook each recipe (not shown).

[0054] The recipe information stored in the recipe information storage unit 21 may be information previously acquired from an external recipe site that publishes various recipes. In this case, the recipe information may include the name of the site from which the recipe information was acquired. For example, the recipe information shown in FIG. 4 includes recipes for "nikujaga" (meat and potatoes) acquired separately from each of site A and site B.

[0055] The ingredient possession information storage unit 22 is a storage means for storing ingredient possession information indicating ingredients possessed by the user. As will be described in detail later, the ingredient possession information includes first ingredient information and second ingredient information.

[0056] The first ingredient information is information on ingredients that the user has in a specified space. In this embodiment, the first ingredient information is, for example, information on ingredients that are stored in a refrigerator or freezer, and is obtained by a specified image analysis process based on an image captured inside the refrigerator or freezer. The first ingredient information may also be information on seasonings obtained based on an image captured of the space in which the seasonings are stored. In this way, the specified space may be a refrigerator, a freezer, or a space in which seasonings are stored, and a space in which ingredients are stored, such as a seasoning shelf or a kitchen cupboard, may be set. In addition, the first ingredient information is preferably obtained based on a captured image to simplify the user's operation, but may also be obtained by input from the user.

[0057] The second ingredient information is information on ingredients added to ingredients owned by the user. The ingredients owned by the user are not necessarily limited to ingredients stored in the ingredient ownership information storage unit 22. Therefore, a configuration may be adopted in which the recipe suggestion device 10 first acquires purchase data, etc. of a new ingredient. A configuration may be adopted in which, when the recipe suggestion device 10 first acquires purchase data, etc. of a new ingredient as the second ingredient information, the first acquired second ingredient information is regarded as an ingredient owned by the user. In the present embodiment, the second ingredient information is acquired after the first ingredient information. According to this configuration, after the second ingredient information is acquired, a recipe can be proposed based on the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information, so that the user can select a recipe immediately after acquisition.

[0058] In this embodiment, the second ingredient information is, for example, purchase data. The purchase data is data related to ingredients purchased by the user, and may be obtained by performing an analysis process, such as a predetermined OCR, based on an image of a receipt issued when the user purchases ingredients. Alternatively, POS data including information on ingredients purchased by the user may be transmitted from a POS system in a store to the recipe suggestion device 10 via a communication network, or may be transferred from the POS system to the recipe suggestion device 10 via a user terminal T, or may be obtained by referring to the user's purchase history on an EC site. Alternatively, the second ingredient information may be obtained by input by the user. Furthermore, the purchase data may be, for example, a product ID or name, or may be indicated by text, as long as it can identify the ingredients.

[0059] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the food ingredient possession information stored in the food ingredient possession information storage unit 22. As shown in FIG. 5, the food ingredient possession information includes information such as quantity, information source, expiration date, and score associated with each food ingredient name. The food ingredient possession information may further include information such as the expiration date and registration date of each food ingredient. The quantity indicates the number and weight of the food ingredient. The information source indicates whether the information of the food ingredient is obtained based on a refrigerator image or from receipt information, that is, indicates the type of the food ingredient, whether it is the first food ingredient information or the second food ingredient information. As the information source, in addition to the refrigerator image and the receipt image, image information of a predetermined space other than the refrigerator (e.g., a spice shelf), purchase data from a POS system, input from a user, etc. may be used. The expiration date indicates the expiration date of the food ingredient, and may be obtained, for example, by OCR processing of an image of a product or may be obtained from a POS system. The expiration date indicates the expiration date of the food ingredient, and may be obtained, for example, by OCR processing of an image of a product or may be obtained from a POS system. The registration date indicates the date on which the ingredient was registered in ingredient possession information storage unit 22 as ingredient possession information.

[0060] The overlap restriction flag is a flag that is set for overlap restriction ingredients that cannot be used in multiple recipes. In other words, the overlap restriction flag is a flag for identifying ingredients that are used in a recipe, in consideration of the fact that it is undesirable for ingredients to be included in recipes of dishes proposed at the same time because they are consumed in the dish of that recipe. The overlap restriction ingredients may include a first overlap restriction ingredient and a second overlap restriction ingredient, depending on the degree of overlap restriction. The first overlap restriction ingredient is an ingredient that cannot be used overlappingly in multiple recipes proposed at one time. The second overlap restriction ingredient is an ingredient that is allowed to be overlapped up to a predetermined limit number in multiple recipes proposed at one time due to, for example, a large quantity. For these overlap restriction ingredients, for example, seasonings can be used in one recipe and other recipes, so they do not fall under overlap restriction ingredients.

[0061] In the example shown in FIG. 5, the ingredients other than seasonings are set with a flag "1" indicating that the ingredient is a first overlap-restricted ingredient (non-duplicable ingredient). On the other hand, the seasonings are not set with a flag because they are not overlap-restricted ingredients. Also, for example, for the ingredients related to the second ingredient information, in consideration of the fact that the quantity is likely to be large because they are newly added to the ingredients held, the overlap-restricted flag may not be set, or a flag indicating that the ingredient corresponds to the second overlap-restricted ingredient may be set. Also, in consideration of the fact that the quantity is likely to be large because they are newly added to the ingredients held, for example, the overlap-restricted flag and the overlap-allowed number of times may be set (e.g., "2", "3"), and overlaps may be allowed up to the overlap-allowed number of times (not shown). In the following description of the present embodiment, the overlap-restricted ingredients will be described as the first overlap-restricted ingredients (non-duplicable ingredients).

[0062] The score is a numerical value used as an index when extracting a suggested recipe, and may be calculated in advance for each ingredient as shown in the figure. The score may also be calculated based on a weighting given to each attribute information of an ingredient. For example, with regard to the information source as one of the attribute information, a refrigerator image may be weighted more than a receipt, and a value corresponding to the weighting may be added to the score, or a coefficient corresponding to the weighting may be multiplied to the score. With regard to the expiration date as one of the attribute information, a greater weighting may be given to an ingredient with a shorter time from the present to the expiration date, and a value corresponding to the weighting may be added to the score, or a coefficient corresponding to the weighting may be multiplied to the score. With regard to the registration date as one of the attribute information, a greater weighting may be given to an ingredient with an older registration date, and a value corresponding to the weighting may be added to the score, or a coefficient corresponding to the weighting may be multiplied to the score.

[0063] The recipe history storage unit 23 is a storage means for storing recipe history information including a history of recipes that each user has cooked in the past. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of recipe history information. The recipe history information is managed for each user, and includes the date when cooking was performed based on the recipe and the recipe name. As shown in an example in FIG. 6, the recipe history storage unit 23 stores recipe history information indicating that the recipes of "thinly sliced ​​pork steak" and "Japanese paprika" were performed on "March 20th", and recipe history information indicating that the recipes of "grilled tuna with herbs and breadcrumbs" and "burdock salad" were performed on "March 19th".

[0064] As described later, when the ingredient information update unit 15 acquires the name of a recipe cooked by the user, the acquired recipe name is stored together with the date in the recipe history storage unit 23. In addition, when the name of a recipe cooked by the user is input on the user terminal T, a recipe name input via another route may be acquired by the recipe suggestion device 10 and stored in the recipe history storage unit 23. As described later, the recipe history information is used to calculate a score when extracting a suggested recipe.

[0065] The ingredient history storage unit 24 is a storage means for storing ingredient history information including the history of ingredients that each user has used in cooking in the past. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of ingredient history information. The ingredient history information is managed for each user and includes the date and ingredient name on which the ingredient was used in cooking. As shown in an example in FIG. 7, the ingredient history storage unit 24 stores ingredient history information indicating that "thinly sliced ​​pork" and "paprika" were used in cooking on "March 20th," and ingredient history information indicating that "fillet of tuna" and "burdock" were used in cooking on "March 19th."

[0066] As described later, when the ingredient information update unit 15 acquires a recipe that the user has cooked, the ingredients used in the acquired recipe are acquired by referring to the recipe information storage unit 21, and the acquired ingredients are stored together with the date in the ingredient history storage unit 24. Furthermore, when information on an ingredient purchased by the user is acquired as second ingredient information, regardless of whether the ingredient was used in cooking or not, the ingredient may be stored in the ingredient history storage unit 24. As described later, the ingredient history information is used to calculate a score when extracting a suggested recipe.

[0067] The recommended ingredient information storage unit 25 is a storage means for storing recommended ingredient information, which is information on ingredients that the user is to use. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of recommended ingredient information stored in the recommended ingredient information storage unit 25. As shown in FIG. 8, the recommended ingredient information includes an ingredient name associated with a suggestion source. The ingredient name is the name of an ingredient that the user is to use. The suggestion source is information that identifies an ingredient manufacturer that has suggested the use of the recommended ingredient. The recommended ingredient information may be an ingredient name transmitted from a terminal of an ingredient manufacturer that may be a source of a recommended ingredient, which is received by the recipe suggestion device 10 and registered in the recommended ingredient information storage unit 25. The recommended ingredient information is referred to when the second suggestion unit 16 suggests a recipe, as described later. The recommended ingredient information may also be referred to when the first suggestion unit 13 suggests a recipe. That is, when a recommended ingredient is included in the ingredient possession information, the first suggestion unit 13 may preferentially extract recipes that use the recommended ingredient.

[0068] Referring again to FIG. 2, the functional units of the recipe suggestion device 10 will be described. The first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 acquires the first ingredient information and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22 as ingredient possession information. The first ingredient information is information on ingredients possessed by a user in a specified space. In the present embodiment, the first ingredient information is, as an example, information on ingredients possessed in a refrigerator, which will be described below.

[0069] Specifically, the first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 acquires an image of the inside of the refrigerator. For example, when an image of the inside of the refrigerator is captured by a user terminal T, the first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 acquires the image of the inside of the refrigerator transmitted from the user terminal T. Also, when a so-called smart camera is installed in the refrigerator, the first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 may acquire the image captured by the smart camera via a communication network or via the user terminal T and the communication network.

[0070] The first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 performs a predetermined image analysis process on the acquired image of the inside of the refrigerator to identify the ingredients contained in the image. The predetermined image analysis method is not limited, and any well-known image analysis method may be adopted. Examples of the image analysis method include pattern matching and identification using an ingredient identification model generated by machine learning. The first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 may acquire the result of the image analysis process performed on the user terminal T on the image of the inside of the refrigerator as the first ingredient information.

[0071] In the case where an ingredient that cannot be identified due to the limitations of image analysis technology is present in the image, the first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 may acquire the ingredient name manually input by the user on the user terminal T. In addition, as described later, information on previously purchased ingredients is acquired as the second ingredient information. Therefore, in the case where the image recognition result does not determine that an ingredient is either ingredient A or ingredient B, and the previous purchase of ingredient A is acquired as the second ingredient information, the first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 may determine that the ingredient is ingredient A. In the case where the image recognition result does not determine that an ingredient is either ingredient C or ingredient D, and the ingredient history storage unit 24 is referred to to acquire that the user has a tendency to purchase ingredient C, the first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 may determine that the ingredient is ingredient C.

[0072] In this way, the first ingredient information can be obtained by a simple means such as capturing an image of the space in which ingredients are stored, and highly accurate ingredient possession information can be easily generated by further determining the first ingredient information based on the user's tendencies.

[0073] The second ingredient information acquisition unit 12 acquires the second ingredient information and stores the acquired second ingredient information as ingredient possession information in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22. The second ingredient information is information on ingredients added to possessed ingredients. For example, the second ingredient information acquisition unit 12 acquires the second ingredient information based on text information in which the names of ingredients to be added are listed. The acquisition of the second ingredient information will be described below with reference to an example.

[0074] The second ingredient information acquisition unit 12 acquires an image of a receipt captured on user terminal T, for example, and acquires ingredient names, etc. by performing OCR processing on the text on the receipt. The second ingredient information acquisition unit 12 then stores the ingredient names, etc. acquired from the receipt as ingredient possession information in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22. Note that the second ingredient information acquisition unit 12 may acquire, as the second ingredient information, the result of OCR processing performed on the text on the receipt by user terminal T.

[0075] In addition, second ingredient information acquisition unit 12 may acquire POS data including information on ingredients purchased by the user as second ingredient information from a POS system of the store where the user purchased ingredients via a communication network. In addition, if the POS data is provided to the user terminal T of the user from the POS system, second ingredient information acquisition unit 12 may acquire the POS data from the user terminal T.

[0076] In this way, the second ingredient information can be obtained by a simple means such as obtaining and inputting the text information of the list of ingredients to be added, so that highly accurate ingredient inventory information can be easily generated.

[0077] The first suggestion unit 13 refers to the recipe information and extracts, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22. The first suggestion unit 13 may also extract, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which ingredients other than seasonings among the ingredients used in the recipe are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22. That is, when a recipe includes seasonings as ingredients used in the recipe, the first suggestion unit 13 may extract the recipe even if the seasonings are not stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22. In other words, the first suggestion unit 13 may not take into account the seasonings used in each recipe when extracting recipes from the recipe information storage unit.

[0078] In addition, the first proposal unit 13 can extract a recipe group consisting of multiple recipes as suggested recipes. When multiple recipes are extracted as suggested recipes, when the first proposal unit 13 extracts one recipe that uses a duplicate-limited ingredient as a suggested recipe, the first proposal unit 13 does not extract other recipes that use the duplicate-limited ingredients among the recipes stored in the recipe information storage unit as suggested recipes.

[0079] That is, in multiple recipes extracted from recipe information as possible recipes based on ingredient possession information, the overlap-restricted ingredients are not used in duplicate, so that the dishes of these multiple recipes can be prepared simultaneously. Therefore, multiple meal recipes can be obtained based on each of the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information obtained once.

[0080] An example of a recipe group extraction process by the first suggestion unit 13 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the process contents of an extraction process for extracting recipes in the first suggestion unit. Specifically, a predetermined number n of recipes are extracted as a recipe group by the flowchart shown in Fig. 9.

[0081] In step S11, the first suggestion unit 13 extracts from the recipe information recipes that can be cooked using ingredients included in the ingredient possession information. Here, a recipe that can be cooked is a recipe in which all ingredients used in the recipe are included in the ingredient possession information. That is, the first suggestion unit 13 extracts from the recipe information storage unit 21 recipes in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22. The first suggestion unit 13 may also extract from the recipe information storage unit 21 recipes in which ingredients used other than seasonings are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22.

[0082] In step S12, the first suggestion unit 13 calculates a score for each recipe extracted in step S11. The first suggestion unit 13 may calculate the score for each recipe based on at least one of a weighting preset for each ingredient and a weighting preset for each recipe.

[0083] The method of calculating the score is not limited, but for example, when a score is associated with each ingredient as described with reference to Figure 5, the first suggestion unit 13 may calculate the score for a recipe by obtaining the scores of all ingredients used in the recipe and calculating the sum of the scores for each ingredient.

[0084] Furthermore, first suggestion unit 13 may calculate a score for each recipe based on the weighting assigned to each piece of attribute information of ingredients. For example, first suggestion unit 13 may assign a greater weighting to the refrigerator image than to the receipt with respect to the information source, which is the attribute information of ingredients, and may add or subtract a value according to the weighting to the score, or may multiply the score by a coefficient according to the weighting. By calculating the score for each recipe in this manner, recipes that use ingredients in the refrigerator (i.e. ingredients whose information has been acquired as the first ingredient information) can be preferentially extracted as suggested recipes.

[0085] In addition, the first suggestion unit 13 may, for example, weight more on ingredients whose best-before dates and expiration dates are attribute information of ingredients and add or subtract a value according to the weighting to the score, or multiply the score by a coefficient according to the weighting. By calculating the score of each recipe in this way, recipes using ingredients whose best-before dates and expiration dates are close to the present time can be preferentially extracted as suggested recipes.

[0086] The first suggestion unit 13 may also calculate the score of each recipe by referring to the recipe history information. Specifically, when the recipe related to the calculation of the score is stored in the recipe history storage unit 23 as recipe history information that has been cooked in the past, the first suggestion unit 13 may add or subtract a predetermined value to the score, or multiply the score by a predetermined coefficient. Conversely, when the recipe related to the calculation of the score is not stored in the recipe history storage unit 23 as recipe history information that has been cooked in the past, the first suggestion unit 13 may add or subtract a predetermined value to the score, or multiply the score by a predetermined coefficient. By calculating the recipe score in this way, it is possible to preferentially suggest recipes that the user has cooked, or to preferentially suggest recipes that the user has not cooked.

[0087] The first suggestion unit 13 may also calculate the score of each recipe by referring to the ingredient history information. Specifically, when an ingredient used in a recipe related to the calculation of the score is stored in the ingredient history storage unit 24 as ingredient history information that has been used by the user in the past, the first suggestion unit 13 may assign a predetermined weighting to the ingredient. The first suggestion unit 13 may then add or subtract a value according to the weighting based on the ingredient history information to the score, or multiply the score by a coefficient according to the weighting. By calculating the recipe score in this way, it is possible to preferentially suggest recipes that use ingredients that the user has used, or preferentially suggest recipes that use ingredients that the user has not used.

[0088] In addition, if a score is previously associated with each recipe in the recipe information storage unit 21, the first proposal unit 13 may obtain that score and use it as the score for each recipe, or may perform addition and subtraction based on weighting on the obtained score, and multiply it by a coefficient based on weighting.

[0089] In step S13, the first proposal unit 13 extracts one recipe from among a predetermined number of recipes having the highest scores calculated in step S12, from the multiple recipes extracted in step S11.

[0090] Specifically, for example, the first suggestion unit 13 sorts the multiple recipes extracted in step S11 in descending order of score. Then, the first suggestion unit 13 extracts a top predetermined number of recipes from the sorted recipes. Here, the predetermined number regarding the number of recipes to be extracted from the sorted recipes may be 1, or may be 2, 3, or more. When the predetermined number is 1, the first suggestion unit extracts the top recipe with the highest score from the sorted recipes. By extracting recipes in this way, it is possible to extract, as suggested recipes, a group of recipes with the highest total score from a group of recipes that can be cooked simultaneously using ingredients included in the ingredient possession information.

[0091] Furthermore, when the predetermined number is more than one, the first suggestion unit 13 further extracts one recipe, for example randomly, from the multiple recipes extracted from the sorted recipes. In this case, the total score of the multiple recipes extracted as suggested recipes can be kept at a certain high value, while allowing the recipe extraction to have randomness. Therefore, as described later, when the first suggestion unit 13 extracts a recipe group again in response to a specified input by the user, it is possible to extract a recipe group different from the recipe group extracted previously.

[0092] In step S14, the ingredients used in the recipe extracted in step S13 are deleted from the ingredient possession information. That is, the recipe extracted based on the ingredient possession information from which the ingredients have been deleted does not have ingredients that overlap with the recipe extracted in step S13, so both recipes can be cooked simultaneously.

[0093] In step S15, the first proposal unit 13 determines whether or not a predetermined number n of recipes have been extracted. If it is determined that the predetermined number n of recipes have been extracted, the recipe group extraction process by the first proposal unit 13 ends. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the predetermined number n of recipes have been extracted, the process returns to step S11, and the processes of steps S11 to S14 are repeated until the predetermined number n of recipes are extracted.

[0094] According to this extraction process, it is possible to extract a group of recipes that preferentially include recipes with high scores calculated based on a predetermined weighting as suggested recipes. In addition, since one recipe is extracted by one process of calculating the score for each recipe, the amount of calculation required for the extraction process of the suggested recipes can be reduced.

[0095] Next, a description will be given of another example of the extraction process of the proposed recipe by the first suggestion unit 13. In the other example of the extraction process, first, the first suggestion unit 13 generates one or more recipe groups each consisting of a combination of a plurality of recipes in which all ingredients used (which may be ingredients excluding seasonings) are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and the overlap-restricted ingredients do not overlap with each other in each recipe.

[0096] Next, the first proposal unit 13 calculates the score of each of the recipes included in each recipe group based on a predetermined weighting. The calculation of the score of each recipe is similar to the example of the score calculation described with reference to FIG.

[0097] Then, the first proposal unit 13 calculates the sum of the scores of the multiple recipes included in each recipe group, and extracts the recipe group with the largest sum of the calculated scores as the proposed recipe.

[0098] According to this extraction process, a recipe group consisting of multiple recipes that can be cooked simultaneously is comprehensively extracted, and the recipe group with the highest calculated score is extracted. In this way, by expressing the priority of ingredients for suggesting to the user in advance as weighting for the ingredients, it is possible to extract a recipe group consisting of recipes that are desired to be suggested to the user with higher priority.

[0099] 2 again, the output unit 14 outputs the proposed recipe extracted by the first suggestion unit 13. Specifically, the output unit 14 extracts recipe information of each recipe included in the proposed recipe from the recipe information storage unit 21, and transmits the extracted recipe information to the user terminal T. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a proposed recipe is displayed on the user terminal T. As shown in FIG. 10, the display screen D1 displayed on the user terminal T includes recipe information r11 to r16 of multiple recipes included in the proposed recipe. For example, when the user performs a designation input (e.g., a touch operation) to designate any one of the displayed recipe information r11 to r16, information such as a cooking method for the designated recipe is displayed.

[0100] 2 again, the ingredient information update unit 15 updates the ingredient possession information based on the input by the user. Specifically, the ingredient information update unit 15 may delete ingredients used in a recipe selected by the user from the group of suggested recipes output by the output unit 14 from the ingredient possession information. That is, when an input specifying a recipe cooked by the user from the group of recipes proposed by displaying and outputting on the user terminal T is received at the user terminal T, information on the specified recipe is transmitted from the user terminal T to the recipe suggestion device 10, and the ingredient information update unit 15 obtains information on the recipe specified and input by the user, obtains ingredients used in the recipe as consumed ingredients by referring to the recipe information, and deletes information on the consumed ingredients from the ingredient possession information.

[0101] The ingredient information update unit 15 may also delete the ingredient designated by the user from the ingredient possession information. Specifically, the ingredient information update unit 15 may acquire information on ingredients consumed by the user cooking based on the proposed recipe output by the output unit 14 from the user terminal T based on the designated input by the user, and delete the consumed ingredient from the ingredient possession information. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for inputting consumed ingredients on the user terminal T. As shown in FIG. 11, the input screen D2 includes lists 111-113 of ingredient possession information. Each ingredient name included in the lists 111-113 is associated with a button b for designating the consumed ingredient. When an input operation (e.g., a touch operation) by the user on the button b corresponding to the consumed ingredient is accepted by the user terminal T, information on the designated ingredient is transmitted from the user terminal T to the recipe suggestion device 10, and the ingredient information update unit 15 acquires information on the ingredient designated and input by the user, and deletes the acquired information on the ingredient from the ingredient possession information.

[0102] After the ingredient information update unit 15 updates the ingredient information in this manner, the first proposal unit 13 may re-extract a proposed recipe based on the ingredient information from which ingredients have been deleted by the ingredient information update unit 15. The re-extraction of the proposed recipe may be triggered by the first proposal unit 13 receiving an instruction to re-extract from the user terminal T.

[0103] In this way, the ingredient information update unit 15 updates the ingredient information based on the user's input of the cooked recipe or consumed ingredients, thereby improving the accuracy of the ingredient information. Then, recipes using ingredients other than the consumed ingredients can be suggested to the user again.

[0104] Referring again to FIG. 2, the second suggestion unit 16 refers to the recipe information and extracts one or more recipes in which all of the remaining ingredients, excluding a predetermined number of ingredients from the ingredients used, are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22, and the predetermined number of ingredients are not stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22. Specifically, the second suggestion unit 16 extracts one or more recipes that can be cooked by adding a predetermined number of ingredients to the ingredients included in the ingredient possession information. As described above, the first ingredient information is information on ingredients possessed by the user, and the second ingredient information is information on ingredients that have been purchased and added to the ingredients possessed. Therefore, by implementing a recipe suggestion by the second suggestion unit 16 before ingredients are purchased, the user can be encouraged to purchase a specific ingredient.

[0105] In this embodiment, the second suggestion unit 16 extracts recipes that can be prepared by adding one ingredient to ingredients included in the ingredient possession information. Specifically, the second suggestion unit 16 extracts recipes from the recipe information storage unit 21 that use one ingredient not included in the ingredient possession information and ingredients included in the ingredient possession information.

[0106] The second suggestion unit 16 may refer to the ingredient history information and extract recipes that use ingredients that are not included in the ingredient possession information and that the user has not used, and ingredients that are included in the ingredient possession information, from the recipe information storage unit 21. By suggesting such recipes to the user, it is possible to motivate the user to purchase ingredients that he or she has not purchased before.

[0107] The second suggestion unit 16 may also extract recipes that use one specific ingredient not included in the ingredient possession information and ingredients included in the ingredient possession information from the recipe information stored in the recipe information storage unit 21. When extracting such recipes, the second suggestion unit 16 may limit the one specific ingredient. Specifically, the second suggestion unit 16 may refer to recommended ingredient information in which recommended ingredients, which are ingredients that the user is desired to purchase, are registered in advance, and extract recipes that use the recommended ingredients and ingredients included in the ingredient possession information from the recipe information stored in the recipe information storage unit 21.

[0108] For example, seasonal ingredients, sale ingredients, ingredients that food manufacturers want users to purchase, etc. are acquired in advance by the recipe suggestion device 10 and registered as recommended ingredient information, so that recipes that use these recommended ingredients can be suggested to the user.

[0109] When the second suggestion unit 16 extracts a recipe, the output unit 14 outputs the recipe extracted by the second suggestion unit 16 to the user terminal T. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal T, in which a recipe that can be prepared by adding a certain ingredient (recommended ingredient) to ingredients included in the ingredient possession information is displayed. Specifically, the screen D3 includes four pieces of recipe information r21 to r24 in which Chinese cabbage is used as a recommended ingredient.

[0110] Furthermore, after the recipe extracted by the second proposal unit 16 is output on the user terminal T, the first proposal unit 13 may extract, as a suggested recipe, at least one recipe that does not use the overlap-restricted ingredients used in the recipe extracted by the second proposal unit 16. In this case, the output unit 14 outputs the recipe extracted by the second proposal unit 16 and the suggested recipe proposed by the first proposal unit 13 together.

[0111] 2 again, the designation receiving unit 17 receives a user designation for one or more recipes among the multiple recipes included in the proposed recipes output by the output unit 14. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen that receives a user designation input for the proposed recipe displayed on the user terminal T.

[0112] Specifically, the user can select a recipe to be adopted from the group of recipes displayed on the user terminal T and specify the selected recipe. Alternatively, the user can select a recipe not to be adopted from the suggested recipes displayed on the user terminal T and specify the selected recipe. On the screen D4 shown in Fig. 13, a check mark C indicating a designated input is displayed on the recipes r11, r14, and r16 selected as the recipes to be adopted from among the multiple recipes r11 to r16.

[0113] When a designation input for the output suggested recipe is accepted by the designation accepting unit 17, the first suggestion unit 13 re-extracts at least one recipe in which, when a duplicate-limited ingredient is used in the recipe for which the designation has been accepted by the designation accepting unit 17, all of the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22 and the duplicate-limited ingredient is not used.

[0114] In addition, when the designation receiving unit 17 receives a designation input for a recipe that is not to be adopted, if a duplicate-limited ingredient is used in a recipe from the group of recipes output by the output unit 14 for which the designation was not accepted by the designation receiving unit 17, the first suggestion unit 13 re-extracts at least one recipe in which all of the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22 and the duplicate-limited ingredient is not used.

[0115] The re-extraction of a recipe by the first suggestion unit 13 may be triggered by input of an instruction for re-extraction following input of a designation of a selected recipe in the user terminal T. The output unit 14 outputs the recipe selected as the recipe to be adopted and the recipe re-extracted by the first suggestion unit 13 together to the user terminal T for display.

[0116] In this way, by outputting the proposed recipe by the output unit 14, even if a recipe has been proposed to the user once, recipes other than the recipe specified by the user from among the recipe group included in the proposed recipes can be extracted again. This allows the user to receive a proposal for a desired recipe. Also, when a designation input for a recipe not to be adopted is received, recipes other than the recipe not specified by the user from among the recipe group included in the proposed recipes can be extracted again. This allows the user to receive a proposal for a desired recipe.

[0117] Next, the operation of the recipe suggesting device 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the process of a recipe suggesting method performed in the recipe suggesting device 10.

[0118] In step S1, the first ingredient information acquisition unit 11 acquires the first ingredient information, and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22 as ingredient possession information.

[0119] In step S2, second ingredient information is acquired, and the acquired second ingredient information is stored in ingredient possession information storage unit 22 as ingredient possession information.

[0120] Note that, before the process of step S2, the second suggestion unit 16 may refer to the recipe information and extract one or more recipes that can be cooked by adding a predetermined number of ingredients (the predetermined number is, for example, 1) to the ingredients included in the ingredient possession information. The recipes extracted by the second suggestion unit 16 are transmitted to the user terminal T by the output unit 14 and displayed on the user terminal T.

[0121] In step S3, the first proposal unit 13 refers to the recipe information and extracts a recipe in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit 22 as a proposed recipe.

[0122] In step S4, the output unit 14 outputs the proposed recipe extracted by the first proposal unit 13. The proposed recipe is output, for example, in a form such as transmitting recipe information to the user terminal T and displaying it on the user terminal T.

[0123] In step S5, the ingredient information update unit 15 determines whether there has been an update to the ingredient information input at the user terminal T and transmitted to the recipe suggestion device 10. The update to the ingredient information may be, for example, the specification of recipe information for a dish prepared by the user, or the specification of ingredients consumed by the user when preparing a dish. If it is determined that there has been an update to the ingredient information, the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if it is not determined that there has been an update to the ingredient information, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0124] In step S6, the ingredient information update unit 15 deletes the consumed ingredient from the ingredient possession information based on the update input.

[0125] In step S7, the first proposal unit 13 determines whether or not an instruction to re-propose the recipe has been received. The instruction to re-propose the recipe is transmitted, for example, from a user terminal T to which a user inputs an instruction to re-propose the recipe. If it is determined that an instruction to re-propose the recipe has been received, the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if it is not determined that an instruction to re-propose the recipe has been received, the process returns to step S5.

[0126] In step S8, the first suggestion unit 13 determines whether to accept the input of the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information based on the instruction information from the user terminal T. That is, when the user inputs an instruction to reacquire the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information in the user terminal T, the user terminal T transmits instruction information to that effect to the recipe suggestion device 10. If it is determined that the input of the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information is accepted, the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the input of the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information is accepted, the process returns to step S3.

[0127] In the recipe suggestion method of the present embodiment described above, after extracting (S3) and outputting (S4) a suggested recipe, the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information are not acquired (S1, S2), and the ingredient possession information is updated (S6), and then the suggested recipe can be extracted (S3) and output (S4) again. Therefore, the user does not need to acquire the first ingredient information (e.g., taking an image of the inside of the refrigerator) and the second ingredient information (acquiring information on the receipt of the purchased ingredients) every time a recipe group is proposed. That is, the user can receive multiple recipe group proposals by acquiring the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information once. Due to the features of the recipe suggestion method of the present embodiment, for example, the user can perform the troublesome tasks of taking an image of the inside of the refrigerator and acquiring information on the receipt of the purchased ingredients once a week, and input information on the ingredients consumed into the user terminal T every time a recipe group is proposed, thereby allowing the user to receive multiple proposals of recipe groups corresponding to one week's menu (e.g., 2 to 3 times).

[0128] According to the recipe proposal device 10, recipe proposal method, and recipe proposal program of this embodiment described above, first ingredient information on ingredients held in a specified space and second ingredient information on ingredients added to the held ingredients are obtained, and ingredient holding information is generated based on the two pieces of ingredient information, the first ingredient information and the second ingredient information, thereby improving the accuracy of the information on held ingredients.

[0129] The present invention has been described in detail above based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0130] The recipe proposal device 10, the recipe proposal method, the recipe proposal program, and the recipe proposal system of the present disclosure may have the following configuration. [1] A recipe suggestion device that suggests cooking recipes to a user device, an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information on ingredients possessed by a user; A first ingredient information acquisition unit acquires first ingredient information, which is information about ingredients held by a user in a specified space, and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A second ingredient information acquisition unit acquires second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the ingredients currently held, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; a recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates the recipe with ingredients used in the recipe; A first suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit; an output unit that outputs the proposed recipe to the user device; A recipe suggestion device comprising: [2] The first ingredient information acquisition unit acquires the first ingredient information based on an image captured of the space in which ingredients are held. A recipe suggestion device as described in [1]. [3] The second ingredient information acquisition unit acquires the second ingredient information based on purchase data related to ingredients purchased by the user. A recipe suggestion device according to [1] or [2]. [4] An ingredient information update unit that updates the ingredient possession information based on the input by the user, The first suggestion unit re-extracts the suggested recipe based on the ingredient possession information updated by the ingredient information update unit. The recipe suggestion device according to any one of [1] to [3]. [5] The ingredient information update unit deletes ingredients used in the recipe selected by the user from the suggested recipe output by the output unit from the ingredient possession information storage unit, The first suggestion unit re-extracts the suggested recipe based on the ingredient possession information from which the ingredient has been deleted by the ingredient information update unit. [4] A recipe suggestion device as described in the above. [6] The ingredient information update unit deletes the ingredient specified by the user from the ingredient possession information storage unit, The first suggestion unit re-extracts the suggested recipe based on the ingredient possession information from which the ingredient has been deleted by the ingredient information update unit. A recipe suggestion device according to [4] or [5]. [7] The first proposal unit, A recipe group consisting of a plurality of recipes is extracted as the proposed recipes; When extracting, as the proposed recipe, a recipe using an ingredient stored in the ingredient holding information storage unit as an ingredient that is not extracted in duplicate as an ingredient used in a plurality of recipes, other recipes that use the ingredient corresponding to the overlap-restricted ingredient among the recipes stored in the recipe information storage unit are not extracted as the proposed recipe. The recipe suggestion device according to any one of [1] to [6]. [8] The first proposal unit, Extracting a recipe in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient information storage unit; Calculating a score for each of the extracted recipes based on a predetermined weighting; Extracting one recipe from a top predetermined number of recipes in terms of the magnitude of the score as the i-th (i=1, 2, ..., n) recipe; and Deleting the ingredient used in the i-th recipe from the ingredient possession information; Repeating the above from the first to the nth times, the first to the nth recipes are extracted as the suggested recipes. The recipe suggestion device described in [7]. [9] The first proposal unit, Generate one or more recipe groups each including a combination of a plurality of recipes in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit, and the overlap-restricted ingredients are not overlapped with each other in each recipe; Calculating a score for each of the recipes included in each recipe group based on a predetermined weighting; extracting the recipe group having the highest total score of the recipes included therein as the suggested recipe; The recipe suggestion device described in [7].

[10] The first suggestion unit calculates the score of each recipe based on at least one of a weighting preset for each of the ingredients and a weighting preset for each of the recipes. The recipe suggestion device according to [8] or [9].

[11] a designation receiving unit that receives a designation by a user for one or more recipes among a plurality of recipes included in the proposed recipes output by the output unit, the first suggestion unit, when the duplicate-restricted ingredient is used in a recipe whose designation has been accepted by the designation acceptance unit, re-extracts at least one recipe in which all of the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and the duplicate-restricted ingredient is not used; The recipe suggestion device according to any one of [7] to

[10] .

[12] a designation receiving unit that receives a designation by a user for one or more recipes among a plurality of recipes included in the proposed recipes output by the output unit, when the duplicate-restricted ingredient is used in a recipe whose designation has not been accepted by the designation acceptance unit among the proposed recipes output by the output unit, the first suggestion unit re-extracts at least one recipe in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and the duplicate-restricted ingredient is not used. The recipe suggestion device according to any one of [7] to

[10] .

[13] A second suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts one or more recipes in which all of the remaining ingredients, excluding a predetermined number of ingredients, are stored in the ingredient storage information storage unit, The output unit outputs the recipe proposed by the second proposal unit. The recipe suggestion device according to any one of [1] to

[12] .

[14] The device further includes a recommended ingredient storage unit that stores recommended ingredients recommended for purchase by the user, The second suggestion unit extracts one or more recipes that use the recommended ingredients, and all ingredients other than the recommended ingredients among the ingredients used in the recipe are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit. The recipe suggestion device described in

[13] .

[15] A recipe suggestion method in a recipe suggestion device that suggests a cooking recipe to a user device, comprising: The recipe suggestion device includes: an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information on ingredients possessed by a user; A recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates the recipe with ingredients used in the recipe, The recipe suggestion method includes: A first ingredient information acquisition step of acquiring first ingredient information, which is information on ingredients held by a user in a predetermined space, and storing the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A second ingredient information acquisition step of acquiring second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the ingredients currently held, and storing the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A first suggestion step of referring to the recipe information storage unit and extracting, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit; an output step of outputting the proposed recipe to the user device; The recipe suggestion method has the following features.

[16] A recipe suggestion program for causing a computer to function as a recipe suggestion device that suggests cooking recipes to a user device, The recipe suggestion device includes: an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information on ingredients possessed by a user; A recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates the recipe with ingredients used in the recipe, The recipe suggestion program is configured to: A first ingredient information acquisition function that acquires first ingredient information, which is information about ingredients held by a user in a specified space, and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A second ingredient information acquisition function that acquires second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the ingredients held, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A first suggestion function that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit; an output function for outputting the proposed recipe to the user device; A recipe suggestion program that makes this possible.

[17] A recipe suggestion system that suggests cooking recipes to a user device, an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information on ingredients possessed by a user; A first ingredient information acquisition unit acquires first ingredient information, which is information about ingredients held by a user in a specified space, and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A second ingredient information acquisition unit acquires second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the ingredients currently held, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; a recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates the recipe with ingredients used in the recipe; A first suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit; an output unit that outputs the proposed recipe to the user device; A recipe suggestion system comprising: [Explanation of symbols]

[0131] 1...proposal system, 10...recipe proposal device, 11...first ingredient information acquisition unit, 12...second ingredient information acquisition unit, 13...first proposal unit, 14...output unit, 15...ingredients information update unit, 16...second proposal unit, 17...designation reception unit, 21...recipe information memory unit, 22...ingredients possession information memory unit, 23...recipe history memory unit, 24...ingredients history memory unit, 25...recommended ingredient information memory unit, P1...server program.

Claims

1. A recipe suggestion device that suggests cooking recipes to a user device, an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information on ingredients possessed by a user; A first food ingredient information acquisition unit acquires first food ingredient information, which is information on food ingredients held by a user in a predetermined space, and stores the acquired first food ingredient information in the food ingredient holding information storage unit; A second ingredient information acquisition unit acquires second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the ingredients held, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; a recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates the recipe with ingredients used in the recipe; A first suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit; an output unit that outputs the proposed recipe to the user device, The first ingredient information acquisition unit acquires the first ingredient information based on an image of the space captured by a camera installed in the space where the ingredient is held or a camera installed in the user's terminal. Recipe suggestion device.

2. The second ingredient information acquisition unit acquires the second ingredient information based on purchase data related to ingredients purchased by the user. The recipe suggestion device according to claim 1 .

3. An ingredient information update unit that updates the ingredient possession information based on the input by the user, The first suggestion unit re-extracts the suggested recipe based on the ingredient possession information updated by the ingredient information update unit. The recipe suggestion device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The ingredient information update unit deletes ingredients used in the recipe selected by the user from the suggested recipe output by the output unit from the ingredient possession information storage unit, The first suggestion unit re-extracts the proposed recipe based on the ingredient possession information from which the ingredient has been deleted by the ingredient information update unit. The recipe suggestion device according to claim 3 .

5. The ingredient information update unit deletes the ingredient specified by the user from the ingredient possession information storage unit, The first suggestion unit re-extracts the proposed recipe based on the ingredient possession information from which the ingredient has been deleted by the ingredient information update unit. The recipe suggestion device according to claim 3 or 4.

6. The first proposal unit, A recipe group consisting of a plurality of recipes is extracted as the proposed recipes; When extracting, as the proposed recipe, a recipe using an ingredient stored in the ingredient holding information storage unit as an ingredient that is not extracted in duplicate as an ingredient used in a plurality of recipes, other recipes that use the ingredient corresponding to the overlap-restricted ingredient among the recipes stored in the recipe information storage unit are not extracted as the proposed recipe. The recipe suggestion device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The first proposal unit, Extracting a recipe in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient information storage unit; Calculating a score for each of the extracted recipes based on a predetermined weighting; Extraction of one recipe from a top predetermined number of recipes in terms of the magnitude of the score as the i-th (i=1, 2, . . . n) recipe; and Deleting the ingredient used in the i-th recipe from the ingredient possession information; Repeating the above from the first time to the nth time, the first to nth recipes are extracted as the proposed recipes. The recipe suggestion device according to claim 6.

8. The first proposal unit, generating one or more recipe groups each including a combination of a plurality of recipes in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and in which the overlap-restricted ingredients do not overlap with each other in each recipe; Calculating a score for each of the recipes included in each recipe group based on a predetermined weighting; extracting the recipe group having the highest total score of the recipes included therein as the suggested recipe; The recipe suggestion device according to claim 6.

9. The first suggestion unit calculates the score of each recipe based on at least one of a weighting preset for each of the ingredients and a weighting preset for each of the recipes. The recipe suggestion device according to claim 7 or 8.

10. a designation receiving unit that receives a designation by a user for one or more recipes among a plurality of recipes included in the proposed recipes output by the output unit, the first suggestion unit, when the duplicate-restricted ingredient is used in a recipe whose designation has been accepted by the designation acceptance unit, re-extracts at least one recipe in which all of the ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and the duplicate-restricted ingredient is not used; The recipe suggestion device according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

11. a designation receiving unit that receives a designation by a user for one or more recipes among a plurality of recipes included in the proposed recipes output by the output unit, When the duplicate-restricted ingredient is used in a recipe whose designation has not been accepted by the designation acceptance unit among the proposed recipes output by the output unit, the first suggestion unit re-extracts at least one recipe in which all ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit and the duplicate-restricted ingredient is not used. The recipe suggestion device according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

12. A second suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts one or more recipes in which all of the remaining ingredients, excluding a predetermined number of ingredients, are stored in the ingredient storage information storage unit, The output unit outputs the recipe proposed by the second proposal unit. The recipe suggestion device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. The device further includes a recommended ingredient storage unit that stores recommended ingredients recommended for purchase by the user, The second suggestion unit extracts one or more recipes that use the recommended ingredients, and all ingredients other than the recommended ingredients among the ingredients used in the recipe are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit. The recipe suggestion device according to claim 12.

14. A recipe suggestion method in a recipe suggestion device that suggests a cooking recipe to a user device, comprising: The recipe suggestion device includes: an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information on ingredients possessed by a user; A recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates the recipe with ingredients used in the recipe, The recipe suggestion method includes: A first ingredient information acquisition step of acquiring first ingredient information, which is information on ingredients held by a user in a predetermined space, and storing the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A second ingredient information acquisition step of acquiring second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the ingredients held, and storing the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A first proposing step of extracting, as a proposed recipe, a recipe in which ingredients used are stored in the ingredient holding information storage unit by referring to the recipe information storage unit; and an output step of outputting the proposed recipe to the user device, In the first ingredient information acquisition step, the first ingredient information is acquired based on an image of the space captured by a camera installed in the space where the ingredient is held or a camera installed in the user's terminal. How to suggest recipes.

15. A recipe suggestion program for causing a computer to function as a recipe suggestion device that suggests cooking recipes to a user device, The recipe suggestion device includes: an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information on ingredients possessed by a user; A recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates the recipe with ingredients used in the recipe, The recipe suggestion program is configured to: A first ingredient information acquisition function that acquires first ingredient information, which is information about ingredients held by a user in a specified space, and stores the acquired first ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A second ingredient information acquisition function that acquires second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the ingredients held, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; A first suggestion function that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit; an output function of outputting the proposed recipe to the user device; The first ingredient information acquisition function acquires the first ingredient information based on an image of the space captured by a camera installed in the space where the ingredient is held or a camera installed in the user's terminal. Recipe suggestion program.

16. A recipe suggestion system that suggests cooking recipes to a user device, an ingredient possession information storage unit that stores ingredient possession information indicating information on ingredients possessed by a user; A first food ingredient information acquisition unit acquires first food ingredient information, which is information on food ingredients held by a user in a predetermined space, and stores the acquired first food ingredient information in the food ingredient holding information storage unit; A second ingredient information acquisition unit acquires second ingredient information, which is information on ingredients added to the ingredients held, and stores the acquired second ingredient information in the ingredient holding information storage unit; a recipe information storage unit that stores recipe information that associates the recipe with ingredients used in the recipe; A first suggestion unit that refers to the recipe information storage unit and extracts, as a suggested recipe, a recipe in which ingredients used are stored in the ingredient possession information storage unit; an output unit that outputs the proposed recipe to the user device, The first ingredient information acquisition unit acquires the first ingredient information based on an image of the space captured by a camera installed in the space where the ingredient is held or a camera installed in the user's terminal. Recipe suggestion system.

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