Information processing device and information processing method

Abstract

To provide an information processing device and an information processing method capable of appropriately managing the constituent of a commodity that a user wants to purchase.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: a receiving unit that obtains, from a terminal, information representing a commodity selected by a user; a processing unit that classifies the commodities into multiple categories, and that calculates, for each category, the total content of the constituent of the commodity classified in such a category; and a transmitting unit that transmits, to the terminal, information representing the total content calculated for each category.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 17

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Due to the recent increase in health consciousness, there is a demand for a system that manages the ingredients (e.g., nutrients, salt content, etc.) of the products that users eat and drink.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a menu management control device having a first storage means for storing basic information about a person subject to nutrition management and nutrition acquisition related information related to the nutrition that the person subject to nutrition management should acquire as registration information, a second storage means for storing a plurality of menus corresponding to nutrients, a selection means for selecting a menu from the second storage means based on the nutrition acquisition related information of the registration information stored in the first storage means, and a provision means for providing the menu selected by the selection means based on the basic information of the registration information stored in the first storage means. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-13265 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, since the device in Patent Document 1 provides a selected menu, it is not possible to provide information to a user when the user purchases a product (for example, food or drink).

[0006] Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure contribute to providing an information processing device and an information processing method that can appropriately manage ingredients of a product that a user wishes to purchase. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a receiving unit that acquires information indicating a product selected by a user from a terminal, a processing unit that classifies the products into a plurality of categories and calculates, for each category, a total content amount of ingredients of the products classified into the category, and a transmitting unit that transmits information indicating the total content amount calculated for each category to the terminal.

[0008] In an information processing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an information processing device acquires information indicating products selected by a user from a terminal, classifies the products into a plurality of categories, calculates the total content of ingredients of the products classified into the categories for each of the categories, and transmits information indicating the calculated total content for each of the categories to the terminal.

[0009] In addition, these comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized by a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, or may be realized by any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the ingredients of a product that a user wishes to purchase can be appropriately managed.

[0011] Further advantages and benefits of an embodiment of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings, in which such advantages and / or benefits are provided by some of the embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not necessarily all of which are provided to obtain one or more identical features. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the process of the first example. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of notification information in the first example. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example in the first example. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of notification information in the second example. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example in the second example. [Figure 7] A flowchart showing an example of a process flow of an information processing device in a second example of an embodiment. [Figure 8] A flowchart showing an example of a process flow of a terminal in a second example of an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a format of information indicating a user-specified category set for a customer in the third example. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of notification information in the third example. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example in the third example. [Figure 12] A flowchart showing an example of a process flow of an information processing device in a third example of an embodiment. [Figure 13] A flowchart showing an example of a process flow of a terminal in a third example of an embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of notification information in the fourth example. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example in the fourth example. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal according to an embodiment; [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0014] (One embodiment) Many products are sold in stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores. When selecting a product to purchase, a customer (an example of a user) who purchases a product may check the amount of ingredients contained in the product to be purchased.

[0015] For example, when a customer purchases a food or drink, the customer may check the content of ingredients, such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, salt, and sugar, contained in the food or drink. For example, a customer who is conscious of managing his or her daily diet may check the ingredients contained in the products used in the meal. In addition, a customer who purchases luxury items for children may check the ingredients contained in the luxury items. When purchasing such products, it is desirable to provide the customer with appropriate information on the ingredients of the product he or she wishes to purchase.

[0016] In the information providing system according to the present embodiment, information on the amount of each ingredient contained in a product that a customer wishes to purchase is compiled for each product category and provided to the customer.

[0017] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an information providing system 1 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 1 shows a terminal 10 and an information processing device 20. Fig. 1 also shows a customer using a cart in a store to select a product that he or she wishes to purchase.

[0018] The terminal 10 is mounted on a cart used by a customer. The terminal 10 may be a smartphone, a tablet, or the like.

[0019] The information processing device 20 may be provided, for example, in a waiting area (for example, a staff room) where a store clerk waits, or may be provided outside the store. The information processing device 20 may be, for example, a personal computer or a server device.

[0020] The terminal 10 may be directly connected wirelessly to the information processing device 20, or may be connected to the information processing device 20 via a base station or an access point (not shown in FIG. 1) installed in the store. Alternatively, the terminal 10 may be connected to the information processing device 20 via a base station or an access point (not shown in FIG. 1) installed in the store and a network.

[0021] In the information providing system 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, a customer transmits instruction information including information indicating a product that the customer wishes to purchase to the information processing device 20 via the terminal 10. The information processing device 20 compiles, based on the instruction information, the amount of each ingredient contained in the product that the customer wishes to purchase for each product category, and provides the compilation result to the customer.

[0022] For example, a customer operates terminal 10 and takes a picture of a product that the customer wishes to purchase using a camera mounted on terminal 10. Terminal 10 transmits instruction information including the captured product image to information processing device 20 through the customer's operation. The instruction information indicates, for example, an instruction to instruct information processing device 20 to tally up the ingredient content. Note that the instruction information may be transmitted, for example, when the customer makes payment for the product, or when the customer wishes to check the ingredient content other than when making payment.

[0023] For example, the information processing device 20 acquires a product image from the instruction information, performs image identification processing on the product image, and identifies the product included in the product image. In the image identification processing, the similarity between the acquired product image and pre-stored images of all sales products sold in the store is calculated, and the product included in the product image is identified among the sales products based on the similarity (e.g., the highest similarity).

[0024] The information processing device 20 classifies the identified products (for example, products that the customer wishes to purchase) into a plurality of categories. Then, the information processing device 20 counts up the ingredients of the products that the customer wishes to purchase for each category.

[0025] The information processing device 20 transmits notification information including the result of tallying up the ingredients of the product to the terminal 10.

[0026] The terminal 10 receives the notification information and displays the results of tallying up the components.

[0027] In the following, examples in which the categories are classified in different ways will be described.

[0028] The products that the information processing device 20 classifies into categories and totals the ingredients of are, for example, foods and beverages that customers wish to purchase. In the following, the products that the information processing device 20 classifies into categories and totals the ingredients of may be simply referred to as "products."

[0029] <First example> In the first example, products are classified into two categories: foodstuffs such as meat, fish, vegetables, and grains, and luxury items such as sweets, juice, and ice cream.

[0030] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the processing of the first example. Fig. 2 shows an example of processing from product images acquired by the information processing device 20, to product identification by image recognition processing, product classification into categories, and tallying up ingredients for each category.

[0031] For example, a customer operates the terminal 10 and takes a picture of a product that the customer wishes to purchase with a camera mounted on the terminal 10. The terminal 10 transmits instruction information including the captured product image to the information processing device 20 by the customer's operation.

[0032] In FIG. 2, for example, the product image includes five products. For example, the information processing device 20 acquires instruction information including the product image, performs image identification processing of the product image, and identifies the products included in the product image. Note that one still image may include all of the products that the customer wishes to purchase, or multiple still images may include all of the products that the customer wishes to purchase. In FIG. 2, the five products are identified as product #1 to product #5. Note that product #1 to product #5 are products identified by identification information #1 to #5, respectively.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, each identified product is associated with a category and the content of ingredients (protein and carbohydrate in the example of FIG. 2). Products, product categories, and the content of the ingredients of the products are associated in advance. The information processing device 20 stores information indicating the correspondence between products, product categories, and the content of the ingredients of the products. This correspondence may be updated in response to addition or modification of products. Also, in FIG. 2, one category is associated with one product, but multiple categories may be associated with one product. For example, one product may be associated with a large category (e.g., luxury items) and a small category (e.g., fruits, soft drinks, and sweets).

[0034] The information processing device 20 classifies the identified products into two categories: ingredients and luxury items. In the following, the two categories, ingredients and luxury items, may be referred to as the ingredients category and the luxury item category, respectively.

[0035] In FIG. 2, product #1, product #2, and product #4 are classified into the food category, and product #3 and product #5 are classified into the luxury item category.

[0036] The information processing device 20 tallies up each ingredient of the products classified into the foodstuff category, and tallies up each ingredient of the products classified into the luxury item category.

[0037] In Figure 2, the protein content of products #1, #2, and #3 classified into the food category is A 1 g, A 2 g, and A 4 g. Therefore, the total protein content of the products classified into the food category is A 1 +A 2 +A 4 Similarly, the carbohydrate content of products classified into food categories is B 1 +B 2 +B 4 g. In addition, in FIG. 2, the protein content of products #3 and #5, which are classified in the luxury goods category, is A 3 g, and A 5 g. Therefore, the protein content of the products in the luxury category is A 3 +A 5 g. In addition, in Figure 2, the carbohydrate content of products #3 and #5, which are classified in the luxury goods category, is B 3 g and B 5 g. Therefore, the total carbohydrate content of the products in the luxury goods category is B 3 +B 5 g.

[0038] The information processing device 20 transmits to the terminal 10 notification information including the tabulated results of the content of each component.

[0039] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the notification information in the first example. The format of the notification information shown in Fig. 3 includes a "cart ID" field, a "classification information" field, an "identification information" field, a "component information" field, and a "content information" field.

[0040] The cart ID (identification) field includes identification information (hereinafter, cart ID) for identifying a cart in which the terminal 10 is installed. Note that the cart ID may be replaced with a terminal ID for identifying the terminal 10 that receives the notification information.

[0041] The ingredient information field and the content amount information field are in one-to-one correspondence. The ingredient information field and the content amount information field in one-to-one correspondence are collectively referred to as an ingredient field group.

[0042] The component information field includes component information indicating the component, such as protein, carbohydrate, lipid, salt, sugar, etc.

[0043] The content information field includes information indicating the content of the component indicated by the component information in the associated component information field.

[0044] One classification information field is associated with one or more component field groups. One classification information field and one or more component field groups associated with the classification information field are collectively referred to as a classification information field group. One classification information field group corresponds to one classification category.

[0045] In the first example, since the notification information is classified into two categories, two classification information field groups are included in the format of the notification information. Also, in the first example, N component field groups numbered #1 to #N (i.e., component information fields and content amount information fields) are included in one classification information field group.

[0046] The classification information field contains information indicating the category into which the product is classified. For example, in the first example, the product is classified into two categories, ingredients and luxury items, so the classification information field is set to "0" indicating ingredients or "1" indicating luxury items.

[0047] A group of one or more ingredient fields associated with a classification information field set to "0" indicating an ingredient contains the results of aggregating the amount of each ingredient contained in a product classified as an ingredient. A group of one or more ingredient fields associated with a classification information field set to "1" indicating a luxury item contains the results of aggregating the amount of each ingredient contained in a product classified as a luxury item.

[0048] To explain using the example in Figure 2, the aggregated results of the protein content of products classified into the food category are A 1 +A 2 +A 4 Therefore, one ingredient field group associated with the classification information field set to "0" indicating ingredients is an ingredient information field including ingredient information indicating protein, and 1 +A 2 +A 4 In the example of FIG. 2, the total carbohydrate content of the products classified into the food category is B 1 +B 2 +B 4 g. Therefore, one ingredient field group corresponding to the classification information field set to "0" indicating ingredients is an ingredient information field including ingredient information indicating carbohydrates, and B 1 +B 2 +B 4 and a content field indicating the content in g.

[0049] In addition, based on the results of the aggregation of the content of each ingredient in the products classified into the luxury goods category in Figure 2, one ingredient field group associated with the classification information field set to "1" indicating luxury goods is a component information field including ingredient information indicating protein, and 3 +A 5 Another group of ingredient fields includes an ingredient information field including ingredient information indicating carbohydrates, and a B 3 +B 5 and a content field indicating the content in g.

[0050] The identification information field includes information indicating whether or not another field (e.g., a component information field or a classification information field) is present after the field. For example, if no other field is present after the identification information field, "00" is set, if a component information field is present after the identification information field, "10" is set, and if a classification information field is present after the identification information field, "11" is set.

[0051] The terminal 10 that has received the notification information in the format shown in FIG. 3 displays the content amount of each component in each category based on the received notification information.

[0052] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a display example in the first example. Fig. 4 shows an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal 10, for example.

[0053] In FIG. 4, the content of each ingredient in products classified as ingredients and the content of each ingredient in products classified as luxury items are displayed separately.

[0054] Note that the display example in FIG. 4 is an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, it may be displayed that the content of at least one component is in excess of a standard, or that the content is insufficient of a standard, etc. For example, it may be displayed that the content of at least one component is compared with a threshold value.

[0055] <Variation: Example of comparison result with threshold (e.g., reference value)> For example, when a standard value for protein intake is specified, a comparison result obtained by comparing the protein content with the standard value for protein intake may be displayed. The method of displaying the comparison result is not limited. For example, when the content is less than the standard value for intake by αg, a message such as "the food protein is insufficient by αg" is displayed. For a component that is preferably contained in a small amount, a message when the content is less than the standard value for intake may not be displayed. When the content is more than the standard value for intake by αg, a message such as "the food protein is high by αg" is displayed. For a component that is preferably contained in a large amount, a message when the content is more than the standard value for intake may not be displayed. The standard value for intake to be compared with the content may be a value specified in advance or may be a value set individually. For a component with a range of standard values, a message indicating whether the content is within the range of the standard value may be displayed.

[0056] This type of display can appropriately alert customers to ingredients whose content is less than the standard intake value (e.g., ingredients whose inadequate intake is a concern). Note that the display mode (character size, color, brightness, etc.) for displaying ingredients whose content is less than the standard intake value may be changed from the display mode for other ingredients.

[0057] For example, when an upper limit for salt intake is specified, a comparison result between the salt content of a product classified as an ingredient and the upper limit for salt intake may be displayed. The method of displaying the comparison result is not limited, but for example, if the content is αg more than the upper limit for intake, a message such as "The salt content of the ingredient is αg more than the upper limit for intake" may be displayed. For ingredients such as salt, which are preferably contained in small amounts, a message may not be displayed when the content is less than the upper limit for intake. The upper limit for intake compared with the content may be a value specified in advance, or may be a value set individually.

[0058] Such a display can appropriately alert customers to ingredients that may be consumed in excess. Note that the display mode (such as character size, color, brightness, etc.) for ingredients that are contained in amounts greater than the upper intake limit may be changed from that for other ingredients.

[0059] In addition, if the proportion of the excess component included in the luxury goods category is equal to or greater than a predetermined proportion, a message indicating that the excess component is highly included in the luxury goods category may be displayed. Alternatively, the fact that the excess component is highly included in the luxury goods category may be emphasized by changing the display mode.

[0060] The comparison of the content amount with the reference value (or upper limit) of the intake amount may be performed for each category. Alternatively, the content amount of the component may be grouped together for a plurality of categories, and the total content amount may be compared with the reference value (or upper limit) of the intake amount. The categories and / or components compared with the reference value (or upper limit) of the intake amount are not particularly limited. For example, when the total content amount of a certain component in a certain category is greater than the reference value of the intake amount (an example of a predetermined value), it is determined that the specific component contained in the certain category is in excess, and when the total content amount of the certain component is less than the reference value of the intake amount (an example of a predetermined value), it is determined that the specific component contained in the certain category is insufficient.

[0061] Furthermore, the comparison of the content amount with the reference value (or upper limit) of the intake amount may be performed by the terminal 10 or by the information processing device 20. When the comparison is performed by the information processing device 20, the notification information may include the comparison result.

[0062] In the first example described above, the information processing device 20 classifies the products that the customer wishes to purchase into two categories, ingredients and luxury items, and notifies the terminal 10 of information indicating the content of ingredients of the products in each category. This allows the customer to check the ingredients that are insufficient or excessive for each category of the products that the customer wishes to purchase, and the ingredients of the products that the customer wishes to purchase can be properly managed. For example, the customer can distinguish between ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in the ingredients category, which has a large impact on the menu, and ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in the luxury item category, which has a small impact on the menu, and check these ingredients. This allows the customer to add, delete, change, etc. the products that the customer wishes to purchase, and properly determine the priority order of the products to be purchased.

[0063] In addition, by tabulating ingredients by category, the user can check the overall ingredient content of the product desired to be purchased by category, making it easy to check whether an ingredient is insufficient or excessive, which was difficult to do when checking the ingredient content of each product. For example, it is easy to check whether an ingredient that is likely to be consumed by children has an excessive amount of salt or sugar, or an insufficient amount of protein, etc.

[0064] In addition, the information processing device 20 identifies the product that the customer wishes to purchase by image recognition processing of the product image. This reduces the effort required for the customer to input information, and allows the ingredients of the product to be appropriately managed.

[0065] <Second example> In the second example, similar to the first example, the products are classified into two categories: foodstuffs such as meat, fish, vegetables, and grains, and luxury items such as confectionery, juice, and ice cream. In the second example, the luxury items are further classified into fruits and non-fruit. In this case, in the second example, the products are classified into three categories: foodstuffs, fruits, and luxury items other than fruit. Luxury items other than fruit include, for example, soft drinks, confectionery, etc.

[0066] The processes of the terminal 10 and the information processing device 20 in the second example are similar to those in the first example, except that the categories into which the products are classified in the information processing device 20 are different.

[0067] The information processing device 20 acquires the instruction information, performs image recognition processing on the product image included in the instruction information, and identifies the product included in the product image. The information processing device 20 classifies the identified products into three categories: ingredients, fruits, and luxury items other than fruits. The information processing device 20 tally up each ingredient of the products classified in the ingredients category, tally up each ingredient of the products classified in the fruit category, and tally up each ingredient of the products classified in the luxury items other than fruits category. The information processing device 20 transmits notification information including the tally up results of each ingredient to the terminal 10.

[0068] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the notification information in the second example. The format of the notification information shown in Fig. 5 includes a "cart ID" field, a "classification information" field, an "identification information" field, a "component information" field, and a "content information" field. Note that in Fig. 5, explanations of fields with the same names as in Fig. 3 will be omitted.

[0069] The notification information in the second example shown in FIG. 5 is different from the notification information in the first example shown in FIG. 3 in the number of classification information field groups.

[0070] In the second example, since the notification information is classified into three categories, three classification information field groups are included in the notification information format.

[0071] The classification information field includes information indicating the category into which the product is classified. For example, in the second example, the product is classified into three categories, namely, food ingredients, fruits, and luxury items other than fruits, so the classification information field is set to "00" indicating food ingredients, "01" indicating fruits, or "10" indicating luxury items other than fruits.

[0072] One or more groups of ingredient fields associated with a classification information field set to "00", indicating ingredients, contain the results of aggregating the amount of each ingredient contained in products classified as ingredients. One or more groups of ingredient fields associated with a classification information field set to "01", indicating fruits, contain the results of aggregating the amount of each ingredient contained in products classified as fruits. One or more groups of ingredient fields associated with a classification information field set to "10", indicating luxury items other than fruits, contain the results of aggregating the amount of each ingredient contained in products classified as luxury items other than fruits.

[0073] The terminal 10 that has received the notification information in the format shown in FIG. 5 displays the content amount of each component in each category based on the received notification information.

[0074] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a display example in the second example. Fig. 6 shows an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal 10, for example.

[0075] FIG. 6 shows the content of each ingredient in products classified as food ingredients, the content of each ingredient in products classified as fruits, and the content of each ingredient in products classified as luxury items other than fruits, with the content of each ingredient being displayed separately.

[0076] The display example of FIG. 6 is an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, it is displayed that the content of at least one component is in excess of the standard, or is insufficient compared to the standard. For example, the content of at least one component may be displayed as a comparison result with a threshold value. The display example of the comparison result of the content of at least one component with the threshold value may be the same as the first example.

[0077] <Processing flow of the second example> Next, the process flow of the information processing device 20 and the terminal 10 in the second example will be described. Note that the process flow below is an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Some processes in the process flow described below may not be executed, processes not included in the process flow described below may be added, and the order of the processes may be different from the description below.

[0078] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing by the information processing device 20 in the second example of the present embodiment.

[0079] In the example shown in FIG. 7, the information processing device 20 classifies products into three categories: "foodstuffs", "fruits", and "luxury items other than fruits".

[0080] The information processing device 20 determines whether or not the payment timing of the customer who owns the terminal 10 has arrived (S101). For example, when the information processing device 20 receives information requesting payment from the terminal 10, it determines that the payment timing has arrived.

[0081] If the payment timing has not arrived (NO in S101), the flow returns to S101.

[0082] When the payment timing arrives (YES in S101), the information processing device 20 performs an image recognition process on the product image (S102). The image recognition process identifies the product included in the product image.

[0083] The information processing device 20 performs initial settings to start classifying products (S103). For example, the information processing device 20 sets the number of products to N, and sets i to 1. In this case, the N products are assigned identification numbers to distinguish them from one another. For example, the N products are described as product #1 to product #N, respectively. Furthermore, the information processing device 20 sets the initial value of the content of each component for each category to 0.

[0084] The information processing device 20 determines whether or not the product #i is a luxury item (S104).

[0085] If the product #i is not a luxury item (NO in S104), the information processing device 20 determines that the product #i is an ingredient, and adds the content of each ingredient contained in the product #i to the content of each ingredient in the ingredient category (S105).

[0086] If the product #i is a luxury item (YES in S104), the information processing device 20 determines whether the product #i is a fruit (S106).

[0087] If the product #i is a fruit (YES in S106), the information processing device 20 adds the content amount of each ingredient contained in the product #i to the content amount of each ingredient in the fruit category (S107).

[0088] If product #i is not a fruit (NO at S106), the information processing device 20 determines that product #i is a luxury item other than fruit, and adds the content of each ingredient contained in product #i to the content of each ingredient in the luxury item category other than fruit (S108).

[0089] The information processing device 20 adds 1 to i (S109).

[0090] The information processing device 20 determines whether i is greater than N (S110).

[0091] If i is not greater than N (NO in S110), the information processing device 20 determines that classification of each product and addition of the ingredients are not complete, and the flow returns to S104.

[0092] If i is greater than N (YES in S110), the information processing device 20 determines that classification of each product and tallying of ingredients are complete, generates notification information to be transmitted to the terminal 10, and transmits the notification information (S111). Then, the flow ends.

[0093] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the terminal 10 in the second example of the present embodiment.

[0094] The terminal 10 determines whether or not the payment timing has arrived (S201). For example, the terminal 10 determines that the payment timing has arrived when the user performs an operation requesting payment.

[0095] If the payment timing has not arrived (NO in S201), the flow returns to S201.

[0096] When the payment timing arrives (YES in S201), the terminal 10 generates instruction information including a product image and information instructing to make payment, and transmits it to the information processing device 20 (S202). The instruction information may include information instructing to perform an analysis of ingredients.

[0097] The terminal 10 determines whether or not notification information has been received from the information processing device 20 (S203).

[0098] If the notification information has not been received (NO in S203), the flow returns to S203.

[0099] When the notification information is received (YES in S203), the terminal 10 analyzes the notification information and determines whether the notification information includes information on the content amount of each ingredient category (S204).

[0100] If the information on the content of the ingredient category is not included (NO in S204), the flow proceeds to S206.

[0101] If the information on the content of the ingredient category is included (YES in S204), the terminal 10 displays the content of the ingredient category (S205). Then, the flow proceeds to S206.

[0102] The terminal 10 analyzes the notification information and determines whether or not the notification information includes information on the content amount of the fruit category (S206).

[0103] If the information on the content of the fruit category is not included (NO in S206), the flow proceeds to S208.

[0104] If the information on the content of the fruit category is included (YES in S206), the terminal 10 displays the content of the fruit category (S207). Then, the flow proceeds to S208.

[0105] The terminal 10 analyzes the notification information and determines whether or not the notification information includes information on the content of luxury goods categories other than fruit (S208).

[0106] If information on the content of luxury goods categories other than fruit is not included (NO in S208), the flow ends.

[0107] If the information on the content of luxury goods category other than fruits is included (YES in S208), the terminal 10 displays the content of the luxury goods category other than fruits (S209), and the flow ends.

[0108] In the second example described above, the information processing device 20 classifies the products that the customer wishes to purchase into three categories, namely, ingredients, fruits, and luxury items other than fruits, and notifies the terminal 10 of information indicating the content of ingredients of the products in each category. This allows the customer to check the ingredients that are insufficient or excessive for each category in the products that the customer wishes to purchase, and the ingredients of the products that the customer wishes to purchase can be appropriately managed. For example, the customer can distinguish between ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in the ingredients category, which has a large impact on the menu, and ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in the luxury items category other than fruits, which has a small impact on the menu, and check these ingredients. This allows the customer to add, delete, change, etc. the products that the customer wishes to purchase, and appropriately determine the priority order of the products to be purchased.

[0109] In addition, by tabulating ingredients by category, the user can check the overall ingredient content of the product the user wishes to purchase by category, making it easy to check whether an ingredient is insufficient or excessive, which was difficult to do when checking the ingredient content of each product. For example, it is easy to check whether an ingredient is excessively high in salt or sugar, or insufficient in protein, etc., in luxury items other than fruit that are expected to be eaten by children.

[0110] In the above-mentioned second example, the case where luxury items are classified into fruits and other items is shown, but the present disclosure is not limited to this classification and can be applied to other classifications. Luxury items that contain relatively large amounts of nutrients such as protein and calcium that require intake may be classified into the same category as fruits. For example, dairy products such as yogurt may be classified into the same category as fruits.

[0111] <Third Example> In a third example, a category into which a product is classified is designated by the user. Hereinafter, a category designated by the user may be referred to as a user-designated category.

[0112] In the third example, the products are classified into at least three categories: foodstuffs such as meat, fish, vegetables, and grains; luxury items such as sweets, juice, and ice cream; and a user-specified category. The number of user-specified categories may be two or more. In the third example, one product may be classified into multiple categories. For example, if the user-specified category is soft drinks, a product that is a soft drink may be classified into both the soft drink category and the luxury item category. The user-specified category may be specified from among foodstuffs. For example, meat may be specified as the user-specified category. In this case, a product that is a meat may be classified into both the meat category and the foodstuff category.

[0113] The processing of the terminal 10 and the information processing device 20 in the third example is similar to that in the first example, except that the terminal 10 designates a user-specified category, and the categories into which the products are classified in the information processing device 20 are different.

[0114] In a third example, the customer operates the terminal 10 to set the user specified category. For example, category candidates that can be set as the user specified category are displayed on the display unit of the terminal 10, and the customer may set the user specified category by selecting the user specified category from the category candidates. The terminal 10 transmits information indicating the user specified category set by the customer to the information processing device 20.

[0115] Also, similarly to the first and second examples, the customer operates the terminal 10 and takes a picture of the product that the customer wishes to purchase with a camera mounted on the terminal 10. The terminal 10 transmits instruction information including the captured product image to the information processing device 20 in response to the customer's operation. The instruction information may include information indicating a user-specified category.

[0116] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the format of information indicating the user-specified category set for the customer in Example 3. The format of the information shown in Fig. 9 includes a "cart ID" field, a "user-specified category presence / absence information" field, an "identification information" field, and a "user-specified category information" field.

[0117] The cart ID (identification) field includes identification information (hereinafter, cart ID) for identifying a cart in which the terminal 10 is installed. Note that the cart ID may be replaced with a terminal ID for identifying the terminal 10 that receives the notification information.

[0118] The user-specified category presence / absence information field contains information indicating whether a user-specified category is specified. For example, if a user-specified category is not specified, the user-specified category presence / absence information field is set to "0," and if a user-specified category is specified, the user-specified category presence / absence information field is set to "1."

[0119] The identification information field includes information indicating whether or not there is another field (e.g., a user-specified category information field) following the field. For example, if there is no other field following the field, "0" is set in the identification information field, and if there is another field following the field, "1" is set in the identification information field.

[0120] The user-specified category information field includes information indicating a user-specified category. In the case of Fig. 9, since there are L user-specified category information fields (L is an integer equal to or greater than 1), L user-specified categories are set.

[0121] For example, the information processing device 20 acquires instruction information, performs image recognition processing on the product image included in the instruction information, and identifies the product included in the product image. The information processing device 20 also acquires information having a format as shown in FIG. 9, and sets the user-specified category if a user-specified category is specified. The information processing device 20 classifies the identified products into three categories: ingredients, luxury items, and user-specified categories. The information processing device 20 tabulates each ingredient of the products classified into the ingredients category, tabulates each ingredient of the products classified into the luxury items category, and tabulates each ingredient of the products classified into the user-specified category. The information processing device 20 transmits notification information including the results of the tabulation of each ingredient to the terminal 10.

[0122] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of notification information in the third example. The format of the notification information shown in Fig. 10 includes a "cart ID" field, a "classification information" field, an "identification information" field, a "ingredients information" field, a "content information" field, and a "product category information" field. Note that in Fig. 10, explanations of fields with the same names as in Fig. 3 are omitted. Also, in Fig. 10, for convenience of illustration, fields included in one format are shown across two columns.

[0123] The notification information in the third example shown in Fig. 10 has an additional "product category information" field compared to the notification information in the first example shown in Fig. 3. Also, the notification information in the third example shown in Fig. 10 differs from the notification information in the first example shown in Fig. 3 in the number and settings of classification information fields.

[0124] The classification information field includes information indicating the category into which the product is classified. For example, in the third example, the product is classified into three categories, namely, ingredients, luxury items, and a user-specified category, so the classification information field is set to "00" indicating ingredients, "01" indicating luxury items, or "10" indicating a user-specified category.

[0125] One or more groups of ingredient fields associated with a classification information field set to "00" indicating ingredients contain the results of tabulating the content of each ingredient contained in products classified as ingredients. One or more groups of ingredient fields associated with a classification information field set to "01" indicating luxury items contain the results of tabulating the content of each ingredient contained in products classified as luxury items.

[0126] The classification information field (classification information (#3) in FIG. 10) set to "10" indicating a user-specified category includes one or more "product category information" fields and a group of ingredient fields.

[0127] One or more component field groups are associated with one "product category information" field. One product category information field and one or more component field groups associated with the product category information field are collectively referred to as a product category information field group. One product category information field group corresponds to one user-specified category.

[0128] The product category information field includes information indicating what the user-specified category is.

[0129] One or more ingredient fields associated with the product category information field contain the results of tallying up the amounts of ingredients contained in products classified into a user-specified category indicated by the product category information.

[0130] The terminal 10 that has received the notification information in the format shown in FIG. 10 displays the content amount of each component in each category based on the received notification information.

[0131] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a display example in the third example. Fig. 11 shows an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal 10, for example.

[0132] FIG. 11 shows, in a differentiated manner, the content of each ingredient in products classified as food ingredients, the content of each ingredient in products classified as luxury items, the content of each ingredient in products classified as the user-specified category "soft drinks," and the content of each ingredient in products classified as the user-specified category "confectionery."

[0133] Note that the display example in FIG. 11 is an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, it is displayed that the content of at least one component is in excess of a standard, or is insufficient compared to a standard. For example, the content of at least one component may be displayed as a comparison result with a threshold value. The display example of the comparison result of the content of at least one component with a threshold value may be the same as the first example.

[0134] <Processing flow of the third example> Next, the process flow of the information processing device 20 and the terminal 10 in the third example will be described. Note that the process flow below is an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Some processes in the process flow described below may not be executed, processes not included in the process flow described below may be added, and the order of the processes may be different from the following description.

[0135] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the information processing device 20 in the third example of the present embodiment. In Fig. 12, the same processes as those in Fig. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

[0136] In the example shown in FIG. 12, the information processing device 20 classifies products into three categories: "ingredients," "luxury items," and "user-specified category."

[0137] The information processing device 20 acquires information indicating a user-specified category from the terminal 10 (S301).

[0138] In order to start sorting products, the information processing device 20 performs initial settings (after S103), and then determines whether the category of the product #i is a user-specified category (S302).

[0139] If the category of the product #i is a user-specified category (YES in S302), the information processing device 20 determines that the category of the product #i is a user-specified category, and adds the content amount of each component contained in the product #i to the content amount of each component of the user-specified category (S303). Note that if there are multiple user-specified categories, the product #i is classified into one of the multiple user-specified categories, and the content amount of each component contained in the product #i is added to the content amount of each component of the user-specified category into which it is classified.

[0140] When the category of the product #i is not the user-specified category (NO in S302), the information processing device 20 determines whether the product #i is a luxury item (S304).

[0141] If the product #i is a luxury item (YES in S304), the information processing device 20 adds the content amount of each component contained in the product #i to the content amount of each component in the luxury item category (S305).

[0142] If the product #i is not a luxury item (NO in S304), the information processing device 20 determines that the product #i is an ingredient, and adds the content of each ingredient contained in the product #i to the content of each ingredient in the ingredient category (S306). Then, the flow proceeds to S109. The process from S109 onwards is the same as in FIG. 7, so the description will be omitted.

[0143] Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the terminal 10 in the third example of the present embodiment. In Fig. 13, the same processes as those in Fig. 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

[0144] The terminal 10 generates a product image, information instructing to make a payment, and information indicating a user-specified category, and transmits them to the information processing device 20 (S401). Then, the flow proceeds to S201.

[0145] When the payment timing arrives (YES in S201), the terminal 10 generates instruction information including a product image and information instructing to make payment, and transmits it to the information processing device 20 (S202). The instruction information may include information instructing to perform an analysis of ingredients.

[0146] The terminal 10 determines whether or not notification information has been received from the information processing device 20 (S203).

[0147] If the notification information has not been received (NO in S203), the flow returns to S203.

[0148] When the notification information is received (YES in S203), the terminal 10 analyzes the notification information and determines whether the notification information includes information on the content amount of each ingredient category (S204).

[0149] If the information on the content of the ingredient category is not included (NO in S204), the flow proceeds to S402.

[0150] If the information on the content of the ingredient category is included (YES in S204), the terminal 10 displays the content of the ingredient category (S205). Then, the flow proceeds to S402.

[0151] The terminal 10 analyzes the notification information and determines whether or not the notification information includes information on the content amount of the luxury item category (S402).

[0152] If information on the content of the luxury item category is not included (NO in S402), the flow proceeds to S404.

[0153] If the information on the content amount of the luxury item category is included (YES in S402), the terminal 10 displays the content amount of the luxury item category (S403), and the flow proceeds to S404.

[0154] The terminal 10 analyzes the notification information and determines whether or not the notification information includes information on the content amount of the user-specified category (S404).

[0155] If information on the content of the user-specified category is not included (NO in S404), the flow ends.

[0156] If the information on the content amount of the user-specified category is included (YES in S404), the terminal 10 displays the content amount of the user-specified category (S405), and the flow ends.

[0157] In the third example described above, the information processing device 20 classifies the products that the customer wishes to purchase into at least three categories, namely, ingredients, luxury items, and user-specified categories, and notifies the terminal 10 of information indicating the content of ingredients of the products in each category. This allows the customer to check the ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in the products that the customer wishes to purchase for each category, and the ingredients of the products that the customer wishes to purchase can be appropriately managed. For example, the customer can distinguish between ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in the ingredients category, which has a large impact on the menu, and ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in the luxury items category, which has a small impact on the menu, and check these ingredients. This allows the customer to add, delete, change, etc. the products that the customer wishes to purchase, and appropriately determine the priority order of the products to be purchased.

[0158] In the third example, a customer can specify in advance categories that he or she should pay particular attention to, and therefore the ingredients of products that the customer wishes to purchase can be appropriately managed for the category specified by the user. In FIG. 11, information about the category specified by the user is displayed on the same screen as information about other categories (e.g., categories other than the category specified by the user) while being distinguished from information about other categories, but only information about the category specified by the user may be displayed. Information about the category specified by the user may also be displayed in a different display mode from information about other categories.

[0159] <Fourth Example> In a fourth example, a customer is provided with information about alternative products to a product the customer wishes to purchase based on the ingredient content of the product the customer wishes to purchase.

[0160] For example, when the content of a specific component in a specific category is greater than a predetermined amount as a result of tallying up the content of each component of products in each category, the information processing device 20 provides the customer with information recommending replacing at least one of the products classified in a specific category with an alternative product. The alternative product is, for example, a sales product classified in the specific category and containing a relatively small amount of the specific component. Note that the method of determining the alternative product is not particularly limited, but, for example, a sales product classified in a specific category and containing the smallest amount of the specific component may be determined as the recommended alternative product, or a sales product that contains a predetermined amount or less of the specific component when a product classified in a specific category is replaced with the sales product may be determined as the recommended alternative product.

[0161] For example, a case will be described in which the specific category is soft drinks and the specific ingredient is sugar. In this case, when the total sugar content of product A and product B, which are classified in the soft drink category among the products that the customer wishes to purchase, is greater than a predetermined amount, the information processing device 20 transmits to the terminal 10 information recommending replacing at least one of product A and product B with an alternative product X, which is classified in the soft drink category and has a relatively low sugar content. For example, a sales product classified in the soft drink category and has the lowest sugar content may be determined as the recommended alternative product X. Alternatively, a sales product, which has a total sugar content of a predetermined amount or less after replacing product A and / or product B with a certain sales product, may be determined as the recommended alternative product.

[0162] In addition, an alternative product may be specified from a category other than the product that the customer wishes to purchase. For example, if the product that the customer wishes to purchase is a confectionery, an alternative product may be specified from the food category or the fruit category.

[0163] Also, when the content of a particular ingredient is less than a predetermined amount, information recommending replacing the product with an alternative product may be provided. In this way, shortages of a particular ingredient can be prevented.

[0164] The processing of the terminal 10 and the information processing device 20 in the fourth example may be similar to that in the third example, except that the information processing device 20 determines and recommends an alternative product.

[0165] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of notification information in the fourth example. In the format of the notification information shown in Fig. 14, a "substitute product field group" is added to the format of the notification information in the third example shown in Fig. 10. Note that a description of the format of the notification information in the third example shown in Fig. 10 will be omitted. Also, in Fig. 14, fields included in the same way as in the format of the notification information in the third example shown in Fig. 10 are omitted as appropriate.

[0166] The "substitute product field group" includes a "substitute product availability information" field, a "product category information" field, an "identification information" field, and a "substitute product information" field.

[0167] The substitute product information field contains information indicating whether or not there is a substitute product. For example, if there is no substitute product, the substitute product information field is set to "0," and if there is a substitute product, the substitute product information field is set to "1."

[0168] One or more substitute product information fields are associated with one product category information field included in the substitute product field group. One product category information field and one or more substitute product information fields associated with one product category information field may be collectively described as a category-specific substitute product field group. In the example of FIG. 14, L category-specific substitute product field groups corresponding to L user-specified categories are included.

[0169] The product category information field includes information indicating what the user-specified category is.

[0170] The substitute product information field associated with the product category information field includes information indicating a substitute product for a product classified into a user-specified category indicated by the product category information.

[0171] The substitute product information field may include information indicating the product to be replaced and information indicating a substitute product that is recommended to replace the product to be replaced.

[0172] The terminal 10 that has received the notification information in the format shown in FIG. 14 displays the content amount of each component in each category and alternative products based on the received notification information.

[0173] Fig. 15 is a diagram showing a display example in the fourth example. Fig. 15 shows an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal 10, for example.

[0174] FIG. 15 shows, in a differentiated manner, the content of each ingredient in products classified as food ingredients, the content of each ingredient in products classified as luxury items, the content of each ingredient in products classified as the user-specified category "soft drinks," and the content of each ingredient in products classified as the user-specified category "confectionery."

[0175] Also, in FIG. 15, product names of alternative products for products classified in the user-specified category "soft drinks" and product names of alternative products for products classified in the user-specified category "confectionery" are displayed. In the example of FIG. 15, "low sugar" alternative products with relatively low sugar content are displayed as alternative products for products classified in the user-specified category "soft drinks". In the example of FIG. 15, "low salt" alternative products with relatively low salt content and "low sugar" alternative products with relatively low sugar content are displayed as alternative products for products classified in the user-specified category "confectionery".

[0176] Note that the display example in FIG. 15 is an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, it is displayed that the content of at least one component is in excess of a standard, or is insufficient compared to a standard. For example, the content of at least one component may be displayed as a comparison result with a threshold value. The display example of the comparison result of the content of at least one component with a threshold value may be the same as the first example.

[0177] In the fourth example described above, similarly to the third example, the information processing device 20 classifies products that the customer wishes to purchase into at least three categories, namely, food ingredients, luxury items, and user-specified categories, and notifies the terminal 10 of information indicating the content of ingredients of products in each category. Then, for the user-specified category, information on recommended substitute products for the products that the customer wishes to purchase is notified to the terminal 10. This allows the customer to check the ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in the products that the customer wishes to purchase for each category, and the ingredients of the products that the customer wishes to purchase can be appropriately managed. Furthermore, since information on substitute products is provided to the customer, the product to be purchased can be determined so that ingredients that are insufficient or excessive in each category do not occur, and the customer can purchase products that are more suitable for health promotion.

[0178] In the above-mentioned fourth example, a case where a user-specified category is specified as in the third example is given as an example, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in the case where a user-specified category is not specified as in the first or second example, substitute products may be determined in each category such as the food category and the luxury item category, and information on the substitute products may be notified to the terminal 10.

[0179] The method of determining the substitute product is not particularly limited. For example, the substitute product may be determined based on the sales amount and / or the number of units sold of the sales product. If the sales amount and / or the number of units sold of the sales product is greater than a predetermined value, the sales product (i.e., a best-selling product) may be determined as the substitute product. The predetermined value may be, for example, the amount or number of units purchased by the target customer of the target sales product in past statistics.

[0180] When a customer starts shopping, the customer may transmit auxiliary information, such as how many meals, how many days, or how many people the product is for, to the information processing device 20 via the terminal 10. Such auxiliary information allows the evaluation of the content of ingredients in the product desired to be purchased to be performed more appropriately. For example, the above-mentioned auxiliary information appropriately sets a standard (e.g., a threshold) for judging (or evaluating) whether the content of the ingredient in the product desired to be purchased is more than the standard or is less than the standard, as an evaluation of the content of the ingredient. More specifically, the evaluation of the content of ingredients in a case where a family consisting of multiple people purchases ingredients, etc., to be consumed over a week, all at once on the weekend is considered. In this case, if the content of the purchased ingredients, etc. is evaluated as being consumed in a day or by one person, there is a high possibility that the ingredients will be erroneously determined to be more than the standard. Therefore, by correcting the evaluation of the content of the ingredients in the product based on the auxiliary information, it becomes possible to perform an appropriate evaluation. Specifically, the content of the ingredient can be appropriately evaluated by converting the content of the ingredient into the content for one person or one meal based on the auxiliary information. In the above example, the evaluation of the content is corrected by the information processing device 20, but the correction and evaluation of the content may be performed by either the terminal 10 or the information processing device 20. For example, the information processing device 20 may transmit the corrected content value to the terminal 10, and the terminal 10 may perform an evaluation based on the corrected content and display the result. Alternatively, the terminal 10 may correct the content value, and the information processing device 20 may perform an evaluation based on the corrected content.

[0181] In addition, the auxiliary information may include information on the number and composition (e.g., number of children, number of adults, age, and sex, etc.) of people who will consume the product to be purchased, and may be transmitted to the information processing device 20. Such auxiliary information may allow the evaluation of the content of the ingredients of the product desired to be purchased to be performed more appropriately. For example, the above-mentioned auxiliary information may appropriately set a standard (e.g., a threshold value) for determining whether the content of the ingredients of the product desired to be purchased is more than the standard or is less than the standard. For example, even if the number of family members is the same, it is considered that a family with a large number of children requires less of the ingredients than a family with a large number of adults. Therefore, if the content is evaluated without distinguishing between adults and children, there is a risk that the content may be erroneously determined to be appropriate even if it is excessive for a family with many children. Therefore, by using the auxiliary information to evaluate the amount of ingredients required for each person constituting the family, it is possible to accurately evaluate whether the content of the ingredients of the product desired to be purchased is appropriate. Note that the auxiliary information may include special notes such as the presence of a person in the family who needs to consume a large amount of a specific ingredient or a person who needs to limit a specific ingredient. An example of a person who needs to consume a large amount of protein is a person who frequently plays sports. Additionally, an example of a person who may need to limit certain ingredients is someone with a chronic illness that requires dietary restrictions.

[0182] When a customer starts shopping, the customer may set, via the terminal 10, categories and / or products to be excluded from the calculation of the ingredient content. In this case, the terminal 10 transmits the set information to the information processing device 20. This allows products to be used over a long period of time (for example, seasonings purchased in bulk, products with a long shelf life) to be excluded in advance from the calculation of the ingredient content, and therefore it is possible to prevent the calculation of the ingredient content from becoming an abnormal value.

[0183] A customer may set how many days the content of an ingredient is to be calculated at the timing of starting shopping, etc., via the terminal 10. For example, the customer sets how many days the content of an ingredient is to be calculated for each category and / or each product. For example, if a customer plans to purchase food ingredients for one day tomorrow and sweets for one week from tomorrow, the customer sets that the product classified in the food ingredient category is for one day, that the product X classified in the food ingredient category is to be consumed in three days, and that the product classified in the sweets category is for seven days. The set information is transmitted from the terminal 10 to the information processing device 20. The information processing device 20 calculates the content of an ingredient for each category based on the set information. Then, the information processing device 20 judges whether the content of an ingredient is more than the standard or is less than the standard for each category based on the set information. For example, taking into consideration that the product classified in the sweets category is for seven days, it judges whether the content of an ingredient in the sweets category is more than the standard for ingesting for seven days.

[0184] In the above-mentioned examples, the terminal 10 is mounted on a shopping cart. However, the terminal 10 may be a smartphone owned by the customer. In this case, the notification information includes the ID of the terminal owned by the customer instead of the card ID. In the case where the terminal 10 is a smartphone owned by the customer, the customer can check the content of ingredients of the product he / she wishes to purchase for each category, regardless of the store where the customer shops. In this case, the terminal 10 can store the history of past shopping, so that the information such as the content of ingredients of the purchased product can be managed taking the history of past shopping into consideration. The terminal 10 may be realized as a device used by the customer when making a payment by himself / herself, such as a self-checkout. In this case, the customer can also check the content of ingredients of the product he / she is about to purchase at the time of payment for the product.

[0185] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been shown in which the information processing device 20 identifies the product that the customer wishes to purchase by image identification processing of the product image, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the product that the customer wishes to purchase may be identified by identification information (e.g., a barcode and / or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)) attached to the product. For example, the customer operates the terminal 10 to read the identification information of the product that the customer wishes to purchase, and the terminal 10 transmits the read identification information to the information processing device 20. The information processing device 20 identifies the product that the customer wishes to purchase based on the identification information.

[0186] In the above-described embodiment, the information processing device 20 identifies the product that the customer wishes to purchase, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The terminal 10 may identify the product that the customer wishes to purchase. For example, the terminal 10 may identify the product that the customer wishes to purchase by performing image recognition processing on the product image or by using identification information attached to the product, and transmit information on the identified product to the information processing device 20.

[0187] <Example of device configuration> Next, an example of the device configuration of each of the terminal 10 and the information processing device 20 will be described. Note that the device configuration below is an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Some of the configurations of the device configurations described below may be omitted, and configurations not included in the device configurations described below may be added.

[0188] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. The terminal 10 shown in FIG. 11 includes a category determination unit 101, an instruction information generation unit 102, a transmission unit 103, a reception unit 104, a notification information analysis unit 105, a display control unit 106, and a display unit 107. One or more of the instruction determination unit 101, the instruction information generation unit 102, the notification information analysis unit 105, and the display control unit 106 may be collectively referred to as a control unit or a processing unit. Furthermore, the transmission unit 103 and the reception unit 104 may be collectively referred to as a communication unit. Furthermore, the terminal 10 may be connected to an external display device, and the display control unit 106 may control the display of the external display device. In this case, the display unit 107 may not be included in the terminal 10.

[0189] The category determination unit 101 acquires input information from a user (for example, a customer) and determines a category designated by the user.

[0190] The instruction information generation unit 102 generates instruction information that instructs the classification of a product and the compilation of the content of ingredients. The instruction information may be included in information requesting payment for the product desired to be purchased. The instruction information may also include a product image photographed by the terminal 10. The product image is photographed, for example, by a camera mounted on the terminal 10 (not shown in FIG. 16) or a camera connected to the terminal 10 by wire or wirelessly (not shown in FIG. 16). The product photographed here is a product that the customer using the terminal 10 wishes to purchase. One product image includes one purchased product or multiple purchased products.

[0191] Furthermore, when the category determination unit 101 determines a user-specified category, the instruction information generation unit 102 generates information indicating the user-specified category.

[0192] The transmitting unit 103 transmits the instruction information to the information processing device 20. For example, the transmitting unit 103 generates a transmission signal including the instruction information, and transmits the transmission signal to the information processing device 20. In addition, the transmitting unit 103 transmits information indicating the user-specified category to the information processing device 20.

[0193] The receiving unit 104 receives the notification information from the information processing device 20. For example, the receiving unit 104 receives a reception signal including the notification information.

[0194] The notification information analysis unit 105 analyzes the notification information. For example, the notification information analysis unit 105 extracts the content of each component in each category from the notification information.

[0195] Based on the analysis result of the notification information, the display control unit 106 controls the display of the display unit 107. For example, the display control unit 106 causes the display unit 107 to display the content of each component in each category.

[0196] The display unit 107 displays the content of the components under the control of the display control unit 106 .

[0197] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing device 20 according to the present embodiment. The information processing device 20 shown in FIG. 17 has a receiving unit 201, an instruction information analysis unit 202, a storage unit 203, an image identification unit 204, a classification unit 205, a content calculation unit 206, a notification information generation unit 207, and a transmission unit 208. One or more of the notification information analysis unit 202, the terminal mode extraction unit 203, the expiration date determination unit 204, the DB update unit 205, and the instruction information generation unit 206 may be collectively referred to as a control unit or a processing unit. In addition, the receiving unit 201 and the transmission unit 207 may be collectively referred to as a communication unit.

[0198] The receiving unit 201 receives a signal including instruction information from the terminal 10. Furthermore, the receiving unit 201 may receive a signal including information indicating a user-specified category from the terminal 10. Furthermore, the receiving unit 201 may receive auxiliary information indicating a person who consumes the product and / or auxiliary information indicating a period during which the product is consumed.

[0199] The instruction information analysis unit 202 extracts a product image from the instruction information. When information indicating a user-specified category is received, the instruction information analysis unit 202 extracts information indicating the user-specified category.

[0200] Information about products sold at the store is pre-stored in the storage unit 203. The information about the products includes an image of the product, the product ID of the product, the product price, the product category, and information about the content of ingredients of the product. Products sold at the store and whose information is pre-stored in the storage unit 203 are hereinafter referred to as registered products.

[0201] The image identification unit 204 acquires the product image from the instruction information analysis unit 202. Based on the product image of the product that the customer wishes to purchase and the image of the registered product stored in the storage unit 203, the image identification unit 204 calculates the similarity between the product image of the product that the customer wishes to purchase and the image of the registered product. The image identification unit 204 compares the similarity of each registered product for one purchased product and determines the registered product corresponding to the highest similarity. If the highest similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold, it is determined that the product that the customer wishes to purchase corresponds to the registered product corresponding to the highest similarity. If the highest similarity is not equal to or greater than the threshold, the image identification unit 204 outputs an error. If an error is output, an error message and / or a message requesting that the product be photographed again is displayed on the display unit 107 of the terminal 10.

[0202] The classification unit 205 classifies the product identified by the image recognition unit 204 into one of a plurality of categories by referring to information about the product stored in the storage unit 203. In the first example described above, the plurality of categories are, for example, a food category and a luxury item category.

[0203] The content amount calculation unit 206 totals the content amount of each component for each category by summing up the content amount of each component for each category of the products classified into categories with reference to the information on the products stored in the storage unit 203. Note that this totaling result may be corrected by auxiliary information.

[0204] For example, the content calculation unit 206 may correct the information indicating the total content based on at least one of the number of people and the attributes indicated by the auxiliary information. When the auxiliary information indicates that the family consists of four adults, the content calculation unit 206 may correct the result of dividing the total content by four as the total content per person. Also, for example, the content calculation unit 206 may correct the information indicating the total content based on the period indicated by the auxiliary information. When the auxiliary information indicates that the period for consuming the product is one week, the content calculation unit 206 may correct the result of dividing the total content by seven as the total content per day.

[0205] The content amount calculation unit 206 may also determine whether the total content amount of the specific component in the specific category is greater than or less than a predetermined value. If the total content amount of the specific component is greater than the predetermined value, the content amount calculation unit 206 determines that the specific component in the specific category is excessive, and if the total content amount of the specific component is less than the predetermined value, the content amount calculation unit 206 determines that the specific component in the specific category is insufficient. This determination may be corrected by auxiliary information. In addition, in accordance with this determination, the content amount calculation unit 206 may determine an alternative product as described above.

[0206] The notification information generating unit 207 generates notification information including the result of tallying up the content of each component for each category. The notification information may include information for displaying on the terminal 10 that a specific component included in a specific category is excessive, and / or information for displaying on the terminal 10 that a specific component included in a specific category is insufficient.

[0207] The transmitting unit 208 transmits the notification information to the terminal 10. For example, the transmitting unit 208 generates a transmission signal including the notification information and transmits the transmission signal to the terminal 10.

[0208] The information processing device 20 described above includes a receiving unit 201 that acquires information indicating a product selected by a customer (an example of a user) from the terminal 10, a processing unit that classifies the products into a plurality of categories (e.g., ingredients and luxury items) and calculates, for each category, the total content of ingredients of the products classified into the category, and a transmitting unit 208 that transmits information indicating the total content calculated for each category to the terminal 10.

[0209] In addition, in the information processing device 20, the receiving unit 201 receives information of an image showing a product, and the processing unit identifies the product from the image.

[0210] In addition, in the information processing device 20, the receiving unit 201 receives information indicating a category specified by a customer, the processing unit classifies the products into multiple categories including the category specified by the customer, and the transmitting unit 208 transmits information for displaying on the terminal 10 information indicating the total content calculated for the category specified by the customer, distinguished from information indicating the total content calculated for categories other than the category specified by the customer.

[0211] Furthermore, in the information processing device 20, when the total content of a specific component in a specific category is greater than a predetermined value, the processing unit determines that the specific component contained in the specific category is excessive, and the transmitting unit 208 transmits information to display on the terminal 10 that the specific component contained in the specific category is excessive.

[0212] In addition, in the information processing device 20, if the total content of a specific component in a specific category is smaller than a predetermined value, the processing unit determines that the specific component contained in the specific category is lacking, and the transmitting unit 208 transmits information to display on the terminal 10 that the specific component contained in the specific category is lacking.

[0213] In addition, in the information processing device 20, the receiving unit 201 further acquires auxiliary information indicating the people who will consume the product, and the processing unit generates information indicating the total content amount modified based on at least one of the number and attributes of the people indicated by the auxiliary information, and the transmitting unit 208 transmits the modified information to the terminal 10.

[0214] In addition, in the information processing device 20, the receiving unit 201 further acquires auxiliary information indicating the period for consuming the product, the processing unit generates information indicating the total content amount corrected based on the period indicated by the auxiliary information, and the transmitting unit 208 transmits the corrected information to the terminal 10.

[0215] In addition, in the information processing device 20, when the total content of specific ingredients in a specific category is greater than a predetermined value, the processing unit determines an alternative product that can replace the product included in the specific category, and the transmission unit 208 transmits information indicating the alternative product.

[0216] In addition, in the information processing device 20, the products are foods and drinks, and the categories include ingredients and luxury items.

[0217] It should be noted that the "... section" in the above embodiments may be a "... circuit", a "... device", a "... unit", or a "... module".

[0218] The present disclosure can be realized in software, hardware, or software in conjunction with hardware.

[0219] Each functional block used in the description of the above embodiments may be partially or entirely realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit, and each process described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely controlled by one LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI may be composed of individual chips, or may be composed of one chip that includes some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may have data input and output. Depending on the degree of integration, the LSI may be called an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI.

[0220] The method of integration is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a dedicated processor. Also, after LSI manufacturing, a programmable FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells inside the LSI may be used. The present disclosure may be realized as digital processing or analog processing.

[0221] Furthermore, if a new integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI appears due to the progress of semiconductor technology or a derivative technology, it is possible to integrate the functional blocks using that technology. The application of biotechnology is also a possibility.

[0222] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system having a communication function (collectively referred to as a communication apparatus). The communication apparatus may include a radio transceiver and processing / control circuitry. The radio transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, or both as functions. The radio transceiver (transmitter and receiver) may include a radio frequency (RF) module and one or more antennas. The RF module may include an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, or the like. Non-limiting examples of communication devices include telephones (e.g., cell phones, smartphones, etc.), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks, etc.), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (e.g., digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smart watches, tracking devices, etc.), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth and telemedicine devices, communication-enabled vehicles or mobile conveyances (e.g., cars, airplanes, boats, etc.), and combinations of the above devices.

[0223] Communications Equipment includes, but is not limited to portable or mobile equipment, non-portable or fixed equipment, devices and systems of any kind, such as smart home devices (appliances, lighting equipment, smart meters or metering devices, control panels, etc.), vending machines and any other "Things" that may exist on an Internet of Things (IoT) network.

[0224] In recent years, in the field of IoT (Internet of Things) technology, CPS (Cyber ​​Physical Systems) is a new concept that creates new added value by linking information between physical space and cyber space. This CPS concept can also be adopted in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0225] That is, as a basic configuration of a CPS, for example, an edge server located in a physical space and a cloud server located in a cyberspace can be connected via a network, and processing can be distributed and processed by the processors installed in both servers. Here, each processing data generated in the edge server or the cloud server is preferably generated on a standardized platform, and the use of such a standardized platform can improve the efficiency of building a system including a variety of sensors and IoT application software.

[0226] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communications satellite systems, etc., as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0227] A communications apparatus also includes devices, such as controllers and sensors, connected or coupled to a communications device that performs the communications functions described in this disclosure, such as controllers and sensors that generate control and data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications apparatus.

[0228] The communication apparatus also includes infrastructure facilities, such as base stations, access points, and any other apparatus, device, or system that communicates with or controls the various apparatuses listed above, but are not limited to these.

[0229] Although various embodiments have been described above with reference to the drawings, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or amended examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the components in the above-mentioned embodiments may be arbitrarily combined within the scope of the disclosure.

[0230] Although specific examples of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and alterations of the specific examples exemplified above. [Industrial Applicability]

[0231] The present disclosure is suitable for a product management system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0232] 10 Terminal 20 Information processing device 101 Category Decision Department 102 Instruction information generation unit 103, 208 Transmitter 104, 201 Receiver 105 Notification Information Analysis Department 106 Display control unit 107 Display section 202 Instruction Information Analysis Department 203 Storage section 204 Image Identification Unit 205 Classification Department 206 Content calculation section 207 Notification information generation unit

Claims

1. A receiving unit that acquires information indicating a product selected by a user from the terminal; A processing unit that classifies the products into a plurality of categories and calculates, for each category, a total content of ingredients of the products classified into the category; a transmission unit that transmits, to the terminal, information indicating the total amount of the content calculated for each of the categories; An information processing device comprising:

2. The receiving unit receives information of an image showing the product, The processing unit identifies the product from the image. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The receiving unit receives information indicating a category designated by the user, The processing unit classifies the products into a plurality of categories including a category designated by the user; the transmission unit transmits information for displaying, on the terminal, information indicating the total content amount calculated for the category designated by the user, in a manner distinguished from information indicating the total content amount calculated for categories other than the category designated by the user. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. The processing unit determines that the specific component is excessive in a specific category when the total content of the specific component in the specific category is greater than a predetermined value; the transmitting unit transmits information for causing the terminal to display that the specific component included in the specific category is excessive. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. The processing unit determines that the specific component contained in a specific category is insufficient when the total content of the specific component in the specific category is smaller than a predetermined value, the transmitting unit transmits information for causing the terminal to display a shortage of the specific component included in the specific category. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. The receiving unit further acquires auxiliary information indicating a person who consumes the product, the processing unit generates information by correcting the information indicating the total content based on at least one of the number and attributes of the people indicated by the auxiliary information; The transmission unit transmits the corrected information to the terminal. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. The receiving unit further acquires auxiliary information indicating a period during which the product is to be consumed, The processing unit generates information by correcting the information indicating the total content based on the period indicated by the auxiliary information, The transmission unit transmits the corrected information to the terminal. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

8. The processing unit determines an alternative product that is to replace a product included in a specific category when a total content of a specific ingredient in the specific category is greater than a predetermined value; The transmission unit transmits information indicating the alternative product. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

9. The product is a food or beverage, The categories include food ingredients and luxury items. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

10. An information processing device, Obtaining information indicating a product selected by the user from the terminal; Classifying the products into a plurality of categories; Calculate the total content of the ingredients of the products classified into the categories for each category; transmitting information indicating the total amount of the content calculated for each category to the terminal; Information processing methods.

Images