Information processing device and application program

Abstract

It provides a highly user-friendly interface when users specify conditions. [Solution] The information processing device (10) includes a display unit (12), a condition receiving unit (21) that accepts the user's selection of a choice from a plurality of choices indicating a set condition, an extraction unit (22) that extracts one or more menus based on the conditions set in the choices accepted by the condition receiving unit (21), and a presentation unit (23) that presents the one or more menus extracted by the extraction unit (22) as menu candidates to be cooked by the automatic cooker (50).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that presents menu candidates for cooking with a cooking appliance, etc.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for allowing a user to select a first cooking menu from a plurality of cooking menus, and presenting to the user candidates for a second cooking menu that can be cooked simultaneously with the first cooking menu from the remaining cooking menus of the plurality of cooking menus when the user selects the first cooking menu.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Although it is preferable that various search conditions can be freely specified to search for menus for cooking with a cooking appliance, there has been a problem that there is no user interface that makes it easy for a user to specify search conditions.

[0005] One aspect of the present invention aims to provide an information processing apparatus that can provide a highly operable user interface when a user specifies conditions.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing device for presenting menu candidates to be cooked in a cooking appliance, comprising: a display unit; a condition receiving unit that receives a user's selection of one or more options from a plurality of options indicating pre-set conditions; an extraction unit that extracts one or more menus from a plurality of menus pre-stored in a storage unit based on the conditions set for each of the one or more options received by the condition receiving unit; and a presentation unit that displays and presents the one or more menus extracted by the extraction unit as menu candidates on the display unit.

[0007] To solve the above problems, an application program according to one aspect of the present invention is an application program for an information processing device that presents menu candidates to be cooked in a cooking appliance, wherein the information processing device is instructed to perform: a first process that causes the user to specify one or more options from a plurality of options indicating pre-set conditions; a second process that causes the user to extract one or more menus from a plurality of menus pre-stored in a storage unit based on the conditions set for each of the one or more options received in the first process; and a third process that causes the user to display and present the one or more menus extracted in the second process as menu candidates in a display unit.

[0008] Each aspect of the present invention may be implemented by a computer, in which case a control program for the information device that enables the computer to implement the information device by operating the computer as each part (software element) of the information device, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, a highly operable user interface can be provided when a user specifies conditions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the main components of an automated cooking system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the first display shown by the above-mentioned information processing device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the second display shown by the above-mentioned information processing device. [Figure 4] This is an example of a notification from the above information processing device regarding the timing of adding ingredients to the automatic cooking device. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view of the automatic cooking appliance included in the above-mentioned automatic cooking system. [Figure 6] This flowchart shows an example of the processing performed by the above-mentioned information processing device. [Figure 7] This figure shows the first representation as a modified version of the first representation described above. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] [Embodiment 1] One embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the main components of the automatic cooking system 100 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the automatic cooking system 100 comprises an information processing device 10 and an automatic cooker 50.

[0012] First, an overview of the automatic cooking system 100 will be provided. In the automatic cooking system 100, the information processing device 10 executes a cooking support application, described later, to receive multiple conditions from the user regarding the menu to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50, and presents (suggests) one or more menu candidates to the user based on the received conditions. When the information processing device 10 receives a menu selection from the presented menu candidates from the user, it reads control information (a program that defines the temperature, timing, etc. for heating, etc.) corresponding to that menu from the storage unit 14 and transmits it to the automatic cooker 50. When the automatic cooker 50 receives the above control information, it performs cooking based on that control information. By operating the automatic cooker 50 according to the control information, it becomes possible to cook the menu selected by the user. The details of the information processing device 10 and the automatic cooker 50 will be described below.

[0013] (Information processing device 10) The information processing device 10 is a terminal capable of running various applications (hereinafter also simply referred to as apps). The information processing device 10 may be a portable information terminal such as a smartphone or tablet. In this embodiment, the information processing device 10 will be described as a smartphone.

[0014] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the information processing device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a display unit 12 for displaying various types of information, an input unit 13 for receiving input to the information processing device 10, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 20. The input unit 13 includes a touch panel superimposed on the display unit 12.

[0015] The communication unit 11 communicates with the automatic cooking appliance 50. Communication by the communication unit 11 may be performed by wireless communication such as Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi®.

[0016] The storage unit 14 stores various data and programs used by the information processing apparatus 10. For example, the storage unit 14 stores an application program group 141 for executing various applications in the information processing apparatus 10. The application program group 141 includes a first program 141A which is an application program for executing a cooking support application.

[0017] The control unit 20 comprehensively controls the operations of each part of the information processing apparatus 10. The control unit 20 is composed of, for example, a computer device including an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a dedicated processor. The control unit 20 can control the operations of each part of the information processing apparatus 10 by reading and executing the application programs stored in the storage unit 14.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 20 includes a condition reception unit 21, an extraction unit 22, a presentation unit 23, a menu reception unit 24, a cooker control unit 25, and a notification unit 26. These units are realized by the control unit 20 reading and executing the first program 141A stored in the storage unit 14 into a RAM (random access memory) or the like.

[0019] The condition reception unit 21 receives from the user a designation of a plurality of options for determining a menu to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50 from a plurality of options indicating preset conditions. Specifically, the condition reception unit 21 causes the display unit 12 to display a display shown in FIG. 2 (hereinafter referred to as the first display D1), and receives the designation of an option from the user based on the user's operation on the first display D1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the first display D1. As shown in FIG. 2, the first display D1 includes a first area A1, a second area A2, and a third area A3.

[0020] Before explaining the first display D1, let's explain the icon 31. As shown in Figure 2, the cooking support application in this embodiment uses the icon 31. The icon 31 is an icon that indicates a selection of pre-set conditions. An icon 31 is prepared for each of the multiple conditions. In other words, all icons 31 that can be used by the information processing device 10 are registered in the information processing device 10.

[0021] The pre-set conditions may include, for example, the type of ingredients, the genre (type) of dish, nutrients, mood, and cooking time. Options related to "ingredients" include, for example, meats such as beef, seafood such as sardines, and vegetables such as radishes. Options related to "genre of dish" include, for example, main dish, side dish, stew, and soup. Options related to "nutrients" include the expected maximum or minimum values ​​of nutrients such as protein, dietary fiber, fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol, salt, and calories. These maximum and minimum values ​​may be, for example, the upper and lower limits of nutrients contained in one serving of food. Options related to "mood" may include, for example, items that express mood, such as "warming," "tired," "uplifting," "volume," "stimulating," and "no appetite." Options related to "cooking time" may include, for example, "within 30 minutes," "within 60 minutes," and "within 90 minutes." In addition to the above examples, "extra effort" may also be a pre-set condition. This "extra step" refers to the user intervening in the cooking process from the start to the end of cooking by the automatic cooker 50. User intervention in cooking may be, for example, the process of adding ingredients to the automatic cooker 50 midway through cooking, as described later. In this case, the automatic cooker 50 is controlled to allow the container to be opened midway through cooking and to resume heating after the container is closed. The ingredients added midway through cooking may be vegetables or other ingredients, or seasonings such as salt and sugar.

[0022] Let's return to the explanation of the first display D1. The first area A1 is the area where icons 31 that have not been selected as search criteria are displayed. The icons 31 displayed in the first area A1 are the icons 31 that have been selected from the fifth area A5 of the second display D2, which will be described later, and which are displayed in advance with the expectation that the user will use them for menu searches. Therefore, there are icons 31 that are not displayed in the first area A1. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display (hereinafter referred to as the second display D2) in which the user selects icons 31 to be displayed in the first area A1. As shown in Figure 3, the second display D2 comprises the fourth area A4 and the fifth area A5.

[0023] The fourth area A4 is the area where the icons 31 displayed in the first area A1 in the first display D1 are extracted and displayed. The fifth area A5 is the area where all icons 31 indicating pre-set conditions are displayed. In the second display D2, the user moves icons 31 that they might select as search conditions for searching menus from the icons 31 displayed in the fifth area A5 to the fourth area A4, for example by swiping. As a result, the icons 31 that the user has moved to the fourth area A4 will be displayed in the first area A1 of the first display D1.

[0024] The second area A2 is an area where the user can specify search conditions by moving icons 31 from the first area A1. In other words, the user moves the icons 31 that they actually want to specify as search conditions from the icons 31 displayed in the first area A1 to the second area A2. The icons 31 moved to the second area A2, in other words, the menu search conditions, may be multiple, for example, there may be two or three or more. The condition receiving unit 21 accepts the conditions set in the icons 31 moved to the second area A2 as the search conditions specified by the user. In the example shown in Figure 2, the icon 31 indicating "warm up" and the icon 31 indicating "cooking time is 60 minutes or less" have been moved to the second area A2, so the condition receiving unit 21 accepts the conditions indicated by these two icons 31 as search conditions.

[0025] The condition reception unit 21 may be capable of accepting user requests to move icons 31 from the second area A2 to the first area A1. In other words, icons 31 that have been moved to the second area A2 may be capable of moving to the first area A1. By moving icons 31 from the second area A2 to the first area A1, the icons 31 can be removed from the search criteria, allowing users to freely change the specified search criteria.

[0026] The extraction unit 22 extracts one or more menus from a plurality of menus pre-stored in the storage unit 14 based on a plurality of conditions received by the condition receiving unit 21. Here, the storage unit 14 stores menu data 142. Menu data 142 is data that links the menu name and the condition data shown in the icon 31 for each of the plurality of pre-prepared menus. Specifically, for each of the plurality of menus, menu data 142 is data that links the menu name, ingredients used, genre (type) of cooking, the amount of nutrients contained in the menu, mood, and cooking time. The extraction unit 22 searches the menu data 142 by comparing the plurality of conditions received by the condition receiving unit 21 with the menu data 142 and extracts one or more menus that satisfy the plurality of conditions received by the condition receiving unit 21.

[0027] The presentation unit 23 presents one or more menus extracted by the extraction unit 22 as menu candidates to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the presentation unit 23 presents menu candidates by displaying one or more menus extracted by the extraction unit 22 in the third area A3 of the first display D1.

[0028] The menu reception unit 24 receives the user's selection of a menu to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50 from among the menu candidates presented by the presentation unit 23. Specifically, the menu reception unit 24 receives the user's selection of one or more menus presented in the third area A3 of the first display D1, thereby receiving the selection of a menu to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50. Here, if any of the one or more menus presented in the third area A3 of the first display D1 is selected, the control unit 20 may display information about that menu on the display unit 12, such as the ingredients and quantities of the ingredients, the amount of nutrients contained in that menu, and the cooking time. In this case, the user can select a menu and confirm the above information about that menu before making a selection.

[0029] When the menu receiving unit 24 receives a request for a menu item to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50, the cooking unit 25 controls the automatic cooker 50 based on control information corresponding to the specified menu item (i.e., a program that defines the temperature, timing, etc., for heating). Specifically, the cooking unit 25 transmits the control information to the automatic cooker 50 via the communication unit 11. Upon receiving the control information, the automatic cooker 50 performs cooking based on that information. Details of the specific operation of the automatic cooker 50 will be described later.

[0030] Here, we will explain the case where the user specifies the above "extra step" condition, and the user specifies a menu to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50 that includes a cooking method in which ingredients are added to the automatic cooker 50 during cooking. In this case, the cooker control unit 25 controls the automatic cooker 50 so that ingredients can be added to the automatic cooker 50 during cooking. Specifically, the cooker control unit 25 controls the automatic cooker 50 to interrupt cooking at the time when ingredients are to be added. Once cooking is interrupted and the user adds ingredients to the automatic cooker 50 and completes the process, the automatic cooker 50 resumes cooking.

[0031] The notification unit 26 notifies the user of the timing to add ingredients to the automatic cooker 50 during cooking. Figure 4 shows an example of a notification of the timing to add ingredients to the automatic cooker 50, as displayed on the display unit 12. As shown in Figure 4, the notification unit 26 may also notify the user of the timing to add ingredients to the automatic cooker 50 by displaying it on the display unit 12. Alternatively, the notification unit 26 may notify the user of the timing to add ingredients to the automatic cooker 50 by outputting an audio signal from the information processing device 10. By notifying the user of the timing to add ingredients via the notification unit 26, the user can add ingredients to the automatic cooker 50 at the appropriate time.

[0032] The control unit 20 can obtain the start time when cooking by the automatic cooker 50 has begun from the automatic cooker 50. The cooker control unit 25 calculates the time to add ingredients based on the start time obtained by the control unit 20 and the menu recipe, and when the calculated time arrives, the notification unit 26 may notify the user that it is time to add ingredients. Alternatively, the notification unit 26 may give a notice five minutes in advance.

[0033] (Automatic Cooker 50) The automatic cooker 50 is a device that automatically cooks ingredients to prepare meals. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the automatic cooker 50. As shown in Figure 5, the automatic cooker 50 includes a communication unit 51, a display unit 52 that displays various information, an operation unit 53 that accepts user input, a cooking unit 54, a storage unit 55, and a control unit 60. The communication unit 51 communicates with the information processing device 10. The cooking unit 54 is hardware that performs cooking, such as heating. The cooking unit 54 may be the same as the cooking unit of a typical automatic cooker equipped with a heating device, so a detailed explanation is omitted. The storage unit 55 stores various data and programs used by the automatic cooker 50.

[0034] The control unit 60 comprehensively controls the operation of each part of the automatic cooker 50. The control unit 60 comprises a control information acquisition unit 61 and a cooking control unit 62.

[0035] The control information acquisition unit 61 acquires control information transmitted from the cooker control unit 25 of the information processing device 10 via the communication unit 51.

[0036] The cooking control unit 62 controls the cooking unit 54 based on the control information acquired by the control information acquisition unit 61. For example, the cooking control unit 62 controls the output of the heating device, heating time, etc., of the cooking unit 54 based on the control information acquired by the control information acquisition unit 61.

[0037] (An example of processing by the information processing device 10) Next, an example of the processing of the information processing device 10 will be explained with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is a flowchart of an example of the processing of the information processing device 10. Here, as a premise, an icon 31 that may be selected as a search condition for searching the menu from among multiple options indicating pre-set conditions is selected via the second display D2 shown in Figure 3, and the icon 31 indicating said condition is displayed in the first area A1 of the first display D1.

[0038] As shown in Figure 6, in the processing of the information processing device 10, first, the control unit 20 determines whether there has been a change in the icon 31 displayed in the second area A2 of the first display D1 (step S1). In other words, the condition receiving unit 21 determines whether the user has moved the icon 31 that was displayed in the first area A1 to the second area A2, or whether the user has moved the icon 31 that was displayed in the second area A2 to the first area A1. If there has been no change in the icon 31 displayed in the second area A2 (NO in step S1), the control unit 20 repeats step S1.

[0039] On the other hand, if there is a change in the icon 31 displayed in the second area A2 (YES in step S1), the condition receiving unit 21 accepts the specification of search conditions, using the conditions set for the multiple icons 31 displayed in the second area A2 as search conditions (step S2, first process).

[0040] Next, the extraction unit 22 extracts one or more menus from among the multiple menus pre-stored in the storage unit 14 based on the multiple conditions received by the condition reception unit 21 (step S3, second process).

[0041] Next, the presentation unit 23 presents menu candidates by displaying one or more menus extracted by the extraction unit 22 in the third area A3 of the first display D1 (step S4, third process).

[0042] Next, the control unit 20 determines whether the user has selected one or more menus presented by the presentation unit 23 (step S5). If the user has not selected a menu, the process returns to step S1.

[0043] On the other hand, if the user specifies a menu item, the menu reception unit 24 accepts that menu item to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50 (step S6).

[0044] When the menu reception unit 24 receives a request for a menu item to be cooked by the automatic cooker 50, the cooker control unit 25 controls the automatic cooker 50 based on the control information corresponding to the specified menu item (step S7). Specifically, the cooker control unit 25 reads the control information corresponding to the specified menu item from the storage unit 14 and transmits it to the automatic cooker 50 via the communication unit 11.

[0045] As described above, the information processing device 10 in this embodiment includes a display unit 12, a condition receiving unit 21 that accepts the user's selection of multiple options (icons 31) that indicate pre-set conditions, an extraction unit 22 that extracts one or more menus from a plurality of menus pre-stored in the storage unit 14 based on the conditions set for each of the options accepted by the condition receiving unit 21, and a presentation unit 23 that displays and presents the one or more menus extracted by the extraction unit 22 as menu candidates on the display unit 12. With the above configuration, the user can specify search conditions from a plurality of options that indicate pre-set conditions, making it easier for the user to specify conditions. In other words, a highly operable user interface can be provided when the user specifies conditions.

[0046] Furthermore, the information processing device 10 displays a first display D1 on the display unit 12, which has a first area A1 where icons not selected as search conditions are displayed, and a second area A2 where icons 31 selected as search conditions are displayed. The condition receiving unit 21 then accepts the user's operation to move icons 31 from the first area A1 to the second area A2, thereby accepting the specification of multiple conditions from the user. With the above configuration, the user can easily specify search conditions.

[0047] In the information processing device 10 of this embodiment, the icon 31 displayed in the first area A1 was an icon 31 selected by the user via the second display D2, but the information processing device 10 of this disclosure is not limited to this. In one aspect of the information processing device 10 of this disclosure, for example, an icon 31 representing food items in the user's refrigerator at home may be automatically displayed in the first area A1. In this case, the refrigerator may detect food items inside using a sensor or the like and transmit the detection result to the information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 may then store the icon 31 representing food items in the user's refrigerator at home in the first area A1 based on the information received from the refrigerator. As another example, the information processing device 10 may obtain information on special offers from stores located near the user's home from a server (not shown) or the like, and store the icon 31 representing the special offers in the first area A1.

[0048] In this embodiment, the information processing device 10 was configured to present menu candidates for cooking with the automatic cooker 50, but the information processing device of the present disclosure is not limited to this. The information processing device of the present disclosure may also present menu candidates for cooking with cookers other than automatic cookers, such as microwave ovens.

[0049] <Variation> Figure 7 shows a modified example of the first display D1a described in Embodiment 1. In one aspect of this disclosure, as shown in Figure 7, the condition receiving unit 21 may display a first display D1a that includes a sixth region A6 (third region) in addition to the first region A1, second region A2, and third region A3 described in Embodiment 1.

[0050] Area 6A6 is an area that accepts the specification of search conditions that exclude the conditions indicated by the options shown by the icon 31 when the icon 31 is moved. In other words, Area 6A6 is an area that displays the icon 31 selected by the user as an exclusion condition. As an example, let's explain the case where the user moves the icon 31 in Area 1A1 to Area 6A6. In this case, the condition receiving unit 21 accepts the user's operation to move the icon 31 from Area 1A1 to Area 6A6, and accepts the specification of search conditions that exclude the conditions indicated by the options shown by the icon 31 moved to Area 6A6. Then, the extraction unit 22 excludes menus containing the conditions set for the icon 31 in Area 6A6 from the extraction target and extracts one or more menus. With the above configuration, the user can search for menus that do not contain ingredients that they do not want to include, such as allergy ingredients. In one modified embodiment of this invention, ingredients to be excluded, such as allergens, may be set in advance, and the extraction unit 22 may not present menus containing the set ingredients when extracting menu candidates.

[0051] [Examples of implementation using software] The functions of the information processing device 10 (hereinafter referred to as "the device") are programs that cause the device to function as a computer, and these programs can be realized by programs that cause each control block of the device (particularly each part included in the control unit 20) to function as a computer.

[0052] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., memory) as hardware for executing the program. By executing the program using this control device and storage device, the functions described in each of the embodiments are realized.

[0053] The above program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporary ones. These recording media may or may not be provided by the above device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the above device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0054] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of each of the above control blocks can also be realized by logic circuits. For example, an integrated circuit in which logic circuits functioning as each of the above control blocks are formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, it is also possible to realize the functions of each of the above control blocks by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0055] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 10 Information Processing Devices 12 Display section 14 Storage section 21 Conditions Reception Department 22 Extraction part 23 Presentation section 24 Menu Reception Department 25 Cooking appliance control unit 26 Notification Department 31 icons 50 Automatic Cookers 141A First Program (Application Program) A1 1st area A2 2nd area A6 6th area (3rd area) D1, D1a 1st display

Claims

1. An information processing device that presents menu options to be cooked using a cooking appliance, Display unit and A condition receiving unit that accepts the user's selection of one or more options from a set of predefined conditions, An extraction unit extracts one or more menus from a plurality of menus pre-stored in a storage unit, based on the conditions set for each of the one or more options received by the condition receiving unit. A display unit that displays and presents the one or more menus extracted by the extraction unit as menu candidates on the display unit, An information processing device equipped with the following features.

2. The aforementioned condition receiving unit is The display unit is made to display a first display having icons representing the aforementioned options, the first area displaying icons that have not been selected as search criteria, and the second area displaying icons that have been selected as search criteria. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, which accepts a user operation to move the icon from the first area to the second area.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the condition receiving unit receives a user's movement of the icon from the second area to the first area in the first display.

4. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conditions set in the aforementioned options include at least one of the conditions relating to ingredients, genre of cuisine, nutrients, mood, and cooking time.

5. The aforementioned condition receiving unit is In the first display, a third area for displaying the icons selected as exclusion conditions is displayed on the display unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, which accepts a user operation to move the icon from the first area to the third area.

6. A menu reception unit that accepts menu selections from the aforementioned menu candidates, A cooking appliance control unit controls the cooking appliance based on control information corresponding to a specified menu, An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

7. The information processing device according to claim 6, wherein the cooking appliance control unit controls the cooking appliance so that ingredients can be added to the cooking appliance during cooking.

8. The information processing device according to claim 7, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the user of the timing to add ingredients to the cooking device during cooking.

9. An application program for an information processing device that presents menu options to be cooked using a cooking appliance, The aforementioned information processing device, A first process that allows the user to specify one or more options from a set of predefined conditions, A second process, based on the conditions set for each of the one or more options received in the first process, extracts one or more menus from a plurality of menus pre-stored in the storage unit, A third process involves displaying and presenting the one or more menus extracted by the second process as menu candidates on the display unit, An application program that performs the following action.

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