Methods and systems for providing pre-cooked foods

Abstract

This invention provides a method and system for providing cooked food without discarding any cooked food. [Solution] A pre-cooked food distribution system 1 is provided, in which a provider terminal 10 owned by the provider, a first recipient terminal 40 owned by the first recipient, a facility terminal 30 owned by the facility, and a server 70 are connected via a communication network 2. The provider terminal 10 transmits pre-cooked food information 82, including the type and quantity of pre-cooked food scheduled for disposal, to the server. The first recipient terminal transmits first bento information 83, including the desired number of bento boxes and pickup time, to the server 70. Based on the pre-cooked food information 82 and the first bento information 83, the server 70 determines the number of bento boxes to be provided, transmits the type, quantity, and delivery time of the pre-cooked food provided by the provider to the provider terminal 10, transmits the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient terminal 40, and transmits the number of bento boxes to be made by the facility and the deadline for making them to the facility terminal 30.

Description

Technical Field

[0004] , , ,

[0005] , , ,

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and a system for providing cooked food that provide cooked food.

Background Art

[0002] Reducing food loss is an important issue from the perspectives of effective utilization of important resources, consideration for environmental load, and realization of a sustainable society, and various methods for reducing the loss of food to be discarded have been proposed. In Patent Document 1, based on information on ingredients discarded by restaurants, the server of the secretariat creates menu information of dishes that can be cooked from the discarded ingredients, selects menu information of dishes desired by recipients such as school lunch centers from the created menu information of dishes, the restaurant cooks the ingredients based on the selected menu information of dishes, puts them in containers, freezes and packages them, and a delivery company or the like delivers the containers containing the dishes to the recipients, thereby disclosing a method for suppressing food loss.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, with the method of Patent Document 1, although it is possible to suppress the loss of uncooked ingredients with a sufficient expiration date, it is not possible to suppress the loss of cooked food with a short remaining expiration date, such as in a hotel buffet, and there is room for further improvement in order to suppress the loss of cooked food.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system for providing cooked food that can provide cooked food without discarding it. ​

[0006] The method for providing prepared food according to this disclosure is a method for providing prepared food using a prepared food provision system in which a provider terminal owned by a provider, a first recipient terminal owned by a first recipient, a facility terminal owned by a facility, and a server are connected via a communication network, the method comprising: using the provider terminal to transmit prepared food information, including the type and quantity of prepared food to be discarded, to the server; using the first recipient terminal to transmit first bento information, including the number of bento boxes containing the prepared food desired by the first recipient and the pick-up time, to the server; and the server then transmits the prepared food information, the The process includes: 1. Determining the number of bento boxes to be provided based on bento box information; 2. The server transmitting provision instruction information, including the type, quantity, and provision time of the prepared food to be provided by the provider, to the provider terminal, based on the determined number of bento boxes; 3. The server transmitting first bento box receipt information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient, to the first recipient terminal, based on the determined number of bento boxes; and 4. The server transmitting creation instruction information, including the number of bento boxes to be prepared by the facility and the preparation deadline, to the facility terminal, based on the determined number of bento boxes.

[0007] The prepared food delivery system of this disclosure is a prepared food delivery system in which a provider terminal owned by a provider, a first recipient terminal owned by a first recipient, a facility terminal owned by a facility, and a server are connected via a communication network, wherein the provider terminal transmits prepared food information, including the type and quantity of prepared food to be discarded, to the server; the first recipient terminal transmits first bento information, including the number of bento boxes containing the prepared food to be desired and the pick-up time, to the server; the server determines the number of bento boxes to be provided based on the prepared food information and the first bento information; based on the determined number of bento boxes, transmits delivery instruction information, including the type, quantity and pick-up time of the prepared food to be provided by the provider, to the provider terminal; based on the determined number of bento boxes, transmits first bento pick-up information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient, to the first recipient terminal; and based on the determined number of bento boxes, transmits creation instruction information, including the number of bento boxes to be created by the facility and the creation deadline, to the facility terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, cooked food can be provided without being discarded. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] A diagram illustrating the configuration of a pre-cooked food serving system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] A block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing system of a pre-cooked food serving system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] An explanatory diagram of an example of cooked food information used in a cooked food serving system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram of an example of first bento information used in a pre-cooked food serving system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram of an example of facility-provided food information used in a cooked food serving system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]An explanatory diagram of an example of bento box preparation information used in a pre-cooked food serving system according to one embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 7] An explanatory diagram of an example of bento box configuration information used in a pre-cooked food serving system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] A flowchart of a method for providing cooked food according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] A flowchart of a method for providing cooked food according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] A flowchart of a method for providing cooked food according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] A diagram illustrating the matching process in a pre-cooked food serving system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] An embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The configurations, shapes, etc. described below are illustrative examples for illustrative purposes and can be modified as appropriate according to the specifications of the pre-cooked food serving system. In the following, all corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and redundant explanations are omitted.

[0011] First, with reference to Figure 1, the configuration of the prepared food delivery system 1 will be explained. The prepared food delivery system 1 consists of a provider terminal 10, a first delivery terminal 20, a facility terminal 30, a first recipient terminal 40, a second delivery terminal 50, a second recipient terminal 60, and a server 70, all connected via a communication network 2 such as the internet or a mobile communication network.

[0012] The supply source terminal 10 is an information terminal such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet computer provided by the supply source 11 that provides cooked food in a buffet or Viking style, such as in a hotel or restaurant. Hereinafter, cooked food may sometimes be simply referred to as "cooked food". The first delivery terminal 20 is an information terminal such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet computer owned by the first delivery person 21 who delivers cooked food from the supply source 11 to the facility 31 described later.

[0013] In FIG. 1, the facility terminal 30 is an information terminal such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet computer provided by a facility 31 such as a children's cafeteria or welfare facility that creates a lunch box filled with cooked food or provides the cooked food as it is. The first recipient terminal 40 is an information terminal such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet computer owned by the first recipient 41 such as a poor family or single-parent family that receives the lunch box created by the facility 31 at the facility.

[0014] The second delivery terminal 50 is an information terminal such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet computer owned by the second delivery person 51 who delivers the lunch box created by the facility 31 from the facility 31 to the second recipient described later. The second recipient terminal 60 is an information terminal such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet computer owned by the second recipient 61 such as a company or organization that sponsors the activities of the facility 31 and receives the lunch box created by the facility 31 and delivered by the second delivery person 51.

[0015] In FIG. 1, information terminals such as the supply source terminal 10, the first delivery terminal 20, the facility terminal 30, the first recipient terminal 40, the second delivery terminal 50, and the second recipient terminal 60 are connected to the communication network 2 by wire or wirelessly. Note that the information terminal may be configured to be connected to the communication network 2 via a repeater (not shown) such as a home router. The information terminal has a function of transmitting the input data to the server 70 and displaying the data transmitted from the server 70 by operating the built-in application or browser.

[0016] The provider 11 that provides cooked food, the first delivery person 21 that delivers the cooked food from the provider 11 to the facility 31, the facility 31 that prepares the bento, the first recipient 41 that receives the bento at the facility 31, the second delivery person 51 that delivers the bento from the facility 31 to the second recipient 61, and the second recipient 61 that receives the delivered bento are not limited to one, and may be two or more.

[0017] Next, referring to FIG. 2, the configuration of the information processing system of the cooked food providing system will be described. The server 70 includes a storage unit 80, a processing unit 90, and a communication unit 71. The communication unit 71 is a communication interface, and performs transmission and reception of various information with the provider terminal 10, the first delivery terminal 20, the facility terminal 30, the first recipient terminal 4, the second delivery terminal 50, and the second recipient terminal 60 through the communication network 2.

[0018] The storage unit 80 is a storage device that stores various information, and is realized by a flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like. The storage unit 80 stores various information such as basic information 81, cooked food information 82, first bento information 83, second bento information 84, facility-provided food information 85, facility workload information 86, first delivery information 87, second delivery information 88, and bento composition information 89. The processing unit 90 is an arithmetic device such as a CPU, and executes various information processes based on the stored program. The processing unit 90 includes an acquisition processing unit 91, a matching processing unit 92, a provision instruction processing unit 93, a first receipt processing unit 94, a second receipt processing unit 95, a creation instruction processing unit 96, a first delivery processing unit 97, and a second delivery processing unit 98 as internal processing units.

[0019] In Figure 2, the basic information 81 stores the registrant code 81a, registrant name 81b, registrant address 81c, role 81d, etc. The basic information 81 is pre-stored in the storage unit 80. The registrant code 81a is code information that identifies the registrant, such as the provider 11, first delivery person 21, facility 31, first delivery destination 41, second delivery person 51, and second delivery destination 61. The registrant name 81b is the name of the registrant. The registrant address 81c is information about the registrant's address. The role 81d is information that identifies the registrant's role. Role 81d includes a "provider" that provides cooked food, a "first delivery person" that delivers cooked food from provider 11 to facility 31, a "facility" that prepares bento boxes, a "first recipient" that receives bento boxes at facility 31, a "second delivery person" that delivers bento boxes from facility 31 to second recipient 61, and a "second recipient" that receives the delivered bento boxes.

[0020] The acquisition processing unit 91 acquires various information from the provider terminal 10, the first delivery terminal 20, the facility terminal 30, the first recipient terminal 40, the second delivery terminal 50, and the second recipient terminal 60 via the communication unit 71 and the communication network 2, and executes an acquisition process to store it in the storage unit 80. The cooked food information 82 is information transmitted from the provider terminal 10 and includes the type, quantity, and expiration date of cooked food scheduled for disposal. When a person in charge at the provider 11, such as a hotel, inputs the cooked food information 82 into the provider terminal 10 and performs a transmission operation, the provider terminal 10 sends the cooked food information 82 to the server 70, and the acquisition processing unit 91 stores it in the storage unit 80.

[0021] Here, with reference to Figure 3, an example of cooked food information 82 will be explained. Cooked food information 82 includes food code 82a, food name 82b, food category 82c, quantity provided 82d, and expiration date 82e. Food code 82a is a code that corresponds to food name 82b and food category 82c. Food name 82b is information that identifies the type of cooked food that is scheduled to be discarded. Food category 82c is information that categorizes food, and includes "staple foods" such as rice, bread, and noodles; "main dishes" which are the main dishes using fish, meat, eggs, soy products, etc.; and "side dishes" which are vegetables, seaweed, mushrooms, etc. Quantity provided 82d is the amount of cooked food that can be provided. Expiration date 82e is the expiration date of the cooked food that is provided.

[0022] The person in charge at provider 11 operates provider terminal 10 to select food code 82a. This inputs the food name 82b and food category 82c associated with food code 82a. Next, the person in charge operates provider terminal 10 to input the quantity 82d and expiration date 82e. Then, the person in charge operates provider terminal 10 to execute the transmission process, and the cooked food information 82 is sent from provider terminal 10 to server 70.

[0023] In Figure 2, the first bento information 83 is information transmitted from the first recipient terminal 40, and includes the number of bento boxes desired by the first recipient 41 and the pick-up time. The first recipient 41, such as a single parent who goes to facility 31 to pick up the bento boxes, inputs the first bento information 83 into the first recipient terminal 40 and performs a transmission operation. The first recipient terminal 40 then transmits the first bento information 83 to the server 70, and the acquisition processing unit 91 stores it in the storage unit 80.

[0024] Here, with reference to Figure 4, an example of the first bento information 83 will be explained. The first bento information 83 includes the bento code 83a, bento name 83b, desired quantity 83c, and pickup time 83d. The bento code 83a is a code associated with the bento name 83b. The bento name 83b is information that identifies the type of bento, such as the amount and type of main dish and side dishes included in the bento. The desired quantity 83c is the number of bentos that the user wishes to receive. The pickup time 83d is the time when the bentos will be picked up.

[0025] The first recipient 41 (such as a single parent) operates the first recipient terminal 40 to select the bento code 83a. This inputs the bento name 83b associated with the bento code 83a. Next, the first recipient 41 operates the first recipient terminal 40 to input the desired quantity 83c and the pickup time 83d. Then, the first recipient 41 operates the first recipient terminal 40 to execute the transmission process, and the first bento information 83 is sent from the first recipient terminal 40 to the server 70.

[0026] In Figure 2, the second bento information 84 is information transmitted from the second recipient terminal 60 and includes the type of bento (bento name), number (desired quantity), and pick-up time desired by the second recipient 61. When a person in charge at a company that will receive the bento delivered by the second delivery person 51 inputs the second bento information 84 into the second recipient terminal 60 and performs a transmission operation, the second recipient terminal 60 transmits the second bento information 84 to the server 70, and the acquisition processing unit 91 stores it in the storage unit 80. The operation of the second recipient terminal 60 is the same as the operation of the first recipient terminal 40, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0027] Facility food provision information 85 is information transmitted from the facility terminal 30 and includes the type and quantity of cooked food that facility 31 wishes to provide. Facility workload information 86 is information transmitted from the facility terminal 30 and includes the number of workers who prepare bento boxes at facility 31 and the maximum number of bento boxes that facility 31 can prepare. When a person in charge at facility 31, such as a children's cafeteria, inputs the facility food provision information 85 and facility workload information 86 into the facility terminal 30 and performs a transmission operation, the facility terminal 30 transmits the facility food provision information 85 and facility workload information 86 to the server 70, and the acquisition processing unit 91 stores them in the storage unit 80. The operation of the facility terminal 30 is the same as the operation of the first recipient terminal 40, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0028] Here, with reference to Figure 5, an example of facility-provided food information 85 will be explained. Facility-provided food information 85 includes food category code 85a, food category 85b, desired quantity 85c, and pick-up time 85d. Food category code 85a is a code that corresponds to food category 85b. Food category 85b includes "staple food," "main dish," and "side dish." Desired quantity 85c is the amount of cooked food that you would like to be provided, and is determined based on the number of children using the children's cafeteria, etc. Pick-up time 85d is the time to pick up the cooked food, and is determined based on the start time of the children's cafeteria, etc.

[0029] Next, an example of facility workload information 86 will be explained with reference to Figure 6. Facility workload information 86 includes date and time 86a, number of workers 86b, upper limit 86c, etc. Date and time 86a is information on the date and time on which the provision of cooked food is desired. Number of workers 86b is the number of workers at facility 31 who prepare the bento boxes on date and time 86a. Upper limit 86c is the upper limit of the number of bento boxes that can be prepared at facility 31 on date and time 86a. Note that Figure 6 shows an example where the date and time 86a of facility workload information 86 is entered in "days," but date and time 86a may also be entered in "hours." For example, facility workload information 86 may also include the number of workers 86b and upper limit 86c for each hour.

[0030] In Figure 2, the first delivery information 87 is information transmitted from the first delivery terminal 20 and includes the available time of the first delivery person 21 who delivers cooked food from the supplier 11 to the facility 31, the number of available delivery vehicles, etc. When the first delivery person 21 inputs the first delivery information 87 into the first delivery terminal 20 and performs a transmission operation, the first delivery terminal 20 transmits the first delivery information 87 to the server 70, and the acquisition processing unit 91 stores it in the storage unit 80.

[0031] The second delivery information 88 is information transmitted from the second delivery terminal 50 and includes the available time of the second delivery person 51 who delivers the bento boxes from the facility 31 to the second destination 61, the number of available delivery vehicles, etc. When the second delivery person 51 inputs the second delivery information 88 into the second delivery terminal 50 and performs the transmission operation, the second delivery terminal 50 transmits the second delivery information 88 to the server 70, and the acquisition processing unit 91 stores it in the storage unit 80. Note that the first delivery person 21 and the second delivery person 51 may be the same delivery person.

[0032] In Figure 2, the bento box configuration information 89 contains information about the composition of the bento boxes prepared at facility 31. The bento box configuration information 89 is pre-stored in the storage unit 80.

[0033] Here, with reference to Figure 7, an example of the bento box composition information 89 will be explained. The bento box composition information 89 includes the bento code 89a, bento name 89b, staple food amount 89c, main dish amount 89d, side dish amount 89e, etc. The bento code 89a is a code associated with the bento name 89b. The bento name 89b is information that identifies the type of bento, such as the amount and type of staple food and side dishes included in the bento. The staple food amount 89c is the total amount of staple food packed in the bento, the main dish amount 89d is the total amount of main dishes packed in the bento, and the side dish amount 89e is the total amount of side dishes packed in the bento.

[0034] The bento code 89a and bento name 89b correspond to the bento code 83a and bento name 83b contained in the first bento information 83 and the second bento information 84. The bento composition information 89 may also include the total amount for each type of staple food, main dish, and side dish. For example, the bento composition information 89 may include information such as the bento name 89b being "grilled fish bento" and the amount of the main dish 89d, which is "grilled fish," being 30g.

[0035] In Figure 2, the matching processing unit 92 performs a matching process to match the provider 11, the first delivery person 21, the facility 31, the first delivery destination 41, the second delivery person 51, and the second delivery destination 61 from among the multiple providers 11, multiple first delivery persons 21, multiple facilities 31, multiple first delivery destinations 41, multiple second delivery persons 51, and multiple second delivery destinations 61, based on various information stored in the storage unit 80. In the matching process, the matching processing unit 92 also determines the number of bento boxes to be prepared by facility 31, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first delivery destination 41, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second delivery destination 61, and the amount of cooked food to be provided to facility 31. The matching processing unit 92 performs the matching process based on information acquired by a predetermined time (for example, 10:00). The matching processing unit 92 may perform the matching process multiple times a day (for example, at 10:00 and 15:00).

[0036] Specifically, the matching processing unit 92 determines the number of bento boxes to be prepared by facility 31, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41, and the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61, based on the expiration date 82e included in the prepared food information 82, the pickup time 83d included in the first bento information 83, the pickup time included in the second bento information 84, and the upper limit 86c included in the facility workload information 86. For example, if the first recipient 41 can receive and consume the bento box within the expiration date 82e of the prepared food provided by the provider 11, it decides to prepare and provide the bento box. It also determines the number of bento boxes to be provided, provided that the number of bento boxes desired by the first recipient 41 (desired number 83c) and the number of bento boxes desired by the second recipient 61 do not exceed the upper limit 86c of bento boxes that facility 31 can prepare.

[0037] The matching processing unit 92 may determine the number of bento boxes to be provided based on the number of workers 86b instead of the upper limit 86c. For example, the matching processing unit 92 calculates the upper limit 86c by multiplying the number of workers 86b by a predetermined number (50 boxes / person) and determines the number of bento boxes to be provided. In other words, the upper limit 86c of bento boxes that can be produced at facility 31 is determined based on the number of workers (number of workers 86b) who prepare the bento boxes at facility 31. In this way, the matching processing unit 92 determines the number of bento boxes to be produced by facility 31, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41, and the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61, based on the cooked food information 82, the first bento information 83, the second bento information 84, and the facility workload information 86. The matching processing unit 92 also determines the type and quantity of cooked food to be provided to facility 31 based on the facility food information 85 and the determined number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41 and the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61.

[0038] In Figure 2, the matching processing unit 92 performs matching based on the location of the provider 11 (registered address 81c), the location of the first delivery person 21 (registered address 81c), the location of the facility 31 (registered address 81c), the location of the second delivery person 51 (registered address 81c), the location of the second recipient 61 (registered address 81c), the expiration date 82e included in the cooked food information 82, the operating time included in the first delivery information 87, the operating time included in the second delivery information 88, and the pick-up time included in the second bento information 84. Specifically, the matching is performed so that the cooked food provided by the provider 11 is delivered to the facility 31 by the first delivery person 21, a bento is made at the facility 31, the second delivery person 51 delivers it to the second recipient 61, and the bento is consumed at the second recipient 61, all within the expiration date 82e.

[0039] In this way, the matching processing unit 92 performs matching between the provider 11 and the facility 31 based on the location of the provider 11, the location of the facility 31, and the expiration date 82e included in the cooked food information 82. The matching processing unit 92 also performs matching between the facility 31 and the second recipient 61 based on the location of the facility 31, the location of the second recipient 61, and the pick-up time included in the second bento information 84.

[0040] In Figure 2, the delivery instruction processing unit 93 transmits delivery instruction information to the delivery terminal 10 based on the number of bento boxes determined by the matching process and the type and quantity of cooked food to be provided to the facility 31. The transmitted delivery instruction information is displayed on the delivery terminal 10. The delivery instruction information includes the name of the cooked food to be provided 82b, the quantity to be provided 82d, and the time (delivery time) when the first delivery person 21 will collect the food.

[0041] The first receiving processing unit 94 transmits first bento receiving information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41, to the first recipient terminal 40, based on the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41 determined by the matching process. The first receiving processing unit 94 also transmits a message to first recipient 41 where the determined number of bento boxes is zero (0), stating that "no bento boxes were available today." The transmitted first bento receiving information, etc., is displayed on the first recipient terminal 40.

[0042] In Figure 2, the second receiving processing unit 95 transmits second bento receiving information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61, to the second recipient terminal 60, based on the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61 determined by the matching process. The second receiving processing unit 95 also transmits a message to second recipient 61 where the determined number of bento boxes is zero (0), stating that "we were unable to provide bento boxes today." The transmitted second bento receiving information is displayed on the second recipient terminal 60.

[0043] The creation instruction processing unit 96 transmits creation instruction information to the facility terminal 30, including the number of bento boxes to be prepared by facility 31 and the deadline for preparation, based on the number of bento boxes to be prepared by the first recipient 41 and the number of bento boxes to be prepared by the second recipient 61, as determined by the matching process. The transmitted creation instruction information is displayed on the facility terminal 30. The creation instruction information may also include a recipe for the bento box, which contains information such as the types (food names 82b) and quantities of staple food, main dish, and side dishes to be packed in the bento box for each type of bento box prepared by facility 31 (bento name 89b).

[0044] In Figure 2, the first delivery processing unit 97 transmits a first delivery instruction to the first delivery terminal, based on the location of the provider 11 (registered address 81c) and the location of the facility 31 (registered address 81c) included in the basic information 81. This instruction includes the time and place for the first delivery person 21 to receive the prepared food and the time and place for the prepared food to be delivered. The transmitted first delivery instruction is displayed on the first delivery terminal 20.

[0045] The second delivery processing unit 98 transmits a second delivery instruction to the second delivery terminal 50, which includes the time and place for the second delivery person 51 to receive the bento box delivered to the second delivery destination 61, and the time and place for the bento box to be delivered, based on the location of the facility 31 (registered address 81c) and the location of the second delivery destination 61 (registered address 81c) included in the basic information 81. The transmitted second delivery instruction is displayed on the second delivery terminal 50.

[0046] In this way, the server 70 determines the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41 based on the cooked food information 82 and the first bento box information 83. Based on the determined number of bento boxes, it sends provision instruction information to the provider terminal 10, including the type, quantity, and time of provision of the cooked food to be provided by the provider 11. Based on the determined number of bento boxes, it sends first bento box receipt information to the first recipient terminal 40, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41. Based on the determined number of bento boxes, it sends creation instruction information to the facility terminal 30, including the number of bento boxes to be prepared by the facility 31 and the deadline for preparation. This makes it possible to provide cooked food to the first recipient 41, such as a children's cafeteria, without discarding it.

[0047] Furthermore, the pre-cooked food delivery system 1 may be configured in which the functions of the storage unit 80 and processing unit 90 of the server 70 are implemented on the cloud. Also, the first bento information 83 and the second bento information 84 are not limited to being transmitted to the server 70 from the first recipient terminal 40 of the first recipient 41 or the second recipient terminal 60 of the second recipient 61. For example, the first recipient 41 or the second recipient 61 may contact the facility 31 by telephone or other means to specify the desired bento name 83b, desired quantity 83c, and pickup time 83d, and the facility 31 may transmit the first bento information 83 and the second bento information 84 to the server 70 from the facility terminal 30. Alternatively, the facility 31 may transmit the type of cooked food (food category 85b), desired quantity 85c, and pick-up time 85d necessary for preparing the bento box, based on the first bento information 83 and the second bento information 84, from the facility terminal 30 to the server 70 as facility-provided food information 85.

[0048] Next, with reference to Figures 8 to 10, the method of providing prepared food using the prepared food provision system 1 will be described.

[0049] In Figure 8, provider 11 uses provider terminal 10 to send cooked food information 82, including the type of cooked food to be discarded (food name 82b, food category 82c) and quantity (amount to be provided 82d), to server 70 (ST1). Facility 31 also uses facility terminal 30 to send facility workload information 86, including the number of workers 86b or upper limit 86c, to server 70 (ST2). Facility 31 also uses facility terminal 30 to send facility food provision information 85, including the type of cooked food that facility 31 wishes to provide (food category 85b) and quantity (desired amount 85c), to server 70 (ST3).

[0050] Furthermore, the first delivery person 21 uses the first delivery terminal 20 to send first delivery information 87, which includes the first delivery person 21's available time and the number of available delivery vehicles, to the server 70 (ST4). Also, the second delivery person 51 uses the second delivery terminal 50 to send second delivery information 88, which includes the second delivery person 51's available time and the number of available delivery vehicles, to the server 70 (ST5). Also, the first recipient 41 uses the first recipient terminal 40 to send first bento information 83, which includes the number of bento boxes that the first recipient 41 wants (desired number 83c) and the pickup time 83d, to the server 70 (ST6). Also, the second recipient 61 uses the second recipient terminal 60 to send second bento information 84, which includes the number of bento boxes that the second recipient 61 wants (desired number) and the pickup time, to the server 70 (ST7).

[0051] In Figure 8, the acquisition processing unit 91 of the server 70 then acquires various information from the provider terminal 10, the first delivery terminal 20, the facility terminal 30, the first recipient terminal 40, the second delivery terminal 50, and the second recipient terminal 60 (ST8). Note that the execution order of (ST1) to (ST7) is not limited to the example shown in Figure 8, and it is sufficient that they are completed before the start of (ST8). Next, the matching processing unit 92 of the server 70 performs matching processing based on the acquired information (ST9). In the matching processing, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61, and the type and quantity of cooked food to be provided to the facility 31 are determined.

[0052] In Figure 9, the server 70's provision instruction processing unit 93 then transmits provision instruction information to the provider terminal 10, including the type, quantity, and delivery time of the cooked food to be provided by the provider 11, based on the determined number of bento boxes to be provided to the first provider 41 and the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second provider 61 (ST10). The provider terminal 10 receives and displays the provision instruction information (S11). Next, the server 70's creation instruction processing unit 96 transmits creation instruction information to the facility terminal 30, including the number of bento boxes to be created by the facility 31 and the creation deadline, based on the determined number of bento boxes to be provided to the first provider 41 and the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second provider 61 (ST12). The facility terminal 30 receives and displays the creation instruction information (ST13).

[0053] Next, the first delivery processing unit 97 of the server 70 transmits a first delivery instruction to the first delivery terminal 20, including the time and place where the first delivery person 21 will receive the prepared food and the time and place where the prepared food will be delivered, based on the location of the provider 11 and the location of the facility 31 (ST14). The first delivery terminal 20 receives and displays the first delivery instruction (ST15). Next, the second delivery processing unit 98 of the server 70 transmits a second delivery instruction to the second delivery terminal 50, including the time and place where the second delivery person 51 will receive the bento box to be delivered to the second delivery destination 61 and the time and place where the bento box will be delivered, based on the location of the facility 31 and the location of the second delivery destination 61 (ST16). The second delivery terminal 50 receives and displays the second delivery instruction (ST17).

[0054] In Figure 9, the first receiving processing unit 94 of the server 70 then transmits first bento receiving information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41, to the first recipient terminal 40 based on the determined number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41 (ST18). The first recipient terminal 40 receives and displays the first bento receiving information (ST19). The second receiving processing unit 95 of the server 70 then transmits second bento receiving information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61, to the second recipient terminal 60 based on the determined number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61 (ST20). The second recipient terminal 60 receives and displays the second bento receiving information (ST21). Note that the execution order of (ST10) to (ST21) is not limited to the example shown in Figure 9, and any execution order is acceptable.

[0055] In Figure 10, the provider 11 prepares the cooked food to be provided based on the information displayed on the provider terminal 10 (ST22). The first delivery person 21 travels to the provider 11 and collects the prepared food based on the information displayed on the first delivery terminal 20 (ST23). The first delivery person 21 then delivers the collected prepared food to the facility 31 (ST24). The facility 31 then receives the prepared food (ST25) and prepares the bento boxes to be received by the first recipient 41 (ST26) and the bento boxes to be received by the second recipient 61 (ST28). The facility 31 also provides the received prepared food at the facility 31 (ST32).

[0056] The first recipient 41 goes to facility 31 to pick up the bento box based on the information displayed on the first recipient terminal 40 (ST27). The second delivery person 51 travels to facility 31 based on the information displayed on the second delivery terminal 50 and collects the bento box to be delivered to the second recipient 61 (ST29). The second delivery person 51 then delivers the collected bento box to the second recipient 61 (ST30). The second recipient 61 receives the delivered bento box (ST31). This makes it possible to provide cooked food to the first recipient 41, the second recipient 61, and facility 31 without discarding any.

[0057] Next, with reference to Figure 11, an example of matching processing by the matching processing unit 92 of server 70 will be described. In this example, the acquisition of information by the acquisition processing unit 91 of server 70 (ST8) is performed at 10:00. That is, steps (ST1) to (ST7) shown in Figure 8 are completed by 10:00, and the information necessary for matching processing is stored in the storage unit 80 of server 70. In addition, the locations (registered addresses 81c) of provider 11A, provider 11B, second recipient 61A, second recipient 61B, facility 31A, first delivery person 21A, and second delivery person 51A are within the range of matching. Furthermore, the bento box prepared by facility 31A has a staple food amount 89c of 200g and a main dish amount 89d of 80g.

[0058] In this example, the first recipient 41 is given a higher priority for receiving the bento boxes than the second recipient 61. If the number of available bento boxes is less than the number of recipients requested, a matching process is performed based on an algorithm that distributes the bento boxes so that as many recipients as possible receive them. Furthermore, the matching process is designed to provide food items with shorter expiration dates first.

[0059] In Figure 11, information 82 of prepared food has been received from supplier 11A stating that 1000g of staple food with an expiration date of 20:00 and 2000g of main dish with an expiration date of 20:00 are available. Information 82 of prepared food has also been received from another supplier 11B stating that 10000g of staple food with an expiration date of 15:00 and 3000g of main dish with an expiration date of 14:00 are available. Information 83 of the first bento box has been received from the first recipient 41A stating that they wish to receive 3 bento boxes at 12:00. Information 83 of the first bento box has also been received from another first recipient 41B stating that they wish to receive 2 bento boxes at 18:00. Information 83 of the first bento box has also been received from another first recipient 41C stating that they wish to receive 5 bento boxes at 19:00.

[0060] Second delivery recipient 61A has sent a second bento information 84 requesting 30 bento boxes to be picked up at 12:00. Another second delivery recipient 61B has sent a second bento information 84 requesting 30 bento boxes to be picked up at 12:00. Facility 31A has sent facility workload information 86, stating that there is 1 worker 86b today and a maximum of 50 bento boxes 86c. First delivery driver 21A has sent a first delivery information 87, stating that there is one delivery vehicle available from 9:00 to 11:00. Second delivery driver 51A has sent a second delivery information 88, stating that there is one delivery vehicle available from 11:00 to 14:00.

[0061] In Figure 11, the matching processing unit 92 first considers the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipients 41A, 41B, and 41C. The only food items that meet the conditions of having a pickup time 83d of 18:00 and 19:00 plus a predetermined meal time (in this case, 1 hour) and an expiration date 82e before 19:00 and 20:00 are the food items provided by supplier 11A. Therefore, the matching processing unit 92 considers creating a total of 7 bento boxes—2 for first recipient 41B and 5 for first recipient 41C—using the food items provided by supplier 11A.

[0062] The staple food provided by supplier 11A is 1000g, and the matching processing unit 92 determines that 5 bento boxes can be made. Therefore, the matching processing unit 92 allocates 2 bento boxes to first recipient 41B and 3 bento boxes to first recipient 41C so that bento boxes are delivered to both first recipient 41B and first recipient 41C. In other words, the matching processing unit 92 matches the 2 bento boxes to be delivered to first recipient 41B and the 3 bento boxes to be delivered to first recipient 41C so that they are made with 1000g of staple food and 600g of main dish provided by supplier 11A.

[0063] Furthermore, the bento box for the first recipient 41A, with a pickup time 83d of 12:00, can be made using food provided by supplier 11B, whose expiration date 82e is 14:00. Therefore, the matching processing unit 92 matches the three bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient 41B so that they are made using 600g of staple food and 240g of main dish provided by supplier 11B.

[0064] In Figure 11, the matching processing unit 92 then considers the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipients 61A and 61B. The pick-up time is 12:00, and both the food provided by provider 11A and provider 11B are available. Subtracting the food for the 8 bento boxes to be provided to the first recipients 41A, 41B, and 41C, provider 11B has 9400g of staple food, provider 11A has 1400g of main dishes, and provider 11B has 2760g (totaling 4160g). In other words, there is enough staple food for 47 bento boxes and enough main dishes for 52 bento boxes, so the matching processing unit 92 determines that there is enough food for 47 bento boxes.

[0065] On the other hand, since facility 31A has a maximum capacity of 50 bento boxes, the matching processing unit 92 determines that it can produce a total of 42 bento boxes for the second recipients 61A and 61B. The total number of bento boxes desired by the second recipients 61A and 61B is 60, which is less than the number of bento boxes that can be produced (42). Therefore, the matching processing unit 92 allocates 21 bento boxes to the second recipient 61A and 21 bento boxes to the second recipient 61B. The matching processing unit 92 also matches the 21 bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61A and the 21 bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient 61B so that they are made with 600g of main dish provided by provider 11A and 8200g of staple food and 27600g of main dish provided by provider 11B.

[0066] In Figure 11, the matching processing unit 92 then determines whether the first delivery person 21A can collect the cooked food from suppliers 11A and 11B and deliver it to facility 31A. The food needs to be delivered to facility 31A by 10:30. The first delivery person 21A has one delivery vehicle available from 10:00 to 11:00, and the matching processing unit 92 determines that delivery is possible. Therefore, the matching processing unit 92 matches the first delivery person 21A to deliver the cooked food from suppliers 11A and 11B to facility 31A.

[0067] Next, the matching processing unit 92 determines whether the second delivery person 51A can collect the bento boxes from facility 31A and deliver them to the second recipients 61A and 61B. The second delivery person 51A must arrive at facility 31A at 11:30 and deliver the bento boxes to the second recipients 61A and 61B by 12:00. The second delivery person 51A has one delivery vehicle available from 11:00 to 14:00, and the matching processing unit 92 determines that delivery is possible. Therefore, the matching processing unit 92 matches the second delivery person 51A to deliver the bento boxes from facility 31A to the second recipients 61A and 61B. [Industrial applicability]

[0068] This invention provides a method and system for providing cooked food that can be offered without discarding the cooked food. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0069] 1. Pre-cooked food serving system 2. Communication Network 10. Source device 11, 11A, 11B Provided by 20 First Delivery Terminal 21, 21A 1st delivery person 30 facility terminals 31, 31A Facilities 40. First recipient terminal 41, 41A, 41B, 41C 1st destination 50 Second Delivery Terminal 51, 51A 2nd delivery person 60 Second recipient terminal 61, 61A, 61B 2nd destination 70 servers

Claims

1. A method for providing prepared food using a prepared food provision system in which a provider terminal owned by the provider, a first recipient terminal owned by the first recipient, a facility terminal owned by the facility, and a server are connected via a communication network, The steps include: using the provider terminal to transmit information about cooked food, including the type and quantity of cooked food to be discarded, to the server; The first step of using the first recipient terminal to transmit first bento information to the server, including the number of bento boxes containing the prepared food requested by the first recipient and the pick-up time, The server determines the number of bento boxes to be provided based on the cooked food information and the first bento box information. The server transmits to the provider terminal, based on the determined number of bento boxes, the provider provides information including the type, quantity, and time of provision of the prepared food, and the server transmits this information to the provider terminal. The server transmits first bento receipt information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient, to the first recipient terminal, based on the determined number of bento boxes. A method for providing cooked food, comprising the step of the server transmitting to the facility terminal preparation instruction information, including the number of bento boxes to be prepared by the facility and a preparation deadline, based on the determined number of bento boxes.

2. The aforementioned information on prepared foods includes the expiration date of prepared foods scheduled for disposal. There are multiple instances of either the aforementioned provider or the aforementioned facility. The method for providing prepared food according to claim 1, further comprising the step of the server performing a matching between the provider and the facility based on the location of the provider, the location of the facility, and the expiration date included in the prepared food information.

3. The steps include: using the facility terminal to transmit facility workload information, including the maximum number of bento boxes that can be produced at the facility, to the server; A method for providing prepared food according to claim 1, comprising the step of the server determining the number of bento boxes to be prepared based on the prepared food information, the first bento information, and the facility workload information.

4. The method for providing cooked food according to claim 3, wherein the maximum number of bento boxes that can be prepared at the facility is determined based on the number of workers who prepare the bento boxes at the facility.

5. The steps include: using the facility terminal to transmit facility workload information, including the number of workers preparing the bento boxes at the facility, to the server; A method for providing prepared food according to claim 1, comprising the step of the server determining the number of bento boxes to be prepared based on the prepared food information, the first bento information, and the facility workload information.

6. The aforementioned pre-cooked food delivery system has a first delivery terminal owned by the first delivery person connected to the communication network. A method for providing prepared food according to claim 1, comprising the step of the server transmitting a first delivery instruction to a first delivery terminal, based on the location of the provider and the location of the facility, including a time and place for the first delivery person to receive the prepared food and a time and place for the prepared food to be delivered.

7. The aforementioned pre-cooked food delivery system has a second recipient terminal owned by the second recipient and a second delivery terminal owned by the second delivery person connected to the aforementioned communication network. The steps include using the second recipient terminal to transmit second bento information, including the number of bento boxes and the pick-up time desired by the second recipient, to the server, The server determines, based on the cooked food information, the first bento information, and the second bento information, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient and the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient. The server transmits the provision instruction information to the provider terminal based on the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first provider and the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second provider, The server transmits first bento receipt information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient, to the first recipient terminal, based on the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient determined by the server. The server transmits second bento receipt information, including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient, to the second recipient terminal, based on the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient determined by the server. The server transmits the creation instruction information to the facility terminal based on the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient and the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient, A method for providing cooked food according to claim 1, comprising the step of the server transmitting a second delivery instruction to the second delivery terminal, based on the location of the facility and the location of the second delivery destination, the second delivery instruction including the time and place for the second delivery person to receive the bento delivered to the second delivery destination and the time and place for the delivery of the bento.

8. There are multiple instances of either the aforementioned facility or the second recipient. The method for providing cooked food according to claim 7, further comprising the step of the server performing a matching between the facility and the second recipient based on the location of the facility, the location of the second recipient, and the pick-up time included in the second bento information.

9. The steps include: using the facility terminal to transmit facility-provided food information, including the type and quantity of the cooked food that the facility wishes to provide, to the server; The server determines, based on the cooked food information, the first bento information, and the facility-provided food information, the number of bento boxes to be provided and the type and quantity of cooked food to be provided to the facility. A method for providing prepared food according to claim 1, comprising the step of the server transmitting the provision instruction information to the provider terminal based on the determined number of bento boxes and the type and quantity of prepared food to be provided to the facility.

10. The steps include: using the facility terminal to transmit facility-provided food information, including the type and quantity of the cooked food that the facility wishes to provide, to the server; The server determines, based on the cooked food information, the first bento information, the second bento information, and the facility-provided food information, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second recipient, and the type and quantity of cooked food to be provided to the facility. A method for providing prepared food according to claim 7, comprising the step of the server transmitting the provision instruction information to the provider terminal based on the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first provider determined, the number of bento boxes to be provided to the second provider, and the type and quantity of prepared food to be provided to the facility.

11. A pre-cooked food distribution system in which a provider terminal owned by the provider, a first recipient terminal owned by the first recipient, a facility terminal owned by the facility, and a server are connected via a communication network, The providing terminal transmits information about cooked food, including the type and quantity of cooked food to be discarded, to the server. The first recipient terminal transmits first bento information to the server, including the number of bento boxes containing the desired cooked food and the pick-up time. The aforementioned server, Based on the information on the prepared food and the information on the first bento box, the number of bento boxes to be provided is determined. Based on the determined number of bento boxes, the provider sends information including the type, quantity, and serving time of the prepared food to be provided to the provider to the provider terminal. Based on the determined number of bento boxes, first bento box receipt information including the number of bento boxes to be provided to the first recipient is transmitted to the first recipient terminal. A pre-cooked food distribution system that transmits production instruction information, including the number of bento boxes to be prepared by the facility and the deadline for preparation, to the facility terminal, based on the determined number of bento boxes.

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