Ordering System and Program

Abstract

To provide an order system and program which can improve convenience.SOLUTION: In an information processing system of which the refrigerator is connected with a network via a wireless router and a modem to be installed in a residence of a user and which can communicate with a food management server, an order management server or a terminal, the order management server 300 comprises: an information acquisition unit 310; a setting unit 320; a determination unit 330; a notification unit 340; an answer reception unit 350; an order unit 360; a suggestion unit 370; and a storage unit 380. The determination unit 330 determines whether or not to order food products on the basis of prices of the food products. The order unit 360 orders the food products when stock quantities of the food products decrease to a predetermined quantity or lower and it is determined to order the food products by the determination unit 330.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an order system and a program.

Background Art

[0002] There has been proposed a refrigerator that outputs, to a display unit, the remaining quantity sensed by a storage unit sensing sensor of the refrigerator when the remaining quantity is less than the minimum appropriate quantity.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an order system and a program capable of improving convenience.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The order system according to the embodiment includes a determination unit and an order unit , Notification Unit and. The determination unit determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product. The order unit places an order for the food product when the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines that an order for the food product is to be placed. When the price or price increase of the food product exceeds the threshold value, the Notification Unit transmits information indicating the existence of a food product whose price or price increase exceeds the threshold value to the user's terminal device before placing an order by the Ordering Unit.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] Hereinafter, the order system and program of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having the same or similar functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions of those components may be omitted. In the present application, "based on XX" means "based at least on XX", and may include cases based on other elements in addition to XX. Also, "based on XX" is not limited to the case of directly using XX, and may include cases based on something obtained by performing operations or processing on XX. In the present application, "XX or YY" is not limited to either XX or YY, and may include both XX and YY. This is the same for cases where there are three or more selectable elements. XX and YY are arbitrary elements (for example, arbitrary information).

[0008] In the present application, "foodstuffs" broadly means items that can be used as food, and in addition to staple foods such as meats, vegetables, and fruits, may also include auxiliary foods such as seasonings. Also, "foodstuffs" is not limited to foods that are ingredients for cooking, and may include foods and beverages that can be eaten or drunk as they are. In the following description, the expression "ingredients" may be used for convenience, but in the present application, "ingredients" has the same meaning as "foodstuffs", and is not limited to foods that are ingredients for cooking, and may also include foods and beverages that can be eaten or drunk as they are. In the present application, "acquire" is not limited to the case of actively acquiring by sending a transmission request, and may also include the case of acquiring by passively receiving information transmitted from another device.

[0009] (First Embodiment) <1. Overall Configuration of Information Processing System> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes, for example, a refrigerator 100, a food ingredient management server 200, an order management server 300, and a terminal device 400. The network NW described later may be used according to the situation, for example, the Internet, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), WAN (Wide Area Network), LAN (Local Area Network), or other public lines or dedicated lines.

[0010] The refrigerator 100 is installed inside the residence of user U. The refrigerator 100 is connected to the network NW via a wireless router WR and a modem M installed inside the residence of user U. The refrigerator 100 can communicate with the food management server 200, the order management server 300, or the terminal device 400 via the network NW.

[0011] The refrigerator 100 may have at least one of a camera 101 and a voice dialogue device 102. The camera 101 can photograph the state inside the storage chamber of the refrigerator 100 (for example, the inventory status of food). The voice dialogue device 102 has a microphone and a speaker, and accepts information input and inquiries by the voice of user U. The voice dialogue device 102 accepts the utterance of user U indicating a change in the inventory quantity of food, such as the stocking of food and the out-of-stocking of food. The information acquired by the camera 101 or the voice dialogue device 102 is transmitted to the food management server 200. Note that the voice dialogue device 102 may be a smart speaker provided independently of the refrigerator 100 instead of the voice dialogue device provided as a part of the refrigerator 100. Also, the camera 101 and the voice dialogue device 102 are not essential components of the refrigerator 100 and may be omitted.

[0012] The food management server 200 is a management server that provides a food management service. The food management server 200 is composed of one or more server devices (for example, a cloud server). The food management server 200 can communicate with the refrigerator 100, the order management server 300, or the terminal device 400 via the network NW. The service provided by the food management server 200 is an example of a "foodstuff management service".

[0013] The order management server 300 is a management server that provides an order service for food (for example, an automatic order service). The order management server 300 is composed of one or more server devices (for example, a cloud server). The order management server 300 can communicate with the refrigerator 100, the food management server 200, or the terminal device 400 via the network NW.

[0014] In this embodiment, the order management server 300 can communicate with one or more external servers 800 via the network NW. The external server 800 is a management server that provides a food sales service. The external server 800 is, for example, a management server that provides an EC (Electronic Commerce) site such as an online supermarket or a retail store. By the order management server 300 placing an order for food with the external server 800, the food is delivered to the user U's home. All or part of the order management server 300 is an example of an "ordering system". Food is an example of an "article". Note that the "article" is not limited to food, and may be daily necessities such as laundry detergent or cosmetics, or other sundries. The "ordering system" referred to in this application is not limited to a system that can only order food, and may include a system that can order other articles in addition to food. In this application, the "ordering section for ordering foodstuffs (or food)" is not limited to an ordering section that only orders foodstuffs, and may include an ordering section that can order various articles including foodstuffs. This definition also applies to other functional sections.

[0015] In this embodiment, an example in which the food management server 200 and the order management server 300 exist separately will be taken and described. Instead of this, the food management server 200 and the order management server 300 may be integrally realized by one server. The food management server 200 and the order management server 300 may be collectively referred to as the "server" or the "management server". Note that each of the food management server 200 and the order management server 300 is not limited to a cloud server, and may be realized by a computer in the user U's residence, a part of a home router, or the like.

[0016] The terminal device 400 is a terminal device used by the user U of the refrigerator 100. The terminal device 400 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal device. However, the terminal device 400 is not limited to a portable terminal device and may be a personal computer, a voice dialogue device, or the like. The terminal device 400 includes, for example, a display device 401 including a display screen 401a capable of displaying various information, and an input device 402 capable of receiving an input from the user U. The input device 402 is, for example, a touch panel provided overlapping the display screen 401a of the display device 401. The input device 402 may include a camera, a microphone, or the like provided in the terminal device 400. For example, the input device 402 receives an operation of the user U indicating a change (increase or decrease in inventory quantity) of the inventory quantity of food products held by the user U.

[0017] An application program is installed in the terminal device 400, and the functions described below are supported. Hereinafter, the application software started by executing the application program P is referred to as a "home appliance management application APP". The application program P is a program capable of providing services in cooperation with the foodstuff management server 200 and the order management server 300. The application program P is an example of a "program".

[0018] <2. Foodstuff Management Server> Next, the foodstuff management server 200 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the foodstuff management server 200. The foodstuff management server 200 includes, for example, an information acquisition unit 210, an instruction reception unit 220, a foodstuff management unit 230, an information output unit 240, and a storage unit 280.

[0019] Each functional unit such as the information acquisition unit 210, the instruction reception unit 220, the food ingredient management unit 230, and the information output unit 240 is realized by one or more hardware processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) installed in the food ingredient management server 200 executing a program. However, some or all of these functional units may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware. The same applies to each functional unit included in the food ingredient management server 200B of the third embodiment described later.

[0020] (2.1 Information Acquisition Unit) The information acquisition unit 210 communicates with the refrigerator 100 and acquires information obtained by the camera 101 or the voice dialogue device 102 from the refrigerator 100. The information acquisition unit 210 detects, for example, a change in the inventory quantity of food ingredients (increase or decrease in the inventory quantity) by performing image processing on an image captured by the camera 101. Further, the information acquisition unit 210 detects, for example, a change in the inventory quantity of food products (increase or decrease in the inventory quantity) based on voice data corresponding to the utterance received by the voice dialogue device 102. The information detected or acquired by the information acquisition unit 210 is output to the food ingredient management unit 230.

[0021] (2.2 Instruction Reception Unit) The instruction reception unit 220 communicates with the terminal device 400 and acquires information obtained based on the operation of the user U on the terminal device 400 (the operation received by the operation reception unit 420 described later) from the terminal device 400. For example, the instruction reception unit 220 acquires information indicating a change in the inventory quantity of food ingredients (an increase or decrease in the inventory quantity) based on the operation of the user U on the terminal device 400. That is, the information indicating the change in the inventory quantity of food ingredients may be acquired based on the manual input of the user U on the terminal device 400. The information acquired by the instruction reception unit 220 is output to the food ingredient management unit 230.

[0022] (2.3 Food Ingredient Management Unit) The food ingredient management unit 230 manages inventory information 281 indicating the inventory quantity of each food ingredient held by the user U. The inventory information 281 is, for example, information in which food ingredients existing as inventory in the user U's residence are registered. The inventory information 281 is not limited to the food ingredients stored in the storage unit of the refrigerator 100, and may include food ingredients stored outside the refrigerator 100 (for example, stored at room temperature). The food ingredient management unit 230 updates the inventory information 281 based on the information received from the information acquisition unit 210 or the instruction reception unit 220. The update of the inventory information 281 is an addition, deletion, or quantity change of the food ingredients held by the user U as inventory.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the inventory information 281. In the inventory information 281, a management ID, a food ingredient name, a food ingredient classification, a storage location, a purchase date, an expiration date, a quantity, a unit, and a history are managed in association with each other. The expiration date of each food ingredient included in the inventory information 281 may be input based on, for example, the operation of the user U on the terminal device 400, or a date calculated based on a period preset according to the type of food ingredient may be automatically input.

[0024] (2.4 Information Output Unit) The information output unit 240 transmits the inventory information 281 to the terminal device 400 or the order management server 300. That is, the foodstuff management unit 230 generates the inventory information 281 of the foodstuffs held by the user U. The inventory information 281 is transmitted from the information output unit 240 to the terminal device 400 or the order management server 300. The order management server 300 determines the inventory quantity of each foodstuff held by the user U based on the inventory information 281 and performs order management of the foodstuffs.

[0025] (2.5 Memory unit) The memory unit 280 is a functional unit that stores various information. The memory unit 280 is realized by a combination of, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), or SSD (Solid State Drove). The memory unit 280 stores the inventory information 281.

[0026] <3. Order management server> Next, the order management server 300 will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the order management server 300. The order management server 300 includes, for example, an information acquisition unit 310, a setting unit 320, a determination unit 330, a notification unit 340, a response reception unit 350, an order unit 360, a proposal unit 370, and a memory unit 380.

[0027] Each functional unit such as the information acquisition unit 310, the setting unit 320, the determination unit 330, the notification unit 340, the response reception unit 350, the order unit 360, and the proposal unit 370 is realized by one or more hardware processors such as a CPU installed in the order management server 300 executing a program. However, some or all of these functional units may be realized by hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA, or may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware. The same applies to each functional unit included in the order management server 300A of the second embodiment described later.

[0028] (3.1 Information Acquisition Unit) The information acquisition unit 310 acquires the latest inventory information 281 from the food ingredient management server 200 at a predetermined cycle (for example, every day). The information acquisition unit 310 stores the acquired latest inventory information 281 in the storage unit 380 as inventory information 381. The inventory information 381 is an example of information indicating the inventory quantity of each food ingredient. When the food ingredients to be ordered by the order management server 300 described later are limited to specific food ingredients, only the information regarding the specific food ingredients may be acquired from the inventory information 281.

[0029] In addition, the information acquisition unit 310 communicates with the external server 800 to acquire information indicating the selling price of each food ingredient. The information acquisition unit 310 stores the acquired information indicating the latest selling price in the storage unit 380 as selling price information 382.

[0030] (3.2 Setting Unit) The setting unit 320 sets various contents related to the ordering of food ingredients. In this application, "setting" may include accepting the registration of the content specified by the user U based on the operation of the user U on the operation reception unit 420 of the terminal device 400. In the present embodiment, the setting unit 320 includes an order target setting unit 321 and a price setting unit 322.

[0031] The order target setting unit 321 sets the food ingredients to be ordered by the ordering unit 360 based on the operation of the user U on the terminal device 400 or the like. In addition, the order target setting unit 321 sets a specified inventory quantity (a threshold value related to the inventory quantity) that becomes an order condition based on the operation of the user U on the terminal device 400 or the like. The specified inventory quantity indicates, for example, the inventory quantity of the food ingredients that the user U wants to always store. The food ingredients to be ordered and the specified inventory quantity are stored in the storage unit 380 as order target information 383.

[0032] Note that the setting of the ingredients to be ordered and the specified stock quantity is not limited to the settings of user U. When only specific ingredients are managed in the ingredient management unit 230 of the ingredient management server 200, the order placement target setting unit 321 may set all the ingredients managed by the ingredient management unit 230 as ingredients to be ordered without the operation of user U.

[0033] Based on the operation of user U on the terminal device 400 and the like, the price setting unit 322 sets the orderable price for each ingredient to be ordered. The orderable price means the upper limit of the orderable price set by user U for each ingredient to be ordered. The orderable price is stored in the storage unit 380 as a part of the order target information 383.

[0034] Note that the setting of the orderable price is not limited to the setting of user U. The orderable price may be automatically set without the operation of user U. For example, the price setting unit 322 may set, as the orderable price, an amount that is a predetermined increase (for example, 120%) with respect to the average amount of the ingredients to be ordered in the past predetermined period (for example, one year).

[0035] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the order target information 383. In the order target information 383, the management ID of the ingredient to be ordered, the ingredient name, the specified stock quantity, and the orderable price are managed in association with each other. Note that depending on the ingredient, there are those that can be counted and those that cannot be counted. Also, the sales form of the ingredient varies, such as those sold individually, those sold in grams, and those sold in packs. Therefore, in the order target information 383, the field of the specified stock quantity is divided into quantity and unit. Also, the field of the orderable price is divided into price and unit.

[0036] (3.3 Judgment Unit) The judgment unit 330 determines whether to place an order for the ingredient based on the stock quantity and price of the ingredient to be ordered as the order conditions. For example, the judgment unit 330 determines whether to place an order for the ingredient to be ordered based on the stock information 381 and the selling price information 382.

[0037] In this embodiment, the determination unit 330 determines whether to order food ingredients based on the price of the food ingredients to be ordered and the orderable price set by the user for the food ingredients. For example, the determination unit 330 determines whether to order food ingredients based on the orderable price included in the order target information 383.

[0038] In a specific example, first, the determination unit 330 determines whether the inventory level of the food ingredients to be ordered has dropped below a predetermined specified inventory level. Then, for the food ingredients whose inventory level has dropped below the predetermined specified inventory level, the determination unit 330 determines whether the price of the food ingredients is within the orderable price based on the order target information 383. When the price of the food ingredients exceeds the orderable price, the determination unit 330 temporarily suppresses the order of the food ingredients. After the determination unit 330 temporarily suppresses the order of the food ingredients, when the price of the food ingredients drops below the orderable price, the determination unit 330 resumes the order of the food ingredients. In this embodiment, the determination unit 330 includes an inventory determination unit 331 and a price determination unit 332.

[0039] The inventory determination unit 331 compares the current inventory level of each food ingredient to be ordered with the specified inventory level that is the order condition for each food ingredient to be ordered, and determines whether the inventory level of each food ingredient to be ordered meets the predetermined quantity indicating the order condition. The current inventory level of each food ingredient to be ordered is, for example, the information included in the inventory information 381. The specified inventory level that is the order condition for each food ingredient to be ordered is, for example, the information included in the order target information 383.

[0040] The price determination unit 332 compares the current price of each food ingredient to be ordered with the threshold value set from the orderable price of each food ingredient to be ordered, and determines whether the current price of each food ingredient to be ordered is below the orderable price indicating the order condition. The current price of each food ingredient to be ordered is, for example, the information included in the sales price information 382. The orderable price of each food ingredient to be ordered is, for example, the information included in the order target information 383.

[0041] (3.4 Notification Unit) The notification unit 340 sends various notifications to the terminal device 400 of the user U. Examples of the notifications sent to the terminal device 400 include a confirmation notification for asking the user U whether to continue or temporarily suspend the order of a food ingredient when the price of the food ingredient exceeds a preset threshold value A, or when the price increase of the food ingredient exceeds a preset threshold value B.

[0042] The threshold value A is a value preset for each food ingredient. The threshold value A is, for example, an amount that is a predetermined percentage increase (e.g., 120%) with respect to the average price of each food ingredient. The threshold value A may be the same as the above-mentioned orderable price (in this case, the orderable price becomes the threshold value A), or may be set separately from the orderable price. The threshold value A may be set by the setting unit 320 based on an operation of the user U on the terminal device 400, or may be automatically set by the setting unit 320 without an operation of the user U.

[0043] The threshold value B is a value preset for each food ingredient. The threshold value A is, for example, a threshold value for the price increase rate or price increase range of each food ingredient. Similar to the threshold value A, the threshold value B may be set by the setting unit 320 based on an operation of the user U on the terminal device 400, or may be automatically set by the setting unit 320 without an operation of the user U. Note that the notification unit 340 does not necessarily need to perform the determination of both the threshold value A and the threshold value B, and may perform only the process related to either one of the threshold value A or the threshold value B. Hereinafter, when the threshold value A and the threshold value B are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as "threshold value".

[0044] (3.5 Response Reception Unit) The response reception unit 350 receives a response based on an operation of the user U on the terminal device 400. Examples of the response received from the terminal device 400 include a response of the user U indicating whether to continue or temporarily suspend the order of a food ingredient in response to the confirmation notification sent when the price of the food ingredient or the price increase exceeds the above threshold value.

[0045] (3.6 Ordering Unit) The ordering unit 360 places an order for food ingredients with the external server 800. That is, when the determination unit 330 determines that an order for food ingredients is to be placed, the ordering unit 360 accesses the external server 800 and places an order for food ingredients. Specifically, the ordering unit 360 transmits an order request including the name of the food ingredient to be ordered, the order quantity, and the delivery destination to the external server 800.

[0046] (3.7 Proposal Unit) For food ingredients that are not registered as order targets by the ordering unit 360 among the multiple food ingredients (for example, the multiple food ingredients included in the inventory information 281) managed by the food ingredient management server 200, if the usage frequency of the food ingredient meets a predetermined condition, the proposal unit 370 proposes to register the food ingredient as an order target by the ordering unit 360. In this application, "proposing" may include transmitting a notice indicating the proposal to the terminal device 400. For example, when "cabbage" is not registered as an automatic ordering target, and information indicating that the user U consumes one cabbage every week is obtained, the proposal unit 370 proposes to the user U to register "cabbage" as an order target by the ordering unit 360.

[0047] (3.8 Memory Unit) The memory unit 380 is a functional unit that stores various information. The memory unit 380 is realized by a combination of, for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or SSD. The memory unit 380 stores inventory information 381, sales price information 382, and order target information 383.

[0048] <4. Terminal Device> Next, the terminal device 400 will be described in detail. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device 400. The terminal device 400 has, for example, an information acquisition unit 410, an operation reception unit 420, a display control unit 430, and a memory unit 480.

[0049] Each functional unit such as the information acquisition unit 410, the operation reception unit 420, and the display control unit 430 is realized by one or more hardware processors such as a CPU mounted on the terminal device 400 executing an application program P. In other words, the information acquisition unit 410, the operation reception unit 420, and the display control unit 430 are software functional units included in the home appliance management application APP. The same applies to each functional unit included in the terminal device 400B of the third embodiment described later.

[0050] (4.1 Information Acquisition Unit) The information acquisition unit 410 acquires various information to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal device 400 from the foodstuff management server 200 or the order management server 300. For example, the information acquisition unit 410 acquires the inventory information 281 from the foodstuff management server 200. Further, the information acquisition unit 410 acquires information indicating the above-mentioned confirmation notice and proposal from the order management server 300.

[0051] (4.2 Operation Reception Unit) The operation reception unit 420 receives the operation of the user U performed on the input device 402 in relation to the home appliance management application APP. For example, the operation reception unit 420 receives the operation of the user U for inputting a change in the inventory quantity of each foodstuff, the operation of the user U for setting each foodstuff as an order target, the operation of the user U for inputting the specified inventory quantity and the orderable price of each foodstuff as the order target, and the operation of the user U for answering whether to continue or temporarily interrupt the order of the foodstuff when the price or price increase of the foodstuff exceeds the threshold value. The operation reception unit 420 transmits information indicating the content of the operation of the received user U to the foodstuff management server 200 or the order management server 300.

[0052] (4.3 Display Control Unit) The display control unit 430 controls the content displayed on the display screen 401a of the display device 401 by controlling the display device 401 of the terminal device 400. In the present embodiment, the display control unit 430 causes the display device 401 to display an input screen for the user U to input the food materials to be ordered, the specified inventory quantity, and the orderable price. Further, when the price of the food material or the price increase exceeds the threshold value, the display control unit 430 causes the display device 401 to display a confirmation notice for confirming whether to continue or temporarily suspend the order of this food material. Further, the display control unit 430 causes the display device 401 to display an input screen for inputting an answer to the confirmation notice. Further, the display control unit 430 causes the display device 401 to display a proposal for food material registration.

[0053] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for food materials to be ordered. As shown in FIG. 7, on the display screen 401a of the display device 401, an input field G1 for the food materials to be ordered, an input field G2 for the specified inventory quantity of each food material to be ordered, and an input field G3 for the orderable price of each food material to be ordered are correspondingly displayed.

[0054] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a confirmation notice. As shown in FIG. 8, on the display screen of the confirmation notice of the display device 401, a list G11 in which the orderable price of the food material and the selling price of this food material are corresponded is displayed for the food material whose price or price increase exceeds the threshold value. Note that, when the prices of a plurality of food materials soar, the confirmation notice may display the information about the plurality of food materials arranged as follows.

[0055] (a) Displayed in ascending order from the food materials with the original price being low (or high) (b) Displayed in ascending order from the food materials with the highest rate of price increase (c) Displayed in ascending order from the food materials with the highest amount of price increase (price increase range) (d) Displayed in ascending order from the food materials with the highest frequency of order by the user U

[0056] Note that, as described above, when a plurality of food ingredients are displayed in a list in order from above, for some of the lists displayed above, boldface, emphasized characters, etc. may be used to make it easier for the user U to pay attention.

[0057] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an answer input screen. As shown in FIG. 9, on the display screen 401a of the display device 401, a display G21 of the price of food ingredients or food ingredients whose price increase exceeds the threshold, and for each food ingredient, input fields G22 and G23 for instructing to "continue ordering food ingredients" or "temporarily interrupt ordering food ingredients" are displayed.

[0058] In addition, the terminal device 400 can display the proposals sent from the order management server 300. For example, the proposal unit 370 of the order management server 300, for food ingredients that are not registered as order targets among the plurality of food ingredients managed using the food ingredient management server 200, when the usage frequency of the food ingredient satisfies a predetermined condition, sends a proposal indicating that the food ingredient is to be registered as an order target to the terminal device 400. The display control unit 430 displays such proposals sent from the order management server 300.

[0059] (4.5 Storage Unit) The storage unit 480 is realized by a combination of a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, or an SSD, etc. The storage unit 480 stores the home appliance management application APP.

[0060] <5. Processing Flow> Next, the processing in the information processing system 1 will be described. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of the information processing system 1.

[0061] (Step S1) User U operates the terminal device 400 to input the foodstuffs to be ordered, the specified stock quantity that is the ordering condition for each foodstuff, and the orderable price for each foodstuff. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, on the input screen when registering foodstuffs, an input field G1 for the foodstuffs to be ordered, an input field G2 for the specified stock quantity of each foodstuff to be ordered, and an input field G3 for the orderable price of each foodstuff to be ordered are displayed correspondingly. User U operates the terminal device 400 to input the foodstuffs to be ordered, the specified stock quantity that is the ordering condition for each foodstuff, and the orderable price for each foodstuff into these input fields G1, G2, and G3.

[0062] (Step S2) The input information of the foodstuffs to be ordered, the specified stock quantity of each foodstuff to be ordered, and the orderable price of each foodstuff input by User U into the terminal device 400 is sent from the terminal device 400 to the order management server 300.

[0063] (Step S3) The order management server 300 receives the input information from the terminal device 400. Based on this information, the order management server 300 sets the foodstuffs to be ordered, the specified stock quantity that is the ordering condition for each foodstuff, and the price threshold for each foodstuff. Note that the price threshold for each foodstuff is set based on the orderable price.

[0064] (Step S4) The foodstuff management server 200 generates the current stock information 281 of User U. The stock information 281 of User U is generated by the foodstuff management server 200 based on the information from the refrigerator 100 held by User U and the input information of the terminal device 400 held by User U. As shown in FIG. 3, the management ID, foodstuff name, foodstuff classification, storage location, purchase date, expiration date (or consumption date), quantity, unit, and history are associated with each other.

[0065] (Step S5) The foodstuff management server 200 sends the current stock information 281 of User U to the order management server 300. The order management server 300 stores the acquired stock information 281 as stock information 381.

[0066] (Step S6) The order management server 300 compares the specified stock quantity of each food ingredient of user U set in step S3 with the current stock information 381 of user U obtained in step S5. More specifically, for the food ingredients to be ordered, the order management server 300 compares the quantity and unit data in the specified stock quantity field of the order target information 383 shown in FIG. 5 with the quantity and unit field data of the stock information 381 shown in FIG. 3. Then, the order management server 300 determines whether there is any food ingredient among the food ingredients to be ordered registered by user U whose current stock quantity is less than or equal to a predetermined specified stock quantity. In step S6, if there is no food ingredient whose current stock quantity is less than or equal to the predetermined specified stock quantity (step S6: No), the process returns to step S4.

[0067] (Step S7) In step S6, if there is a food ingredient whose current stock quantity is less than or equal to the predetermined specified stock quantity (step S6: Yes), the order management server 300 acquires the current price information of that food ingredient from the external server 800 and stores it as the sales price information 382.

[0068] (Step S8) For the food ingredients determined to have a stock quantity less than or equal to the predetermined specified stock quantity, the order management server 300 determines whether the current price of that food ingredient is greater than or equal to a threshold value set from the orderable price set in step S3. More specifically, for the food ingredients with a stock quantity less than or equal to the predetermined specified stock quantity, the order management server 300 compares the data in the "orderable price" field of the order target information 383 shown in FIG. 5 with the sales price of that food ingredient included in the sales price information 382 to determine whether the current price of that food ingredient is greater than or equal to the threshold value set from the orderable price.

[0069] (Step S9) In step S8, if the current price is not greater than or equal to the threshold value set from the orderable price (step S8: No), the order management server 300 places an order for that food ingredient with the external server 800.

[0070] (Step S10) If there is a food ingredient whose current price is greater than or equal to the orderable price in step S8 (step S8: Yes), the order management server 300 sends a confirmation notice to the terminal device 400.

[0071] (Step S11) When the terminal device 400 receives the confirmation notice from the order management server 300, it displays the confirmation notice on the display device 401. As shown in FIG. 8, the display screen of the confirmation notice includes a list G11 showing a list of food ingredients whose price increase exceeds the threshold set from the orderable price. The user U can check the information of the food ingredients whose prices are soaring among the food ingredients to be ordered from this display screen.

[0072] (Step S12) The user U inputs an answer to the confirmation notice into the terminal device 400. As shown in FIG. 9, the input screen for the answer to the confirmation notice includes input fields G22 and G23 for instructing to "continue ordering the food ingredient" or "temporarily suspend ordering the food ingredient" for the food ingredients whose price increase exceeds the threshold set from the orderable price. The user U inputs into these input fields G22 and G23 to give an answer indicating whether to purchase the food ingredient or temporarily suspend the purchase.

[0073] (Step S13) When the terminal device 400 inputs the answer from the user U, it sends this answer to the order management server 300.

[0074] (Step S14) The order management server 300 determines whether the answer from the user U's terminal device 400 is "continue ordering the food ingredient" or "temporarily suspend ordering the food ingredient".

[0075] (Step S15) If the answer from the terminal device 400 in step S14 is "continue ordering the food ingredient" (step S14; continue), the order management server 300 accesses the external server 800 to perform the food ingredient ordering process.

[0076] (Step S16) If the response from the terminal device 400 in Step S14 is "Temporarily interrupt the order of food ingredients" (Step S14; Interrupt), the order management server 300 temporarily interrupts the order of food ingredients.

[0077] (Step S17) After a predetermined period has elapsed since the order management server 300 temporarily interrupts the order of food ingredients, it accesses the external server 800 and obtains information on the prices of food ingredients from the external server 800.

[0078] (Step S18) For the food ingredients for which the purchase has been temporarily interrupted, the order management server 300 determines whether the price of the food ingredient is equal to or higher than the threshold set from the orderable price based on the price information obtained from the external server 800 in Step S17.

[0079] (Step S19) If it is determined in Step S18 that the price of the food ingredient for which the purchase has been temporarily interrupted exceeds the threshold set from the orderable price (Step S18: Yes), the process returns to Step S16.

[0080] By repeating Steps S16 to S18, the ever-changing prices of food ingredients can be obtained. And when the price of the food ingredient falls below the threshold set from the orderable price, it will be determined in Step S18 that the price of the food ingredient for which the purchase has been temporarily interrupted is below the threshold set from the orderable price.

[0081] (Step S19) If it is determined in Step S18 that the price of the food ingredient for which the purchase has been temporarily interrupted does not exceed the threshold set from the orderable price (Step S18: No), the order management server 300 accesses the external server 800 and performs the order process for the food ingredients.

[0082] Through the above processing, for the food ingredients to be ordered, when the inventory level drops below a predetermined amount, if the price of the food ingredient satisfies the condition of the threshold set from the orderable price, a process of ordering the food ingredient can be realized (Steps S1 to S9).

[0083] Also, through the above processing, for the food ingredients whose inventory levels have dropped below a predetermined amount, when the price of the food ingredient does not meet the conditions of the orderable price, a confirmation notice can be sent to the user, enabling the user to select whether to "continue the order" or "temporarily suspend the order" (from step S8 to step S13).

[0084] Also, through the above processing, when the user selects "temporarily suspend the order", the order for the food ingredient is temporarily suspended. After the order for the food ingredient is temporarily suspended, if the price of the food ingredient drops below the threshold value set from the orderable price, a process can be realized to resume the order for the food ingredient (from step S14 to step S19). Note that when the order management server 300 suspends the order for the food ingredient, it may notify the user U's terminal device 400 to that effect.

[0085] Note that it is assumed that even if the order is temporarily stopped for a predetermined period (for example, two weeks), the price of the food ingredient will not drop below the threshold value set from the orderable price. Therefore, even if steps S16 to S18 are repeated for a predetermined period (for example, two weeks) and the price of the food ingredient does not drop below the threshold value set from the orderable price, the order management server 300 may send a confirmation notice to the terminal device 400 to notify that "continue the order for the food ingredient" or "temporarily suspend the order for the food ingredient".

[0086] Also, regarding the waiting period until the price of the food ingredient drops below the threshold value, the user U may be able to set it by operating the terminal device 400, such as "1 day", "3 days", or "1 week". In this case, the setting unit 320 sets the waiting period until the price of the food ingredient drops below the threshold value based on the operation of the user U on the terminal device 400.

[0087] Furthermore, even if a predetermined period has elapsed and the price of the food ingredient does not fall below the threshold set from the orderable price, the order management server 300 may send a confirmation notice to the terminal device 400 requesting a change in the orderable price. Note that the change in the orderable price may be to instruct the rate of price increase, such as "10% increase from the orderable price", or to instruct the amount to be added, such as "increase by 20 yen from the orderable price".

[0088] Also, even if a predetermined period has elapsed and the price of the food ingredient does not fall below the orderable price, if the price of the food ingredient has dropped to or below a second threshold that the user U would likely tolerate, the order management server 300 may send a confirmation notice to the terminal device 400 asking whether to "continue ordering the food ingredient". Here, the second threshold is a price that does not drop to the threshold (first threshold) set from the orderable price but is lower than the price first obtained in step S7.

[0089] Also, in the above example, for food ingredients whose stock levels have dropped below a predetermined amount, a threshold is set based on the orderable price of the food ingredient, and when the price of the food ingredient is above the threshold set based on the orderable price, the ordering of the food ingredient is interrupted to suppress the order. That is, in this example, the threshold is the absolute amount (amount of money) of the orderable price, which may be the same as or different from the orderable price. Also, the "threshold" in the above description may be read as "orderable price".

[0090] Also, the threshold value may vary depending on the food ingredients. That is, food ingredients purchased frequently have a greater influence. On the other hand, food ingredients that are purchased only rarely have a small impact on the whole even if they are somewhat expensive. Therefore, for example, based on the change in the inventory information 281 from the food ingredient management server 200, the usage frequency of each food ingredient is calculated. Among the multiple food ingredients to be ordered, for food ingredients with a high usage frequency, the above threshold value may be set low, and for food ingredients with a low usage frequency, the above threshold value may be set high. Also, even if the rate of price increase is the same, for food ingredients with a high price, the amount of price increase is large and the impact on the whole is significant. Therefore, among the multiple food ingredients, for food ingredients with a high original amount, the above threshold value may be set low, and for food ingredients with a low original amount, the above threshold value may be set high.

[0091] Also, in the above example, for food ingredients whose inventory quantity has decreased below a predetermined quantity, the threshold value is set based on the orderable price of that food ingredient. When the price of that food ingredient is equal to or higher than the threshold value set based on the orderable price, the order of that food ingredient is completely interrupted. In this way, without completely interrupting the order of that food ingredient, the quantity of the order or the types of food ingredients to be ordered may be restricted to suppress the order of food ingredients. That is, "suppression" is not limited to the case where the order of food ingredients is set to zero, and also includes reducing the types of food ingredients to be ordered or reducing the quantity of each food ingredient to be ordered.

[0092] Also, when the inventory quantity of each food ingredient to be ordered has become less than or equal to a predetermined quantity indicating the order condition and the order has been stopped, and when the inventory quantity further decreases (for example, the inventory quantity becomes zero), or when a predetermined period has elapsed while the inventory quantity remains less than or equal to the predetermined quantity, the notification unit 340 may send a confirmation notice to the terminal device 400 of the user U to confirm whether to resume the automatic order.

[0093] (6. Second Embodiment) Next, the second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that management is performed based on the upper limit amount of the total purchase amount of orders set at regular intervals. The configuration other than that described below is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment described above.

[0094] <6.1 Order Management Server> FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the order management server 300A according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the setting unit 320 in the first embodiment, the setting unit 320A includes a priority setting unit 323 and a ceiling amount setting unit 324. Further, in addition to the configuration of the determination unit 330 in the first embodiment, the determination unit 330A includes a ceiling amount determination unit 333 and a priority determination unit 334.

[0095] The priority setting unit 323 sets priorities for a plurality of foodstuffs (for example, a plurality of foodstuffs included in the inventory information 281) managed using the foodstuff management server 200, based on the usage frequency of the plurality of foodstuffs. For example, the priority setting unit 323 classifies the foodstuffs into three categories: "high usage frequency", "medium usage frequency", or "low usage frequency", according to the usage frequency.

[0096] Furthermore, among the foodstuffs classified as having a high usage frequency, the priority setting unit 323 may set specific foodstuffs that have been registered in advance in the order management server 300A by the user U as priority foodstuffs. The "specific foodstuffs" are foodstuffs such as eggs and milk that have a high usage frequency in every household. For example, the specific foodstuffs are registered in advance as part of the order target information 383A by the setting unit 320A based on the operation of the user U on the terminal device 400.

[0097] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the order target information 383A. In the order target information 383A, the management ID, foodstuff name, priority, specified stock quantity, and orderable price of the foodstuff to be ordered are managed in association with each other. Here, the priority is classified into three categories. Priority "1" indicates a high usage frequency, priority "2" indicates a medium usage frequency, and priority "3" indicates a low usage frequency.

[0098] The upper limit setting unit 324 sets, for example, an upper limit value (upper limit value of the total purchase amount) of the total amount of food ingredients purchased by the user U during a predetermined period (for example, one month) based on an input operation of the user U on the terminal device 400. The upper limit of the total purchase amount is, for example, an amount corresponding to the food expenses that the user U can use in one month. For example, the upper limit of the total purchase amount is set to, for example, "10,000 yen", "20,000 yen", or "30,000 yen". The upper limit is stored in the storage unit 380 as upper limit information 384.

[0099] The upper limit determination unit 333 suppresses the ordering by the ordering unit 360 based on the set upper limit of the total purchase amount (information included in the upper limit information 384). That is, the upper limit determination unit 333 calculates, at a predetermined cycle (for example, every day), the total of the purchase amounts of the food ingredients ordered by the ordering unit 360 during a predetermined period (for example, one month). When the total of the purchase amounts of the food ingredients exceeds the set upper limit of the total purchase amount, the upper limit determination unit 333 suppresses the ordering by the ordering unit 360.

[0100] Note that as described above, "suppression" is not limited to the case where the ordering of food ingredients is set to zero, and may also include cases where the types of food ingredients to be ordered are reduced or the amounts of each food ingredient to be ordered are reduced. For example, when the total of the purchase amounts of the food ingredients exceeds the set upper limit of the total purchase amount, the upper limit determination unit 333 determines to continue ordering for the above-mentioned priority food ingredients and to stop ordering for other food ingredients. Alternatively, when the total of the purchase amounts of the food ingredients exceeds the set upper limit of the total purchase amount, the upper limit determination unit 333 may determine to continue ordering for the food ingredients associated with the highest priority among the multiple (for example, three) levels of priority and to stop ordering for the food ingredients associated with the other priorities.

[0101] The "predetermined period" may be a fixed period such as the period from the 1st to the 31st of each month, or the period from the 26th of each month (salary transfer date) to the 25th of the following month, or may be a period set to shift by one day like a 30-day period counting back from today. Information indicating the "predetermined period" is registered in advance as part of the upper limit amount information 384 by the setting unit 320A based on the operation of the user U on the terminal device 400.

[0102] When the remaining amount up to the set upper limit of the total purchase amount satisfies a predetermined condition, the priority determination unit 334 determines to place an order for food products with a high priority based on the priority set for a plurality of food ingredients, and suppresses the placement of an order for food products with a low priority. "When the remaining amount up to the set upper limit of the total purchase amount satisfies a predetermined condition" means, for example, when placing orders for a plurality of food ingredients, the total amount of the plurality of food ingredients scheduled for ordering is larger than the remaining amount up to the set upper limit of the total purchase amount.

[0103] For example, when the remaining amount up to the set upper limit of the total purchase amount satisfies a predetermined condition, the priority determination unit 334 determines to continue placing orders for the above-mentioned priority food ingredients and determines to stop placing orders for other food ingredients. Instead of this, when the remaining amount up to the set upper limit of the total purchase amount satisfies a predetermined condition, the priority determination unit 334 determines to continue placing orders for the food ingredients associated with the highest priority among the priorities classified into a plurality (for example, three), and determines to stop placing orders for the food ingredients associated with the other priorities.

[0104] In the present embodiment, when the total purchase amount of the food ingredients exceeds the set upper limit of the total purchase amount and the order placement by the order placement unit 360 is suppressed, the notification unit 340 transmits a notification indicating that the order placement is suppressed to the terminal device 400. The display control unit 430 of the terminal device 400 displays the above notification on the display screen 401a. The above notification displays, for example, that the total purchase amount of the food ingredients has exceeded the set upper limit of the total purchase amount, a list of the food ingredients for which the order placement continues if there are any, and a list of the food ingredients for which the order placement is suppressed (for example, stopped) if there are any.

[0105] In addition, when the remaining amount up to the set upper limit of the total purchase amount satisfies a predetermined condition (for example, when the total amount of a plurality of foodstuffs scheduled to be ordered is greater than the remaining amount up to the set upper limit of the total purchase amount), the notification unit 340 may also send a similar notification to the terminal device 400.

[0106] In addition, the notification unit 340 may send to the terminal device 400 the total purchase amount of foodstuffs up to a midpoint in the above-mentioned predetermined period (for example, when 15 days have passed for a 30-day period) and the upper limit of the total purchase amount set for the above-mentioned predetermined period. In this case, the display control unit 430 of the terminal device 400 causes the total purchase amount of foodstuffs up to the midpoint in the above-mentioned predetermined period and the upper limit of the total purchase amount set for the above-mentioned predetermined period to be displayed on the display screen 401a in a comparable manner (for example, arranged on the same screen).

[0107] <6.2 Terminal Device> FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen. As shown in FIG. 13, on the input screen, an input field G31 for foodstuffs to be ordered, an input field G32 for the specified stock quantity of each foodstuff to be ordered, and an input field G33 for the orderable price of each foodstuff to be ordered are displayed in correspondence. Further, in the second embodiment, an input field G34 for the upper limit of the total purchase amount set for a predetermined period is provided on the input screen for foodstuff ordering. The input field G34 is displayed by the display control unit 430. The input by the user U to the input field G34 is received by the operation reception unit 420. The operation reception unit 420 transmits information indicating the input content of the received user U to the order management server 300A.

[0108] <6.3 Flow of Processing> As described above, in the second embodiment, priorities are provided for each food ingredient. And when ordering a plurality of food ingredients within a predetermined period, the ordering of the food ingredients is suppressed according to the priorities. For example, assume that the upper limit of the total purchase amount is set to "10,000 yen". On the other hand, assume that the total purchase amount of the food ingredients already purchased within the predetermined period is "10,500 yen". In this case, when ordering, give priority to the food ingredients with a priority of "1" in FIG. 12, such as "milk" and "eggs", and stop ordering or limit the order quantity of the food ingredients with a priority of "3", such as "pork". Thereby, it is possible to suppress the total amount of the food ingredients ordered within the predetermined period from deviating far from the upper limit of the total purchase amount.

[0109] Note that in the above example, the priority setting unit 323 classifies and sets priorities into three levels of "high usage frequency", "medium usage frequency", or "low usage frequency" according to the usage frequency (consumption frequency) of the food ingredients. However, the levels of priorities may be other than the above example.

[0110] Also, in the above example, the priorities are set according to the usage frequency. However, the setting of the priorities is not limited to the usage frequency. For example, the priorities may be set according to the price fluctuations of the food ingredients. For example, the priority of the food ingredient with a soaring price may be set high, or the priority of the food ingredient with a soaring price may be set low.

[0111] Also, the user U may be able to set priorities for each ingredient by operating the terminal device 400. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen when setting priorities. As shown in FIG. 14, on the display screen 401a of the display device 401, an input field G31 for ingredients to be ordered, an input field G32 for the specified stock quantity of each ingredient to be ordered, and an input field G33 for the orderable price of each ingredient to be ordered are correspondingly displayed, and a priority input field G35 is provided. The user U can set priorities for each ingredient to be ordered by inputting priorities into this priority input field G35. The input of the user U to the input field G35 is received by the operation reception unit 420. The operation reception unit 420 transmits information indicating the input content of the received user U to the order management server 300A.

[0112] (7. Third Embodiment) Next, the third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the ingredient management server 200 provides a recipe proposal service. The configuration other than that described below is the same as the configuration of the second embodiment described above.

[0113] <7.1 Ingredient Management Server> FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the ingredient management server 200B according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, the ingredient management server 200B according to the third embodiment has a recipe proposal unit 250 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment.

[0114] <7.2 Recipe Proposal Unit> The recipe proposal unit 250 can refer to a plurality of recipes included in the recipe information 282 stored in the storage unit 280. A recipe is information including a cooking method of food ingredients. Each recipe includes information indicating an image of the finished dish, the types of food ingredients required for the dish, the amount of each food ingredient required for the dish, cooking procedures, and the like. The recipe proposal unit 250 selects one or more recipes to be proposed to the user U from among the plurality of recipes included in the recipe information 282 based on the operation of the user U on the operation reception unit 420 of the terminal device 400, and transmits information indicating the selected recipes to the terminal device 400. Note that the recipe proposal unit 250 may be implemented by another server instead of the food ingredient management server 200B.

[0115] In addition, the recipe proposal unit 250 acquires information indicating food ingredients for which ordering is suppressed by the determination unit 330A of the order management server 300A (for example, food ingredients for which ordering is temporarily interrupted due to the relationship with the price, or food ingredients for which ordering is suppressed due to the relationship with the upper limit amount of the total purchase amount within a predetermined period) from the order management server 300A. The recipe proposal unit 250 stores, in the storage unit 280 as the order suppression food ingredient information 283, information indicating the food ingredients for which ordering is suppressed by the determination unit 330A of the order management server 300A.

[0116] Then, when the recipe proposal unit 250 transmits information indicating one or more recipes included in the recipe information 282 to the terminal device 400B in response to a request from the terminal device 400B, it determines whether there are any food ingredients registered in the order suppression food ingredient information 283 among the food ingredients included in the recipe. If there are any food ingredients registered in the order suppression food ingredient information 283 (hereinafter referred to as "order suppression food ingredients") among the food ingredients included in the recipe to be transmitted to the terminal device 400B, the recipe proposal unit 250 transmits information indicating the order suppression food ingredients to the terminal device 400B.

[0117] <7.3 Storage Unit> In addition to the inventory information 281, the storage unit 280 stores the recipe information 282 and the order suppression food ingredient information 283.

[0118] <7.4 Terminal Device> FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device 400B according to the third embodiment. The terminal device 400B according to the third embodiment has a recipe information acquisition unit 440 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment.

[0119] <7.5 Recipe Information Acquisition Unit> The recipe information acquisition unit 440 transmits a request to cause the foodstuff management server 200B to transmit one or more recipes included in the recipe information 282, and as a response thereto, acquires information indicating one or more recipes included in the recipe information 282 from the foodstuff management server 200B. The information indicating this recipe is displayed on the display screen 401a based on the control of the display control unit 430.

[0120] In the present embodiment, when there is an order suppression foodstuff among the foodstuffs included in the recipe, the recipe information acquisition unit 440 acquires information indicating the order suppression foodstuff from the foodstuff management server 200B.

[0121] <7.6 Display Control Unit> The display control unit 430 causes the information indicating one or more recipes acquired by the recipe information acquisition unit 440 to be displayed on the display screen 401a. At this time, when there is an order suppression foodstuff among the foodstuffs included in the recipe, the display control unit 430 attaches a special display to the recipe and displays it.

[0122] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of recipe information displayed by the display control unit 430. In this example, a plurality of recipes are displayed in a list. In this example, display M1 indicates ingredients for which ordering by the ordering unit 360 of the order management server 300A continues, and display M2 indicates ingredients for which ordering by the ordering unit 360 of the order management server 300A is suppressed (for example, stopped). Display M1 and display M2 have different display modes. In this example, "pork minced meat", "egg", and "chicken thigh meat" have continuous ordering and are indicated by display M1. On the other hand, "grated ginger" has its ordering stopped and is indicated by display M2. For example, when cooking "Singapore Chicken Rice" according to the recipe, since "chicken thigh meat" indicated by display M1 is automatically ordered, it suffices to order "grated ginger" indicated by display M2. Also, "having different display modes" may mean that the color of the characters is different, the color of the background is different, the color or line type of the frame enclosing the characters is different, the thickness of the characters is different, or different titles or annotations are attached. Also, only display M2 may be displayed without display M1 being displayed. For example, in an example where a list of recipes is displayed, a special mark may be attached next to a recipe containing an ingredient for which ordering is suppressed (for example, stopped).

[0123] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another example of recipe information displayed by the display control unit 430. In this example, in display N1, the name of the ingredient is displayed in black characters in a box with a white background. On the other hand, in display N2, the name of the ingredient is displayed in black characters in a box with a yellow background. Display N1 indicates ingredients for which ordering by the ordering unit 360 of the order management server 300A continues, and display N2 indicates ingredients for which ordering by the ordering unit 360 of the order management server 300A is suppressed (for example, stopped). Display N1 and display N2 have different display modes. Also in this example, only display M2 may be displayed without display N1 being displayed. For example, in an example where a list of recipes is displayed, a special mark may be attached next to a recipe containing an ingredient for which ordering is suppressed (for example, stopped).

[0124] Some embodiments have been described above. However, the embodiments are not limited to the above-described examples. For example, two or more embodiments may be combined and implemented together.

[0125] Each part or all of each functional part (information acquisition part 310, setting part 320, determination part 330, notification part 340, response reception part 350, order placement part 360, and proposal part 370) of the order placement management server 300 of the first embodiment described above, and each part or all of each functional part (setting part 320A, determination part 330A) of the order placement management server 300A of the second embodiment may be provided as a part of the home appliance management application APP of the terminal device 400 or the terminal device 400B instead of the order placement management server 300 or the order placement management server 300A. In other words, the "order placement system" may be realized by the home appliance management application APP.

[0126] According to at least one of the embodiments described above, the order placement system includes a determination part that determines whether to place an order for food ingredients based on the price of the food ingredients, and an order placement part that places an order for the food ingredients when it is determined by the determination part to place an order for the food ingredients. With such a configuration, it is possible to improve convenience.

[0127] Some embodiments of the present invention have been described, but these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0128] 1... Information processing system, 100... Refrigerator, 200, 200B... Food ingredient management server, 300, 300A... Order placement management server, 320... Setting part, 330... Determination part, 340... Notification part, 360... Order placement part, 370... Proposal part, 400, 400B... Terminal device.

Claims

1. A determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product; An ordering unit that places an order for the food product when the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines to place an order for the food product; A notification unit that, when the price or price increase of the food product exceeds a threshold value, transmits information indicating that there is a food product whose price or price increase exceeds the threshold value to the user's terminal device before the ordering unit places an order; An ordering system comprising:

2. The notification unit transmits, to the terminal device, information indicating a list of two or more food products whose price or price increase exceeds the threshold value among a plurality of food products each of whose inventory level has dropped below a predetermined amount. The ordering system according to claim 1.

3. The determination unit determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product and the orderable price set by the user for the food product. The notification unit transmits, to the terminal device, information that can display the food product whose price or price increase exceeds the threshold value in association with the orderable price set for the food product. The ordering system according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. A determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product and the orderable price set by the user for the food product; An ordering unit that places an order for the food product when the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines to place an order for the food product; Comprising: When the price of the food product exceeds the orderable price, the determination unit temporarily suppresses the placement of an order for the food product, and after temporarily suppressing the placement of an order for the food product, when the price of the food product drops below the orderable price, the determination unit resumes the placement of an order for the food product. An ordering system.

5. A determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product; When the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines that an order for the food product is to be placed, an ordering unit that places an order for the food product; A notification unit that, when the price or price increase of the food product exceeds a threshold value, sends a confirmation notification to the user's terminal device to confirm whether to continue placing an order for the food product; An ordering system comprising:

6. A determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product; When the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines that an order for the food product is to be placed, an ordering unit that places an order for the food product; For food products that are not registered as ordering targets by the ordering unit among a plurality of food products managed using a food product management service that manages the inventory levels of food products held by the user, when the usage frequency of the food product satisfies a predetermined condition, a proposal unit that proposes registering the food product as an ordering target by the ordering unit; An ordering system comprising:

7. A determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product; When the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines that an order for the food product is to be placed, an ordering unit that places an order for the food product; Comprising: The determination unit suppresses the ordering by the ordering unit based on the upper limit amount of the total purchase amount set by the user for a predetermined period. An ordering system.

8. When the remaining amount up to the upper limit amount of the total purchase amount satisfies a predetermined condition, the determination unit determines to place an order for food products with a high priority based on the priority set for a plurality of food products and suppress the ordering of food products with a low priority. The ordering system according to Claim 7.

9. For a plurality of food products managed using a food product management service, a priority setting unit is further provided that sets priorities for the plurality of food products based on information indicating the usage frequency of the plurality of food products obtained from the food product management service. The order placement system according to claim 7 or claim 8.

10. A program that provides a service in cooperation with an order placement system, The order placement system includes a determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product and the orderable price set for the food product, and when the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines that an order for the food product is to be placed, an order placement unit that places an order for the food product. The program causes a computer of a terminal device to receive a setting of the orderable price based on a user's operation, and transmit information indicating the received orderable price to the order placement system, when the price or price increase of the food product exceeds a threshold value, display information indicating that there is a food product for which the price or price increase exceeds the threshold value on the terminal device before the order placement unit places an order. Program.

11. A program that provides a service in cooperation with an order placement system, The order placement system includes a determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product and the orderable price set for the food product, and when the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines that an order for the food product is to be placed, an order placement unit that places an order for the food product. The program causes a computer of a terminal device to receive a setting of the orderable price based on a user's operation, and transmit information indicating the received orderable price to the order placement system, when the price or price increase of the food product exceeds a threshold value, display a confirmation notice on the terminal device to confirm whether to continue placing an order for the food product. Program.

12. A program for providing a service in cooperation with an order system, The order system includes a determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product and the orderable price set for the food product, and when the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines that an order for the food product is to be placed, an order unit that places an order for the food product. The program causes a computer of a terminal device to accept setting of the orderable price based on a user's operation, and transmit information indicating the accepted orderable price to the order system, For food products that are not registered as order targets by the order unit among a plurality of food products managed using a food product management service, when the usage frequency of the food product satisfies a predetermined condition, display a proposal to register the food product as an order target by the order unit. Program.

13. A program for providing a service in cooperation with an order system, The order system includes a determination unit that determines whether to place an order for the food product based on the price of the food product and the orderable price set for the food product, and when the inventory level of the food product drops below a predetermined amount and the determination unit determines that an order for the food product is to be placed, an order unit that places an order for the food product. The determination unit suppresses placing an order by the order unit based on an upper limit of the total purchase amount set for a predetermined period. The program causes a computer of a terminal device to accept setting of the orderable price based on a user's operation, and transmit information indicating the accepted orderable price to the order system, accept setting of the upper limit of the total purchase amount based on the user's operation, and transmit information indicating the accepted upper limit of the total purchase amount to the order system. Program.

14. When the remainder up to the upper limit of the total purchase amount satisfies a predetermined condition, the determination unit determines to place an order for food products with a high priority based on the priority set for a plurality of food products and stop placing an order for food products with a low priority. The program causes the computer of the terminal device to accept the setting of the priority based on the operation of the user and transmit information indicating the accepted setting of the priority to the ordering system. The program according to claim 13.

Images