Program, information processing system, and information processing method

Abstract

To provide a program, an information processing system, a home appliance system, and an information processing method for improving the convenience.SOLUTION: A program causes a computer, which is a terminal device capable of communicating with a recipe providing system, to implement: a first receiving unit which receives an operation of a user to designate a restricted-use material that a user is restricted to use, regarding a recipe provided by the recipe providing system; a second receiving unit which receives an operation of the user to designate use conditions to allow the user to use the restricted-use material; and an output unit which outputs, to the recipe providing system, information obtained based on the operations of the user received by the first and second receiving units.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a program, an information processing system Hmm, and an information processing method.

Background Art

[0002] An information processing system including an identifier indicating that a recipe is an allergy-related dish has been proposed. Further improvement in convenience is expected for such an information processing system.

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 a program, an information processing system, a home appliance system, and an information processing method capable of improving convenience.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The program according to the embodiment causes a computer, which is a terminal device capable of communicating with a recipe providing system, to include a first reception unit that receives an operation of the user specifying a usage restriction item whose use by the user is restricted with respect to a recipe provided by the recipe providing system, a second reception unit that receives an operation of the user specifying a usage enable condition under which the user can use the usage restriction item, and an output unit that outputs information obtained based on the operations of the user received by the first reception unit and the second reception unit to the recipe providing system. The terminal device can access a storage area that stores the restricted use items specified by the user in association with the user's user identification information. The second receiving unit can access the storage area and receive a specification regarding the cooking method of the restricted use items themselves as the usable condition.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] [Figure 1] A diagram showing the overall configuration of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] A block diagram showing the functional configuration of the oven range according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] A block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] A diagram showing an example of the home screen of the first embodiment. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of the service list screen in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] A diagram showing an example of the restricted materials and usable conditions of the first embodiment. [Figure 7] An example of the recipe list display screen for the first embodiment is shown in the figure. [Figure 8] An example of the detailed recipe display screen of the first embodiment is shown in the figure. [Figure 9] A block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server in the first embodiment. [Figure 10] A diagram showing an example of the contents of the recipe database in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] A diagram showing an example of the contents of the heating pattern DB in the first embodiment. [Figure 12] A diagram showing an example of the contents of the equipment database in the first embodiment. [Figure 13] A diagram showing an example of the contents of the restricted items database in the first embodiment. [Figure 14] A diagram showing an example of the contents of the special circumstances database in the first embodiment. [Figure 15] A diagram showing an example of the contents of the related usage restriction database in the first embodiment. [Figure 16] A diagram showing an example of the contents of the usage precautions database in the first embodiment. [Figure 17] A sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of processing in the first embodiment. [Figure 18] A diagram showing an example of the user information setting process flow in the first embodiment. [Figure 19] A diagram showing an example of screen transitions in the user information setting process of the first embodiment. [Figure 20]A diagram showing an example of the flow of recipe search processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 21] A diagram showing an example of the flow of detailed recipe generation processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 22] A diagram showing an example of the flow of notification information generation processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 23] A diagram showing an example of the warning message screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 24] A diagram showing an example of the warning message screen of the third modification example according to the first embodiment. [Figure 25] A diagram showing an example of the warning message screen of the fourth modification example according to the first embodiment. [Figure 26] A diagram showing an example of the detailed recipe display screen of the fifth modification example according to the first embodiment. [Figure 27] A diagram showing an example of the detailed recipe display screen of the eighth modification example according to the first embodiment. [Figure 28] A diagram showing an example of the detailed recipe display screen of the ninth modification example according to the first embodiment. [Figure 29] A diagram showing an example of the content of the heating pattern DB of the eleventh modification example according to the first embodiment.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] Hereinafter, the program, information processing system, home appliance system, and information processing method of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to configurations having the same or similar functions. And the overlapping descriptions of those configurations may be omitted. In the present application, "based on XX" means "at least based 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 those obtained by performing operations or processing on XX. In the present application, "XX or YY" is not limited to either one of XX and YY, and may include both cases of XX and YY. This is the same even when there are three or more selectable elements. XX and YY are arbitrary elements (for example, arbitrary information).

[0008] In this application, "acquisition" is not limited to actively acquiring information by sending a transmission request, but may also include acquiring information by passively receiving information transmitted from another device. Furthermore, "acquisition" may also include acquiring target information by performing calculations or processing on information obtained from an external source to generate the target information. In the following description, "detection" may be used to mean "acquisition." Therefore, the term "detection" in the following description may be read as "acquisition." In this application, "database" is abbreviated as "DB."

[0009] (First Embodiment) Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of the information processing system 1 of the first embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes, for example, a cooking appliance 100, a server 200, and a terminal device 300. The term "information processing system" in this application is not limited to the above example and may be implemented by the server 200 alone, by the appliance management application APP on the terminal device 300 alone, or by both the server 200 and the appliance management application APP on the terminal device 300. The server 200 is an example of a "recipe provision system." The cooking appliance 100 is an example of an "appliance system." The term "appliance system" in this application is not limited to the above example and may be implemented by the cooking appliance 100 and the appliance management application APP on the terminal device 300. The network NW may be, 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, depending on the situation.

[0010] (Configuration of cooking appliances) The cooking appliance 100 is, for example, a microwave oven, and will be referred to as microwave oven 100 below. However, the cooking appliance 100 is not limited to a microwave oven, but may also be a microwave oven, toaster, etc. The microwave oven 100 is installed in the residence of user U. The microwave oven 100 is connected to the network NW via a wireless router WR and modem M installed in the residence of user U.

[0011] As shown in Figure 2, the oven range 100 includes, for example, a heating device 11, a communication unit 12, a control unit 13, a display control unit 14, an operation reception unit 15, and a storage unit 16. The control unit 13, the display control unit 14, and the operation reception unit 15 are software function units realized by one or more hardware processors, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) mounted on the oven range 100, executing programs.

[0012] The heating device 11 is, for example, a device that heats using a heater. The communication unit 12 is a wireless communication module that connects to the network NW via a wireless router WR and a modem M, and transmits and receives data with the server 200. The display control unit 14 displays data on a display screen, such as a liquid crystal display, that is visible from the outside and is provided on the display screen of the oven range 100. The operation reception unit 15 receives operations from user U via an input device provided on the oven range 100 and outputs control signals to the control unit 13 according to the received operations. The control unit 13 receives and acquires data transmitted by the server 200 via the communication unit 12 and acquires data output by the operation reception unit 15. Based on the acquired data, the control unit 13, for example, causes the heating device 11 to perform heating. The storage unit 16 stores data related to various cooking modes, such as French toast mode, and heating information that indicates heating conditions such as heating temperature and heating time when the heating device 11 is used for cooking.

[0013] (Terminal device configuration) Terminal device 300 is a terminal device used by user U. Terminal device 300 may be a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal device, or it may be a personal computer, etc. Terminal device 300 is equipped with a communication module (not shown) and connects to the network NW via a wireless router WR and modem M to send and receive data with server 200. Terminal device 300 includes a display device 301 including a display screen 301a such as a liquid crystal display, and an input device 302 that can accept input from user U. The input device 302 is, for example, a touch panel provided so as to overlap with the display screen 301a of the display device 301. The input device 302 may include a camera, microphone, etc. provided on terminal device 300.

[0014] As shown in Figure 3, the terminal device 300 includes, for example, a storage unit 30, a display control unit 31, an operation reception unit 32, a device registration unit 33, a user information reception unit 34, a recipe search request unit 35 (output unit), a detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​(output unit), and a heating instruction unit 37. The storage unit 30 is a hardware function unit that stores data of a pre-installed application program P and registration information 310. The software function unit, which is constructed by one or more hardware processors such as a CPU mounted on the terminal device 300 executing the application program P, is collectively called the "home appliance management app."

[0015] The registration information 310 includes user identification information unique to user U, which is shared between the terminal device 300 and the server 200. Hereinafter, the user identification information will be referred to as the user ID (Identifier). The user ID is determined when the use of the home appliance management app APP begins and is recorded in the registration information 310. Here, recording certain data in the registration information 310 means that the data in question is included in the information that forms the registration information 310.

[0016] The display control unit 31, operation reception unit 32, device registration unit 33, user information reception unit 34, recipe search request unit 35, detailed recipe request unit 36, and heating instruction unit 37 are software function units included in the home appliance management app described above.

[0017] The display control unit 31 outputs data related to the display of images, characters, etc., to the display device 301, for example, either by itself or by receiving and outputting data from other functional units, and displays images, characters, etc., corresponding to the data on the display screen 301a. Also, when the display control unit 31 is started up, it displays, for example, the home screen 501 shown in Figure 4 on the display screen 301a.

[0018] The operation reception unit 32 receives a predetermined operation from user U. The operation reception unit 32 detects the operation performed by user U on the input device 302 and outputs a control signal corresponding to the detected operation. For example, suppose user U operates and selects an operation unit 51 virtually provided within the image of the home screen 501 displayed on the display screen 301a shown in Figure 4. If the input device 302 is a touch panel, the operation performed by user U on the input device 302 is, for example, a tap operation on the display screen 301a. In this case, with the home screen 501 displayed on the display screen 301a, the operation reception unit 32 detects the operation in which the position of the operation unit 51 was selected on the input device 302 and outputs a control signal corresponding to the detected operation to the display control unit 31. Upon receiving this control signal, the display control unit 31 displays, for example, the service list screen 502 shown in Figure 5 on the display screen 301a.

[0019] The device registration unit 33 is activated when user U operates and selects an operation unit 52 virtually provided within the home screen 501 image shown in Figure 4, and receives a control signal indicating activation output by the operation reception unit 32. The device registration unit 33 performs device registration processing, associating user U's user ID with the device ID corresponding to the oven range 100 used by user U. Here, the device ID is, for example, the serial number of the oven range 100. The device registration unit 33 records the device ID in registration information 310 and transmits the user ID and device ID contained in the registration information 310 to the server 200.

[0020] The user information receiving unit 34 receives user information of user U. Here, user information of user U refers to information such as allergies that user U has. The information that the user information receiving unit 34 receives includes three types of information, such as restricted items, usable conditions, and special circumstances.

[0021] Restricted substances are foods that are restricted from being used as ingredients due to, for example, user U's allergies. Usable conditions are the conditions under which restricted substances can be used as ingredients. The table shown in Figure 6 is an example of restricted substances and usable conditions. For example, suppose user U has an allergy that prevents them from eating raw or soft-boiled eggs, but allows them to eat eggs that are thoroughly cooked. In this case, user U would specify "eggs" as a restricted substance for themselves and "A (acceptable if cooked)" as the usable condition.

[0022] Special circumstances refer to unique circumstances that User U has regarding things other than food, such as hay fever, asthma, or allergies to rubber or metals. Information indicating special circumstances is used for purposes such as the following. For example, it is generally advised that people with hay fever should not eat rapeseed blossoms. However, even if people are aware that they have hay fever, not many are aware that it is advisable not to eat rapeseed blossoms. In this case, symptoms such as hay fever, which many people are aware of, are designated as special circumstances, and ingredients (such as rapeseed blossoms) that have a predetermined relationship with these special circumstances are pre-assigned as ingredients requiring caution when using. By making such associations, if User U specifies their special circumstances, ingredients that User U must be careful of when consuming them can be identified, and if such ingredients are included in a recipe, the recipe can be modified or a predetermined notification can be issued. The ingredients requiring caution described here are ingredients that have a predetermined relationship with User U's special circumstances other than food and require caution when using, and are examples of "Second Caution Ingredients."

[0023] The user information receiving unit 34 includes a restricted use receiving unit 34-1 (first receiving unit), a usable conditions receiving unit 34-2 (second receiving unit), and a special circumstances receiving unit 34-3 (third receiving unit) (see Figure 3). The restricted use receiving unit 34-1 receives an operation from user U specifying a restricted use. The restricted use receiving unit 34-1 records information indicating the received restricted use (an example of first information) in the registration information 310 and outputs it to the usable conditions receiving unit 34-2. The usable conditions receiving unit 34-2 receives an operation from user U specifying the usable conditions corresponding to the restricted use output by the restricted use receiving unit 34-1. The usable conditions receiving unit 34-2 records information indicating the usable conditions for each received restricted use (an example of second information) in the registration information 310. The usable conditions receiving unit 34-2 may also receive information indicating an alternative use (another example of second information) in place of / in addition to the usable conditions. "Substitute ingredients" are ingredients that can be used in place of restricted ingredients. The usable condition receiving unit 34-2 may accept an operation by user U indicating that the restricted ingredients output by the restricted ingredient receiving unit 34-1 cannot be used under any circumstances. The special circumstances receiving unit 34-3 accepts an operation by user U specifying special circumstances. The special circumstances receiving unit 34-3 records the information indicating the received special circumstances (an example of third information) in the registration information 310. The restricted ingredients and special circumstances that users can specify are predetermined, and the usable conditions may also be predetermined for each restricted ingredient.

[0024] The recipe search request unit 35 is activated, for example, when user U operates and selects the word "recipe" on the operation unit 53 located within the image of the service list screen 502 shown in Figure 5, and receives a control signal indicating activation output by the operation reception unit 32. The recipe search request unit 35 sends a recipe search request signal to the server 200 that includes the user ID and user information contained in the registration information 310. If a search string is provided through the character input area 56 of the overview recipe list display screen 503 shown in Figure 7, the recipe search request unit 35 further sends a recipe search request signal to the server 200 that includes the provided search string. The recipe search request unit 35 is an example of an "output unit". User information is an example of information obtained based on user U's operations received by the restricted item reception unit 34-1, the usable condition reception unit 34-2, or the special circumstances reception unit 34-3. Furthermore, the user ID and user information included in the registration information 310 may be sent from the terminal device 300 to the server 200 at a time different from the recipe search (for example, during the initial setup of the home appliance management app, or during the initial setup of the recipe-related functions of the home appliance management app). In addition, the output unit that sends (outputs) the user ID and user information to the server 200 may be provided independently of the recipe search request unit 35.

[0025] The recipe search request unit 35 receives a recipe search response signal from the server 200 that corresponds to the recipe search request signal. Based on the data contained in the received recipe search response signal, the recipe search request unit 35 displays, for example, the summary recipe list display screen 503 shown in Figure 7 on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. Here, the process of "displaying... on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31" means, for example, the process in which the display control unit 31 takes in some data output by other functional units and displays an image or the like generated from the taken data on the display screen 301a.

[0026] The detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​is activated when, for example, user U operates the operation unit 55 corresponding to the image area of ​​"recipe image 1" included in the image of the summary recipe list display screen 503 shown in Figure 7, and receives a control signal indicating activation output by the operation reception unit 32. The operation unit 55 is associated with at least a recipe ID that has been pre-assigned to recipe 1. Here, the recipe ID is recipe identification information that can identify each recipe, and is information that is assigned to each recipe data when the recipe data is registered in the server 200.

[0027] If the detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​is activated, for example, due to an operation on the operation unit 55, it sends a detailed recipe request signal to the server 200 that includes the recipe ID of recipe 1 associated with the operation unit 55, and the user ID and user information included in the registration information 310. The detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​receives a detailed recipe response signal from the server 200 that corresponds to the detailed recipe request signal. Based on the detailed recipe data included in the received detailed recipe search response signal, the detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​displays, for example, the detailed recipe display screen 504 shown in Figure 8, on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31.

[0028] The detailed recipe display screen 504 shown in Figure 8 displays information included in the detailed recipe data, such as the image of Recipe 1, the name of Recipe 1, the ingredient list of Recipe 1, and the cooking procedure for Recipe 1. In contrast, the summary recipe list display screen 503 shown in Figure 7 displays only information indicating the summary of Recipe 1, such as the thumbnail image and the name of Recipe 1, for Recipe 1. Hereinafter, the data related to each recipe displayed on the summary recipe list display screen 503 in Figure 7, including the Recipe ID, will be referred to as summary recipe data to distinguish it from the detailed recipe data.

[0029] The heating instruction unit 37 is activated, for example, when user U operates and selects the operation unit 57, which includes the word "Send" in the image of the detailed recipe display screen 504 shown in Figure 8, and receives a control signal indicating activation output by the operation reception unit 32. The operation unit 57 is associated with at least a recipe ID corresponding to recipe 1. When the heating instruction unit 37 is activated due to an operation on the operation unit 57, it sends a heating instruction signal to the server 200 that includes the recipe ID of recipe 1 associated with the operation unit 57, and the user ID and equipment ID included in the registration information 310.

[0030] (Server configuration) Server 200 is composed of one or more server devices (e.g., cloud servers). Server 200 is equipped with a communication module (not shown) and connects to a network NW. When sharing a user ID with a terminal device 300, Server 200 stores the address information that identifies the terminal device 300 on the network NW in association with the user ID. Therefore, when transmitting data, Server 200 can transmit data to the terminal device 300 corresponding to the user ID by including the user ID in the transmission. Server 200 may also include an information processing unit that performs edge computing or fog computing, such as an information processing unit included in a router of the network NW. Server 200 is not limited to a cloud server, and may be a computer in the user U's residence, or a home router (e.g., a wireless router WR), etc.

[0031] As shown in Figure 9, the server 200 includes, for example, a storage unit 20, a database registration processing unit 21, a recipe provision unit 22, a notification information provision unit 23, and a heating information output unit 24. The database registration processing unit 21, the recipe provision unit 22, the notification information provision unit 23, and the heating information output unit 24 are software functions implemented by one or more hardware processors, such as a CPU installed in the server 200, executing programs. These functions may be provided separately in multiple server devices. Alternatively, one or more of these functions may be provided in a terminal device 300 or an oven range 100 instead of the server 200.

[0032] The memory unit 20 is a hardware function unit and includes a recipe DB201, a heating pattern DB202, an equipment registration DB203, a restricted use item DB204, a special circumstances DB205, a related restricted use item DB206, and a cautionary use item DB207.

[0033] Figure 10 shows an example of the contents of Recipe DB201. Recipe DB201 stores information such as recipe ID, recipe name, recipe image, ingredient list, ingredient usage, cooking procedure, and heating pattern, associated with each other. Hereinafter, the data contained in one row of Recipe DB201 will be referred to as a recipe record. In this application, when "recipe" is used, it generally refers to a recipe record, but it may also refer to detailed recipe data or summary recipe data generated from a part of a recipe record.

[0034] The "Recipe ID" and "Cooking Procedure" fields store the recipe ID assigned to each recipe record and the content of the recipe for that record, i.e., the cooking procedure. The "Ingredient List" field has sub-fields for "Type" and "Quantity," which store the type and quantity of ingredients for each recipe record. The "Recipe Name" and "Recipe Image" fields store the name of the dish obtained by cooking the ingredients in the "Ingredient List" field according to the cooking procedure in the "Cooking Procedure" field for each recipe record, and an image of an example of that dish.

[0035] The "Ingredient Usage Form" field stores information indicating the usage form of a restricted ingredient if that restricted ingredient is included in the corresponding ingredient list's type field. For example, suppose the predetermined restricted ingredient is "eggs." In this case, when "eggs" is included in the ingredient list's type field, information indicating how "eggs" are provided is stored in the "Ingredient Usage Form" field. The information indicating the ingredient usage form is an example of information (determination information) used by the terminal device 300 to determine whether a recipe satisfies the combination of the restricted ingredient specified by user U and the usable conditions. The information stored in the "Usage Form" field of the ingredient usage form may be limited to information corresponding to one of the predetermined usable conditions for the restricted ingredient indicated in the "Type" field of the ingredient usage form. The determination information registered in the "Ingredient Usage Form" field may also be information that allows determination of whether the conditions regarding substitute ingredients are met for the restricted ingredient included in the recipe (i.e., whether the recipe includes a substitute ingredient for the restricted ingredient). Such information for determination may include, for example, information indicating that the food ingredient usage category includes "Type: Egg (restricted use)" and "Usage Category: Substituted with gelatin," and that the food ingredient list includes "Gelatin" in its "Type" category.

[0036] Let's explain using the recipe records with recipe IDs "A011" and "A012" in Figure 10 as examples. In the recipe record with recipe ID "A011", the ingredient list's "Type" field includes "Egg". Here, let's assume that in the recipe with recipe ID "A011", the egg is used in a heated form. In this case, the "Type" field of the ingredient usage form in the recipe record with recipe ID "A011" stores "Egg", and the "Usage Form" field of the ingredient usage form stores A (Heated), which corresponds to the usable condition A (Okay if heated). In contrast, let's assume that in the recipe with recipe ID "A012" in Figure 10, the egg is used in a soft-boiled form (for example, the recipe with recipe ID "A012" uses one egg as a binder, and the remaining egg is used to make a soft-boiled fried egg and placed on top of the finished hamburger). In this case, the ingredient list for recipe record "A012" includes "egg" in the "type" field, but since the egg is used in a soft-boiled state, it does not meet any of the usable conditions for "egg" shown in Figure 6. Therefore, the "ingredients used" field will be left blank.

[0037] Figure 11 shows an example of the contents of the heating pattern DB202. Even with the same recipe, the heating conditions, such as heating temperature and heating time, differ depending on the type (model) of the oven range 100 when heated by the heating device 11 of the oven range 100. Therefore, as shown in Figure 10, the "heating pattern" item in recipe D201 stores the names of heating patterns such as "Pattern A," "Pattern B," etc., rather than heating information indicating the heating conditions. As shown in Figure 11, the heating pattern DB202 stores data in a data format that can identify the heating information corresponding to each of the "Pattern A," "Pattern B," etc. for each model information indicating the type (model) of the oven range 100.

[0038] As shown in Figure 12, the device registration DB 203 stores the user ID, the device ID of the microwave oven 100 used by the user indicated by the user ID, the address information assigned to the communication unit 12 of the microwave oven 100, and the model information indicating the type (model) of the microwave oven 100, in association with each other. The address information assigned to the communication unit 12 of the microwave oven 100 is, for example, information detected by the DB registration processing unit 21 when the DB registration processing unit 21 records the user ID and device ID to the device registration DB 203.

[0039] As shown in Figure 13, the Restricted Items DB204 stores the User ID of User U, the restricted items specified by User U, and the usage conditions specified by User U corresponding to each restricted item, in association. As shown in Figure 14, the Special Circumstances DB205 stores the User ID of User U and the special circumstances specified by User U, in association. Note that Figures 12, 13, and 14 show an example where only data related to User U with User ID "U100" is stored. In contrast, when storing data related to multiple User IDs, the Equipment Registration DB203, Restricted Items DB204, and Special Circumstances DB205 store data in the data format shown in Figures 12, 13, and 14 for each of the multiple User IDs.

[0040] Figure 15 shows an example of the contents of the Related Restricted Uses DB206. Here, we will explain related restricted uses. For example, it is known that a person who is allergic to wheat may also be allergic to barley. In this example, if user U designates "wheat" as a restricted use, then "barley" becomes a related restricted use for user U. More generally, a related restricted use is a food that has a predetermined relationship in which a person who is allergic to a certain restricted use may experience allergic symptoms when consuming it.

[0041] The Related Restricted Uses DB206 has the following entries: "Restricted Uses," "Related Restricted Uses," and "Conditions for Use." The "Restricted Uses" entry stores information indicating the restricted uses for which related restricted uses exist. The "Related Restricted Uses" entry stores information indicating the related restricted uses corresponding to the restricted uses stored in the corresponding "Restricted Uses" entry (an example of third-party information). The "Conditions for Use" entry stores information indicating the conditions under which the related restricted uses stored in the corresponding "Related Restricted Uses" entry can be used as an ingredient. The related restricted uses described here are ingredients that have a predetermined relationship with restricted uses and require caution when used, and are an example of "First-Class Cautionary Uses."

[0042] As shown in Figure 16, the Precautions for Use DB207 has the fields "Special Circumstances" and "Precautions for Use." The "Special Circumstances" field stores the special circumstances (unique circumstances that the user may have regarding non-food items) for which the Precautions for Use exist. The "Precautions for Use" field stores information (an example of third-party information) indicating the Precautions for Use corresponding to the special circumstances stored in the corresponding "Special Circumstances" field. The Precautions for Use described here are ingredients that have a predetermined relationship with the user U's special circumstances regarding non-food items and require caution in use, and are examples of "Second Precautions for Use."

[0043] On server 200, the DB registration processing unit 21 performs registration processing for recipe DB 201, heating pattern DB 202, equipment registration DB 203, restricted use DB 204, special circumstances DB 205, related restricted use DB 206, and cautionary use DB 207. For recipe DB 201, heating pattern DB 202, related restricted use DB 206, and cautionary use DB 207, for example, an operator of information processing system 1 operates the DB registration processing unit 21 via a device connected to server 200, causing the DB registration processing unit 21 to perform registration processing to record data provided from an external source. In contrast, for equipment registration DB 203, restricted use DB 204, and special circumstances DB 205, the DB registration processing unit 21 performs registration processing to record data received from terminal device 300 based on operations by user U.

[0044] The recipe providing unit 22 selects and provides one or more recipes from among multiple recipes based on first information indicating restricted materials whose use by user U is restricted, and second information indicating the conditions under which user U can use the restricted materials or alternative materials that can be used in place of the restricted materials. In this embodiment, the recipe providing unit 22 selects and provides one or more recipes from among multiple recipes based on the first information, the second information, and determination information described later. In this application, "providing a recipe" means, for example, transmitting information about the selected recipe to the terminal device 300.

[0045] The recipe provider 22 may, instead of performing the process described below, select and provide one or more recipes from among several recipes based on the above-mentioned first information, the above-mentioned second information, and information indicating a first-class substance requiring caution that has a predetermined relationship with the restricted-use substance, or a second-class substance requiring caution that has a predetermined relationship with the special circumstances of user U regarding non-food items (an example of the third information). In other words, "restricted-use substance" in the following description may be read as "first-class substance requiring caution" or "second-class substance requiring caution."

[0046] In this embodiment, when the recipe provision unit 22 receives a recipe search request signal from the terminal device 300, it selects one or more recipes that meet the conditions from the data stored in the recipe DB 201 (data in which multiple recipes are registered) and generates summary recipe data indicating the one or more selected recipes. The recipe provision unit 22 sends a recipe search response signal containing the generated summary recipe data to the terminal device 300. When the recipe provision unit 22 receives a detailed recipe request signal from the terminal device 300, it generates detailed recipe data that meets the conditions from the data stored in the recipe DB 201. The recipe provision unit 22 sends a detailed recipe response signal containing the generated detailed recipe data to the terminal device 300.

[0047] The notification information provision unit 23 provides a predetermined notification if the recipe includes a first cautionary substance that has a predetermined relationship with the restricted substance, or a second cautionary substance that has a predetermined relationship with the user U's special circumstances regarding non-food items. Below, an example of when the notification information provision unit 23 provides a predetermined notification when the second cautionary substance is included in the recipe will be described. In the example of when the notification information provision unit 23 provides a predetermined notification when the first cautionary substance is included in the recipe, you can read "second cautionary substance" as "first cautionary substance" in the following description. In this application, "providing a predetermined notification" may include, for example, cases where notification information (notification information) is transmitted to the terminal device 300, and the notification is provided to the user U via the terminal device 300.

[0048] In this embodiment, the notification information providing unit 23 generates notification information based on detailed recipe data when the recipe providing unit 22 generates detailed recipe data, and provides the generated notification information via the recipe providing unit 22. When the heating information output unit 24 receives a heating instruction signal from the terminal device 300, it detects heating information corresponding to the heating instruction signal based on the recipe DB 201, heating pattern DB 202, and equipment registration DB 203. The heating information output unit 24 transmits the detected heating information to the oven range 100.

[0049] Furthermore, one or more of the control unit 13, display control unit 14, and operation reception unit 15 of the oven range 100, as well as the DB registration processing unit 21, recipe provision unit 22, notification information provision unit 23, and heating information output unit 24 of the server 200, are not limited to being implemented by software functions. Some or all of these functions may be implemented by hardware such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or by collaboration between software and hardware.

[0050] The storage unit 16 of the microwave oven 100, the storage unit 30 of the terminal device 300, and the storage unit 20 of the server 200 are implemented by a combination of, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0051] (Processing by the information processing system of the first embodiment) Figure 17 is a sequence diagram showing the overall flow of processing performed by the information processing system 1 of the first embodiment. It is assumed that the following state is in place before the processing shown in Figure 17 begins.

[0052] User U of terminal device 300 is assigned the user ID "U100", and this assigned user ID "U100" is shared between terminal device 300 and server 200. The server 200's recipe DB201, heating pattern DB202, related usage restriction DB206, and usage caution DB207 are registered by the DB registration processing unit 21, respectively, with the data shown in Figures 10, 11, 15, and 16. In terminal device 300, the application program P stored in the storage unit 30 is executed to build the home appliance management application APP. The equipment registration process for the oven range 100 by the equipment registration unit 33 and the DB registration processing unit 21 is assumed to be complete. Therefore, the registration information 310 of terminal device 300 contains the user ID "U100" and the equipment ID "B001" of the oven range 100. The server 200's equipment registration DB203 stores the data shown in Figure 12.

[0053] When user U operates the operation unit 51 of the home screen 501 shown in Figure 4, which is displayed on the display screen 301a after the device registration process is completed, the display control unit 31 displays the service list screen 502 shown in Figure 5 on the display screen 301a. User U operates the operation unit 53 that contains the word "Recipe" on the service list screen 502 to make a selection. When the operation reception unit 32 detects this operation, it determines whether the registration information 310 includes at least one of the restricted items and special circumstances. If the operation reception unit 32 determines that the registration information 310 includes at least one of the restricted items and special circumstances, it outputs a control signal indicating activation to the recipe search request unit 35 (S1). In this case, processing S2 is not performed, and processing S3 is started. On the other hand, if the operation reception unit 32 determines that the registration information 310 does not include both the restricted items and special circumstances, it outputs a control signal indicating activation to the restricted items reception unit 34-1 of the user information reception unit 34 (S1). This initiates the user information setting subroutine shown in Figure 18 (S2).

[0054] (Subroutine for user information setting process) When the restricted material reception unit 34-1 is activated by receiving a control signal indicating activation output by the operation reception unit 32, it displays the restricted material selection screen 505 shown in Figure 19 on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. The seven restricted materials displayed on the restricted material selection screen 505 are "eggs," "wheat," "buckwheat," "milk," "shrimp," "crab," and "peanuts." Although the restricted material selection screen 505 also displays an "other" item, in the first embodiment, the "other" item is described as not existing, and the handling of the "other" item will be described later.

[0055] The rounded rectangular area to the left of each character "egg," "wheat," "buckwheat," "milk," "shrimp," "crab," and "peanut" is an operation area that indicates whether or not to select (i.e., specify) the corresponding restricted material. By operating this operation area, User U specifies the restricted material that applies to them. For example, when User U operates the rounded rectangular operation area to the left of the character "egg," the operation reception unit 32 detects the operation and outputs a control signal to the restricted material reception unit 34-1 to specify "egg" as a restricted material. Upon receiving this control signal, the restricted material reception unit 34-1 accepts User U's operation to specify "egg" as a restricted material (Sa1), and via the display control unit 31, changes the color inside the rounded rectangular area to the left of "egg" on the restricted material selection screen 505 displayed on the display screen 301a to a predetermined color, or adds an indication that it has been selected. In the example shown in Figure 19, rounded rectangles corresponding to "eggs" and "wheat" are marked to indicate that they have been selected, meaning that "eggs" and "wheat" have been selected as restricted items by user U.

[0056] User U makes a selection by operating the operation unit 61, which includes the word "Next" on the restricted item selection screen 505. When the operation reception unit 32 detects this operation, it outputs a control signal indicating the end of the selection of restricted items to the restricted item reception unit 34-1. When the restricted item reception unit 34-1 receives the control signal indicating the end from the operation reception unit 32, it determines whether or not a selected restricted item exists on the restricted item selection screen 505 at the time of receipt (i.e., whether or not the operation by User U to specify a restricted item has been accepted) (Sa2).

[0057] If the restricted item receiving unit 34-1 determines that no selected restricted item exists (Sa2, No), it outputs a control signal indicating activation to the special circumstances receiving unit 34-3 and clears the restricted item selection screen 505 from the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. In this case, the process proceeds to the process of Sa4. On the other hand, if the restricted item receiving unit 34-1 determines that a selected restricted item exists (Sa2, Yes), it detects information (first information) indicating the selected restricted item. The restricted item receiving unit 34-1 records the detected restricted item in the registration information 310. The restricted item receiving unit 34-1 outputs a control signal indicating activation, including the information indicating the detected restricted item, to the usable condition receiving unit 34-2 and clears the restricted item selection screen 505 from the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. Here, as an example, we will explain the case where the restricted material receiving unit 34-1 determines that "eggs" and "wheat" have been selected as restricted materials and outputs a control signal to the usable condition receiving unit 34-2 indicating that the system includes "eggs" and "wheat".

[0058] When the usable condition receiving unit 34-2 receives the activation control signal output by the restricted material receiving unit 34-1, which includes "eggs" and "wheat," it displays the usable condition selection screen 506 shown in Figure 19 on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. The usable condition selection screen 506 displays one or more (for example, multiple) predetermined conditions that can be used for each of "eggs" and "wheat" included in the activation control signal. The usable condition selection screen 506 shows an example where five predetermined condition candidates are displayed for "eggs" as shown in Figure 6. Note that part of "wheat" is not included in the display range of the display screen 301a. Therefore, when user U scrolls downwards, two predetermined condition candidates for "wheat" shown in Figure 6, namely "OK if heated" and "OK in small amounts," are displayed on the display screen 301a. Similar to the case of the restricted item selection screen 505, user U operates the rounded rectangle operation unit to the left of the condition candidate on the usable condition selection screen 506 to select the usable condition that applies to them. That is, the usable condition receiving unit 34-2 accepts user U's operation of selecting at least one condition candidate from one or more condition candidates that can be usable conditions displayed in association with the restricted item as user U's operation of specifying a usable condition. Here, we show the case where user U selects two options for "eggs": "usable if heated" (usable condition "A") and "usable as a binder" (usable condition "E"), and selects "usable if heated" (usable condition "A") for "wheat".

[0059] User U makes a selection by operating the operation unit 62, which includes the word "Next" on the usable conditions selection screen 506. When the operation reception unit 32 detects this operation, it outputs a control signal to the usable conditions reception unit 34-2 indicating the end of the usable conditions selection. When the usable conditions reception unit 34-2 receives the control signal indicating the end from the operation reception unit 32, it detects information (second information) indicating the usable conditions for each restricted item selected on the usable conditions selection screen 506 at the time of receipt. The usable conditions reception unit 34-2 records the detected usable conditions for each restricted item in the registration information 310. If no usable conditions are selected by User U, only the restricted items are recorded in the registration information 310.

[0060] Here, the usable conditions receiving unit 34-2 records the information associated with "eggs" as "usable if heated" and "usable as a binder," and the information associated with "wheat" as "usable if heated," in the registration information 310. When the usable conditions receiving unit 34-2 has finished recording in the registration information 310, it outputs a control signal indicating activation to the special circumstances receiving unit 34-3 and clears the usable conditions selection screen 506 from the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31 (Sa3).

[0061] When the Special Circumstances Reception Unit 34-3 receives a control signal indicating activation output by either the Restricted Use Reception Unit 34-1 or the Usable Condition Reception Unit 34-2, it displays the Special Circumstances Selection Screen 507 shown in Figure 19 on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. On the Special Circumstances Selection Screen 507, as shown in Figure 19, two strings, "Display a warning" and "Do not display a warning," and a rounded rectangle operation button to the left of each of the two strings are shown in the area indicated by reference numeral 64. User U performs an operation on the Special Circumstances Selection Screen 507 to select the operation button corresponding to one of the two strings, "Display a warning" and "Do not display a warning," similar to the case of the Restricted Use Selection Screen 505. When the Operation Reception Unit 32 detects this operation, it outputs a signal to the Special Circumstances Reception Unit 34-3 corresponding to the selected operation button, which corresponds to either the "Display a warning" or "Do not display a warning" string. The special circumstances reception unit 34-3 determines whether the signal output by the operation reception unit 32 corresponds to "display a warning" or "do not display a warning" (Sa4).

[0062] If the special circumstances reception unit 34-3 determines that the signal output by the operation reception unit 32 corresponds to "Do not display a warning" (Sa4, not used), it determines that user U will not use the warning based on the special circumstances. In this case, the special circumstances reception unit 34-3 outputs a control signal indicating activation to the recipe search request unit 35, and terminates the subroutine by erasing the special circumstances selection screen 507 from the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. On the other hand, if the signal output by the operation reception unit 32 corresponds to "Display a warning" (Sa4, used), the special circumstances reception unit 34-3 determines that user U will use the warning based on the special circumstances.

[0063] As shown in Figure 19, the special circumstances selection screen 507 displays four predetermined special circumstances: "hay fever," "asthma," "rubber," and "metal." For "hay fever," four predetermined plants that cause hay fever—"cedar," "cypress," "rice," and "birch"—are also displayed. Note that for "metal," since part of the display area of ​​the display screen 301a is not included, when user U scrolls down the display screen 301a, the text "metal" and a rounded rectangle operation area to the left of "metal" are displayed. As with the restricted material selection screen 505, user U operates the rounded rectangle operation area on the special circumstances selection screen 507 to select the special circumstances that apply to them. The special circumstances reception unit 34-3 then accepts the operation of user U specifying the special circumstances. Here, we show an example where user U selects "hay fever" and "asthma," and then selects "cedar" for "hay fever."

[0064] User U operates the operation unit 63, which includes the text "Complete settings" on the special circumstances selection screen 507, to make a selection. When the operation reception unit 32 detects this operation, it outputs a control signal to the special circumstances reception unit 34-3 indicating the completion of the special circumstances selection. When the special circumstances reception unit 34-3 receives the control signal indicating completion from the operation reception unit 32, it detects information (third information) indicating the selected special circumstances on the special circumstances selection screen 507 at the time of receipt. The special circumstances reception unit 34-3 records the detected special circumstances in the registration information 310. In this case, the special circumstances reception unit 34-3 records information indicating "cedar" associated with "hay fever" and information indicating "asthma" as special circumstances in the registration information 310. When the special circumstances reception unit 34-3 finishes recording the registration information 310, it outputs a control signal to the recipe search request unit 35 indicating activation, and then, via the display control unit 31, it erases the special circumstances selection screen 507 from the display screen 301a (Sa5), and terminates the subroutine.

[0065] As a result, when processing of Sa5 is completed, registration information 310 will include the user ID "U100", the device ID "B001", and the combinations of restricted items and usable conditions as user information: "Egg / A (OK if heated)", "Egg / E (OK if used as a binder)", "Wheat / A (OK if heated)", and special circumstances: "Hay fever / Cedar pollen", "Asthma".

[0066] Furthermore, the timing for starting the user information setting subroutine in Figure 18 is not limited to the timing after the processing of S1. For example, if the overview recipe list display screen 503 shown in Figure 7 or the detailed recipe display screen 504 shown in Figure 8 is displayed on the display screen 301a, the user U can start the user information setting subroutine in Figure 18 at any time by operating the operation unit 58 of these screens. Also, as mentioned above, these processes may be performed separately from recipe searching, as part of the initial setup of the home appliance management app, or as part of the initial setup of the recipe-related functions of the home appliance management app.

[0067] Returning to Figure 17, the recipe search request unit 35 is activated when it receives a control signal indicating activation output by either the operation reception unit 32 or the special circumstances reception unit 34-3. As described above, the recipe search request unit 35 generates either a recipe search request signal that does not include the search string or a recipe search request signal that includes the search string. Here, we will describe an example in which the search string "hamburger" is provided through the character input area 56 of the overview recipe list display screen 503 shown in Figure 7. In this case, the recipe search request unit 35 generates a recipe search request signal that includes the user ID included in the registration information 310, user information, and the search string "hamburger". The recipe search request unit 35 sends the generated recipe search request signal to the server 200 (S3).

[0068] The recipe provision unit 22 receives the recipe search request signal transmitted by the recipe search request unit 35. The recipe provision unit 22 reads the user ID and user information contained in the received recipe search request signal and outputs the read user ID and user information to the DB registration processing unit 21. When the DB registration processing unit 21 receives the user ID and user information output by the recipe provision unit 22, it performs the following registration process (S4).

[0069] The DB registration processing unit 21 records the imported user ID and the combination of restricted items and usable conditions included in the imported user information in the restricted items DB 204. If a table corresponding to the user ID to be recorded exists in the restricted items DB 204, the DB registration processing unit 21 overwrites the combination of restricted items and usable conditions stored in that table with the imported combination of restricted items and usable conditions.

[0070] The DB registration processing unit 21 records the imported user ID and the special circumstances included in the imported user information in the special circumstances DB 205. If a table corresponding to the user ID to be recorded exists in the special circumstances DB 205, the DB registration processing unit 21 overwrites the special circumstances stored in that table with the imported special circumstances. As a result, the restricted items DB 204 stores the data shown in Figure 13, and the special circumstances DB 205 stores the data shown in Figure 14. These processes may be performed separately from recipe searches as part of the initial setup of the home appliance management app, or as part of the initial setup of the recipe-related functions of the home appliance management app. In this case, the output unit that outputs the first information indicating restricted items, the second information indicating usable conditions, and the third information indicating special circumstances to the server 200 may be provided separately from the recipe search request unit 35 or the detailed recipe request unit 36.

[0071] The recipe provision unit 22 outputs the user ID read from the recipe search request signal and the user information to the DB registration processing unit 21, and then starts the recipe search processing subroutine shown in Figure 20 (S5).

[0072] (Subroutine for recipe search processing) The recipe provider unit 22 detects the recipe IDs of recipe records from the recipe DB 201 whose "Recipe Name" field contains the search string "hamburger" included in the recipe search request signal (Sb1). Here, the recipe provider unit 22 detects five recipe IDs, "A011" to "A015," as shown in Figure 10.

[0073] The recipe provider unit 22 determines whether or not there are any restrictions on use specified. The recipe provider unit 22 determines whether or not there are restrictions on use specified based, for example, on whether or not the user information read from the recipe search request signal contains any restrictions on use (Sb2). If there are no restrictions on use, the recipe provider unit 22 determines that there are no restrictions on use specified (Sb2, No), records all the recipe IDs detected in the Sb1 process in a display list stored in the internal memory area (Sb3), and terminates the subroutine. In this case, all the recipe IDs detected by the recipe provider unit 22 in the Sb1 process become the search results in the recipe search process.

[0074] On the other hand, the recipe provider 22 determines that if a restricted substance is included, there is a designation for the restricted substance (Sb2, Yes). The recipe provider 22 detects the related restricted substance DB 206 that corresponds to the restricted substance included in the user information read from the recipe search request signal (Sb4). In this case, "eggs" and "wheat" are included as restricted substances. Also, as shown in Figure 15, the related restricted substance DB 206 stores "barley" as a related restricted substance corresponding to the restricted substance "wheat". Therefore, the recipe provider 22 detects "barley" as the related restricted substance corresponding to the restricted substance "wheat". Note that if the recipe provider 22 does not detect a related restricted substance in the Sb4 process, it performs the following processing assuming that no related restricted substances exist.

[0075] As the first step in the loop processing Lb1s to Lb1e, the recipe providing unit 22 selects one of the recipe IDs detected in the processing of Sb1. As the first step in the loop processing Lb2s to Lb2e, the recipe providing unit 22 selects one of the restricted items included in the recipe search request signal and one of the related restricted items detected in the processing of Sb4 to be used as the restricted item to be determined.

[0076] The recipe provider 22 determines whether the selected restricted-use ingredient is included in the "Type" field of the "Ingredient List" of the recipe record corresponding to the selected recipe ID (Sb5). If the recipe provider 22 determines that the selected restricted-use ingredient is included (Sb5, Yes), it performs the process in Sb7. On the other hand, if the recipe provider 22 determines that the selected restricted-use ingredient is not included (Sb5, No), it associates the selected recipe ID with the restricted-use ingredient and records it in a display list set up in the internal memory area (Sb6). After that, the process proceeds to the next process in the loop process Lb2s~Lb2e.

[0077] For example, if the selected restricted ingredient is "egg," the "Type" field in the "Ingredient List" of the recipe records with recipe IDs "A011," "A012," and "A015" will include "egg." Therefore, the recipe provider 22 performs the process in Sb7 when it selects any of the recipes with recipe IDs "A011," "A012," or "A015." In contrast, the recipes with recipe IDs "A013" and "A014" use "gelatin" as a binder instead of "egg," and the "Type" field in the "Ingredient List" of these recipe records will not include "egg." Therefore, when the recipe provider 22 selects either the recipe ID "A013" or "A014," it performs the process in Sb6, which involves associating the selected recipe ID with the restricted ingredient "egg" and recording it in the display list of the internal memory area.

[0078] If the recipe provider 22 determines "Yes" in processing Sb5, it refers to the user information included in the recipe search request signal and the related restricted materials DB 206 to detect the usable conditions corresponding to the restricted materials to be judged (Sb7). For example, if the selected restricted materials to be judged are "eggs", the recipe provider 22 detects "A (usable if heated)" and "E (usable as a binder)" as usable conditions from the user information included in the recipe search request signal. If the selected restricted materials to be judged are "wheat", the recipe provider 22 detects "A (usable if heated)" as a usable condition from the user information included in the recipe search request signal. If the selected restricted materials to be judged are "barley", the recipe provider 22 detects "A (usable if heated)" as a usable condition from the related restricted materials DB 206. If the recipe provider 22 does not detect any usable conditions, it performs the following processing as if there were no usable conditions.

[0079] The recipe provision unit 22 determines whether the combination of the type and usage of the "Ingredient Usage" item in the recipe record corresponding to the selected recipe ID satisfies the conditions indicated by the combination of the selected restricted item and the usable conditions (Sb8).

[0080] For example, suppose the selected recipe ID is "A011". In this case, the recipe provider 22 detects the combination of "egg" in the "Ingredient Usage Form" field and "A (heated)" because the "Type" in the "Ingredient Usage Form" field of recipe ID "A011" includes "egg," which is a restricted ingredient subject to judgment. The combination of "egg" and "A (heated)" detected by the recipe provider 22 matches the selected restricted ingredient "egg" and the usable condition "A (permissible if heated)" corresponding to the restricted ingredient "egg." Therefore, the recipe provider 22 determines "Yes" for the selected recipe ID "A011" in the Sb8 process, as it satisfies the conditions. In contrast, if the selected recipe ID is "A012", the "Type" in the "Ingredient Usage Form" field of recipe ID "A012" does not include "egg," which is a restricted ingredient subject to judgment. Therefore, the recipe provider unit 22 determines that the selected recipe ID "A012" does not meet the conditions in the processing of Sb8 and returns "No".

[0081] If the Sb8 process determines "Yes", the recipe provider 22 associates the selected recipe ID with the combination of restricted items and usable conditions that met the conditions in the Sb8 process and records it in the display list in the internal memory (Sb9). On the other hand, if the Sb8 process determines "No", the recipe provider 22 records the selected recipe ID in the exclusion list set up in the internal memory (Sb10).

[0082] After processing in Sb6, Sb9, or Sb10, the recipe providing unit 22 performs the following processing: The recipe providing unit 22 selects one of the restricted items included in the recipe search request signal and the related restricted items detected in processing Sb4 that was not selected as a restricted item to be judged in the loop processing Lb2s to Lb2e currently being processed. Based on the newly selected restricted item to be judged, the recipe providing unit 22 performs processing Sb5 again.

[0083] When there are no more restricted items that can be selected as the restricted item to be judged, and no more related restricted items, the loop processing from Lb2s to Lb2e ends. When the loop processing from Lb2s to Lb2e ends, the recipe providing unit 22 selects one recipe ID from among the recipe IDs detected in the processing of Sb1 that has not yet been judged. In order to start a new loop processing Lb2s to Lb2e, the recipe providing unit 22 selects one from among the restricted items included in the recipe search request signal and the related restricted items detected in the processing of Sb4 to be the restricted item to be judged. Based on the newly selected recipe ID and the newly selected restricted item to be judged, the recipe providing unit 22 performs the processing of Sb5 again.

[0084] When all recipe IDs "A011" to "A015" are selected as targets for evaluation, the loop processing from Lb1s to Lb1e ends. After the loop processing from Lb1s to Lb1e ends, the recipe provider 22 refers to the display list and the exclusion list in the internal memory area. The recipe provider 22 deletes the data related to the recipe IDs stored in the exclusion list from the data related to the recipe IDs stored in the display list (Sb11), and then terminates the subroutine.

[0085] In the recipe search processing subroutine, the recipe provision unit 22 refers to the user information included in the recipe search request signal to identify the restricted items and usable conditions for user U. Alternatively, the recipe provision unit 22 may refer to the restricted items DB 204 based on the user ID included in the recipe search request signal to identify the restricted items and usable conditions for user U.

[0086] This section explains whether recipes "A011" to "A015" are recorded in the display list or the exclusion list after processing Sb11, as shown in the recipe search process in Figure 20. If the restricted item "egg" is selected as the restricted item to be judged, recipes "A013" and "A014" will be recorded in the display list in processing Sb6, associated with "egg". Recipe ID "A011" will be recorded in the display list in processing Sb9, associated with "egg" and "A (acceptable if heated)". Recipe ID "A015" will be recorded in the display list in processing Sb9, associated with "egg" and "E (acceptable as a binder)". Recipe ID "A012" will be recorded in the exclusion list in processing Sb10.

[0087] If the restricted item "wheat" is selected as the restricted item to be judged, recipe IDs "A011", "A012", "A014", and "A015" will be recorded in the display list associated with "wheat" during processing in Sb6. Recipe ID "A013" will be recorded in the display list associated with "wheat" and "A (acceptable if heated)" during processing in Sb9.

[0088] If the related restricted material "barley" is selected as the restricted material to be judged, recipe IDs "A011", "A012", "A013", and "A014" will be recorded in the display list associated with "barley" during processing in Sb6. Recipe ID "A015" will be recorded in the exclusion list during processing in Sb10.

[0089] Therefore, when processing Sb11 begins, recipe IDs "A012" and "A015" are stored in the exclusion list. Consequently, when the data related to recipe IDs "A012" and "A015" is removed from the display list, the display list will remain "A011: Egg / (A: OK if cooked): Wheat: Barley", "A013: Egg: Wheat / (A: OK if cooked): Barley", and "A014: Egg: Wheat: Barley".

[0090] Returning to Figure 17, the recipe provision unit 22 reads the recipe IDs stored in the display list of its internal memory area to obtain the search results. The recipe provision unit 22 refers to the recipe DB 201 and generates summary recipe data from the recipe records corresponding to the one or more recipe IDs obtained as search results, indicating one or more recipes corresponding to the one or more recipe IDs. The summary recipe data includes the recipe ID, the recipe name, and the recipe image data. The recipe provision unit 22 generates a recipe search response signal that includes the user ID "U100" included in the received recipe search request and the generated summary recipe data. The recipe provision unit 22 transmits the generated recipe search response signal to the terminal device 300 (S6).

[0091] The recipe search request unit 35 receives a recipe search response signal transmitted by the recipe provision unit 22. The recipe search request unit 35 displays a summary recipe list display screen 503, which is generated based on the summary recipe data included in the received recipe search response signal, on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31 (S7). As a result, the recipe image data and recipe names included in the summary recipe data are displayed in a list format as shown in Figure 7. The summary recipe data displayed in the list is the summary recipe data that has been narrowed down in the recipe search process in S5 based on the conditions determined by the usage restrictions and usable conditions selected by user U in the user information setting process in S2.

[0092] As described above, each recipe image area displayed on the overview recipe list screen 503 is an operation unit, and each is associated with a corresponding recipe ID. Here, suppose user U operates the operation unit corresponding to the recipe image area of ​​recipe ID "A011". This operation activates the detailed recipe request unit 36, which generates a detailed recipe request signal containing recipe ID "A011", user ID "U100" included in the registration information 310, and user information. The detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​sends the generated detailed recipe request signal to the server 200 (S8). The recipe provision unit 22 receives the detailed recipe request signal sent by the detailed recipe request unit 36. The recipe provision unit 22 reads the user ID "U100" and user information included in the received detailed recipe request signal and outputs the read user ID "U100" and user information to the DB registration processing unit 21. Subsequently, the DB registration processing unit 21 performs the same registration process as in S4 (S9).

[0093] The recipe provision unit 22 outputs the user ID "U100" and user information included in the received detailed recipe request signal to the DB registration processing unit 21, and then starts the detailed recipe generation process subroutine shown in Figure 21 (S10).

[0094] (Subroutine for detailed recipe generation process) The recipe provision unit 22 reads the recipe record corresponding to the recipe ID "A011" included in the received detailed recipe request signal from the recipe DB 201 (Sc1). The recipe provision unit 22 generates detailed recipe data from the read recipe record corresponding to the recipe ID "A011" (Sc2). The detailed recipe data includes the recipe ID, recipe name, recipe image data, ingredient list data, and cooking procedure data.

[0095] The recipe provision unit 22 outputs the generated detailed recipe data and the user ID "U100" included in the received detailed recipe request signal to the broadcast information provision unit 23. When the broadcast information provision unit 23 receives the detailed recipe data and the user ID "U100" from the recipe provision unit 22, it starts the broadcast information generation processing subroutine shown in Figure 22 (Sc3).

[0096] (Subroutine for generating notification information) The notification information provision unit 23 receives the detailed recipe data for recipe ID "A011" and the user ID "U100" output by the recipe provision unit 22 (Sd1). The notification information provision unit 23 detects the special circumstances corresponding to user ID "U100" from the special circumstances DB 205 (Sd2). In the processing of Sc2, the recipe provision unit 22 may output the detailed recipe data, user ID "U100", and user information to the notification information provision unit 23. In this case, the notification information provision unit 23 detects the special circumstances from the user information output by the recipe provision unit 22 without referring to the special circumstances DB 205.

[0097] The notification information provision unit 23 determines whether or not it has detected a special circumstance (Sd3). If the notification information provision unit 23 determines that it has not detected a special circumstance (Sd3, No), it outputs the user ID "U100" and the recipe ID "A011" to the recipe provision unit 22 and terminates the subroutine. On the other hand, if the notification information provision unit 23 determines that it has detected a special circumstance (Sd3, Yes), it retrieves the item requiring caution from the item requiring caution DB 207 that corresponds to the detected special circumstance (Sd4).

[0098] For example, suppose that in processing Sd2, the notification information provision unit 23 detects "pollen allergy / cedar" and "asthma" as special circumstances corresponding to user ID "U100" from the special circumstances DB 205 shown in Figure 14. In this case, the notification information provision unit 23 detects "rapeseed" corresponding to "pollen allergy / cedar" and "honey" corresponding to "asthma" as substances to be careful about using from the substances to be careful about using DB 207 shown in Figure 16.

[0099] The notification information provider unit 23 selects each detected item requiring caution and repeatedly performs the following process (loop processing Ld1s to Ld1e). The notification information provider unit 23 determines whether the selected item requiring caution is included in the data indicating the "type" of the "ingredients list" in the imported detailed recipe data (Sd5). If the notification information provider unit 23 determines that the selected item requiring caution is not included (Sd5, No), it selects the next item requiring caution and performs the Sd5 process again. On the other hand, if the notification information provider unit 23 determines that the selected item requiring caution is included (Sd5, Yes), it generates warning message data based on the information indicating the selected item requiring caution and uses it as notification information. The notification information provider unit 23 records the generated notification information in its internal memory area (Sd6), selects the next item requiring caution, and performs the Sd5 process again.

[0100] For example, in the case of detailed recipe data for recipe ID "A011", the ingredient to be careful about using is "rapeseed blossoms". Therefore, if the detailed recipe data that the notification information provision unit 23 has acquired is the detailed recipe data for recipe ID "A011" and the selected ingredient to be careful about using is "rapeseed blossoms", it makes a "Yes" determination in processing Sd5. In the subsequent processing Sd6, the notification information provision unit 23 generates data for a warning message, for example, the string shown in Figure 23, and uses it as notification information.

[0101] When the notification information provision unit 23 completes the loop processing from Ld1s to Ld1e, it reads the notification information from its internal memory. If notification information is stored in the internal memory, the notification information provision unit 23 outputs the notification information read from the internal memory, along with the user ID "U100" and the recipe ID "A011", to the recipe provision unit 22 and terminates the subroutine. Conversely, if no notification information is stored in the internal memory, the notification information provision unit 23 outputs the user ID "U100" and the recipe ID "A011" to the recipe provision unit 22 and terminates the subroutine (Sd7).

[0102] Returning to Figure 21, the recipe provision unit 22 determines whether or not notification information exists (Sc4). More specifically, if the recipe provision unit 22 receives a user ID and a recipe ID from the notification information provision unit 23, it determines that no notification information exists. If the recipe provision unit 22 receives a user ID, a recipe ID, and notification information from the notification information provision unit 23, it determines that notification information exists.

[0103] If the recipe provider 22 determines that no notification information exists (Sc4, No), it terminates the subroutine for acquiring detailed recipe data. On the other hand, if the recipe provider 22 determines that notification information exists (Sc4, Yes), it takes in the user ID "U100", recipe ID [A011], and notification information output by the notification information provider 23, associates the taken notification information with the detailed recipe data corresponding to the user ID "U100" and recipe ID [A011] (Sc5), and terminates the subroutine for acquiring detailed recipe data.

[0104] Returning to Figure 17, the recipe provision unit 22 generates a detailed recipe response signal that includes the user ID "U100" contained in the received detailed recipe request signal and the detailed recipe data generated in the processing of S10. If notification information is associated with the detailed recipe data, the recipe provision unit 22 generates a detailed recipe response signal that includes the detailed recipe data to which the notification information is associated. The recipe provision unit 22 transmits the generated detailed recipe response signal to the terminal device 300 (S11).

[0105] The detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​receives a detailed recipe response signal transmitted by the recipe provision unit 22. The detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​displays a detailed recipe display screen 504, generated based on the detailed recipe data contained in the received detailed recipe response signal, on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. If notification information is associated with the detailed recipe data, the detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​displays a warning message screen generated from the notification information on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31, for example, in front of the detailed recipe display screen 504. As a result, the detailed recipe data for recipe ID "A011" is displayed in the format shown in Figure 8, and furthermore, a warning message screen, for example, shown in Figure 23, is displayed as the screen before it. As a result, user U can know that the ingredients for recipe ID "A011" include "rapeseed blossoms," which should be used with caution if the user has "hay fever," a special circumstance they have selected, before referring to the recipe for recipe ID "A011". Such a warning is an example of a "predetermined notification".

[0106] The warning message screen shown in Figure 23 is an operation unit, and is cleared by the display control unit 31 when user U operates on this operation unit. When the user operates the operation unit 57 which includes the word "Send" on the detailed recipe display screen 504, the heating instruction unit 37 generates a heating instruction signal that includes the recipe ID "A011" associated with the operation unit 57, the user ID "U001" included in the registration information 310, and the equipment ID "B001". The heating instruction unit 37 transmits the generated heating instruction signal to the server 200 (S13).

[0107] The heating information output unit 24 receives the heating instruction signal transmitted by the heating instruction unit 37 and reads the recipe ID "A011", user ID "U001", and equipment ID "B001" included in the received heating instruction signal. The heating information output unit 24 detects the recipe record corresponding to recipe ID "A011" from the recipe DB 201 and detects "Pattern A" from the "Heating Pattern" item of the detected recipe record. The heating information output unit 24 detects the model information corresponding to the equipment ID from the equipment registration DB 203 shown in Figure 12 and detects the heating pattern "Pattern A" and the heating information "Steam 20 minutes, 200℃ / 5 minutes" corresponding to the model information from the heating pattern DB shown in Figure 11. The heating information output unit 24 detects the address information of the oven range 100 corresponding to user ID "U100" and equipment ID "B001" from the equipment registration DB 203 shown in Figure 12. The heating information output unit 24 uses the detected address information as destination information and transmits the detected heating information, "steam for 20 minutes, 200°C / 5 minutes," to the oven range 100 (S14).

[0108] The communication unit 12 of the oven range 100 receives heating information transmitted by the heating information output unit 24. The communication unit 12 outputs the received heating information to the control unit 13. The control unit 13 takes in the heating information output by the communication unit 12 and causes the heating device 11 to start heating according to the received heating information. As a result, the heating device 11 starts heating according to the heating information "steaming for 20 minutes, 200°C / 5 minutes" (S15).

[0109] (advantage) In the first embodiment, during the user information setting process in S2, for example, user U can select restricted substances that may cause allergic symptoms, as well as the conditions under which these restricted substances can be used. In the recipe search process in S5, the summary recipe data to be provided is narrowed down based on the search conditions determined by the restricted substances and conditions under which the user information setting process in S2 was selected. Therefore, the recipes searched in the recipe search process include not only recipes that do not contain restricted substances, but also recipes that contain restricted substances but still meet the conditions under which they can be used, thus offering the advantage of a wider range of recipe options.

[0110] The recipes obtained as search results through this recipe search process are displayed on the summary recipe list display screen 503. Therefore, on the summary recipe list display screen 503, it is possible to display more recipes than would be possible if only recipes that do not contain restricted ingredients were displayed, while preventing user U from selecting recipes that may cause allergic symptoms. This improves usability.

[0111] Furthermore, the search criteria used in the recipe search process include conditions related to relevant usage restrictions and the usage conditions corresponding to those restrictions. This makes it possible to perform search processing that excludes recipes containing relevant usage restrictions that may cause allergic reactions that user U may not be aware of, or to include recipes that contain relevant usage restrictions but still meet the usage conditions in the search results. This further improves convenience.

[0112] In the first embodiment, during the user information setting process in S2, for example, special circumstances indicating allergy symptoms known to user U are selected. Then, using these special circumstances, data for a warning message is generated to be added to the detailed recipe data provided by the recipe provision unit 22 if the detailed recipe data contains ingredients that have a predetermined relationship with user U's special circumstances. As a result, when the detailed recipe display screen 504 is displayed on the display screen 301a, a warning message screen corresponding to the notification information associated with the detailed recipe data can be displayed. Therefore, user U can know that the recipe contains ingredients that may cause allergic symptoms before referring to the recipe shown on the detailed recipe display screen 504. This further improves convenience.

[0113] (First embodiment, first modified example) In the first embodiment described above, the restricted ingredients are predetermined to be the seven shown on the restricted ingredient selection screen 505 in Figure 19. Alternatively, for example, by selecting "Other" on the restricted ingredient selection screen 505 and then entering any ingredient in the input field below the "Other" item, the entered ingredient may be accepted as a restricted ingredient. In this case, for example, by entering information such as "okra / up to 2g per serving" in the input field, not only can the restricted ingredient "okra," which is not predetermined, be specified, but the usable condition "up to 2g per serving" corresponding to that restricted ingredient can also be specified. This makes it possible to add arbitrary restricted ingredients and usable conditions to the search conditions in the recipe search process performed by the recipe provision unit 22, in addition to the predetermined restricted ingredients and usable conditions. For example, if "okra / up to 2g per serving" is included in the search conditions, the recipe provision unit 22 refers to the "Ingredient List" item in the recipe DB 201 to determine whether or not it matches the search conditions. In this case, the restricted use acceptance section 34-1 (first acceptance section, second acceptance section) will also serve as the usable conditions acceptance section 34-2.

[0114] (Second modified example of the first embodiment) In the first embodiment described above, as shown in the related restricted item DB206 in Figure 15, the usable conditions for the related restricted item, for example, "A (usable if heated)," are stored in the "usable conditions" field. Alternatively, the "usable conditions" field of the related restricted item DB206 may store a condition such as "apply the same usable conditions as the corresponding restricted item." When such a condition is stored in the "usable conditions" field of the related restricted item DB206, the recipe providing unit 22 performs the following processing in the Sb7 process in Figure 20. If the restricted item to be determined is a related restricted item, the recipe providing unit 22 detects the restricted item corresponding to the restricted item to be determined, which is a related restricted item, from the related restricted item DB206. The recipe providing unit 22 detects the usable conditions corresponding to the detected restricted item from the user information included in the received recipe search request signal, and sets the detected usable conditions as the usable conditions corresponding to the restricted item to be determined, which is a related restricted item.

[0115] (Third modified example of the first embodiment) In the first embodiment described above, as shown in the recipe search process in Figure 20, a restricted item to be judged is selected from the restricted items and related restricted items. In contrast, the following processing may be performed on related restricted items. For example, in the loop processing Lb2s~Lb2e, only restricted items are used as the restricted items to be judged, and related restricted items are not included as the restricted items to be judged. The server 200 is further equipped with a notification information providing unit 23a that performs notification information generation processing for related restricted items. The notification information providing unit 23a performs the same processing as the notification information generation processing in Figure 22, except for the processing shown below. That is, in the processing of Sd2, it refers to the restricted item DB 204 and the related restricted item DB 206 to detect the related restricted item corresponding to user ID "U100". In the processing of Sd3, the notification information provision unit 23a determines whether or not it has detected related restricted use materials, and without performing the processing of Sd4, it performs processing in the loop processing of Ld1s to Ld1e in which it reads the cautionary material as related restricted use material. As a result, the notification information provision unit 23a can perform the same processing on related restricted use materials as the notification information provision unit 23 performs on cautionary materials. The notification information generation processing subroutine by the notification information provision unit 23a is added before or after the processing of Sc3 in the detailed recipe generation process in Figure 21. As a result, for example, if the related restricted use material is "barley", the cautionary message screen shown in Figure 24 can be displayed when displaying the detailed recipe data for recipe ID "015" in the processing of S12 in Figure 17. Therefore, it becomes possible to issue a warning when related restricted use materials are included in the detailed recipe data.

[0116] (Fourth modified example of the first embodiment) In the fourth modification of the first embodiment, the notification information provision unit 23 generates notification information in the processing of Sd6 in Figure 22, by adding an operation unit 65 that includes the string "Do not display warnings about "rapeseed blossoms" in the future" as shown in Figure 25, instead of the notification information shown in Figure 23. If user U knows, for example, that they will not experience allergic symptoms even if they eat "rapeseed blossoms" and wants to prevent the warning message screen shown in Figure 25 from being displayed in the future, they operate the operation unit 65. When this operation is performed, the detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​sends data to the notification information provision unit 23 that associates the user ID "U100" with information indicating that the operation unit 65 has been operated (hereinafter referred to as the operation information of the operation unit 65).

[0117] When the notification information provision unit 23 receives data that associates user ID "U100" with operation information from the operation unit 65, it records information indicating that "rapeseed blossoms" are not a material to be used with caution (hereinafter referred to as material exclusion information) in a storage area provided in the special circumstances DB 205, for example, in association with user ID "U100". In subsequent processing, the notification information provision unit 23 refers to the material exclusion information recorded in the special circumstances DB 205 and selects whether or not to generate notification information with the content shown in Figure 25. This makes it possible to prevent the warning message screen shown in Figure 25 from being displayed when the operation unit 65 is operated by user U.

[0118] Furthermore, when recording information on exemption from use restrictions, the notification information provision unit 23 may obtain information indicating the time, including the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, at the time of recording from a timing means such as a clock provided by the server 200, and record time information indicating the time in association with the information on exemption from use restrictions. By recording time information, it is possible to later confirm up to what point "rapeseed blossoms" were a safe ingredient for user U. The above configuration applied to the notification information provision unit 23 may also be applied to the notification information provision unit 23a, which performs similar processing for related restricted use items, as shown in the third modified example of the first embodiment.

[0119] (Most modified example of the first embodiment) In the first embodiment described above, when the recipe search process in Figure 20 is completed, data such as "A011: Egg / (A: OK if heated): Wheat: Barley" (hereinafter referred to as cooking status data) is stored in the display list of the recipe provision unit 22. This cooking status data means that in the recipe with recipe ID "A011", wheat and barley are not included, and although eggs are included, the ingredients are cooked to a state where they are heated. Using this cooking status data, for example, the following processing may be performed. For example, when the recipe provision unit 22 generates summary recipe data for recipe ID "A011", it generates summary recipe data including the cooking status data for recipe ID "A011" and transmits it to the terminal device 300. As a result, when the detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​generates a detailed recipe request signal that includes recipe ID "A011", it can generate it including the cooking status data for recipe ID "A011".

[0120] The server 200 further includes, for example, an additional information providing unit 25 (see Figure 9). The additional information providing unit 25 provides information indicating that the recipe meets the usable conditions (for example, by displaying it on the display screen 301a of the terminal device 300) if the recipe meets the usable conditions.

[0121] For example, when the recipe provision unit 22 receives a detailed recipe request signal from the terminal device 300, it outputs the cooking status data included in the received detailed recipe request signal to the additional information provision unit 25 at a timing before or after the Sc3 process of the detailed recipe generation process shown in Figure 21. Based on the cooking status data "A011: Egg / (A: OK if heated): Wheat: Barley" output by the recipe provision unit 22, the additional information provision unit 25 generates additional information regarding the restricted ingredients "egg" and "wheat," for example, the additional information shown by reference numeral 71 in Figure 26. The recipe provision unit 22 adds the additional information generated by the additional information provision unit 25 to the detailed recipe data and transmits it to the terminal device 300. As a result, in the process of S12 in Figure 17, the detailed recipe display screen 504a, for example, as shown in Figure 26, can be displayed on the display screen 301a of the terminal device 300. By referring to this detailed recipe display screen 504a, user U can understand, without referring to the ingredient list, that recipe ID "A011" does not contain the restricted ingredient "wheat," and that although it contains the restricted ingredient "egg," it meets the conditions for use (it is heated). The additional information provision unit 25 may be provided as part of the display control unit 31 of the terminal device 300, instead of being provided as part of the server 200's functions.

[0122] (Sixth variation of the first embodiment) The server 200 may further include an additional information providing unit 25a that generates additional information indicating the setting status of restricted items and usable conditions (for example, the setting status that defines the search conditions for recipes). When the recipe providing unit 22 selects and provides one or more recipes that satisfy the usable conditions from among multiple recipes based on the second information above, the additional information providing unit 25a provides information indicating that recipes that satisfy the usable conditions have been selected and provided (for example, that multiple recipes displayed on the display screen 301a are displayed as a result of a search that satisfies the usable conditions above). "Providing information" may include, for example, providing information to user U via terminal device 300 by transmitting predetermined information to terminal device 300.

[0123] The additional information providing unit 25a performs the following processing in, for example, the processing in S6 and S11 in Figure 17. The additional information providing unit 25a obtains user information from the recipe providing unit 22 and detects restricted items and usable conditions from the obtained user information. Alternatively, the additional information providing unit 25a obtains user ID "U100" from the recipe providing unit 22 and detects the restricted items and usable conditions corresponding to the obtained user ID "U100" from the restricted items DB 204.

[0124] The additional information providing unit 25a generates additional information based on the detected restricted materials and usable conditions, such as, "Currently, the following settings are in place (eggs: usable if heated, usable as a binder, wheat: usable if heated)." The additional information providing unit 25a outputs the generated additional information to the recipe providing unit 22. In the case of processing S6, the recipe providing unit 22 adds the additional information generated by the additional information providing unit 25a to the recipe search response signal and transmits it. In the case of processing S11, the recipe providing unit 22 adds the additional information generated by the additional information providing unit 25a to the detailed recipe response signal and transmits it. This allows the above additional information to be displayed on the overview recipe list display screen 503 and the detailed recipe display screen 504. This makes it easy for user U to understand the restricted materials and usable conditions selected at that time, and to know that a recipe searched based on the restricted materials and usable conditions will be provided. In addition, the additional information provision unit 25a may be provided as part of the display control unit 31 of the terminal device 300, instead of being provided as part of the functions of the server 200.

[0125] (Seventh modified example of the first embodiment) The notification information provision units 23, 23a and the additional information provision units 25, 25a may be provided as functional units included in the home appliance management application APP of the terminal device 300. In this case, the notification information provision units 23, 23a and the additional information provision units 25, 25a are activated when the detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​receives a detailed recipe response signal and receives a request from the detailed recipe request unit 36. The additional information provision unit 25a is also activated when the recipe search request unit 35 receives a recipe search response signal and receives a request from the recipe search request unit 35.

[0126] (Eighth variation of the first embodiment) In this modified example, the operation reception unit 32 can accept an operation from user U on the display screen 301a of the terminal device 300 to switch between a recipe corresponding to the first possible condition and a recipe corresponding to the second possible condition, if there are a first possible condition (first possible mode) and a second possible condition (second possible mode) that is different from the first possible condition, with respect to the usable conditions or alternative materials for use in place of restricted materials.

[0127] For example, the following processing may be performed using the cooking status data described in the fifth modified example. When the processing of Sb11 of the recipe search process in Figure 20 is completed, the recipe providing unit 22 records the cooking status data for each recipe ID stored in the display list in a storage area provided in the storage unit 20, associating it with the user ID "U100". Here, for example, it is assumed that "A011: Egg / (A: OK if heated): Wheat: Barley", "A013: Egg: Wheat / (A: OK if heated): Barley", and "A014: Egg: Wheat: Barley", which are associated with the user ID "U100", are recorded in the storage area. It is assumed that the recipe providing unit 22 receives a detailed recipe request signal from the terminal device 300, which includes the user ID "U100" and the recipe ID "A011", and starts the detailed recipe generation process shown in Figure 21. When the recipe provider 22 generates detailed recipe data in the processing of Sc2, it refers to the memory area of ​​the storage unit 20 that stores cooking status data and reads the cooking status data of recipe IDs other than "A011" of the generated detailed recipe data. Here, the recipe provider 22 reads "A013: Egg: Wheat / (A: OK if heated): Barley" and "A014: Egg: Wheat: Barley".

[0128] The recipe providing unit 22 generates guidance information that guides the user through the contents of recipe ID "A013" shown inside the operation unit 72-1 shown in Figure 27, based on the read cooking status data of "A013: Egg: Wheat / (A: Possible if heated): Barley". The recipe providing unit 22 generates guidance information that guides the user through the contents of recipe ID "A014" shown inside the operation unit 72-2 shown in Figure 27, based on the read cooking status data of "A014: Egg: Wheat: Barley". The recipe providing unit 22 adds the operation units 72-1 and 72-2, each containing the two generated pieces of guidance information, to the generated detailed recipe data. As a result, in the process of S12 in Figure 17, the display screen 301a of the terminal device 300 can display, for example, the detailed recipe display screen 504b shown in Figure 27. User U can switch the display on the display screen 301a to the display of detailed recipe data related to recipe ID "A013" by operating the operation unit 72-1. Similarly, user U can switch the display on screen 301a to display detailed recipe data for recipe ID "A014" by operating the control unit 72-2. Alternatively, instead of displaying both control unit 72-1 and control unit 72-2, only one of them may be displayed on the detailed recipe display screen 504b.

[0129] In the example described above, "a recipe that heats wheat without eggs" is an example of the "first possible condition," and "a recipe that does not contain eggs" is an example of the "second possible condition." Each of the operation units 72-1 and 72-2 is an example of an operation unit that can accept the operation of user U to switch between a recipe corresponding to the first possible condition and a recipe corresponding to the second possible condition. Note that the first and second possible conditions are not limited to the above example, and may be conditions relating to multiple usable conditions (first possible condition: acceptable if heated, second possible condition: acceptable if only egg yolk is used), or conditions relating to multiple substitutes (first possible condition: acceptable if the substitute is gelatin, second possible condition: acceptable if the substitute is starch), or conditions relating to usable conditions or substitutes (first possible condition: acceptable if heated, acceptable if the substitute is gelatin). In addition, one of the first and second possible conditions may be "does not contain any restricted substances."

[0130] (Ninth variant of the first embodiment) In the process of S6 in Figure 17, the recipe providing unit 22 may perform the following processing when generating a recipe search response signal that includes summary recipe data. The recipe providing unit 22 generates guidance information, for example, shown by reference numerals 73-1, 73-2, and 73-3 in Figure 28, from the cooking status data included in the display list stored in the storage area provided in the storage unit 20 in the eighth modified example described above. The recipe providing unit 22 associates the guidance information of reference numeral 73-1 with the summary recipe data of recipe ID "A014", the guidance information of reference numeral 73-2 with the summary recipe data of recipe ID "A011", and the guidance information of reference numeral 73-3 with the summary recipe data of recipe ID "A013", and generates and transmits a recipe search response signal. As a result, in the process of S7 in Figure 17, the summary recipe list display screen 503a, for example, as shown in Figure 28, can be displayed on the display screen 301a of the terminal device 300. This allows user U to easily understand the status of whether or not there are any restricted materials for each of the summary recipe data displayed on the summary recipe list screen 503a, and whether or not the conditions for use are met.

[0131] (Tenth modified example of the first embodiment) For example, the information processing system 1 includes other home appliances used by user U. These other home appliances are connected to a network NW. The device registration DB 203 of the server 200 stores information about these other home appliances. These other home appliances are, for example, a washing machine and dryer, and store information about user U's special circumstances, such as hay fever or asthma. In this case, the special circumstances receiving unit 34-3 refers to the device registration DB 203, connects to the other home appliance, and retrieves user U's special circumstances from it. The special circumstances receiving unit 34-3 records the retrieved special circumstances in the special circumstances DB 205. As a result, user U's special circumstances are recorded in the special circumstances DB 205 even if user U does not select any special circumstances in the user information setting process shown in Figure 18.

[0132] (Modified example of the first embodiment) In the 11th modified example, the recipe providing unit 22 modifies the recipe content according to information indicating usable conditions (second information) when predetermined conditions are met and provides the recipe. For example, in the first embodiment described above, in the case of the recipe record with recipe ID "A012" in the recipe DB201 of Figure 10, the usable conditions are not met in the Sb8 process of the recipe search process in Figure 20, so it is recorded in the exclusion list in the Sb10 process. In the 11th modified example, for the recipe ID recorded in the exclusion list, the recipe providing unit 22 may perform the following processes to modify the content of the recipe record (an example of a process to modify the content of the recipe) and the process to modify the heating information to be transmitted (another example of a process to modify the content of the recipe) and provide the recipe record for the recipe ID recorded in the exclusion list.

[0133] For example, in the processing of Sb10, when the recipe provider 22 records recipe ID "A012" in the exclusion list, it records information indicating the reason for exclusion. For example, in the case of recipe ID "A012", it records information indicating the reason such as "Eggs: Does not satisfy A (acceptable if cooked), E (acceptable as a binder)". The recipe provider 22 does not perform the processing of Sb11, and in the processing of S6 in Figure 17, when generating the recipe search response signal, it also generates summary recipe data for recipe IDs recorded in the exclusion list. When the recipe provider 22 generates summary recipe data for recipe IDs recorded in the exclusion list, it generates summary recipe data including information indicating the reason for exclusion.

[0134] In the S8 process shown in Figure 17, the detailed recipe request unit 36 ​​sends a detailed recipe request signal that includes the recipe ID "A012," along with information indicating the reason for the exclusion of recipe ID "A012." In the Sc2 process of the detailed recipe generation process shown in Figure 21, which is started when the detailed recipe request signal including recipe ID "A012" is received, the recipe provision unit 22 performs the following processing if the detailed recipe request signal includes information indicating the reason for exclusion. Based on the information indicating the reason for exclusion, the recipe provision unit 22 refers to the cooking procedure data corresponding to the "Cooking Procedure" item in the recipe record for recipe ID "A012" and detects a procedure that does not satisfy the reason for exclusion. For example, suppose the procedure "Add a soft-boiled fried egg" is detected, which does not satisfy the reason "A (OK if heated)." Based on the reason for not satisfying the detected procedure, "A (OK if heated)," the recipe provision unit 22 changes it to "Add a fully cooked fried egg" and generates detailed recipe data. The recipe provider unit 22 includes the usability condition "A (OK if heated)" which was the reason for the change in procedure, in the generated detailed recipe data. As a result, in the process of S12 in Figure 17, the detailed recipe display screen 504 displayed on the display screen 301a of the terminal device 300 will display the contents of the recipe with recipe ID "A012", in which part of the procedure shown in the (how to make) section has been changed to "place a fully cooked fried egg on top".

[0135] On the detailed recipe display screen 504 for recipe ID "A012", user U operates the operation unit 57 which contains the string "Send". The operation unit 57 is associated with recipe ID "A012" and the usability condition "A (OK if heated)" included in the detailed recipe data. When the operation unit 57 is operated by user U, the heating instruction unit 37 sends a heating instruction signal to the server 200 which includes recipe ID "A012", user ID "U100", equipment ID "B001", and usability condition "A (OK if heated)".

[0136] The storage unit 20 of the server 200 is equipped with a heating pattern DB 202a, as shown in Figure 29, instead of the heating pattern DB 202. The heating pattern DB 202a has an additional item called "usable conditions" compared to the heating pattern DB 202, and different heating information is associated with each usable condition for the same heating pattern and stored accordingly. The heating information output unit 24 performs the process in S14 of Figure 17 and detects the heating pattern "Pattern B" corresponding to recipe ID "A012" from the recipe DB 201. The heating information output unit 24 refers to the heating pattern DB 202a and detects the heating information "Steam for 20 minutes, 200℃ / 5 minutes" which corresponds to the detected heating pattern "Pattern B", the model information "B001", and the usable condition "A (OK if heated)". The heating information output unit 24 transmits the detected heating information to the oven range 100.

[0137] This allows recipe IDs that are on the exclusion list to be presented to user U, further increasing the recipe options available to user U. In addition to changing the displayed recipe content, heating information corresponding to the changed content can be sent to the oven range 100, so user U does not need to change the settings of the oven range 100 themselves according to the changed content. This improves convenience.

[0138] Furthermore, in addition to / instead of changing the recipe content with respect to restricted materials as described above, the recipe provider 22 may change the recipe content so that the usable conditions for the first or second cautionary material are met, or so that a substitute material is used instead of the first or second cautionary material, if the recipe includes the aforementioned related restricted materials (first cautionary material) or a cautionary material that has a predetermined relationship with the special circumstances of user U (second cautionary material).

[0139] (12th modified example of the first embodiment) The method for modifying the content of a recipe record and the heating information to be transmitted for a recipe ID recorded in the exclusion list is not limited to the method of the 11th modified example, but may also be the following method. For example, a recipe record is created in advance as recipe ID "A012-1" by duplicating the recipe record of recipe ID "A012", in which the "Cooking Procedure" item is rewritten to a procedure for fully heating the eggs, and the "Heating Pattern" item is rewritten from "Pattern B" to "Pattern A" which fully heats the eggs. Furthermore, the recipe record of recipe ID "A012-1" and the usable condition "A (OK if heated)" are associated with the recipe record of recipe ID "A012" and stored in recipe DB201. Recipe records that are associated with other recipe IDs "A012" and stored in recipe DB201, such as recipe ID "A012-1", are not included in the search in the recipe search process in Figure 20.

[0140] As the processing in S5 to S8 of Figure 17, the same processing as in the 11th modified example described above is performed. In the Sc2 process of the detailed recipe generation process shown in Figure 21, which is started when the recipe providing unit 22 receives a detailed recipe request signal containing recipe ID "A012", if information indicating the reason for exclusion is added to the detailed recipe request signal, the recipe providing unit 22 performs the following processing. The recipe providing unit 22 detects recipe records of other recipe IDs associated with recipe ID "A012" that are associated with information indicating the reason for exclusion. If the information indicating the reason for exclusion is "A (OK if heated)", the recipe providing unit 22 will detect the recipe record for recipe ID "A012-1". The recipe providing unit 22 generates detailed recipe data based on the detected recipe record for recipe ID "A012-1". In this case, the content of the "heating pattern" item in the recipe record for recipe ID "A012-1" has been rewritten in advance to "Pattern A", which completely heats the eggs. Therefore, the processes S13 to S15 in Figure 17 are the same as those in the first embodiment. As a result, the same advantages as in the 11th embodiment can be obtained in this modified example.

[0141] In the 11th modification, if the heating information output unit 24 transmits heating information corresponding to the usable condition "A (OK if heated)" to the oven range 100, or in the 12th modification, if the heating information output unit 24 transmits heating information for recipe ID "A012-1" to the oven range 100, the heating information output unit 24 may perform the following processing. For example, the heating information output unit 24 generates notification information such as "Allergy-friendly heating information has been transmitted" and transmits the generated notification information to the terminal device 300. When the heating instruction unit 37 of the terminal device 300 receives the notification information transmitted by the heating information output unit 24, it displays the received notification information on the display screen 301a via the display control unit 31. As a result, if heating information different from the usual has been transmitted to the oven range 100, information indicating this will be displayed on the display screen 301a of the terminal device 300. Therefore, user U can understand that cooking will be performed in the oven range 100 according to the changed content.

[0142] (Other modifications of the first embodiment) In the first embodiment described above, the restricted items are defined as foods that cannot be used as ingredients due to user U's allergies, for example. However, they may also be foods that users wish to avoid using for reasons other than allergies, such as religious or cultural reasons. Furthermore, restricted items may be items used in cooking other than food. For example, if user U has a latex allergy, rubber gloves may be included as restricted items, and if user U has a metal allergy, metal plates may be included as restricted items. For example, if "rubber gloves" or "metal plates" are included as restricted items, the recipe provision unit 22 refers to the "cooking procedure" item in the recipe DB 201 to determine whether or not it matches the search criteria.

[0143] In the terminal device 300 of the first embodiment, the restricted items, usable conditions, and special circumstances included in the registration information 310 may be converted into a common format that can be referenced by various applications, for example, and then transmitted to other terminal devices. In this way, information about user U's allergies can be provided to terminal devices used by third parties, such as medical professionals.

[0144] In the first embodiment, when the heating information output unit 24 receives a heating instruction signal from the terminal device 300, it may perform the following processing. The heating information output unit 24 detects in the device registration DB 203 that a different user ID is associated with the device ID included in the heating instruction signal than the user ID included in the heating instruction signal. The heating information output unit 24 further consults the restricted items DB 204 and detects that restricted items for the different user ID are stored there. In this case, the heating information output unit 24 transmits notification information to the terminal device 300 corresponding to the user ID included in the heating instruction signal, indicating that there are restricted items (e.g., ingredients that cause allergies) for the user using the same oven range 100. This notification information is useful in situations such as the following. For example, suppose a family shares the oven range 100, and a child is operating their own terminal device 300 to set restricted items. In this case, when a parent uses the oven range 100 by operating their own terminal device 300 to select a recipe, the above notification information will be displayed, prompting the parent to reconfirm whether the selected recipe contains any ingredients that the child is allergic to, or whether the cooking method is appropriate.

[0145] (Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment described above, the terminal device 300 has a user information receiving unit 34. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the oven range 100 has a user information receiving unit 34 (setting receiving unit) which includes at least a usage restriction receiving unit 34-1 and a usable condition receiving unit 34-2. The user information receiving unit 34 records information indicating the received usage restriction (first information) and information indicating the usable conditions (second information) in the storage unit 16.

[0146] The memory unit 16 of the oven range 100 contains data related to cooking modes, as described above. This data related to cooking modes includes, for example, data corresponding to the recipe DB 201 of the server 200, and data corresponding to the heating pattern DB 202, which includes only the portion corresponding to the device ID of the device (the portion corresponding to the model number of the device). Here, "cooking mode" is considered to be synonymous with "recipe" in the first embodiment, and the following explanation will be given assuming that each of the recipe IDs "A011" to "A015" corresponds to one of five cooking modes, "Hamburger Mode A" to "Hamburger Mode E".

[0147] The control unit 13 of the oven range 100 can control the heating device 11 based on the restricted substances and usable conditions stored in the storage unit 16. For example, the control unit 13 performs processing equivalent to the recipe search process shown in Figure 20 on the cooking mode data stored in the storage unit 16, based on the restricted substances and usable conditions stored in the storage unit 16. As a result, the display control unit 14 of the oven range 100 displays cooking modes that match the search conditions determined by the restricted substances and usable conditions on the display screen of the oven range 100. That is, the display screen of the oven range 100 displays cooking modes that do not contain restricted substances and cooking modes that contain restricted substances but meet the usable conditions. Therefore, in the second embodiment, it is possible to display more cooking modes than when simply displaying cooking modes that do not contain restricted substances, while preventing the user U from selecting a cooking mode that may cause allergic symptoms. This improves convenience.

[0148] (First modified example of the second embodiment) In the first modification of the second embodiment, when a restricted substance is included in the recipe and heating information is received from an external source, the control unit 13 modifies the received heating information according to the usable conditions and controls the heating device 11 based on the modified heating information.

[0149] For example, the following processing may be performed. The storage unit 16 of the oven range 100 includes data corresponding to the heating pattern DB202a shown in Figure 29, instead of the heating pattern DB202 of the server 200, as data related to the cooking mode, and includes only the portion corresponding to the device ID of the device (the portion corresponding to the model of the device). The control unit 13 of the oven range 100 may perform processing to change the contents of the cooking mode and the heating information to be used by the method of the 11th modification of the first embodiment described above. In the second embodiment, instead of the method of the 11th modification of the first embodiment, the method of the 12th modification of the first embodiment may be used to perform processing to change the contents of the cooking mode and the heating information to be used. This makes it possible to obtain the same advantages as the 11th modification of the first embodiment even when cooking is performed by directly operating the oven range 100.

[0150] (Second modified example of the second embodiment) In the second embodiment, when the heating information output unit 24 of the server 200 receives a heating instruction signal from the terminal device 300, it may perform the following processing. The heating information output unit 24 associates the recipe ID of the recipe record of the recipe ID included in the heating instruction signal, the ingredient list data which is the data of the "ingredient list" item, and the ingredient usage form data which is the data of the "ingredient usage form" item with the heating information to be transmitted and sends it to the oven range 100. The storage unit 16 of the oven range 100 has data that corresponds to the heating pattern DB202a shown in Figure 29, and includes only the part corresponding to the device ID of the oven range (the part corresponding to the model of the oven range) (hereinafter, this data is referred to as heating pattern data) stored in advance.

[0151] The control unit 13 of the oven range 100 receives heating information associated with the recipe ID, ingredient list data, and ingredient usage data received and output by the communication unit 12 from the server 200. Based on the restricted items and usable conditions stored in the storage unit 16, the control unit 13 performs the processing Sb5 to Sb10 of the recipe search process in Figure 20 for the received recipe ID, ingredient list data, and ingredient usage data. After this processing, the control unit 13 determines whether the received recipe ID is a recipe ID to be recorded in the display list or a recipe ID to be recorded in the exclusion list. If the control unit 13 determines that the received recipe ID is a recipe ID to be recorded in the display list, it causes the heating device 11 to perform processing based on the received heating information.

[0152] On the other hand, if the control unit 13 determines that the acquired recipe ID is a recipe ID to be recorded in the exclusion list, and the usable condition that led to its inclusion in the exclusion list is "A (OK if heated)", the control unit 13 refers to the heating pattern data in the storage unit 16 and detects a heating pattern that matches the acquired heating information. For example, if the heating pattern data corresponds to the part of the equipment ID "B001" in Figure 29, and the heating information acquired by the control unit 13 is "150℃ / 5 min", the control unit 13 detects "Pattern B". From the heating pattern data, the control unit 13 detects heating information "Steam 20 min, 200℃ / 5 min" that corresponds to the heating pattern "Pattern B" and the usable condition "A (OK if heated)". Based on the detected heating information "Steam 20 min, 200℃ / 5 min", the control unit 13 causes the heating device 11 to perform processing.

[0153] (Third modified example of the second embodiment) In a third modification of the second embodiment, when the control unit 13 receives first heating information and second heating information adjusted according to the usable conditions for the restricted material stored in the storage unit 16 from an external source, it controls the heating device 11 based on the second heating information. For example, in the above case, the control unit 13 selects and uses the second heating information from the first heating information and the second heating information, regardless of whether or not the user U or server 200 instructs to use the second heating information.

[0154] For example, suppose that the recipe DB201 of server 200 stores a recipe ID "A012-1" associated with recipe ID "A012," as shown in the 12th modified example of the first embodiment, for example. Also, suppose that because user U has not selected any restricted items or usable restricted items in terminal device 300, no data about user U is stored in the restricted items DB204 of server 200. In this case, suppose that the heating instruction unit 37 of terminal device 300 sends a heating instruction signal including recipe ID "A012" to server 200 in the process of S13 in Figure 17. When the heating information output unit 24 of server 200 receives the heating instruction signal including recipe ID "A012" from terminal device 300, it refers to the restricted items DB204. When the heating information output unit 24 detects that no data about user U is stored in the restricted items DB204, it refers to the recipe DB201 and determines whether or not another recipe ID is associated with recipe ID "A012."

[0155] If the heating information output unit 24 determines that no other recipe ID is associated with recipe ID "A012", it performs the same processing as in S14 of the first embodiment to detect heating information and transmits the detected heating information to the oven range 100. On the other hand, suppose the heating information output unit 24 determines that another recipe ID "A012-1" is associated with recipe ID "A012". In this case, the heating information output unit 24 detects heating information corresponding to recipe ID "A012" and recipe ID "A012-1" from the recipe DB 201 and heating pattern DB 202, respectively. The heating information output unit 24 generates first transmission data that includes the detected heating information for recipe ID "A012", recipe ID "A012", ingredient list data for recipe ID "A012", and ingredient usage form data. The heating information output unit 24 generates heating information for the detected recipe ID "A012-1", and second transmission data which includes recipe ID "A012-1", ingredient list data for recipe ID "A012-1", and ingredient usage form data. The heating information output unit 24 transmits heating information determination data, which includes the first transmission data and the second transmission data, to the oven range 100.

[0156] The control unit 13 of the oven range 100 receives and outputs heating information determination data from the server 200 via the communication unit 12. The control unit 13 performs the processing shown in Figure 20, Sb5 to Sb10, for each of the first transmission data and the second transmission data included in the received heating information determination data, based on the restricted items and usable conditions stored in the storage unit 16. In this processing, the control unit 13 selects the heating information corresponding to the recipe ID recorded in the display list and causes the heating device 11 to perform processing based on the selected heating information. In the above example, since recipe ID "A012-1" is recorded in the display list and recipe ID "A012" is recorded in the exclusion list, the control unit 13 will cause the heating device 11 to perform processing based on the heating information corresponding to recipe ID "A012-1".

[0157] In the second or third modification of the second embodiment, even if user U has not selected any restricted items and usable conditions in the terminal device 300, if the oven range 100 receives heating information for a recipe that does not meet the conditions defined by user U's restricted items and usable conditions, it can modify the recipe content so that the heating information meets the conditions defined by user U's restricted items and usable conditions. In this case, if the heating device 11 is controlled according to the usable conditions, the display control unit 14 displays on the display screen of the oven range 100 that control will be performed according to the usable conditions.

[0158] In the second or third modification of the second embodiment, the user information receiving unit 34 (setting receiving unit) of the oven range 100 acquires third information indicating the special circumstances of user U, or a second cautionary substance having a predetermined relationship with the special circumstances, based on the usage patterns of another home appliance by user U, similar to the tenth modification of the first embodiment. In this case, the control unit 13 controls the heating device 11 based on the third information. That is, if the recipe includes a second cautionary substance, the control unit 13 modifies the recipe content and controls the heating device 11 based on the usability conditions of the second cautionary substance.

[0159] In the first modification of the second embodiment described above, when the control unit 13 uses modified heating information, in the second modification of the second embodiment, when the control unit 13 uses heating information "Steam for 20 minutes, 200°C / 5 minutes", or in the third modification, when the control unit 13 uses heating information corresponding to recipe ID "A012-1", the control unit 13 may perform the following processing. For example, the control unit 13 may generate a message such as "Heated with allergy-friendly heating information" and display the generated message on the display screen of the oven range 100 via the display control unit 14. This allows user U to understand that the oven range 100 is heating according to heating information that is different from the usual.

[0160] (Other variations of the second embodiment) In the second embodiment, the user information of user U is set in the oven range 100 by the user information receiving unit 34 provided in the oven range 100. Alternatively, the oven range 100 may acquire user information from the server 200. For example, the server 200 may acquire user information by transmitting it at the same time as transmitting heating information to the oven range 100, or at any arbitrary timing. Alternatively, the oven range 100 may acquire user information by sending a request signal to the server 200 requesting user information at any arbitrary timing, and the server 200 sending a response signal containing user information as a response to the request signal.

[0161] In the second embodiment, even when cooking unrelated to a recipe, the control unit 13 may control the heating device 11 based on conditions identical or similar to the usable conditions when cooking that includes restricted ingredients. That is, when a restricted ingredient used by user U is stored in the storage unit 16, and a cooking mode related to the restricted ingredient is executed, the contents of the standard cooking mode are modified and executed based on conditions identical or similar to the usable conditions. For example, if the restricted ingredient is "egg" and the cooking mode related to "egg" is French toast mode, the following processing is performed. That is, even if heating information is not transmitted from the server 200, if French toast mode is executed, the heating time in French toast mode is extended to satisfy the usable conditions. Note that "conditions identical or similar to the usable conditions" are not limited to conditions identical to the usable conditions, but are conditions under which processing is performed that can be considered identical to the usable conditions based on the functions of the oven range 100. For example, if the usable condition is "heat at 500W for 5 minutes", then "conditions similar to the usable conditions" may include "addition of a 10-minute steaming step".

[0162] In the second embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, the server 200 may obtain user information of user U from the terminal device 300, or it may obtain user information of user U from the oven range 100.

[0163] According to at least one embodiment described above, the information processing system uses user-restricted items and usable conditions to provide a recipe that includes a restricted item, but satisfies the usable conditions corresponding to that restricted item, as a recipe that the user can use. This improves convenience.

[0164] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0165] 1...Information processing system, 100...Oven range (cooking appliance), 11...Heating device, 13...Control unit, 14...Display control unit, 200...Server, 22...Recipe provision unit, 23...Notification information provision unit, 24...Heating information output unit, 300...Terminal device, 301a...Display screen, 31...Display control unit, 32...Operation reception unit, 34...User information reception unit (setting reception unit), 34-1...Restricted item reception unit (1st reception unit), 34-2 Usable condition reception unit (2nd reception unit), 34-3...Special circumstances reception unit (3rd reception unit), 35...Recipe search request unit (output unit), 36...Detailed recipe request unit (output unit), 37...Heating instruction unit

Claims

1. A computer, which is a terminal device that can communicate with the recipe provision system, Regarding the recipes provided by the recipe provision system, a first reception unit receives user input to specify restricted items whose use is restricted by the user, With respect to the aforementioned restricted-use items, a second reception unit receives user operations that specify the conditions under which the user can use the items, An output unit that outputs information obtained based on the user's operations received by the first reception unit and the second reception unit to the recipe provision system, To make it happen, The terminal device is able to access a storage area that stores the restricted items specified by the user and the user's user identification information in association with each other. The second receiving unit can refer to the memory area and accept a specification regarding the cooking method of the restricted item itself as the usable condition. program.

2. A computer, which is a terminal device capable of communicating with the recipe provision system, Regarding the recipes provided by the recipe provision system, a first reception unit receives user input to specify restricted items whose use is restricted by the user, With respect to the aforementioned restricted-use items, a second reception unit receives user operations that specify the conditions under which the user can use the items, An output unit that outputs information obtained based on the user's operations received by the first reception unit and the second reception unit to the recipe provision system, An operation reception unit that receives a predetermined operation from the user, To make it happen, The operation reception unit can accept the user's operation on the terminal device's display screen to switch between a recipe corresponding to the first possible condition and a recipe corresponding to the second possible condition, if there are a first possible condition and a second possible condition different from the first possible condition with respect to the usable conditions or alternative use items for the restricted use items. program.

3. The second reception unit displays one or more candidate conditions that may constitute the usable conditions for the restricted items on the display screen of the terminal device, and accepts the user's operation of selecting at least one candidate condition from among the one or more candidate conditions as the user's operation of specifying the usable conditions. The program according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. To the aforementioned computer, To further implement a third reception unit that receives user input specifying the special circumstances when a user's special circumstances other than food are included in the recipe and the recipe is modified or a predetermined notification is issued, thereby enabling the user to make a change to the recipe or issue a predetermined notification. The program according to claim 1 or claim 2.

5. A recipe providing unit selects and provides one or more recipes from among multiple recipes based on first information indicating restricted materials whose use by the user is restricted with respect to a recipe, and second information indicating the conditions under which the user can use the restricted materials. A storage unit including a storage area for storing the restricted items specified by the user and the user identification information of the user in association with each other, Equipped with, The memory area stores, as the usable conditions, the specifications relating to the cooking method of the restricted item itself. Information processing system.

6. A recipe providing unit that selects and provides one or more recipes from among a plurality of recipes based on first information indicating restricted materials whose use by the user is restricted with respect to a recipe, and second information indicating usable conditions that allow the user to use the restricted materials or alternative materials that can be used in place of the restricted materials. Equipped with, The recipe providing unit, with respect to the usable conditions or the substitute materials, provides a recipe corresponding to the first usable conditions in response to the user's operation of selecting the first usable conditions, and provides a recipe corresponding to the second usable conditions in response to the user's operation of selecting the second usable conditions. Information processing system.

7. A recipe providing unit that selects and provides one or more recipes from among a plurality of recipes based on first information indicating restricted materials whose use by the user is restricted with respect to a recipe, and second information indicating usable conditions under which the user can use the restricted materials or alternative materials that can be used in place of the restricted materials, When the recipe providing unit selects and provides one or more recipes from among the plurality of recipes that satisfy the usability conditions based on the second information, an additional information providing unit provides information indicating that the recipes that satisfy the usability conditions have been selected and provided. An information processing system equipped with the following features.

8. The system further includes a display control unit that displays one or more candidate conditions on a display screen that can serve as the conditions for use of the restricted object. The recipe providing unit acquires the second information based on the user's operation of selecting at least one condition candidate from among the one or more condition candidates. An information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

9. At least one of the one or more recipes includes determination information used to determine whether the conditions for use are met with respect to the restricted materials included in the recipe. An information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

10. The recipe providing unit selects and provides one or more recipes from among the multiple recipes based on the first information, the second information, and the determination information. The information processing system according to claim 9.

11. The recipe providing unit, when predetermined conditions are met, modifies the content of the recipe according to the second information and provides it. An information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

12. The aforementioned recipe is associated with heating information used by cooking appliances, The system further includes a heating information output unit that modifies the heating information associated with the recipe according to the usable conditions and outputs it to the cooking appliance. An information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

13. The recipe providing unit selects and provides one or more recipes from among the multiple recipes based on the first and second information, as well as third information indicating a first cautionary substance having a predetermined relationship with the restricted substance, or a second cautionary substance having a predetermined relationship with the user's special circumstances other than food. An information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

14. The recipe provider will modify the recipe and provide it if the recipe includes a first cautionary substance that has a predetermined relationship with the restricted substance, or a second cautionary substance that has a predetermined relationship with the user's special circumstances other than food. An information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

15. The system further includes a notification information provision unit that provides a predetermined notification if the recipe includes a first item requiring caution, which has a predetermined relationship with the aforementioned restricted item, or a second item requiring caution, which has a predetermined relationship with the user's special circumstances other than food. An information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

16. If the recipe satisfies the usability conditions, the system further includes an additional information providing unit that provides information indicating that the recipe satisfies the usability conditions. An information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

17. Computers Based on first information indicating restricted materials whose use by the user is restricted with respect to the recipe, and second information indicating the conditions under which the user can use the said restricted materials, one or more recipes are selected and provided from among multiple recipes. The restricted items specified by the user and the user identification information of the user are associated and stored in a memory area. The aforementioned memory area stores, as the conditions for use, a specification relating to the cooking method of the restricted item itself. Information processing methods.

18. A computer, Based on first information indicating restricted materials whose use by the user is restricted with respect to a recipe, and second information indicating the conditions under which the user can use the restricted materials or alternative materials that can be used in place of the restricted materials, one or more recipes are selected from among multiple recipes and provided. The provision of the recipes includes, with respect to the usable conditions or the substitute materials, if there are a first usable condition and a second usable condition different from the first usable condition, providing the recipe corresponding to the first usable condition in response to the user's operation of selecting the first usable condition, and providing the recipe corresponding to the second usable condition in response to the user's operation of selecting the second usable condition. Information processing methods.

19. A computer, Based on first information indicating restricted materials whose use by the user is restricted with respect to a recipe, and second information indicating the conditions under which the user can use the restricted materials or alternative materials that can be used in place of the restricted materials, one or more recipes are selected from among multiple recipes and provided. When selecting and providing one or more recipes that satisfy the usability conditions from among the multiple recipes based on the second information, information is provided indicating that the recipes that satisfy the usability conditions have been selected and provided. Information processing methods.

Images