Meal Service Management System Using Tray Scanners
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a lack of effective systems to monitor and manage the eating habits and nutritional intake of meal service recipients, such as students and office workers, as well as patients in hospitals, which hinders the ability to ensure balanced diets and reduce food waste.
Innovation Solution
A meal service management system utilizing scanners to capture pre-meal and post-meal images of trays, along with ID card scans, to generate ingestion information, including nutritional data and leftovers analysis, which is processed by a management server to provide users with insights on their eating habits and nutritional conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual monitoring of eating habits is used, then implementation simplicity is maintained, but measurement precision and reliability of eating habit data are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual monitoring methods with an automated image processing system. Scanners capture images of trays before and after meals, and an image processor automatically analyzes these images to determine food intake amounts and types, substituting human observation with optical and computational systems to achieve precise, objective measurement of eating habits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service monitoring where the scanning devices and image processing automatically track and record each user's eating habits without requiring manual intervention. The system autonomously captures tray images, processes them to calculate ingestion amounts, and stores the data, allowing users to be monitored passively while the system performs all analytical functions automatically.
2Loss of information
If no tracking system is implemented, then device complexity remains low, but loss of information regarding nutritional intake and eating habits occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the image processing system continuously monitors tray images, calculates food intake data, and provides real-time or periodic feedback to users and management. The system generates reports on eating habits, nutritional intake, and leftovers, creating a closed-loop information system that prevents data loss by systematically capturing, processing, and storing all relevant dining information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary image processing system between the physical dining process and data management. This intermediary automatically captures tray images, processes them to extract nutritional and consumption information, and transfers the data to storage systems, serving as a bridge that prevents information loss without requiring direct complex integration between all system components.
3Measurement precision
If image processing is used to analyze pre-meal and post-meal images, then measurement precision of food intake is improved, but device complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by capturing the pre-meal tray image before the user receives food. This baseline image is stored and later compared with the post-meal image to calculate food intake. By having the pre-meal image ready in advance, the system eliminates the need for complex real-time analysis during the meal, reducing processing time while maintaining measurement precision.
4Reliability
If comprehensive eating habit monitoring is implemented, then reliability of nutritional data is improved, but ease of operation decreases due to multiple scanning steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service operation where users simply present their ID cards and trays to the automated scanning devices. The system autonomously performs all subsequent operations including image capture, processing, and data recording without requiring user intervention. This maintains high reliability through comprehensive monitoring while preserving ease of operation by minimizing active user participation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a meal service management system and an operating method therefor, the system being capable of providing information on food ingested by a user to whom a meal service is to be provided and customized information related thereto, and managing food leftover in a meal service. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a scanner device is used such that a user to whom a meal service is to be provided and a food tray before and after meals are identified, and thus a meal service amount and a leftovers food amount are acquired, and leftovers food information of each user and useful information associated therewith are provided on the basis of the same, and thus users can easily determine their eating habits, nutritional status and the like and the users can be induced to attempt reducing leftovers food by themselves.