WO1996008782A1

WO1996008782A1 - Information system for customers

Info

Publication number: WO1996008782A1
Application number: PCT/SE1995/001007
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ann Margret Olsson
Original assignee: Ann Margret Olsson
Priority date: 1994-09-13
Filing date: 1995-09-08
Publication date: 1996-03-21
Also published as: AU3536395A; SE9403063D0; DK26397A; SE9403063L; NO971046L; SE502718C2; NO971046D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for informing customers about food in shops or other premises. A terminal (2) with keys (1) or other means capable of manual actuation for the purpose of entering details about the desired type of food is connected to a computer (3) with a display screen (4) and a printer (5). The computer (3) is so arranged as to display food recipes (6) in response to an inquiry via the terminal (2), and to indicate the constituent ingredients (7) in the recipe (6) concerned.

Description

Information system for customers

The present invention relates to a system for informing customers about food in shops or other premises. Customers in food shops occasionally face the situation in which the food products on their shopping lists are out of stock, when it may prove difficult there and then to think of an alternative dish in place of the one originally preferred. It is especially difficult to find dishes if you have no shopping list with you, for instance if you are doing your shopping straight after work, and as a result the same dishes are generally bought time after time, usually in the form of convenience food such as hamburgers, sausage, cook-in sauce for minced meat and powdered mashed potato, etc.

Persons who must eat certain foods, for example diabetic food, gluten-free food, energy-reduced food and high-fibre food, experience particular difficulty in selecting dishes in which no unsuitable products are present in order to meet their personal needs. This problem particularly affects persons suffering from allergies.

Shops also wish to be able to inform customers about the week's special offers, and about various recipes in which such ingredients can be used. There is also a wish to display attractive pictures of the cooked dishes in the shop, similar to the approach currently adopted in weekend magazines containing special offers on the goods sold by the shop.

The principal object of the present invention is thus, in the first instance, to make available a food information system of the kind referred to above which effectively solves the aforementioned problems, among others.

Said object is achieved by means of a system in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that it comprises a terminal with means capable of manual actuation, so arranged as to permit the entry of details relating to the desired kind of food, in that it comprises a computer incorporating multi¬ media technology and so arranged as to be capable of displaying video information on a colour display screen, such as films showing food preparation and pictures of and recipes for dishes, together with an indication of the ingredients contained in the recipe concerned, and in that a printer is arranged to print out the selected recipe. The present invention is described below as a number of preferred illustrative embodiments, in conjunction with which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a suitable device for implementing the system in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 shows the constituent elements of the system and its connection;

Fig. 3 shows a display screen with a touch- sensitive function connected to a computer and a printer. A system for informing customers about food in shops or other premises in accordance with the present invention comprises a terminal 2 with keys 1 or other means capable of manual actuation arranged for the purpose of entering details about the desired type of food connected to a computer 3, a display screen 4 and a printer 5. This computer 3 is so arranged as to display food recipes 6 in response to an inquiry via the terminal 2, and to indicate the constituent ingredients 7 in the recipe 6 concerned. It is accordingly appropriate to install a device 8 in accordance with the invention, at least in the larger food shops, to offer customers an opportunity to use the device 8 to help them in choosing what to eat for dinner, for example, but also with a quantity of other information such as special offers. The computer 3 should thus include a large pictorial index of suitable dishes so that, when requested, it is able to display the pictures 9 in question for the selected dishes 10 on the screen 4 and on the recipe 6. The aforementioned terminal 2 or other component part of the device 8 thus offers the opportunity to select different types of food 10, such as fish dishes, meat dishes and mince-based dishes, for which purpose the computer 3 is so arranged as to display suggestions for appropriate dishes or recommended alternative recipes in relation to the selected category of food.

The terminal 2 also appropriately offers the opportunity to select display of the categories 11 diabetic food D, gluten-free food GF and energy-reduced food ER, for which purpose the computer 3 is so arranged as to display suggested recipes in relation to the selected category. In this way customers can also obtain help with suggestions for suitable dishes for diabetics, for persons with gluten intolerance, for persons who need to lose weight, and for persons who wish to eat fibre-rich food, etc.

The computer 3 is so arranged as to indicate the category of food for the selected recipe via symbols 12 or the like on the screen 4. The computer 3 is also so arranged as to be capable of adapting the portions, i.e. converting the quantities of ingredients in the recipe according to the number of persons who are to eat the food keyed in via the terminal 2. A picture 9 is thus so arranged as to be displayed for each dish in relation to the selected recipe, in conjunction with which a recipe card 13 with the recipe 6 adapted to the size of the household in question printed on it is dispensed to the customer. The constituent ingredients 7 of the aforementioned recipe 6 in question are also so arranged as to be displayed on a picking list 14 arranged to be dispensed from the printer 5.

The computer 3 is preferably so arranged as to display price information for dishes in accordance with the recipe 6 in question per person and/or in total, and also in relation to the ingredients 7 contained in the aforementioned recipe. Symbols 12, 15 displayed on the screen 4 or on the terminal 2 and on the dispensed recipe 6 and list 14 are so arranged as to provide information about the type of category of food concerned, such as diabetic food, or the type of meat, etc. Symbols 12, such as D, GF and ER food, may be so arranged as to be displayed on the recipe lines in question as the customer "searches through" the computer via the terminal 2.

The computer is also programmed in such a way that it is possible to select types of dishes, e.g. diabetic food, directly by a procedure known as main group selection, thereby obtaining information solely about those dishes which are suitable for diabetics, etc. , in conjunction with which the aforementioned recipe 6 is displayed on the screen 4.

Other types of food groups may also be represented symbolically on the terminal 2 and/or the screen 4 in the event of the computer being a so-called touch-sensitive computer offering the ability to select food by pointing on the computer screen 4 in a previously disclosed fashion. For example, convenience food and inexpensive food may be symbolized on a number of keys, etc. The facility for selecting different languages shall also be available by pressing a dedicated key 16. If, for example, you wish to display suggested recipes for dishes in which minced meat, etc., is included in the Swedish language, you press key 1 to indicate Swedish SE, whereupon the device 8, via the computer 3, searches through the programmed minced meat-based recipes. If you wish to print out a particular recipe, you press a print key 17, and if you also wish to have a so-called picking list 14, you press an additional dedicated key 18. A card 13 or another list showing the aforementioned recipe 6 and a picking list 14 containing the constituent ingredients 7 for the aforementioned selected recipe 6 are then dispensed. Each shop is free to program the device so that the aforementioned picking list is relevant. If the picking list 14 includes an indication 19 of the location in the shop where the various ingredients in the recipe can be found, this will require constant updating in the computer 3, although it is possible, on the other hand, to position the products in such a way that customers have to pass through the whole shop, where they may also make impulse purchases of other promotional products and special offers, etc. The shop staff can also get on with their work with fewer interruptions and can avoid many questions concerning the location of particular products. Customers find the present system very useful in the sense that they can easily obtain suggestions for alternative dishes if a particular product is out of stock, or if it is wished to obtain a recipe adapted for a certain number of persons. Shops which may have interlinked computers and systems for each of the different chains, for example ICA and Konsum, etc., are thus readily able to provide customers with information about special offer prices on the screen 4 and on picking lists 14, at the same time as the recipe is dispensed, and these can also be marked on the recipe. The system can also be so arranged, for example, as to indicate special price offers and details of new products, etc. , with the help of the computer 3 , at the same time as the system is in use or during intervening periods when the system is not being used to provide recipe information.

The screen 4, which must comprise a computer incorporating multi-media technology, must also be so arranged as to be capable of displaying video information, such as films showing food preparation and declarations of the contents of the various products, their origin and how they have been treated and processed, etc, in addition to which the shops must be able to programme-in their own pictures and recipes. Customers find the pictures 9 of cooked dishes displayed on the screen 4 very attractive and find it difficult to resist selecting the displayed dish. For example, if an attractive dish consisting of entrecόte steak with herb butter, salad, tomatoes and chips is displayed on the screen, the picture may well sell the dish as a whole, with the result that the customer accepts the suggestion, in spite of the fact that the customer may originally have been intending to serve ordinary boiled potatoes as an accompaniment to dinner.

The shops may prefer, when setting up the system for the first time, to buy in the necessary pictures and recipes together with the intended program, in which case an agreement may be reached, for instance, with the ICA test kitchen to prepare and photograph certain especially attractive dishes for a particular shop or chain, which then has considerable scope to the only one with that particular dish. The system also offers customers the opportunity to obtain recipe suggestions containing a number of ingredients listed by the customer. If you have large amounts of potatoes, white cabbage and onions at home, for example, it should be possible for you to obtain suggested dishes which include all these ingredients.

The cost of the system can be met by the shops from the financial resources that would otherwise be devoted to other PR measures, and no additional costs need arise, therefore. The system may be constructed from modules, for example, with a number of terminals, screens and printers, etc., linked to a common computer. The system can also be used in restaurants, allowing customers to see pictures of the various dishes and details of their ingredients. This enables restaurants the unique opportunity to display their own special dishes attractively in the form of pictures, which is advantageous given that people still eat largely with their eyes. This also avoids any problems in understanding the language on the menu. The invention is not restricted to the illustrative examples described above and illustrated in the drawings, but may be varied within the scope of the Patent Claims without departing from the idea of invention.

Claims

Patent Claims

1. System for informing customers about food in shops or other premises, characterized in that it comprises a terminal (2) with means (1) capable of manual actuation, so arranged as to permit the entry of details relating to the desired kind of food, in that it comprises a computer (3) incorporating multi-media technology and so arranged as to be capable of displaying video information on a colour display screen (4), such as films showing food preparation and pictures of and recipes for dishes, together with an indication of the ingredients (7) contained in the recipe (6) concerned, and in that a printer (5) is arranged to print out the selected recipe (6).

2. System as claimed in Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the terminal (2) offers the opportunity to select different types of food, such as fish dishes, meat dishes and mince-based dishes, for which purpose the computer (3) is so arranged as to display recipe suggestions in relation to the selected category of food.

3. System as claimed in Patent Claim 2, characterized in that the terminal (2) offers the opportunity to select display of the categories diabetic food (D) , gluten-free food (GF) and energy-reduced food (ER), for which purpose the computer (3) is so arranged as to display suggested recipes in relation to the selected category.

4. System as claimed in Patent Claim 3, characterized in that the computer (3) is so arranged as to indicate the category of food for the selected recipe via symbols (12) or the like on the screen (4).

5. System as claimed in one or other of Patent Claims 2-4, characterized in that the computer (3) is so arranged as to adapt the portions in the recipe (6) according to the number of persons selected via the terminal (2).

6. System as claimed in one or other of Patent Claims 1-5, characterized in that the constituent ingredients (7) of the recipe (6) in question are so arranged as to be displayed on a picking list (14) dispensed from the printer (5).

7. System as claimed in one or other of Patent Claims 1-6, characterized in that the computer (3) is so arranged as to display price information for the recipe (6) in question and the ingredients (7) contained in it.

8. System as claimed in one or other of Patent

Claims 1-7, characterized in that symbols (15) displayed on the terminal (2) and on the dispensed recipe (6) and lists (14) are so arranged as to provide information about the category of food, such as diabetic food (D), or the type of meat, etc.