JP7587981B2 - Shopping Support System - Google Patents

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a shopping support system.

A shopping support device has been proposed that has a purchase item acquisition means for acquiring a purchase item list, which is a list of items desired to be purchased, from a user, and a route generation means for generating a route for visiting target stores and providing the route to the user. It is expected that such a shopping support system will further improve convenience.

JP 2018-63660 A

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a shopping support system that can improve convenience.

The shopping support system of the embodiment has a store information acquisition unit, a location information acquisition unit, an item registration acceptance unit, and a shopping route proposal unit. The store information acquisition unit acquires store information for a plurality of stores, indicating the location of each store and items available for purchase at each store. The location information acquisition unit acquires user location information. The item registration acceptance unit accepts registration of items the user wishes to purchase, and cooperates with a recipe search system or a recipe proposal system to accept registration of necessary ingredients included in a recipe adopted by the user. The shopping route proposal unit proposes a shopping route based on the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit, the user's location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit, and the items or necessary ingredients whose registration has been accepted by the item registration acceptance unit. The item registration acceptance unit cooperates with an ingredient management system that manages ingredients owned by the user, and outputs a question inquiring the user as to whether or not to register the necessary ingredients included in the recipe adopted by the user, of which the user owns a required amount, as an item that the user wishes to purchase.

1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a shopping support system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the foodstuff management server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of retained ingredient information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the recipe search server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the recipe proposal server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the shopping support server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of shopping list information according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the content of an inquiry made by an item registration reception unit according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a suggestion regarding substitute ingredients by the item registration receiving unit of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a shopping route according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of display of store-related information in a second manner in the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the shopping support server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a shopping support server device according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a control flow of a shopping support server device according to a second embodiment.

Hereinafter, the shopping support system of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for components having the same or similar functions. The duplicated description of those components may be omitted. In this specification, "based on XX" means "based on at least XX" and may include the case where it is based on another element in addition to XX. Furthermore, "based on XX" is not limited to the case where XX is directly used, but may also include the case where XX is calculated or processed. In this specification, "XX or YY" is not limited to the case where only "XX" or only "YY" is used, but may also include the case where both "XX" and "YY" are used. This also applies to the case where there are three or more selective elements. "XX" and "YY" are any element (for example, any information). In this specification, "server device" is not limited to a server device configured of one device, but may also include a server device configured of multiple devices.

First Embodiment
＜1. Overall structure＞
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a shopping support system (information processing system) 1 of the first embodiment. The shopping support system 1 includes, for example, a terminal device 100 of a user U, a foodstuff management server device 200, a recipe search server device 300A (or a recipe proposal server device 300B), and a shopping support server device 400. Note that one or more of the terminal device 100, the foodstuff management server device 200, the recipe search server device 300A, and the recipe proposal server device 300B may be provided as external components of the shopping support system 1. In other words, the shopping support system 1 may be composed only of the shopping support server device 400. The network NW described later may be, for example, the Internet, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, a low power wide area (LPWA), a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or other public lines or dedicated lines, depending on the situation.

The terminal device 100 is, for example, a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal device. The terminal device 100 includes a display device 100a including a display screen capable of displaying various information, and an operation unit 100b capable of receiving operations from a user U. The operation unit 100b is, for example, a touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display device 100a. An application program for using the shopping support system 1 is installed in the terminal device 100, and the functions described below are supported. Note that the terminal device 100 is not limited to a mobile terminal device, and may be a personal computer or a display device provided in a refrigerator connected to the network NW.

The ingredient management server device 200 can communicate with the terminal device 100, the recipe proposal server device 300B, and the shopping support server device 400 via the network NW. The ingredient management server device 200 manages ingredients owned by the user U (hereinafter referred to as "owned ingredients"). The ingredient management server device 200 is an example of an "ingredient management system." Note that part or all of the "ingredient management system" may be realized by a refrigerator connected to the network NW.

The recipe search server device 300A can communicate with the terminal device 100 and the shopping support server device 400 via the network NW. The recipe search server device 300A searches for a recipe desired by the user U based on an input from the user U to the terminal device 100, and outputs the recipe search results to the terminal device 100. In this specification, a "recipe" is information that includes, for example, a cooking method for a dish and ingredients required for that dish (hereinafter referred to as "necessary ingredients"). However, the "recipe" in this specification may be information that does not include a cooking method for a dish and includes only the necessary ingredients. The recipe search server device 300A is an example of a "recipe search system." Note that a part or all of the "recipe search system" may be realized by a refrigerator connected to the network NW.

The recipe proposal server device 300B can communicate with the terminal device 100, the ingredient management server device 200, and the shopping assistance server device 400 via the network NW. The recipe proposal server device 300B searches for recipes to propose to the user U, for example, based on the user U's operation on the terminal device 100 and the ingredients owned by the user U managed by the ingredient management system 200, and outputs the recipe search results to the terminal device 100. The recipe proposal server device 300B is an example of a "recipe proposal system." Note that a part or all of the "recipe proposal system" may be realized by a refrigerator connected to the network NW. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the "recipe search server device 300A" and the "recipe proposal server device 300B", they will be referred to as the "recipe server device 300".

The shopping support server device 400 can communicate with the store information site SIS on the web via the network NW. The shopping support server device 400 can also communicate with the user U's terminal device 100, the ingredient management server device 200, and the recipe server device 300 via the network NW. The shopping support server device 400 derives a shopping route that can be suggested to the user U based on the store information obtained from the store information site SIS, the information obtained from the terminal device 100, the information obtained from the ingredient management server device 200, and the information obtained from the recipe server device 300, and outputs information indicating the derived shopping route to the terminal device 100. Note that one or both of the ingredient management server device 200 and the recipe server device 300 may be configured as one unit with the shopping support server device 400 (i.e., by a single server device).

The ingredients management server device 200, recipe server device 300, and shopping support server device 400 are described in detail below.

2. Foodstuff Management Server Device
2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the food ingredient management server device 200. The food ingredient management server device 200 has, for example, an instruction receiving unit 210, a retained food ingredient management unit 220, an information output unit 230, and a storage unit 240. The storage unit 240 stores retained food ingredient information 240a. The "retained food ingredient information" may also be referred to as "inventory information."

The instruction receiving unit 210 can communicate with the terminal device 100 via a communication module (not shown). The instruction receiving unit 210 receives instructions regarding the addition, deletion, or change in quantity of possessed ingredients based on input from the user U to the terminal device 100. In this specification, "possessed ingredients" refers to ingredients stored in the refrigerator in the user U's home, for example, but is not limited to this and may also include ingredients stored outside the refrigerator (for example, stored at room temperature).

The inventory ingredient management unit 220 manages inventory ingredients by changing the registered contents of the inventory ingredient information 240a stored in the memory unit 240 based on instructions from the user U received by the instruction receiving unit 210. Managing inventory ingredients means managing the types and quantities of inventory ingredients that exist as stock.

When the user U operates the terminal device 100 to check the held ingredients, the information output unit 230 outputs the held ingredient information 240a to the terminal device 100. When the information output unit 230 receives a request from the recipe proposal server device 300B to send the held ingredient information 240a, the information output unit 230 sends the held ingredient information 240a to the recipe proposal server device 300B. When the information output unit 230 receives a request from the shopping support server device 400 to send the held ingredient information 240a, the information output unit 230 sends the held ingredient information 240a to the shopping support server device 400.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the owned ingredient information 240a. In the owned ingredient information 240a, the "management ID", "ingredient name", "ingredient classification", "storage location", "purchase date", "best before date" (or "expiration date"), "quantity (stock amount)", "unit", and "history" are registered in association with each ingredient. "Each ingredient" refers to the same ingredient purchased at the same time, for example. In other words, even if they are the same type, ingredients purchased on one date and time and ingredients purchased on a different date and time are registered as different ingredients. Note that the "purchase date" here refers to the date a specific ingredient was newly registered, i.e., the date the inventory increased, and is used to include cases where the ingredient was not obtained by purchasing it.

"Ingredient classification" refers to a preset classification of ingredients. "Storage location" refers to the location where the ingredients are stored. "Quantity" registers the latest quantity of an ingredient. "History" registers information indicating the quantity after reduction and the date and time of reduction when an ingredient is reduced. In this specification, when there is no distinction between "best before date" and "expiration date", it will be referred to as "intake date".

Further details regarding an example of the ingredient management server device 200 are described, for example, in the specifications of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-022905 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-129525. These documents are incorporated by reference in their entirety into this specification.

3. Recipe Search Server Device
4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the recipe search server device 300A. The recipe search server device has, for example, an instruction receiving unit 310A, a recipe search unit 330A, an information output unit 340, and a storage unit 350. Recipe information 350a is stored in the storage unit 350. The recipe information 350a is information including a plurality of recipes.

The instruction receiving unit 310A can communicate with the terminal device 100 via a communication module (not shown). The instruction receiving unit 310A receives instructions related to recipe searches based on input from the user U to the terminal device 100. An "instruction related to recipe searches" may be, for example, an instruction specifying the name of a dish, a type of dish, or ingredients to be used, or an instruction requesting a recommendation for a recommended recipe.

The recipe search unit 330A searches for recipes based on the instructions of the user U received by the instruction receiving unit 310A. That is, the recipe search unit 330A selects one or more recipes according to the instructions of the user U from among the multiple recipes included in the recipe information 350A stored in the memory unit 350.

When one or more recipes selected by the recipe search unit 330A are selected, the information output unit 340 outputs information indicating the selected recipes to the terminal device 100. In this case, the terminal device 100 displays the recipes received from the recipe search unit 330A on the display screen of the display device 100a and accepts an operation by the user U indicating that the recipe is to be adopted. When an operation by the user U to adopt a recipe is accepted by the terminal device 100, the information output unit 340 transmits information indicating the adopted recipe (hereinafter referred to as the "adopted recipe") to the shopping support server device 400.

4. Recipe Proposal Server Device
5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the recipe proposal server device 300B. The recipe proposal server device 300B has, for example, an instruction receiving unit 310B, a possessed ingredient information acquiring unit 320, a recipe searching unit 330B, an information output unit 340, and a storage unit 350. Note that the functions of the information output unit 340 and the storage unit 350 are similar to those described for the recipe search server device 300A, and therefore will not be described here.

The instruction receiving unit 310B can communicate with the terminal device 100 via a communication module (not shown). The instruction receiving unit 310B receives instructions related to recipe search based on input by the user U to the terminal device 100. "Instructions related to recipe search" include instructions such as specifying ingredients that the user wishes to use from among ingredients in possession, or giving priority to ingredients with an upcoming consumption deadline.

The retained ingredient information acquisition unit 320 acquires the latest retained ingredient information 240a from the ingredient management server device 200 by communicating with the ingredient management server device 200 via a communication module (not shown).

The recipe search unit 330B searches for recipes based on the instructions of the user U received by the instruction receiving unit 310B and the latest held ingredient information 240a acquired by the held ingredient information acquisition unit 320. That is, the recipe search unit 330B selects one or more recipes that use held ingredients according to the instructions of the user U from among the recipes included in the recipe information 350a stored in the memory unit 350.

When one or more recipes are selected by the recipe search unit 330B, the information output unit 340 outputs information indicating the selected recipes to the terminal device 100. When the operation of the user U to adopt a recipe is accepted by the terminal device 100, the information output unit 340 transmits information indicating the adopted recipe to the shopping support server device 400.

Further details regarding an example of the recipe proposal server device 300B are described, for example, in the specifications of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-185177 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-185178. These documents are incorporated by reference in their entirety into this specification.

5. Shopping Support Server Device 400
6 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the shopping support server device 400. The shopping support server device 400 has, for example, a store information acquisition unit 410, a location information acquisition unit 412, a transportation means reception unit 414, a possessed ingredient information acquisition unit 416, a necessary ingredient information acquisition unit (recipe acquisition unit) 418, a substitute ingredient registration reception unit 420, an item registration reception unit 422, a candidate date reception unit 424, a store restriction reception unit 426, a priority order reception unit 428, a shopping route suggestion unit 430, a store information output unit 432, and a memory unit 450.

<5.1 Store information acquisition unit>
The store information acquisition unit 410 acquires store information for a plurality of stores, which indicates the location of each store and items available for purchase at each store. In this specification, the "item" refers to, for example, food ingredients, but may also refer to items other than food ingredients. In this embodiment, the store information acquisition unit 410 acquires the store information for a plurality of stores registered in the store information site SIS by communicating with the store information site SIS via a communication module (not shown).

The store information site SIS is a website that lists flyer information for stores in the area where user U lives, such as supermarkets, drug stores, and home improvement stores. The store information site SIS lists the addresses of each store. The flyer information for each store also lists information indicating the types and prices of items available at the store, sale dates, types and prices of sale items, days of the week when more points are awarded, and the validity period of the flyer information. The store information acquisition unit 410 extracts the information contained in the flyer information by analyzing the flyer information acquired from the store information site SIS (for example, by recognizing the text portion of an image containing flyer information and converting the recognized text portion into character data).

The store information site SIS is not limited to a website on which flyer information is posted as images, but may be a website that directly distributes flyer information by communication via the network NW. Furthermore, the store information site SIS is not limited to a website on which store information about multiple stores is compiled, but may be a website managed independently by each store (for example, the homepage of each store).

In this embodiment, the store information acquisition unit 410 identifies the user U's area of activity based on the user U's location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 412 and the means of transportation available to the user U accepted by the transportation acceptance unit 414. The store information acquisition unit 410 then acquires store information indicating the location of each store and items available for purchase at each store for multiple stores included in the identified area of activity of the user U. In this embodiment, the store information acquisition unit 410 also acquires store information related to multiple candidate shopping dates accepted by the candidate date acceptance unit 424.

<5.2 Location information acquisition unit>
The position information acquisition unit 412 acquires the position information of the user U. The position information of the user U is information indicating the position of the user U. However, the "user position" is not limited to the current position of the user U. The user U's terminal device 100 may receive the terminal information based on a signal received from a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellite. The position information acquisition unit 412 includes a position detection unit that detects the position of the device 100. The position information acquisition unit 412 communicates with the terminal device 100 of the user U via a communication module (not shown), and acquires the position information detected by the position detection unit of the terminal device 100. The position of the terminal device 100 thus determined is acquired as the position of the user U.

Alternatively, the location information acquisition unit 412 may accept an address input by the user U via the terminal device 100 when the user U uses the shopping assistance system 1 for the first time. In this case, the location information acquisition unit 412 may acquire the user's address input to the terminal device 100, and thereby acquire the address of the user U as the location of the user U.

<5.3 Transportation reception area>
The transportation means reception unit 414 receives input of transportation means available to the user U. For example, the transportation means reception unit 414 acquires information indicating the transportation means available to the user U, which is input to the terminal device 100, by communicating with the terminal device 100 of the user U via a communication module (not shown). The transportation means available to the user U include one or more of walking, bicycle, motorcycle, car, bus, train, and the like.

<5.4 Possessed ingredients information acquisition unit>
The possessed ingredient information acquisition unit 416 acquires the latest possessed ingredient information 240a related to the user U from the ingredient management server device 200 by communicating with the ingredient management server device 200 via a communication module (not shown). The acquiring unit 416 stores the acquired retained ingredient information 240 a in the storage unit 450 .

<5.5 Necessary ingredients information acquisition section>
The necessary ingredient information acquisition unit 418 communicates with the recipe server device 300 via a communication module (not shown) to acquire information indicating the adopted recipe adopted by the user U from the recipe server device 300. The acquisition unit 418 identifies ingredients (necessary ingredients) required to prepare the dish of the adopted recipe based on the information indicating the adopted recipe. The necessary ingredient information acquisition unit 418 then acquires the information indicating the necessary ingredients as follows: The necessary ingredient information is stored in the storage unit 450 as 450a.

<5.6 Substitute Ingredient Registration Reception Section>
The storage unit 450 stores substitute ingredient information 450b (default substitute ingredient information 450b) initially set for each user U. The substitute ingredient information 450b is information indicating substitute ingredients. In this specification, "substitute ingredient" means another ingredient that can be used in place of a certain ingredient when making a dish. For example, "shiitake mushroom" and "shimeji" are substitute ingredients. A plurality of such correspondences are registered in the substitute ingredient information 450b. Substitute ingredients may be registered for each dish (each recipe). For example, while "shimeji" is registered as a substitute ingredient for "shiitake mushroom" for the recipe of "Ishikari nabe", "shimeji" may not be registered as a substitute ingredient for "shiitake mushroom" for the recipe of "shiitake mushroom stuffed with meat".

In addition, the substitute ingredients may be registered in association with information (characteristic information) indicating the characteristics of the ingredients, such as the price (price) or the season in which it is in season. When there is an ingredient A input as an ingredient that the user U wants to purchase (for example, an ingredient input by the user U to the terminal device 100, or a necessary ingredient identified by the necessary ingredient information acquisition unit 418) and an ingredient B registered in the substitute ingredient information 450b corresponding to ingredient A, the product registration reception unit 422 described later may give priority to one or more characteristics of the ingredient (for example, giving priority to the season in which the ingredient is in season and/or giving priority to the price) and make a proposal regarding the substitution of the ingredient to the user U. In this case, the product registration reception unit 422 may be able to set which characteristic of the ingredient is given priority when making a proposal regarding the substitution of the ingredient. "Proposing with priority given to one or more characteristics" means, for example, making a proposal when ingredient B is superior to ingredient A in terms of a certain characteristic (for example, when it is in season or is cheap). Alternatively, "proposing one or more characteristics with priority" means that, when multiple types of substitute foods B (substitute foods B1, B2) are registered for ingredient A in the substitute ingredient information 450b, the substitute food B1 or B2 that has a superior characteristic is proposed by being displayed first on the display screen or at the top of the display screen.

The substitute ingredient registration reception unit 420 changes the registered contents of the substitute ingredient information 450b of the user U based on the user U's input regarding substitutable ingredients. For example, the substitute ingredient registration reception unit 420 adds to, deletes from, or changes the registered contents of the substitute ingredient information 450b based on the user U's input to the terminal device 100. This allows the user U to add substitute ingredients that he or she prefers to use to the substitute ingredient information 450b in addition to/instead of the initial settings.

<5.7 Product Registration Reception Section>
The item registration reception unit 422 accepts the registration of items that the user U wants to purchase. For example, the item registration reception unit 422 communicates with the terminal device 100 via a communication module (not shown) to accept the registration of items that the user U wants to purchase based on the input of the user U to the terminal device 100. The item registration reception unit 422 adds the items that the user U has accepted as items that the user U wants to purchase to the shopping list information 450c stored in the storage unit 450. The shopping list information 450c is information that is displayed as a shopping list on the display screen of the display device 100a based on the operation of the user U on the terminal device 100. The user U can prevent forgetting to buy something by checking the shopping list while shopping.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of shopping list information 450c. In shopping list information 450c, a "management ID," "ingredient name," "ingredient classification," "quantity," and "unit" are associated and registered for each ingredient. For example, when the item registration reception unit 422 receives the registration of an item, it registers it in association with a pre-defined ingredient classification.

In this embodiment, when the necessary ingredient information acquisition unit 418 acquires information indicating the adopted recipe, the item registration reception unit 422 automatically registers the necessary ingredients identified by the necessary ingredient information acquisition unit 418 in the shopping list information 450c. In this case, the item registration reception unit 422 identifies the necessary ingredients that the user U possesses (hereinafter referred to as "sufficient ingredients") and the necessary ingredients that the user U does not possess (hereinafter referred to as "missing ingredients") based on the identified necessary ingredients and the possessed ingredient information 240a stored in the storage unit 450. Then, the item registration reception unit 422 automatically registers the identified missing ingredients in the shopping list information 450c. In this specification, "not possessed" is not limited to the case where the inventory amount is zero, but also includes the case where there is a small amount of inventory but not the required amount. In this specification, "automatic registration" means registration that does not require the user U to input the ingredient name.

On the other hand, for the identified necessary ingredients of which the user U possesses a required amount (ingredients registered in stock in the possessed ingredient information 240a), the item registration reception unit 422 outputs a question to inquire of the user U as to whether or not to register the ingredients in the shopping list information 450c as an item that the user U wishes to purchase. For example, the item registration reception unit 422 sends information indicating the question to the terminal device 100, and thereby asks the user U the question via the terminal device 100.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the content of an inquiry made by the item registration reception unit 422. The question of the inquiry made by the item registration reception unit 422 is displayed, for example, as a notification N11 on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100. The notification N11 is, for example, an inquiry such as "Ingredient XX needed for recipe XX is in the refrigerator. Would you like to add ingredient XX to your shopping list?" This notification N11 includes, for example, the display of a button B for accepting a response from user U to the above question.

In this case, the item registration reception unit 422 may display details of the possessed foodstuff that is the subject of the inquiry as a notification N12 on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100. The notification N12 may include information indicating, for example, the storage location (storage room) in the refrigerator of the foodstuff that is the subject of the inquiry, the quantity (stock amount), the purchase date, and the consumption deadline. The notification N11 and the notification N12 may be displayed together.

Then, the terminal device 100 accepts a response from the user U indicating whether or not to add the ingredient that is the subject of the inquiry to the shopping list, based on the user U's operation on the terminal device 100. The terminal device 100 transmits information indicating the accepted response from the user U to the item registration acceptance unit 422. If the item registration acceptance unit 422 receives a response from the user U indicating that the ingredient should be added to the shopping list, it adds the ingredient to the shopping list information 450c. On the other hand, if the item registration acceptance unit 422 receives a response from the user U indicating that the ingredient should not be added to the shopping list, it does not add the ingredient to the shopping list information 450c.

In this embodiment, the item registration reception unit 422 can refer to the substitute ingredient information 450b stored in the memory unit 450. When there is a missing ingredient that is not held by the user U among the necessary ingredients included in the adopted recipe, the item registration reception unit 422 determines whether there is an alternative ingredient that can replace the missing ingredient among the ingredients held by the user U (ingredients registered in stock in the held ingredient information 240a) based on the substitute ingredient information 450b. When there is an alternative ingredient, the item registration reception unit 422 makes a suggestion to the user U regarding an ingredient substitution. For example, the item registration reception unit 422 may make a suggestion to the user U regarding an ingredient substitution based on information indicating the intake deadline of ingredients held by the user U (ingredients registered in stock in the held ingredient information 240a). For example, when the candidate shopping date accepted by the candidate date reception unit 424 is earlier, ingredients held by the user U that will reach their intake deadline by that date may be avoided from being suggested as an alternative ingredient.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a suggestion regarding substitute ingredients made by the item registration reception unit 422. The suggestion made by the item registration reception unit 422 is displayed, for example, as a notification N21 on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100. The notification N21 is, for example, a suggestion such as "Ingredient XX required for recipe XX is not present in the refrigerator, but substitute ingredient △△ is present. Would you like to add ingredient XX to your shopping list?" This notification N21 includes, for example, the display of button B for accepting a response from user U to the above question.

In this case, the item registration reception unit 422 may display details of the substitute ingredient that is the subject of the inquiry as a notification N22 on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100. The notification N22 may include information indicating, for example, the storage location (storage room) in the refrigerator, the quantity (stock amount), the purchase date, and the consumption deadline of the substitute ingredient that is the subject of the inquiry. The notification N21 and the notification N22 may be displayed together.

In this embodiment, the item registration reception unit 422 determines, based on the substitute ingredient information 450b, whether or not there is an alternative ingredient that can be substituted for the ingredient inputted as the item that the user U wishes to purchase (the ingredient inputted by the user U to the terminal device 100) among the ingredients held by the user U (ingredients registered in stock in the held ingredient information 240a). If there is an alternative ingredient, the item registration reception unit 422 outputs a question inquiring of the user U as to whether or not to register the ingredient inputted as the item that the user U wishes to purchase. For example, the item registration reception unit 422 asks the user U the question via the terminal device 100 by transmitting information indicating the question to the terminal device 100.

<5.8 Candidate Date Reception Section>
The candidate date receiving unit 424 receives input of multiple candidate shopping dates on which the user U can go shopping. For example, the candidate date receiving unit 424 receives input of multiple candidate shopping dates based on an input made by the user U to the terminal device 100. The candidate date receiving unit 424 may receive multiple candidate shopping dates by specifying individual dates, or may receive multiple candidate shopping dates by specifying a certain period such as "one week from tomorrow."

<5.9 Store Restriction Reception Unit>
When the user U wishes to purchase a specific food ingredient at a specific store (e.g., "purchase fresh fish at supermarket XX"), the store constraint receiving unit 426 receives constraints on the store at which the food ingredient is purchased (hereinafter referred to as "store constraints"). For example, the store constraint receiving unit 426 receives store constraints based on an input by the user U to the terminal device 100.

<5.10 Priority Order Reception Unit>
The priority order receiving unit 428 receives input of the priority order desired by the user U with respect to the shopping route proposed by the shopping route suggestion unit 430. For example, the priority order receiving unit 428 receives the priority order for the shopping route based on the input made by the user U to the terminal device 100. The "priority order for the shopping route" is, for example, price priority, travel time priority, or balance priority. "Price priority" means giving priority to a shopping route where the amount of money spent on purchasing items (total shopping amount) is low. "Travel time priority" means giving priority to a shopping route where the shopping travel time is short. "Balance priority" means giving priority to a balance between the total shopping amount and travel time.

<5.11 Shopping Route Suggestion Section>
The shopping route suggestion unit 430 identifies one or more shopping routes R in response to a request from the user U based on the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit 410, the location information of the user U acquired by the location information acquisition unit 412, the means of transportation accepted by the means of transportation acceptance unit 414, the information registered in the shopping list information 450c by the item registration acceptance unit 422, the candidate shopping dates accepted by the candidate date acceptance unit 424, and the store constraints accepted by the store constraint acceptance unit 426, and suggests the identified one or more shopping routes R to the user U. For example, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 suggests the shopping route R to the user U by outputting information indicating the identified shopping route R to the terminal device 100 and displaying it on the display screen of the display device 100a.

For example, based on the store information and the location information of the user U, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 identifies one or more stores where all of the items registered in the shopping list information 450c (or as many items as possible) can be purchased together or separately. Then, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 identifies a shopping route R that runs from the user U's current location (e.g., the location of the home) through the one or more stores and returns to the user U's current location (e.g., the location of the home). The shopping route suggestion unit 430 outputs information indicating the identified shopping route R to the terminal device 100.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a shopping route R proposed by the shopping route suggestion unit 430. The shopping route R indicates, for example, a route starting from home H, stopping at one or more stores S as shopping destinations, and then returning to home H. For example, if there are multiple stores S, the shopping route R includes the order in which to stop at the multiple stores S.

The shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the content of the proposed shopping route R based on the means of transportation accepted by the transportation acceptance unit 414. For example, when the means of transportation accepted by the transportation acceptance unit 414 is a bicycle, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the content of the shopping route R that best meets the needs of the user U within the range of movement that can be made by bicycle. Similarly, when the means of transportation accepted by the transportation acceptance unit 414 is a car, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the content of the shopping route R that best meets the needs of the user U within the range of movement that can be made by car.

The shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the content of the shopping route R to be proposed based on the priority order accepted by the priority order acceptance unit 428. For example, if the priority order acceptance unit 428 accepts a priority order of "price priority", the shopping route R with the relatively cheapest total shopping amount (e.g., the cheapest) is determined among the multiple candidate shopping routes R. Alternatively, when proposing multiple shopping routes R to the user U, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 proposes the multiple shopping routes R in the order of lowest total shopping amount as the order of the proposed shopping routes R.

On the other hand, when the priority receiving unit 428 has received the priority of "travel time priority", the shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the shopping route R with the shortest shopping travel time among the multiple candidate shopping routes R. Alternatively, when the shopping route suggestion unit 430 proposes multiple shopping routes R to the user U, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 proposes the multiple shopping routes R in the order of shortest shopping travel time as the order of the proposed shopping routes R. Similarly, when the priority receiving unit 428 has received the priority of "balanced field priority", the shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the shopping route R with the relatively high sum of the evaluation values related to the total amount of shopping and travel time among the multiple candidate shopping routes R. Alternatively, when the shopping route suggestion unit 430 proposes multiple shopping routes R to the user U, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 proposes the multiple shopping routes R in the order of highest sum of the evaluation values as the order of the proposed shopping routes R.

The shopping route suggestion unit 430 suggests a candidate day among the multiple candidate days that satisfies a predetermined condition as a day to do shopping, based on store information related to the multiple candidate days acquired by the candidate date receiving unit 424. "Satisfying a predetermined condition" means, for example, that the amount of shopping will be lower or the point award rate will be higher compared to normal days due to a sale day at each store. For example, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 outputs predetermined information to the terminal device 100, thereby displaying a suggestion to do shopping on a day that satisfies the predetermined condition and information indicating the reason for doing shopping on a day that satisfies the predetermined condition on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100.

The store information output unit 432 displays information about stores that satisfy a predetermined condition among the multiple stores whose store information has been acquired by the store information acquisition unit 410, together with the shopping route R, on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100 in a first manner. A "store that satisfies a predetermined condition" is, for example, a store that is included in the shopping route R or a store that is within a predetermined distance from the shopping route R. The first manner is a relatively simple display, for example, displaying only the store name. Note that the first manner may also include information indicating items to be purchased at each store.

When the store information output unit 432 receives an operation by the user U to specify a specific store while the store information is displayed in a first mode, the store information output unit 432 displays the information about the specific store on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100 in a second mode that is more detailed than the first mode. An "operation by the user U to specify a specific store" is, for example, an operation of tapping (clicking) the mark of the store displayed in the first mode on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100. The second mode is a display that is more detailed than the first mode, and includes, in addition to the contents displayed in the first mode, information other than the store name and the item to be purchased, such as details of the items sold at the store (e.g., flyer information), whether or not there is a point card, and the time of a limited-time sale.

For example, FIG. 10 described above is a diagram showing an example of the display of information about a store in a first mode. Meanwhile, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the display of information about a store in a second mode, and is a diagram showing the display screen of the display device 100a to which the transition occurs when an operation by user U to specify store A in FIG. 10 is accepted. As shown in FIG. 11, for store A, in addition to the content displayed in the first mode, a pop-up D is displayed that includes information such as whether or not the store has a point card, the time of the limited-time sale, and information about special sales items.

6. Examples
Hereinafter, a description will be given of several examples of the above-mentioned shopping support server device 400. However, these examples do not limit the contents of this embodiment.

<6.1 Example 1>
When shopping destinations include store A (first store) and store B (second store), the shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the order of visiting stores A and B based on the contents of items to be purchased at store A and the contents of items to be purchased at store B. For example, when the amount (or weight) of items to be purchased at store A is greater (or heavier) than the amount (or weight) of items to be purchased at store B, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 preferentially suggests a shopping route R in which store B is visited first and then store A. According to such a shopping route R, the distance traveled when carrying a large amount of luggage can be shortened.

<6.2 Example 2>
When a shopping trip includes store A (first store) and store B (second store), the shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the order of visiting stores A and B based on the size of store A and the size of store B. For example, when the size of store A is larger than the size of store B, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 preferentially suggests a shopping route R in which store B is visited first and then store A is visited. According to such a shopping route R, even if an item to be purchased is out of stock at store B, it is highly likely that the item can be purchased at store A. The shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the store size based on information (e.g., the variety of items) included in the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit 410.

<6.3 Example 3>
The product registration reception unit 422 can refer to the substitute ingredient information 450b stored in the storage unit 450. When there is a missing ingredient (an ingredient whose inventory is not registered in the possessed ingredient information 240a) among the necessary ingredients included in the adopted recipe that the user U does not possess, and the shopping route R proposed by the shopping route suggestion unit 430 is changed to a route with a shorter required time by substituting another ingredient for the missing ingredient based on the substitute ingredient information 450b, the product registration reception unit 422 makes a proposal to the user U regarding the substitution of the ingredient.

In more detail, if there are ingredients required for an adopted recipe that are not in the user U's possession, then, as a general rule, the item registration reception unit 422 adds the missing ingredients to the shopping list information 450c, and the shopping route suggestion unit 430 identifies a shopping route R that goes around stores where the missing ingredients can be purchased and suggests it to the user U. However, for example, if the ingredients required for the adopted recipe include a special ingredient (an ingredient that is not available at nearby stores), then a shopping route R that goes around distant stores to purchase the special ingredient may be suggested, even though a nearby store would suffice if only other items were to be purchased.

In the above case, the item registration reception unit 422 determines, based on the substitute ingredient information 450b, whether or not the shopping route R proposed by the shopping route suggestion unit 430 can be changed to a route with a shorter required time by substituting the special ingredient with a general ingredient that can be purchased at a nearby store. If the shopping route R can be changed to a route with a shorter required time by substituting the special ingredient with a general ingredient, the item registration reception unit 422 makes a proposal to the user U regarding the substitution of ingredients. For example, the item registration reception unit 422 outputs to the terminal device 100 an inquiry about whether or not a certain ingredient among the necessary ingredients can be substituted for another ingredient, and information indicating the shopping route R in which the required time will be shortened by changing the ingredient.

<6.4 Example 4>
The item registration reception unit 422 can refer to the substitute ingredient information 450b stored in the storage unit 450. When an item registered in the shopping list information 450c is sold out at a store where the user U shopped, the item registration reception unit 422 suggests the purchase of another ingredient based on the substitute ingredient information 450b. In more detail, when an item registered in the shopping list information 450c is sold out at a store where the user U shopped, the user U inputs information indicating that to the terminal device 100. In this case, the item registration reception unit 422, which receives information from the terminal device 100, searches the substitute ingredient information 450b for an ingredient that can be substituted for the sold-out ingredient. When an ingredient that can be substituted for the sold-out ingredient exists, the item registration reception unit 422 suggests the substituted ingredient to the user U. For example, the item registration reception unit 422 outputs information indicating the substituted ingredient to the terminal device 100 and displays it on the display screen of the display device 100a.

7. Control Flow
Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of control of the shopping support server device 400. For the sake of convenience, a description of the determination as to whether or not there is an alternative ingredient that can be substituted for the ingredient that the user U wants to purchase is omitted in Fig. 12. This determination will be described in the second embodiment.

First, the shopping support server device 400 acquires information for deriving a shopping route R according to the request of the user U based on the input of the user U to the terminal device 100 (step S101). This information includes, for example, the user's location information, the items the user U wants to purchase, the means of transportation available to the user U, the priority order for the shopping route R, possible dates on which the user U can shop, the presence or absence of store restrictions, etc. However, one or more of this information may be omitted.

The shopping support server device 400 also acquires the latest held ingredient information 240a from the ingredient management server device 200 (S102). Note that the process of S102 may be performed only if the determination of S106 is YES after the process of S106 described below.

Next, the shopping support server device 400 identifies the user U's area of activity based on the user's location information and the means of transportation available to the user U (S103). Next, the shopping support server device 400 identifies multiple stores located within the user U's area of activity as potential shopping destinations based on the user U's area of activity and the addresses of each store obtained from the store information site SIS (S104). Then, the shopping support server device 400 obtains store information on the multiple potential shopping destination stores from the store information site SIS (S105).

Next, the shopping support server device 400 determines, based on the signal obtained from the terminal device 100, whether or not an operation by the user U to adopt the recipe has been performed on the terminal device 100 (S106).

When the user U who adopts the recipe operates the terminal device 100 (S106: YES), the shopping support server device 400 performs the following process. That is, the shopping support server device 400 acquires information indicating the adopted recipe based on the operation of the user U who adopts the recipe performed on the terminal device 100, and identifies the necessary ingredients included in the adopted recipe (S107). Then, the shopping support server device 400 identifies the missing ingredients that the user U does not possess based on the possessed ingredient information 240a and the necessary ingredients included in the adopted recipe, and automatically registers the missing ingredients in the shopping list information 450c (S108). Then, the shopping support server device 400 proceeds to the process of S109. On the other hand, when the user U who adopts the recipe does not operate the terminal device 100 (S106: NO), the shopping support server device 400 proceeds to the process of S109.

Next, the shopping support server device 400 identifies one or more shopping routes R based on the shopping list information 450c and information indicating the multiple stores identified as potential shopping destinations, the priority order for the shopping route R, potential dates on which the user U can shop, the presence or absence of store restrictions, etc. (S109). Then, the shopping support server device 400 outputs information indicating the identified one or more shopping routes R and information indicating the stores included in the shopping route R in a first manner to the terminal device 100 (S110). As a result, the identified one or more shopping routes R and information indicating the stores included in the shopping route R in a first manner are displayed on the display screen of the display device 100a of the terminal device 100.

Next, the shopping support server device 400 determines, based on the signal obtained from the terminal device 100, whether or not a specific user operation has been performed on the terminal device 100 to display information about the stores included in the shopping route R in the second mode (S111). If the shopping support server device 400 determines that the specific user operation has been performed (S111: YES), it outputs additional information to the terminal device 100 to display information about the specific store specified by the user U in the second mode (S112), and ends the processing of this flow. On the other hand, if the specific user operation has not been performed (S111: NO), the shopping support server device 400 ends the processing of this flow.

8. Advantages
In this embodiment, the shopping support server device 400 has an item registration acceptance unit 422 and a shopping route suggestion unit 430. The item registration acceptance unit 422 accepts the registration of items that the user U wants to purchase, and cooperates with the recipe server device 300 to accept the registration of necessary ingredients included in the adopted recipe. The shopping route suggestion unit 430 proposes a shopping route R based on the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit 410, the location information of the user U acquired by the location information acquisition unit 412, and the items or necessary ingredients whose registration has been accepted by the item registration acceptance unit 422. With this configuration, compared to the case where the ingredients included in the recipe adopted by the user U are manually input one by one, it is possible to easily input the ingredients, and it is also possible to propose a shopping route R that allows the ingredients to be purchased without omission. This can improve the convenience of the user U.

In this embodiment, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the order in which the shopping routes R are proposed or the contents of the proposed shopping route R based on the priorities accepted by the priority acceptance unit 428. With this configuration, it is possible to suggest an appropriate shopping route R according to the priorities of the user U.

In this embodiment, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 determines the content of the proposed shopping route R based on the means of transportation accepted by the transportation acceptance unit 414. With this configuration, it is possible to suggest an appropriate shopping route R according to the means of transportation available to the user U.

In this embodiment, the store information output unit 432 displays information about a store that satisfies a predetermined condition among multiple stores acquired by the store information acquisition unit 410 in a first mode together with the shopping route R, and when a user U operation to specify a specific store is accepted while the information about the store is displayed in the first mode, the store information output unit 432 displays the information about the specific store in a second mode that is more detailed than the first mode. With this configuration, it is possible to display additional information that is useful to the user U, such as online flyers and the availability of point cards, in response to the user U's operation.

In this embodiment, the item registration reception unit 422 cooperates with the ingredient management server device 200, which manages the ingredients owned by the user U, and registers the ingredients required for the adopted recipe that the user U does not own as items that the user U wants to purchase. This configuration can reduce the effort required for the user U to enter information and prevent the user U from forgetting to enter information.

In this embodiment, the item registration reception unit 422 works in conjunction with the ingredient management server device 200 that manages the possessed ingredient information 240a, and outputs a question to the user U asking whether or not to register ingredients included in the adopted recipe that the user U possesses in required quantities as an item that the user U wishes to purchase. This configuration makes it possible to prevent possessed ingredients from being registered in the shopping list information 450c, and thus to prevent unnecessary purchases.

In this embodiment, when there is a missing ingredient that is not possessed by the user U among the necessary ingredients included in the adopted recipe, the item registration reception unit 422 determines whether there is an ingredient that can be substituted for the missing ingredient among ingredients possessed by the user U based on the substitute ingredient information 450b, and if there is an ingredient, makes a suggestion regarding the substitution of the ingredient to the user U. With this configuration, possessed ingredients can be consumed efficiently.

In this embodiment, when there is a missing ingredient that is not in the user U's possession among the necessary ingredients included in the adopted recipe, and the shopping route R proposed by the shopping route suggestion unit 430 is changed to a route with a shorter time by substituting another ingredient for the missing ingredient based on the substitute ingredient information 450b, the item registration reception unit 422 makes a suggestion to the user U regarding substitution of ingredients. With this configuration, a more efficient shopping route R can be proposed to the user U.

In this embodiment, the substitute ingredient registration reception unit 420 changes the substitute ingredient information 450b based on the user U's input regarding substitutable ingredients. With this configuration, the user U can change the substitute ingredient information 450b according to his or her preferences. This can improve the convenience for the user U.

In this embodiment, the shopping route suggestion unit 430 suggests the most suitable candidate date from among multiple candidate shopping dates based on store information related to multiple candidate shopping dates acquired by the store information acquisition unit 410. With this configuration, it is possible to suggest shopping on sale days or days with high point allocation rates.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the shopping support server device 400 is not linked to the recipe server device 300. Note that the configuration other than that described below is the same as that of the first embodiment.

13 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the shopping support server device 400 of the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the item registration reception unit 422 cooperates with the ingredient management server device 200 that manages ingredients owned by the user U, and can refer to the substitute ingredient information 450b stored in the storage unit 450. Based on the substitute ingredient information 450b, the item registration reception unit 422 determines whether there is an alternative ingredient that can be substituted for the ingredient input as the item that the user U wants to purchase among the ingredients owned by the user U (ingredients registered as the owned ingredient information 240a). If there is an alternative ingredient, the item registration reception unit 422 outputs a question to inquire of the user U whether or not to register the ingredient input as the item that the user U wants to purchase in the shopping list information 450c. For example, the item registration reception unit 422 sends information indicating the question to the terminal device 100, thereby inquiring of the user U about the question through the terminal device 100.

Figure 14 is a flowchart showing the control flow of the shopping support server device 400 of the second embodiment. Note that in the process of Figure 14, the description of the process that is the same as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

In this embodiment, after S105, the item registration reception unit 422 determines whether there are any ingredients among the ingredients in the inventory that can be substituted for the ingredient desired by user U (the ingredient input as the item to be purchased) based on the substitute ingredient information 450b (S121). If there are no ingredients that can be substituted (S121: NO), the item registration reception unit 422 proceeds to the process of S109. On the other hand, if there are ingredients that can be substituted (S121: YES), the item registration reception unit 422 inquires whether to register the ingredient desired by user U in the shopping list information 450c (S122).

Next, the item registration reception unit 422 determines whether the terminal device 100 has received the user U's response indicating that the desired ingredients will be registered in the shopping list information 450c as is (S123). If the item registration reception unit 422 has received the user U's response indicating that the desired ingredients will be registered in the shopping list information 450c as is (S123: YES), the item registration reception unit 422 registers the desired ingredients of the user U in the shopping list information 450c (S124) and proceeds to processing of S109. On the other hand, if the item registration reception unit 422 has received the user U's response indicating that the desired ingredients will not be registered in the shopping list information 450c as is (S123: NO), the item registration reception unit 422 refrains from registering the desired ingredients of the user U in the shopping list information 450c (S125) and proceeds to processing of S109.

With this configuration, it is possible to efficiently consume ingredients that are in stock, and it is also possible to suggest an efficient shopping route R.

All or part of the functions of the ingredient management server device 200, recipe server device 300, and shopping assistance server device 400 described above are realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing unit) executing a program (software). However, all or part of each functional unit may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The storage units 350 and 450 are realized by one or more combinations of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrical Erasable ROM), SSD (Solid State Drive), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc.

According to at least one of the embodiments described above, the shopping support system can improve convenience by having a shopping route suggestion unit that suggests a shopping route based on store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit, user location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit, and items or necessary ingredients whose registration has been accepted by the item registration acceptance unit.

From another perspective, the shopping support system may not have the shopping route suggestion unit 430. Furthermore, the shopping support system may not have one or more of the store information acquisition unit 410, the location information acquisition unit 412, the transportation means acceptance unit 414, the necessary ingredient information acquisition unit 418, the candidate date acceptance unit 424, the store constraint acceptance unit 426, the priority acceptance unit 428, the shopping route suggestion unit 430, and the store information output unit 432. The shopping support system may refer to the substitute ingredient information 450b, and may be a system that makes suggestions regarding substitute ingredients to the user U, as in the first or second embodiment. For example, in a case where the system is not linked to a recipe server device as in the second embodiment, when the user inputs an ingredient that the user wants to purchase into the terminal device 100, the product registration acceptance unit 422 determines whether or not there is an ingredient that can be substituted for the ingredient that the user wants to purchase based on the substitute ingredient information 450b, and if there is an ingredient that can be substituted, outputs information indicating the ingredient that can be substituted. Even with this configuration, convenience can be improved.

We will now discuss some shopping support systems based on this perspective.
[Appendix 1]
an item registration reception unit that receives an input of ingredients that a user wishes to purchase, and that cooperates with an ingredient management system that manages ingredients owned by the user, and that can refer to substitute ingredient information that indicates ingredients that can be substituted, and that, if there is an ingredient that can be substituted for the ingredient input as an ingredient that the user wishes to purchase among ingredients owned by the user, outputs a question to inquire of the user as to whether or not to register the ingredient that the user wishes to purchase;
A shopping support system equipped with
[Appendix 2]
an item registration reception unit that receives input of ingredients that a user wishes to purchase, and is capable of referring to substitute ingredient information that indicates ingredients that can be substituted, and that makes suggestions regarding substitute ingredients to the user when there are substitute ingredients that can be substituted for the ingredient that the user wishes to purchase;
A shopping support system equipped with
[Appendix 3]
In the shopping support system according to claim 1 or 3,
In the substitute ingredient information, a substitute ingredient is registered in association with one or more characteristics related to the ingredient,
The item registration acceptance unit provides the user with suggestions regarding ingredient substitutions based on the one or more characteristics.
[Appendix 4]
In the shopping support system according to claim 3,
The one or more characteristics include a seasonality of the food ingredient.
[Appendix 5]
In the shopping support system according to claim 3 or 4,
The one or more characteristics include a price of the ingredient.
[Appendix 6]
In the shopping support system according to any one of Supplementary Note 3 to Supplementary Note 5,
When there are multiple alternative ingredients that can be substituted for the ingredient inputted as the ingredient that the user wishes to purchase in the alternative ingredient information, the item registration receiving unit preferentially suggests one or more alternative ingredients included in the multiple alternative ingredients based on the one or more characteristics.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are within the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims, as well as the scope and gist of the invention.

1...Shopping support system, 100...Terminal device, 200...Ingredient management server device (ingredient management system), 300A...Recipe search server device (recipe search system), 300B...Recipe proposal server device (recipe proposal system), 400...Shopping support server device, 410...Store information acquisition unit, 412...Location information acquisition unit, 414...Transportation means reception unit, 420...Substitute ingredient registration reception unit, 424...Candidate date reception unit, 428...Priority order reception unit, 430...Shopping route proposal unit, 432...Store information output unit.

Claims (11)

a store information acquisition unit that acquires store information indicating the location of each store and items that can be purchased at each store for a plurality of stores;
A location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of a user;
an item registration receiving unit that receives registration of items that the user wishes to purchase and also receives registration of ingredients required for recipes adopted by the user in cooperation with a recipe search system or a recipe suggestion system;
a shopping route suggestion unit that suggests a shopping route based on the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit, the location information of the user acquired by the location information acquisition unit, and the items or necessary ingredients whose registration is accepted by the item registration acceptance unit; and
Equipped with
the item registration reception unit cooperates with an ingredient management system that manages ingredients owned by the user, and outputs a question to inquire of the user whether or not to register, as an item that the user wishes to purchase, ingredients of which the user owns a required amount among the ingredients included in the recipe adopted by the user;
Shopping support system. a priority order receiving unit for receiving an input of a priority order desired by the user,
The shopping route suggestion unit determines an order of suggesting the shopping route or contents of the suggestion based on the priority order accepted by the priority order acceptance unit.
The shopping support system according to claim 1 . A transportation means receiving unit that receives an input of a transportation means available to the user,
The shopping route suggestion unit determines the content of the shopping route based on the transportation means accepted by the transportation means acceptance unit.
3. The shopping support system according to claim 1 or 2. a store information output unit that displays information about a store among the plurality of stores that satisfies a predetermined condition together with the shopping route in a first manner, and when an operation by the user to specify a specific store is accepted while the information about the stores is displayed in the first manner, displays information about the specific store in a second manner that is more detailed than the first manner;
The shopping support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The item registration reception unit cooperates with an ingredient management system that manages ingredients owned by the user, and registers the necessary ingredients included in the recipe adopted by the user that are not owned by the user as items that the user wants to purchase.
The shopping support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. the item registration reception unit is capable of referring to substitute ingredient information indicating replaceable ingredients, and when there is a missing ingredient among the necessary ingredients included in the recipe adopted by the user that the user does not possess, and there is a substitute ingredient that can be substituted for the missing ingredient among the ingredients possessed by the user, the item registration reception unit makes a suggestion regarding the substitution of ingredients to the user;
The shopping support system according to claim 5 . a store information acquisition unit that acquires store information indicating the location of each store and items that can be purchased at each store for a plurality of stores;
A location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of a user;
an item registration receiving unit that receives registration of items that the user wishes to purchase and also receives registration of ingredients required for recipes adopted by the user in cooperation with a recipe search system or a recipe suggestion system;
a shopping route suggestion unit that suggests a shopping route based on the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit, the location information of the user acquired by the location information acquisition unit, and the items or necessary ingredients whose registration is accepted by the item registration acceptance unit; and
Equipped with
The item registration reception unit cooperates with an ingredient management system that manages ingredients owned by the user, and registers the necessary ingredients included in the recipe adopted by the user that are not owned by the user as items that the user wants to purchase;
the item registration reception unit is capable of referring to substitute ingredient information indicating replaceable ingredients, and when there is a missing ingredient among the necessary ingredients included in the recipe adopted by the user that the user does not possess, and when the shopping route proposed by the shopping route proposal unit changes to a route with a shorter required time by substituting another ingredient for the missing ingredient based on the substitute ingredient information, the item registration reception unit makes a proposal regarding the substitution of ingredients to the user;
Shopping support system. a store information acquisition unit that acquires store information indicating the location of each store and items that can be purchased at each store for a plurality of stores;
A location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of a user;
an item registration receiving unit that receives registration of items that the user wishes to purchase and also receives registration of ingredients required for recipes adopted by the user in cooperation with a recipe search system or a recipe suggestion system;
a shopping route suggestion unit that suggests a shopping route based on the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit, the location information of the user acquired by the location information acquisition unit, and the items or necessary ingredients whose registration is accepted by the item registration acceptance unit; and
Equipped with
the item registration reception unit is linked to an ingredient management system that manages ingredients owned by the user, and is capable of referring to substitute ingredient information that indicates ingredients that can be substituted; and when there is an ingredient that can be substituted for an ingredient input by the user as an item that the user wishes to purchase among ingredients owned by the user, the item registration reception unit outputs a question to inquire of the user as to whether or not to register the ingredient input by the user as an item that the user wishes to purchase.
Shopping support system. The method further includes a substitute ingredient registration reception unit that changes the registered content of the substitute ingredient information based on the user's input regarding substitute ingredients.
The shopping support system according to any one of claims 6 to 8 . a store information acquisition unit that acquires store information indicating the location of each store and items that can be purchased at each store for a plurality of stores;
A location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of a user;
an item registration receiving unit that receives registration of items that the user wishes to purchase and also receives registration of ingredients required for recipes adopted by the user in cooperation with a recipe search system or a recipe suggestion system;
a shopping route suggestion unit that suggests a shopping route based on the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit, the location information of the user acquired by the location information acquisition unit, and the items or necessary ingredients whose registration is accepted by the item registration acceptance unit; and
a candidate date receiving unit that receives input of a plurality of candidate dates on which the user can go shopping ;
Equipped with
The store information acquisition unit acquires the store information related to the plurality of candidate dates,
the shopping route suggestion unit suggests a candidate date that satisfies a predetermined condition among the plurality of candidate dates based on the store information related to the plurality of candidate dates acquired by the candidate date receiving unit;
Shopping support system. a store information acquisition unit that acquires store information indicating the location of each store and items that can be purchased at each store for a plurality of stores;
A location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of a user;
an item registration reception unit that receives an input of ingredients that the user wishes to purchase, and that cooperates with an ingredient management system that manages ingredients owned by the user, and that can refer to substitute ingredient information that indicates ingredients that can be substituted, and that outputs a question to inquire of the user whether or not to register the ingredient that the user wishes to purchase if there is an ingredient that can be substituted for the ingredient that the user wishes to purchase among the ingredients owned by the user;
a shopping route suggestion unit that suggests a shopping route based on the store information acquired by the store information acquisition unit, the location information of the user acquired by the location information acquisition unit, and food ingredients whose registration is accepted by the item registration acceptance unit;
A shopping support system equipped with

Images