AU2019302566A1

AU2019302566A1 - Freezer system

Info

Publication number: AU2019302566A1
Application number: AU2019302566A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Yucheng FAN; Huaiguo LIU; Runsheng LIU; Xiao Wu
Original assignee: Quatius Technology China Ltd
Current assignee: Quatius Technology China Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-13
Filing date: 2019-07-12
Publication date: 2021-01-21
Also published as: CN208504854U; WO2020010406A1

Abstract

This application relates to a freezer system, including a freezer, a management display terminal and a management server. The management display terminal is communicably connected to the freezer and the management server, being configured to save the internal monitoring information transmitted by the freezer, operate and control the freezer, display the items stored in the freezer, and synchronize the internal monitoring information to the management server. Through the collaborative operation of the freezer, the management display terminal and the management server, the management display terminal may monitor the operating state of the freezer in real time, which is convenient for a user to check the items stored in the cabinet and operate the freezer.

Description

Freezer System

Field of the Invention

The present application relates to the technical field of electrical apparatus, and more particularly, to a freezer system.

Background of the Invention

With continuous development of social cultural technology, people's living standards are improving. As information technology advances, our lives and production activities are embracing interesting changes. Throughout the entire chain of production and consumption, technologies applied in each link are rapidly updating at full speed towards intelligence, providing people with increasingly convenient and efficient production and living tools, thereby enriching people's production and living content. In the context of the high-speed growth of intelligence, consumption has been rapidly updated from the conventional physical sales mode to the current Internet + mode, and is still continuing upgrading at high speed. In the field of consumption, supermarkets are important in people's daily life, and traditional supermarkets, in the wake of the advancement of the informatization and intelligence, are also gradually updating and upgrading in terms of sales mode and supporting facilities, so as to accommodate to the development of society and technology and satisfy the increasing living quality demand of people. In supermarkets and other consuming places, refrigerated goods still has a large market share, and with the development of unmanned sales, the application of freezers is increasing. However, in the process of implementing the utility model, the inventor found that most traditional freezers are at least facing the problem of low operation and maintenance efficiency.

Summary of the Invention

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a freezer system capable of greatly improving the operation and maintenance efficiency to address the above problem occurring in the related art, or at least provide a useful alternative.

In order to achieve the purpose above, embodiments of the utility model adopt the following technical schemes: In embodiments of the utility model, there is provided a freezer system including: a freezer, a management display terminal, and a management server, wherein the management display terminal is communicably connected to the freezer and the management server respectively;

the management display terminal is configured to save internal monitoring information transmitted by the freezer, control the freezer, display information relating to the items stored in the freezer, and synchronize internal monitoring information to the management server; the management server is configured to store and manage the internal monitoring information of the freezer, and monitor the operating state of the freezer and the management display terminal.

The above freezer system, wherein the freezer, the management display terminal and the management server operate in a collaborative manner and the management display terminal may monitor the operating state of the freezer in real time, may be convenient for a user (such as a consumer or manager) to check the items stored in the cabinet and operate the freezer. The management display terminal synchronizes the internal monitoring information to the management server in real time, whereby the user may monitor the operating state of the freezer and the management terminal remotely in real time, so as to timely make decisions on operation and maintenance. This may effectively solve the problem of low operation and maintenance efficiency faced by conventional freezers, and greatly improve the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer system. Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG 1 is the structural block diagram of the freezer system in one embodiment;

FIG 2 is the structural block diagram of the freezer and the management display terminal in one embodiment;

FIG 3 is the structural schematic diagram of the freezer and the management display terminal in another embodiment;

FIG 4 is the structural schematic diagram of the main body structure of the freezer in an embodiment; and

FIG 5 is the structural schematic diagram of the main body structure of the freezer in another embodiment. FIG 6 is a working example of the freezer system in one embodiment.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments in order to better clarify the object, technical scheme and advantages of the present application. However, it is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely exemplary of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Freezers are widely used in many production sites and living places, for example, supermarkets, workshops and family homes. Freezers are important tools for storage of refrigerated items and in short-distance transportation, and may be divided into upright freezer and chest freezer, or others. The traditional freezer is equipped with a cabinet of standard specification, and a refrigeration control system. The refrigeration control system is operative to provide functions such as refrigeration and lighting control of the cabinet after power-on. For the convenience of illustration, the utility model is further described in detail below by the example of chest freezer.

Please refer to FIG 1 , where an embodiment of the utility model provides a freezer system 100, including a freezer 12, a management display terminal 14 and a management server 16. The management display terminal 14 is communicably connected to the freezer 12 and the management server 16 respectively. The management display terminal 14 is configured to save the internal monitoring information transmitted by the freezer 12, operate and control the freezer 12, display information corresponding to the items stored in the freezer 12, and synchronize the internal monitoring information to the management server 16. The management server is configured to store and manage the internal monitoring information, and monitor the operating state of the freezer 12 and the management display terminal 14. It is understood that the freezer 12 is used for storing one or more types of items to be preserved, for example, one or more types of items for sale, and transmit the internal monitoring information inside the storage compartment (i.e. the chamber where items are stored) to the management display terminal 14 in real time or regularly. The internal monitoring information is the operating information inside the cabinet 12, for example, storage information regarding the stored items, and the internal monitoring information regarding the environment inside the storage compartment. The management display terminal 14 may be, but is not limited to, an intelligent interactive tablet, a tablet computer or a desktop computer. The management server 16 is the backend management server 16 system of the freezer 12, and may perform such required functions as information storage and terminal operation supervision by means of applying the server system software conventional in the art.

Specifically, items to be preserved may be placed in the storage chamber inside the freezer 12 for storage, and the freezer 12 will transmit the internal monitoring information inside the storage chamber to the management display terminal 14 in real time. The management display terminal 14 receives and stores the internal monitoring information. When placing items into the freezer 12, the user may enter the detailed information of each item to the management display terminal 14. At the time of saving the internal monitoring information, the management display terminal 14 may update some information in the detailed information, for example, the remaining quantity, storage position and other information of each item, so as to accurately display information of items in the cabinet 12 in real time. The user may operate on the management display terminal 14, for example, the parameter settings of the freezer 12, internal environment adjustment and control or other operations, after which, the management display terminal 14 correspondingly controls the operating state of the freezer 12 according to the specific operation of the user. The management display terminal 14 may also automatically generate a corresponding browsing log when the user operates, for example, browsing the detailed information of the item, and perform corresponding alarm prompts according to the internal monitoring information, for example, by page alert, audio alert, and/or SMS alert, for temperature exception alert (such as real-time temperature falls within the set temperature exception alert range), out-of-stock alert (such as the real-time quantity of items of one or more types, when the set out-of-stock alert quantity is reached) or conventional equipment failure alert (such as when the operating current or voltage is abnormal), etc. It should be noted that the management display terminal 14 may realize the functions described above by relevant dedicated software conventional in the art, such as the Windows-based operating system, which is not limited by this specification. The management display terminal 14 may synchronize the received internal monitoring information to the management server 16. The management server 16 may update the stored internal monitoring information with the real-time internal monitoring information. The user may remotely monitor the operating state of the freezer 12 and the management display terminal 14 in the background through the management server 16, according to the internal monitoring information or the interactive communication with the management display terminal 14, without frequently visiting the site for inspection. In this way, through the collaborative operation of the freezer 12, the management display terminal 14 and the management server 16, the management display terminal 14 may monitor the operating state of the freezer 12 in real time, which is convenient for the user (such as a consumer or manager) to check the items stored in the freezer 12 and control the freezer 12. The management display terminal 14 synchronizes the internal monitoring information to the management server 16 in real time, so that the user may monitor the operating state of the freezer 12 and the management terminal remotely in real time through the management server 16, for making decisions on operation and maintenance in time. This effectively solves the problem of low operation and maintenance efficiency faced by conventional freezers 12, and greatly improves the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer system 100.

By low operation and maintenance efficiency as used herein is meant the deficiencies observed in conventional freezer systems, including one or more of: poor advertising effect, poor communication with customers as to items stored in the freezer, poor control over information display for operators of the freezer system including control from a remote location, and deficiencies in monitoring freezer system information such as temperature, working condition, alarm systems and other online services.

Please refer to FIG 2, where in one embodiment, a freezer 12 includes a cabinet 122, and a freezer control system 124 and a monitoring device 126 disposed on the cabinet. The monitoring device 126 is communicably connected to the freezer control system 124. The monitoring device 126 is communicably connected to the management display terminal 14. The freezer control system 124 is configured to electrically connect the working power supply, receive control instructions transmitted by the management display terminal 14 through the monitoring device 126, and control the internal environment state of the cabinet 122 according to the control instructions. The monitoring device 126 is configured to collect the internal monitoring information inside the cabinet 122, and transmit to the management display terminal 14.

It may be understood that in the above freezer system 100, cabinet 122 is a carrying structure of the freezer system 100 and may be used to carry various items to be refrigerated and the freezer control system 124 which is configured to provide the internal environment control functions of the cabinet 122. The internal environment control functions of the cabinet 122 are, for example, refrigeration and lighting control. The monitoring device 126 may have some of its members disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet 122, or on an inner surface of the cabinet 122, or in the body wall of the cabinet 122. For example, some members of the monitoring device 126 may be embedded into the sandwich layer of the body wall (such as side plate, cabinet door and bottom plate) of the cabinet 122, as long as the monitoring device 16 is able to communicate with the freezer control system 124 effectively and collect the required internal monitoring information.

Specifically, the monitoring device 126 may obtain control instructions input from the management display terminal 14, and output the same to the freezer control system 124. The freezer control system 124 may implement corresponding control according to the received control instructions. For example, if the control instructions include any instruction to control temperature or lighting, etc., the freezer control system 124 will control the refrigeration power, refrigeration time, light intensity or turn-on and turn-off of lights, and adjust such environment conditions as ambient temperature or ambient brightness inside the cabinet 122. Various items are stored in the storage chamber formed by the cabinet 122, and refrigerated through the freezer control system 124. The monitoring device 126 may collect the internal monitoring information in the cabinet 122 to monitor the details and environmental conditions of all types of items in cabinet 122 in real time, for example, quantity and/or position of the refrigerated items, internal ambient brightness or temperature, etc. The internal monitoring information collected by the monitoring device 126 may be output to the management display terminal 14 for display. In the freezer 12 above, the monitoring device 126 communicates with the freezer control system and may collect the internal monitoring information inside the cabinet 122 in real time. In this way, the user may manage and arrange the freezer control system 124 through the monitoring device 126 with the aid of the management display terminal 14, and acquire real-time internal monitoring information from the monitoring device 16, so as to realize the human-computer interaction between the user and the freezer 12, improve the efficiency in the control and management of the freezer system 100, and achieve the purpose of greatly improving the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer system 100.

Please refer to FIG 3, where, in one embodiment, the monitoring device 126 includes an interface circuit 1262 and a collection module 1264. The interface circuit 1262 is communicably connected to the freezer control system 124, the collection module 1264, and the management display terminal 14 respectively. The interface circuit 1262 is disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet 122 and mechanically connected to the cabinet 122. The collection module 1264 is mechanically connected to the cabinet 122. The interface circuit 1262 is configured to forward the control instructions to the freezer control system 124, and forward the internal monitoring information. The collection module 1264 is configured to collect the internal monitoring information.

It is understood that the interface circuit 1262 is a circuit module integrated for data interface, and is used for receiving the internal monitoring information output by the collection module 1264 and outputting the same to the management display terminal 14, and for forwarding the control instructions transmitted by the management display terminal 14, to the freezer control system 124. The interface circuit 1262 may integrate the corresponding conventional data interface modules to ensure the reliable transmission of the internal monitoring information and the control instructions output by the collection module 1264, according to the data transmission need of the collection module 1264 and the need of communication with the freezer control system 124. The collection module 1264 may be an information collection module 1264 consisting of one or more information collection members. The collection members in the collection module 1264 may be composed of the corresponding conventional collection members (such as temperature detection members, radio frequency detection members or various visual monitoring members), according to the environmental conditions inside the cabinet 122 and the type of information to be collected (such as temperature, type, and quantity or position distribution of refrigerated items, etc.).

Specifically, the interface circuit 1262 may be disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet 122, so that the freezer 12 and the management display terminal 14 may rapidly connect and communicate. For example, the interface circuit 1262 may be disposed on the outer surface of, a side wall of the cabinet 122, the bottom plate of the cabinet 122, or the cabinet door at the top of the cabinet 122, as long as it is convenient to connect to the management display terminal 14 and communicate with the collection module 1264 and the freezer control system 124, and output the internal monitoring information or transmit control instructions.

The interface circuit 1262 may be detachably or integrally fixedly connected to the cabinet 122 by means of snap connection, screw fixing connection or other fixing manner. It is not necessary to insulate the interface circuit 1262 from the cabinet 122, as long as the interface circuit 1262 may be effectively and safely fixed. The collection module 1264 may be fixed to the cabinet 122, for example, to the inner surface of the cabinet 122, or to the partition of the storage rack of the cabinet 122. The collection device 1264 may have some of its members disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet 122, or on an inner surface of the cabinet 122, or in the body wall of the cabinet 122. For example, some members of the collection module 1264 may be embedded into the sandwich layer of the body wall (such as side plates and bottom plate) of the cabinet 122, as long as the collection module 164 may effectively collect the required internal monitoring information and output the same to the interface circuit 1262.

Through the interface circuit 1262 described above, one may quickly realize communication with the management display terminal 14, receive in real time the internal monitoring information collected by the collection module 1264 in real time, and forward the control instructions to the freezer control system 124. In this way, the problem that the control mode of a traditional freezer system 100 is simplex and low in efficiency may be effectively avoided, and the user may quickly obtain the internal monitoring information inside the cabinet 122 through the interface circuit 1262 without checking and counting the items in the cabinet 122, thereby effectively saving operation and maintenance costs and improving the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer system 100.

Please refer to FIG 4, where, in one embodiment, the internal monitoring information includes image information and RFID tag information. The collection module 1264 includes a camera A1 , a RFID tag antenna A2 and a RFID reader A3. The camera A1 and the RFID tag antenna A2 are both disposed on the cabinet 122. The RFID reader A3 is mechanically connected to the cabinet 122. The signal output end of both the camera A1 and the RFID reader A3 is communicably connected to the interface circuit 1262. The signal output end of the RFID tag antenna A2 is communicably connected to the signal input end of the RFID reader A3. The camera A1 is configured to capture the image information. The RFID tag antenna A2 is configured to sense the RFID signal of items inside the cabinet 122 and then transmit to the RFID reader A3. The RFID reader A3 is configured to identify the received RFID tag information according to the RFID signal.

It may be understood that the image information described above may be photos or videos. The RFID tag information is the RFID tag information (if attached with the corresponding RFID tag) recorded when an item required to be refrigerated is placed in the cabinet 122, and is used for recording the detailed information of the item (such as name, date of production, type of product and other information of the item). The camera A1 may be fixedly disposed on the inner surface of the cabinet 122, for example, on the inner surface of a side plate of the cabinet 122, and the specific position thereof may be determined according to the need to collect the required image information. The RFID tag antenna A2 may be, but is not limited to, fixedly disposed on the bottom plate of the cabinet 122, or on the surface of a side plate, or in the sandwich plate of the cabinet, and the radiating surface of the RFID tag antenna A2 faces the direction of the item. There may be one, two or a plurality of the RFID tag antennas A2. When a plurality of RFID tag antennas A2 are used, each RFID tag antenna A2 may be respectively disposed on the surface of the bottom or side plate, or partially disposed on the bottom plate and partially disposed on the side plate or the lower surface of the cabinet door at the top of the cabinet 122, as long as they may effectively and accurately detect the RFID signal of all items. The RFID reader A3 may be fixed to the inner surface of the cabinet 122, for example, to the surface of a side plate, to the surface of the bottom plate or to the lower surface of the cabinet door at the top, or embedded into the cabinet 122, for example, into the sandwich layer of the body wall of the cabinet 122, and the specific position thereof may be determined according to the principle of facilitating the receipt of the RFID signal transmitted back by the RFID tag antenna A2.

Specifically, the camera A1 may collect the image information inside the cabinet 122, for example, the photos or monitoring videos of items inside the cabinet 122. After collecting the image information, the camera A1 may output the same to the interface circuit 1262 through the signal output end. The RFID reader A3 may be used to transmit a read signal to the RFID tag antenna A2 while in operation. The RFID tag antenna A2 will be capable of transmitting the corresponding RF signal, acquiring the RFID signal corresponding to the RFID tag of each item, and transmitting the same back to the RFID reader A3. The RFID reader A3 will be capable of recognizing and obtaining the RFID tag information carried by the corresponding RFID tag according to the received RFID signal, and output it to the interface circuit 1262.

The camera A1 , the RFID tag antenna A2 and the RFID reader A3 described above have been widely used in various fields and scenarios, and the technology is mature and reliable. By collecting the required internal monitoring information through the camera A1 , the RFID tag antenna A2 and the RFID reader A3 described above, the reliability of the internal monitoring information collection may be ensured at an enhanced collection efficiency and a lower overall machine cost of the freezer.

In one embodiment, the RFID tag antenna A2 includes a UHF-antenna. The RFID reader A3 includes a UHF RFID reader A3. That is, the RFID tag antenna A2 described above may be, but is not limited to, a UHF-antenna, and the specific model thereof may be selected according to the type of RFID tag, the speed of the collection of the internal monitoring information, or the internal environmental conditions of the cabinet 122. Correspondingly, the RFID reader A3 may be, but is not limited to, a UHF RFID reader A3, and the specific type thereof may be selected according to the adopted RFID tag antenna A2 and the design needs (such as recognition speed, accuracy, power consumption or cost, etc.). By adopting the UHF-antenna and the UHF RFID reader A3 described above, the efficiency and reliability of the collection of information of the refrigerated items may be improved.

In one embodiment, the interface circuit 1262 includes an equipment interface, which is communicably connected to the image interface and the RFID interface respectively. The image interface is communicably connected to the camera A1 and configured to receive the image information. The RFID interface is communicably connected to the RFID reader A3 and configured to receive the RFID tag information. The equipment interface is configured to communicably connected to the management display terminal 14.

Specifically, after collection of the image information, the camera A1 may output the same to the equipment interface through the image interface on the interface circuit 1262. After recognition of the RFID tag information, the RFID reader A3 may output the same to the equipment interface through the RFID interface on the interface circuit 1262. The management display terminal 14 may acquire the image information and the RFID tag information from the equipment interface. By the interfaces described above, a reliable data path is provided to ensure the real-time transmission of information. In one embodiment, the equipment interface includes a RS232 interface, a RS485 interface and/or a USB interface. That is, the equipment interface described above may be, but is not limited to, a RS232 interface, a RS485 interface or a USB interface, or may be, but is not limited to, a RS232 interface, a RS485 interfaces and a USB interface. There may be one or a plurality of equipment interfaces, and the specific quantity thereof may be determined according to the connection need of the management display terminal and the transmission need of the internal monitoring information. When a plurality of equipment interfaces are used, each equipment interface may be any one of the RS232 interface, the RS485 interface and the USD interface, or two or more of such interfaces, according to the signal transmission needs.

In one embodiment, the interface circuit 1262 further includes an extension interface. It may be understood that the interface circuit 1262 may also reserve an extension interface for extending data transmission or interacting with the management display terminal 14. The extension interface may be, but is not limited to, a RS232 interface, a RS485 interface or a USB interface. By the extension interface, one may flexibly adjust the function of interaction with the management display terminal 14, and extend the data transmission capacity. Please refer to FIG 5, where, in one embodiment, the internal monitoring information includes the internal ambient temperature of the cabinet 122. The monitoring device

126 further includes a temperature sensor 1266 disposed on the cabinet 122. The temperature sensor 1266 is communicably connected to the interface circuit 1262. The temperature sensor 1266 is configured to probe the internal ambient temperature of the cabinet 122.

It is understood that the temperature sensor 1266 may be disposed on an inner surface of the cabinet 122, for example, on the surface of any side plate or bottom plate of the cabinet, or on the lower surface of the cabinet door at the top of the cabinet 122, or disposed on the partition of the storage rack of the cabinet 122, as long as the temperature information inside the cabinet 122 (that is, the chamber used for storage of items as described above) may be accurately monitored. There may be one, two or a plurality of temperature sensors 1266, and the specific quantity thereof may be determined according to the specifications and size of the cabinet 122 and the temperature measurement accuracy.

By setting the temperature sensor 1266, the ambient temperature inside the cabinet 122 may be collected in real time and transmitted to the management display terminal 14 through the interface circuit 1262, so that the user may adjust and control the internal temperature of the cabinet 122 according to the internal ambient temperature displayed by the management display terminal 14, and thereby enhance the operation and maintenance efficiency.

In one embodiment, there are at least two freezers. And there are at least two management display terminals 14, and the quantity of freezers 12 corresponds to the quantity of the management display terminals 14. Each freezer 12 is communicably connected to each management display terminal 14. Each management display terminal 14 is communicably connected to the management server 16. It may be understood that the quantity of freezers 12 in the above-mentioned embodiment may be one. In this embodiment, the quantity of freezers 12 may correspond to the quantity of the management display terminals 14: for example, one freezer 12 corresponds to one management display terminal 14. For another example, one freezer 12 corresponds to two or a plurality of management display terminals 14. Or, two or a plurality of freezers 12 correspond to one management display terminal 14. Or, two or a plurality of freezers 12 correspond to two or a plurality of management display terminals 14. The specific quantity correspondence relation may be set according to the size of the freezer 12, the type and quantity of the stored items, the amount of information required to display, or the business needs, as long as the items stored in the freezer 12 may be effectively displayed and the freezer 12 may be effectively controlled. Each management display terminal 14 may be communicably connected to the system bus or each separate communication line, and respectively communicably connected to the management server 16. In this way, the management server 16 may monitor a plurality of freezers 12 and management display terminals 14 within a certain geographical area, and further improve the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer system 100.

In one embodiment, the management display terminal 14 includes a touch display terminal or a sound control display terminal. It is understood that the management display terminal 14 described above may be a touch-operated touch display terminal, for example, a tablet computer, an intelligent interactive tablet or other computer with a touch input function. The management display terminal 14 may also be a sound control display terminal, for example, an intelligent voice-based interactive equipment, whereby users may make control operations on a sound control display terminal by voice.

Specifically, the user may input the corresponding operation instructions to the management display terminal 14 by touch operation or voice operation, to operate the management display terminal 14. For example, redirect to the item detail information page corresponding to the item clicked by the user, and display the detailed information of the item in combination with the internal monitoring information collected in real time and the prestored introduction information of the item. Or, the user may input the corresponding operation instructions to the management display terminal 14 by touch operation or voice operation, to adjust and control the internal environment state of the cabinet 122. Or, for example, generate the corresponding control instructions to transmit to the freezer control system 124 through the monitoring device 126. After receiving the control instructions, the freezer control system 124 will perform corresponding control, for example, adjusting the refrigeration power, controlling the temperature inside the cabinet 122, or adjusting the brightness of lighting, etc. The control operation is simple and reliable and may effectively improve the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer system 100.

In one embodiment, the management display terminal 14 is further configured to generate corresponding log information after the operation of the user. The log information includes the number of views and/or number of takeaways respectively corresponding to various items inside the cabinet 122. It is understood that the management display terminal may, when a user finishes browsing, correspondingly generate the number of views of items browsed by the user, and the number of takeaways of the corresponding items (for example, how many corresponding items inside the cabinet 122 have been taken away in total so far). As a result, it is convenient for the user who manages the freezer system 100 to rapidly have knowledge about each refrigerated item inside the cabinet 122, thereby improving the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer system 100.

By adopting the touch display terminal or the sound control display terminal, it greatly facilitates the human-computer interaction between the user and the freezer system 100 and the internal monitoring information inside the cabinet 122 may be displayed to the user directly. As a result, it is convenient for the user to check the items, replenish items or make purchase decisions, etc., which greatly improves the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer system 100 and provides better maintainability and user experience.

In one embodiment, the freezer system 100 further includes a QR code label. The QR code label is disposed on the outer surface of the freezer 12 and/or the management display terminal 14. The QR code label is used for triggering the redirection from the display page of the user's terminal to the page of the service account corresponding to the freezer 12, after the user's terminal scans the QR code label. It can be understood that, the QR code label may be, but is not limited to, a two- dimensional code label of a material or a form such as paper, plastic, paint film or metal film. The QR code label may be disposed on the outer surface of the cabinet 122 or the management display terminal 14, and the specific position thereof may be determined according to the principle that it is easy for users to find and use their own terminals to scan. A user's terminal may be, but is not limited to, a terminal equipment such as mobile phone and tablet computer. The service account is an online service platform opened in advance and corresponding to the freezer system 100, for example, the WeChat Official Account, the AliPay Service Account, the Union Pay Service Account or the service account of other platform.

Specifically, a user may enter the service account corresponding to the freezer system 100 by using his/her own terminal to scan the QR code label describe above, and thereafter perform such operations as membership registration, item browsing, purchase and payment, and comments and feedback, credits management, and sharing of items or merchants on the service account through his/her own terminal. Administrator user may scan the QR code label to rapidly log on the backend. For example, log on the service account corresponding to the freezer system 100, and reply any feedback question raised by consumer users and conduct message management, etc. Or log on the management server 16 to regularly check the operating state of each freezer 12 and the management displayer, so as to timely formulate corresponding operation and maintenance plan, etc. By setting of the above QR code label, the use efficiency of the freezer system 100 and the user experience may be further improved. In one embodiment, the management display terminal 14 described above further includes a corresponding QR code used to display the QR code label described above. By displaying the QR code through the management display terminal 14 for users to rapidly scan to enter the service account, this may also effectively improve the use efficiency of the freezer system 100 and provide better experience to users.

In one embodiment, the management server 16 includes a physical server or a cloud server. It is understood that the management server 16 may be a physical server or server group, or a cloud server, which is increasingly popular. By applying a traditional physical server with mature and reliable technology in the art or an emerging cloud server as the management server 16, the backend monitoring of the running process of each freezer 12 and the management display terminal 14 may be reliably realized. The management server 16 may be communicably connected to an external payment system (such as the AliPay payment system, the WeChat payment system, the Union Pay payment system or other payment system) through conventional communication methods. Therefore, after a user makes payment operation on the user terminal, the management server 16 will be capable of receiving the payment information returned by the payment system. In this way, the management server 16 may compare the payment information and the real-time internal monitoring information, to determine whether an item is sold or not, or understand the information of dead stock in the freezer 12, thereby enhancing the monitoring efficiency of the management server 16 over the freezer 12. The cloud server is highly economical to rent or expand, and may effectively control the building cost and the operation and maintenance cost of the freezer system 100.

In one embodiment, the management display terminal may be a television or screen capable of displaying variable information. The information displayed by the display terminal may include information corresponding to the items stored in the freezer system, said information including images, words, lists, shapes, colors, visual recordings or any suitable combination thereof. FIG 6 depicts a working embodiment of the freezer system as described herein.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as the combinations of the technical features are not contradictory, the combinations should be considered as falling within the scope of the specification.

The above embodiments merely express several implementations of the present application, and the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but cannot be thus understood as limitations to the patent scope of the utility model. It should be indicated that those of ordinary skill in the art may also make several transformations and improvements without departing from the concept of the present application, and the transformations and improvements all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the patent protection scope of the present application should be based on the appended claims.

The above embodiments merely express several implementations of the present application, and the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but cannot be thus understood as limitations to the patent scope of the present invention. It should be indicated that those of ordinary skill in the art may also make several transformations and improvements without departing from the concept of the present application, and the transformations and improvements all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the patent protection scope of the present application should be based on the appended claims.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “has”, “having”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that includes a list of steps or (modules) units is not necessarily limited to only those steps or units but may include other steps or units not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, product, or apparatus.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A freezer system, including: a freezer, a management display terminal, and a management server, wherein:

the management display terminal is communicably connected to the freezer and the management server respectively;

the management display terminal is configured to control the freezer, display information corresponding to the items stored in the freezer, save internal monitoring information transmitted by the freezer, and synchronize internal monitoring information to the management server; and

the management server is configured to store and manage internal monitoring information of the freezer, and monitor an operating state of the freezer and the management display terminal.

2. A freezer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

the freezer includes a cabinet, and a freezer control system and a monitoring device disposed on the cabinet;

the monitoring device is communicably connected to the freezer control system and the management display terminal respectively;

the freezer control system is configured to electrically connect a working power supply, receive control instructions transmitted from the monitoring device, and control an internal environment state of the cabinet according to the control instructions; and the monitoring device is configured to collect internal monitoring information inside the cabinet, and transmit the same to the management display terminal.

3. A freezer system as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the monitoring device includes an interface circuit and a collection module; the interface circuit is communicably connected to the freezer control system, the collection module and the management display terminal respectively;

the interface circuit is disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet and mechanically connected to the cabinet, and the collection module is mechanically connected to the cabinet;

the interface circuit is configured to transmit the control instructions to the freezer control system, and transmit the internal monitoring information; and the collection module is configured to collect the internal monitoring information.

4. A freezer system as claimed in claim 3, wherein:

the internal monitoring information includes image information and RFID tag information;

the collection module includes a camera, a RFID tag antenna and a RFID reader;

the camera and the RFID tag antenna are both disposed on the cabinet, and the RFID reader is mechanically connected to the cabinet;

the signal output end of both the camera and the RFID reader is communicably connected to the interface circuit, and the signal output end of the RFID tag antenna is communicably connected to the signal input end of the RFID reader; and

the camera is configured to capture the image information, and the RFID tag antenna is configured to sense the RFID signal of items and then transmit to the RFID reader; the RFID reader is configured to identify the received RFID tag information according to the RFID signal.

5. A freezer system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the RFID tag antenna includes a UHF-antenna, and the RFID reader includes a UHF RFID reader.

6. A freezer system as claimed in claims 4 and 5, wherein:

the interface circuit includes an equipment interface, and an image interface and a RFID interface respectively communicably connected to the equipment interface; the image interface is communicably connected to the camera and configured to receive image information;

the RFID interface is communicably connected to the RFID reader and configured to receive the RFID tag information; and

the equipment interface is configured to communicably connected to the management display terminal.

7. A freezer system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the equipment interface includes a RS232 interface, a RS485 interface and/or a USB interface.

8. A freezer system as claimed in any on of claims claim 3 to 7, wherein the internal monitoring information further includes the internal ambient temperature of the cabinet; the monitoring device further includes a temperature sensor disposed on the cabinet, and the temperature sensor is communicably connected to the interface circuit and used for probing the internal ambient temperature.

9. A freezer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, including at least two freezers and two management display terminals, wherein the quantity of the freezers corresponds to the quantity of management display terminals;

each of the above freezers is respectively communicably connected to each of the above management display terminals; and the management display terminals are respectively communicably connected to the management server.

10. A freezer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the management display terminal includes a touch display terminal or a sound control display terminal.

1 1 . A freezer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, further including a QR code label, wherein the QR code label is disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet and/or the management display terminal, and used for triggering the redirection from the display page of the user terminal to the page of the service account corresponding to the freezer, after the user terminal scans the QR code label.

12. A freezer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 1 1 , wherein the management server includes a physical server or a cloud server.