JP2002147928A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator wherein wasteful communication cost is reduced, storage information of foods, etc., is transmitted, and overlapped purchase of foods is eliminated. SOLUTION: A refrigerator comprises: communication information extraction section 13 for extracting data in need of purchase from storage information of a storage article stored in a food storage table 12; a mail transmission section 15 for transmitting stored information stored in the communication information holding table 14 to a plurality of destinations registered in a transmission destination registering table 22; a mail reception section 19 for receiving updating information of the storage transmitted by one of the transmission destinations; and an information updating section 20 for updating the storage information based upon the received updating information, wherein the updated storage information is transmitted too by the mail transmission section 15 to the destination.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of transmitting stock information of foods and the like in the refrigerator to a predetermined destination by e-mail or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when shopping for food, it is troublesome to grasp the food stored in a refrigerator at home and write down in a memo about a food that needs to be purchased before going out for shopping. Was needed. On the other hand, an electronic mail transmission function is provided in the refrigerator, and the refrigerator is capable of transmitting inventory information of foods and the like stored in the refrigerator to a mobile phone or a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a “PC”) of a predetermined partner. Has recently been put to practical use.

According to this refrigerator, when storing food in the refrigerator, food information such as the item, amount, and expiration date of the food is input and stored. At a predetermined time, inventory information listing each food information is created. For example, stock information is transmitted as e-mail to a mobile phone of each family member or a personal computer at work.

[0004] In this way, the whole family can easily know the foods and the like that need to be purchased, so that those who have free time can use the whole family's time effectively by shopping. Has become.

[0005]

However, according to the refrigerator described above, since the same stock information is transmitted to the whole family, there is a case where shopping is duplicated and food is wasted. Was. Further, since the food information of all the foods stored in the refrigerator is transmitted as the stock information, there is a problem that the file size of the e-mail is increased and the communication cost is increased. In addition, there is also a problem that unnecessary communication costs are required because an e-mail is also transmitted to a person who knows in advance that shopping cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can transmit inventory information of foods and the like while reducing unnecessary communication costs and that does not purchase foods repeatedly.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transmitting unit for transmitting inventory information to a plurality of destinations registered in advance, and updating information of inventory transmitted by one of the destinations. , And an updating unit that updates inventory information based on the received update information, wherein the updated inventory information is retransmitted to the plurality of destinations by the transmission unit.

[0008] According to this configuration, the stock information of foods and the like is transmitted from the refrigerator to a plurality of mobile phones and personal computers of the other party at a predetermined time. When one person who has received the stock information makes a shopping based on the stock information, the updated information such as the purchased food is transmitted to the refrigerator. The updating unit of the refrigerator updates the stock information based on the received update information, and retransmits the updated stock information to the other party. Thus, each person can always obtain the latest stock information.

[0009] Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the refrigerator having the above-mentioned structure, the source of the update information is excluded from the retransmission destination. According to this configuration, the shopper can grasp the latest stock information, so that retransmission is not performed, thereby eliminating useless communication.

Further, the present invention provides a transmitting unit for transmitting inventory information to one destination selected from a plurality of pre-registered destinations, and a receiving unit for receiving inventory update information transmitted by one destination. And an updating unit for updating the stock information based on the received update information, and the transmitting unit retransmits the updated stock information to a new partner in order each time the stock information is updated. Features.

According to this configuration, the stock information of the food and the like is transmitted from the refrigerator to the other party's mobile phone or personal computer at a predetermined time. When the person who received the stock information makes a shopping based on the information, the updated information such as the purchased food is transmitted to the refrigerator. The updating unit of the refrigerator updates the stock information based on the received update information, and the updated stock information is retransmitted to another person. When another person makes a purchase based on the received stock information, the updated information is transmitted to the refrigerator, the updated stock information is updated, and the updated stock information is retransmitted to the other person. This operation is sequentially performed on the registered destinations. Thereby, each person can always obtain the latest stock information and perform shopping.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the refrigerator having the above configuration, when the update information is not received within a predetermined time from the destination to which the inventory information was transmitted, the inventory information is retransmitted to a new destination. And According to this configuration, when there is no transmission of update information from the other party who has received the inventory information, the same inventory information is transmitted to another person again.

According to the present invention, in the refrigerator having the above-mentioned structure, a destination authentication unit for determining whether or not the source of the received information is the destination of the transmission of the inventory information; And an analysis unit that obtains the update information of (1). According to this configuration, when the information is received, the destination authentication unit determines that the source of the information is the destination that transmitted the inventory information, and then the analysis unit analyzes the information to obtain update information. The stock information is updated by the updating unit.

According to the present invention, in the refrigerator having the above-described structure, management data of a storage satisfying a predetermined condition is extracted from a food inventory table storing management data unique to each stored storage. The feature is that data is transmitted as stock information.

According to the present invention, in the refrigerator having the above-described structure, a transmission unit for designating a plurality of destinations registered in advance as reply destinations and transmitting inventory information to the destinations, and updating inventory information. It is characterized by comprising a receiving unit for receiving, and an updating unit for updating stock information based on the received update information.

According to this configuration, the stock information of the food and the like is transmitted from the refrigerator to a plurality of mobile phones and personal computers of the other party at a predetermined time. When one person who has received the stock information makes a shopping based on the stock information, the updated information such as the purchased food is returned to the refrigerator. At this time, since a plurality of registered destinations are designated as reply destinations at the time of sending the inventory information, update information is returned to each registered person at the same time. Therefore, each registered person can always have the latest stock information.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system having a refrigerator according to the first embodiment. The control unit 4 is provided in the refrigerator 1 installed in the home, and controls the operation of each unit. An operation panel 11 is connected to the control unit 4. The operation panel 11 includes a display unit 2 including a liquid crystal panel and the like, and an operation unit 3 having a plurality of switches.

The operation unit 3 is used to set the temperature inside the refrigerator 1
An input operation of food stock information and the like are performed, and the display unit 2 performs a confirmation display of an operation state of the refrigerator 1 and a calendar display. When displaying the calendar, the date management unit 2 connected to the control unit 4
7 manages the current date and time.

A modem 5 is connected to the control unit 4 so that a communication connection by dial-up to a predetermined provider 6 can be made through a public line. When an electronic mail is transmitted from the refrigerator 1, the electronic mail is received by the mail server 6a of the provider 6 and delivered to the personal computer 8 of the company via the Internet network 7. Also, the mobile telephone management organization 6 ′ through the Internet network 7
The e-mail server 6b receives the e-mail, and can also deliver the e-mail to the mobile phone 10 of each family member via the mobile telephone network 9.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the display screen of the operation panel 11 when inputting the stock information of the foodstuff. The group of food items that can be managed by the refrigerator 1 is set in advance, and FIG.
As shown in (a), a classification for each type of food such as "meat" is displayed on the display unit 2, and items such as "beef", "chicken", and "pork" set in advance for each classification are displayed. Is displayed.

When, for example, "beef" is selected by the operation unit 3, the display unit 2 shifts to an input screen as shown in FIG. The operation unit 3 sets the final date based on the scheduled use date or the expiration date of the foodstuff of the selected item. Thereby, it is possible to manage when it is necessary to purchase the foodstuff of the selected item next time.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration inside the control unit 4. As shown in FIG. A predetermined input operation is performed by the operation unit 3 (see FIG. 1) based on the display screen of the display unit 2 of the operation panel 11 that is changed by the control of the operation panel control unit 17.
The input information is sent to each unit by the operation panel control unit 17 according to the content.

The control information such as the set temperature in the room is sent to the equipment control section 18 to control the driving of a compressor and a blower (both not shown). The stock information is stored in the food stock table 12 by combining the data of the food item and the final date as one management data. The food inventory table 12 is updated each time a user inputs inventory information from the operation panel 11. The mail address of the destination of the inventory information is stored in the destination registration table 22. in this case,
The destination number may be input by operating the operation unit 3,
The source number of the received e-mail may be selected and input.

The management data of the food inventory table 12 is extracted by the notification information extracting unit 13 under predetermined conditions, and stored in the notification information holding table 14. The data in the notification information holding table 14 is transmitted to a predetermined destination registered in the destination registration table 22 by the mail transmission unit 15 through the modem 5 connected to the communication interface unit 16.

When an e-mail is received, the e-mail is received by the e-mail receiving unit 19, and the e-mail address of the sender and the e-mail address registered in the destination registration table 22 can be compared by the reply e-mail authentication unit 30. It has become. If the received mail contains the update information of the stock, the reply mail analyzing unit 31 analyzes the information to acquire the update information.

The update information is sent to the information update section 20, and the contents of the food stock table 12 are updated based on the update information. Further, the re-notification detecting unit 25 instructs the notification information extracting unit 13 to extract the inventory notification information when receiving the update information.

The communication operation of the refrigerator 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S1, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has come. For example, if it is set to transmit an e-mail every day at 9:00 am, it is determined whether the current time has passed 9:00 am by acquiring the time information managed by the date management unit 27. Is determined.

After 9:00 am, step S2
Then, the management information of the storage to be notified is extracted by the notification information extracting unit 13 and stored in the notification information holding table 14.
In the present embodiment, the management data of the storage item whose expiration date is within three days from now is extracted.

In step S3, it is determined whether management data satisfying the condition has been extracted. If there is no item whose final deadline is within three days from the present, the process returns to step S1. The management data is extracted and the notification information holding table 14
If there is a storage to be notified as stock information in step S4, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S4, the mail transmitting section 15 makes a dial-up connection to the provider 6 (see FIG. 1). In step S5, as shown in FIG.
The stock information (200
0/08/08) ", and an electronic mail (hereinafter referred to as“ stock notification mail ”) in which the content of the notification information holding table 14 is described in the text is created.

As the destination address 23 of the stock notification mail, all destination mail addresses registered in the destination registration table 22 are specified. Then, in step S6, a stock notification mail is transmitted to the personal computer 8 or the mobile phone 10 via the Internet 7 (see FIG. 1).

When each person who has received the stock notification mail has made a purchase based on the stock information, as shown in FIG. 6, an e-mail (hereinafter referred to as a "reply mail") describing the purchased item is returned. . In the reply mail, for example, a keyword 21 such as "purchase" is specified.

The refrigerator 1 determines whether or not a reply mail has been received at predetermined time intervals. Step S1
If it is not the transmission time of the stock notification mail, the process proceeds to step S7, and it is determined whether or not it is the reception confirmation time of the reply mail. If it is not the reception confirmation time, the process returns to step S1 and enters a standby state in which the same operation is repeatedly performed.

If the reception confirmation time has come, step S
At 8, a dial-up connection is made by the mail receiving unit 19. In step S9, it is determined whether an e-mail has been received. If not, the process returns to step S1. If so, it is determined whether the received e-mail is a reply mail. As a determination method, for example, “stock information (2000/08 /
08)) is described in the subject name of the e-mail.

If the received electronic mail is not a reply mail, the process returns to step S1. If it is a reply mail, it is determined in step S11 whether or not the sender of the reply mail coincides with the transmission destination of the inventory notification mail in the transmission destination registration table 2.
2 is determined. If they do not match, it is determined that the message is not a reply mail, and the process returns to step S1.

If they match, the contents of the reply mail are analyzed by the reply mail analyzing unit 31 in step S12. For example, a keyword 21 such as “purchase” is searched, and update information including an item and a final term is extracted from characters following the keyword 21. In step S13, the foodstuff inventory table 12 is updated based on the extracted update information.

In step S14, the notification information extracting unit 13 extracts a storage object that needs to be notified from the updated food inventory table 12 according to an instruction from the re-notification detecting unit 25. Although not shown, when there is no storage requiring notification, the process returns to step S1. In the case where there are still stored items that need to be notified in the foodstuff inventory table 12, the management data is extracted and the notification information holding table 14 is updated.

In step S15, a stock notification mail in which the contents of the notification information holding table 14 are described in the text is created in the same manner as in step S5. If there is no data in the notification information holding table 14, a message such as "no data" is written to inform that someone has purchased the missing food.

The transmission destination address 23 of the stock notification mail starts from the mail address of the transmission destination registered in the transmission destination registration table 22, and enters the name of “Name1 @ aaa. All except bbb (Nam
e2 @ ccc. ddd, Name1 @ ee. fff)
Is specified. Then, in step S19, the stock notification mail is transmitted again to the personal computer 8 or the mobile phone 10 via the Internet 7 (see FIG. 1).

The operations in steps S7 to S19 are performed, for example, every two hours. If there is no reply mail, steps S1 to S6 are performed at 9:00 am on the next day and a stock notification mail is transmitted.

As described above, even if the same stock information is transmitted to the whole family, if one person makes a shopping, the updated stock information is re-sent to the other family by reply mail. Purchase can be prevented. In addition, since the management data of all the stored items stored in the refrigerator is not transmitted as inventory information, but only the food management data extracted by the notification information extracting unit 13 is transmitted, the file size of the inventory notification mail is changed. And the communication cost can be reduced.

In the notification information holding table 14, not only stocks whose expiration date is approaching but also stocks out of stock from pre-registered stocks such as foods are extracted and stored. May be transmitted.

Next, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the communication operation of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment. The configuration of the refrigerator of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. In FIG. 7, steps S1 to S13 are the same as those in FIG. However, as will be described in detail later, the operation of step S5 is slightly different, and steps S9, S10, S
11 is that if it is determined that the reply mail has not been received, the process returns to step S17 without returning to step S1.

When transmitting the stock notification mail, the operations of steps S1 to S4 are performed as in the first embodiment.
In step S5, only the first (N = 1) mail address in the destination registration table 22 (for example, “Name
1 @ aaa. bbb ") is specified. Then, in step S6, a stock notification mail is transmitted to one of them.

When the reply mail is received, the operations of steps S7 to S13 are performed as in the first embodiment, and the food stock table 12 and the notification information holding table 14 are updated based on the update information. In step S16, it is determined whether there is data in the notification information holding table 14. Depending on the content of the reply email, the required food was purchased,
If there is no data in the notification information holding table 14, the process returns to step S1.

If there is data in the notification information holding table 14, the process proceeds to step S17. As described below,
Since the stock notification mails are transmitted one by one in order, it is determined in step S17 whether the stock notification mails have been transmitted to all the members registered in the transmission destination registration table 22.

If the inventory notification mail has not been transmitted to all the members, the process shifts to step S18, and the (N + 1) th next to the transmission destination registration table 22 as the transmission destination of the inventory notification mail.
No.) Only the email address (for example, in this embodiment,
“Name2@ccc.ddd”) is specified. Then, in step S18, a stock notification mail is transmitted to one of them.

The operations in steps S7 to S18 are performed, for example, every two hours until a stock notification mail is transmitted to all the members registered in the destination registration table 22. If it has been sent to all, the process proceeds to step S1 in step S17,
At 9:00 am on the next day, an inventory notification mail is transmitted to the first (N = 1) destination in the destination registration table 22.

If no reply mail has been sent from the other party who sent the stock notification mail, the process proceeds to step S
In S9, S10, and S11, the process proceeds to step S17, and a stock notification mail having the same content is transmitted to the next (N + 1) -th registrant in the transmission destination registration table 22. Thereby, even if the stock notification mail is not received, or even if the person who received the stock notification mail cannot do shopping, another person can shop using the stock information.

As described above, since the latest stock notification e-mail is transmitted to the family members registered in the transmission destination registration table 22 one by one in order, it is possible to prevent the purchase of useless food due to duplicate shopping. Also, when the food or the like that needs to be purchased is purchased, the determination in step S16 indicates that
Since the stock notification mail is not transmitted thereafter, communication costs can be reduced.

Also, as in the first embodiment, since only the management data of the food extracted by the notification information extracting unit 13 is transmitted, the file size of the stock notification mail does not increase, and the communication cost can be reduced. it can.

It is more preferable that when the stock notification mail is transmitted to the next person registered in the transmission destination registration table 22, a message to that effect is transmitted to the previous person. In this way, it is possible to prevent the previous person from shopping wastefully due to the duplicate shopping after the stock notification mail is transmitted to the next person.

Next, FIG. 8 is a view showing the operation panel 11 of the refrigerator according to the third embodiment. The configuration of the refrigerator of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 described above, but has a destination table 26 (see FIG. 9) described later in the control unit 4. Then, the stock notification mail is transmitted to the destination stored in the transmission destination table 26.

The display unit 2 displays a destination registration table 22
The destinations such as “Name1” registered in (see FIG. 3) are displayed, and “selection” of each destination is performed by operating the operation unit 3.
-"Non-selection" can be switched. If you switch between "select" and "non-select" for each destination,
As shown in FIG. 9, the mail address of the destination selected as “selected” is stored in the destination registration table 22 and the destination table 26.
Is copied to

For example, in the destination registration table 22, “Na”
me1 @ aaa. bbb "" Name2@ccc.dd
d) "Name3@ee.fff""Name4 @ g
gg. When “hhh” is registered, “Name1 @ aa” is stored in the transmission destination table 26 by operating the operation unit 3.
a. bbb "," Name3@ee.fff "," Nam
e4 @ gggg. "hhh" is copied.

Then, steps S1 to S6 in FIG.
Similarly, a stock notification email is sent. At this time, in step S5, all the mail addresses stored in the destination table 26 are designated as the destination mail addresses. Accordingly, by making the person who is known not to be able to shop in advance “non-selected”, the stock notification mail is not transmitted to this person, and the communication cost can be reduced.

The reply address 24 is specified in the stock notification mail as shown in FIG. As the reply destination address 24, all the mail addresses stored in the transmission destination table 26 are designated. As a result, when one person who has received the stock notification mail does shopping and sends a reply mail, the reply mail is delivered to all who have received the stock notification mail, and each can obtain the latest stock information. As a result, it is possible to prevent purchase of useless food due to duplicate shopping.

The mail address of the refrigerator 1 may be added to the reply address 24. In this way, when the refrigerator 1 receives the reply mail, the above-described step S in FIG.
The food inventory table 12 can be easily updated based on the update information as in 7 to S13.

[0059]

According to the present invention, when inventory information is transmitted to a plurality of destinations and update information is returned from one of the destinations,
Inventory information updated based on the update information is transmitted again. For this reason, all the other parties can always obtain the latest stock information, so that it is possible to prevent the useless food purchase due to the duplicate shopping.

According to the present invention, the transmission source of the update information is excluded from the retransmission destination, so that the communication cost for retransmission can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, when inventory information is transmitted to one destination selected from a plurality of destinations and update information is returned from the destination, the inventory updated based on the update information is returned. Information is sent to another destination. For this reason, since the other party receiving the stock information can always obtain the latest stock information, it is possible to prevent the useless food purchase due to duplicate shopping. In addition, when necessary foods and the like are purchased, transmission of inventory information can be stopped thereafter, so that useless communication is not performed and communication costs can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, when the update information is not received within a predetermined time from the destination that sent the inventory information, the inventory information is transmitted to a new destination, so that the inventory information does not reach one person. Even if the purchase has failed or if the purchase has failed, another person can receive the stock information and perform the purchase.

Further, according to the present invention, since it has a partner authentication unit and an analysis unit, it is possible to easily analyze received information and obtain inventory update information.

According to the present invention, management data satisfying a predetermined condition is extracted from a food inventory table storing management data unique to each stored item, and the extracted management data is transmitted as inventory information. In addition, the file size of the inventory information transmitted by e-mail or the like does not increase, and the communication cost can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of registered destinations are designated as reply destinations and the inventory information is transmitted to the destination, so that one person who has received the inventory information purchases and updates the information. Once sent, everyone receives a reply and everyone can get the latest inventory information. As a result, it is possible to prevent purchase of useless food due to duplicate shopping.

Further, according to the present invention, the transmission of inventory information to a desired destination can be prohibited, so that the inventory information is not transmitted to a person who is known in advance to be unable to shop, and communication costs are reduced. Can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system including a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an operation panel of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a communication operation of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a stock notification mail of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a reply mail of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a communication operation of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an operation panel of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a main part of a control unit of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a refrigerator stock notification mail according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Display part 3 Operation part 4 Control part 5 Modem 6 Provider 6 'Mobile telephone management organization 6a, 6b Mail server 7 Internet network 8 Personal computer 9 Mobile telephone network 10 Mobile telephone 11 Operation panel 12 Food inventory table 13 Notification information extraction Unit 14 notification information holding table 15 mail transmission unit 16 communication interface unit 17 operation panel control unit 18 device control unit 19 mail reception unit 20 information update unit 21 keyword 22 transmission destination registration table 23 transmission address 24 reply address 25 re-notification detection unit 26 Destination table 29 Source address 30 Reply mail authentication unit 31 Reply mail analysis unit

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Noriaki Terasawa 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka F-term (reference) 3L045 AA02 BA01 CA02 LA15 LA18 PA02 PA03 PA04

Claims (8)

[Claims] A transmitting unit that transmits inventory information to a plurality of destinations registered in advance, a receiving unit that receives inventory update information transmitted by one of the destinations, and an inventory based on the received update information. An update unit for updating information, wherein the updated inventory information is retransmitted to the plurality of destinations by the transmission unit. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the source of the update information is excluded from the destinations for retransmission. 3. A transmitting unit for transmitting inventory information to one destination selected from a plurality of pre-registered destinations, a receiving unit for receiving inventory update information transmitted by one destination, and a receiving unit. An updating unit that updates the stock information based on the updated information, wherein the sending unit retransmits the updated stock information to a new partner in order each time the stock information is updated. refrigerator. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein, when the update information is not received within a predetermined time from the destination to which the inventory information was transmitted, the inventory information is retransmitted to a new destination. . 5. A destination authentication unit for determining whether the source of the received information is a destination of the inventory information transmission, and an analysis unit for analyzing the received information to obtain inventory update information. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the refrigerator is provided. 6. Extracting management data of a storage satisfying a predetermined condition from a food inventory table storing management data unique to each stored storage, and transmitting the extracted management data as inventory information. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: 7. A transmitting unit for designating a plurality of destinations registered in advance as reply destinations and transmitting inventory information to each of the destinations, a receiving unit for receiving inventory update information, A refrigerator for updating the stock information based on the information. 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein transmission of inventory information to a desired destination can be prohibited.
The refrigerator according to any one of the above.