JPH0545042A - Freezer-refrigerator with warning indicator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give warning to the user by means of indication on an indicator when the use of a refrigerator is unsuitable. CONSTITUTION:The articles of food stored in an refrigerator are perceived in the form of pictorial images by a CCD camera 6 and a means of processing pictorial images so that, when any such article is deposited in an unsuitable manner, the user is informed of the matter by indication on an indicator 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present application relates to a recognition method and display of improper use of a refrigerator / freezer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 shows the flow of cold air in a general refrigerator-freezer.

Cold air produced by the cooler 1 is circulated by a fan motor 2 for circulating cold air. A damper 3 is attached in the middle of the cold air flowing to the refrigerating compartment, and the damper 3 is opened when the refrigerating compartment is at a high temperature and closed when the refrigerating compartment is at a low temperature to control the temperature of the refrigerating compartment. When the damper 3 is opened, cold air flows into the refrigerating chamber from the air outlet 4 to cool the food. Recently, the shelf 5 on which food is placed is not a net shelf but a transparent and flat shape.

By the way, in order to properly cool the inside of the refrigerator, it is necessary to circulate the above-mentioned cold air, but the food is placed in such a manner that it comes into contact with the air outlet 4 or the air outlet is blocked immediately before. If it is burned, the regular cold air does not flow, so that the temperature in the refrigerator may be uneven, and the quality of some foods may be deteriorated.

At present, users are warned that the instruction manual attached at the time of product purchase should not block the air outlet.

[0006]

When the outlet of cold air is blocked by food or the like as described above, it prevents the inside of the refrigerator from being cooled normally, but it is difficult for the user to notice this. Moreover, the instruction manual is not always read and cautions are not always taken.

Therefore, even if the food is put in the refrigerator, the food may not be stored at a low temperature and the quality may be deteriorated.

[0008]

Specific technical means for solving the conventional problems will be described.

In view of the above disadvantages, the present invention inputs an image in the vicinity of the cool air outlet by a CCD camera after opening and closing the door, performs feature extraction and information compression on this data by an image processing element, and performs image recognition by a microcomputer. Then, when the food is placed so as to block the air outlet, a warning is displayed on the display device.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the inside of the refrigerator is image-recognized, and when it is used improperly, it is displayed on the display device to remind the user.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the refrigerator-freezer, in which the CCD camera 6 is attached at the position shown in the drawing.

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of an electronic circuit, and FIG. 4 is an example of an input image and a flowchart centering on image processing.

Explaining in accordance with the flow chart of FIG. 4, in step S1, the image near the outlet is preliminarily CCD imaged.
Input from the camera (Image 1). In step S2, it is checked whether or not the door is opened / closed by the door switch 11, and if opened / closed, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the image after the door is closed is input,
Dust, dirt, etc. are removed by performing feature extraction and information compression (image 2).

In step S4, the difference between image 1 and image 2 is calculated, and the case where food is placed near the outlet is shown in image 3.
Image 4 shows the case in which it is not placed.

In step S5, it is checked whether or not the image obtained in step S4 is blank. If the image is blank, it means that no food is placed near the outlet, so the "attention lamp" of the display device is turned off. If not blank (step S6), it means that food is placed near the outlet, so the "attention lamp" of the display device is turned on (step S6).
7). After that, by repeating S2 to S6 and S7,
The user can be alerted when food is placed so as to block the air outlet.

In the present application, the case where the food is placed at the outlet of the cool air has been described, but another place may be detected by the same method as in the present application.

For example, 1) forgetting to close the door, 2) whether or not the shelf is placed at a proper position, 3) leakage of beer bottles, milk, etc. due to falling.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the user of the refrigerator puts an improper food on the food, the user can be warned and urged to improve it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a flow of cold air in a conventional refrigerator-freezer.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a mounting position of a CCD camera of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart focusing on image processing.

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 27, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A CCD for displaying food stored in a refrigerator
A camera, a means for inputting and storing an image by the CCD camera, a means for calculating a difference between two images, a display means for showing a user a caution item that has been input in advance, and a door have been opened and closed. A door switch that detects that the food is stored in the refrigerator.When the door is opened / closed, the image in the refrigerator is input, and when food is placed in an inappropriate place, the difference from the previously stored image is stored. A refrigerating refrigerator with a caution display characterized by recognizing by taking it and notifying the user by a display means.