AU2019300937A1

AU2019300937A1 - Freezer, method and apparatus for freezer control

Info

Publication number: AU2019300937A1
Application number: AU2019300937A
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: CN109028748A; WO2020010405A1

Abstract

This application relates to a freezer, including 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. The freezer control system is configured to electrically connect the working power supply, receive control instructions output from the monitoring device, and control the internal environment state of the cabinet according to the control instructions; the monitoring device is configured to collect information regarding items inside the cabinet, and obtain the inputted control instructions. This application further discloses a freezer control method and a freezer control apparatus, communicated with the freezer control system through the monitoring device, and the monitoring device may monitor the item information inside the cabinet.

Description

Freezer, Method and Apparatus for Freezer Control

Field of the Invention

The present application relates to the field of electrical apparatus, and more particularly, to a freezer, and a method and an apparatus for freezer control.

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 creating the present invention, the Inventor found that most traditional freezers are at least facing the problem of low use efficiency.

Summary of the Invention

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a freezer, a freezer control method, and a freezer control apparatus, which may greatly improve the use 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 invention adopt the following technical schemes: In preferred embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a freezer including a cabinet, and a freezer control system and a monitoring device disposed on the cabinet, wherein; the monitoring device is communicably connected to the freezer control system;

the freezer control system is configured to electrically connect to a working power supply, receive control instruction outputs 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 information corresponding to items (herein item information) inside the cabinet, and obtain the inputted control instructions.

In other embodiments of the present invention, there is further provided a freezer control method, applied to a freezer which includes a cabinet, a freezer management equipment, and a freezer control system and a monitoring device disposed on the cabinet, wherein the freezer management equipment is communicably connected to the monitoring device, and the monitoring device is communicably connected to the freezer control system; the method includes the following steps:

acquiring information corresponding to items in the freezer (herein the item information) and input instructions collected by the monitoring device, and based on the item information and the input instructions, displaying detail information of a target item corresponding to the input instructions; wherein the detail information includes prestored information of the target item and any information in the item information corresponding to the target item;

determining items associated with the target item, and displaying the detail links of the associated items; and

generating an information log according to the input instructions and the triggered detail links of the associated items.

In other embodiments of the present invention, there is further provided a freezer control apparatus including:

an input display module, configured to acquire information corresponding to items in a freezer (herein item information) and input instructions collected by a monitoring device, and based on the item information and the input instructions, display the detail information of a target item corresponding to the input instructions; wherein the detail information includes the prestored information of the target item and any information in the item information corresponding to the target item;

an associated display module, configured to determine items associated with the target item and display the detail links of the associated items; and

a logging module, configured to generate an information log according to the input instructions and the triggered detail links of the associated items.

In other embodiments of the present invention, there is further provided a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the freezer control methods disclosed herein.

One technical scheme above may have the following advantages and beneficial effects: the freezer, freezer control system, device and computer readable storage medium above are communicated with the freezer control system through the monitoring device, and the monitoring device may monitor the item information inside the cabinet in real time. In this way, a user may manage and arrange the freezer control system through the monitoring device with the aid of the freezer management equipment, and acquire real-time item information from the monitoring device, so as to realize the human-computer interaction between the user and the freezer, improve the efficiency in the operation, monitoring and management of the freezer, and achieve the purpose of greatly improving the use efficiency of the freezer.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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

FIG 2 is the structural block diagram of the freezer in another embodiment;

FIG 3 is the structural schematic diagram of the freezer in one embodiment;

FIG 4 is the structural schematic diagram of the freezer in another embodiment; FIG 5 is the structural schematic diagram of the freezer in a further embodiment; FIG 6 is the schematic flowchart of the freezer control method in one embodiment;

FIG 7 is the schematic flowchart of the freezer control method in another embodiment; FIG 8 is the schematic flowchart of the freezer control method in a further embodiment; and

FIG 9 is the structural schematic diagram of modules of the freezer control apparatus 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 present invention is further described in detail below by the example of chest freezer.

Please refer to FIG 1 , where an embodiment of the present invention provides a freezer 100, including a cabinet 12, and a freezer control system 14 and a monitoring device 16 disposed on the cabinet. The monitoring device 16 is communicably connected to the freezer control system 14. The freezer control system 14 is configured to electrically connect the working power supply, receive control instructions output from the monitoring device 16, and control the internal environment state of the cabinet 12 according to the control instructions. The monitoring device 16 is configured to collect information corresponding to or regarding items inside the cabinet 12, and obtain the inputted control instructions.

One can understand that in the freezer 100, cabinet 12 is a carrying structure of the freezer and may be used to carry various items to be refrigerated and the freezer control system 14 which is configured to provide control functions. The freezer control system 14 may provide such functions inside the cabinet 12 as refrigeration and lighting control. The monitoring device 16 may have some of its members disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet 12, or on an inner surface of the cabinet 12, or in the body wall of the cabinet 12. For example, some members of the monitoring device 16 may be embedded into the sandwich layer of the body walls (such as side plates, cabinet door or bottom plate) of the cabinet 12, as long as the monitoring device 16 may communicate with the freezer control system 14 effectively and collect the required item information. Specifically, the monitoring device 16 may be configured to communicate with external equipment and obtain the control instructions input from such external equipment. For example, obtain the control instructions input, and output to the freezer control system 14, through an external control signal output equipment (such as an operation and maintenance terminal or a hand-held terminal). The freezer control system 14 may implement corresponding control according to the received control instructions. For example, if the control instructions include any instructions to control temperature or lighting, etc., the freezer control system 14 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 12 (that is, the chamber used for storage of items). Various items stored inside the cabinet 12 may be refrigerated through the freezer control system 14. The monitoring device 16 may collect item information in the cabinet 12 to monitor the details and specific circumstances of various items in cabinet 12, for example, quantity and/or position of the refrigerated items, etc. The item information collected by the monitoring device 16 may be transmitted to an external equipment for display, for example, an external equipment may read the data after connecting to the monitoring device 16 by a communication interface.

In the freezer 100 above, the monitoring device 16 communicates with the freezer control system and may collect item information from inside the cabinet 12 in real time.

In this way, a user may manage and arrange the freezer control system 14 through the monitoring device 16 with the aid of an external equipment, and acquire real-time item information from the monitoring device 16, so as to realize the human-computer interaction between the user and the freezer 100, improve the efficiency in the operation, monitoring and management of the freezer 100, and achieve the purpose of greatly improving the use efficiency of the freezer 100.

Please refer to FIG 2, wherein in one embodiment, the monitoring device 16 includes an interface circuit 162 and a collection module 164. The interface circuit 162 is communicably connected to the freezer control system 14 and the collection module 164 respectively. The interface circuit 162 is disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet 12 and mechanically connected to the cabinet 12, and the collection module 164 is mechanically connected to the cabinet 12. The interface circuit 162 is configured to output the control instructions to the freezer control system 14 and acquire the item information, and the collection module 164 is configured to collect the item information.

It may be understood that the interface circuit 162 is a circuit module integrated for data interfaces and configured to receive the item information output by the collection module 164 and forward the control instructions. The interface circuit 162 may integrate the corresponding conventional data interface module to enable the transmission of the item information output by the collection module 164 and the transmission of the control instructions, according to the data transmission need of the collection module 164 and the communication need between it and the freezer control system 14. The collection module 164 may be an information collection module consisting of one or more information collection members. The collection members in the collection module 164 may be composed of the corresponding conventional collection members (such as temperature probe members, radio frequency detection members or various visual monitoring members), according to the environmental conditions inside the cabinet 12 and the type of information to be collected (such as temperature, and type, quantity or position distribution of refrigerated items, etc.).

Specifically, the interface circuit 162 may be disposed on the outer surface of the cabinet 12, so as to rapidly connect to an external equipment in the actual application of the freezer 100. For example, the interface circuit 162 may be disposed on the outer surface of, a side wall of the cabinet 12, the bottom plate of the cabinet 12, or the cabinet door at the top of the cabinet 12, as long as it is convenient to connect to an external equipment and communicate with the collection module 164 and the freezer control system 14, and output the item information or transmit control instructions. The interface circuit 162 may be detachably or integrally fixedly connected to the cabinet 12 by means of snap connection, screw fixing connection or other fixing manner. It is not necessary to insulate the interface circuit 162 from the cabinet 12, as long as the interface circuit 162 may be effectively and safely fixed. The collection module 164 may be fixed to the cabinet 12, for example, to the inner surface of the cabinet 12, or to the partition of the storage rack of the cabinet 12. The collection device 164 may have some of its members disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet 12, or on an inner surface of the cabinet 12, or in the body wall of the cabinet 12. For example, some members of the collection module 164 may be embedded into the sandwich layer of a body wall (such as a side plate or a bottom plate) of the cabinet 12, as long as the collection module 164 may effectively collect the required item information and output the same to the interface circuit 162.

Through the interface circuit 162 described above, one may quickly realize communication with the external equipment, receive in real time the item information collected by the collection module 164, and output the obtained control instructions to the freezer control system 14. In this way, the problem that the traditional freezer control mode is simplex and low in efficiency may be effectively avoided, and the user may quickly obtain the item information inside the cabinet 12 through the interface circuit 162 without checking and counting the items in the cabinet 12, thereby effectively saving operation and maintenance costs and improving the use efficiency of the freezer.

Please refer to FIG 3, where in one embodiment, the item information includes image information and RFID tag information. The collection module 164 includes a camera 1642, a RFID tag antenna 1644 and a RFID reader 1646. The camera 1642 and the RFID tag antenna 1644 are both disposed on the cabinet 12. The RFID reader 1646 is mechanically connected to the cabinet 12. The signal output end of both the camera 1642 and the RFID reader 1646 is communicably connected to the interface circuit 162. The signal output end of the RFID tag antenna 1644 is communicably connected to the signal input end of the RFID reader 1646. The camera 1642 is configured to capture the image information. The RFID tag antenna 1644 is configured to sense the RFID signal of items inside the cabinet 12 and then transmit to the RFID reader 1646. The RFID reader 1646 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, 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 1642 may be fixedly disposed on the inner surface of the cabinet 12, for example, on the inner surface of a side plate of the cabinet 12, and the specific position thereof may be determined according to the need to collect the required image information. The RFID tag antenna 1644 may be, but is not limited to, fixedly disposed on the bottom plate of the cabinet 12, 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 1644 faces the direction of the item.

There may be one, two or a plurality of the RFID tag antennas 1644. When a plurality of RFID tag antennas 1644 are used, each RFID tag antenna 1644 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 12, as long as they may effectively and accurately detect the RFID signal of all items. The RFID reader 1646 may be fixed to the inner surface of the cabinet 12, 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 12, for example, into the sandwich layer of the body wall of the cabinet 12, 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 1644.

Specifically, the camera 1642 may collect the image information inside the cabinet, for example, the photos or monitoring videos of items inside the cabinet 12. After collecting the image information, the camera 1642 may output the same to the interface circuit 162 through the signal output end. The RFID reader 1646 may be used to transmit a read signal to the RFID tag antenna 1644 while in operation. The RFID tag antenna 1644 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 1646. The RFID reader 1646 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 162.

The camera 1642, the RFID tag antenna 1644 and the RFID reader 1646 described above have been widely used in various fields and scenarios, and the technology is mature and reliable. By collecting the required item information through the camera 1642, the RFID tag antenna 1644 and the RFID reader 1646 described above, the reliability of the item 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 1644 includes a UHF-antenna. The RFID reader 1646 includes a UHF RFID reader 1646. That is, the above RFID tag antenna 1644 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 item information, or the internal environmental conditions of the cabinet 12. Correspondingly, the RFID reader 1646 may be, but is not limited to, a UHF RFID reader 1646, and the specific type thereof may be selected according to the adopted RFID tag antenna 1644 and the design needs (such as recognition speed, accuracy, power consumption or cost, etc.). By adopting the UHF-antenna and the UHF RFID reader 1646 described above, the efficiency and reliability of the information collection of the refrigerated items may be improved. In one embodiment, the interface circuit 162 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 1642 and configured to receive the image information. The RFID interface is communicably connected to the RFID reader 1646 and configured to receive the RFID tag information. The equipment interface is configured to receive control instructions.

Specifically, after collection of the image information, the camera 1642 may output the same to the equipment interface through the image interface on the interface circuit 162. After recognition of the RFID tag information, the RFID reader 1646 may output the same to the equipment interface through the RFID interface on the interface circuit 162. The external equipment may acquire the image information and the RFID tag information from the equipment interface. By the above interfaces, 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 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 external equipment and the transmission need of the item 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 USB interface, or two or more of such interfaces, according to the signal transmission needs.

In one embodiment, the interface circuit 162 further includes an extension interface. It may be understood that the interface circuit 162 may also reserve an extension interface for extending the function of data transmission or interaction with an external equipment. 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 external equipment, and extend the data transmission capacity. Please refer to FIG 4, where in one embodiment, the monitoring device 16 further includes a temperature sensor 166 disposed on the cabinet 12. The temperature sensor 166 is communicably connected to the interface circuit 162. The temperature sensor 166 is configured to probe the internal ambient temperature of the cabinet 12. It may be understood that the temperature sensor 166 may be disposed on an inner surface of the cabinet 12, for example, on the surface of any side plate or bottom plate of the cabinet 12, or on the lower surface of the cabinet door at the top of the cabinet 12, or disposed on the partition of the storage rack of the cabinet 12, as long as the temperature information inside the cabinet 12 (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 166, and the specific quantity thereof may be determined according to the specifications and size of the cabinet 12 and the temperature measurement accuracy.

By disposing the temperature sensor 166, the temperature information inside the cabinet 12 may be collected in real time, thereby facilitating the adjustment and control of temperature inside the cabinet 12 and improving the operation and maintenance efficiency. It should be noted that, when used in this specification, the term“inside the cabinet 12” means the storage chamber formed by the cabinet 12 and used for containing refrigerated items.

Please refer to FIG 5, where in one embodiment, the freezer 100 described above further includes a freezer management equipment 18. The freezer management equipment 18 is communicably connected to the monitoring device 16. The freezer management equipment 18 is configured to receive input instructions and the item information, and then display information or transmit the control instructions corresponding to the input instructions to the monitoring device 16, according to the item information and/or the input instructions.

It may be understood that the freezer management equipment 18 is a control and management terminal interacted with the user and output the control instructions to the freezer control system 14, in order to display the item information of the refrigerated items in the cabinet 12. The monitoring device 16 described above may be communicably connected to the freezer management equipment 18 through the equipment interface, and output the collected item information to the freezer management equipment 18.

Specifically, a user may enter the input instructions to the freezer management equipment 18 to instruct the freezer management equipment 18 to complete corresponding operations, or adjust and control the internal environment state of the cabinet 12. The freezer management equipment 18 may thus carry out the corresponding page display operation (for example, redirecting to the item detail information page corresponding to the item clicked by the user) according to the input instructions, and display the detailed information of the item in combination with the item information collected in real time and the prestored introduction information of the item; or generate the corresponding control instructions to transmit to the freezer control system 14 through the monitoring device 16. After receiving the control instructions, the freezer control system 14 will perform corresponding control, for example, adjusting the refrigeration power, controlling the temperature inside the cabinet 12, or adjusting the brightness of lighting, etc.

By the above freezer management equipment 18e, the human-computer interaction between the user and the freezer may be directly realized and the item information inside the cabinet 12 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 use efficiency of the freezer and provides better maintainability and user experience.

In one embodiment, the freezer management equipment 18 includes a touch display terminal or a sound control display terminal. It may be understood that the above freezer management equipment 18 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 freezer management equipment 18 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. By adopting the touch display terminal or the sound control display terminal, the operation and control efficiency improves, and the use efficiency of the freezer enhances.

In one embodiment, the freezer 100 further includes a QR code label. The QR code label is disposed on the outer surface of the cabinet 12 and/or the freezer management equipment 18. The QR code label is used for triggering the redirection from the display page of the user's terminal to the page of the backend service account corresponding to the freezer, after the user's terminal scans the QR code label.

It may 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 12 or the freezer management equipment 18, 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 backend service account is an online service platform opened in advance and corresponding to the freezer 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 backend service account corresponding to the freezer 100 by using his/her own terminal to scan the QR code label described 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 backend service account through his/her own terminal. By setting of the above QR code label, the use efficiency of the freezer 100 and the shopping experience of user may be further improved.

In one embodiment, the freezer management equipment 18 described above further includes a corresponding QR code used to display the above QR code label. By displaying the QR code through the freezer management equipment 18 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.

Please refer to FIG 6, where in one embodiment, there is provided a freezer control method, applied to a freezer including a cabinet, a freezer management equipment, and a freezer control system and a monitoring device disposed on the cabinet. The freezer management equipment is communicably connected to the monitoring device. The monitoring device is communicably connected to the freezer control system. The freezer control method includes the following steps of S12 to S16:

S12. Acquiring the item information and the input instructions collected by the monitoring device, and based on the item information and the input instructions, displaying detail information of a target item corresponding to the input instructions; wherein the detail information includes the prestored information of the target item and any information in the item information corresponding to the target item.

The target item is one of the various items refrigerated in the cabinet, which is browsed and selected by the user on the freezer management equipment. The prestored information is the introduction information of an item recorded in advance in the freezer management equipment, such as the introduction, price, date of production or manufacturing, cooking method, food taboos, use instructions and restrictions of the product. Each item may have its own corresponding prestored information recorded in advance. The freezer management equipment may receive the item information transmitted by the monitoring device in real time, and obtain the input instructions by receiving from the user’s touch input, keyboard input or voice input, etc.

Specifically, the freezer management equipment displays the corresponding detail information of the target item according to the acquired item information and input instructions each time it receives an input instruction from the user. For example, when the user clicks an item (i.e. the target item, taking an apple for example) on the freezer management equipment, the freezer management equipment will redirect to the detail information page of apple to display detail information of apple, such as the introduction, price, date of production or manufacturing, cooking method, food taboos, use instructions and restrictions of the product. Besides, such information as quantity and position of the refrigerated apples inside the cabinet may be displayed according to information corresponding to apple in the item information. S14. Determining items associated with the target item, and displaying the detail links of the associated items.

The associated items are items inside the cabinet and of a high correlation with the target item. In the above example of taking an apple, the associated items may be pear, pineapple or orange, etc. Details links are links which redirect to the detail information page of the associated items.

Specifically, when displaying the target item, the freezer management equipment may determine the associated items according to the type of the target item, and display the detail links of associated items on the detail information page of the target item, for the user to choose whether to click to the detail information page of the associated items or not. The freezer management equipment may determine the associated items of a target item by means of the correlation logic between items preset by the user. For example, when entering the prestored information of an item, the user may set one or more items as the associated items of any target item.

S16. Generating a log information according to the input instructions, selection instructions and the triggered detail links of the associated items.

The log information is the browsing and/or operation information recorded by the freezer management equipment synchronously when a user (such as a consumer in shopping) is checking the target item, or at the time when the user leaves the detail information page of the target item the log information is, for example, the browsing record of the user's browsing of the target item, or the browsing record of the target item and associated items.

Specifically, the freezer management equipment may generate the log information and record the target item and the browsing record of associated items which have been clicked to browse by the user currently operating, according to the input instructions entered by the user and the triggered detail links of the associated items, when the user inputs an instruction to redirect back to the home page (that is, the overall display page prior to any input instruction of the user, which may be a default link for displaying all kinds of items in the cabinet) after finishing the browsing. The freezer management equipment may also return to the home page and generate the log information described above automatically, when no input instruction from the user is received within the predetermined time (e.g. 60s).

By the above-mentioned freezer control method, the freezer may directly perform human-computer interaction with the user. The user may directly browse the detail information of items inside the cabinet on the freezer management equipment, without checking in the cabinet, thereby improving the use efficiency of the freezer. The freezer management equipment correspondingly generates a log information when the user ends his/her operation, to make statistics of the browsing data of all items, so that it is convenient for the user (e.g. the administrator) to have knowledge about information regarding items refrigerated inside the cabinet, and improves the operation and maintenance efficiency and use efficiency. In one embodiment, the log information includes the number of views and/or number of takeaways respectively corresponding to various items inside the cabinet. It is understood that the freezer management equipment may, when a user finishes browsing, correspondingly generate the times 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 have been taken away in total so far). As a result, it is convenient for the user who manages the freezer to rapidly have knowledge about each refrigerated item inside the cabinet, thereby improving the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer. Please refer to FIG 7, where in one embodiment, the above freezer control method further includes the following steps S18 to S22:

S18. Acquiring the temperature information collected by the monitoring device; wherein the temperature information is the temperature information inside the cabinet;

S20. Respectively comparing the data with the predetermined threshold information according to the item information and the temperature information; and

S22. Generating an exception alert information based on the comparison result and giving an exception alert according to the exception alert information.

The predetermined threshold is the threshold set on the freezer management equipment by the user (e.g. manager) when placing refrigerated items in the cabinet for refrigeration. The predetermined threshold may be, but is not limited to, the minimum quantity of each refrigerated item, and the set value of temperature inside the cabinet. The set value of temperature may be determined according to the refrigerated temperature need of the refrigerated items. Specifically, the freezer management equipment may acquire the temperature information collected by the monitoring device in real time. When in operation, the freezer management equipment may compare the same with the predetermined threshold information, according to the received item information. For example, compare data according to the refrigerated quantity of each item in the item information and the corresponding minimum refrigerated quantity of each item in the predetermined threshold information, to obtain the comparison result (for example, the refrigerated quantity is larger than the minimum refrigerated quantity; the refrigerated quantity is smaller than the minimum refrigerated quantity; or the refrigerated quantity is equivalent to the minimum refrigerated quantity). The freezer management equipment compares data according to the temperature information and the set value of temperature in the predetermined threshold information, and obtains the comparison result (for example, the temperature value in the temperature information is larger than the set value of temperature; the temperature value in the temperature information is smaller than the set value of temperature; the temperature value in the temperature information is equivalent to the set value of temperature).

The freezer management equipment may generate the exception alert information according to the above-mentioned comparison results. For example, if the refrigerated quantity of any item is lower than its minimum refrigerated quantity, the out-of-stock alert information corresponding to the item will generate. Or when the temperature value in the temperature information is larger or smaller than the set value of temperature (for example, there is only ± 2°C between the temperature value in the temperature information and the set value of temperature), the temperature exception alert information will generate. The freezer management equipment then gives an exception alert according to the generated exception alert information, to remind the users to take appropriate action or handle accordingly.

By the steps S18 to S22 described above, the freezer management equipment may perform exception monitoring according to the item information and the temperature information collected by the monitoring device, and timely remind the user to handle each time there is an exception. In this way, the operation and maintenance efficiency and the use efficiency of the freezer can be effectively improved. In one embodiment, the exception alert information may include the out-of-stock alert information for various items inside the cabinet or the exception alert information for temperature of the cabinet. The exception alert consists of a page alert, an audio alert and/or a SMS alert.

It is understood that after generating the exception alert information, the freezer management equipment may remind the user by means of a page alert, for example, popping up a dialog box to remind the user of the out-of-stock of one or more refrigerated items, or of any temperature exception in the cabinet. After generating the exception alert information, the freezer management equipment may remind the user by means of an audio alert, for example, playing an alert audio. The freezer management equipment may remind the user by means of a SMS alert, for example, sending an alert SMS to the mobile terminal of the user that is pre-matched or bound. The freezer management equipment may adopt any one, or any combination of two or three, of the alert means described above to remind the user for corresponding handling.

By the above exception alert, the user may be effectively reminded to handle the exception, thereby reducing failure resulting from exception of the freezer, and improving the operation and maintenance efficiency and use efficiency.

Please refer to FIG 8, where in one embodiment, the above freezer control method further includes the following steps S24 to S28: S24. Acquiring the login information and authenticating the login information;

S26. Displaying the control parameters setting page of the freezer once the authentication is successful; and S28. Receiving the inputted control parameters, generating the corresponding control instructions according to the control parameters, and then transmitting the same to the freezer control system; wherein the control instructions are used to instruct the freezer control system to control the internal environment state of the cabinet. The login information may be any information used for authentication of the user, such as account name and password. The control parameters setting page is a setting page for setting the working conditions of the freezer, for example, the management page on which the user sets the temperature value for refrigeration, light on time or other information of the freezer control system. The control parameters are those entered by the user on the freezer management equipment for the purpose of setting the working mode of the freezer control system. The control parameters are, for example, light on time, the above set value of temperature, and the like. The control parameters may include refrigeration temperature parameters, refrigeration time parameters and/or the light on time parameters. Control instructions include temperature adjustment and control instructions, refrigeration time adjustment and control instructions and/or light on time adjustment and control instructions. That is, the freezer management equipment may respectively generate the corresponding control instructions according to the above control parameters, and then transmit to the freezer control system. In this way, the freezer control system may perform temperature adjustment and control or light adjustment and control, according to the above- mentioned control instructions. Specifically, the freezer management equipment may prestore the login information of the user (e.g. manager), so as to compare the login information currently entered with the prestored login information to authenticate whether the identity of the user is legal, when the user logs in. After successful authentication, the user may enter the control parameters setting page of the freezer to set control parameters. After the user completes the entry of control parameters (for example, the user enters the control parameters and confirms the setting), the freezer management equipment will generate the corresponding control instructions according to the control parameters, and transmit them to the freezer control system. In this way, the freezer control system will perform the corresponding control actions to realize the adjustment and control of the internal environment state of the cabinet, according to the control instructions, for example, raising or lowering the refrigeration power.

By the steps S24 to S28 described above, the user may directly adjust and control the working state of the freezer at any time through the freezer management equipment, so as to maintain the freezer effectively operating under the best working conditions for the refrigerated items, and improve the use efficiency of the freezer.

In one embodiment, the above control parameters may include the above minimum refrigerated quantity, set value of temperature, refrigeration time and light on time. It may be understood that, in the freezer management equipment, the user is able to directly set the working conditions of the freezer control system on the control parameters setting page. The user is also permitted to set control parameters of the freezer management equipment, for example, setting the above-mentioned minimum refrigerated quantity, that is, the minimum refrigerated quantity of various refrigerated items in the cabinet, so that the freezer management equipment may timely give exception alert according to the item information, thereby improving the operation and maintenance efficiency of the freezer. Please refer to FIG 9, where in one embodiment, there is provided a freezer control apparatus 200, including an input display module 20, an associated display module 22 and a logging module 24.

The input display module is configured to acquire the item information and the input instructions collected by the monitoring device, and based on the item information and the input instructions, display detail information of the target item corresponding to the input instructions. The detail information includes the prestored information of the target item and any information in the item information corresponding to the target item. The associated display module is configured to determine items associated with the target item, and display the detail links of the associated items. The logging module is configured to generate a log information according to the input instructions, selection instructions and the triggered detail links of the associated items.

By the above-mentioned freezer control apparatus 200, the freezer may directly perform human-computer interaction with the user. The user may directly browse the detail information of items inside the cabinet on the freezer management equipment, without checking in the cabinet, thereby improving the use efficiency of the freezer. The freezer management equipment correspondingly generates a log information when the user ends his/her operation, to make statistics of the browsing data of all items, so that it is convenient for the user (e.g. the operation and management personnel) to have knowledge about information regarding items refrigerated inside the cabinet, and improves the operation and maintenance efficiency and use efficiency. In one embodiment, the above freezer control apparatus 200 further includes a monitoring information module 26, a data monitoring module and an exception alert module.

The monitoring information module is configured to acquire temperature information collected by the monitoring device; wherein the temperature information is the temperature information inside the cabinet; and the data monitoring module is configured to respectively compare the data with the predetermined threshold information according to the item information and the temperature information. The exception alert module is configured to generate the exception alert information based on the comparison result and give exception alerts according to the exception alert information.

By the above modules, the user may be effectively reminded to handle the exception, thereby reducing failure resulting from exception of the freezer, and improving the operation and maintenance efficiency and use efficiency.

In one embodiment, the above freezer control apparatus 200 further includes a login authentication module, a redirection setting module and a control output module. The login authentication module is configured to acquire the login information and authenticate the login information. The redirection setting module is configured to display the control parameters setting page of the freezer once the authentication succeeds. The control output module is configured to receive the inputted control parameters, generate the corresponding control instructions according to the control parameters, and then transmit the same to the freezer control system. The control instructions are used to instruct the freezer control system to control the internal environment state of the cabinet. By the modules described above, the user may directly adjust and control the working state of the freezer at any time through the freezer management equipment, so as to maintain the freezer effectively operating under the best working conditions for the refrigerated items, and improve the use efficiency of the freezer.

For specific restrictions on the freezer control apparatus 200, reference may be made to the restrictions on the freezer control method described in the foregoing, and details are not described herein again. All modules in the above freezer control apparatus 200 may be wholly or partially implemented in software, hardware, or combination thereof. All above modules may be embedded in or independent of a processor in the computer equipment in the form of hardware, or alternatively, stored in a memory in the computer equipment in the form of software, so as to facilitate the processor to invoke the corresponding operation to execute all modules described above. In one embodiment, there is further provided a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the freezer control methods disclosed herein.

Persons having ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or a part of procedures for implementation of the freezer control methods described in embodiments above may be accomplished by using a computer program to instruct related hardware. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium and may when executed include the flow mentioned in the embodiments of the above freezer control methods. Any reference to a memory, storage, database or other medium used in all embodiments provided herein may include non-volatile memory and/or volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may include a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory may include a random access memory (RAM) or an external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such as static random access memory (Static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (Dynamic RAM, DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (Synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM), direct Rambus dynamic Random Access Memory (DRDRAM), and Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.

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 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, including a cabinet, a freezer control system and a monitoring device disposed on the cabinet, wherein:

the monitoring device is communicably connected to the freezer control system ;

the freezer control system is configured to electrically connect to a working power supply, receive control instruction outputs 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 information corresponding to items (herein item information) inside the cabinet, and obtain the inputted control instructions.

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

the monitoring device includes an interface circuit and a collection module; the interface circuit is communicably connected to the freezer control system and the collection module 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 output the control instructions to the freezer control system, and acquire the item information; and

the collection module is configured to collect the item information.

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

the item 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; the camera is configured to capture the image information, and the RFID tag antenna is configured to sense the RFID signal of items inside the cabinet and then transmit to the RFID reader; and

the RFID reader is configured to identify the received RFID tag information according to the RFID signal.

4. A freezer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the RFID tag antenna includes a UHF- antenna, and the RFID reader includes a UHF RFID reader.

5. A freezer as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, 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, and 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 receive the control instructions.

6. A freezer as claimed in claim 5, wherein the equipment interface includes a RS232 interface, a RS485 interface and/or a USB interface.

7. A freezer as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the monitoring device further includes a temperature sensor disposed on the cabinet; the temperature sensor is communicably connected to the interface circuit and configured to probe the internal ambient temperature of the cabinet.

8. A freezer as claimed in claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, further including a freezer management equipment; wherein the freezer management equipment is communicably connected to the monitoring device; and

the freezer management equipment is configured to receive input instructions and the item information, and then display information or transmit the control instructions corresponding to the input instructions to the monitoring device, according to the item information and/or the input instructions.

9. A freezer as claimed in claim 8, wherein the freezer management equipment includes a touch display terminal or a sound control display terminal.

10. A freezer as claimed in claims 8 or 9, further including a two-dimensional code (QR code) label; the QR code label is disposed on an outer surface of the cabinet and/or the freezer management equipment, and used for triggering the redirection from the display page of the user’s terminal to the page of the backend service account corresponding to the freezer, after the user’s terminal scans the QR code label.

1 1 . A freezer control method, applied to a freezer which includes a cabinet, a freezer management equipment, and a freezer control system and a monitoring device disposed on the cabinet, wherein the freezer management equipment is communicably connected to the monitoring device, and the monitoring device is communicably connected to the freezer control system; wherein the method includes the following steps:

acquiring information corresponding to items in the freezer (herein item information) and input instructions collected by the monitoring device, and based on the item information and the input instructions, displaying detail information of a target item corresponding to the input instructions; wherein the detail information includes prestored information of the target item and any information in the item information corresponding to the target item;

12. A freezer control method as claimed in claim 1 1 , wherein the method further includes the following steps:

acquiring temperature information collected by the monitoring device; wherein the temperature information is the temperature information inside the cabinet;

respectively comparing the data with the predetermined threshold information according to the item information and the temperature information; and

generating an exception alert information based on the comparison result and giving an exception alert according to predetermined exception alert information.

13. A freezer control method as claimed in claim 1 1 or 12, wherein the method further includes the following steps:

acquiring login information and authenticating the login information;

displaying a control parameter setting page of the freezer once the authentication is successful; and

receiving inputted control parameters, generating corresponding control instructions according to the control parameters, and then transmitting to the freezer control system ; wherein the control instructions are used to instruct the freezer control system to control the internal environment state of the cabinet.

14. A freezer control method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the exception alert consists of a page alert, an audio alert and/or a SMS alert.

15. A freezer control apparatus, including:

an input display module, configured to acquire information corresponding to items in a freezer (herein item information) and input instructions collected by a monitoring device, and based on the item information and the input instructions, display detail information of a target item corresponding to the input instructions; wherein the detail information includes the prestored information of the target item and any information in the item information corresponding to the target item ;

16. A freezer control apparatus as claimed in claim 15, further including:

a monitoring information module, configured to acquire temperature information collected by the monitoring device; wherein the temperature information is the temperature information inside the cabinet;

a data monitoring module, configured to respectively compare collected data with predetermined threshold information according to the item information and the temperature information; and an exception alert module, configured to generate exception alert information based on the comparison result and give exception alerts according to the exception alert information.

17. A freezer control apparatus as claimed in claim 15 or 16, further including: a login authentication module, configured to acquire the login information and authenticate the login information;

a redirection setting module, configured to display the control parameters setting page of the freezer once the authentication is successful; and

a control output module, configured to receive the inputted control parameters, generate the corresponding control instructions according to the control parameters, and then transmit the same to the freezer control system; wherein the control instructions are used to instruct the freezer control system to control the internal environment state of the cabinet.

18. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 1 to 14.