CN107690560B

CN107690560B - Refrigerator and control method

Info

Publication number: CN107690560B
Application number: CN201680031197.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴丹
Original assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-07-28
Filing date: 2016-07-28
Publication date: 2020-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2036-07-28
Also published as: CN107690560A; WO2018018507A1

Abstract

A refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body (10), a door body (20) movably connected to the refrigerator body, a touch screen (30), a control module (40) and a communication module (50). The control module (40) determines the corresponding object according to the touch action of the user on the touch screen (30), and the communication module (50) transmits the corresponding object information to a receiving device outside the refrigerator. The refrigerator is convenient to use and more intelligent.

Description

Refrigerator and control method

Technical Field

The invention relates to a refrigerator, in particular to a refrigerator with a touch screen and a control method thereof.

Background

Refrigerators have been widely used in daily life as storage devices for refrigerated foods. The refrigerator generally stores therein various foods such as vegetables, meats, seasonings, beverages, fruits, and the like. When certain food in the refrigerator is used up or reduced, it is usually necessary to replenish the food. However, the food supplement process of the existing refrigerator usually records the lacking food through notes and then goes to a supermarket or a market for purchase according to the notes, and the whole process is cumbersome and causes inconvenience to users.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, the invention provides a refrigerator convenient to use and a control method thereof.

A refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body, a door body movably connected to the refrigerator body, a control module, a touch screen and a communication module, wherein the control module determines a determined object according to a touch action of a user on the touch screen and transmits information of the determined object to a receiving device outside the refrigerator through the communication module.

A control method of a refrigerator, comprising:

making a touch action on a touch screen of the refrigerator;

determining an object corresponding to the touch action through a control module of the refrigerator;

and transmitting the corresponding object information to receiving equipment outside the refrigerator through a communication module of the refrigerator.

Because the refrigerator is internally provided with the touch screen, the control module and the communication module, if a user finds that a certain object is absent or needs to be added in the using process of the refrigerator, the user can make corresponding touch action on the touch screen, the control module identifies the object selected by the user according to the touch action of the user, and then the object information is transmitted to the receiving equipment outside the refrigerator through the communication module. In this way, the required item information can be sent to an external receiving device, so that the holder of the receiving device is informed to perform corresponding operations on the required item, such as stock, mailing or home delivery. Therefore, the refrigerator is convenient to use and can meet the demand of fast developing informatization.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other obvious modifications can be obtained without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the refrigerator is in a door closing state.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the refrigerator of fig. 1 in a half-open state.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the refrigerator of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the refrigerator of fig. 1 in a door-opened state.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the refrigerator of fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of a door body of the refrigerator of fig. 3.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1 and 6, a refrigerator for refrigerating various objects according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body 10 and a door body 20 movably connected to the refrigerator body 10. The refrigerator further includes a touch screen 30, a control module 40, and a communication module 50. The touch screen 30 can recognize a touch action made by a user on its surface. The control module 40 distinguishes the object determined by the user according to the touch action recognized by the touch screen 30. The communication module 50 then transmits the selected article information to a receiving device outside the refrigerator.

The cabinet 10 is used to store various articles under low temperature conditions to prevent the articles from being deteriorated or damaged. The object of the present invention includes not only food (such as meat, fish, beverage, vegetable, fruit, seasoning, etc.), but also any other objects that need to be preserved at a temperature lower than room temperature, such as various chemicals, industrial oil, preparations, specimens, even specific electronic products, etc. Meanwhile, the refrigerator is not limited to household, but can be used in various fields such as industry, medical treatment and the like. Referring to fig. 4, a cavity 100 is formed in the box 10, and a plurality of partitions 120 are disposed in the cavity 100 at intervals for placing objects. The front surface of the case 10 is opened to allow an object to be put in or taken out. The opening communicates with the cavity 100. The opening of the case 10 is directed toward the user to facilitate the user's access to the items.

The control module 40 and the communication module 50 are integrated on the top of the cabinet 10. In this embodiment, the communication module 50 may be a wired communication module, and may also be a wireless communication module (e.g., WIFI, bluetooth, infrared, etc.). The control module 40 may include one or more of various electronic components with processing and computing functions, such as a processor, a memory, and a memory. It is understood that the control module 40 and the communication module 50 can also be disposed at other positions of the refrigerator according to requirements, such as the side of the refrigerator body 10, the bottom of the refrigerator body 10, the door 20, and the like. In addition, the control module 40 and the communication module 50 may be separately provided at different locations of the refrigerator.

The touch screen 30 is disposed on the refrigerator and is used for sensing a touch action of a user to generate a touch signal. The control module 40 recognizes the object selected by the user according to the touch signal and then transmits object information to the receiving device through the communication module 50. When the user finds that a certain object is missing or needs to be added in the refrigerator, a corresponding touch action can be made on the touch screen 30. For example, when an apple is absent in the refrigerator, the letter "a" can be drawn on the touch screen; when a grape is missing in the refrigerator, the letter "G" or the like may be drawn on the touch screen. Of course, patterns of various objects may be printed on the touch screen in advance by a screen printing method, so that the corresponding touch signal may be generated only by clicking the object pattern on the touch screen 30. For example, clicking on an apple pattern may cause the control module 40 to send out apple messages, clicking on a grape pattern may cause the control module 40 to send out grape messages, and so on. The receiving device can be an electronic device such as a mobile phone, a computer, a server and the like. After the receiving device receives the object information, the holder of the receiving device can perform corresponding operations on the required object, such as stock, mailing, delivery and the like. For example, when the receiving device is a supermarket or a shopping mall, the receiving device can stock required articles, and the user can go to the supermarket or the shopping mall to pick up the articles; when the receiving equipment holds the artificial online store, the receiving equipment can send required articles to the user in a mailing mode; of course, the supermarket, the shopping mall or the network shop can directly deliver the required articles to the door. Further, the holder of the receiving device may also be the user's family or a nearby neighborhood, and after receiving the demand item information, the family or neighborhood may actively or incidentally purchase and deliver the demand item to the user. Therefore, the user can replenish the lacked articles through the refrigerator without other equipment or devices, so that the replenishing process is simpler, more convenient and quicker.

The door body 20 includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The touch screen 30 is disposed on a first surface of the door body 20. When the door 20 is opened, the first surface faces the user, so that the user can conveniently observe and count objects lacked in the box body, and input objects to be supplemented on the touch screen 30. Because the input is performed in the state of opening the door body 20, the user can more intuitively observe which articles are lacked in the box body 10, which is beneficial to helping the user with poor memory to supplement the articles and avoiding the forgetting.

The inner surface of the door body 20 of the refrigerator may be a first surface, the outer surface may be a second surface, and the touch screen 30 is attached to the inner surface of the door body 20. After the user opens the door body 20, the inner surface of the door body 20 faces the user, and the user can operate on the touch screen 30 on the inner surface of the door body 20 to select an object to be supplemented. Of course, the touch screen 30 may also be disposed on the casing 10, such as on the outer side of the casing 10.

Referring to fig. 2-5, in the present embodiment, the door 20 of the refrigerator is a folding door. The door 20 has a first rotation axis X rotating around the cabinet 10 and a second rotation axis Y folding by itself. The first rotating shaft X is located at the joint of the door body 20 and the cabinet 10, and the second rotating shaft Y is located inside the door body 20. The first rotation axis X is parallel to the second rotation axis Y. The door 20 includes a first door 22 and a second door 24 movably connected to the first door 22. The first door panel 22 is connected to the cabinet 10, and the second door panel 24 is connected to the first door panel 22. The first rotating shaft X is located between the first door 22 and the box 10, and the second rotating shaft Y is located between the second door 24 and the first door 22. When the door 20 of the refrigerator is opened, the first door panel 22 rotates around the first rotating shaft X in a first direction, and the second door panel 24 rotates around the second rotating shaft Y in a second direction, wherein the first direction is opposite to the second direction. In the present embodiment, the first door panel 22 rotates in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the cabinet 10, and the second door panel 24 rotates in a clockwise direction with respect to the first door panel 22. Because of the folding, the exterior surfaces of the first door panel 22 and the second door panel 24 may remain outward and the interior surfaces may remain inward during the folding process. The inner surfaces of the first door panel 22 and the second door panel 24 face the inside of the cabinet when the door is closed, and are opposed to each other when the door is opened. In this embodiment, the outer surface of the second door panel 24 is the first surface of the door body 20, and the touch screen 30 is attached to the outer surface of the second door panel 24. When the door 20 is closed, the touch screen 30 faces the user, and when the door 20 is fully opened, the touch screen 30 can still face the user, so that the user can operate the touch screen 30 while observing the inside of the cabinet 10. Moreover, because the touch screen 30 is always located on the outer surface of the second door panel 24, when the door body 20 is closed, the touch screen 30 is not affected by the low temperature in the cabinet 10 due to the obstruction of the second door panel 24; when the door 20 is opened, the touch screen 30 is far away from the inside of the cabinet 10, and the opening time is usually short, so that the touch screen 30 is not affected by the low temperature in the cabinet 10, and the normal operation of the touch screen 30 can be ensured. Further, the first door 22 in this embodiment may rotate more than 90 degrees relative to the box 10, and the second door 24 may also rotate more than 90 degrees relative to the first door 22, so that the touch screen 30 of the second door 24 is outwardly unfolded relative to the box 10, which makes the operation of the user more convenient. The rotation angle of the first door 22 relative to the box 10 is set to be a first angle, and the rotation angle of the second door 24 relative to the first door 22 is set to be a second angle, and then the second angle is greater than the first angle.

A display screen 60 may be further attached to the outer surface of the door 20 of the refrigerator. The display screen 60 may cover an outer surface of the second door panel 24, i.e., a first surface of the door body 20. The touch screen 30 is attached to the display screen 60. By adding the display screen 60, the operation experience of the user can be more visualized. The display screen 60 may directly display images of various items, and the user may then select by clicking on the images of the items. Further, to enhance the user experience, the selection gesture of the object may also be set as a sliding motion. For example, when the user needs to select an apple, the user can click on the apple image displayed on the display screen 60 and then slide the apple image toward the box 10, and at this time, the display screen 60 displays that the apple image is dragged by the gesture and moves toward the box 10 until the apple image disappears. The selection process is more suitable for the operation habit commonly used by the user, and the learning cost is not required to be increased. In addition, the display screen 60 is disposed on the outer surface of the second door panel 24, for the same reason as the touch screen 30, in order to prevent the display screen 60 from malfunctioning or being damaged by the influence of low temperature, and to facilitate the observation of the objects in the cabinet 10 and the input thereof at the same time when the door 20 is in the open state.

Further, the display 60 may be a flexible display, which covers the outer surfaces of the first door panel 22 and the second door panel 24 at the same time, that is, the flexible display covers the first surface of the door 20 and the outer surface of the second door panel 24 at the same time. Due to the flexibility of the flexible display screen, the flexible display screen can be folded along with the folding of the door body 20. In other words, the first area 62 of the flexible display screen on the first door 22 and the second area 64 on the second door 24 are movable relative to each other: when the door is opened, the first region 62 is folded against the second region 64; when the door is closed, the first section 62 is deployed opposite the second section 64. The second region 64 remains facing the user at all times while the door is opened and closed. Through pasting the flexible display screen at the whole surface of door body 20, when the refrigerator was closed at door body 20 and is broadcast the video, can make the user obtain the visual experience of preferred through the great area of flexible display screen. When the refrigerator door 20 is opened, preferably only the second area 64 of the flexible display screen on the first surface is opened, and the first area 62 of the flexible display screen on the first door panel 24 is closed, so that electric energy is saved.

In addition, the touch screen 30 may also be a flexible touch screen, which covers the outer surfaces of the first door panel 22 and the second door panel 24 at the same time, that is, the flexible touch screen covers the first surface of the door 20 and the outer surface of the second door panel 24 at the same time. Due to the flexibility of the flexible touch screen, the flexible touch screen can be folded along with the folding of the door body 20. The flexible touch screen includes a first portion 32 located on the first door panel 22 and a second portion 34 located on the second door panel 24. When the flexible touch screen is opened, the first part 32 and the second part 34 are folded oppositely; when the door is closed, the first portion 32 is deployed relative to the second portion 34.

Further, the second portion 34 of the flexible touch screen and the second region 64 of the flexible display screen remain oriented toward the user when the door is opened and closed, but are oriented differently toward F. Specifically, the second portion 34 and the second region 64 face away from the inside of the cabinet 10 when the door is closed, and the second portion 34 and the second region 64 face away from the inside of the cabinet 10 and incline toward the side of the cabinet 10 when the door is opened. That is, the directions F of opening and closing the door are relatively inclined. More specifically, the direction of the refrigerator from the rear to the front is defined as a reference direction, and the orientation F of the second portion 34 and the second region 64 is changed from being coincident with the reference direction to being perpendicular to the reference direction during the process from the door closing to the door opening, and then tilted with respect to the reference direction.

In addition, the flexible touch screen and the flexible display screen can be partially torn from the door body 20, so that only one side of the flexible touch screen and the flexible display screen is connected with the door body 20 (for example, the side close to the first rotation axis X is connected). By the mode, the orientation of the flexible touch screen and the flexible display screen can be freely adjusted, so that the using process is more flexible.

Further, the present invention also provides a control method of a refrigerator, comprising:

making a touch action on the touch screen 30 of the refrigerator;

determining, by the control module 40 of the refrigerator, an object selected by the touch action;

the article information is transmitted to a receiving apparatus outside the refrigerator through the communication module 50 of the refrigerator.

It is understood that the step of opening the door of the refrigerator is further included before the touch screen 30 of the refrigerator performs the touch action.

It will also be appreciated that prior to the touch action being made on the touch screen 30 of the refrigerator, there is the further step of activating the second region 64 of the flexible display screen and deactivating the first region 62 by the control module 40.

Claims

1. The utility model provides a refrigerator, includes box and the door body of swing joint on the box, its characterized in that: the refrigerator door comprises a door body and is characterized by further comprising a touch screen, a control module and a communication module, the control module determines corresponding objects according to touch actions of a user on the touch screen, the communication module transmits corresponding object information to a receiving device outside the refrigerator, the door body comprises a first door plate and a second door plate, the first door plate is movably connected with the refrigerator body, the second door plate is movably connected with the first door plate, the touch screen is a flexible touch screen, the flexible touch screen is arranged on the surface of the first door plate and the surface of the second door plate, when the door is opened, the area where the second door plate is arranged on the flexible touch screen is opened, and the area where the first door plate is arranged.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein: the flexible touch screen is arranged in the area of the second door plate and faces a user when the door body is opened or closed.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein: when the door is opened, the first door plate rotates around the first rotating shaft along a first direction relative to the box body, the second door plate rotates around the second rotating shaft along a second direction relative to the first door plate, and the first direction is opposite to the second direction.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein: when the door body is opened, the rotating angle of the first door panel relative to the box body is smaller than that of the second door panel relative to the first door panel.

5. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein: the flexible touch screen is arranged on the outer surfaces of the first door panel and the second door panel.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein: the flexible touch screen is folded when the door body is opened and unfolded when the door body is closed.

7. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein: when closing the door, the internal surface of first door plant and second door plant all is inside towards the box, and when opening the door, the internal surface of first door plant and second door plant sets up in opposite directions.

8. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein: the door also comprises a display screen arranged on the door body, and the display screen faces a user when the door is opened or closed.

9. The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein: the display screen includes flexible display screen, and flexible display screen locates on the surface of first door plant and second door plant.

10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein: when the door is opened, the flexible display screen is arranged in the area of the second door panel to be opened, and the flexible display screen is arranged in the area of the first door panel to be closed.

11. A control method of a refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body and a door body movably connected to the refrigerator body, wherein the door body comprises a first door plate movably connected with the refrigerator body and a second door plate movably connected with the first door plate, the touch screen is a flexible touch screen, the flexible touch screen is arranged on the surfaces of the first door plate and the second door plate, and the method comprises the following steps:

when the door body is opened, the flexible touch screen is closed and arranged in the area of the first door plate, and the flexible touch screen is opened and arranged in the area of the second door plate;

the flexible touch screen of the refrigerator is arranged in the area of the second door panel to perform touch action;

12. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: the flexible touch screen is arranged in the area of the second door plate and faces a user when the door body is opened or closed.

13. The control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: the touch screen comprises a flexible touch screen arranged on the outer surface of the door body, the flexible touch screen comprises a first part and a second part, the first part and the second part are unfolded relatively when the door body is closed, and the first part and the second part are folded relatively when the door body is opened.

14. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: when the door body opens the door, the rotating direction of the first door panel around the box body is opposite to the rotating direction of the second door panel around the first door body.

15. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: the flexible display screen comprises a first area and a second area, the first area is folded relative to the second area when the door body is opened, the first area is unfolded relative to the second area when the door body is closed, and the second area faces a user when the door body is opened and closed.

16. The control method according to claim 15, characterized in that: the method also comprises the steps of closing the first area of the flexible display screen and opening the second area through the control module before the touch action is made on the touch screen of the refrigerator.