FR2695741A1 - Domestic deep freeze stock control - has unit with electronic memory with stock identification keys and function keys, to display freezer contents - Google Patents

Abstract

The automatic stock control system has a box with an electronic memory. The front surface (10) carries a digital label and also an array of keys each with an electro-luminescent diode for the stocks and a symbol to indicate the nature of the stock. A key assembly gives functions for stocking, removal confirmation, display and a cancel key. USE/ADVANTAGE - The container is for the management of stocks of foodstuff in a domestic deep freeze. The system allows the user to check the contents of a deep freeze, without opening the appliance for a visual check.

Description

 The present invention relates to an automatic management device for products stored in a defined environment, in particular food products in a domestic freezer.

 Whatever the size of a freezer it is not easy to know its contents, moreover nothing allows to know for how long the products have been stored there.

 The user, to become aware of his stock of frozen products, is obliged to make a regular inventory and this by keeping his device open for a long time, which leads to excessive energy consumption and can harm his good operation.

 He can also keep a stock management log on which he reports the entries and exits of food products, however this method is exacting, and the updating, not very easy, does not allow an overview of the stock, some products are consumed quickly while others stay in the freezer for several months before being used.

 Certain devices include a stock management device, essentially consisting of plasticized cards each comprising a symbol representing a food product, which is placed on the representation of a calendar opposite the date of storage. This device, if it is easier to use than keeping a diary, nevertheless has drawbacks, in particular its approximate nature with regard to the nature and quantity of the products stored.

 The present invention aims to remedy these drawbacks by proposing an automatic management device for the stored products, in particular making it possible to quickly become aware of the contents of a freezer without the need to open it, even from a distance.

 The device according to the invention is essentially characterized in that it comprises a box which can be secured by any suitable means, for example magnetic, on a freezing apparatus, comprising on its front face a digital display and a control keyboard and containing circuits electronic devices of known type for processing data from the keyboard and the display, a ROM read-only memory where the software code for processing the keys and the display is stored, a static RAM memory allowing the recording of input operations carried out on the keyboard, an internal clock circuit allowing the management of the date and the time and a power supply by means for example of lithium batteries of the button type.

 In accordance with the invention, the keyboard comprises two types of keys, “article” keys each identified by a logo symbolizing a family of products, and “function” keys essentially for viewing the entire stock, storage, destocking. , validation and cancellation.

 Each of the "article" keys comprises, in addition to the logo, an electroluminescent diode which lights up permanently when the freezer contains products belonging to the corresponding family, after pressing the display key.

 Advantageously, when the expiration date of a stored product is reached, the LED of the corresponding "article" key flashes after pressing the display key.

 On the other hand, after pressing the display key, successive presses on the article keys, the diode of which is lit steady or flashing, scroll through the display of the elements stored for the article in question, in chronological order increasing storage, from the oldest to the most recent, the elements having reached their expiration date being displayed by flashing.

The device according to the invention comprises, for each of the articles, two lists
- a basic list, immutable in its order and its content, since it is registered in. the software code of the ROM memory, which is the one which is scrolled by successive presses on the "article" keys
- a chronological list indicating the increasing chronological order of the elements stored, variable according to the operations of storage and destocking, and which scrolls on the display either during the operations of visualization, or during the operations of destocking
The storage of a product is recorded by showing the name of the product on the digital display after pressing the storage button, which is done by pressing the button corresponding to the family of the product to be stored , repeating this operation scrolling through a more precise list of articles. When one- has chosen one of these articles by pressing the validation key, a repeated press on said "article" key allows scrolling through an even more precise list of quality, and the same applies for quantity.

 The keyboard of the device according to 1 invention also includes a "cancel" key allowing at any time to interrupt a storage or destocking operation following an input error, before it has been validated using the "validation" key.

 Advantageously, the device according to the invention comprises a key, in relation to the internal clock, making it possible in the same way, by scrolling, to select a duration punctuated by an alarm, preferably an audible one, usable when it is desired to quickly refresh a product without the risk of forgetting it in the freezer, for example a drink.

 The advantages and characteristics of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the description which follows and which refers to the appended drawing, which represents a non-limiting embodiment thereof.

 In the accompanying drawing, the single figure represents a schematic view of the front face of a housing according to the invention.

In this figure it can be seen that the front face 10 of a box 1 according to the invention comprises a digital display 2 and a keyboard 3, which is divided into a set 30 of "articles" keys and a set 31 of "function" keys "
The "articles" keys each comprise on the one hand a logo 32 representing a family of products and on the other hand a light-emitting diode 33.

 Among the "article" keys is a key 34, symbolized for example by a champagne cork, allowing the refreshment of an article for a predetermined duration.

 The set 31 of "functions" keys comprises a "storage" key 35, a "destocking" key 36, a "validation" key 37, a "display" key 38 symbolized, without limitation, by an eye, and a " cancellation "39.

 It goes without saying that the present invention cannot be limited to the preceding description of one of its embodiments, capable of undergoing a certain number of modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (3)

 1) Device for automatic management of products stored in a defined environment, in particular food products in a domestic freezer, characterized in that it comprises a box (1) containing electronic storage means, and the front face of which ( 10) comprises on the one hand a digital display (2), on the other hand a set (30) of keys each comprising a light-emitting diode (33) of storage warning and a logo (32) symbolizing a family d 'articles, and on the other hand a set (31) of function keys, essentially a storage key (35), a destocking key (36), a validation key (37), a display key (38) and a cancel key (39).  2) Device according to claim 1 characterized in that the set (30) of keys comprises a key (34) connected to a timing device and an audible alarm.  3) Device according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterized in that the housing (1) is secured to the freezer by magnetism.