JP2019168222A - Control method and refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a control method of a refrigerator capable of providing information suitable for a user who opened and closed the refrigerator.SOLUTION: The invention provides a control method for controlling a refrigerator 100 that is connected to one or more electrical apparatuses. The refrigerator 100 includes a door/drawer 110 and a computer. In the method, the computer senses an opened or closed state of the door/drawer 110 and receives state information indicating an operation state of the one or more electrical apparatuses from the one or more electrical apparatuses, where the one or more electrical apparatuses are operable when the user is cooking, and the computer determines whether the user is cooking, on the basis of the received state information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator that provides information to a user and a control method thereof.

  Conventionally, a refrigerator that notifies a user of data received from a PC (Personal Computer) at a predetermined timing has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). Specifically, when the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 detects that the refrigerator door is opened, when the operation switch of the refrigerator is pressed, or when a predetermined time is reached, Informs the user of data received from the PC.

JP 2007-132551 A

  However, the conventional technology has a problem that information suitable for a user who opens and closes the refrigerator cannot be provided.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a refrigerator control method that can provide information suitable for a user who opens and closes the refrigerator.

  A control method according to an aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a refrigerator connected to one or more electrical devices, wherein the refrigerator includes at least one of a door and a drawer and a computer, and the computer includes the door and the door. The opening or closing of at least one of the drawers is detected, and the state information indicating the operation state of the one or more electric devices is received from the one or more electric devices, and the one or more electric devices are cooked by the user. It is an electrical device that can sometimes operate, and determines whether or not the user is cooking based on the received state information.

  A control method according to an aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a refrigerator connected to one or more electrical devices, wherein the refrigerator includes at least one of a door and a drawer and a computer, and the computer includes the door and the door. The opening or closing of at least one of the drawers is detected, and the state information indicating the operation state of the one or more electric devices is received from the one or more electric devices, and the one or more electric devices are cooked by the user. An electrical device that can operate at times, and based on the received status information, the user determines whether the user is cooking, and when the user determines that the user is cooking, the opening or closing is When detected, each time the opening or closing is detected, different information is notified to the user.

  Note that these comprehensive or specific modes may be realized by a non-transitory recording medium such as a device, a system, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable CD-ROM. The present invention may be realized by any combination of an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a non-transitory recording medium.

  The control method of the present invention can provide information suitable for the user who opens and closes the refrigerator.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system in the first embodiment. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of information representing a notification condition in the first embodiment. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of information representing notification conditions in the first embodiment. FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of information representing notification conditions in the first embodiment. FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of information representing notification conditions in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the refrigerator in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the determination process in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the notification process in the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system in the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system in the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing details of the determination processing in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the information providing system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the refrigerator in the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an information providing process performed in the refrigerator in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the identifying process performed by the identifying unit of the refrigerator according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system in the fifth embodiment.

(Knowledge that became the basis of the present invention)
The present inventor has found that the following problems occur with respect to the conventional refrigerator described in the “Background Art” column.

  In the conventional refrigerator, it is not possible to recognize whether or not the user who opens and closes the refrigerator is the same user as the user who opened and closed before. For this reason, there is a possibility of providing duplicate information to the same user. In addition, when different information is always provided every time the refrigerator is opened or closed, different information is provided even if the user who opens and closes the refrigerator is a different user from the user who previously opened and closed the refrigerator. . For this reason, even if each of different users wants to know the weather forecast, for example, only one user can know the weather forecast. Thus, in the conventional refrigerator, there exists a possibility that the information suitable for the user who opened and closed the refrigerator cannot be provided.

  In order to solve such a problem, a control method according to an aspect of the present invention is a control method of a refrigerator connected to one or more electric devices, and the refrigerator includes at least one of a door and a drawer and a computer. And having the computer detect opening or closing of at least one of the door and the drawer, receiving state information indicating an operating state of the one or more electrical devices from the one or more electrical devices, and the one or more The electric device is an electric device that can operate when the user is cooking, and based on the received state information, the user is allowed to determine whether the user is cooking, and the user is cooking If the opening or the closing is detected when the determination is made, the user is notified of different information each time the opening or the closing is detected.

  According to this, during the cooking period, it is possible to suppress notification of the same information to a user who has opened or closed at least one of the refrigerator door and the drawer. Moreover, since the time concerning a process can be shortened by this, the power consumption of a refrigerator can be reduced.

  For example, the refrigerator may be connected to a server that stores the information to be notified to the user, and the computer may further receive the information from the server.

  For example, by causing the computer to further receive a plurality of pieces of information and order information indicating a notification order of the plurality of pieces of information from the server, and causing the plurality of pieces of information to be notified in order based on the order information. Each time the opening or the closing is detected, the different information may be notified to the user.

  For example, the computer further specifies a time when the electric device starts to operate as a time when the user starts cooking, and a predetermined time after the electric device ends or when the electric device ends. You may make it determine whether the said user is cooking by making it specify as the time when the said user complete | finishes cooking when the time passed.

  For this reason, it can be determined more reliably whether cooking is in progress.

  For example, the refrigerator may be connected to a plurality of the electric devices, and the computer may further determine whether or not the user is cooking based on operating states of the plurality of electric devices.

  For example, the electrical device may be at least one of an IH cooking heater, a light, a ventilation fan, a microwave oven, a hot carpet, and a food processor.

  Thus, it can be determined more reliably whether it is during a cooking period by determining whether it is during a cooking period using the operation state of the electric equipment used during cooking.

  For example, the electrical device is an information terminal provided with a display, and further, as the state information, the first information indicating that the display of the recipe site for cooking on the display is started on the display. When received, the time when the first information is received is specified as the time when the user starts cooking, and the second information indicating that the display of the recipe site on the display is ended is received as the status information In this case, it may be determined whether or not the user is cooking by specifying the time when the second information is received as the time when the user finishes cooking.

  For this reason, it can be judged more reliably whether it is during a cooking period.

  For example, the computer further receives a cooking procedure included in the recipe at the recipe site from the information terminal, and the first currently performed in the cooking procedure based on the received state information. A cooking procedure may be specified, and the user may be notified of information relating to a second cooking procedure that is the procedure following the specified first cooking procedure.

  According to this, since the information regarding the cooking procedure performed next among the cooking currently performed is provided, the user can know the information regarding the next procedure in advance. For this reason, it can suppress thinking about the next procedure in the state which opened the door or drawer of the refrigerator. Thereby, the time which the door or drawer | drawer of a refrigerator is open can be shortened, and the power consumption of a refrigerator can be reduced.

  For example, the computer further identifies a person who has performed the opening or closing, determines whether or not the identified person is the user, and determines that the identified person is the user. In this case, information corresponding to the user may be notified to the user.

  According to this, since a user is identified and information is notified, notification of duplicate information to the user can be more reliably suppressed. In addition, once the user is identified, it is considered that they are the same person during the cooking period, so that the processing for subsequent identification can be omitted. Thereby, power consumption can be reduced.

  For example, the refrigerator includes a camera that captures the face of the person, and further causes the computer to capture an image of the face of the person using the camera, and performs face recognition processing on the image. A person may be identified.

  For example, the refrigerator may include a sound output device that outputs sound, and the information may be notified by sound through the sound output device.

  Further, the refrigerator according to one aspect of the present invention is a refrigerator including at least one of a door and a drawer, and a detection unit that detects opening or closing of at least one of the door and the drawer; When detected, a notification unit for notifying information, an acquisition unit for acquiring state information indicating an operating state of an electric device different from the refrigerator connected to the refrigerator, and the electric device are cooked by a user A determination unit that determines whether or not the user is cooking based on the acquired state information, and the notification unit includes: When it is determined that the user is cooking and the detection unit detects the opening or the closing, the detection unit notifies different information each time the opening or the closing is detected.

  The control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method for an information providing apparatus that is connected to a refrigerator including at least one of a door and a drawer, and one or more electric devices different from the refrigerator, and notifies a user of information. The electric device is an electric device that can be operated when the user is cooking, the information providing apparatus includes a computer, and the control method is performed from the refrigerator, the door, and the computer. Opening / closing information indicating that opening or closing of at least one of the drawers has been detected is received, state information indicating an operation state of the one or more electrical devices is received from the one or more electrical devices, and the received state Based on the information, it is determined whether or not the user is cooking, and the opening / closing information is received when it is determined that the user is cooking. , Every time the opening and closing information is received, to notify the different information to the user.

  Note that these comprehensive or specific modes may be realized by a system, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM, and the system, apparatus, method, integrated circuit, and computer program. Alternatively, it may be realized by any combination of recording media.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  It should be noted that each of the embodiments described below shows a comprehensive or specific example. The numerical values, shapes, materials, constituent elements, arrangement positions and connecting forms of the constituent elements, steps, order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims indicating the highest concept are described as optional constituent elements.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 will be described.

  First, the outline | summary of a structure of the information provision system provided with the refrigerator in embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG.1 and FIG.2.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment includes a refrigerator 100, an IH cooking heater 200 as an electrical device, and a server 400 that is connected to communicate via the Internet 300. Has been.

  The refrigerator 100 provides the user with information obtained from the server 400 at the timing of opening or closing the door / drawer 110. The refrigerator 100 is communicably connected to the Internet 300 by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Ethernet (registered trademark).

  The IH cooking heater 200 is a device installed in the same room (space) as the room (space) in which the refrigerator 100 is installed, for example, an electrical device installed in a kitchen. The electrical equipment is at least one of cooking appliances such as a microwave oven, a food processor, and a toaster, and household appliances for making the kitchen comfortable such as kitchen lighting, ventilation fans, hot carpets, kitchen floor heating, air conditioners, and electric stoves. It may be one. The cooking appliance is preferably a device that requires the user to be near the device during use, but may include a rice cooker, an electric kettle, a home bakery, and the like in addition to the above. The IH cooking heater 200 can communicate with the refrigerator 100 by wireless connection such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The server 400 provides information for notifying the user via the Internet 300.

  Next, a specific configuration of the refrigerator 100 will be described.

  The refrigerator 100 includes a door / drawer 110, a detection unit 120, a notification unit 130, an acquisition unit 140, a determination unit 150, and a storage unit 160.

  The door / drawer 110 is at least one of a door that opens and closes the opening of the storage chamber and a drawer that can slide between the storage chamber and the outer space of the storage chamber. The door / drawer 110 is switched between an open state in which the storage room of the refrigerator 100 is opened and a closed state in which the door / drawer 110 is closed. When the door / drawer 110 is opened by the user, the user can take out articles stored from the storage room, and the user can store articles in the storage room.

  The detection unit 120 detects the opening / closing of the door / drawer 110. Specifically, the detection unit 120 detects that the door / drawer 110 has changed from the closed state to the open state, and transmits a signal indicating the detection to the notification unit 130. Note that since the refrigerator 100 is normally in a state in which the door / drawer 110 is closed, it is preferable to detect that the door / drawer 110 has transitioned from the closed state to the open state. The transition to the state may be detected, or both of the two patterns of transition may be detected. Hereinafter, the transition from the open state to the closed state, the transition from the closed state to the open state, or both of these two patterns of transition are also referred to as “opening and closing”. The detection unit 120 is realized by a sensor such as a photo interrupter, for example.

  The notification unit 130 notifies when the detection unit 120 detects the opening / closing of the door / drawer 110. Specifically, the notification unit 130 notifies the user of information by outputting sound from a speaker at a timing when opening or closing is detected. The notification unit 130 notifies, for example, life information such as a weather forecast, a schedule of each user (a family including the user), and a garbage disposal schedule of the installed area.

  In addition, when the opening / closing of the door / drawer 110 is detected by the detection unit 120 during a cooking period, which will be described later, the notification unit 130 assumes that the users who opened or closed during the cooking period are the same person. A predetermined notification is made. That is, the notification unit 130 considers that the user who has performed opening and closing a plurality of times is the same person when the detection unit 120 detects the opening or closing of the door / drawer 110 a plurality of times during the cooking period. Furthermore, in other words, if the user who opens or closes the door / drawer 110 of the refrigerator 100 can be assumed to be the same person during the same cooking period, the notification is regarded as the same person. I do.

  For example, when the opening or closing is detected during the cooking period, the notification unit 130 performs a predetermined notification by notifying different information each time the opening or closing is performed.

  Here, a notification method for notifying different information each time the terminal is opened or closed will be specifically described. For convenience of explanation, information for notification from the notification unit 130 will be described as notification information.

  3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 3C, and FIG. 3D are diagrams each illustrating an example of a data configuration of information that represents a notification condition in the first embodiment.

  The acquisition unit 140 represents a notification condition including items of “information type”, “frequency”, “start time”, “end time”, and “priority” from the server 400 as illustrated in FIGS. Information is acquired in advance. Information representing the notification condition is stored in the storage unit 160, for example.

  The item “information type” indicates the type of notification information, and for example, weather forecast, garbage date, news, fortune-telling, etc. are entered. Which notification condition is applied depends on which information type the notification information separately acquired from the server 400 by the acquisition unit 140 corresponds to. For example, when the information type of the notification information is weather forecast, the notification condition A is applied. For example, when the information type of the notification information is news, the notification condition C is applied.

  The item “frequency” represents how often the notification information is notified. Based on the information input in this item, the date on which the corresponding notification information is notified is determined.

  The item “start time” represents the start time of the time zone in which the notification information is notified. The item of “end time” represents the end time of the time zone in which the notification information is notified. For example, the notification information to which the notification condition of “start time” is 6:30 and “end time” is 8:30 is that the door / drawer 110 is opened or closed between 6:30 and 8:30. Notified when detected. That is, when the opening / closing of the door / drawer 110 is detected at 9:00, the notification information is not notified. However, when there is notification information corresponding to the notification condition including 9:00 in the time zone in which the notification information is notified as in the notification condition D, the notification information is notified.

  The item of “priority” indicates which notification information that matches which notification condition is notified preferentially among the notification conditions. Here, it is assumed that the smaller the input numerical value, the higher the priority. For example, the notification condition A and the notification condition C have the same “frequency”, “start time”, and “end time”, but the notification condition A has a higher priority. Therefore, for example, when opening / closing of the door / drawer 110 is detected at 8:00, a weather forecast corresponding to the notification condition A is notified. Also, if it is determined that the door / drawer 110 is opened or closed twice between 6:30 and 8:30 and it is determined that the same cooking period is being performed, the first time Is detected, the weather forecast corresponding to the notification condition A is notified, and the news corresponding to the notification condition C is notified at the second detection.

  Further, if this day is Monday, the weather forecast corresponding to the notification condition A is notified at the first detection as in the case described above, but has priority over the notification condition C at the second detection. Information on the day of garbage corresponding to the high notification condition B is notified.

  The notification information includes specific notification contents and data indicating the information type of the notification information. The notification content may be, for example, text information “Today's weather is sunny.” Based on this text information, voice notification may be performed in the notification unit 130 to realize notification by voice. . Further, voice information may be included instead of the text information. Based on this voice information, the notification unit 130 may realize voice notification. Further, based on the data indicating the information type of the notification information, the determination unit 150 described later determines which notification condition the notification information corresponds to, and the notification information to be actually notified is determined. . The determination unit 150 may determine which notification information to notify by referring to the notification condition and the notification information stored in the storage unit 160.

  At this time, the acquisition unit 140 may acquire a plurality of pieces of notification information from the server 400 in advance, or when the opening / closing of the door / drawer 110 is detected, the acquisition unit 140 An inquiry may be made to obtain notification information.

  On the other hand, the notification unit 130 repeatedly notifies predetermined information at random during periods other than the cooking period. The notification unit 130 is realized by, for example, a processor, a memory storing a program, a speaker, and the like.

  Note that the cooking period during which the predetermined notification is given in this case is a continuous group of periods. That is, when there are a plurality of cooking periods, the notification unit 130 performs a predetermined notification that the user is regarded as the same person for each of the plurality of cooking periods. This is because a user who is considered to be the same person in the first cooking period among a plurality of cooking periods and a user who is considered to be the same person in the second cooking period may be different users. is there.

  The acquisition unit 140 acquires state information indicating the operation state of the IH cooking heater 200. Specifically, the acquisition unit 140 acquires, for example, information indicating the power on / off state of the IH cooking heater 200 as the state information. Moreover, the acquisition part 140 may acquire the information which shows the heating state of the IH cooking heater 200 as state information, for example. That is, the acquisition unit 140 acquires information indicating whether or not an operation for cooking is performed as the state information of the IH cooking heater 200.

  The acquisition unit 140 acquires information for notification from the notification unit 130 from the server 400. Specifically, the acquisition unit 140 acquires the life information described above. The acquisition unit 140 is realized by, for example, a processor, a memory storing a program, a communication module, and the like. That is, the acquisition unit 140 acquires various types of information through wireless communication using a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) or wired communication using a wired connection such as Ethernet (registered trademark).

  The determination unit 150 determines whether or not cooking is being performed using the IH cooking heater 200 according to the state information acquired by the acquisition unit 140. Specifically, the determination unit 150 determines that the cooking period has started when the operation of the IH cooking heater 200 is started and the operation of the IH cooking heater 200 is ended, or the operation of the IH cooking heater 200 When a predetermined time has elapsed from the end of the operation, it is determined whether the cooking period has ended by determining that the cooking period has ended. The determination unit 150 determines the start or end of the operation of the IH cooking heater 200 based on the power on / off state, the heating state, and the like. The determination unit 150 is realized by, for example, a processor, a memory storing a program, a communication module, and the like.

  The storage unit 160 stores information indicating notification conditions acquired by the acquisition unit 140 from the server 400 and notification information. The storage unit 160 is realized by, for example, a memory or a hard disk.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which it is determined whether or not the cooking period is in progress based on only the operation of the IH cooking heater 200 has been described. For example, the IH cooking heater 200 and other electric devices (not shown) You may determine that it is during a cooking period based on operation | movement. For example, it may be determined that the cooking period has started when both the IH cooking heater 200 and the other electric devices start to operate. Further, when the state where both the IH cooking heater 200 and other electric devices are operating changes to the state where both the IH cooking heater 200 and other electric devices have finished operating, or when the IH cooking heater 200 and other electric devices are stopped. It may be determined that the cooking period has ended when a predetermined time has elapsed since both the devices finished their operations. Furthermore, when the state where both the IH cooking heater 200 and the other electric device are operating changes to the state where either the IH cooking heater 200 or the other electric device has finished the operation, or with the IH cooking heater 200 It may be determined that the cooking period has ended when a predetermined time elapses after any one of the other electrical devices ends the operation. In this way, it may be determined whether or not the cooking period is in progress by determining the start and end of the cooking period.

  Here, the other electric devices are, for example, a ventilation fan, kitchen lighting, a kitchen heater, a cooking scale, an activity meter, and a faucet. Furthermore, a smart phone, a tablet, etc. are assumed as another electric equipment. When a smartphone or tablet is used as the other electric device, when it is determined that the user is browsing the cooking recipe by browsing the website or executing the application, the other electric device (smart phone or tablet) It is determined that it is operating.

  The IH cooking heater 200 includes a detection unit 210 and a communication unit 220.

  The detection unit 210 detects the operation state of the IH cooking heater 200 and outputs state information indicating the detected operation state to the communication unit 220. Since the operation state detected by the detection unit 210 is the same as the operation state acquired by the acquisition unit 140 described above, description thereof is omitted.

  The communication unit 220 transmits the state information output by the detection unit 210 to the refrigerator 100 by wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The server 400 is an information providing server for weather forecasts, news, and the like, and provides information corresponding to the request transmitted from the acquisition unit 140 of the refrigerator 100.

  Next, an information providing process performed in the refrigerator 100 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an information providing process performed in the refrigerator in the first embodiment.

  First, the detection unit 120 detects whether the refrigerator 100 is opened or closed (S10).

  Next, the acquisition unit 140 acquires state information indicating the operating state of the IH cooking heater 200 (S20).

  Next, the determination unit 150 determines whether or not cooking is being performed using the IH cooking heater 200 according to the acquired state information (S30). Details of the determination process by the determination unit 150 will be described later.

  Next, the notification unit 130 notifies the user of information according to the determination result (S40). Details of the notification process of the notification unit 130 will be described later.

  Next, details of the determination processing in step S30 shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the determination process in the first embodiment.

  First, the determination unit 150 determines whether or not it is determined that cooking is in progress (S31). Specifically, if the flag indicating whether cooking is being performed indicates that the cooking unit is cooking, the determination unit 150 determines that the cooking unit is in the cooking state, and the flag is set. If it indicates that cooking is not being performed, it is determined that it is not in a state where it is determined that cooking is being performed. The flag is indicated by “1” when cooking, for example, and “0” when not cooking.

  If it is determined that the cooking unit 150 is in the cooking state (Yes in S31), the determination unit 150 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the IH cooking heater 200 stopped (S32).

  If the determination unit 150 determines that a predetermined time has elapsed since the IH cooking heater 200 stopped (Yes in S32), the determination unit 150 determines that cooking is not in progress (S33). Specifically, in this case (Yes in S32), determination unit 150 determines that cooking is not in progress, and sets the flag to indicate that cooking is not in progress. That is, the determination unit 150 changes the numerical value indicating the flag from “1” to “0” and determines that the cooking period has ended.

  On the other hand, when the determination unit 150 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed since the IH cooking heater 200 stopped (No in S32), the determination unit 150 determines that cooking is in progress (S34). Specifically, in this case (No in S32), determination unit 150 determines that cooking is in progress and sets the flag to indicate that cooking is not in progress. That is, the determination unit 150 keeps the numerical value indicating the flag as “1” (does not change).

  Moreover, when it is determined that the determination unit 150 is not in a state where it is determined that cooking is in progress (No in S31), the determination unit 150 determines whether or not the IH cooking heater 200 is operating (S35).

  When it is determined that the IH cooking heater 200 is operating (Yes in S35), the determination unit 150 determines that cooking is being performed (S36). Specifically, in this case (Yes in S32), determination unit 150 determines that cooking is in progress, and sets the flag to indicate that cooking is in progress. That is, the determination unit 150 changes the numerical value indicating the flag from “0” to “1”, and determines that the cooking period has started.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the IH cooking heater 200 is not operating (No in S35), the determination unit 150 determines that it is not cooking (S37). Specifically, in this case (No in S35), determination unit 150 determines that cooking is not in progress, and sets the flag to indicate that cooking is not in progress. That is, the determination unit 150 keeps the numerical value indicating the flag as “0” (does not change).

  The determination part 150 complete | finishes the determination process of step S30 by complete | finishing any process of step S33-S37.

  Next, details of the notification processing in step S40 shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the notification process in the first embodiment.

  First, the notification unit 130 determines whether the determination unit 150 determines that cooking is in progress (S41). Specifically, as in step S31 described above, the notification unit 130 determines that cooking is in progress if the flag indicating whether cooking is in progress indicates that cooking is in progress. If it is determined that there is a flag and the flag indicates that cooking is not being performed, it is determined that the state is not determined that cooking is being performed.

  And when the notification part 130 determines with it being the state determined to be cooking (it is Yes at S41), it notifies predetermined information (S42). Specifically, in this case (Yes in S41), the notification unit 130 determines that the cooking period is in progress, and performs a predetermined notification that the opened or closed user is regarded as the same person.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the notification unit 130 is in a state where it is determined that cooking is not being performed (No in S41), the notification unit 130 notifies normal information (S43). Specifically, in this case (No in S41), the notification unit 130 determines that it is not during the cooking period, and makes a notification that the user who opened or closed is not considered to be the same person.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, during the cooking period, the user who opens or closes the door / drawer 110 of the refrigerator 100 is notified to be the same person. It is possible to prevent duplicate processing from being performed. Thereby, the power consumption of the refrigerator 100 can be reduced.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, when the opening / closing of the door / drawer 110 of the refrigerator 100 is detected during the cooking period, different information is notified each time the door / drawer 110 is opened or closed, thereby providing a predetermined notification. Do. For this reason, it can suppress reporting the same information with respect to the said user during a cooking period.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, determination unit 150 determines that the cooking period has started when the operation of IH cooking heater 200 is started, and is predetermined after the operation of IH cooking heater 200 is ended. When the time has elapsed, it is determined whether the cooking period has ended by determining that the cooking period has ended. For this reason, it can be determined more reliably whether cooking is in progress.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the acquisition unit 140 acquires state information indicating at least one operation state of the IH cooking heater, lighting, ventilation fan, microwave oven, hot carpet, and food processor as the state information of the IH cooking heater 200. To do. Thus, it can be determined more reliably whether it is during a cooking period by determining whether it is during a cooking period using the operation state of the electric equipment used during cooking.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system in the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system in the second embodiment.

  The information providing system 10a according to the second embodiment is different from the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment in that the other electrical device is the information terminal 200a. In addition, the acquired state information of the information terminal 200a varies depending on the acquisition unit 140 of the refrigerator 100. Moreover, the content of the determination process performed by the determination part 150 of the refrigerator 100 differs.

  Only the configuration different from the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment will be described below.

  The information terminal 200a is a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or the like, and via the Internet 300 by wireless communication using a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a mobile phone communication network. The server 400 is connected. As in the first embodiment, the information terminal 200a includes a detection unit 210a that detects an operating state and a communication unit 220a.

  The detection unit 210a detects whether or not the recipe site is being browsed by the information terminal 200a. That is, the detection unit 210a detects whether the recipe site is being output to a display unit (not shown). The detection unit 210a outputs state information indicating the detection result to the communication unit 220a. Here, the recipe site is a website that publishes information on recipes that indicate ingredients used for cooking (including the amount per predetermined number of people), cooking utensils, cooking time, cooking procedures, etc. It is.

  The communication unit 220a transmits the state information output to the detection unit 210a to the refrigerator 100 by wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  Then, the determination unit 150 of the refrigerator 100 determines whether or not a recipe for cooking using the information terminal 200a is being browsed according to the state information acquired by the acquisition unit 140. It is determined whether it is during the period. Specifically, the determination unit 150 determines that the cooking period has started when the information terminal 200a starts displaying the recipe site, and when the information terminal 200a finishes displaying the recipe site, By determining that the period has ended, it is determined whether or not the cooking period is in progress.

  Next, an information providing process performed in the refrigerator 100 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  In the second embodiment, since some of the determination processes of the first embodiment are different and the other processes are the same, only the different processes will be described, and the description of the other processes will be omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing details of the determination processing in the second embodiment.

  In the determination process of the second embodiment, step S38 and step S39 are performed instead of step S32 and step S35 of the determination process of the first embodiment, respectively. This will be specifically described below.

  When it is determined that the determination unit 150 is in a state where it is determined that cooking is in progress (Yes in S31), the determination unit 150 determines whether or not the display of the recipe site is completed on the information terminal 200a (S38).

  If the determination unit 150 determines that the display of the recipe site is completed on the information terminal 200a (Yes in S38), the determination unit 150 determines that cooking is not in progress (S33). Specifically, in this case (Yes in S38), determination unit 150 determines that cooking is not in progress, and sets the flag to indicate that cooking is not in progress. That is, the determination unit 150 changes the numerical value indicating the flag from “1” to “0” and determines that the cooking period has ended.

  On the other hand, when determining that the recipe site is being displayed on the information terminal 200a (No in S38), the determining unit 150 determines that cooking is being performed (S34). Specifically, in this case (No in S38), determination unit 150 determines that cooking is in progress and sets the flag to indicate that cooking is not in progress. That is, the determination unit 150 keeps the numerical value indicating the flag as “1” (does not change).

  Moreover, when it determines with the determination part 150 not being in the state determined to be cooking (it is No at S31), it is determined whether the recipe site is being displayed with the information terminal 200a (S39).

  If it is determined that the recipe site is being displayed on the information terminal 200a (Yes in S39), the determination unit 150 determines that cooking is in progress (S36). Specifically, in this case (Yes in S39), determination unit 150 determines that cooking is in progress and sets the flag to indicate that cooking is in progress. That is, the determination unit 150 changes the numerical value indicating the flag from “0” to “1”, and determines that the cooking period has started.

  On the other hand, when the determination unit 150 determines that the information terminal 200a is not operating (No in S39), the determination unit 150 determines that the information terminal 200a is not cooking (S37). Specifically, in this case (No in S39), determination unit 150 determines that cooking is not in progress, and sets the flag to indicate that cooking is not in progress. That is, the determination unit 150 keeps the numerical value indicating the flag as “0” (does not change).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the determination unit 150 determines that the cooking period has started when the information terminal 200a starts displaying the recipe site, and the information terminal 200a finishes displaying the recipe site. In this case, it is determined whether or not the cooking period has ended by determining that the cooking period has ended. For this reason, it can be determined more reliably whether cooking is in progress.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the information providing system 10b according to the third embodiment.

  The information providing system 10b according to the third embodiment is different from the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment in the configuration of the refrigerator 100b. Specifically, the refrigerator 100 b further includes an identification unit 170 in the configuration of the refrigerator 100. Further, unlike the notification unit 130 of the refrigerator 100, the notification unit 130b of the refrigerator 100b performs notification using the determination result of the determination unit 150 and the identification result of the identification unit 170. Since the other structure of the refrigerator 100b is the same as that of the refrigerator 100, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Only the configuration different from the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment will be described below.

  The identification unit 170 identifies a user who opens and closes the door / drawer 110 of the refrigerator 100.

  Next, an information providing process performed in the refrigerator 100b according to the third embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an information providing process performed in refrigerator 100b according to the third embodiment.

  In the information providing process of the third embodiment, the identification process is further added to the information providing process of the first embodiment, and the notification process of the information providing process of the first embodiment uses the result of the identification process. The point is different. Since other processes are the same as the information providing process of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  First, in the information providing process of the third embodiment, steps S10 to S30 in the information providing process of the first embodiment are performed.

  After step S30, the identification unit 170 identifies the user by at least one of the identification methods described above (S50).

  Next, the notification unit 130 notifies the user of information according to the determination result of the determination unit 150 and the identification result of the identification unit 170 (S40b). That is, in step S50, when the identification unit 170 identifies that the user who opens and closes the door / drawer 110 of the refrigerator 100b is the user A, the notification unit 130 notifies the information for the user A, and When the user who opens and closes the door / drawer 110 is identified as the user B, the notification unit 130 notifies the information for the user B.

  Note that the identification process in step S50 may be performed before the acquisition process in step S20.

  Further, after the identification process in step S50 is performed, an acquisition process in which the acquisition unit 140 acquires information for the user identified in the identification process from the server 400 may be performed. In this case, after the acquisition process, the notification unit 130 notifies the information acquired by the acquisition unit 140.

  Hereinafter, a specific example of the identification unit 170 will be described.

  Specifically, the identification unit 170 may detect voice uttered by the user and identify the user who uttered using the detected voice. That is, the identification unit 170 identifies the user by voice recognition. In this case, the identification unit 170 identifies the user by comparing the voice information indicating the voice associated with each user in advance with the detected voice. The identification unit 170 is realized by, for example, a processor, a memory in which a program and voice information are stored, a microphone that acquires voice uttered by a user, and the like.

  In the identification processing by the identification unit 170 in this case, first, for example, a greeting is output from the speaker. Greeting, for example, is output according to the current time, if it is morning, "Good morning", if the afternoon "Hello", and the like "Good evening". When a response from the user such as a greeting is received in response to the greeting output from the speaker, the identification unit 170 detects the response using a microphone and identifies the user.

  Further, the identification unit 170 may detect a position where the user has grasped the door / drawer 110 and use the detected position to identify the user who opened and closed the door / drawer 110. In this case, the door / drawer 110 is the door of the refrigerator 100, and the identification unit 170 detects the height at which the handle of the door is gripped, and detects height information indicating the height associated with each user in advance. The user is identified by comparing it to the height. The identification unit 170 in this case is realized by, for example, a processor, a memory storing a program and height information, a sensor for detecting a position gripped by a user in a door handle, and the like.

  The identification unit 170 detects a speed at which the user opens / closes the door / drawer 110 (hereinafter referred to as “open / close speed”), and identifies the user who opens / closes the door / drawer 110 using the detected opening / closing speed. Also good. The opening / closing speed is a speed that is applied when the user changes the door / drawer 110 from one of the closed state and the open state to the other state. In this case, the identification unit 170 identifies the user by comparing speed information indicating the opening / closing speed associated with each user in advance with the detected opening / closing speed. The identification unit 170 in this case is realized by, for example, a processor, a memory storing a program and speed information, a sensor for detecting the opening / closing speed of the door / drawer 110, and the like.

  The identifying unit 170 may detect the user's face or the user's silhouette and identify the user using the detected user's face or the user's silhouette. In this case, the identification unit 170 compares the face information or the silhouette information indicating the facial features associated with each user in advance with the face information or the silhouette indicating the facial features and the detected user's face or the user's silhouette. Identify When identifying the user by detecting the user's silhouette, the identification unit 170 may detect the user's height from the user's silhouette and identify the user using the detected height. The identification unit 170 in this case is realized by, for example, a processor, a memory in which a program and face information or silhouette information are stored, a sensor such as a camera for detecting the user's face or the user's silhouette, and the like.

  The identifying unit 170 may detect the weight of the user and identify the user using the detected weight of the user. In this case, the identification unit 170 identifies the user by comparing the weight information indicating the weight associated with each user in advance with the detected weight. The identification unit 170 in this case is realized by, for example, a processor, a memory storing a program and weight information, a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the user, and the like.

  The identification unit 170 may identify the user using one of the plurality of identification methods described above, or may identify the user by arbitrarily combining the plurality of identification methods.

  As mentioned above, according to the refrigerator 100b concerning this Embodiment, in order to identify the user who opened and closed the refrigerator 100b, and to notify the information according to the identified user, notifying the said user of the overlapping information is more. It can be reliably suppressed.

  Further, according to the refrigerator 100b according to the present embodiment, if the user has already been identified during the cooking period, the opening / closing of the door / drawer 110 is detected again during the cooking period. Since the same person can be regarded as having opened and closed the door / drawer 110, the identification process does not have to be performed again. In this way, since the identification process does not have to be performed when the door / drawer 110 is opened or closed for the second and subsequent times during the same cooking period, the processing load on the information providing process can be reduced. Thereby, power consumption can be reduced.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the information providing system 10c according to the fourth embodiment.

  The information providing system 10c according to the fourth embodiment is different from the information providing system 10a according to the second embodiment in that the refrigerator 100c further includes the specifying unit 180 and the processing content of the acquiring unit 140c. Further, the information providing system 10c according to the fourth embodiment is different in that it includes other electric devices, the IH cooking heater 200, and the information terminal 200a.

  Hereinafter, only a configuration different from the refrigerator 100 of the second embodiment will be described.

  The acquisition unit 140c acquires state information from both the IH cooking heater 200 and the information terminal 200a. The state information acquired by the acquisition unit 140c is the same as the state information described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. In addition, the acquisition unit 140c acquires a recipe of a recipe site being browsed by the information terminal 200a. Specifically, the acquisition unit 140c may acquire recipe information indicating the recipe from the information terminal 200a, or acquire and acquire only the recipe ID for specifying the recipe information from the information terminal 200a. Recipe information may be acquired from the server 400 based on the recipe ID. The acquisition unit 140c acquires a recipe procedure included in the recipe by acquiring recipe information.

  The specifying unit 180 specifies a currently performed procedure among the cooking procedures acquired by the acquiring unit 140c according to the state information of the IH cooking heater 200 acquired by the acquiring unit 140c.

  Next, an information providing process performed in the refrigerator 100c according to the fourth embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an information providing process performed in refrigerator 100c according to the fourth embodiment.

  In the information providing process of the fourth embodiment, the cooking procedure is further acquired in the information providing process of the second embodiment (that is, the determination process of the information providing process of the first embodiment is changed to the determination process shown in FIG. 9) The difference is that the processing to be performed and the specific processing are added, and the notification processing of the information providing processing of the second embodiment uses the result of the specific processing. Other processes are the same as the information providing process of the second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  First, in the information providing process of the fourth embodiment, steps S10 to S30 in the information providing process of the second embodiment are performed. In step S30, the determination process of the first embodiment may be performed.

  After step S30, the acquisition unit 140c acquires the cooking procedure included in the recipe at the recipe site displayed on the information terminal 200a (S60).

  Next, the specifying unit 180 specifies the currently performed procedure among the cooking procedures acquired by the acquiring unit 140c according to the state information acquired by the acquiring unit 140c (S70).

  Here, the specifying process of step S70 performed by the specifying unit 180 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the specifying process performed by the specifying unit 180 of the refrigerator 100c according to the fourth embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 14A is a diagram illustrating a cooking procedure included in the recipe acquired by the acquisition unit 140c, and the cooking procedure included in the acquired recipe and other electrics corresponding to the cooking procedure. It is a table in which an assumed operation state (assumed state) of a device and an assumed elapsed time (assumed time) are associated with each other. FIG. 14B is a diagram showing the current state information acquired by the acquisition unit 140c. Specifically, the process from the start of the operation (that is, from the start of the cooking period) to the present. Includes time and current operating state.

  The identification unit 180 identifies the cooking procedure corresponding to the state information among the cooking procedures of FIG. 14A based on the state information shown in FIG. That is, in this case, the specifying unit 180 specifies the procedure 2 in which the operation state is “strong” and the elapsed time is “12 minutes”. In FIG. 14, the specifying unit 180 specifies the procedure of the cooking procedure based on both the elapsed time and the operating state, but specifies the procedure of the cooking procedure based on one of the elapsed time and the operating state. May be.

  Next, the notification unit 130 notifies information related to a procedure next to the procedure specified by the specifying unit 180 (S40c). In this case, specifically, the notification unit 130 notifies the information of the procedure 3 after the procedure 2. In other words, the notification unit 130 notifies that a procedure for baking for 5 minutes is performed in “Medium” of the next procedure 3 after 3 minutes.

  According to the refrigerator 100c of the present embodiment, since the information about the cooking procedure to be performed next among the currently performed dishes is provided, the user can know the information about the next procedure in advance. . For this reason, it can suppress thinking about the next procedure in the state which opened the door or drawer of the refrigerator. Thereby, the time which the door / drawer 110 of the refrigerator 100c is open can be shortened, and the power consumption of the refrigerator 100c can be reduced.

(Embodiment 5)
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information providing system 10d according to the fifth embodiment.

  The information providing system 10d according to the fifth embodiment is different from the information providing system 10 according to the first embodiment in that the configuration of the refrigerator 100d and the information providing apparatus 500 are further provided. Specifically, the refrigerator 100d has a configuration in which the detection unit 120, the notification unit 130, the acquisition unit 140, and the determination unit 150 of the refrigerator 100 according to Embodiment 1 are excluded, and is different in that the door 100 includes a door / drawer 110. That is, the refrigerator 100d of Embodiment 5 is a conventional refrigerator that does not have a function of notifying information.

  The information providing apparatus 500 includes the detection unit 120, the notification unit 130, the acquisition unit 140, and the determination unit 150 of the refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment. That is, information providing apparatus 500 has a configuration in which the configuration for realizing the function of notifying information from refrigerator 100 according to Embodiment 1 is separated. For this reason, since it is the same as that of Embodiment 1 about each component, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  According to the present embodiment, the same function as that of the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment can be realized by installing the information providing apparatus 500 for the conventional refrigerator 100d. For this reason, even if the user does not replace the refrigerator with the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment, if the information providing apparatus 500 is installed, the same function as that of the first embodiment can be realized.

(Modification)
According to the above embodiment, the number of doors / drawers 110 is not mentioned, but the present invention can also be applied to a refrigerator having a plurality of doors / drawers 110. In this case, the detection unit 120 may detect the opening or closing of a predetermined door / drawer 110 among the plurality of doors / drawers 110, or may detect the opening or closing of all the doors / drawers 110. You may do it. When the detection unit 120 detects the opening or closing of all the doors / drawers 110, it detects that any one of the plurality of doors / drawers 110 has been opened or closed.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, the notification unit 130 notifies the user of information by outputting sound from a speaker, but is not limited to notifying the user by sound. For example, a display unit such as a display may be provided in the refrigerator, and information may be notified to the user by performing display on the display unit.

  In addition, according to the above embodiment, the notification unit 130 notifies different information every time the user opens or closes as the predetermined notification that the user who opened or closed the cooking period is regarded as the same person. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the case of a refrigerator (for example, the refrigerator 100b according to the third embodiment) configured to receive an input such as a voice from a user and perform a notification in response to the input. May perform notification in consideration of all inputs and all outputs received during the cooking period. Specifically, for example, when the user is asked about the weather of this area tomorrow, for example, after answering “Sunny”, the user is asked “What is the day after tomorrow?” During the same cooking period, The weather in this area the day after tomorrow may be interpreted as being asked, and the weather for the day after tomorrow may be notified. In this case, if the answer is “sunny”, the same notification may be given even during the cooking period. That is, it is not necessary to perform different notifications every time the food is opened or closed during the same cooking period.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, the notification unit 130 performs the predetermined notification that the user is regarded as the same person for each cooking period. You may perform the predetermined | prescribed notification considered that it is one person. For example, if it is preset that the user A is a user who cooks, the notification unit may notify information suitable for the user A during the cooking period.

  In addition, according to the first embodiment, the other electric device is only the IH cooking heater 200, but is not limited thereto, and may be a combination of a plurality of home appliances exemplified in the first embodiment. That is, the determination unit may determine the cooking period based on the operation state acquired from each of the plurality of home appliances.

  In each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. Here, the software that realizes the information providing apparatus according to each of the above embodiments is the following program.

  That is, this program detects the opening or closing of at least one of the refrigerator door and drawer, and notifies the information when the opening or closing is detected, indicating the operating state of the electrical device. Status information is acquired, and it is determined whether it is during the cooking period where cooking is performed using the electric device according to the acquired status information.

  As mentioned above, although the refrigerator which concerns on one or several aspects was demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to this embodiment. Unless it deviates from the gist of the present invention, various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art have been made in this embodiment, and forms constructed by combining components in different embodiments are also within the scope of one or more aspects. May be included.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention is useful as a control method etc. of the refrigerator which can prevent performing a duplicate process when notifying a user of information.

10, 10a to 10d Information providing system 100, 100b to 100d Refrigerator 110 Door / drawer 120 Detection unit 130, 130b Notification unit 140, 140c Acquisition unit 150 Determination unit 160 Storage unit 170 Identification unit 180 Identification unit 200 IH cooking heater 200a Information terminal 210 210a Detection unit 220, 220a Communication unit 300 Internet 400 Server 500 Information providing device

Claims (13)

A method of controlling a refrigerator connected to one or more electrical devices, the refrigerator including a computer with at least one of a door and a drawer,
In the computer,
Detecting the opening or closing of at least one of the door and the drawer;
State information indicating an operation state of the one or more electrical devices is received from the one or more electrical devices, and the one or more electrical devices are electrical devices that can operate when a user is cooking,
Based on the received state information, determine whether the user is cooking,
Control method. The refrigerator is further connected to a server that stores information to be notified to the user,
In addition to the computer,
Receiving the information from the server;
The control method according to claim 1. In addition to the computer,
Receiving a plurality of pieces of information and order information indicating a notification order of the plurality of pieces of information from the server;
Notifying the user of the different information each time the opening or the closing is detected by sequentially notifying the plurality of information based on the order information.
The control method according to claim 2. In addition to the computer,
The time when the electric device starts to operate is identified as the time when the user starts cooking, and the time when the electric device ends or when a predetermined time elapses after the electric device ends. Is determined as the time point when the cooking is finished, thereby determining whether or not the user is cooking,
The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The refrigerator is connected to a plurality of the electrical devices,
In addition to the computer,
Based on the operating state of the plurality of electrical devices, it is determined whether the user is cooking,
The control method according to claim 1. The electrical device is at least one of an IH cooking heater, a light, a ventilation fan, a microwave oven, a hot carpet, and a food processor.
The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The electrical device is an information terminal including a display,
For the computer,
When the first information indicating that the display of the recipe site for cooking is started on the display is received as the state information, the time when the first information is received is specified as the time when the user starts cooking. And when the 2nd information which shows that the display of the recipe site in the said display was complete | finished as said status information is made to specify the time when the said user complete | finishes cooking as the time when the said 2nd information was received. And determining whether the user is cooking,
The control method as described in any one of Claim 1 to 6. In addition to the computer,
From the information terminal, the cooking procedure included in the recipe of the recipe site is received,
Based on the received state information, the first cooking procedure currently performed in the cooking procedure is specified,
Notifying the user of information related to a second cooking procedure that is the next procedure of the identified first cooking procedure;
The control method according to claim 7. In addition to the computer,
Identify the person who performed the opening or closing,
Determining whether the identified person is the user;
If it is determined that the identified person is the user, the user is notified of information corresponding to the user;
The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The refrigerator includes a camera that images the face of the person,
In addition to the computer,
Use the camera to take an image of the person's face,
The person is identified by performing face recognition processing on the image.
The control method according to claim 9. The refrigerator includes an audio output device that outputs audio,
Information to notify the user is notified by voice through the voice output device,
The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 10. A refrigerator comprising at least one of a door and a drawer,
A detection unit for detecting opening or closing of at least one of the door and the drawer;
A notification unit for notifying information when the opening or the closing is detected;
An acquisition unit that acquires state information indicating an operation state of an electric device different from the refrigerator connected to the refrigerator, and the electric device is an electric device that can operate when a user is cooking,
And a determination unit that determines whether the user is cooking based on the acquired state information. A refrigerator comprising at least one of a door and a drawer, and a control method of an information providing apparatus for connecting to one or more electric devices different from the refrigerator and notifying a user of information,
The electrical device is an electrical device that can operate when the user is cooking,
The information providing apparatus includes a computer,
The control method is:
In the computer,
From the refrigerator, opening / closing information indicating that opening or closing of at least one of the door and the drawer is detected is received,
Receiving from the one or more electrical devices state information indicating an operational state of the one or more electrical devices;
A control method for determining whether or not the user is cooking based on the received state information.

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