JP6602180B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a camera for photographing the interior.

  For the purpose of inventory management of stored items in the refrigerator, there has been proposed a refrigerator including a camera that photographs the interior of the refrigerator via an elevator that moves up and down across the storage rooms. In such a refrigerator, a hole through which the camera passes is provided in the partition plate of each storage room, and a plurality of locations in the storage can be photographed with one camera.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133867 includes a CCD camera that captures the interior of each warehouse through an elevating unit that vertically traverses the interior of the warehouse so that the interior of the warehouse can be elevated in the vertical direction. There is disclosed a refrigerator that performs an operation and a photographing operation and outputs the in-room video information to a portable terminal.

JP 2002-303480 A

  However, in the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, since the camera moves up and down through the lifting and lowering means, the air in the storage room having different temperature settings leaks from the holes provided in the partition rooms to the adjacent storage rooms. End up.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and is different in a refrigerator including a camera that captures an image of the interior of the warehouse and an elevating unit that moves the camera up and down across each compartment in the warehouse. The object is to prevent the air in the temperature setting chamber from leaking into the adjacent chamber.

To achieve the above object, a refrigerator according to the present invention comprises a plurality of compartment chambers partitioned by plate Setsu specification of the refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a cylinder, an elevating unit, and a camera. The cylindrical body is rolled beauty across multiple compartment chambers through the partition plate to block the inside and the refrigerator compartment, and a surface opposed to the transparent member to the refrigerator compartment. Lifting means is disposed in the cylinder body to move the cylindrical body. The camera is fixed to the elevating means and images the interior of the storage room.

  According to the present invention, in a refrigerator that includes a camera that captures an image of the interior of the warehouse, and a lift that moves the camera up and down across the compartments in the warehouse, the range in which the camera moves is covered. By providing the straddling cylinder, the moving range of each warehouse and the camera is blocked, and it is possible to prevent the air in the warehouse having different temperature settings from leaking to the adjacent warehouse.

It is a perspective sectional view showing the example of composition of the refrigerator concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the vegetable compartment or freezer compartment of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the left-right rotation state of the camera of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment. It is the diagonal sectional view and enlarged view which show the diagonally downward tilt state of the camera of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the cross-sectional shape of the cylinder of the refrigerator which concerns on a modification. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of the cross-sectional shape of the cylinder of the refrigerator which concerns on a modification. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the position of the cylinder of the refrigerator which concerns on a modification. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of the position of the cylinder of the refrigerator which concerns on a modification. It is the diagonal sectional view and enlarged view which show the structural example of the cylinder of the refrigerator which concerns on a modification. It is a perspective sectional view showing the example of composition of the refrigerator concerning a modification. It is an enlarged view which shows the structural example of the lens of the cylinder of the refrigerator which concerns on a modification.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail with reference to drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same or it corresponds in a figure.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective sectional view showing a configuration example of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator 1 includes, in order from the top, a refrigerator compartment 2, a vegetable compartment 3, and a freezer compartment 4 that constitute warehouses with different temperature settings, and each is partitioned by a partition plate 5. A back surface 6 of the storage room is provided with a cylinder 8 that extends across the refrigerating room 2, the vegetable room 3, and the freezing room 4 and penetrates the partition plate 5. The position of the cylinder 8 may be the back corner 6a as shown in FIG. 1 or the other back corner 6b of the interior back surface 6. Inside the cylindrical body 8, an elevating means 10 including an elevator device that moves the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4 up and down is provided. A camera installation table 11 is attached to the tip of the elevating means 10, and a camera 12 is installed on the camera installation table 11. Further, a rotation tilt mechanism 13 is provided between the camera installation base 11 and the camera 12, and the direction of the camera 12 can be rotated up, down, left and right by a motor (not shown). The cylinder 8 is formed of a transparent member whose surface facing the storage room is made of plastic or glass.

  The elevating means 10, the camera 12, and the rotation tilt mechanism 13 are connected to a control unit 18 incorporated in the refrigerator 1 main body. The control unit 18 transmits an up / down movement instruction to the elevating means 10, an imaging instruction to the camera 12, and a rotation instruction to the rotation tilt mechanism 13. The control unit 18 may include a communication unit that connects to a communication network (not shown) inside or outside the house, and may receive an in-store shooting instruction from a remote control terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone. Alternatively, the control unit 18 may be connected to a display input panel (not shown) provided in the front door 19 in the storage, and may receive the internal shooting instruction input by the user to the display input panel.

  Drawing 2 is a sectional view showing the example of composition of the vegetable compartment or freezer compartment of the refrigerator concerning an embodiment. The vegetable compartment 3 or the freezer compartment 4 includes a drawer container 9 that can be pulled forward. The drawer container 9 has a shape in which the container portion fits in a space other than the space occupied by the cylinder 8 in the storage room. By providing the cylindrical body 8 at the back corner 6a or the back corner 6b, the capacity of the drawer container 9 can be ensured to the maximum. The drawer container cylinder facing surface 9a, which is the surface facing the cylinder 8 of the drawer container 9, is made of a transparent member made of plastic or glass. By using the drawer container cylinder facing surface 9a as a transparent member, the camera 12 can be moved and photographed across the storage rooms even in the refrigerator 1 including the drawer container 9.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the cross section of the cylindrical body 8 cut along a plane whose normal direction is the moving direction of the camera 12 is a fan shape. The cylindrical body 8 is arranged so that the curved surface corresponding to the fan-shaped arc portion of the cross section faces the storage room, and the two planes corresponding to the fan-shaped side portions are in contact with the storage room rear surface 6 and the storage room side surface 7, respectively. Is done. The sector shape includes not only a sector shape surrounded by two radii of a circle and an arc between them, but also a sector shape whose side length is not a radius and a sector shape whose two side lengths are different.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a left-right rotation state of the camera of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. When the control unit 18 in FIG. 1 receives the in-store shooting instruction from the remote control terminal or the display input panel, the control unit 18 moves the elevating means 10 up and down to move the camera 12 to the instructed image capturing position of the storage room. The control unit 18 drives the camera 12 to acquire a captured image. At this time, the control unit 18 rotates the rotary tilt mechanism 13 left and right as shown by the arrows in FIG. 3 to acquire a captured image from a specific angle in the horizontal direction from the camera 12, The camera 12 is driven while rotating the rotation tilt mechanism 13 left and right, and a captured image obtained by extending the imaging region in the vertical direction is acquired from the camera 12. Further, the control unit 18 moves the elevating means 10 upward, moves it to the upper part of the storage room for photographing the camera 12, and rotates the rotation tilt mechanism 13 so that the camera 12 faces obliquely downward. A captured image from above is acquired from the camera 12.

  FIG. 4 is a diagonal cross-sectional view and an enlarged view showing a tilted downward tilt state of the camera of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an example when a photographing instruction for photographing the refrigerator compartment 2 is received. As shown in the left figure, the camera 12 is moved to the upper part of the refrigerator compartment 2 by the lifting means 10. The right figure is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a broken line in the left figure. The rotation tilt mechanism 13 rotates the camera 12 so as to face obliquely downward. The camera 12 images the refrigerator compartment 2 from diagonally upward. Even if there is a stored item near the camera 12 when shooting in the horizontal direction, it is possible to take a picture of the interior by acquiring a captured image from an obliquely upward direction. Note that the rotation tilt mechanism 13 may rotate the direction of the camera 12 either vertically or horizontally. When the rotation tilt mechanism 13 rotates the direction of the camera 12 only up and down, the camera 12 may have a wide-angle lens so that the entire interior can be photographed without rotating left and right.

  1 acquires a captured image from the camera 12, and outputs it to a display input panel provided on the front door 19 of the refrigerator 1 or a remote control terminal connected by communication means. The control unit 18 may output the result of image analysis or image processing by a built-in processor to a display input panel or a remote control terminal. As described above, by allowing the camera 12 to shoot at a plurality of shooting positions and shooting angles in the warehouse by the elevating means 10 and the rotation tilt mechanism 13, a plurality of storage rooms can be taken by one camera.

  As described above, according to the refrigerator 1 of the embodiment, even when one camera 12 moves across a plurality of storage rooms in response to a shooting instruction, the cylinder 8 is in contact with the air in each storage room. Since it plays the role of blocking the moving range of the camera 12, it is possible to prevent the air in the storage room having different temperature settings from leaking to the adjacent storage room through the movable range of the camera 12. Further, it is possible to prevent the camera lens from being clouded due to a sudden change in temperature when the camera 12 passes through the boundary of the storage room having different temperatures. Moreover, according to the refrigerator 1 which concerns on this invention, since the cylinder 8 interrupts | blocks the movement range of each warehouse and the camera 12, it can prevent that a stored item falls from the hole of the partition plate 5. FIG. In addition, when the lifting / lowering means 10 is moved up and down, the camera 12 does not hit the stored item, thereby preventing problems such as the lifting / lowering means 10 being stopped.

  In said embodiment, although the cross section of the cylinder 8 was made into the fan shape, it is not restricted to this. The cylindrical body 8 may have any shape as long as it can cover the elevating means 10, the camera mounting base 11, the camera 12, and the rotation tilt mechanism 13 and can be cut off from the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 3, and the freezer compartment 4. .

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a cross-sectional shape of a cylinder of a refrigerator according to a modification. In the example of FIG. 5, the cross section of the cylindrical body 8 cut along a plane whose normal direction is the moving direction of the camera 12 is circular. When the surface facing the storage room is a curved surface, as in the case where the cross-sectional shape of the cylinder 8 is a sector shape or a circular shape, the control unit 18 corrects image distortion that occurs when the interior of the storage room is captured by the camera 12. Or you may correct | amend with the remote control terminal which received the picked-up image. The circle includes not only a regular circle or an ellipse but also a circle formed by combining arcs of different circles. Further, the surface of the cylinder 8 facing the storage room may be a flat surface instead of a curved surface.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the cross-sectional shape of the cylinder of the refrigerator according to the modification. In the example of FIG. 6, the cross-sectional shape of the cylinder 8 is a polygon. In this case, one or more flat surfaces face the storage room, and the control unit 18 controls the rotation tilt mechanism 13 so that the lens of the camera 12 stops at a position facing the flat surface. By taking an image of the interior, it is possible to obtain a captured image without distortion.

  In the above embodiment, the cylindrical body 8 is arranged at the rear corner 6a or the rear corner 6b. However, if the camera 12 can shoot each storage room and the drawer container 9 can be pulled out, the cylindrical body 8 The arrangement position may be anywhere in the warehouse. A modification of the position of the cylinder 8 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the position of the cylinder of the refrigerator according to the modification. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the position of the cylinder of the refrigerator according to the modification. In the example of FIG. 7, the cylindrical body 8 is arranged on the plane of the back surface 6 of the storage room. In the example of FIG. 8, the cylinder body 8 is arranged on the plane of the storage room side surface 7. When the camera is disposed at the rear corner 6a or the rear corner 6b, the rotation angle of the camera is slightly less than 90 degrees. On the other hand, when the camera is disposed on the plane of the back surface 6 or the side surface 7 of the storage room, the rotation angle of the camera is 180 degrees. Spread slightly. Thereby, the blind spot obstruct | occluded by the stored thing near the camera 12 reduces, and can acquire information in a warehouse more correctly. Further, since the position of the camera 12 approaches the center of the storage room from the corner of the storage room, the difference in distance to the subject can be reduced, so that the entire interior can be easily focused. In the example of FIGS. 7 and 8, the cross section of the cylindrical body 8 cut along a plane whose normal direction is the moving direction of the camera 12 is a semicircular shape obtained by cutting a circle with a string. The semicircle includes not only a semicircle obtained by cutting a regular circle with a chord of a diameter but also a semicircle obtained by cutting a circle formed by combining arcs of different circles with a string at an arbitrary position.

  In the said embodiment, between a partition plate 5 and the outer wall of the cylinder 8, you may provide a heat insulating material and you may provide the neutral chamber used as the intermediate temperature of an adjacent warehouse. The modification of the cylinder 8 is demonstrated using FIG. 9 and FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a diagonal cross-sectional view and an enlarged view showing a configuration example of a cylinder of a refrigerator according to a modification. As shown in the left figure, the camera 12 is moved by the elevating means 10 to a position that penetrates the partition plate 5 that separates the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 3 inside the cylinder 8. The right figure is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a broken line in the left figure. A heat insulating material 14 is provided on the upper and lower portions of the outer wall of the cylindrical body 8 at a position passing through the partition plate 5. The heat insulating material 14 is a plastic heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam or urethane foam. When the heat insulating material 14 is transparent, the heat insulating material 14 may be provided on the entire outer wall of the cylindrical body 8.

  Thereby, it is possible to suppress the clouding of the cylinder 8 due to a sudden change in the temperature of the cylinder 8 straddling the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 3, and the freezer compartment 4 above and below the partition plate 5. Further, in the example of FIG. 9, a shut-off valve 15 is provided above and below a position penetrating the partition plate 5 inside the cylindrical body 8, and a neutral chamber 16 that is an intermediate temperature between adjacent chambers is provided. The internal temperature of the cylindrical body 8 depends on the temperatures of the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4, and the temperature changes suddenly near the boundary between the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 3, and between the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4. However, by providing the neutral chamber 16, it is possible to suppress the clouding of the lens of the camera 12 when the camera 12 passes through the partition plate 5. The shut-off valve 15 may be made of any material as long as it shuts off the movement of the internal temperature of the cylinder 8 and has a bending force and does not damage the camera 12. For example, it is made of rubber and has a notch through which the camera 12 can pass.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of a refrigerator according to a modification. When the standby instruction is received from the remote control terminal or the display input panel after the photographing is finished, the camera 12 moves to the neutral chamber 16 closer to the photographing position inside the cylinder 8. Next, when a shooting instruction is received from the remote control terminal or the display input panel, as shown in FIG. 10, the camera 12 moves from the neutral chamber 16 to the shooting position, but the temperature difference between the neutral chamber 16 and the destination is adjacent. Since it is smaller than the temperature difference from the storage room, it is possible to suppress the clouding of the lens of the camera 12.

  In the above embodiment, a metal plate may be provided on the bottom surface, side surface, or rear surface of the camera 12. In the example of FIG. 10, a metal plate 17 is provided on the bottom surface of the camera 12. Thereby, when the camera 12 moves up and down by the lifting / lowering means 10, the metal plate 17 is condensed first, and it is possible to suppress the condensation of the lens of the camera 12.

  In the said embodiment, you may change the raw material of the cylinder 8 with the temperature of each warehouse. For example, when the refrigerator 1 constitutes the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 3, and the freezer compartment 4, if the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 is a temperature between the set temperature of the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4, The material of the cylinder 8 is changed so that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 becomes the internal temperature of the cylinder 8. Acrylic having high thermal conductivity is used for the material of the cylinder 8 in the refrigerator compartment 2, and polystyrene having low thermal conductivity is used for the material of the cylinder 8 in the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4. With this configuration, the internal temperature of the cylinder 8 is easy to convey the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2, and the temperature of the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4 is difficult to convey. It can be kept near the temperature, and unevenness in the internal temperature of the cylinder 8 can be reduced. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the lens of the camera 12 from being clouded due to a sudden change in temperature when the camera 12 passes through the boundary of the storage room having a different internal temperature of the cylindrical body 8.

  FIG. 11 is an enlarged view showing a configuration example of a lens of a refrigerator cylinder according to a modification. The thickness of the cylindrical body 8 may be uniform, or the convex lens 20 may be provided depending on the location as shown in FIG. For example, one or more convex lenses 20 are provided for each storage room. When the camera 12 moves to a position where the convex lens 20 is located in response to a movement instruction from the remote control terminal or the display input panel and the front storage item is photographed, a storage item or a small storage item far from the photographing position is enlarged by the convex lens 20. To be photographed. From such a photographed image, the user can clearly determine the stored item.

  In said embodiment, although the cylinder 8 is a linear cylinder extended in the up-down direction of the refrigerator 1, not only this but the camera 12 can be moved across several storage rooms of the refrigerator 1, A straight tube extending in an oblique direction of the refrigerator 1 or a curved tube may be used as long as the surface facing the chamber is transparent and blocks the movement range of each chamber and the camera 12. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator, 2 Cold room, 3 Vegetable room, 4 Freezer room, 5 Partition plate, 6 Back surface in a chamber, 6a, 6b Back corner, 7 Side surface, 8 cylinder, 9 drawer container, 9a drawer container cylinder opposing surface, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lifting means, 11 Camera installation stand, 12 Cameras, 13 Rotation tilt mechanism, 14 Heat insulating material, 15 Shut-off valve, 16 Neutral chamber, 17 Metal plate, 18 Control part, 19 Front door, 20 Convex lens.

Claims (11)

A refrigerator having a plurality of compartment chambers partitioned by plate Setsu specification of the refrigerator,
The partition plate through extended beauty across the plurality of compartment chambers, cut off the internal and the box chamber, the surface facing the box chamber and configured tubular body of a transparent material,
Disposed in the cylindrical body, and lifting means for moving said cylinder body,
A camera fixed to the elevating means and imaging the storage room;
Refrigerator. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism in which a part of the elevating means to which the camera is fixed rotates vertically or horizontally.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cylindrical body is installed in at least one of a back surface and a side surface of the storage room.   The section of the cylinder cut by a plane whose normal direction is the direction of movement of the camera is fan-shaped, and the cylinder has a fan-shaped curved surface corresponding to a fan-shaped arc portion of the section. The refrigerator of Claim 3 arrange | positioned so that two planes corresponded to the part of the side of each may contact the back surface and side surface of the said compartment.   A cross section of the cylinder cut by a plane whose normal direction is the moving direction of the camera is circular, and the cylinder has a circular cross section that is in contact with at least one of the back surface and the side surface of the storage room. The refrigerator according to claim 3 arranged.   A section of the cylinder cut by a plane whose normal direction is the moving direction of the camera is a semicircle obtained by cutting a circle by a string, and the cylinder has a semicircular chord portion of the section. The refrigerator of Claim 3 arrange | positioned so that at least any one of the back surface or side surface of this may be touched.   The cross section of the cylinder cut by a plane whose normal direction is the moving direction of the camera is a polygon, and the cylinder has at least one side of the polygon of the cross section on the back or side of the storage room. The refrigerator of Claim 3 arrange | positioned so that at least one may be touched.   At least one of the storage rooms includes a drawer container that can be pulled forward, and the drawer container has a shape in which the container part fits in a space other than the space occupied by the cylindrical body in the storage room, and the drawer container The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 7, further comprising a surface that faces the cylindrical body in a state where the container is pushed into the storage room, and the surface facing the cylindrical body is formed of a transparent member.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a heat insulating material between an outer wall of the cylindrical body and the partition plate. The camera is provided with two shut-off valves, which are provided across the partition plate inside the cylinder and through which the camera can pass, and the camera is placed in a space inside the cylinder sandwiched between the two shut-off valves. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein control is performed so that the camera is moved to a shooting position outside the space during shooting.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the cylindrical body includes one or more convex lenses on a surface facing the storage room for each of the storage rooms.

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