KR100661834B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and in particular, the present invention uses an RFID system, such as an RFID tag attached to a food and an RFID antenna and a reader installed in the refrigerator, to accurately determine whether the food is stored and whether it is stored. Detect.

To this end, the present invention provides an RFID system for detecting tag information and position information of an antenna receiving the tag information from an RFID tag attached to food stored in a refrigerator compartment, and based on tag information and position information detected through the RFID system. And a control unit to determine whether or not the new food is stored.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a front view of a refrigerator compartment of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side view of FIG. 1.

3 is an assembled perspective view of the cold air blocking device of FIG. 1.

4 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a control flowchart illustrating a process of controlling FIG. 4.

* Description of the symbols for the main functions of the drawings *

11a, 11b, 11c: cold air barrier 12a, 12b, 12c: motor

30 control unit 40 RFID reader

50a, 50b, 50c: RFID antenna 60: RFID tag

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of accurately detecting a storage position of food stored in a refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator.

The refrigerator according to the prior art has a structure in which a certain amount of cold air is always supplied to the refrigerating chamber regardless of the amount of food stored in each compartment because the amount of food stored in each compartment is unknown.

Therefore, the refrigeration efficiency is lowered in the compartment in which many foods are stored, and the supply of unnecessary cold air is made in the compartment in which the food is hardly stored, thereby preventing efficient cooling as a whole.

In addition, when the food is newly stored, it is difficult to intensively cool only the newly stored food, thereby lowering the cooling effect of the newly stored food, and affect the food already stored.

In order to solve this problem, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-107 discloses a temperature sensor for detecting an amount of change in temperature according to the load of food in each compartment and a cold air control plate in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. The cold air control plate driving means for opening or closing the cold air discharge hole of the compartment is provided, and through this, the load of the food is sensed and the respective compartments are concentratedly cooled.

However, this method has a problem in that when the food is closely attached to the wall surface on which the temperature sensor is installed, even if the new food is additionally stored, it is impossible to detect whether the food is stored and thus the cooling efficiency cannot be optimized.

In addition, such a method cannot know the storage position of the stored food, and thus it is not possible to perform optimal control for the user's preference such as intensive cooling for the desired food.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can accurately detect whether or not the storage of the new food regardless of the storage position of the food.

The refrigerator of the present invention for achieving the above object is an RFID system for detecting the tag information and the position information of the antenna receiving the tag information from the RFID tag attached to the food stored in the refrigerator compartment, and detected through the RFID system And a control unit for determining whether to store a new food item and a storage position based on the tag information and the location information.

An RFID antenna installed in each compartment and receiving tag information from an RFID tag of food stored in each compartment and transmitting the tag information together with its own position information, and reading and reading tag information and position information received through each RFID antenna. And an RFID reader for transmitting the tagged information and the location information to the controller.

Another refrigerator of the present invention is a refrigerator having a plurality of cold air outlets formed in each compartment in a refrigerator compartment and a cold air blocking device for opening and closing the plurality of cold air outlets independently, wherein the tag is a tag from an RFID tag attached to food stored in the refrigerator compartment. RFID system for detecting the information and the position information of the antenna receiving the tag information, and whether or not to receive food and storage position based on the tag information and the position information detected through the RFID system, It includes a control unit for controlling the cold air blocking device based on the storage position and the storage position.

The RFID system is installed in each compartment and receives the RFID information from the RFID tag of the food stored in each compartment and transmits it with its own location information, and the tag information and position information received through each RFID antenna read And an RFID reader for transmitting the read tag definition information and the position information to the control unit.

The controller determines whether new food is stored based on each tag information received from the RFID reader, and when the new food is stored, the cold air outlet corresponding to the determined storage position of the food through the cold air blocking device. It is characterized by opening alone.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3, the shelves 2 for storing food are installed in the refrigerator compartment 1 of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, so that the refrigerator compartment 1 has three upper, middle and lower sides. Partition into stratified compartments.

In the refrigerator, a refrigeration system composed of a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator 4, not shown, is installed. The cold air generated in the evaporator 4 is supplied to the refrigerating chamber 1 by the fan 5.

At the rear of the refrigerating chamber 1, a duct housing 20 is provided which forms a cold air duct 21 for providing a flow path of cold air supplied from the evaporator 4. The duct housing 20 is comprised from the front plate 22 and the duct cover 23 provided in the form which surrounds the cold air cutoff device 10 in front of this front plate 21. As shown in FIG.

The duct cover 23 is provided with three cold air discharge ports 3 which are opened toward the refrigerating chamber 1 and are arranged vertically.

Each cold air discharge port 3 is provided with a cold air blocking device 10 for opening and closing each cold air discharge port (3).

The cold air shutoff device 10 is driven by the cold air cutoff membrane 11 and the motor 12. The cold air barrier film 11 has a rectangular plate shape and is disposed in the cold air duct 21 to be adjacent to the cold air discharge port 3. The cold air barrier 11 is formed with a horizontal shaft 11a inserted into the through hole 23a formed at the side surface of the duct cover 23 for coupling with the duct cover 23. The cooling barrier 11 is formed with a horizontal shaft 11a. It is installed rotatably around the line and blocks or passes the cold air supplied to the refrigerating chamber 3 according to the rotational position thereof.

Accordingly, it is possible to discharge cold air to a specific compartment for intensive cooling. In particular, when food is newly stored in a compartment in the refrigerating compartment 1, the corresponding cold air outlet is opened through a cold air blocking device corresponding to the compartment, and the remaining cold air outlet is closed through a cold air blocking device corresponding to the other compartments. As a result, only the compartment containing the new food is concentrated to supply cold air to cool it.

As shown in FIG. 4, the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes three motors M1, M2, and M3 driven by the controller 30 performing overall control according to a control signal of the controller 30. Tag information is obtained from the cold air blocking membranes 11a, 11b, 11c which rotate by this motor (M1, M2, M3) to open and close each cold air outlet 3, and the RFID tag 60 attached to food. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system 40, 50a, 50b, 50c for detecting position information is provided.

The RFID system includes an RFID tag 60 having an RF module and a memory, an RFID reader 40, and RFID antennas 50a, 50b, and 50c. In the memory of the RFID tag 60, tag information such as a food name, a date of manufacture, an expiration date, and the like are stored, and wirelessly transmits the tag information in the form of a radio frequency through an RF module in response to an external tag information request. The RFID antennas 50a, 50b, and 50c request tag information from the RFID tag 60 according to a control signal of the RFID reader 40, and in response to the request, the RFID antennas 50a, 50b, and 50c receive the tag information wirelessly transmitted from the RFID tag 60. Transmit to 40. The RFID reader 40 requests tag information from the RFID tag 60 through the RFID antennas 50a, 50b, and 50c. Accordingly, the RFID reader 40 reads the tag information received through the RFID antennas 50a, 50b, and 50c. Recognizes and transmits the recognized information to the controller 30. The control unit 30 stores the food information stored in the refrigerator compartment 1 in its own memory.

On the other hand, each of the RFID antenna (50a, 50b, 50c) is installed behind the rear wall of each compartment, respectively, the RFID reader 40 RFID antenna (50a) receiving the tag information so as to know which tag information detected in the compartment Location information, such as identification information of, 50b and 50c, is transmitted to the controller 30 together with the tag information. Accordingly, if the food containing the tag information is stored in each of the first compartment, the second compartment, and the third compartment from the received tag information and the location information, the controller 30 can check the stored position. In addition, it is possible to check whether new food is newly added in addition to the database tag information.

By using the RFID system, it is possible to accurately detect whether the new food is stored and the storage position of the stored food, regardless of the food storage position. Since the RFID system receives the tag information wirelessly transmitted from the RFID tag, even if the food is stored in close contact with the RFID antenna side, the RFID system can receive the tag information of the food stored in another part of the same compartment regardless of this.

The control unit 30, as described above, on the basis of the tag information and the location information received from the RFID reader 40 to database the information of the food stored in each compartment and its storage location, the tag information stored in the database If other tag information is received, it is determined that new food is stored. In this case, the newly stored food is concentrated to cool only the newly stored food by releasing only the corresponding cold air outlet by operating the corresponding motor to open the cold air outlet corresponding to the storage position alone to optimize the refrigeration efficiency. .

Looking at the operation of the control unit with reference to Figure 5, first, the control unit 30 in step S100 through each RFID antenna (50a, 50b, 50c) through the RFID reader 40, each food information in the corresponding column Each tag information is detected from the RFID tag 60 attached to each food. At this time, the controller 30 detects the position information of the corresponding RFID antenna which has detected each tag information together with each tag information.

If the user stores the new food in the refrigerating compartment, each time the food is stored, other tag information in addition to the database information in the own memory of the control unit 30 will be detected, so that the control unit 30 in step S110 using the same. Determines whether new food has been received.

When the new food is stored as a result of the determination in step S110, the control unit 30 in step S120 determines that the food is the first, second or third from the position information of the RFID antenna that receives the tag information of the newly stored food. It is determined in which storage position of the compartments.

If the RFID antenna receiving the tag information of the newly stored food is the RFID antenna 1 (50a) as a result of the determination in step S120, the controller 30 determines that the food is stored in the first compartment and the controller 30 determines that the cold air blocking device is The first cold air barrier 11a is positioned perpendicular to the first cold air outlet 3 through the first motor M1 12a of the first motor outlet 12 to open the first cold air outlet 3. At this time, in step S140, the control unit 30 passes the second cold air blocking membrane 11b and the third cold air blocking membrane 11c through the second motor M2, 12b and the third motor M3, 12c. (3) and the 3rd cold air | gas outlet 4 are located horizontally, and the 2nd cold air | gas outlet 3 and the 3rd cold air | gas outlet 3 are closed. As a result, only the first compartment is cooled centrally.

In addition, if the RFID antenna receiving the tag information of the newly stored food as the result of the determination in step S120 is the RFID antenna 2 (50b), it is determined that the food is stored in the second compartment, and the controller 30 determines in step S150 cold air. The second cold air barrier 11b is positioned perpendicular to the second cold air outlet 3 through the second motor M2 12b of the blocking device to open the second cold air outlet 3. In this case, in S160, the controller 30 passes the first cold air blocking film 11a and the third cold air blocking film 11c through the first motor M1, 12a and the third motor M3, 12c. (3) and the 3rd cold air | gas outlet 3 are located horizontally, and the 1st cold air | gas outlet 3 and the 3rd cold air | gas outlet 3 are closed. As a result, only the second compartment is cooled centrally.

On the other hand, if the RFID antenna receiving the tag information of the newly stored food as a result of the determination in step S120 is the RFID antenna 3 (50c), it is determined that the food is stored in the third compartment and the control unit 30 at S170 cold air blocking device The third cold air barrier 11c is positioned perpendicular to the third cold air outlet 3 through the third motor M3 and 12c of the third motor to open the third cold air outlet 3. At this time, in S180, the control unit 30 passes the first cold air blocking film 11a and the second cold air blocking film 11b through the first motor M1 12a and the second motor M2 12b. (3) and the 3rd cold air | gas outlet 3 are located horizontally, and the 1st cold air | gas outlet 3 and the 2nd cold air | gas outlet 3 are closed. As a result, only the third compartment is cooled centrally.

As described in detail above, the present invention accurately detects whether the food is stored and whether it is stored by using a RFID system attached to the food and an RFID system such as an RFID antenna and a reader installed in the refrigerator. It can be effective.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of optimizing the cooling efficiency by intensive cooling where the centralized cooling is needed as needed based on this.

Claims (5)

delete delete The refrigerator compartment partitioned into a plurality of compartments by the shelf storing food, A plurality of cold air discharge ports which are formed in each of the compartments and discharge cold air; A cold air blocking device provided to selectively open and close the plurality of cold air discharge ports; A plurality of RFID antennas installed in each compartment of the refrigerator compartment for receiving tag information from an RFID tag attached to food and transmitting the tag information together with its own location information; An RFID reader for reading each tag information and location information received from the plurality of RFID antennas and transmitting the read tag information and location information; On the basis of the tag information and location information received from the RFID reader to determine whether the new food is stored or the storage compartment location of the new food is stored in the cold air blocking device to intensively cool the compartment containing the new food Refrigerator including a control unit for controlling the operation. delete The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the control unit controls the operation of the cold air shutoff device so as to open a cold air outlet corresponding to a compartment in which new food is stored.

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