KR100867118B1 - Food reading system of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a food reading system of a refrigerator, and more particularly, by attaching a reading unit for reading an identification unit of food on the front door of the refrigerator and a bottom pad of the refrigerator, the installation is easy, and the recognition limit according to the direction is complemented and the food is The present invention relates to a food reading system of a refrigerator, which is easy to use by diversifying information input means.

The present invention provides an identification unit for storing food information; And a reading unit installed outside the refrigerator and reading the information of the identification unit.

Description

Food reading system of refrigerator

1 is a block diagram of a food reading system of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention,

2 is an exemplary view of a refrigerator equipped with a food reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

1: refrigerator 2: floor pad

110: identification unit 120: reading unit

130: control unit 140: key input unit

150: storage unit 160: display unit

170: sound output unit 180: power supply unit

The present invention relates to a food reading system of a refrigerator, and more particularly, by attaching a reading unit for reading an identification unit of food to the front door of the refrigerator and the bottom pad of the refrigerator, to facilitate installation and to complement the recognition limit according to the direction. The present invention relates to a food reading system of a refrigerator, which is easy to use by diversifying input means of food information.

In general, refrigerators are a means to prevent food corruption by storing food at low temperatures, but because the breeding activity of bacteria is not completely stopped at low temperatures, storage of food in refrigerators has a longer shelf life than that otherwise. Cannot be completely suppressed.

When storing the food in the conventional refrigerator, the storage time is different for each food, it is difficult to determine the exact location of many foods stored there is a problem that the storage period of the food is long or difficult to determine the elapsed time after storage.

In order to solve this problem, the list of foods stored in each storage unit of the refrigerator is input through the touch panel, and the button-type image of the storage unit is marked differently according to whether or not the food list is stored so that it is easy to recognize whether the food is stored. For example, there is a storage list system of a refrigerator in which food input lists are counted and displayed after the storage from the date of storage and the expiration date.

However, the storage list system of the refrigerator is inconvenient that the user has to write directly by the user through the touch panel, and when the user does not know the food name to be stored, there is a problem that the food name must be stored.

In order to improve this problem, by using an RFID tag as a means of recognizing food, an RFID antenna is installed inside the refrigerator, and the tag is used to read and manage the food in the food.

In this case, since the antenna must be embedded in each cooling compartment for RFID reading, a separate installation technique is required, and the manufacturing cost of the product is increased.

In addition, the use of multiple antennas requires the selection of frequency bands, and when using high frequency bands, the recognition position is limited.In the case of using low frequency bands, the recognition range is wider, but the same information is detected by multiple antennas. There is a problem that cannot be determined.

In addition, there is a problem regarding the direction of the antenna, that is, when the recognition plane of the tag and the direction of the antenna is perpendicular, the recognition rate is low, and there is only one RFID tag for inputting food information, so there is a problem in disseminating the tag, thereby decreasing its usefulness. have.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a separate installation technology by attaching a reading unit for reading the identification unit on the bottom pad of the door outer side and the bottom surface of the refrigerator It is not necessary to provide a food reading system of a refrigerator that is easy to install, can reduce manufacturing costs, and can increase the recognition rate of the identification unit so that it can be popularized.

Another object of the present invention is to read the RFID tag, bar code, and two-dimensional bar code as a reading unit including an RFID reader, one, two-dimensional bar code reader and CCD unit to diversify the reading unit to a plurality of input and output food information manually It is to provide a food reading system of the refrigerator can solve the inconvenience and easy food management.

Technical means according to the present invention for achieving the above object is an identification unit for storing information of food; And a reading unit installed outside the refrigerator and reading the information of the identification unit.

According to the present invention, the present invention is easy to install by attaching a readout to the bottom pads installed on the outer side of the refrigerator door and the bottom surface of the refrigerator in order to complement the embedded installation structure of the existing RFID antenna, thereby greatly reducing the manufacturing cost. have.

In addition, through the dual structure consisting of the pad of the refrigerator floor and the reading unit of the door can recognize the recognition limit of the identification unit according to the orientation.

In addition, the food identification unit, in addition to RFID, there is an advantage that the user is easy to use by diversifying the input means of food information, such as image information using a 1, 2D barcode and a camera.

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

1 is a control block diagram for managing food in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, the identification unit 110, the reading unit 120, the control unit 130, the key input unit 140, the storage unit 150 ), A display unit 160, a sound output unit 170, and a power supply unit 180.

The identification unit 110 is printed and attached to a wrapping paper for packaging food, and includes an RFID tag 111, a one-dimensional barcode 112, a two-dimensional barcode 113, and the like.

An IC chip and an external antenna are embedded in the RFID tag 111, and a memory device in the IC chip has a seat for storing an authentication number and other data, and a signal for operating the RFID tag 111 from the reading unit 120. It is divided into several zones for receiving and sending data in the RFID tag 111.

In addition, the RFID tag 111 stores a variety of information related to the article, such as the food's unique number, food name, date of manufacture, expiration date, manufacturer, it may be recorded.

That is, in the case of the food that does not have the RFID tag 111 is attached, the RFID tag 111 that can record the information of the food is attached to the food, and the food is arbitrarily needed by the user or manufacturer through a separate input unit (not shown) Information can be recorded.

The one-dimensional bar code 112 is a combination of letters and numbers in black and white bar symbols, and is easy to read information and can quickly input information data.

The two-dimensional barcode 113 is a bar code that flattens braille or mosaic codes in both horizontal and vertical directions, and includes a large amount of information such as letters, numbers, and photographs (that is, about 100 times more information than a one-dimensional barcode) in a small rectangle. It is a high-density coded two-dimensional symbol.

The reading unit 120 is attached to the outside of the refrigerator door by a taping method in a loop form, and is also attached to the bottom pad 2 placed on the bottom surface of the refrigerator by a taping method. Accordingly, the reading unit 120 can be installed without greatly changing the mechanical configuration of the existing refrigerator, and thus has an advantage of easy installation and easy separation in case of failure.

The reader 120 reads the RFID tag, the one-dimensional barcode and the two-dimensional barcode, and transmits the read information to the controller 130. That is, the reading unit 120 is an RFID reading unit 121 for reading an RFID tag, a one-dimensional barcode reading unit 122 for reading a one-dimensional barcode, or a CCD unit 123 for reading a two-dimensional barcode. And at least one of an RFID reader 121, a one-dimensional barcode reader 122, or a CCD unit 123.

In addition, the RFID reader 121 includes a portion for transmitting, receiving, and decoding data of the RF signal, and performs communication with the controller 130 such as serial communication, USB, and Ethernet.

The RFID reader 121 includes an antenna (not shown). The antenna is a device used to read and write data of the RFID tag 111 by using radio frequency. It is divided into the case where the antenna is integrated in one reading unit.

Antennas are made in various sizes and shapes. The inductance of the antenna is determined by the thickness of the copper wire, the degree of winding, and the diameter of the antenna. In general, the longer the search range, the larger the antenna size.

In this embodiment, it is preferable to use a wire-type antenna separated from the reading unit, and thus the wire-type antenna is attached to the refrigerator door and the pad by a taping method, and the antenna separated from the reading unit separated from the antenna. An example of installing is as shown in FIG. In addition, when the antenna and the reading unit are separated, the reading unit may be installed inside the refrigerator.

Using the RFID reader 121 as described above, it is possible to wirelessly receive information with the RFID tag, and can read information about the food simply by putting the food in the refrigerator without the user's cumbersome management.

In addition, the CCD unit 123 forms an image of a two-dimensional barcode that is placed on top of one optical system to a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image pickup device through an optical system (lens), so that the light is converted into an electrical signal, thereby digital data. It converts to and reads its meaning.

In addition to the CCD image pickup device, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) may be used.

In addition, the CCD unit 123 captures an external shape of the food to be stored provided by the user outside the refrigerator to generate a predetermined shape image. Here, the CCD included in the CCD unit 123 has a resolution performance such that the user can recognize the stored food photographed later through the shape image.

As such, the user can conveniently input the food information input means by diversifying the input means of the food information, such as image information using a 1, 2D bar code and a camera as well as RFID.

The controller 130 controls the entire freezing / refrigeration process, manages the food information data read from the reading unit 120, and when a user's command is input through the key input unit 140, data corresponding to the input signal is displayed. Control the display unit 160 to be displayed through.

In addition, the controller 130 controls the display unit 160 to extract information about foods having an expiration date and display them through the display unit 160 and to generate a notification sound at a preset time through the sound output unit 170.

In addition, the control unit 130 provides recommended dishes that can be made using the stored foods by extracting information about the stored foods.

The key input unit 140 receives a command (for example, selecting a display method of the storage information method) from the user, transmits an input signal to the controller 130, and is related to information displayed through the display unit 160. It consists of an appropriate number of buttons and the like.

The storage unit 150 stores various food information and storage information for the food information transmitted from the controller 130 according to the instructions of the controller 130.

In addition, the storage information stored in the storage unit relates to a storage method corresponding to food information, and the overall method (storage, refrigerated storage, etc.) related to the storage and, in detail, the appropriate temperature for storage and the like are stored.

In addition, the storage unit 150 stores material information necessary for cooking a recommended dish, and stores recommended cooking information that can be made by combining stored foods.

The display unit 160 displays food information, storage information, and recommended dishes according to the instructions of the controller 130, and is formed on the front of the refrigerator.

The sound output unit 170 outputs a notification to facilitate the user's hearing identification when there are foods with an expiration date according to the instructions of the controller 130.

The power supply unit 180 supplies the operating power of each component.

The food management method of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, when the user wants to store the food with the RFID tag 111 in the refrigerator, when the user puts the food in the refrigerator, the user is provided in the reading unit 120 attached to the door 1 or the bottom pad 1 of the refrigerator. Receiving the food information from the RFID tag 111, the information on the tag itself and the information recorded on the RFID tag 111 is read by the RFID reader 121, and transmitted to the controller 130 Afterwards, the information is stored in the storage unit 150 and the information about the corresponding food is displayed through the display unit 160.

Thereafter, when taking out the food with the RFID tag 111 attached thereto, the RFID tag is detected by an antenna provided in the reading unit 120 attached to the refrigerator door or the bottom pad 2 of the refrigerator, and the food is taken out according to re-detection. If it is judged, delete it from the storage list, and then update and store the quantity and information of used food again.

As described above, the dual antenna structure of the bottom pad 2 and the refrigerator 1 door including the antenna as the reading unit may compensate for the limitation of the recognition of the RFID tag according to the direction.
That is, as shown in Figure 2, the floor pad to the floor and the refrigerator standing on the floor is perpendicular to each other, and thus the reader inside the floor pad and the reader attached to the outside of the refrigerator door is perpendicular to each other.

If the barcode is printed on the food, the barcode information is read through the barcode reader of the reader 120 attached to the refrigerator door to transmit the read food information to the controller 130.

Thereafter, the food information read according to the instructions of the controller 130 is stored in the storage 150 and displayed on the display 160 so that the user can visually identify the food.

Afterwards, when the user wants to change the food storage situation, the user manually selects the food through the key input unit and the display unit.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the following claims.

As described in detail above, the present invention is easy to install by attaching a readout to the bottom pads installed on the outer side of the refrigerator door and the bottom surface of the refrigerator in order to complement the embedded installation structure of the existing RFID antenna, thereby greatly reducing the manufacturing cost. Can be reduced.

In addition, through the dual structure consisting of the pad of the refrigerator floor and the reading unit of the door can recognize the recognition limit of the identification unit according to the orientation.

In addition, the food identification unit, in addition to RFID, there is an advantage that the user is easy to use by diversifying the input means of food information, such as image information using a 1, 2D barcode and a camera.

Claims (9)

delete delete delete delete An identification unit for storing food information; And And a reading unit installed outside of the refrigerator and detachable and reading the information of the identification unit. The reading unit is attached to at least one of the floor pads provided on the outside of the refrigerator door or the outer bottom of the refrigerator. When the reading unit is installed on both the outside and the bottom pad of the door, the reading unit attached to the outside of the door and the reading unit attached to the bottom pad are perpendicular to each other, characterized in that the reading. The method of claim 5, wherein The identification unit is a food reading system of the refrigerator, characterized in that at least one of the RFID tag, one-dimensional barcode or two-dimensional barcode. The method of claim 6, And a reading unit for reading the two-dimensional bar code is a CCD. The method of claim 5, wherein And the reading unit is a wire type RF antenna. The method of claim 5, wherein A control unit for analyzing and managing and controlling food information read from the reading unit; A storage unit for storing a management state and information of the food stored in the refrigerator; And And a display unit for displaying the management status and information of the food stored in the refrigerator.

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