KR101156080B1 - Method and system for management food articles in refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a food information management technology in a refrigerator. In a refrigerator that obtains RF-ID information by RF transmission / reception of a food with an RF-ID tag containing food information including a manufacturing date, the RF signal Determining whether a signal is received and extracting RF-ID information from the received RF signal when receiving an RF signal, databaseting the food information from the RF-ID information, and manufacturing date and present date of the database-based food information. Comparing the dates, determining whether there is a food remaining as the preset remaining storage date, and outputting a warning message for the food if there is a food remaining as the preset remaining storage day, and a user confirmation key signal is applied Stopping the output of the warning message and clearing the food information if the RF-ID signal is not detected. According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently manage the food stored in the refrigerator, thereby increasing the user satisfaction.

Description

Food information management system and method in the refrigerator {METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGEMENT FOOD ARTICLES IN REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a block diagram illustrating a food information management system in a refrigerator according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a flow chart for a food information management method in the refrigerator according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: RF-ID Tag 12: Food

100: RF transmitter 102: RF receiver

104: control unit 106: food information DB

108: display unit 110: key input unit

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a food information management system and method in a refrigerator suitable for processing related information of foods stored in the refrigerator.

There are many kinds of foods from so-called fish foods to various processed foods and frozen foods, and refrigerators have emerged as a low temperature management means for preserving such foods for a certain period of time.

In general, the refrigerator cools the air in the chamber by using a cooling cycle so that foods stored in the chamber are stored for a long time without deterioration. The refrigerator is a refrigerant compressed at high temperature / high pressure by the operation of a compressor. After refrigerant gas is liquefied in a condenser to change to a liquid state, it is decompressed through an expansion valve and evaporated in an evaporator to remove heat from the outside air by the heat of evaporation of the refrigerant, thereby cooling. Device.

However, since these refrigerators are limited to the function of simply storing perishable foods while maintaining a constant low temperature, the size of the refrigerators is gradually increased so that various kinds of foods occupy the inside of the refrigerators. Frequently left unattended.

As a result, mold occurs in the refrigerator and not only corrupts the food, but also causes a problem of repurchasing the food without knowing the already stored food.

On the other hand, with the recent development of electronic technology, a technique for incorporating RF-ID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology into a product to identify product information more quickly and efficiently manage a product has been introduced.

The most feasible approach on a ubiquitous basis is an RF-ID tag called a smart tag, which has the ability to receive high-frequency (RF) signals and transmit embedded information through a small chip with information accumulation and transmission capabilities. have. Because it is smaller than millet, there is an advantage that it can be attached to people's clothes, objects, and spaces.

While the barcode currently in use has a limitation that can contain only information such as price and manufacturing date, RF-ID has no limitation in storage capacity, so it is possible to record the origin and product of the product in addition to information such as price and manufacturing date that can be recorded on the existing barcode. It can contain a variety of information, such as the intermediary process, the current status of the product, the product purchase history.

In addition, since data can be sent and received wirelessly, data can be freely scanned without restriction on distance, and dozens of product information stored in container boxes or pallet units can be recognized by automatically recognizing RF signals.

When RF-ID is introduced into the distribution and logistics system, the manufacturer can automatically instruct the worker which vehicle to load by using the RF-ID information attached to the product when the product is shipped. When the goods are released from the vehicle arriving at the distributor, the management system recognizes the product information with the RF-ID, checks the quantity and items automatically, approves the delivery and automatically recognizes where it will be placed. Can be placed at the corresponding position of the stock, and the placed product is reflected in the inventory quantity. In addition, each time a customer purchases a product, the amount of inventory is reduced by the amount purchased, and when the stock is not enough, information can be sent to the warehouse to induce the product order.

Retailers and logistics companies are expected to increase the efficiency of customer service and cost savings by introducing RF-IDs.

Applicants have come to think that incorporating such RF-ID technology into refrigerators enables efficient management of foods stored in refrigerators.

The present invention is implemented by the above-described concept, by attaching an RF-ID tag containing information such as the name of the food, the year of manufacture, the date of manufacture of the food to the outer packaging of the food to read the RF-ID tag in the refrigerator inside the food It is an object of the present invention to provide a food information management system and method for a refrigerator to display related information outside of the refrigerator.

According to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving this object, a refrigerator for storing food with an RF-ID tag containing the food information, including the food name, date of manufacture, RF for transmitting an RF signal into the refrigerator An RF receiver configured to receive RF-ID information generated from an RF-ID tag attached to the food in response to an RF signal transmitted through the RF transmitter, and from the RF-ID information received through the RF receiver A control unit configured to database food information, aggregate food information and previous food information, and output control signals for displaying individual food information and collected food information; Food information management in the refrigerator comprising a display unit for displaying the individual food information and the aggregated food information according to Provide a system.

According to another embodiment for achieving the object of the present invention, in the refrigerator to obtain the RF-ID information by RF transmission / reception of the RF-ID tag food containing the food information, including the food name, date of manufacture A food information management method comprising: determining whether an RF signal is received, extracting RF-ID information from a received RF signal when the RF signal is received, and databaseting food information from the RF-ID information; Comparing the date of manufacture of the database-based food information with the current date, and determining whether there is a food that is a preset remaining storage date, and if there is a food that is the preset remaining storage date, a warning message for the food And outputting the warning message when the user confirmation key signal is applied and the RF-ID signal of the food is not detected. And it provides a food information management method in the refrigerator comprising the step of clearing the food information.

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

Prior to the description, the technical gist of the present invention is to introduce the RF-ID technology, which has recently emerged into food, to more efficiently manage the food stored in the refrigerator. Will be achieved.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a food information management system in a refrigerator according to the present invention, wherein the RF transmitter 100, the RF receiver 102, the controller 104, the food information DB 106, and the display 108 are provided. And a key input unit 110.

As illustrated, the RF transmitter 100 transmits an RF signal into the refrigerator under the control of the controller 104.

The RF signal transmitted in this way transmits the RF-ID information from the RF-ID tag 10 attached to the food 12 when the food exists in the refrigerator. In other words, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the RF-ID tag is attached to each food.

The RF receiver 102 receives RF-ID information transmitted from the RF-ID tag 10 and provides the received RF-ID information to the controller 104.

The controller 104 stores the food information in the food information DB 106 from the RF-ID information provided from the RF receiver 102. At this time, the control unit 104 collects previous food information as well as the corresponding food information and makes a database.

In addition, the controller 104 controls such individual food information and the collected food information to be displayed outside the refrigerator through the display 108.

In particular, the control unit 104 according to the present invention compares the manufacturing date and the current date of the food information databased in the food information DB 106, and displays a warning message when there is a food that is a preset remaining storage days through the display unit Control to display externally.

The display unit 108 is formed outside the refrigerator and serves to display the above-mentioned individual food information, the collected food information, and a warning message according to the control signal of the controller 104. The display unit 108 is typically The LCD provided in the refrigerator may be applied, and the fact will be easily understood by those skilled in the art.

Hereinafter, the food information management method in the refrigerator according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying flowchart of FIG. 2.

First, in step S200, the controller 104 controls to transmit an RF signal through the RF transmitter 100, and proceeds to step S202 to determine whether an RF signal is received through the RF receiver 102. That is, since the RF signal is received when the food with the RF-ID tag is stored in the refrigerator, the control unit 104 determines this.

As a result of the determination in step S202, when the RF signal is received, the controller 104 proceeds to step S204, extracts the RF-ID information from the received RF signal, and extracts the food information from the extracted RF-ID information. The database is databased in the DB 106.

Subsequently, in step S206, the controller 104 determines whether the previous food information exists in the food information DB 106, and collects the received food information into the food information DB 106 when the previous food information exists. Meanwhile, the collected food information is displayed through the display unit 108.

On the other hand, if the previous food information does not exist in the food information DB 106, the control unit 104 proceeds to step S210 to display only the received food information through the display unit 108.

In step S212, the control unit 104 compares the date of manufacture of the food information to the database with the current date, and proceeds to step S214.

In step S214, the controller 104 determines whether there is a food item having a preset remaining storage day, and if there is a food item having a preset remaining storage day, the controller 104 proceeds to step S216 to provide a warning message for the food. The display unit 108 is controlled to output. That is, the present embodiment is characterized in that it is implemented to detect the manufacturing date of the food stored in the refrigerator in real time and to warn the user about the food that has passed the expiration date.

On the other hand, if the user confirmation key signal is applied through the key input unit 110 in the process of outputting such a warning message (S218), the control unit 104 proceeds to step S220 whether the RF-ID signal of the food is detected. Judge.

As a result of the determination in step S220, if the RF-ID signal of the food is not detected, the controller 104 proceeds to step S222 to stop the above-described warning message output and clear the food information.

As described above, the present invention attaches the RF-ID tag containing information such as the name of the food, the year of manufacture, the date of manufacture of the food to the outer packaging of the food to read the RF-ID tag inside the refrigerator to read the relevant information of the food It is for external display.

According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently manage the food stored in the refrigerator, thereby increasing the user satisfaction.

As mentioned above, although this invention was concretely demonstrated based on the Example, this invention is not limited to this Example, Of course, various changes are possible within the range which does not deviate from the summary.

Claims (4)

delete delete A food information management method in a refrigerator that obtains RF-ID information by RF transmission / reception of a food with an RF-ID tag including food information including a food name and a manufacturing date, Determining whether an RF signal is received and extracting RF-ID information from the received RF signal when the RF signal is received; Database food information from the RF-ID information; Comparing the manufacturing date and the current date of the database-based food information; Determining whether there is a food remaining as a preset remaining storage day and outputting a warning message for the food when the food having a predetermined remaining storage day exists as a result of the comparison; Stopping the output of the warning message and clearing the food information if a user confirmation key signal is applied and the RF-ID signal of the food is not detected Food information management method in the refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 3, wherein The method comprises: Determining whether there is a previous food information after the database of the food information; Collecting the received food information and displaying the received food information outside the refrigerator, if the previous food information exists; Displaying only the food information to the outside of the refrigerator if there is no previous food information. Food information management method in the refrigerator comprising a further.

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