KR101832227B1 - Appartus for inspecting the degree of freshness of egg and refrigerator having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for inspecting freshness degree of eggs, and to a refrigerator, wherein the device for inspecting freshness degree of eggs comprises: a light source for irradiating an egg with light for determining the freshness degree of eggs and supplying display light of a color corresponding to the freshness degree of the identified egg to the periphery of the eggs or eggs; an image acquiring unit for acquiring an image of an egg onto which the light supplied from a light source is projected; and a control unit for determining the freshness degree of the eggs based on the image of the eggs provided through the image acquiring unit and controlling the light source to emit display light of a color corresponding to the freshness degree of the eggs.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an egg freshness discriminating apparatus,

The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining freshness of eggs and a refrigerator including the same.

Refrigerator.

The existing methods of quality control of eggs are largely based on internal quality and external quality standards. The external quality is determined by naked eye determination with regard to the degree of contamination and strength of the egg shell, and the internal quality is indexed by Haugh unit (HU) method considering egg weight and egg height . HU freshness measurement method is widely used for egg grading system and commercial use, and since the eggs are wakened and judged, the limit of the number of places to be carried out and the number of investigations are also limited.

It is also difficult to judge whether the freshness of the egg is reduced during the distribution process.

In addition, since a large number of eggs belonging to a group can not be destroyed one by one and freshness can not be judged, only a small number corresponding to the sample value is destroyed to determine the freshness, and accordingly, the freshness of the entire group is judged by only the sample value. Therefore, there is a problem that the reliability of the freshness evaluation and determination is poor.

Further, there is a problem in that freshness is not evaluated and determined at all because it is difficult to determine the freshness of the state even though the freshness is decreased depending on the storage state and environment during distribution.

Therefore, there is a desperate need for a system and method that can ensure the reliability of fresh eggs by evaluating and determining the freshness without destroying the eggs.

The present invention provides a freshness discriminating apparatus for eggs and a refrigerator including the same, which provide information about the freshness of eggs to consumers without destroying the eggs.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a light source for irradiating an egg with an irradiation light for determining freshness of an egg and supplying display light of a color corresponding to the freshness of the identified egg to the periphery of the egg or the egg, An image acquiring unit for acquiring an image of an egg projected with the irradiation light supplied thereto, and an image acquiring unit for acquiring an image of the egg based on the image of the egg provided through the image acquiring unit, And a control unit for controlling the light source, and a refrigerator.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, one or more of the following effects can be obtained.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the user visually recognizes the freshness of eggs.

In addition, according to the present invention, since freshness information of eggs is provided only in the case where the door of the refrigerator is opened, energy of the refrigerator can be saved and durability can be improved.

1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 when the door is opened;
FIG. 3 is a view showing a state where an egg freshness discriminating device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a door of a refrigerator;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an apparatus for determining freshness of eggs according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the apparatus for determining the freshness of eggs shown in FIG. 4,
6A is a control block diagram of an apparatus for determining freshness of eggs according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 6B is a view for explaining the wave inspection, which is an example of freshness inspection of eggs,
6C and 6D are diagrams for explaining the egg color test, which is an example of the freshness test of eggs,
7 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for determining freshness of eggs according to another embodiment of the present invention,
8 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention,
9 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. To fully disclose the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

The terms spatially relative, "below", "beneath", "lower", "above", "upper" Can be used to easily describe the correlation of components with other components. Spatially relative terms should be understood as terms that include different orientations of components during use or operation in addition to those shown in the drawings. For example, when inverting an element shown in the figures, an element described as "below" or "beneath" of another element may be placed "above" another element . Thus, the exemplary term "below" can include both downward and upward directions. The components can also be oriented in different directions, so that spatially relative terms can be interpreted according to orientation.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of illustrating embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. &Quot; comprises "and / or" comprising ", as used herein, unless the recited component, step, and / or step does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements, steps and / I never do that.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used in a sense commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Also, commonly used predefined terms are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless explicitly defined otherwise.

In the drawings, the thickness and the size of each component are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically shown for convenience and clarity of explanation. Also, the size and area of each component do not entirely reflect actual size or area.

Further, the angles and directions mentioned in the description of the structure of the embodiment are based on those shown in the drawings. In the description of the structures constituting the embodiments in the specification, reference points and positional relationships with respect to angles are not explicitly referred to, reference is made to the relevant drawings.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings for explaining a refrigerator according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 when the door is opened; Is mounted on the door of the refrigerator.

1 to 3, a refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 3 having a plurality of storage portions S for storing food, a door 4 for opening and closing the main body 3, And a door switch 160 sensing that the door 4 is opened or closed.

At least one storage chamber S may be formed in the main body 3. When a plurality of storage compartments S are formed in the main body 3, a plurality of storage compartments S may be partitioned by a barrier. The main body 3 may include an upper storage chamber and a lower storage chamber, or may include a left storage chamber and a right storage chamber. The main body 3 may include a refrigerating chamber located on the upper side and a freezing chamber located on the lower side of the refrigerating chamber.

The main body 3 may include a cooling device for cooling the storage chamber S. [ The cooling device may include a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, a condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor, an expansion mechanism for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser, and an evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism.

The main body 3 may include a storage room (S) fan (not shown) for supplying cool air of the storage room S to the storage room S after flowing into the evaporator. The main body 3 may include a cool air duct (not shown) for guiding the air cooled by the evaporator to the storage room S. The cool air duct may be formed with a cool air discharge port (not shown) for discharging cool air guided to the storage room S.

A plurality of doors 4 can open / close the storage room S, and a plurality of doors 4 can open / close the storage room S together. The door 4 and the main body 3 may be provided with a door switch 160 for detecting the opening of the door 4.

The door switch 160 senses that the door 4 opens and closes the main body 3 and transmits the detection result to the control unit 250. Various known techniques for detecting whether the door 4 is opened can be used for the door switch 160.

The refrigerator may be provided with an egg freshness determination device 200 for storing eggs and determining the freshness of the eggs. For example, the egg freshness determination device 200 may be detachably installed in the door 4 or the main body 3.

Specifically, the case 210 of the freshness determination device 200 of the egg can be detachably attached to the rear surface of the door 4. The case 210 can be detachably attached to the rear surface of the door 4 in various ways. A mounting portion holder 42 is formed on the inside of the mounting portion 41 and a width of the mounting portion 41 is formed to be larger than a width of the mounting portion 41. [ (41), and can be coupled in a fitting manner.

Hereinafter, the egg freshness determination device 200 will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an egg freshness determination device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the egg freshness determination device 200 shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of an apparatus 200 for determining freshness of eggs according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6A, an apparatus 200 for determining freshness of eggs according to an embodiment of the present invention irradiates an egg with irradiation light for the degree of cracking of eggs, and determines the color of the egg corresponding to the freshness of the identified egg An image acquiring unit 290 for acquiring an image of the projected egg irradiated with light supplied from the light source 240, an image acquiring unit 290 provided through the image acquiring unit 290, And a control unit 250 for controlling the light source 240 to determine the freshness of the egg based on the image of the egg and to emit display light of a color corresponding to the freshness of the egg.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the egg freshness determination device 200 may be installed in a refrigerator or installed separately to store or accommodate eggs, and provide information on the freshness of the eggs to a user.

The freshness determination device 200 of an egg may include a case 210 capable of receiving eggs and accommodating different configurations. The case 210 has at least one egg receptacle 220 for receiving the eggs.

The egg receiving part 220 may be formed as a groove or a hole in which the egg is mounted. Specifically, the egg receptacle 220 may have a structure in which a light source hole 214 through which light emitted from the light source 240 passes is disposed at a center of a groove formed in a lower part of the case 210 . However, the shape of the egg receptacle 220 is not limited to this, and may have various structures capable of stably receiving eggs. A plurality of the egg storage portions 220 may be disposed in the case 210.

The case 210 may be formed by combining one structure or a plurality of structures. For example, the case 210 may include an outer case 211 having an opened top and an inner case 213 defining an inner space 212 of the outer case 211.

The inner case 213 divides the inner space of the outer case 211 into upper and lower portions. At this time, it is preferable that the egg receptacle 220 is disposed in the inner case 213. The light source 240 may be disposed in a space between the bottom surface of the outer case 211 and the inner case 213.

The light source 240 irradiates the egg with the irradiation light for judging the freshness of the egg and supplies the display light of the color corresponding to the freshness of the determined egg to the periphery of the egg or the egg. The light source 240 can output the display light of the color corresponding to the freshness of the irradiation light and the egg for determining the freshness. As another example, the light source 240 may be constituted by two separate light source portions that emit the irradiation light and the output light, or one light source portion may perform the two functions simultaneously.

Hereinafter, a structure in which one light source 240 emits the irradiation light and the display light will be described in detail, and a structure in which the two light source portions emit the irradiation light and the output light, respectively, will be described later with reference to FIG.

The light source 240 emits an irradiation light source. The light source 240 emits one of ultraviolet rays, visible rays, and infrared rays as an irradiation light source. If the irradiation light source is ultraviolet light, the freshness of the eggs is determined through the color of the eggs irradiated with the ultraviolet rays in the image of the eggs obtained by the image acquisition unit 290. In the case where the irradiation light source is an infrared ray visible light, the freshness of the egg can be determined through the wave angle of the egg or the degree of the crack through the shape of the light transmitted through the egg in the image of the egg obtained by the image acquiring unit 290. A detailed description of the freshness determination method of eggs will be described later.

The light source 240 is disposed at a position where light can be irradiated to each egg. Specifically, it may include a light emitting element 243 and a circuit board 241 on which the light emitting element 243 is disposed.

The light emitting element 243 may be, for example, a light emitting diode. The light emitting diode may be, for example, a colored light emitting diode that emits light such as red, green, blue, or white, or a UV (Ultra Violet) light emitting diode that emits ultraviolet light.

Specifically, the light emitting device 243 may have a structure in which light emitting diodes emitting red, green, or blue light are arranged in one group. Therefore, in the light emitting element 243, the light emitting element 243 emits visible light as irradiation light, and can emit light of various colors as display light.

As another example, the light emitting device 243 may include a light emitting diode that emits red, green, or blue light and a UV (Ultra Violet) light emitting diode. Therefore, the light emitting element 243 emits ultraviolet rays as the irradiation light, and can emit light of various colors as display light.

The light source 240 includes at least one irradiation light portion 240a arranged corresponding to the eggs to supply the irradiation light and at least one display light portion 240b for supplying the display light of the color corresponding to the freshness of the eggs .

The irradiation light source unit 240a may emit one of ultraviolet rays, visible rays, and infrared rays. It is preferable that the irradiation light source unit 240a is disposed so as to overlap vertically or horizontally with the eggs.

The display light source unit 240b supplies the display light of the color corresponding to the freshness of the eggs. The display light source unit may be disposed at a different position from the irradiation light source unit 240a, or may be installed at the same position as the irradiation light source unit 240a. Of course, the display light source unit 240b may use the same light source 240 as the irradiation light source unit 240a.

For example, the display light source unit 240b forms a group of a plurality of light emitting devices 243 emitting different colors.

The irradiation light source unit 240a and the display light source unit 240b are arranged in a number corresponding to the number of eggs accommodated.

The circuit board 241 provides a space in which the light emitting element 243 is disposed and provides electricity to the light emitting element 243 and is electrically connected to the light emitting element 243. [

The light source 240 is arranged to correspond to the eggs so as to supply illumination light to the eggs and supply display light to the periphery of the eggs.

For example, the light source 240 may be disposed to correspond to the egg receptacle 220. Specifically, each light emitting element 243 or group of light emitting elements 243 may be disposed so as to be overlapped with the egg receiving portion 220. Each group of the light emitting devices 243 or the light emitting devices 243 may be vertically overlapped with the light source holes 214 formed in the egg accommodating unit 220. Thus, the light emitted from the light source 240 is effectively provided to the eggs.

More specifically, the light source 240 is disposed between the bottom surface of the outer case 211 and the inner case 213. The circuit board 241 may be disposed on the bottom surface of the outer case 211. The light source 240 may be disposed in the opposite direction to the image acquisition unit 290 about the egg. Therefore, it is preferable that the image acquisition unit 290 is disposed on the upper portion of the inner case 213. This is because the freshness of the egg is determined on the basis of the image transmitted through the egg of the irradiated light emitted from the light source 240, so that an image of the egg taken in the opposite direction of the light source 240 is required. In addition, since the light source 240 is disposed in the space between the inner case 213 and the outer case 211, there is an advantage that the light source 240 is not exposed to the outside.

Here, the irradiation light source unit 240a is positioned between the inner case 213 and the outer case 211 and is arranged to overlap the eggs, but the display light source unit 240b is disposed between the inner case 213 and the outer case 211 May be disposed in the upper part of the inner case 213, may be arranged to overlap with the eggs, or may not be overlapped with the eggs.

The embodiment may further include a light guiding member 230 for guiding and diffusing the display light supplied from the light source 240. [ The light guiding member 230 makes it easy for the user to visually recognize in the vicinity of each egg of the display light indicating the freshness of each egg.

The display light emitted from the display light source unit 240b is transmitted to the display light source unit 240b when the inner case 213 is transparent, It is not easy for the user to recognize the display light emitted from the display light source unit 240b when the inner case 213 is opaque.

Therefore, the light guiding member 230 serves to guide the display light corresponding to the freshness of each egg to the periphery of the corresponding egg.

The light guiding member 230 is disposed around the respective egg receiving portions 220 to guide the display light supplied from the light source 240. Specifically, the light guiding member 230 has a ring shape and has a form of enclosing an egg housed in the egg accommodating portion 220. More specifically, the light guiding member 230 may be arranged to penetrate the inner case 213 in such a manner as to surround the rim of the egg storage unit 220. At this time, the inner case 213 and the outer case 211 are preferably made of an impermeable material.

The light guiding member 230 may include a material that performs light transmission, diffusion, and scattering. The light guiding member 230 may include at least one of an optical pipe, a light guiding film, a diffusion film, and a prism film.

The image acquiring unit 290 acquires an image of an egg onto which the irradiation light supplied from the light source 240 is projected. The image acquiring unit 290 preferably acquires an image of the egg viewed from above the inner case 213, as described above.

The image acquisition unit 290 is an apparatus for acquiring an image. The image acquisition unit 290 may include a camera as an example. The image acquisition unit 290 may include an image sensor and an image processing module. The image acquisition unit 290 can process still images or moving images obtained by an image sensor (e.g., CMOS or CCD). The image processing module processes the still image or moving image obtained through the image sensor, extracts necessary information, and transmits the extracted information to the control unit 250 described later. The control unit 250 can determine the acceptability of the egg and the freshness of the egg by the image of the egg obtained by the image acquiring unit 290. [

The image acquiring unit 290 can be disposed at a position where the image of the egg (the image of the projected egg) can be accurately obtained. For example, the image acquiring unit 290 may be fixed to the outer case 211 and may be positioned above the inner case 213. [ As another example, the acquisition unit may be installed in the main body 3 or the door 4 of the refrigerator.

The embodiment may further include a detection sensor 280 for detecting whether or not the eggs are received. The detection sensor 280 provides the control unit 250 with data on the presence or absence of eggs housed in the egg receptacle 220. The sensing sensor 280 may include a pressure sensor or a proximity sensor.

The proximity sensor senses the presence of an egg positioned in the egg receptacle 220 and provides it to the control unit 250. The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects the presence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface, or an object existing in the vicinity of the detection surface, without mechanical contact by using electromagnetic force or infrared rays. Examples of proximity sensors include a transmission type photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection type photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation type proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor. Specifically, the proximity sensor is preferably installed in the inner case 213.

 The pressure sensor measures the pressure applied to the plurality of egg storage parts 220 and outputs the pressure value to the control unit 250. [ The control unit 250 detects whether eggs exist in each of the plurality of egg storage units 220 based on the pressure value input from the pressure sensor. Specifically, the pressure sensor may be installed in the egg receptacle 220 of the inner case 213.

Of course, the sensing sensor 280 according to the embodiment may be omitted, and the analysis of the image acquired by the image acquiring unit 290 may be used to determine acceptance of the egg.

The control unit 250 may control the individual components of the egg freshness measuring device and / or the overall operation of each refrigerator component. The control unit 250 may output a control signal to the light source 240 to control the operation or the state of the light source 240. [

For example, control unit 250 may include a processor (not shown) for making logical decisions and a memory (not shown) for storing data.

 The processor may be implemented in hardware as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and other units for performing other functions.

The control unit 250 may be provided in the freshness measuring device of the refrigerator and / or the egg, or may be provided in a server (not shown) connected to the refrigerator through a wire / wireless communication method.

The control unit 250 determines whether the eggs are received in the egg receptacle 220 based on the sensing information provided by the sensing sensor 280 and whether the light sources 240 corresponding to the egg receptors 220 accommodating the eggs (The display light source unit 240a and the display light source unit 240b).

The control unit 250 determines whether the eggs are accommodated in the egg receptacle 220 based on the image of the upper part of the inner case 213 provided through the image acquiring unit 290, (The irradiation light source unit 240a and the display light source unit 240b) corresponding to the light source 240 shown in FIG.

The control unit 250 controls the light source 240 (the irradiation light source unit 240a) corresponding to the egg storage unit 220 in which the eggs are accommodated to emit the irradiation light.

The control unit 250 controls the image acquiring unit 290 to acquire an image of the egg with the irradiation light projected.

The control unit 250 judges the freshness of the egg based on the image of the egg provided through the image acquiring unit 290. Specifically, an image of the egg is analyzed by analyzing the image of the egg irradiated with the irradiation light acquired through the image acquiring unit 290, and the freshness of the egg is measured from the image of the extracted egg by the wave angle, And judges the grade.

For this purpose, the image acquisition unit 290 may be used for image extraction of eggs, for example, by combining a Polynomial Support Vector Machine proposed by Papgeorgiou and Poggio Haar-based approach may be used, or a method using a chamfer distance between the boundary image proposed by Gavrila and Philomin and the sample database, or an extended method proposed by Viola A technique such as a Harr wavelet method can be used.

The control unit 250 controls the light source 240 to emit the display light of the color corresponding to the freshness grade of the egg. Specifically, the control unit 250 outputs a color control signal corresponding to the freshness grade of the egg to the display light source unit 240b corresponding to the egg receptacle 220 in which the eggs are received. At this time, the display light source unit 240b receiving the control signal emits light of a color corresponding to the control signal. More specifically, the display light source unit 240b emits blue or green light as the freshness of the eggs is higher, and emits red light as the freshness of the eggs is lower.

Hereinafter, a method for determining freshness of eggs will be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 6B, in the image of the egg provided through the image acquiring unit 290, the control unit 250 can determine the freshness of the egg according to the amount of light transmitted through the egg.

Specifically, the longer the eggs are not fresh, the finer the cracks (waves) (p) on the surface of the eggs become. In addition, if the wave surface of the egg surface is large, the possibility of infiltration of viruses or germs from the outside through the waveguide is increased, and the possibility of contamination of the eggs is increased.

The control unit 250 extracts the image of the egg through the image of the egg in the state in which the irradiation light is projected, and determines the wave angle inside the image of the egg. In the method of judging the wave angle, it is possible to define a bright region of a predetermined intensity or higher in intensity in the image of the extracted egg as the wave region, and to determine the freshness by the area of the entire wave region with respect to the area of the egg.

Referring to Figures 6C and 6D, the control unit 250,

In the image of the egg provided through the image acquisition unit 290, the freshness of the egg can be determined according to the color of the egg.

Specifically, fresh egg shells are wrapped with a calcium film so that when irradiated with ultraviolet rays, they are reddish as shown in FIG. 6D. However, old and fresh eggs do not have a calcium film, Almost invisible.

The control unit 250 can acquire an image of the egg through the image output unit while irradiating the ruled line in the irradiation light source unit 240a and analyze the image of the obtained egg to determine the freshness of the egg.

7 is a cross-sectional view of an egg freshness determination device 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7, the egg freshness determination device 200A according to another embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. 5 in that the irradiation light source part 240a and the display light source part 240b are separately positioned, and the light shielding part 219 There are further differences to include. Hereinafter, differences from the embodiment of FIG. 5 will be mainly described, description of the same components will be omitted, and the same reference numerals will be used for the same components.

In another embodiment, the light source 240 is located at the irradiation light source unit 240a and the display light source unit 240b, respectively. Specifically, the display light source unit 240b is disposed in a space between the inner case 213 and the bottom surface of the outer case 211. [ The light emitting elements 243 of the display light source unit 240b may be disposed at corresponding positions (vertically overlapping) with the respective egg accommodating units 220. [

The irradiation light source 240a may be disposed at a position where the irradiation light is supplied to the eggs from the upper part of the egg receptacle 220. [ The irradiation light source unit may be located above the inner case 213. The irradiation light source unit may be installed in the outer caisson or the door 4. [ At this time, the irradiation light source supplies ultraviolet rays to each egg.

The light shielding member 219 blocks the light emitted from any one of the light emitting elements 243 of the irradiation light source unit 240a from being emitted to other regions. The light shielding member 219 is made of an impermeable material for shielding light.

The light shielding member 219 is disposed at a boundary between the plurality of egg receiving portions 220. Specifically, the light shielding member 219 extends downward from the inner case 213 to the inner case 213. [ The light shielding member 219 is arranged such that when the light emitting element 243 of the irradiation light source unit 240a corresponding to each egg storage unit 220 emits the irradiation light, Thereby preventing the user from confusing the freshness of the eggs.

FIG. 8 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a terminal 400, a communication unit 150, a door switch 160, and an egg freshness determination apparatus 200.

The description of the door switch 160 is as described above.

The terminal 400 allows users to monitor the control status of the refrigerator or to monitor the freshness of the eggs stored in the refrigerator.

In addition, the terminal 400 can receive a control command of the user and can output a control signal for controlling the refrigerator, receive a control signal corresponding to the freshness of the egg, and output an image or character corresponding to the freshness of the egg have.

The terminal 400 is connected to the refrigerator and / or the control unit 250 by a wire / wireless communication method.

Specifically, the terminal 400 communicates with each other through the communication unit 150 of the refrigerator. The communication unit 150 may communicate with the terminal 400. For example, the communication unit 150 may receive a control signal from the control unit 250 and transmit a control signal to the terminal 400. [

The communication unit 150 may be configured to transmit not only wireless Internet communications such as WLAN (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless Broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA (Bluetooth), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee and the like, and is not limited to any one communication method . However, preferably, the communication unit 150 may use a beacon scheme.

The control unit 250 can control the light source 240 to emit the display light of the color corresponding to the freshness of the egg when the opening of the door 4 is sensed. The control unit 250 can recognize the freshness of eggs stored in the refrigerator by the user when the door 4 is opened, thereby saving energy.

Of course, the control unit 250 transmits to the terminal 400 a control signal corresponding to the freshness of the eggs.

The details of the control method of the refrigerator of the present invention are as follows.

Referring to FIG. 9, first, an egg is received in the egg receptacle 220. (S10) The egg receptacle 220 provided through the image sensing unit or the image sensing unit 280, It is determined whether or not the eggs are accommodated in the respective egg receptors 220 through the images of the eggs. The control unit 250 determines whether the eggs are accommodated in the egg accommodating unit 220 based on the image provided through the image acquiring unit 290 and whether the eggs accommodated in the egg accommodating unit 220 (The irradiation light source unit 240a and the display light source unit 240b).

The irradiation light is emitted from the irradiation light source unit 240a corresponding to the egg storage unit 220 in which the eggs are housed. (S20) Specifically, the control unit 250 outputs a control signal to output light to the light emitting element 243 of the irradiation light source unit 240a corresponding to the accommodating portion in which the eggs are housed.

Obtain an image of the projected egg. (S30) The control unit 250 controls the image acquiring unit 290 to acquire an image of the projected egg and store it as data.

The control unit 250 calculates the freshness grade of the eggs through the image of the obtained egg and stores it as data. (S40)

The control unit 250 determines the open / closed state of the door 4 based on the data input from the door switch 160. [ (S10)

When the door 4 is opened, the display light source unit 240b outputs light of a color corresponding to the degree of linearity of the eggs. Specifically, when determining that the door 4 is open, the control unit 250 outputs a control signal corresponding to the freshness grade of the egg to the display light source unit 240b. (S60)

When the door 4 is closed, the display light source unit 240b is maintained in the OFF state.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It should be understood that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (15)

A light source for irradiating the eggs with the irradiation light for judging the freshness of the eggs and supplying the display light of the color corresponding to the freshness of the identified eggs to the periphery of the eggs or the eggs;
An image acquiring unit for acquiring an image of the egg onto which the irradiation light supplied from the light source is projected;
A control unit for controlling the light source to determine the freshness of the egg based on the image of the egg provided through the image acquiring unit and to emit display light of a color corresponding to the freshness of the egg;
And a case having at least one egg receptacle for receiving the egg,
Wherein a plurality of light sources are provided in each of the egg storage portions,
Wherein the control unit comprises:
The control unit controls the light source corresponding to the egg accommodating part in which the eggs are accommodated to emit the irradiation light and controls the color control signal corresponding to the freshness grade of the eggs to be outputted to the light source corresponding to the egg accommodating part in which the eggs are accommodated Freshness of eggs. The method of claim 1, wherein
The light source includes:
At least one light emitting element corresponding to the egg,
And a circuit board on which the light emitting element is disposed. The method according to claim 1,
The light source includes:
At least one irradiation light part arranged corresponding to the egg to supply irradiation light,
And at least one display light source for supplying display light of a color corresponding to the freshness of the eggs. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the irradiation light source unit emits one of ultraviolet rays, visible rays, and infrared rays. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the display light source unit forms a group of a plurality of light emitting devices emitting different colors. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit comprises:
Wherein the freshness determination unit determines the freshness of the eggs based on the amount of light transmitted through the eggs in the image of the eggs provided through the image acquisition unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit comprises:
Wherein the freshness of the egg is determined according to the color of the egg in the image of the egg provided through the image acquiring unit. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light source is disposed so as to correspond to the egg receptacle. The method according to claim 1,
The light source includes:
At least one light emitting element corresponding to the egg,
And a circuit board on which the light emitting element is disposed,
Wherein the light emitting element is vertically overlapped with the egg receiving part. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a light guide member disposed around the egg receptacle and guiding display light supplied from the light source. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising: a sensor for detecting the acceptance of the egg in the egg receptacle. A main body having a storage chamber;
A cooling device for cooling the storage chamber;
A door for opening and closing the storage room;
And a freshness discriminating device of an egg detachably installed in the door or the main body,
The egg freshness determination device may further comprise:
A light source for irradiating the egg with the irradiation light for judging the freshness of the egg and supplying the display light of the color corresponding to the freshness of the determined egg to the periphery of the egg or the egg;
An image acquiring unit for acquiring an image of the egg onto which the irradiation light supplied from the light source is projected;
A control unit for controlling the light source to determine the freshness of the egg based on the image of the egg provided through the image acquiring unit and to emit display light of a color corresponding to the freshness of the egg;
And a case having at least one egg receptacle for receiving the egg,
Wherein a plurality of light sources are provided in each of the egg storage portions,
Wherein the control unit comprises:
The control unit controls the light source corresponding to the egg accommodating part in which the eggs are accommodated to emit the irradiation light and controls the color control signal corresponding to the freshness grade of the eggs to be outputted to the light source corresponding to the egg accommodating part in which the eggs are accommodated Refrigerator. 14. The method of claim 13,
A door switch for detecting whether or not the door is broken,
Further comprising a detection sensor for detecting whether the egg is received,
The control unit supplies irradiation light when the egg is housed, determines freshness of the egg,
And controls the light source to emit display light of a color corresponding to the freshness of the egg when the opening of the door is sensed. 14. The method of claim 13,
Further comprising a terminal connected to the control unit by a wire / wireless communication method,
Wherein the control unit transmits a control signal corresponding to freshness of eggs to the terminal.

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