KR20170017326A - Refregerator providing inside image using camera - Google Patents

Refregerator providing inside image using camera Download PDF

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Publication number
KR20170017326A
KR20170017326A KR1020150111074A KR20150111074A KR20170017326A KR 20170017326 A KR20170017326 A KR 20170017326A KR 1020150111074 A KR1020150111074 A KR 1020150111074A KR 20150111074 A KR20150111074 A KR 20150111074A KR 20170017326 A KR20170017326 A KR 20170017326A
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KR
South Korea
Prior art keywords
refrigerator
user
camera
door
display
Prior art date
Application number
KR1020150111074A
Other languages
Korean (ko)
Inventor
이보원
김상홍
Original Assignee
인하대학교 산학협력단
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by 인하대학교 산학협력단 filed Critical 인하대학교 산학협력단
Priority to KR1020150111074A priority Critical patent/KR20170017326A/en
Publication of KR20170017326A publication Critical patent/KR20170017326A/en

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D29/00—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
    • F25D29/005—Mounting of control devices
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D23/00—General constructional features
    • F25D23/02—Doors; Covers
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D27/00—Lighting arrangements
    • F25D27/005—Lighting arrangements combined with control means
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D2400/00—General features of, or devices for refrigerators, cold rooms, ice-boxes, or for cooling or freezing apparatus not covered by any other subclass
    • F25D2400/36—Visual displays
    • F25D2400/361—Interactive visual displays

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Cold Air Circulating Systems And Constructional Details In Refrigerators (AREA)

Abstract

Disclosed are a refrigerator providing an inside image using a camera and a control method thereof. The refrigerator comprises: a display provided in a door of the refrigerator; at least one camera mounted to photograph the inside of the refrigerator; a detection unit detecting a touch by a user or an approach of the user; and a control unit controlling an inside image of the refrigerator acquired through the camera to be shown in the display when the touch by the user or the approach of the user is detected.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator for providing an internal image using a camera,

Embodiments of the present invention relate to techniques for identifying the interior of a refrigerator without opening the door.

In general, a refrigerator has a space for storing foods and articles, and stores food and articles at a low temperature for a long period of time by a cooling cycle in which refrigerant is circulated to perform heat exchange.

In the case of household refrigerators, most of the power loss is caused by opening and closing the door of the refrigerator because the presence or absence of the contents inside the refrigerator and its position can not be known without opening the door of the refrigerator.

Most of the time, opening and closing the door is not enough to check the contents, not to insert or remove food ingredients, so it is possible to drastically reduce power consumption if the contents can be confirmed without opening the door.

For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2007-0093290 (published on September 18, 2007) uses RF signals to manage the information of articles stored in the refrigerator, thereby detecting unnecessary goods, A refrigerator having a management function of a storage that improves the convenience of the user by confirming and storing the refrigerator and its management method.

Provided is a refrigerator that minimizes the loss of cold air generated when a door is opened by allowing the contents to be checked without opening the door when using the household refrigerator, and a control method thereof.

Provided is a refrigerator and a control method thereof, which allow the user to confirm desired contents and their position without opening the refrigerator when the inside is not normally visible.

A refrigerator comprising: a display provided on a door of a refrigerator; At least one camera mounted to photograph the inside of the refrigerator; A sensing unit for sensing a touch by a user or an approach of the user; And a control unit for controlling the display unit to display an internal image of the refrigerator obtained through the camera when the touch by the user or the approach of the user is detected.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator which further includes an illumination unit installed as an internal illumination of the refrigerator, wherein when the touch by the user or the user's approach is sensed, And controls the internal image of the refrigerator to be displayed on the display.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the door of the refrigerator is made of a glass material having a reflectance and a transmittance different according to a difference in brightness between the inside and the outside of the refrigerator.

A control method of a refrigerator implemented by a computer, wherein the refrigerator includes a display provided on a door and at least one camera mounted to photograph the inside of the refrigerator, wherein the control method uses a sensor value configured in the refrigerator Recognizing the touch by the user or the access by the user; And displaying the internal image of the refrigerator obtained through the camera on the display when the touch by the user or the approach of the user is recognized.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the control method further includes turning off the internal illumination when a predetermined time has elapsed after the internal image is displayed, or when the door is opened and closed.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, when the domestic refrigerator is used, the content is checked without opening the door, thereby minimizing the loss of cold air generated by opening the door of the refrigerator.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the inside of the refrigerator can be easily checked from the outside without additional power consumption by making it possible to check the contents and position of the inside without opening the refrigerator when necessary.

1 is an exemplary view for explaining a door structure of a domestic refrigerator in an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram for explaining an internal configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a domestic refrigerator in an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a technology that allows the user to check the contents and the position of the inside of a refrigerator without opening the refrigerator door when the user does not see the inside of the refrigerator in order to reduce power consumption of the refrigerator.

In this specification, a method for selectively showing the interior of a refrigerator is presented. In this embodiment, a display panel outside the refrigerator which is widely used recently is used, and the inside of the refrigerator can be confirmed from the outside by photographing the inside through the camera mounted inside the refrigerator and displaying the camera image on the display.

In the present specification, the household refrigerator is described as a representative example, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and applicable to refrigerators of all kinds and applications such as a showcase refrigerator for business use.

1 is an exemplary view for explaining a door structure of a domestic refrigerator in an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator 100 according to the present invention includes a display panel 103 provided on at least one door 101. At this time, the display panel 103 includes a display means and an input means. For example, a touch screen may be used.

The display panel 103 is a function that is already in use and stores information internally processed in the refrigerator 100 (for example, current temperature and error code) or information received from the outside by the refrigerator 100 Information, etc.), as well as means for inputting information to be set or registered by the user (for example, set temperature, mode setting, etc.).

Particularly, in the present embodiment, the display panel 103 is utilized as means for outputting an internal image of the refrigerator 100. At this time, the display panel 103 may be configured in a form integrated with a display panel used for a conventional use, or may be a dedicated display panel for outputting an internal image of the refrigerator 100. [

In addition, the refrigerator 100 according to the present invention further includes a camera (not shown) installed in at least one place inside the refrigerator 100 to photograph the inside of the refrigerator 100. The camera is not limited in the installation method, position, and the like, and is all possible if the inside of the refrigerator 100 can be photographed.

Accordingly, the refrigerator 100 according to the present invention can provide a camera image acquired in a closed state of the door 101, that is, an internal image of the refrigerator 100, through the display panel 103 on the door 101.

The refrigerator 100 generally has a storage space divided into a plurality of inner rooms (for example, a refrigerator, a freezer, and a vegetable room). Accordingly, in the refrigerator 100 according to the present invention, a camera can be mounted for each room, and camera images for each room can be collectively or selectively provided.

Further, the door 101 of the refrigerator 100 according to the present invention may be made of a glass of a specific material, the interior of which is selectively visible according to the difference in brightness inside / outside the refrigerator 100. At least a part of the front surface of the door 101 may be formed as a mirror, and the door 101 may be made of a material having different transmittance and reflectance depending on brightness.

For example, a spandrel glass may be used for the door 101, wherein the spindle glass is relatively dark in a relatively bright place, but relatively bright or relatively bright in a relatively dark place The place has a characteristic that is visible.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the internal configuration of the refrigerator 100 described with reference to FIG.

2, the refrigerator 100 according to the present invention may include a sensing unit 210, an illumination unit 220, a camera 230, a display unit 240, and a controller 250. The refrigerator 100 may include more components than the components of FIG. 2, but there is no need to clearly illustrate most of the prior art components.

The sensing unit 210 of the internal structure of the refrigerator 100 senses a touch by a user or an approach of a user.

For example, the sensing unit 210 may use a touch sensor configured at a specific position of the refrigerator 100 (for example, a refrigerator operation panel or a handle) to allow a user to place a part of a body such as a hand in the refrigerator 100 When touching, the touch can be recognized.

In another example, the sensing unit 210 may sense a user approaching the refrigerator 100 without a direct user's touch using a distance measuring sensor (e.g., an infrared sensor).

As another example, the sensing unit 210 may be configured to sense motion of a user who is close to the refrigerator 100 using an operation recognition sensor (e.g., an acceleration sensor).

The camera 230 is mounted inside the refrigerator 100 and can acquire an image of the inside of the refrigerator 100. That is, the camera 230 can be used as a means for checking the inside of the refrigerator 100 without opening the door 101.

The lighting unit 220 serves to illuminate the inside of the refrigerator 100, and may be constituted by LED lighting, for example. The lighting unit 220 may be installed on at least one part of the upper wall of the refrigerator 100 and may be turned on or off depending on whether the door 101 is opened or closed.

In this embodiment, when the contents of the inside of the refrigerator 100 are to be checked without opening the door 101, an image obtained through the camera 230 is provided. At this time, Can be turned on.

The display unit 240 serves to output an image obtained through the camera 230. [ The display unit 240 corresponds to the display panel 103 on the door 101 described with reference to FIG.

The control unit 250 serves as a processor configured to process commands of a computer program by performing basic arithmetic, logic, and input / output operations. At this time, the command may be provided to the control unit 250 by a memory (not shown). For example, the control unit 250 may be configured to execute a command received in accordance with a program code stored in a recording device such as a memory.

In particular, when the sensing unit 250 receives a sensing result by a user or a user's access from the sensing unit 250, the sensing unit 250 recognizes the sensed result as a user input for confirming the contents of the refrigerator 100, And may output the internal image of the refrigerator 100 obtained from the camera 230 through the display unit 240 as a response to the user input.

Accordingly, the user can check the content and location of the inside of the refrigerator 100 through the camera image displayed on the display unit 240 without opening the door 101 of the refrigerator 100.

At this time, when the door 101 of the refrigerator 100 is composed of spandrel glass, the inside of the refrigerator 100 becomes relatively brighter as compared with the outside of the refrigerator 100 as the internal lighting is turned on. At this time, The content of the inside of the refrigerator 100 can be seen without opening the door 101 from outside the refrigerator 100 as the permeability increases.

Accordingly, the user can confirm the content and location of the inside of the refrigerator 100 as the door 101 becomes transparent due to the internal illumination as well as the camera image displayed on the display on the door 101.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a domestic refrigerator in an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator control method according to the present invention is a control process of the refrigerator 100 described with reference to FIG. 1, and each step may be performed by the control unit 250 described with reference to FIG.

In step 301, the controller 250 may maintain the overall condition of the refrigerator 100 in a standby state when there is no special event. At this time, the control unit 250 controls the means for maintaining the internal illumination (i.e., the illumination unit 220) of the refrigerator 100 in an off state and acquiring and outputting the internal image of the refrigerator 100 ), And the display unit 240) are all kept in the standby state.

In step 302, the controller 250 determines whether a user input for checking contents in the refrigerator 100 is sensed. At this time, the controller 250 can sense the touch or the approach by the user through the sensing means (i.e., the sensing unit 210) and sense it as a user input signal for requesting the content confirmation of the refrigerator 100 have.

In step 303, when a user input signal for requesting content confirmation of the refrigerator 100 is sensed, the controller 250 switches the refrigerator 100 into an active state in which the content of the refrigerator 100 can be checked, And the camera can be turned on.

In step 304, the controller 250 outputs an image obtained through the camera, that is, an internal image of the refrigerator 100, to the display while the camera is operating as the refrigerator 100 is turned on.

Accordingly, the controller 250 turns on the internal illumination of the refrigerator 100 and the camera and displays the internal image of the refrigerator 100 on the display in response to the user's request for confirming the contents of the refrigerator 100, 100) can be identified.

At this time, when the door 101 of the refrigerator 100 is made of spandrel glass, the transparency of the spiral glass is maintained while the internal illumination is on, and the contents inside the refrigerator 100 are seen. Accordingly, the user can visually check the inside of the refrigerator at different points of view through the door that is selectively in a transparent state and the display in which the internal image of the refrigerator is displayed, and can easily confirm the desired contents and its position without opening the refrigerator door.

The control unit 250 maintains the standby state of the refrigerator 100 when the user input signal for requesting the content confirmation of the refrigerator 100 is not sensed and maintains the internal illumination and the camera also in the off state.

In step 305, the controller 250 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the internal image of the refrigerator 100 was provided. At this time, the predetermined time means a time for providing the camera image for internal confirmation of the refrigerator 100, and may be set to a default value or directly set by the user.

The control unit 250 maintains the corresponding state for a predetermined time after the internal image of the refrigerator 100 is output to the display and automatically switches the refrigerator 100 to the standby state at a point of time after a predetermined time elapses, The display can also be switched to the standby state.

If the door 101 is opened and closed even though the internal image of the refrigerator 100 is displayed on the display for a predetermined period of time, the controller 250 controls the refrigerator 100 to stand by at the time when the door 101 is closed . ≪ / RTI >

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the contents and the position of the inside can be confirmed without opening the refrigerator when necessary, but the user can easily check the inside of the refrigerator from the outside without additional power consumption .

The apparatus described above may be implemented as a hardware component, a software component, and / or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the apparatus and components described in the embodiments may be implemented as a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the operating system. The processing device may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to execution of the software. For ease of understanding, the processing apparatus may be described as being used singly, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the processing apparatus may have a plurality of processing elements and / As shown in FIG. For example, the processing unit may comprise a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. Other processing configurations are also possible, such as a parallel processor.

The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of the foregoing, and may be configured to configure the processing device to operate as desired or to process it collectively or collectively Device can be commanded. The software and / or data may be in the form of any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage media, or device , Or may be permanently or temporarily embodied in a transmitted signal wave. The software may be distributed over a networked computer system and stored or executed in a distributed manner. The software and data may be stored on one or more computer readable recording media.

The method according to an embodiment may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions to be recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and configured for the embodiments or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

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. For example, it is to be understood that the techniques described may be performed in a different order than the described methods, and / or that components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, Lt; / RTI > or equivalents, even if it is replaced or replaced.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims are also within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (5)

In the refrigerator,
A display provided on a door of the refrigerator;
At least one camera mounted to photograph the inside of the refrigerator;
A sensing unit for sensing a touch by a user or an approach of the user; And
A control unit for controlling the display unit to display an internal image of the refrigerator acquired through the camera when the touch of the user or the approach of the user is sensed,
. The method according to claim 1,
And a lighting unit
Further comprising:
Wherein,
And controlling the display of the internal image of the refrigerator obtained through the camera after turning on the internal illumination of the refrigerator when the touch by the user or the approach of the user is detected
. 3. The method of claim 2,
The door of the refrigerator is made of a glass material whose reflectance and transmittance are different according to the difference in brightness between the inside and the outside of the refrigerator
. A control method of a refrigerator implemented by a computer,
Wherein the refrigerator includes a display provided on a door and at least one camera mounted to photograph the inside of the refrigerator,
In the control method,
Recognizing a touch by the user or access by the user using the sensor value configured in the refrigerator; And
Displaying the internal image of the refrigerator obtained through the camera on the display when the touch by the user or the approach of the user is recognized
And a controller for controlling the refrigerator. 5. The method of claim 4,
In the control method,
When the predetermined time has elapsed after the internal image is displayed or when the door is opened and closed,
Further comprising the steps of:
KR1020150111074A 2015-08-06 2015-08-06 Refregerator providing inside image using camera KR20170017326A (en)

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Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
KR20190009663A (en) * 2017-07-19 2019-01-29 엘지전자 주식회사 Door of refrigerator and refrigerator including the same
WO2019160251A1 (en) * 2018-02-13 2019-08-22 엘지전자 주식회사 Refrigerator and method for processing information using artificial intelligence according to input pattern
KR20190137271A (en) * 2018-06-01 2019-12-11 엘지전자 주식회사 Refrigerator and Controlling method for the same
KR102234771B1 (en) * 2019-12-20 2021-04-01 엘지전자 주식회사 Artificial intelligence refrigerator

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
KR20190009663A (en) * 2017-07-19 2019-01-29 엘지전자 주식회사 Door of refrigerator and refrigerator including the same
WO2019160251A1 (en) * 2018-02-13 2019-08-22 엘지전자 주식회사 Refrigerator and method for processing information using artificial intelligence according to input pattern
KR20190137271A (en) * 2018-06-01 2019-12-11 엘지전자 주식회사 Refrigerator and Controlling method for the same
KR102234771B1 (en) * 2019-12-20 2021-04-01 엘지전자 주식회사 Artificial intelligence refrigerator
WO2021125453A1 (en) * 2019-12-20 2021-06-24 엘지전자 주식회사 Artificial intelligence refrigerator
US11669722B2 (en) 2019-12-20 2023-06-06 Lg Electronics Inc. Artificial intelligence refrigerator

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