KR20180047714A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present invention, provided is a refrigerator. The refrigerator comprises: at least one drawer disposed in a refrigerating compartment or a freezer compartment to form a space for storing foods in the drawer; at least one output unit corresponding to each of drawers and disposed in a door of the refrigerator to output light; and a controller. The controller receives a sensing result of internal environments of a first drawer among the drawers from a sensor apparatus installed in the first drawer, and generates information on freshness of the foods stored in the first drawer based on the received sensing result. Moreover, the controller outputs the generated freshness information using a first output unit corresponding to the first drawer among the output units.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator that senses the freshness of foods by using a sensor device provided in each drawer.

Food is slowly transformed over time, and corruption begins when a certain amount of time passes. In order to slow down such deformation and corruption, food is stored in a low-temperature refrigerator, but the food stored in the refrigerator may eventually deform and decay over time.

Corruption of food means the phenomenon that organic matter is decomposed by the action of microorganisms, and mainly refers to decomposition of proteins. When organic matter is decomposed by microorganisms, gases such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and methane are generated, and odors may be generated by these gases. Food corruption can proceed at a faster rate in a hot and humid environment.

Even though food is deformed or decayed, people often misjudge it and eat food. In this case, there is a risk of food poisoning or the like due to the wrong eating of the food. Measures are needed to prevent these risks.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can confirm the freshness of food stored in a drawer provided in a refrigerating chamber or a freezing chamber without a user opening the door of the refrigerator.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can generate more accurate freshness information based on the type of food based on the information of the food stored in each of the drawers.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including at least one drawer for storing food, at least one refrigerator corresponding to each of the at least one drawer, And may include one output unit. The refrigerator receives the sensing result of the internal environment of the first drawer from the sensor device installed in the first drawer among the at least one drawer and generates freshness information of the food stored in the first drawer from the received sensing result . The refrigerator may output the generated freshness information using a first output unit corresponding to the first drawer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator includes a display unit for displaying information related to an operation of the refrigerator and displaying at least one freshness icon corresponding to each of the at least one drawer. The refrigerator can display the freshness information of the food stored in the first drawer through the first freshness icon corresponding to the first drawer.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a memory for storing food information stored in each of the at least one drawer. The refrigerator can receive the sensing result from the sensor device installed in the first drawer and the identification information of the sensor device, and can identify the sensor device and the first drawer based on the received identification information. Wherein the refrigerator obtains information on the food stored in the first drawer identified from the food information stored in each of the at least one drawer, and based on the obtained information of the food and the sensed result, Lt; / RTI >

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator receives the internal environment sensing result of the drawer from the sensor device installed in the drawer, and intuitively provides the user with information on the freshness of the food stored in the drawer based on the received sensing result .

In particular, since the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention provides freshness information through the output unit or the display unit provided on the door, the user can conveniently check the freshness of food stored in the drawer without opening the door of the refrigerator.

1 is a front view showing a configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing an opened state of a refrigerator door according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
3 is a schematic block diagram of a sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a ladder diagram for explaining the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
5A and 5B are views illustrating the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device shown in FIG.
6 is a view illustrating an example in which a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention provides freshness information of food through a display unit.
7 is a ladder diagram for explaining the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a ladder diagram for explaining the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in this specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing an opened state of a refrigerator door according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, a refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet 11 having a storage room therein and a cabinet 11 disposed on a front surface of the cabinet 11 to selectively open and close the storage room Doors 21 and 22 may be included.

The cabinet 11 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape with its front surface opened. The cabinet 11 may include an outer case 60 forming an outer appearance of the refrigerator 10 and an inner case 70 coupled to the inside of the outer case 60 and forming the inner surface of the storage compartment. Although not shown, a cabinet thermal insulating material may be provided between the outer case 60 and the inner case 70 to perform heat insulation between the outside of the refrigerator 10 and the storage compartment.

The storage chamber may include a refrigerating chamber 12 and a freezing chamber 13. For example, the refrigerating chamber 12 may be formed on the upper portion of the cabinet 11, and the freezing chamber 130 may be formed on the lower portion of the cabinet 11. [ That is, the refrigerating chamber 12 may be disposed above the freezing chamber 13. According to such a configuration, since the refrigerator compartment 12, which is relatively frequently used for storage or retrieval of food, can be disposed at the waist height of the user, it is not necessary to bend the waist when the user uses the refrigerator compartment 12, . However, the arrangement of the refrigerating compartment 12 and the freezing compartment 13 according to the embodiment can be variously changed.

The refrigerator (10) further includes a partition (50) for partitioning the refrigerating compartment (12) and the freezing compartment (13). The partition 50 is provided inside the cabinet 11 and may extend from the front portion to the rear portion of the cabinet 11. [ In one example, the partition 50 may extend rearward from the front portion of the cabinet 11 in a horizontal direction with respect to the ground.

Since the temperatures formed in the refrigerating compartment 12 and the freezing compartment 13 are different from each other, the compartment wall 50 may be provided with a partition wall insulating material for inspecting the refrigerating compartment 12 and the freezing compartment 13.

The doors 21 and 22 include a refrigerator compartment door 21 rotatably provided in front of the refrigerating compartment 12 and a freezer compartment door 22 rotatably provided in front of the freezing compartment 13. As another example, the freezer compartment door 22 may be configured as a drawer door provided so as to be drawable forward.

The refrigerator compartment door 21 has a first handle 21a which can be held by the user and a second handle 22a which is provided on the front surface of the freezer compartment door 22. [

The refrigerator (10) may further include a display unit (25) for displaying the storage room temperature information and the operation state information of the refrigerator (10). For example, the display unit 25 may be provided on the front surface of the refrigerator compartment door 21.

The refrigerator (10) further includes a shelf (31) provided in the storage room for storing food. For example, the shelves 31 are provided in the refrigerating chamber 12, and a plurality of shelves 31 may be provided and spaced apart in the vertical direction.

The refrigerator (10) further includes a drawer (35) provided so as to be pulled forward from the storage room. The drawer 35 is provided in the refrigerating compartment 12 and the freezing compartment 13, respectively, and a storage space for foods can be formed therein. As the front-rear direction width of the storage chamber is larger, the length of the drawer 35 in the fore and aft direction can be increased, so that the draw-out distance of the drawer 35 can be increased. When the draw-out distance of the drawer 35 is increased, convenience for the user to store the food can be increased.

The refrigerator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include at least one sensor device 100_1 to 100_5 provided in each of the drawers 35. [ 1 and 2, two drawers are included in the refrigerating chamber 12 and three drawers are shown as being included in the freezing chamber 13, but this is only an example.

Each of the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_5 may be installed, attached, or mounted on each of the drawers. Each of the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_5 can sense the internal environment of the installed drawer. For example, each of the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_5 can sense the internal environment such as the internal temperature of the drawer, the humidity, and / or the gas (ammonia, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) generated when the food is decayed. Each of the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_5 may transmit the detection result to the refrigerator 10. The structure and operation of the sensor device will be described with reference to FIG.

The refrigerator 10 may include output units 26_1 to 26_5 corresponding to the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_5 or the drawers 35, respectively. The output units 26_1 to 26_5 may be implemented by a light emitting diode (LED), but are not limited thereto. According to the embodiment, each of the output units 26_1 to 26_5 may be embodied as being covered by the outer walls of the doors 21 and 22. Accordingly, the output units 26_1 to 26_5 themselves are not observed from outside, and the user can only confirm the light emitted from the output units 26_1 to 26_5.

Each of the output units 26_1 to 26_5 may be provided at a position corresponding to the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_5 or the drawer 35 in the doors 21 and 22. [ 1 and 2, it can be seen that the first output unit 26_1 corresponds to the first sensor device 100_1 and the second output unit 26_2 corresponds to the second sensor device 100_2 have. Similarly, it can be seen that each of the third output unit 26_3 to the fifth output unit 26_5 corresponds to each of the third sensor device 100_3 to the fifth sensor device 100_5.

The refrigerator 10 can provide freshness information of foods stored in the drawers to the user through the output units 26_1 to 26_5. This will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8. FIG.

3 is a schematic block diagram of a sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, a sensor device 100 of a refrigerator includes a short range communication module 110, a sensor unit 120, an output unit 130, a memory 140, a controller 150, Battery 160 may be included. The components of the sensor device 100 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples for convenience of description, and the components of the sensor device 100 may be changed.

The short-range communication module 110 may include at least one module that supports various short-range wireless communication methods (e.g., Bluetooth, zigbee, etc.). The control unit 150 can sense the internal environment of the drawer using the sensor unit 120 and transmit the state information according to the detection result to the refrigerator 10 through the local communication module 110. [ According to the embodiment, the controller 150 may receive the freshness information based on the status information from the refrigerator 10. According to an embodiment, the status information may include identification information for identifying the sensor device 100. [

The sensor unit 120 can sense the internal environment of the drawer 35 and generate status information according to the detection result. For example, the sensor unit 120 may include a temperature sensor 121, a humidity sensor 122, and a chemical sensor (or a gas sensor) 123, .

The temperature sensor 121 is used for measuring the temperature inside the drawer 35 and the humidity sensor 122 can be used for measuring the humidity inside the drawer 35. The chemical sensor 123 may be used to detect whether gas is generated in the drawer 35 or to measure the concentration of the generated gas. The chemical sensor 123 can detect gases generated during decay of foods such as ammonia, methane, hydrogen sulfide, or carbon dioxide.

The output unit 130 may include a speaker, an acoustic output unit such as a buzzer, and / or a light output unit that outputs light having at least one color. The output unit 130 may be used to inform the user of various information. For example, when the remaining amount of the battery 160 of the sensor device 100 is insufficient or other various events occur, the control unit 150 may control the output unit 130 to output sound and / or light. The control unit 150 may output different sounds and / or lights according to the freshness information through the output unit 130 based on the freshness information received from the refrigerator 10 according to the embodiment.

The memory 140 may store various kinds of information and data necessary for the operation of each component included in the sensor device 100. [ In addition, the memory 140 may store the identification information of the sensor device 100, and may store information on the food stored in each of the drawers.

The control unit 150 may control the overall operation of the sensor device 100. [ The control unit 150 may process signals, data, information, and the like that are input or output through the components included in the sensor device 100. The controller 150 may be implemented as a chip-type controller, a processor, an application processor, a microcomputer, or the like.

The battery 160 can supply power to each component included in the sensor device 100 under the control of the controller 150. [

Hereinafter, the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

4 is a ladder diagram for explaining the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the sensor device 100 may sense the internal environment of the drawer 35 using the sensors 121 to 123 included in the sensor unit 120 (S100).

3, when the sensor unit 120 includes the temperature sensor 121, the humidity sensor 122, and the chemical sensor 123, the controller 150 uses the sensor unit 120 Such as temperature, humidity, and presence (or concentration) of the gas inside the storage container 200, can be detected.

The sensor device 100 may transmit the acquired status information to the refrigerator 10 according to the detection result (S110).

The status information may include information sensed by the sensor unit 120 (temperature, humidity, gas). According to the embodiment, the status information may further include identification information of the sensor device 100. [

The refrigerator 10 can generate freshness information of the food stored in the drawer 35 based on the received state information (S120).

In the refrigerator 10, there may be a plurality of drawers, and sensor devices installed in each of the plurality of drawers. In this case, the refrigerator 10 needs to identify the sensor device 100 that transmitted the status information among the plurality of sensor devices. Therefore, the refrigerator 10 can identify the drawer in which the sensor device 100 and the sensor device 100 are installed from the received state information.

The refrigerator 10 can acquire information on the food stored in the drawer 35 on which the identified sensor device 100 is installed based on the information of the food stored in each of the drawers. That is, the drawer 35 in which the identified sensor device 100 is installed may be storing food corresponding to the obtained information.

Based on the obtained food information and the status information, the refrigerator (10) can generate freshness information of the food stored in the storage container (200).

For example, the freshness information may include any of fresh, questionable, and spoiled states of the foodstuffs, but this can be variously changed according to the embodiment.

The refrigerator 10 can output the generated freshness information through an output unit corresponding to the drawer 35 among the plurality of output units (S130). For example, the controller of the refrigerator 10 can output different types of light according to the state of food contained in the freshness information.

Although not shown, the refrigerator 10 may display the generated freshness information through the display unit 25.

Also, according to the embodiment, the refrigerator 10 may transmit generated freshness information to the sensor device 100, or may transmit the freshness information to the user's terminal through a network.

5A and 5B are views illustrating the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the refrigerator 10 may include a communication module 14, a controller 15, and a memory 16. The communication module 14 may have a purpose of transmitting and receiving various information and data to and from the sensor device 100. According to an embodiment, the communication module 14 may have an application for transmitting and receiving information and data to a user's terminal through a network. The communication module 14 can support a short-range wireless communication method or support various wired / wireless communication methods.

The controller 15 can control the operation of the components contained in the refrigerator 10. [ The controller 15 can control the operations of the display unit 25 and the output units 26_1 to 26_5 as well as the communication module 14 and the memory 16. [ For example, the controller 15 may be implemented as a CPU, an application processor (AP), or a microcomputer.

The memory 16 may store various kinds of information and data necessary for the operation of the refrigerator 10. [ In particular, the memory 16 according to an embodiment of the present invention may store information of food stored in each of the drawers (or information of food mapped to each of the sensor devices).

Each of the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_3 can sense the internal environment of each of the drawers and transmit the state information ST1 to ST3 according to the detection result to the refrigerator 10. [ As described above, each of the status information ST1 to ST3 may include information on temperature, humidity, and / or gas generation inside the drawer. Also, according to the embodiment, each of the status information ST1 to ST3 may include identification information for identifying each of the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_3.

The controller 15 of the refrigerator 10 can receive each of the status information ST1 through ST3 through the communication module 14. [ The controller 15 can identify the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_3 that transmitted the status information ST1 to ST3 using the identification information included in the received status information ST1 to ST3.

The controller 15 can acquire the information of the food mapped to each of the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_3 based on the identification result and the information of the food stored in each of the drawers stored in the memory 16. [

The controller 15 can generate freshness information of the food stored in each of the drawers to which the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_3 are installed based on the obtained food information and status information ST1 to ST3. That is, the controller 15 determines the freshness information of the food stored in the drawer in which the first sensor device 100_1 is installed, the freshness information of the food stored in the drawer in which the second sensor device 100_2 is installed, The freshness information of the food stored in the drawer provided with the freshness information can be generated.

5B, the controller 15 of the refrigerator 10 controls the state of the food stored in each of the drawers based on the freshness information of the food stored in each of the drawers provided with the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_3 May be represented via an output unit 26.

For example, when the freshness information of the food stored in the drawer in which the third sensor device 100_3 is installed indicates that the food is in a corrupted state, the controller 15 controls the third output unit (corresponding to the third sensor device 100_3) 26_3) to output light in a form indicating that the food is in a corrupted state.

For example, if the food is in a decayed state, the output unit may output light of a first color (e.g., 'red'). On the other hand, when the food is fresh, the output unit does not output light or can output light of a second color (e.g., 'blue').

Through the light of the first color outputted through the third output unit 26_3, the user can conveniently confirm that the food stored in the drawer at the position corresponding to the third output unit 26_3 is corrupted.

6 is a view illustrating an example in which a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention provides freshness information of food through a display unit.

Unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 5B, the refrigerator 10 may provide freshness information of the food stored in the drawer to the user through the display unit 25.

6, the display unit 25 of the refrigerator 10 can display the set temperature of the refrigerating compartment 12 and the set temperature of the freezing compartment 13 as information related to the operation of the refrigerator 10. [ In addition, the display unit 25 may display buttons for providing adjustment functions of the set temperature of the freezing compartment 12 and the set temperature of the freezing compartment 13, respectively.

The display unit 25 can display the freshness icons 27_1 to 27_5 corresponding to the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_5 provided in the refrigerator 10 or the drawers, respectively. 2 and 6, the first freshness icon 27_1 corresponds to the first sensor device 100_1, and the second freshness icon 27_2 corresponds to the second sensor device 100_2. Likewise, each of the third freshness icon 27_3 through the fifth freshness icon 27_5 may correspond to each of the third sensor device 100_3 to the fifth sensor device 100_5.

The controller 15 can output the freshness information generated based on the status information received from the sensor devices 100_1 to 100_5 through the freshness icon. For example, when the freshness of the food stored in the second drawer in which the second sensor device 100_2 is installed is in the corrupt state, the controller 15 determines that the food stored in the second drawer through the second freshness icon 27_2 is corrupt To the user. As described above in Fig. 5B, the second freshness icon 27_2 may be displayed in a first color (e.g., 'red'). The remaining freshness icons 27_1 to 27_5 may not be displayed or may be displayed in a second color (e.g., 'blue').

4 to 6, the refrigerator 10 receives status information on the drawer internal environment from the sensor device 100 installed in the drawer, and stores it in the drawer on the basis of the received status information The freshness of the food can be judged. The refrigerator 10 outputs the determined freshness through the output unit 26 or the display unit 25 so that the user can intuitively provide the freshness information of the food stored in the drawer. In particular, the user can conveniently check the freshness of the food stored in the drawer without opening the doors 21, 22.

7 is a ladder diagram for explaining the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the refrigerator 10 can acquire the food information stored in each of the drawers from the user's terminal 200.

Specifically, the terminal 200 can acquire the food information stored in each of the drawers of the refrigerator 10 (S200). For example, the terminal 200 may receive the food information through a user input unit such as a touch panel, a keypad, a microphone, and the like.

The terminal 200 can transmit the acquired food information to the refrigerator 10 (S210). The refrigerator 10 may store the food information stored in each of the drawers received from the terminal 200 in the memory 16 (S220).

The sensor device 100 installed in the drawer senses the internal environment of the drawer using the sensors of the sensor unit 120 in step S230 and transmits the acquired state information to the refrigerator 10 in step S240.

The refrigerator 10 is configured to store the food stored in the drawer in which the sensor device 100 is installed based on the state information received from the sensor device 100 and the food information stored in each of the drawers stored in the memory 16. [ Freshness information can be generated (S250).

The refrigerator 10 can output the generated freshness information through the output unit 26 corresponding to the drawer (S260). Steps S230 through S260 are substantially the same as those described above with reference to FIGS. 4 through 5B, and a description thereof will be omitted.

8 is a ladder diagram for explaining the operation of the refrigerator and the sensor device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the refrigerator 10 may include a camera (not shown) for photographing the inside of the refrigerator 10. FIG.

Specifically, the refrigerator 10 can acquire the food information stored in each of the drawers by using the camera (S300). For example, the controller 15 of the refrigerator 10 can acquire an image of foods loaded on each of the drawers using a camera. The controller 15 can recognize the food from the obtained image and acquire the food information stored in each of the drawers based on the recognition result.

Subsequently, steps S310 to S340 are substantially the same as steps S230 to S260 of FIG.

7 to 8, the refrigerator 10 can acquire the food information stored in each of the drawers by using the camera of the user's terminal 200 or the refrigerator 10 . The refrigerator 10 generates freshness information of the food based on the obtained food information and the status information received from the sensor device 100, so that more accurate freshness information can be generated according to the type of the food.

The present invention described above can be embodied as computer-readable codes on a medium on which a program is recorded. The computer readable medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of the computer readable medium include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state disk (SSD), a silicon disk drive (SDD), a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, . Also, the computer may include a control unit 180 of the terminal.

Accordingly, the above description should not be construed in a limiting sense in all respects and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by rational interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the scope of equivalents of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

In the refrigerator,
At least one drawer provided in the freezing compartment or the freezing compartment to form a food compartment therein;
At least one output unit corresponding to each of the at least one drawer and provided at a door of the refrigerator to output light; And
Receiving a sensing result of an internal environment of the first drawer from a sensor device installed in a first drawer of the at least one drawer,
Generating freshness information of the food stored in the first drawer based on the received sensing result,
And outputting the generated freshness information using a first output unit corresponding to the first drawer among the at least one output unit. The method according to claim 1,
As a result of the sensing,
Wherein the refrigerator includes at least one of temperature information inside the first drawer, humidity information, and information on whether gas is generated due to corruption of the food. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least one output unit comprises:
Wherein the door is provided corresponding to the position of the at least one drawer. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a memory for storing food information stored in each of said at least one drawer,
The controller comprising:
Receiving the sensing result and the identification information of the sensor device from the sensor device,
Identifying the sensor device and the first drawer based on the received identification information,
Acquiring information on the food stored in the first drawer identified from the food information stored in each of the at least one drawer,
And the freshness information is generated based on the obtained food information and the sensed result. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the food information stored in each of the at least one drawer comprises:
And the refrigerator is connected to the refrigerator. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the food information stored in each of the at least one drawer comprises:
Wherein the refrigerator is a refrigerator. The method according to claim 6,
The controller comprising:
Using the camera to obtain images for each of the foods loaded into each of the at least one drawer,
Recognizes the foods from the images acquired and obtains the food information stored in each of the at least one drawer based on the recognition results. In the refrigerator,
At least one drawer provided in the freezing compartment or the freezing compartment to form a food compartment therein;
A display unit for displaying information related to the operation of the refrigerator and displaying at least one freshness icon corresponding to each of the at least one drawer; And
Receiving a sensing result of an internal environment of the first drawer from a sensor device installed in a first drawer of the at least one drawer,
Generating freshness information of the food stored in the first drawer based on the received sensing result,
And a controller for displaying the freshness information through a first freshness icon corresponding to the first drawer among the at least one freshness icon.

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