WO2016162956A1

WO2016162956A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2016162956A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/060866
Authority: WO
Inventors: 和貴鈴木; 誠岡部
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2015-04-07
Filing date: 2015-04-07
Publication date: 2016-10-13
Also published as: JP6359179B2; CN205580061U; JPWO2016162956A1

Abstract

This refrigerator (1) prevents the amount of information of an image from becoming reduced unlike the prior art, eliminates the above-mentioned adverse effect caused by installing a camera for capturing an image of the inside of the refrigerator, and allows usability to be improved. The refrigerator (1) is equipped with: a refrigerator body (1a); a vegetable compartment (500) which is formed at the lowermost level in the refrigerator body (1a) and equipped with a drawer door (500a); a containment case (501) which is connected to the drawer door (500a) and contained in the vegetable compartment (500) so as to contain food; a camera (8) which is disposed below the drawer door (500a) so as to capture images of the food contained in the containment case (501); and a control device (10) which causes a storage device (10a) to store the image data of the camera (8).

Description

refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to management of ingredients stored in the refrigerator.

In recent years, in order to manage the ingredients stored in the refrigerator, for example, a camera is installed in the refrigerator, and the ingredients are managed by transferring image data taken in the refrigerator to a mobile phone or a personal computer. ing. As described above, as an example of managing a food by mounting a camera on a refrigerator, there is one described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-267337), for example.

In the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1, the in-chamber camera is projected on the open / close door above the pull-out door. When the pull-out door is pulled out and fully opened, the internal camera is activated, and the storage room connected to the pull-out door below the internal camera is photographed at regular intervals. Then, when the pull-out door is pushed back and closed, the image data of the internal shooting camera is stored.

JP 2012-267337 A

However, in the configuration of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the food can be photographed only from the upper part of the storage room, and the bottom surface of the storage room that is most difficult to see can be photographed. In addition, if the user opens and closes the drawer-type door with the hand on the refrigerator, the hand may be reflected on the top of the food. In such a case, the amount of image data information decreases. In addition, since it is necessary to provide the internal shooting camera on the open / close door at the upper part of the storage room, the open / close door has a protrusion, which greatly impairs the appearance and cleanability. In particular, the internal shooting camera is configured as a module, and the module projects from the surface of the door as much as the module. For this reason, the depth dimension of an installation space may become large, or when the opening-and-closing door which installed the camera for storage inside is opened, it may contact the wall surface near a refrigerator. For this reason, there is a problem that the opening angle of the opening / closing door is reduced due to the restriction and the usability is reduced.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the amount of image information is not reduced as in the prior art, eliminating the above-described adverse effects caused by the installation of a camera for photographing the interior, An object is to provide a refrigerator with improved usability.

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a refrigerator main body, a storage chamber formed at a lowermost stage in the refrigerator main body and provided with a pull-out door, and is connected to the pull-out door and is stored in the storage chamber to store ingredients. A storage case, and a camera that is disposed below the pull-out door and outside the storage chamber, and photographs the food stored in the storage case.

According to the present invention, the camera is disposed below the drawer-type door of the storage room formed in the lowest stage, and therefore it is possible to take an image of the bottom surface of the storage room that is most difficult to see. Further, for example, even if the user opens and closes the drawer-type door with his hand on the refrigerator, there is no possibility that the hand will be reflected in the food, and the amount of information in the image will not be reduced. In addition, since the camera is not arranged on the surface part of the door as in the prior art and is arranged below the drawer door, there is no protrusion on the door, so the opening angle of the door is The adverse effects such as the reduction in size and the significant loss of appearance and cleanability have been eliminated, making it easy to use.

It is a front view of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a sectional side view of the refrigerator of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the suspension of the vegetable compartment and refrigerator of FIG. It is a top view of the vegetable compartment of FIG. It is a bottom view of the storage case of the vegetable compartment of FIG. It is a control block diagram of the refrigerator of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the image data of the camera of FIG. It is explanatory drawing at the time of correct | amending the image data (interval of a convex shape or a concave shape) of FIG. It is a front schematic diagram of the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the image data of the camera of FIG.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerator body 1a made of a heat insulating box. By partitioning the inside of the refrigerator main body 1a, the refrigerator compartment 100, the switching room 200, the ice making room 300, the freezing room 400, and the vegetable room 500 are formed. The refrigerator compartment 100 is arrange | positioned at the uppermost part, and is provided with the opening-and-closing

doors

100a and 100b. An operation panel 6 is attached to the surface portion of the opening / closing door 100b. The switching chamber 200 is disposed below the refrigerator compartment 100 and includes a pull-out door 200a. The switching chamber 200 can be switched from a refrigeration temperature range (−18 ° C.) to a temperature range such as refrigeration (3 ° C.), chilled (0 ° C.), and soft refrigeration (−7 ° C.). The ice making chamber 300 is arranged in parallel with the switching chamber 200 and includes a pull-out door 300a. The freezer compartment 400 is disposed below the switching chamber 200 and the ice making chamber 300, and includes a pull-out door 400a. The vegetable compartment 500 is arranged at the lowest level and includes a pull-out door 500a. A food management camera (not shown) is installed below the pull-out door 500a. Details of the food management camera will be described later with reference to FIGS. In addition, the form of the refrigerator of this invention is not limited to said example, For example, especially the form of a refrigerator is not limited, such as a thing without the switching room 200 and the ice making room 300. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. In FIG. 2 as well, details of the lower part of the pull-out door 500a are omitted (see FIGS. 3 and 4 for details). The refrigerator 1 introduces the cool air cooled by the compressor 2, the cooler 3, the blower 4 that blows the cool air cooled by the cooler 3 to each room in the refrigerator, and the cooler 3. An air passage 5 is provided. The compressor 2, the blower fan 4 and the like are controlled by an electronic board (control device) 7. The cold air cooled by the cooler 3 passes through the air passage 5 and is sent to the freezing room 400, the switching room 200, the ice making room 300, and the refrigerating room 100 to cool each room. In the vegetable compartment 500, the return cold air from the refrigerator compartment 100 is supplied to the vegetable compartment 500 via the return air passage for the refrigerator compartment, and the vegetable compartment 500 is cooled. Then, the cold air in the vegetable compartment 500 is returned to the cooler 3 via the vegetable compartment return air passage (none of the return air passages are shown). The temperature of each room is detected by a thermistor (not shown) installed in each room, and the opening degree of a damper (not shown) installed in the air passage 5 and the capacity (rotation) of the compressor 2 so that the temperature is set in advance. Number) and one or more of the blast volume of the blower fan 4 are adjusted.

The freezer compartment 400 is provided with a storage case 401 and can store food. A storage case 201 is also installed in the switching chamber 200 and can store food. The vegetable compartment 500 is also provided with a storage case 501 and can store food. The vegetable room 500 corresponds to the storage room of the present invention, and details thereof will be described later. The number of storage cases in each room may be one, but it may be two or more in the case where arrangement is improved from the capacity of the entire refrigerator.

Next, the surroundings of the installation part of the food management camera will be described.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the vegetable compartment 500 arranged in the lowermost stage of the refrigerator 1 of FIG. As described above, the vegetable compartment 500 is arranged at the bottom of the refrigerator 1, and the vegetable compartment 500 includes the pull-out door 500 a. A storage case 501 is connected to the pull-out door 500a, and the pull-out door 500a and the storage case 501 are arranged to be freely drawable. When the pull-out door 500a is pulled out, the storage case 501 is also pulled out in conjunction therewith. The storage case 501 is made of, for example, a transparent member (light transmissive member). A food control camera (hereinafter referred to as a camera) 8 and an upper part of a refrigerator undercarriage structural component (hereinafter referred to as a structural component) 600 that forms the bottom of the refrigerator 1 below the lower end portion of the pull-out door 500a and A photographing light source (hereinafter referred to as a light source) 9 is disposed. A refrigerator underbody prepared cover (hereinafter referred to as a design cover) 601 is detachably disposed so as to cover the camera 8 and the light source 9. For this reason, the camera 8 and the light source 9 are visually cut off from the front of the refrigerator 1. Moreover, the camera 8 is arrange | positioned so that the center (optical axis) of a visual field may incline to the back side of the refrigerator main body 1a.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the vegetable compartment 500 of FIG. One camera 8 is disposed at the center in the width direction of the refrigerator main body 1 a and is covered with a design cover 601. Although one example of the camera 8 is shown in FIG. 4, two or more cameras may be mounted depending on the viewing angle of the camera 8 (an example of such a case is described in an embodiment described later). 2). The light source 9 is installed at an angle capable of irradiating in the same direction as the field of view of the camera 8. However, when a highly directional light source such as a light emitting diode is used as the light source 9, the entire light source 9 cannot be irradiated. When such a highly directional light source is used, a light guide member (for example, a cylindrical member made of a light guide member) is laid in the width direction of the storage case 501, and light is emitted from the side surface of the light guide member. Thus, the food material may be irradiated through the storage case 501.

3 and 4, the camera 8 and the light source 9 are arranged at a position that does not go out from the surface of the design cover 601 and is located above the structural component 600. With this arrangement, the camera 8 and the light source 9 do not come into contact with the wall surface near the refrigerator, household goods, or the like during the opening / closing operation of the pull-out door 500a and the transportation of the refrigerator 1. Thus, the absence of contact with the wall surface or household goods near the refrigerator leads to prevention of failure of the camera 8 and the light source 9. It is assumed that the field of view of the camera 8 has a slit shape that is longer than the width of the storage case 501 in the width direction and short in the depth direction.

Next, a convex shape or a concave shape added to the bottom of the storage case 501 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the storage case 501 of the vegetable compartment 500 of FIG. A plurality of convex or concave shapes (hereinafter collectively referred to as “concave shapes”) 502 are provided at the bottom of the storage case 501 at the central portion in the width direction of the storage case 501 at equal intervals a in the depth direction. It has been. The concave shape 502 is used to correct image data captured by the camera 8.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the refrigerator 1 of FIG. In FIG. 6, the configuration peculiar to the present embodiment is mainly illustrated, and the commonly used configuration (for example, each element configuring the refrigeration cycle) is omitted. The refrigerator 1 includes a control device 10 mounted on the electronic board 7 of FIG. The control device 10 is composed of a microcomputer or the like and has a built-in storage device 10a. The storage device 10a stores image data taken by the camera 8. An operation panel 6, a camera 8, a light source 9, a door open / close detection switch 11, and a wireless LAN slave device 12 are connected to the control device 10. The operation panel 6 performs various settings including temperature settings and displays the contents thereof. The camera 8 and the light source 9 are as already described with reference to FIGS. The door opening / closing detection switch 11 is provided in the vegetable compartment 500 in this example, and detects an opening / closing operation of the pull-out door 500a (start of the door closing operation, completion of the door closing operation). The wireless LAN slave unit 12 outputs image data stored in the storage device 10a to the outside via the wireless LAN. The wireless LAN handset 12 corresponds to the transmission means of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the control device 10. When the drawer-type door 500a starts to close after being completely pulled out, the door opening / closing detection switch 11 outputs a closing start signal. When receiving the closing start signal from the door opening / closing detection switch 11 (S1), the control device 10 causes the light source 9 to emit light, shoots with the camera 8 (starts exposure to the image element), and captures the image data. (S2). The control device 10 continues the above processing (S2) until it receives a closing completion signal from the door opening / closing detection switch 11 (continues exposure to the image element) and takes in one piece of image data (S3). When receiving the closing completion signal from the door opening / closing detection switch 11, the control device 10 stops the light emission of the light source 9 and stops the photographing by the camera 8 (ends the exposure to the image element) (S4). As described above, the camera 8 is exposed until the pull-out door 500a is completely closed, and the speed at which the pull-out door 500a is closed is not constant (because it is manually operated by the user). It is predicted that image data extended in the direction of the image data or image data compressed in the depth direction will be obtained. Therefore, the control device 10 performs correction processing for reconstructing the length of the image data in the depth direction using the concave shape 502 added to the bottom surface of the storage case 501 as a mark (S5). Details of the correction processing (S5) will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of image data when the closing speed is changed when the pull-out door 500a is closed. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for correcting the concave interval of FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, when the speed at which the pull-out door 500a is closed is high, the interval between the concave image data 502a of the image data 501a is shortened. The interval of the data 502a becomes long. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the image data 501a of the storage case 501 is divided into intervals (b1 to b5) for each bottom mark (concave image data 502a), and the intervals are determined. By compressing or expanding so as to have the same value as the interval a, the size is corrected to an optimum size and stored in the storage device 10a (S6).

In the present embodiment, the example in which the camera 8 is exposed to obtain image data for one sheet has been described, but the present invention is not limited to such processing. For example, when detecting that the door opening / closing detection switch 11 starts to close the pull-out door 500a, the control device 10 causes the camera 8 to take continuous pictures and determines the storage case 501 from the shape of the bottom surface of the image data 501a of the storage case 501. Editing processing for restoring image data may be performed.

The image data processed as described above is stored in the storage device 10a. However, the image data subjected to the correction processing (or editing processing) is accessed from the personal computer or mobile phone via the wireless LAN slave unit 12, and the personal computer or The ingredients in the storage case 501 can be confirmed on the mobile phone. In addition, as a transmission means of this invention, it may replace with wireless LAN and you may make it confirm the foodstuff in the storage case 501 using a LAN cable. Further, when there is no network environment, the following may be performed. For example, an infrared data transmission module is provided in the refrigerator main body 1a. After closing the pull-out door 500a, the infrared data transmission module is set in a state where the image data can be transmitted for a certain time immediately after the image data is stored. In a state where the infrared data transmission module can transmit, when the mobile phone or the like is placed in an infrared data reception standby state and brought close to the infrared data transmission module, the mobile phone or the like can receive image data using infrared rays. In this way, image data can be received and used even when there is no network environment.

Further, since the image data is obtained over time by storing the image data in the storage device 10a each time the drawer-type door 500a (storage case 501) is opened and closed, whether the same food is present at the same position for a certain period or more. It is possible to grasp whether or not. For this reason, if the same ingredients have been in the same location for a certain period of time, a specific color such as yellow or red is given to the user so that the user can be alerted as an ingredient to be used early. I can inform you. Thereby, waste such as disposal due to expiration of the consumption period can be eliminated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the vegetable body 500 is formed at the bottom of the refrigerator main body 1a and the refrigerator main body 1a, and is connected to the drawer door 500a and the drawer door 500a. 500, a storage case 501 for storing foodstuffs, and a camera 8 that is disposed below the pull-out door 500a and outside the vegetable compartment 500 and photographs the foodstuffs stored in the storage case 501. . For this reason, according to this Embodiment, the state of the foodstuff of the bottom face side of the storage case 501 which is the least visible, and back (back side of the refrigerator main body 1a) can be confirmed. In addition, even if the user holds the hand in the refrigerator 1 (for example, the open /

close doors

100a and 100b), even if the drawer-type door 500a is opened and closed, there is no possibility that the hand will be reflected in the food (camera 8 and food) There is no room for the user to enter between), and the amount of information of the image data does not drop. In addition, since the camera 8 is disposed below the pull-out door 500a and outside the vegetable compartment 500, no protrusions are produced on the open / close doors (for example, the open /

close doors

100a and 100b), and the appearance and cleanability are improved. There is no harmful effect of greatly degrading Moreover, since the camera 8 is disposed below the pull-out door 500a and is not disposed on the open /

close doors

100a and 100b, the camera 8 comes into contact with a wall surface or household goods near the refrigerator as the open /

close doors

100a and 100b are opened and closed. There is nothing to do. Further, since the camera 8 is disposed outside the vegetable compartment 500 and is always in an environment where the outside air temperature and the temperature of the camera 8 are equal, the temperature difference between the camera 8 and the outside air due to the opening and closing of the pull-out door 500a causes Without dew condensation, it is possible to prevent the camera 8 from being damaged due to the effect of temperature and humidity and the lens of the camera 8 from being fogged. In the above description, the example of the vegetable compartment 500 has been described as an example of the lowermost storage room. However, in the present invention, the use of the lowermost storage room is not particularly limited.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the storage case 501 is made of a transparent member, and the food in the storage case 501 is photographed through the storage case 501. In this case, a normal camera can be used as the camera 8. In other words, a special camera such as an infrared camera is not required.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the camera 8 starts exposure when the door opening / closing detection switch 11 detects the start of the closing operation of the pull-out door 500a, and performs exposure when detecting the closing completion operation of the pull-out door 500a. Since the process is ended, the entire bottom portion of the storage case 501 can be photographed.

Moreover, according to this Embodiment, the camera 8 is arrange | positioned by inclining an imaging | photography angle to the back side of the refrigerator main body 1a rather than the floor surface perpendicular | vertical direction, For this reason, since a visual field extends behind the storage case 501. Even if the rear end of the storage case 501 has a specification that cannot be pulled out further forward than the refrigerator body 1a, the entire bottom surface of the storage case 501 can be photographed.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the storage case 501 has a plurality of concave shapes 502 on the bottom (inside or outside), and image data 502a corresponding to the concave shape 502 when correcting image data. Can be used as reference data.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the control device 10 corrects the interval of the image data 502a corresponding to the concave shape included in the image data 501a to the reference interval, and stores the corrected image data. Therefore, even when exposed and photographed, accurate image data having a constant aspect ratio can be obtained regardless of the closing speed of the pull-out door 500a.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the storage device 10a in which image data is stored and the transmission means such as the wireless LAN slave unit 12 that transmits the image data stored in the storage device 10a to the outside of the refrigerator are provided. Therefore, the state of the foodstuff in the storage case 501 can be easily grasped by an information terminal such as a mobile phone or a personal computer.

Moreover, according to this Embodiment, the camera 8 is arrange | positioned at the upper part of the structural component 600, and is covered by the design cover 601 of the lower stage of the drawer | drawing-out type door 500a, and the external dimension of a refrigerator, storage in a store | warehouse | chamber Not only can the camera 8 be arranged without affecting the capacity, but also the bottom surface of the storage case 501 of the bottom vegetable room 500 (storage room) that becomes a blind spot can be photographed.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 10 is a schematic front view of the vegetable compartment 500 of the refrigerator 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 10 particularly shows an example of the arrangement of cameras. Depending on the width dimension of the refrigerator main body 1a and the viewing angle of the camera 8, the entire width direction of the storage case 501 may not be captured. This embodiment is an embodiment that can cope with such a case. As shown in FIG. 10, there are a plurality of

cameras

8a and 8b (in the example of the figure) such that the

cameras

8a and 8b are line-symmetric with respect to the center line in the width direction of the refrigerator body and the fields of view partially overlap. 2) are arranged. Furthermore, in the

cameras

8a and 8b, the installation position in the width direction of the refrigerator main body 1a is adjusted so that the concave shape 502 of the storage case 501 is located at a place where the visual fields overlap.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing image data of two

cameras

8a and 8b. The two

image data

501b and 501c are combined with each other by combining the positions of the

image data

502b and 502c of the concave shape 502 of the two pieces of

image data

501b and 501c as a reference, and processed into one composite photograph. Can do. That is, image data as shown in FIG. 8 can be obtained. The image data is subjected to correction processing similar to that in the first embodiment and stored in the storage device 10a.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the plurality of

cameras

8a and 8b arranged in the width direction of the refrigerator main body 1a are provided, the storage case 501 is provided even if the visual field in the width direction of the

cameras

8a and 8b is narrow. It is possible to photograph over the entire area in the width direction. Further, the control device 10 recognizes the

image data

502b and 502c of the concave shape 502 of the

image data

501b and 501c photographed by each of the plurality of

cameras

8a and 8b, and sets the image data of the

adjacent cameras

8a and 8b to the concave shape. Since the

image data

502b and 502c of 502 are combined on the basis to obtain image data for one sheet, accurate image data can be obtained even if images are taken by a plurality of

cameras

8a and 8b.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
The storage case 501 in the above embodiment uses a light transmitting member. By the way, by making the storage case 501 opaque using a light non-transmissive member, the bottom surface of the storage case 501 can be blinded, and improvement in design can be expected. However, since the storage case 501 becomes opaque, it becomes impossible to visually recognize the food from the bottom side of the storage case 501. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an infrared camera is used as the camera 8, and the material of the storage case 501 is PE (polyethylene). PE is easy to transmit infrared rays and is suitable for confirming foodstuffs with infrared rays through the storage case 501. When an infrared camera is used, no visible light is required, so the light source 9 is not installed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the storage case 501 is made opaque by using PE, the design is improved. In the present embodiment also, a plurality of cameras may be used as necessary as in the second embodiment.

1 Refrigerator, 1a Refrigerator body, 2 Compressor, 3 Cooler, 4 Fan, 5 Airway, 6 Operation panel, 7 Electronic board, 8, 8a, 8b Food control camera (camera), 9 Light source for photography (light source) ) 10 control device, 10a storage device, 11 door open / close detection switch, 12 wireless LAN slave, 100 cold room, 100a, 100b open / close door, 200 switching room, 200a drawer type door, 201 storage case, 300 ice making room, 300a Drawer type door, 400 freezer compartment, 400a drawer type door, 401 storage case, 500 vegetable room, 500a drawer type door, 501 storage case, 501a image data (storage case), 501b image data (storage case), 502 convex shape or Concave shape, 502a to 502c image data (convex shape or concave shape) , 600 Refrigerator underbody structural components (structural components), 601 Refrigerator underbody for the design cover (design cover).

Claims

The refrigerator body,
A storage room that is formed at the bottom of the refrigerator body and has a drawer door;
A storage case connected to the pull-out door and stored in the storage room for storing food;
A camera that is disposed below the pull-out door and outside the storage room, and photographs the food stored in the storage case;
Equipped with a refrigerator.
The storage case is made of a transparent member,
The refrigerator according to claim 1.
The camera starts exposure when it detects the start of the closing operation of the pull-out door, and ends the exposure when it detects the closing operation of the pull-out door,
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2.
The camera is disposed with the shooting angle inclined to the refrigerator back side rather than the floor vertical direction,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The storage case has a plurality of convex shapes or concave shapes inside the bottom portion,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The apparatus further includes the control device that corrects an interval of data corresponding to the convex shape or the concave shape included in the image data of the camera to a reference interval, and stores the corrected image data.
The refrigerator according to claim 5.
The camera includes a plurality of cameras,
The plurality of cameras are arranged in the width direction of the refrigerator body,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The control device recognizes the convex shape or concave shape of the storage case among the image data photographed by each of the plurality of cameras, and synthesizes the image data of adjacent cameras based on the concave shape as the convex shape. To
The refrigerator according to claim 7 that is dependent on claim 6 or claim 6.
The storage case is made of polyethylene,
The camera comprises an infrared camera;
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 8, which is dependent on claim 1 or claim 1.
A storage device for storing the image data;
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising transmission means for transmitting the image data stored in the storage device to the outside of the refrigerator.