WO2023112469A1

WO2023112469A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2023112469A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/038882
Authority: WO
Inventors: 健一柿田; 桂南部; 剛樹平井
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2021-12-17
Filing date: 2022-10-19
Publication date: 2023-06-22
Also published as: JP2023089993A

Abstract

A refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure comprises an accommodation part (20) installed in a vegetable chamber (9), which is one example of a storage chamber. The refrigerator according to embodiment 1 also comprises a light source (26) for irradiating a food product (24) accommodated in the accommodation part (20) with visible light, and a light sensor (27) for receiving the radiation from the light source (26) and receiving light reflected from the food product (24). The refrigerator according to embodiment 1 also comprises an assessment unit for assessing the color balance within the accommodation part (20) on the basis of the wavelength spectrum of the light received by the light sensor (27).

Description

refrigerator

This disclosure relates to refrigerators.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator that detects the color distribution of food from an acquired image. This refrigerator judges the state of food from an image acquired by a photographing device such as a camera.

WO2018/020541

However, when detecting the color balance of the food stored in the storage unit based on the acquired image, the imaging device such as a camera is relatively large and expensive, and the image processing algorithm is also complicated.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a refrigerator capable of judging the color balance of food in the container without providing an imaging device.

A refrigerator according to the present disclosure includes a storage unit installed in a storage room, a light source that irradiates food stored in the storage unit with visible light, and an optical sensor that receives light reflected from the food upon receiving irradiation from the light source. And prepare. Further, the refrigerator according to the present disclosure includes a determination unit that determines the color balance inside the container based on the wavelength spectrum of the light received by the optical sensor.

The refrigerator according to the present disclosure can determine the color balance of food in the container without providing an imaging device.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of main parts showing the configuration of the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing reflection spectra of fruits and vegetables according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the spectral distribution of LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing RGB reflected light detected by the photosensor of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an RGB lighting pattern example of the light source of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of detection color classification based on the RGB received light intensity of the photosensor of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of the color balance detected by the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example in which two optical sensor units are installed in the switching compartment of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 10 is a table showing whether the detection results in FIG. 9 of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 are correct or incorrect. 11 is a block diagram showing a control configuration for food detection of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of display output to the communication device of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing states of reflected light of the photosensor unit of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 2. FIG.

(Knowledge, etc. on which this disclosure is based)
At the time when the inventors came up with the present disclosure, there was a social background of wanting to achieve a healthy diet, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued a guideline to eat a well-balanced diet even at home. Therefore, there is a demand for easily grasping the nutritional components of food to be stored in a refrigerator.

A known method for managing the inventory stored in the refrigerator is to use the images of food that have been acquired. However, in order to quantify even nutritional components, it is necessary to process a huge amount of image data and perform food judgment.

It is also conceivable to easily obtain nutritional ingredients by determining the color balance of food colors based on images. However, the inventors found a problem that image acquisition by a photographing device such as a camera generally requires a large device and complicated data analysis. came to.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a refrigerator capable of determining color balance without providing an imaging device. Specifically, the present disclosure includes a light source that irradiates food with visible light, an optical sensor that receives light reflected from the food that has been irradiated with visible light, and a wavelength intensity of light received by the optical sensor and a food wavelength. To provide a refrigerator for estimating a color balance in which a plurality of kinds of foods are mixed from the result of spectral comparison.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known matters or redundant descriptions of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following description from becoming more redundant than necessary and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

It should be noted that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to allow those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter of the claims.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. FIG.

[1-1. composition]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of refrigerator 1 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing the configuration of the vegetable compartment 9 of the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG. In the following description, the vertical direction in the state where the refrigerator 1 is installed as shown in FIG. . In addition, in the installed state of the refrigerator 1, the side where the vegetable compartment door 19 is present may be referred to as the front side, the opposite side may be referred to as the rear side, and the left-right direction when viewed from the front side of the refrigerator 1 may simply be referred to as left and right. These things are the same also in the refrigerator 1 which concerns on other embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the heat insulating box body 2 of the refrigerator 1 includes an outer box 3 mainly using steel plates, an inner box 4 made of ABS resin or the like, and a space between the outer box 3 and the inner box 4. It is composed of a foamed heat insulating material 2a such as hard foamed urethane, which is filled and foamed in the space. The heat insulating box 2 is insulated from the surroundings and divided into a plurality of storage compartments.

A refrigerating chamber 5 as a first storage chamber is provided at the top of the heat insulating box body 2, and a switchable chamber 6 as a fourth storage chamber and a fifth storage chamber are arranged horizontally below the refrigerating chamber 5. An ice making chamber 7 (not shown) is provided side by side. A freezer compartment 8 as a second storage compartment is provided below the switching compartment 6 and the ice making compartment 7, and a vegetable compartment 9 as a third storage compartment is arranged at the bottom of the heat insulating box body 2. It has become.

In this embodiment, each storage room is set as follows as an example. The refrigerating chamber 5 is normally kept at a temperature of 1°C to 5°C with a lower limit of non-freezing temperature for refrigerated storage. In addition, the switchable compartment 6 has a refrigerating temperature range set at 1°C to 5°C, a vegetable temperature range set at 2°C to 7°C, and a freezing temperature range normally set at -22°C to -15°C. , can be switched to a preset temperature range between the refrigeration temperature range and the freezing temperature range. Moreover, many of the switching compartments 6 are storage compartments provided with an independent door provided side by side with the ice making compartment 7 .

The freezer compartment 8 is set in a freezing temperature range, and is normally set at -22°C to -15°C for frozen storage. It may be set at a low temperature of °C. The vegetable compartment 9 has a temperature setting of 2° C. to 7° C. suitable for vegetables, which is equal to or slightly higher than that of the refrigerating compartment 5, and is generally of a drawer type with a vegetable compartment door 19 on the front.

In the present embodiment, the switchable compartment 6 is a storage compartment including refrigeration and freezing temperature ranges. The storage room may be specialized for switching only the above temperature zone between freezing and freezing. Also, the switching chamber 6 may be a storage chamber fixed to a specific temperature zone.

The ice-making chamber 7 makes ice with an automatic ice-making machine (not shown) installed in the upper part of the room with water sent from a water storage tank (not shown) in the refrigerating room 5, and an ice storage container (not shown) arranged in the lower part of the room. (not shown).

The top surface of the heat insulating box body 2 has a stepped recess toward the back of the refrigerator 1. A machine room is formed in this stepped recess to house a compressor 10 and a dryer ( (not shown) and other high-pressure side components of the refrigeration cycle are accommodated. That is, the machine room in which the compressor 10 is installed is formed by cutting into the uppermost rear region in the refrigerating room 5 .

It should be noted that the present disclosure may be applied to a type of conventional refrigerator in which a machine room is provided in the lowermost storage room rear region of the heat insulating box body 2 and the compressor 10 is arranged therein. In addition, the refrigerator of the present disclosure may be a refrigerator having a so-called bottom freezer configuration in which the positions of the freezer compartment 8 and the vegetable compartment 9 are interchanged.

A cooling chamber 11 for generating cool air is provided on the back of the freezer compartment 8 and the vegetable compartment 9, and between the freezer compartment 8 and the cooling compartment 11 or between the vegetable compartment 9 and the cooling compartment 11, each having heat insulation. A rear partition wall 12 is formed to separate each room with heat insulation from the air passage for carrying cold air to the room.

A cooler 13 is arranged in the cooling chamber 11 . A cooling fan 14 is arranged in the upper space of the cooler 13 to send the cold air cooled by the cooler 13 to the refrigerator compartment 5, the switching compartment 6, the ice making compartment 7, the freezer compartment 8 and the vegetable compartment 9 by forced convection. . In the lower space of the cooler 13, a radiant heater 15 made of a glass tube is provided for defrosting frost and ice adhering to the cooler 13 and its surroundings during cooling. Furthermore, a drain pan 16 for receiving defrosted water generated during defrosting is formed at the lower part thereof, a drain tube 17 penetrating from the deepest part thereof to the outside of the chamber is formed, and an evaporating plate 18 is formed downstream of the drain pan 16 outside the chamber. .

In addition, each storage room is divided as follows. That is, the switchable compartment 6 is partitioned by an upper refrigerator compartment 5 and a first partition wall 21, and a lower freezer compartment 8 and a second partition wall 22, respectively. A third partition wall 23 is provided for heat insulation.

A vegetable compartment door 19 is provided on the front surface of the vegetable compartment 9, and food 24 can be taken in and out from the outside. In addition, there are a plurality of storage cases inside the vegetable compartment 9, and a storage section 20 is installed at the top as a container for storing food 24, which is the object of the present embodiment.

Furthermore, an optical sensor unit 25 is embedded in the third partition wall 23 on the top surface of the vegetable compartment 9 . As shown in FIG. 2, the photosensor unit 25 has a substrate on which a light source 26 and a photosensor 27 are mounted. That is, the light source 26 and the optical sensor 27 are mounted on a single substrate on the same wall surface, and it is preferable to use a printed wiring board as the substrate.

In addition, the surface of the optical sensor unit 25 on the side of the vegetable compartment 9 is covered with a cover member 28, and the optical axis where the light source 26 emits light and the optical sensor 27 receives light is made of a colorless and transparent material that transmits visible light.

As a result, since the optical sensor unit 25 and the food 24 face each other, the optical sensor 27 receives the reflected light when the food 24 is irradiated with the visible light emitted by the light source 26 .

Furthermore, a light shielding portion 29 is arranged between the light source 26 and the optical sensor 27 to shield light. The light shielding part 29 prevents the light from the light source 26 from directly entering the optical sensor 27 and eliminates the influence of disturbance light from outside the designed optical axis. If the light blocking portion 29 is integrated with the cover member 28, there is no need to provide a new additional member.

Inexpensive monochromatic LEDs are used as the light source 26 used here, for example, red (R) with a peak wavelength of about 700 nm, green (G) with a peak wavelength of about 546 nm, and blue (B) with a peak wavelength of about 436 nm. If space saving is required, a 3-in-1 product capable of emitting three colors in one package may be adopted.

Next, as the optical sensor 27, for example, it is common to use a photodiode sensitive to the entire visible light range (approximately 400 nm to 800 nm). If selectivity is given, the performance can be further improved.

Next, the electrical configuration for specifically detecting the state of food 24 will be described using FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a control configuration for food detection of the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the light source 26 and the optical sensor 27 are connected to the detection section 32. The light source 26 irradiates the food 24 accommodated in the accommodation portion 20 with visible light in response to the input of the signal S1 from the detection portion 32 . The optical sensor 27 receives light reflected from the food 24 and outputs a signal S2 based on the received reflected light to the detector 32 . The detection unit 32 outputs the data detected based on the signal S2 to the determination unit 33 as the signal S3.

The determination unit 33 receives the signal S3 as an input, performs a color balance determination process (described later) of the food 24 in the storage unit 20, and outputs the result as a signal S4 to the communication device 34 such as a smartphone, a tablet, or a cloud server. Output. The communication device 34 displays the color balance of the food 24 stored in the refrigerator 1 based on the signal S4.

Note that the detection unit 32 and the determination unit 33 may be hardware circuits designed exclusively for realizing these functions, or the functions are realized by the processor executing a program stored in the memory. Anything is fine. In other words, the detection unit 32 and the determination unit 33 may realize their functions through the cooperation of hardware and software. The program stored in the memory may be recorded in a non-temporary recording medium such as a memory card and provided, or may be provided through an electric communication line such as the Internet.

[1-2. motion]
The operation and effects of the refrigerator 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing reflection spectra of fruits and vegetables. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the spectrum distribution of LEDs of the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing RGB reflected light detected by the optical sensor 27 of the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of detected color classification based on the RGB received light intensity of the optical sensor 27. As shown in FIG.

First, referring to FIG. 3, the reflection spectrum (also referred to as “reflected light spectrum” or “light wavelength spectrum” in the present disclosure) possessed by representative fruits and vegetables when fruits and vegetables are targeted as the food 24 will be described. . As shown in FIG. 3, spinach has a reflectance peak near 540 nm, and the reflectance decreases with increasing distance from the peak wavelength.

Tomatoes have a low reflectance up to 670 nm, after which the reflectance increases sharply, and after 700 nm it maintains a high reflectance. Lemon has low reflectance up to 550 nm, sharply increases thereafter, and maintains high reflectance beyond 600 nm.

In addition, radish maintains a high reflectance in the entire visible light wavelength range. In other words, spinach is perceived as green by human vision, which means that it has a very high reflectance in the vicinity of green wavelengths. Similarly, yellow lemons, red tomatoes, and white radishes have high reflectances of visible light wavelengths corresponding to their colors. In other words, colored fruits and vegetables have unique reflection spectral characteristics, and the refrigerator 1 in the first embodiment uses this characteristic to estimate the type of the fruits and vegetables.

When red, green, and blue single-color LEDs are used as visible light in the light source 26, the spectrum distribution of the LEDs is, for example, about 700 nm for red, about 546 nm for green, and It is common to have a peak wavelength at about 436 nm. However, the point here is that the spectral distribution of each color has a half-value width. For example, looking at red and green LEDs, there is a portion where the intensity overlaps with the maximum around 620 nm between the respective peak wavelengths. Also, the overlap between blue and green peaks at around 490 nm.

Therefore, by varying the light emission state and irradiation intensity of the RGB LEDs of the light source 26, the light source 26 can produce orange, yellow, and purple detection colors, as shown in FIG. .

Next, FIG. 5 shows the result of measurement by the optical sensor 27 that receives the reflectance of the fruits and vegetables described above, using the RGB LEDs as the light source 26 . As shown in FIG. 5, tomato has a high reflectance only in red (R), while lemon has high reflectance in green (G) and red (R) and low in blue (B). Green (G) is prominently high in spinach, and radish has high reflectance in all three colors. This is a result that agrees with the reflection spectral characteristics peculiar to fruits and vegetables shown in FIG. 3, and the color of fruits and vegetables can be detected by observing the difference in the reflectance of RGB.

Based on the above principle, the refrigerator 1 is equipped with the optical sensor unit 25, and the operation of judging (detecting) the color balance of fruits and vegetables mixed as food 24 will be described using the control block diagram of FIG.

First, when the food 24 is put into the storage section 20 of the vegetable compartment 9 and the vegetable compartment door 19 is closed, the detection section 32 outputs a detection command signal S1 to the light source 26, and the light source 26 emits LEDs of RGB colors. The food 24 is illuminated sequentially with a preset lighting intensity and pattern.

The reflected light from the food 24 when lit is received by the optical sensor 27, and the result of the reflection intensity is output to the detection unit 32 as a signal S2. Then, the detection unit 32 calculates the reflectance based on the signal S2 and outputs the result to the determination unit 33 as the signal S3.

The determination unit 33 estimates (determines) the color balance in the detection area (that is, inside the storage unit 20) of the thrown-in food 24, and finally outputs the result to the communication device 34 as a signal S4. As a result, the user can be notified of the color balance of the food 24 stored in the refrigerator using the communication device 34, which is a display device or a terminal device.

Here, the operation of determining the color balance will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 8. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an RGB lighting pattern example of the light source 26 of the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of the color balance detected by the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of display output to the communication device 34 of the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG.

First, in lighting pattern 1, in order to detect (estimate) the red food 24, the red LED of the light source 26 is strongly lit and the detector 32 detects its reflectance.

Next, in lighting pattern 2, the red LED and green LED are lighted weakly to detect the reflectance of the orange/yellow food 24 . Lighting pattern 3 is strong lighting of the green LED for the green food 24, lighting pattern 4 is weak lighting of the red LED and strong lighting of the blue LED is lighting the purple food 24, and lighting pattern 5 is weak lighting of all the RGB LEDs. , the reflectance of the white food 24 is detected.

Then, each reflectance detected by the detection unit 32 is output as a signal S3 to the determination unit 33, and the determination unit 33 processes it into color balance display data as shown in the pie chart of FIG. 8, for example.

As another detection method, the light source 26 may include all visible wavelengths of RGB, for example, a white LED, and the light receiving surface of the optical sensor 27 may be provided with a filter that selectively transmits only the RGB wavelengths. becomes possible.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the reflectance of each color can be obtained by switching the RGB transmission order of the optical sensor 27 and detecting the intensity while the light source 26 is lit at a constant intensity.

Subsequently, the processed color balance display data is sent from the determination unit 33 to the communication device 34 as a signal S4. When the communication device 34 is a smartphone, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the user is notified of the ideal intake balance of fruits and vegetables and the color balance of the currently stocked food along with health advice. As an example of health advice, green fruits and vegetables are less than ideal in this case, so broccoli and spinach, which are representative of green fruits and vegetables, as shown in FIG. 6 are recommended.

Next, if the storage unit 20 has a large capacity and it is not possible to detect all of the food 24 with only one light sensor unit 25, a plurality of light sensor units 25 (here, two) may be installed as shown in FIG. 9 to increase the detection accuracy. can improve. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example in which two optical sensor units are installed in the switching compartment 6 of the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 9 shows an application example in the switching chamber 6 , in which the first optical sensor unit 30 and the second optical sensor unit 31 are embedded in the top surface of the first partition wall 21 .

For ease of understanding, a case where three food items 24 are stored in the storage unit 20 (one food item 24 is stored in each of positions A, B, and C in FIG. 9) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a table showing whether the detection results of the refrigerator 1 in FIG. 9 are correct or incorrect.

First, when only the first optical sensor unit 30 is used for detection, the number of food items 24 detected at position A is 1, but the number of food items 24 detected at position B is erroneously 0.5. , the number of food items 24 detected at position C is erroneously zero. Then, the total number of detections for determining (estimating) the color balance is erroneously determined as 1.5 instead of the correct 3.

Similarly, when only the second optical sensor unit 31 is used for detection, the number of food items 24 detected at position A is 0, and the number of food items 24 detected at position B is 0.5. , the number of food items 24 detected at position C is exactly one. Then, the total number of detections for determining (estimating) the color balance is erroneously determined as 1.5 instead of the correct 3.

Here, when the first optical sensor unit 30 and the second optical sensor unit 31 are used at the same time, the food 24 at positions A, B, and C are all correctly detected as one, and the total number of detections is positive. There are three, and accurate color balance determination (estimation) is possible.

[1-3. effects, etc.]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the refrigerator 1 includes the storage unit 20 installed in the storage room, the light source 26 for irradiating the food 24 stored in the storage unit 20 with visible light, and the irradiation from the light source 26. a light sensor 27 for receiving light reflected from food 24 . Refrigerator 1 also includes determination unit 33 that determines the color balance in storage unit 20 based on the wavelength spectrum of the light received by optical sensor 27 .

Further, in the present embodiment, the determination unit 33 may determine the color balance in the storage unit 20 based on the wavelength intensity of the light received by the optical sensor 27.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, determination unit 33 compares the wavelength intensity of light received by optical sensor 27 with the wavelength spectrum of food 24 (see, for example, FIG. The color balance in the container 20 is estimated. The light source 26 uses RGB single-wavelength LEDs, and the optical sensor 27 uses a photodiode that detects the entire visible light wavelength region. Estimate the color balance of the detection area (within the container 20) by comparison with the ratio.

As a result, the refrigerator 1 determines the color balance of the food 24 in the storage area (storage unit 20) in a state where multiple types of food 24 stored in the storage unit 20 are mixed, without using an imaging device such as a camera. can. Therefore, the refrigerator 1 can minimize the installation space for the parts necessary for determining the color balance of the food 24, and the light source 26 and the optical sensor 27 are also general-purpose products, so compared with an imaging device such as a camera. , the color balance can be determined with an inexpensive configuration.

Also, as in the present embodiment, the food 24 may be fruits and vegetables.

In addition, as in the present embodiment, the storage compartments (vegetable compartment 9, switchable compartment 6) can be set to a temperature range suitable for vegetables, and the refrigerator 1 includes the storage section 20 and the optical sensor 27 in the storage compartment. (Vegetable compartment 9, switching compartment 6) may be provided.

This makes it possible to grasp the color balance of fruits and vegetables, which is a health barometer. Therefore, the refrigerator 1 can be used to improve eating habits because the user can know the amount of fruits and vegetables in the storage section 20 of the refrigerator 1 .

Further, as in the present embodiment, refrigerator 1 may arrange light source 26 and optical sensor 27 in the same space facing food 24 .

Also, as in the present embodiment, the light source 26 and the optical sensor 27 may be arranged on the same wall surface of the storage compartment (vegetable compartment 9, switching compartment 6).

This eliminates the presence of obstacles that block the optical axes of the light emitted from the light source 26 and the reflected light received by the optical sensor 27, enabling highly accurate detection.

A light blocking part 29 that blocks light may be arranged between the light source 26 and the optical sensor 27 as in the present embodiment.

As a result, the refrigerator 1 can prevent the light emitted by the light source 26 from directly entering the optical sensor 27 and eliminate the influence of unnecessary disturbance light, so the optical sensor 27 can perform higher-quality detection.

As in this embodiment, the refrigerator 1 includes a photosensor unit 25 having a substrate on which a light source 26 and a photosensor 27 are mounted. It may be removably arranged on the wall surface. That is, the light source 26 and the photosensor 27 may be arranged on a single substrate on the same plane to form the photosensor unit 25 .

As a result, the installation distance between the light source 26 and the optical sensor 27 becomes closer, and the vertical component of the reflected light from the food 24 increases. And you can easily connect the electrical harness. Moreover, since the optical sensor unit 25 is detachably arranged, maintenance can be easily performed.

As in the present embodiment, a plurality of optical sensor units may be installed on the same wall surface of the storage room (switching room 6).

As a result, even if the storage unit 20 has a large volume and the area to be detected is wide, the refrigerator 1 can detect all the stored foods 24, so it is possible to accurately estimate the color balance.

In the present embodiment, as an arrangement example of a plurality of optical sensor units, two optical sensor units (the first optical sensor unit 30 and the second optical sensor unit 31) are arranged in the switching chamber 6. explained. However, the number of optical sensor units provided in the refrigerator of the present disclosure may be one or a plurality of three or more. It may be a storage compartment (for example, the vegetable compartment 9). In other words, the refrigerator of the present disclosure may be provided with a number of optical sensor units that can detect all the stored foods according to the size of the storage compartment of the storage compartment that can be set to a temperature range suitable for vegetables. good.

As in the present embodiment, the refrigerator 1 may output the color balance (the color balance of the food 24 ) inside the container 20 determined by the determination unit 33 to the communication device 34 .

As a result, the user can obtain information even at a remote location away from the refrigerator 1, so the refrigerator 1 can enhance the convenience of selecting foods to be purchased at shopping destinations, for example.

(Embodiment 2)
Embodiment 2 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the state of reflected light from the optical sensor unit of refrigerator 1 according to the second embodiment.

[2-1. composition]
In FIG. 13, the photosensor unit of the second embodiment is composed of a light source 26 and a photosensor 37, and differs from the photosensor unit 25 of the first embodiment in that a photosensor 37 is provided instead of the photosensor 27. . The optical sensor 37 is composed of an optical sensor narrow-angle portion 35 and an optical sensor wide-angle portion 36 . Light emitted from the light source 26 to the food 24 at a specified incident angle is specularly reflected at a reflection angle that is the same as the incident angle, and is received by the optical sensor narrow-angle portion 35 set on the optical axis. In addition, since the surface of the food 24 is not flat, there is some diffuse reflection due to the surface roughness. there is

In addition, the determination unit 33 in the second embodiment determines the glossiness of the food 24 ( (to be described later) is different from the determination unit 33 of the first embodiment.

[2-2. motion]
The operation and action of the refrigerator 1 according to the second embodiment configured as described above will be described.

As described in Embodiment 1, when the food 24 is put into the container 20, the light source 26 irradiates the food 24 and the reflected light is received by the optical sensor narrow-angle portion 35 and the optical sensor wide-angle portion 36. do. Then, the intensity of the received light is input as a signal S2 to the detection unit 32 of the second embodiment, and arithmetic processing of the reflectance is performed.

At this time, the reflectance (assumed to be R1) of the reflected light received by the optical sensor narrow-angle portion 35 is due to specular reflection, and increases as the surface of the food 24 becomes flatter. Also, the reflectance (assumed to be R2) of the reflected light received by the optical sensor wide-angle portion 36 is due to diffuse reflection, and increases as the surface of the food 24 becomes uneven and rough.

That is, the glossiness that quantifies the flatness of the surface of the food 24 is represented by the reflection ratio R1/R2. , is determined (estimated) by the determining unit 33 of the second embodiment. Furthermore, the degree of glossiness is output as a signal S4 from the determination unit 33 of the second embodiment to the communication device 34, and the refrigerator 1 of the second embodiment notifies the user.

When only the glossiness is detected, any wavelength of visible light can be used for the light source 26. Especially, since the color of the food 24 is unspecified, it is preferable to use a white LED. Further, the determination unit 33 of Embodiment 2 determines glossiness instead of color balance determination, but glossiness determination may be performed in addition to color balance determination.

[2-3. effects, etc.]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the optical sensor 37 includes the optical sensor narrow-angle portion 35 as an example of a specular reflection detection portion with narrow-angle directivity, and the optical sensor narrow-angle portion 35 as an example of a diffuse reflection detection portion with wide-angle directivity. and a photosensor wide-angle portion 36. In the present embodiment, the determination unit 33 determines the specular reflectance detected by the optical sensor narrow-angle portion 35 and the optical sensor The glossiness of the food 24 is determined from the diffuse reflectance ratio detected by the wide-angle portion 36 .

As a result, the refrigerator 1 in Embodiment 2 can estimate the surface state of the food 24, and can predict the deterioration of the freshness of the food 24 by observing the change in gloss over time.

(Other embodiments)
As described above,

Embodiments

1 and 2 have been described as examples of the technology of the present disclosure. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can also be applied to embodiments with modifications, replacements, additions, omissions, and the like. Also, it is possible to combine the constituent elements described in the first and second embodiments to form a new embodiment.

Therefore, other embodiments will be exemplified below.

In

Embodiments

1 and 2, fruits and vegetables are used as the food 24, but the food of the present disclosure may be fresh food such as meat and fish stored in the refrigerator 1.

In Embodiment 1, an application example of the vegetable compartment 9 and the switching compartment 6 is shown, but the storage compartment of the present disclosure may be another storage compartment such as the refrigerating compartment 5 or the like.

In Embodiment 1, RGB three-color LEDs are used as the light source 26, but if the food 24 is limited, it is possible to use only single-color LEDs. For example, if it is limited to the detection of green fruits and vegetables, a configuration using only green LEDs is possible.

In the first embodiment, the content to be notified to the user by the communication device 34 is limited to the color intake balance. convenience will be further improved.

The present disclosure is applicable to refrigerators. Specifically, the present disclosure is applicable to, for example, household or commercial refrigerators.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 refrigerator 2 heat insulation box 2a foam insulation 3 outer box 4 inner box 5 refrigerator compartment 6 switching compartment 7 ice making compartment 8 freezer compartment 9 vegetable compartment 10 compressor 11 cooling compartment 12 rear partition wall 13 cooler 14 cooling fan 15 radiant Heater 16 Drain pan 17 Drain tube 18 Evaporating dish 19 Vegetable compartment door 20 Storage part 21 First partition wall 22 Second partition wall 23 Third partition wall 24 Food 25 Optical sensor unit 26 Light source 27 Optical sensor 28 Cover member 29 Light shielding Part 30 First optical sensor unit 31 Second optical sensor unit 32 Detection part 33 Judgment part 34 Communication device 35 Optical sensor narrow-angle part 36 Optical sensor wide-angle part 37 Optical sensor S1 signal S2 signal S3 signal S4 signal

Claims

a storage unit installed in the storage room;
a light source that irradiates visible light to the food contained in the container;
an optical sensor that receives illumination from the light source and receives light reflected from the food;
a determination unit that determines the color balance in the storage unit based on the wavelength spectrum of the light received by the optical sensor.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the determination section determines the color balance in the storage section based on the wavelength intensity of the light received by the optical sensor.
The storage room can be set to a temperature zone suitable for vegetables,
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage compartment and the optical sensor are provided in the storage compartment.
4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the light source and the optical sensor are arranged on the same wall surface of the storage compartment.
5. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a light shielding part that shields light is arranged between the light source and the optical sensor.
An optical sensor unit having a substrate on which the light source and the optical sensor are mounted,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the optical sensor unit is detachably arranged on the wall surface of the storage compartment.
7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of said optical sensor units are installed on the same wall surface of said storage compartment.
8. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the color balance in said container determined by said determination unit is output to a communication device.
The optical sensor is composed of a specular reflection detection unit with a narrow directivity and a diffuse reflection detection unit with a wide directivity,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the determination section determines glossiness of the food based on detection results from the regular reflection detection section and the diffuse reflection detection section.