Method, device, storage medium and processor for monitoring food ingredients

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of food monitoring method, device, storage medium and processor.Therein, the method comprises: sending ultrasonic wave to target food in refrigerator, target food is detected using ultrasonic wave, and detection data is obtained, wherein the detection data is used to record the change that ultrasonic wave occurs in the transmission process in target food;According to the detection data, the target attenuation coefficient of ultrasonic wave in target food is determined;At least according to target attenuation coefficient, it is determined whether target food is deteriorated.The application solves the technical problem that the normal use of refrigerator is affected, other food is caused to rot and deteriorate, and adverse effects on user health are caused due to the fact that in the related art, deteriorated food is often identified by manual means.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of food monitoring, and more specifically, to a method, apparatus, storage medium, and processor for monitoring food. Background Technology

[0002] In related technologies, when people use refrigerators to store food, especially when the storage time is long, the food may spoil. At this time, it is often only possible to identify it manually, such as by visual inspection or by smelling the odor to confirm whether the target food has spoiled. That is, related technologies lack a mechanism for automatically monitoring the target food, and there is a lack of target food monitoring function. Often, it can only be determined that the target food has spoiled after it has rotted. This may lead to the growth of a large number of bacteria in the refrigerator, affecting the normal use of the refrigerator, and may also affect other target food that has not spoiled, and may also have adverse effects on the user's health.

[0003] There is currently no effective solution to the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a method, device, storage medium, and processor for monitoring food ingredients, in order to at least solve the technical problems caused by the fact that in related technologies, the identification of spoiled food ingredients often relies on manual methods, which affects the normal use of refrigerators, causes other food ingredients to rot and spoil, and has adverse effects on user health.

[0005] According to one aspect of the embodiments of this application, a method for monitoring food ingredients is provided. The method is applied in a refrigerator and includes: sending ultrasonic waves to a target food ingredient inside the refrigerator; using the ultrasonic waves to detect the target food ingredient and obtaining detection data, wherein the detection data is used to record changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food ingredient; determining a target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic waves within the target food ingredient based on the detection data; and determining whether the target food ingredient has deteriorated based at least on the target attenuation coefficient.

[0006] Optionally, the target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic wave in the target food is determined based on the detection data, including: determining the first amplitude of the first echo, the second amplitude of the second echo, and the transmission distance of the ultrasonic wave in the target food along the detection direction in the detection data, wherein the first echo and the second echo are two adjacent echo signals; and determining the target attenuation coefficient based on the first amplitude, the second amplitude, and the transmission distance.

[0007] Optionally, determining whether the target food has deteriorated based at least on the target decay coefficient includes: determining the target type of the target food; retrieving multiple decay coefficient intervals corresponding to the target type of food, wherein the multiple decay coefficient intervals indicate different levels of deterioration of the target type of food; matching the target decay coefficient with the multiple decay coefficient intervals, and determining whether the target food has deteriorated based on the matching results.

[0008] Optionally, the target attenuation coefficient is matched with multiple attenuation coefficient intervals, and the target food ingredient is determined to have deteriorated based on the matching results. This includes: determining the target attenuation coefficient interval to which the target attenuation coefficient belongs, wherein the multiple attenuation coefficient intervals include the target attenuation coefficient interval; determining the deterioration level corresponding to the target attenuation coefficient interval as the target deterioration level of the target food ingredient; and determining that the target food ingredient has deteriorated if the target deterioration level is greater than a preset level.

[0009] Optionally, the method further includes determining whether the target food has spoiled based at least on the target decay coefficient, and the method also includes: acquiring a target image of the target food; determining the target type of the target food based on the target image; determining the image similarity between the target image and a sample image, wherein the sample image is a sample image of the target type of food after it has spoiled; and determining whether the target food has spoiled based on the image similarity and the target decay coefficient.

[0010] Optionally, determining whether the target food has deteriorated based on image similarity and target decay coefficient includes: obtaining a first weight value corresponding to the similarity; obtaining a second weight value corresponding to the target decay coefficient; determining the target deterioration level of the target food based on image similarity, the first weight value, the target decay coefficient, and the second weight value; and determining that the target food has deteriorated if the target deterioration level is greater than a preset level.

[0011] Optionally, the target image includes at least: a target shape and a target color; the sample image includes at least: a sample shape and a sample color. Determining the image similarity between the target image and the sample image includes: determining the shape similarity between the target shape and the sample shape; determining the color matching degree between the target color and the sample color; determining the image similarity based on the shape similarity and the color matching degree, wherein the greater the shape similarity and the color matching degree, the higher the image similarity.

[0012] Optionally, the method further includes: collecting text information from the packaging of the target ingredient; identifying the expiration date in the text information; and determining that the target ingredient has spoiled if the current time has passed the expiration date.

[0013] Optionally, if it is determined that the target food has spoiled, a notification message is sent to the terminal held by the target object, wherein the notification message is used to remind the target object to clean up the target food.

[0014] Optionally, the refrigerator is a height-adjustable refrigerator, and the method further includes: determining the remaining capacity of each storage space inside the refrigerator, wherein the storage space includes: a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment; determining the space utilization rate corresponding to each storage space based on the remaining capacity of the storage space; determining the storage space with a space utilization rate less than a preset utilization rate threshold as the target storage space, and shrinking the target storage space to reduce the height of the refrigerator.

[0015] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a food monitoring device is also provided, comprising: a transmitting module, configured to transmit ultrasonic waves to a target food item inside a refrigerator, detect the target food item using ultrasonic waves, and obtain detection data, wherein the detection data is used to record changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food item; a first determining module, configured to determine a target attenuation coefficient of ultrasonic waves within the target food item based on the detection data; and a second determining module, configured to determine whether the target food item has deteriorated, at least based on the target attenuation coefficient.

[0016] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a non-volatile storage medium is also provided. The non-volatile storage medium includes a stored program, wherein, when the program is running, it controls the device where the non-volatile storage medium is located to execute a monitoring method for any kind of food ingredient.

[0017] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a processor is also provided, which is used to run a program, wherein the program executes a monitoring method for any kind of food ingredient during runtime.

[0018] In this embodiment, ultrasonic detection is employed. Ultrasonic waves are sent to target food items inside the refrigerator to detect them, generating detection data. This data records the changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food items. Based on the detection data, a target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic waves within the target food items is determined. At least based on the target attenuation coefficient, it is determined whether the target food items have spoiled. This achieves the goal of timely monitoring of food item status, thereby realizing automatic monitoring and detection of food item status based on ultrasonic detection signals. It promptly identifies spoiled food items, preventing spoiled food items from affecting other normal food items and ensuring the normal operation of the refrigerator. This solves the technical problem that related technologies often rely on manual methods to identify spoiled food items, which affects the normal operation of the refrigerator, causes other food items to rot and spoil, and has adverse effects on user health. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for monitoring food ingredients according to an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of an exemplary intelligent refrigerator control system according to this application;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an optional food monitoring device according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort should fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0024] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0025] To facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments of this application by those skilled in the art, the technical terms or some nouns that may be involved in this application are explained as follows:

[0026] Ultrasonic attenuation: When ultrasonic waves propagate in a medium, the energy of the ultrasonic waves gradually weakens as the propagation distance increases. This phenomenon is called ultrasonic attenuation.

[0027] Types and causes of attenuation: (1) Diffusion attenuation: Due to the diffusion of the sound beam, as the propagation distance increases, the beam cross section becomes larger and larger, thus gradually reducing the energy per unit area. This type of attenuation is called diffusion attenuation. Diffusion attenuation mainly depends on the geometry of the wavefront and is unrelated to the properties of the propagation medium. (2) Scattering attenuation: When ultrasonic waves encounter an interface composed of media with different acoustic impedances during propagation, scattering (reflection, refraction, or wave mode conversion) occurs, reducing the energy in the original propagation direction of the sound wave. This type of attenuation is called scattering attenuation. The coarseness of the grains in the material (compared to the wavelength) is the main factor causing scattering attenuation. (3) Absorption attenuation: When ultrasonic waves propagate in a medium, due to factors such as internal friction (viscosity) between medium particles and heat conduction, the sound energy is converted into other forms of energy (heat). This type of attenuation is called absorption attenuation, also known as viscous attenuation. Scattering attenuation and absorption attenuation are related to the properties of the medium, and are therefore collectively referred to as material attenuation.

[0028] According to an embodiment of this application, a method for monitoring ingredients is provided. It should be noted that the steps shown in the flowchart in the accompanying drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions. Also, although a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described may be executed in a different order than that shown here.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a method for monitoring food ingredients according to an embodiment of this application. This method is applied in a refrigerator, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0030] Step S102: Send ultrasonic waves to the target food inside the refrigerator, use ultrasonic waves to detect the target food, and obtain detection data. The detection data is used to record the changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food.

[0031] Step S104: Determine the target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasound in the target food based on the detection data;

[0032] Step S106: Determine whether the target food ingredient has deteriorated, at least based on the target attenuation coefficient.

[0033] This food monitoring method involves sending ultrasonic waves to the target food inside the refrigerator to detect it and obtain detection data. This data records the changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food. Then, the target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic waves within the target food is determined based on the detection data. Finally, the attenuation coefficient alone can determine whether the target food has spoiled, achieving the goal of timely monitoring of the food's condition. This method realizes the automatic monitoring and detection of food conditions based on ultrasonic detection signals, promptly identifying spoiled food, preventing spoiled food from affecting other normal food, and ensuring the refrigerator's normal operation. It also solves the technical problem that related technologies often rely on manual methods to identify spoiled food, which can affect the normal operation of the refrigerator, cause other food to rot and spoil, and have adverse effects on user health.

[0034] In some embodiments of this application, the target attenuation coefficient of ultrasound within the target food ingredient is determined based on detection data. This can be achieved through the following steps: specifically, determining the first amplitude of the first echo, the second amplitude of the second echo, and the transmission distance of the ultrasound within the target food ingredient along the detection direction, wherein the first echo and the second echo are two adjacent echo signals; finally, determining the target attenuation coefficient based on the first amplitude, the second amplitude, and the transmission distance. It should be noted that the above determination of the target attenuation coefficient based on the first amplitude, the second amplitude, and the transmission distance can specifically be: a = [20log(h2-h1)-x] / 2d (dB / mm).

[0035] Where a is the target attenuation coefficient, h2 and h1 represent the first amplitude of the first echo and the second amplitude of the second echo, respectively; [20log(h2-h1)-x] represents the decibel difference (dB) between the first echo and the second echo, x is an arbitrary constant (can be taken as 2), and d is the sound path, that is, the transmission distance of the ultrasonic wave in the detection direction.

[0036] In some optional embodiments of this application, determining whether a target food ingredient has spoiled can be done at least based on a target attenuation coefficient, including: determining the target type of the target food ingredient; retrieving multiple attenuation coefficient intervals corresponding to the target type of food ingredient, wherein the multiple attenuation coefficient intervals indicate different spoilage levels of the target type of food ingredient; matching the target attenuation coefficient with the multiple attenuation coefficient intervals, and determining whether the target food ingredient has spoiled based on the matching result. Specifically, matching the target attenuation coefficient with multiple attenuation coefficient intervals and determining whether the target food ingredient has spoiled based on the matching result includes: determining the target attenuation coefficient interval to which the target attenuation coefficient belongs, wherein the multiple attenuation coefficient intervals include: the target attenuation coefficient interval; determining that the spoilage level corresponding to the target attenuation coefficient interval is the target spoilage level of the target food ingredient; and determining that the target food ingredient has spoiled if the target spoilage level is greater than a preset level. For example, the attenuation intervals are [0-3), [3-7), and [7-10], and the spoilage levels corresponding to the above instantaneous intervals are respectively level 0 (food ingredient has not spoiled), level 1 (food ingredient has undergone general spoilage), and level 2 (food ingredient has severely spoiled). For example, if the target decay coefficient is 1, the food is determined to be intact and the spoilage level is 0, meaning the food has not spoiled. Or, if the target decay rate is 6, the food has been determined to have undergone general spoilage.

[0037] In some embodiments of this application, determining whether a target food ingredient has spoiled, at least based on a target attenuation coefficient, can also be achieved in the following way: Specifically, a target image of the target food ingredient can be acquired, then the target type of the target food ingredient can be determined based on the target image, and finally, the image similarity between the target image and a sample image can be determined, wherein the sample image is a sample image of a food ingredient of the target type that has spoiled; the determination of whether the target food ingredient has spoiled is based on the image similarity and the target attenuation coefficient. That is, the currently detected image of the target food ingredient is matched with images of similar food ingredients that have already spoiled, and the spoilage status of the target food ingredient is determined based on the similarity between the two.

[0038] In some optional embodiments of this application, when determining whether a target food ingredient has spoiled based on image similarity and a target attenuation coefficient, a first weight value corresponding to the similarity and a second weight value corresponding to the target attenuation coefficient can be obtained; a target spoilage level of the target food ingredient can be determined based on image similarity, the first weight value, the target attenuation coefficient, and the second weight value; if the target spoilage level is greater than a preset level, the target food ingredient is determined to be spoiled. Specifically, the target spoilage level can be obtained by multiplying the image similarity by the first weight value and adding the target attenuation coefficient multiplied by the second weight value.

[0039] In some embodiments of this application, the target image may include at least a target shape and a target color; the sample image may include at least a sample shape and a sample color. Therefore, determining the image similarity between the target image and the sample image can be achieved through the following steps: specifically, determining the shape similarity between the target shape and the sample shape; determining the color matching degree between the target color and the sample color; and determining the image similarity based on the shape similarity and the color matching degree, wherein the greater the shape similarity and the color matching degree, the higher the image similarity.

[0040] In some optional embodiments of this application, text information from the packaging of the target ingredient can also be collected; the expiration date in the text information can be identified, and if the expiration date has passed, the target ingredient can be determined to have spoiled. (A specification is required.) The above recognition algorithm can be implemented using an OCR recognition algorithm.

[0041] In some embodiments of this application, when it is determined that the target food has spoiled, a prompt message can be sent to the terminal held by the target object, wherein the prompt message is used to remind the target object to clean up the target food.

[0042] In some optional embodiments of this application, the refrigerator can receive voice control commands from the user, control the refrigerator temperature based on the user's voice commands, and also summarize the food currently stored in the refrigerator based on images captured by the camera, classify the food stored in the refrigerator, and recommend recipes to the user in conjunction with recipe data in the cloud. It should be noted that classifying the food in the refrigerator can identify the location of the food and then display it on the display screen. This display screen can be the display screen configured on the refrigerator itself or other display screens. If the identification result shows that the user has not placed the food according to the preset classification type, the current placement and classification suggestions can be displayed on the display screen for the user to view.

[0043] In some alternative embodiments of this application, the refrigerator is a height-adjustable refrigerator, thus the remaining capacity of each storage space inside the refrigerator can be determined. The storage space includes a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment. The space utilization rate of each storage space is determined according to the remaining capacity of the storage space. The storage space with a space utilization rate less than a preset utilization rate threshold is determined as the target storage space, and the target storage space is shrunk to reduce the height of the refrigerator.

[0044] Specifically, data collected by an image acquisition device can be used to identify the remaining capacity of each storage space in the refrigerator. For example, the remaining capacity of the refrigerator compartment or freezer compartment can be determined, and the space utilization rate can be determined based on the remaining capacity. When the identification result indicates that the space utilization rate of a certain storage space is less than a preset utilization rate threshold, a prompt message can be sent to the user's terminal or displayed on the screen. This prompt message is used to remind the user to move the food or items placed in that storage space to other storage spaces. For example, if there are few items or food placed on a certain shelf in the refrigerator compartment, and the space utilization rate is less than the preset utilization rate threshold, the user is prompted to move the items and food on that shelf to other shelves in the refrigerator compartment. It should be noted that after the items and food are moved to other shelves, the refrigerator shelf is automatically retracted. It can be understood that automatically retracting unused shelves can make room for storage in other shelves. Furthermore, after automatically retracting unused shelves or freezer compartments, the height of the refrigerator can be adjusted to save space occupied by the refrigerator.

[0045] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of an exemplary intelligent refrigerator control system according to this application, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the system includes: a voice control system, an image recognition system, a classification and placement prompt system, an automatic expansion system, a food monitoring system, and a personalized recipe recommendation system. The voice control system allows users to adjust the temperature of the refrigerator's crisper and freezer compartments. The image recognition system, based on a cloud-based image library and deep learning image recognition algorithms, identifies items (food) in the refrigerator, then classifies and counts them. It can also use image recognition to help monitor whether food is spoiling. The classification and placement prompt system, based on the image recognition classification results, automatically reminds the user to rearrange items if the refrigerator is found to be cluttered.

[0046] Optionally, the automatic retractable system is used to prompt the user to move items from a certain shelf in the refrigerator or freezer compartment to another shelf when the space utilization of that shelf is low. Furthermore, when the shelf is identified and detected as empty again by the image recognition system, the shelf can be automatically retracted. Through the above steps, the height of the refrigerator can be reduced, the occupied area can be reduced, and the utilization rate of kitchen space can be improved.

[0047] Optionally, the food monitoring system can be a food monitoring system built using ultrasonic technology, image recognition technology, and OCR technology. When food enters the refrigerator, the system scans the shelf life of the food using OCR technology. If the food is about to expire, the refrigerator will directly send a notification to the user's mobile phone. The user can then dispose of the food that is about to expire as needed, or determine whether the food has spoiled based on ultrasonic data, etc. If the food has spoiled, the refrigerator will send a prompt to the user.

[0048] Optionally, a personalized recipe recommendation system can recommend recipes based on the ingredients currently in the refrigerator, providing users with a better user experience.

[0049] It should be noted that deep learning algorithms, including but not limited to, convolutional neural network (CNN) models, can be used in image recognition systems. As is understandable, CNNs are commonly used for image data analysis and processing; therefore, this algorithm is employed in scene recognition systems. CNNs are primarily used for image classification, object detection, and semantic segmentation. In the application scenarios of the relevant embodiments of this application, this algorithm is used to solve image recognition and object detection. The operation steps of the image recognition system can be based on the Face++ open-source framework to identify food categories and then perform automated classification.

[0050] It is readily apparent that this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0051] 1. Compared to button-operated refrigerator temperature control, this version adds voice wake-up and voice control, making it easier for users to control the refrigerator temperature.

[0052] 2. Based on the items stored in the user's refrigerator, perform image recognition, summarize the ingredients currently stored in the user's refrigerator, and combine them with recipe data from the cloud to recommend recipes to the user.

[0053] 3. Based on image recognition, the refrigerator categorizes and automatically detects the items inside, displaying the location of the identified items on the refrigerator's screen. If the user does not place the items according to their categories, the refrigerator can remind the user to do so.

[0054] 4. When the space utilization rate of a certain shelf in the refrigerator or freezer is low, the user will be prompted to move the items on that shelf to another shelf. If the shelf is identified and detected as empty again by the image recognition system, the shelf will automatically shrink, reducing the height of the refrigerator, reducing the area occupied, and improving the utilization rate of kitchen space.

[0055] 5. A food monitoring system built using image recognition and OCR technologies scans the expiration date of food when it enters the refrigerator. If the food is about to expire, the refrigerator will send a notification to the user's mobile phone, and the user can then dispose of the food as needed.

[0056] Figure 3 This is a monitoring device for food ingredients according to an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the device includes:

[0057] The transmitting module 40 is used to send ultrasonic waves to the target food inside the refrigerator, and use ultrasonic waves to detect the target food to obtain detection data. The detection data is used to record the changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves in the target food.

[0058] The first determining module 42 is used to determine the target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic wave in the target food based on the detection data.

[0059] The second determining module 44 is used to determine whether the target food ingredient has deteriorated, at least based on the target attenuation coefficient.

[0060] In this device, the transmitting module 40 is used to send ultrasonic waves to the target food inside the refrigerator, using ultrasonic waves to detect the target food and obtain detection data. The detection data is used to record the changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food. The first determining module 42 is used to determine the target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic waves within the target food based on the detection data. The second determining module 44 is used to determine whether the target food has deteriorated based at least on the target attenuation coefficient. This achieves the purpose of timely monitoring of the food's condition, thereby realizing the technical effects of automatically monitoring and detecting the food's condition based on ultrasonic detection signals, timely identifying deteriorated food, avoiding the impact of deteriorated food on other normal food, and ensuring the normal use of the refrigerator. This solves the technical problem that related technologies often rely on manual methods to identify deteriorated food, which affects the normal use of the refrigerator, causes other food to rot and deteriorate, and has adverse effects on user health.

[0061] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a non-volatile storage medium is also provided. The non-volatile storage medium includes a stored program, wherein, when the program is running, it controls the device where the non-volatile storage medium is located to execute a monitoring method for any kind of food ingredient.

[0062] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a processor is also provided, which is used to run a program, wherein the program executes a monitoring method for any kind of food ingredient during runtime.

[0063] Specifically, the aforementioned storage medium is used to store program instructions that perform the following functions, thereby achieving the following functions:

[0064] Ultrasonic waves are sent to the target food inside the refrigerator to detect the target food and obtain detection data. The detection data is used to record the changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food. The target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic waves within the target food is determined based on the detection data. At least the target attenuation coefficient is used to determine whether the target food has deteriorated.

[0065] Specifically, the processor described above is used to call program instructions from memory to implement the following functions:

[0066] Ultrasonic waves are sent to the target food inside the refrigerator to detect the target food and obtain detection data. The detection data is used to record the changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food. The target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic waves within the target food is determined based on the detection data. At least the target attenuation coefficient is used to determine whether the target food has deteriorated.

[0067] In this embodiment, ultrasonic detection is employed. Ultrasonic waves are sent to target food items inside the refrigerator to detect them, generating detection data. This data records the changes that occur during the transmission of ultrasonic waves within the target food items. Based on the detection data, a target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic waves within the target food items is determined. At least based on the target attenuation coefficient, it is determined whether the target food items have spoiled. This achieves the goal of timely monitoring of food item status, thereby realizing automatic monitoring and detection of food item status based on ultrasonic detection signals. It promptly identifies spoiled food items, preventing spoiled food items from affecting other normal food items and ensuring the normal operation of the refrigerator. This solves the technical problem that related technologies often rely on manual methods to identify spoiled food items, which affects the normal operation of the refrigerator, causes other food items to rot and spoil, and has adverse effects on user health.

[0068] The sequence numbers of the embodiments in this application are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0069] In the above embodiments of this application, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0070] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed technical content can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for example, the division of units can be a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For instance, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between units or modules may be electrical or other forms.

[0071] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0072] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0073] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), portable hard drive, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0074] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this application. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring food ingredients, characterized by, The method is applied to a refrigerator, and comprises the following steps: sending an ultrasonic wave to a target food material in the refrigerator, detecting the target food material by using the ultrasonic wave, and obtaining detection data, wherein the detection data is used to record changes of the ultrasonic wave during transmission in the target food material; determining a target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic wave in the target food material according to the detection data; determining whether the target food material is deteriorated according to at least the target attenuation coefficient, comprising: determining a target type of the target food material; calling a plurality of attenuation coefficient intervals corresponding to the target type of food material, wherein the plurality of attenuation coefficient intervals indicate different deterioration levels of the target type of food material; matching the target attenuation coefficient with the plurality of attenuation coefficient intervals, and determining whether the target food material is deteriorated according to a matching result; wherein the refrigerator is a height-adjustable refrigerator, and the method further comprises: determining remaining capacities of each storage space in the refrigerator, wherein the storage space comprises a refrigeration chamber and a freezer; determining space utilization rates corresponding to the each storage space according to the remaining capacities of the storage space; determining a target storage space with a space utilization rate less than a preset utilization rate threshold, and prompting a user to put items in the target storage space to other storage spaces; and in a case where the target storage space is identified as empty, shrinking the target storage space to reduce the height of the refrigerator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: determining a first amplitude of a first echo, a second amplitude of a second echo, and a transmission distance of the ultrasonic wave in the target food material along a detection direction in the detection data, wherein the first echo and the second echo are two adjacent echo signals; determining the target attenuation coefficient according to the first amplitude, the second amplitude, and the transmission distance.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: determining a target attenuation coefficient interval to which the target attenuation coefficient belongs, wherein the plurality of attenuation coefficient intervals comprise the target attenuation coefficient interval; determining a target deterioration level of the target food material as a deterioration level corresponding to the target attenuation coefficient interval; in a case where the target deterioration level is greater than a preset level, determining that the target food material is deteriorated.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: obtaining a target image of the target food material; determining a target type of the target food material based on the target image; determining an image similarity between the target image and a sample image, wherein the sample image is a sample image of the target type of food material after deterioration; determining whether the target food material is deteriorated according to the image similarity and the target attenuation coefficient.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The method further comprises: obtaining a first weight value corresponding to the similarity; acquire a second weight value corresponding to the target attenuation coefficient; determine a target spoilage level of the target food material according to the image similarity, the first weight value, the target attenuation coefficient, and the second weight value; determine that the target food material is spoiled in a case where the target spoilage level is greater than a preset level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: acquire text information of a packaging bag of the target food material; identify a shelf life in the text information, and determine that the target food material is spoiled in a case where a current time is determined to have passed the shelf life.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, determine that the target food material is spoiled, and send prompt information to a terminal held by a target object, wherein the prompt information is used to remind the target object to clean up the target food material.

8. A food material monitoring device characterized by comprising: comprise: a sending module configured to send an ultrasonic wave to a target food material in a refrigerator, detect the target food material by using the ultrasonic wave, and obtain detection data, wherein the detection data is used to record changes occurring in a transmission process of the ultrasonic wave in the target food material; a first determining module configured to determine a target attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic wave in the target food material according to the detection data; a second determining module configured to determine whether the target food material is spoiled according to at least the target attenuation coefficient, including: determining a target type of the target food material; calling a plurality of attenuation coefficient intervals corresponding to food materials of the target type, wherein the plurality of attenuation coefficient intervals indicate different spoilage levels of food materials of the target type; matching the target attenuation coefficient with the plurality of attenuation coefficient intervals, and determining whether the target food material is spoiled according to a matching result. The refrigerator is a height-adjustable refrigerator, and the monitoring device is further configured to: determine remaining capacities of each storage space in the refrigerator, wherein the storage spaces include a refrigeration chamber and a freezer; determine space utilization rates corresponding to the each storage space according to the remaining capacities of the storage spaces; determine a target storage space in a case where the space utilization rate of a storage space is less than a preset utilization rate threshold, and prompt a user to put items in the target storage space to other storage spaces; and in a case where the target storage space is identified as empty, shrink the target storage space to reduce the height of the refrigerator.

9. A non-volatile storage medium, comprising: The non-volatile storage medium comprises a stored program, wherein the non-volatile storage medium controls a device in which the non-volatile storage medium is located to execute the food material monitoring method in any one of claims 1 to 7 when the program is running.

10. A processor, comprising: The processor is configured to run a program, wherein the processor executes the food material monitoring method in any one of claims 1 to 7 when the program is running.

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