Refrigerator

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of refrigeration equipment, and discloses a refrigerator which comprises a main body defining a storage space; the millimeter wave radar detection system is arranged on the main body; the food material management system is connected with the millimeter wave radar detection system; wherein the millimeter wave radar detection system is used for transmitting microwave signals into the storage space and receiving reflected microwave signals, the millimeter wave radar detection system transmits the reflected microwave signals to the food material management system, and the food material management system obtains dielectric information of food materials according to the received microwave signals and identifies the types of the food materials according to the dielectric information. The food material management system can obtain dielectric information of the food materials according to microwave signals absorbed by the food materials and microwave signals reflected by the food materials and identify the types of the food materials according to the dielectric information, and millimeter waves used in the millimeter wave radar detection system can penetrate through a packaging bag and a non-metal packaging box, so that the food materials can be conveniently packaged. The interference of food material packaging and stacking on food material type identification is reduced, and the accuracy of food material type identification is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of refrigeration equipment, and in particular to a refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] At present, the food management methods of refrigerators are mainly divided into active and passive methods. The active food management method mainly relies on manual entry, voice entry, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag clip entry, etc. This method requires active participation of users, has high requirements for users, and does not conform to the actual usage habits of users. Therefore, although the refrigerator has such functions, the actual usage rate of users is extremely low, and the actual user value of food management cannot be brought into play.

[0003] Passive food management means that the user does not need to participate directly. The refrigerator's built-in equipment can extract the information of the food that the user puts in the refrigerator, thereby realizing the management of the refrigerator's food. Currently, the main technologies used include optical image recognition, laser radar, infrared radar, millimeter wave imaging, etc.

[0004] Optical image recognition can better identify the type and quantity of ingredients through self-learning algorithms, but this technology has high requirements for light. When the ingredients are covered with plastic bags or boxes with poor light transmittance, or when the ingredients are stacked, the optical image recognition technology will fail, and this problem cannot be solved through algorithm optimization. For actual refrigerator users, it is common to put different ingredients in bags and stack them in the refrigerator. Therefore, the data accuracy of the optical image recognition solution is low and cannot be solved by this technology.

[0005] Although laser radar can penetrate packaging bags, its penetration depth is small and it can only penetrate the surface layer. It mainly forms a two-dimensional image and judges the type of food by the shape of the food in the image. For food with similar shapes such as apples, pears, oranges, and tangerines, its judgment accuracy is extremely low, and this problem cannot be solved through algorithm optimization.

[0006] Infrared radar technology mainly relies on the temperature difference of food to achieve two-dimensional images. It mainly recognizes the type of food through the outline of the food and the infrared spectrum. In addition to being unable to accurately distinguish between foods of similar shapes such as apples, pears, oranges, and tangerines, its recognition accuracy will also be greatly reduced when the temperatures of the foods are similar or the foods are stacked, and this problem cannot be solved by algorithms.

[0007] Millimeter wave imaging technology. Although millimeter waves can penetrate packaging bags and non-metallic packaging boxes, relying solely on imaging technology requires high imaging accuracy, resulting in high hardware costs. At the same time, its accuracy in identifying food types is low.

[0008] The related art discloses a method for managing food materials in a refrigerator, which manages food materials based on the image recognition technology of an optical camera.

[0009] In the process of implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is found that there are at least the following problems in the related art:

[0010] In the related art, when food materials are covered with bags with poor light transmittance or the food materials are stacked, it has a great impact on the recognition of food material types, and the accuracy of judging food material types by the image recognition technology of an optical camera is low.

[0011] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background art is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present application, and thus may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0012] To have a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed embodiments, a simple summary is given below. This summary is not a general review, nor is it intended to identify key / important constituent elements or delineate the protection scope of these embodiments, but rather serves as a preface to the subsequent detailed description.

[0013] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a refrigerator to reduce the interference of food material packaging and stacking on the recognition of food material types and improve the accuracy of recognizing food material types.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator, including: a main body that defines a storage space; a millimeter-wave radar detection system disposed on the main body; a food material management system connected to the millimeter-wave radar detection system; wherein, the millimeter-wave radar detection system is configured to transmit microwave signals into the storage space and receive the reflected microwave signals, the millimeter-wave radar detection system transmits the reflected microwave signals to the food material management system, and the food material management system obtains the dielectric information of the food materials according to the received microwave signals and recognizes the types of the food materials according to the dielectric information.

[0015] Optionally, the food material management system is configured to: divide the food materials into N 1 layers to respectively form N 1 dielectric information layers, wherein, N 1 =(Li - Hi) / n 1 ; analyze and fuse the N 1 dielectric information layers to obtain the dielectric information of the food materials; wherein, n 1 is a constant, and L i , H i are respectively the maximum distance and the minimum distance of the food materials from the millimeter-wave antenna of the millimeter-wave radar detection system.

[0016] Optionally, the food ingredient management system is further configured to obtain the three-dimensional position information of the food ingredient based on the received microwave signal, so as to acquire the three-dimensional image of the food ingredient and identify the quantity of the food ingredient according to the three-dimensional image.

[0017] Optionally, the food ingredient management system is configured to: divide the food ingredients into N 2 layers, and respectively form N 2 image layers, where N 2 =(L i -H i ) / n 2 ; analyze and fuse the N 2 image layers to obtain the three-dimensional image of the food ingredient; where n 2 is a constant, and L i , H i are respectively the maximum distance and the minimum distance between the food ingredient and the millimeter-wave antenna of the millimeter-wave radar detection system.

[0018] Optionally, the food ingredient management system is configured to: filter out the microwave signal reflected from the main body.

[0019] Optionally, the millimeter-wave radar detection system includes a millimeter-wave antenna, and the millimeter-wave antenna is disposed on the outer surface of the main body and can cover the outer surface of the main body corresponding to the storage space in the XY plane or the XZ plane or the YZ plane.

[0020] Optionally, the millimeter-wave antenna can move relative to the outer surface of the main body so that the movement trajectory of the millimeter-wave antenna covers the outer surface of the main body corresponding to the storage space in the XY plane or the XZ plane or the YZ plane.

[0021] Optionally, the millimeter-wave antenna is slidably connected to the main body.

[0022] Optionally, the main body includes a side wall, and the side wall connected to the millimeter-wave antenna is made of plastic.

[0023] Optionally, the array unit of the millimeter-wave antenna is a standing-wave type series-fed array.

[0024] The refrigerator provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can achieve the following technical effects:

[0025] Food ingredients of different types correspond to different dielectric information. Different dielectric information results in different absorption and reflection of microwave signals by the food ingredients. The microwave signals absorbed by the food ingredients are obtained through the transmitted microwave signals and the reflected microwave signals. In this way, the food ingredient management system can obtain the dielectric information of the food ingredients according to the microwave signals absorbed and reflected by the food ingredients, and identify the types of the food ingredients according to the dielectric information. Moreover, the millimeter waves (a type of microwave) used in the millimeter-wave radar detection system can penetrate the packaging bags and non-metallic packaging boxes, reducing the interference of the packaging and stacking of the food ingredients on the identification of the types of the food ingredients and improving the accuracy of identifying the types of the food ingredients.

[0026] The above general description and the following description are merely exemplary and explanatory, and are not intended to limit the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] One or more embodiments are exemplarily illustrated by corresponding drawings. These exemplary illustrations and the drawings do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are shown as similar elements. The drawings do not constitute a scale limitation, and wherein:

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the X, Y, and Z directions are as shown by the coordinate axes in the figure;

[0029] Figure 2 is a top view structural diagram of a refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 3 is a top view structural diagram of another refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 4 is a structural diagram of a radar chip cascading system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] REFERENCE NUMERALS:

[0033] 10: Refrigerator; 11: Cabinet; 12: Door body;

[0034] 20: Main body; 21: Side wall; 30: Storage space; 31: Refrigerating chamber; 32: Freezing chamber; 33: Compartment;

[0035] 40: Millimeter-wave radar detection system; 41: Millimeter-wave antenna; 411: Transmitting antenna; 412: Receiving antenna; 413: Isolation antenna; 42: Radar control system; 43: Radar chip cascading system; 44: Radar chip; 441: Transmitting channel; 442: Receiving channel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0036] In order to be able to understand the features and technical content of the embodiments of the present disclosure in more detail, the implementation of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The attached drawings are for reference and explanation only, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following technical description, for the sake of explanation, a sufficient understanding of the disclosed embodiments is provided through multiple details. However, one or more embodiments can still be implemented without these details. In other cases, well-known structures and devices can be shown in a simplified manner to simplify the drawings.

[0037] In the description and claims of the embodiments of the present disclosure and the above-mentioned drawings, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish similar objects and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances for the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0038] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "upper", "lower", "inner", "middle", "outer", "front", and "rear" is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. These terms are mainly used to better describe the embodiments of the present disclosure and their embodiments, and are not used to limit that the indicated devices, elements, or components must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Moreover, in addition to being able to represent an orientation or positional relationship, some of the above terms may also be used to represent other meanings. For example, the term "upper" may also be used to represent a certain attachment relationship or connection relationship in some cases. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of these terms in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0039] In addition, the terms "arranged", "connected", and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connected" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral structure; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or there is internal communication between two devices, elements, or components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0040] Unless otherwise specified, the term "plurality" means two or more.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the character " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B.

[0042] The term "and / or" is a description of the associated relationship of an object, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B means: A or B, or, A and B these three relationships.

[0043] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in the embodiments of the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0044] The lidar technology, infrared radar technology, and millimeter-wave imaging technology mentioned in the background art essentially form images first, and then distinguish the types of food ingredients according to the shape contours of the food ingredients in the images. Through self-learning algorithms, the recognition accuracy can be improved to a certain extent, but the recognition accuracy and precision of the optical camera in the related technology cannot be achieved. For optical camera imaging, in addition to the shape parameters of the food ingredients, there are also color parameters, while the lidar technology, infrared radar technology, and millimeter-wave imaging technology all have only a single shape parameter. However, in the related technology, when the light is poor, or the food ingredients are covered with packaging bags or boxes with poor light transmittance, or the shapes and colors of the food ingredients are similar, or the food ingredients are stacked, the types of food ingredients cannot be effectively recognized.

[0045] Dielectric properties refer to the properties of storing and losing electrostatic energy under the action of an electric field, usually expressed by the dielectric constant and dielectric loss. For different types of food ingredients, not only their sizes and shapes are different, but also the contents and types of water, sugar, vitamins, etc. contained in the food ingredients are different. Therefore, the dielectric properties of different types of food ingredients are different. For example, at room temperature, the relative dielectric constant of water is 81. When the ambient temperature remains unchanged, the higher the water content (the lower the concentration of nutrients such as sugar), the smaller the relative dielectric constant of the food ingredient, and the stronger the microwave absorption performance; for round fruits such as apples, the microwave energy will accumulate (reflect more strongly) at the center position of the food ingredient, and green leafy vegetables are more likely to accumulate microwave (reflect more strongly) at the roots and stems of the food ingredient; for spinach, its nutrients and cell structure make it easier to absorb microwaves. Among them, the dielectric constant refers to the ratio of the electric field strength to the electric displacement in a substance under the action of an electric field; the relative dielectric constant refers to the ratio of the dielectric constant of a substance at a certain temperature to the vacuum dielectric constant, and the vacuum dielectric constant is a constant.

[0046] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, based on the different dielectric properties of different types of food ingredients, resulting in different absorption and reflection characteristics of microwave signals, the type of food ingredients in the refrigerator 10 is recognized in combination with the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40. According to user requirements, the type of food ingredients in the refrigerating chamber 31 or the freezing chamber 32 can be recognized.

[0047] Combined with Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown in the figure, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a refrigerator 10, which includes a main body 20, a millimeter-wave radar detection system 40, and a food management system. The main body 20 defines a storage space 30. The millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 is disposed on the main body 20, and the food management system is connected to the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40. Among them, the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 is used to transmit microwave signals into the storage space 30 and receive the reflected microwave signals. The millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 transmits the reflected microwave signals to the food management system. The food management system obtains the dielectric information of the food according to the received microwave signals, and identifies the type of the food according to the dielectric information.

[0048] By using the refrigerator 10 provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, different types of foods correspond to different dielectric information. Different dielectric information results in different absorption and reflection of microwave signals by the foods. The microwave signals absorbed by the foods are obtained from the transmitted microwave signals and the reflected microwave signals. In this way, the food management system can obtain the dielectric information of the food according to the absorbed microwave signals and the reflected microwave signals of the food, and identify the type of the food according to the dielectric information. Moreover, the millimeter waves (a type of microwave) used in the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 can penetrate the packaging bags and non-metallic packaging boxes, reducing the interference of the packaging and stacking of the foods on the identification of the food types and improving the accuracy of identifying the food types.

[0049] Optionally, the millimeter-wave frequency adopted by the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 is in the range of 76 - 81 GHz.

[0050] The frequency band of 76 - 81 GHz belongs to the atmospheric window frequency band. The oxygen molecules and water molecules in the air have weak absorption of the microwave signals in this frequency band, and the attenuation of the microwave signals in this frequency band in the air is small. In this way, the microwave signals transmitted by the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 can obtain a longer transmission distance.

[0051] Optionally, the food management system is configured to: divide the foods into N 1 layers, and respectively form N 1 dielectric information layers, where N 1 =(Li - Hi) / n 1 ; analyze and fuse the N 1 dielectric information layers to obtain the dielectric information of the foods; where n 1 is a constant, and L i , H i are respectively the maximum distance and the minimum distance of the foods from the millimeter-wave antenna of the millimeter-wave radar detection system.

[0052] When the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 collects data, it collects data at different distances from the millimeter-wave antenna 41. Each distance plane is a layer of data, and the food management system can form multiple dielectric information layers based on the data of each layer. However, for the entire storage space 30, only the height space where the food is located is the effective height. Through (L i -H i ) the effective height of the food in the storage space 30 can be obtained. The value of n 1 is determined comprehensively according to the distance resolution of the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 and the average height of common foods. For example, n 1 = 4 cm, which is used to divide the effective height corresponding to the storage space 30, so as to achieve N 1 -layer data collection. The food management system analyzes and fuses the N 1 dielectric information layers to obtain the dielectric information of the food in the storage space 30, and identifies the type of food according to the dielectric information.

[0053] Optionally, a dielectric information database of foods is established through experiments. The food management system compares the obtained dielectric information of the food with the dielectric information database of foods to identify the type of food.

[0054] Specifically, foods of known types are placed at different positions in the storage space 30. The millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 emits microwave signals into the storage space 30. After these microwave signals encounter the foods, part of them are absorbed by the foods and the other part are reflected by the foods. At the same time, when transmitting different distances, the transmission loss of the microwave signals is also different (the transmission loss is directly related to the distance, and the transmission loss can be estimated through the distance. Similarly, the distance can also be estimated through the transmission loss). Therefore, the food management system can obtain the absorption and reflection data of the microwave signals by the foods of known types at different positions in the storage space 30 through information such as the emitted microwave signals, the reflected microwave signals, and the transmission loss (transmission distance). In this way, through multiple experiments, the absorption and reflection data of microwave signals by various known types of foods at different positions in the storage space 30 can be obtained, so as to establish a dielectric information database of foods. At the same time, the recognition accuracy and recognition breadth can be further improved by optimizing the database information and recognition algorithms.

[0055] In summary, after the user completes the action of storing the food and closes the door body 12, the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 starts to work, emits microwave signals into the storage space 30 and receives the microwave signals reflected by the N 1 -layer foods. The food management system processes the microwave signals transmitted by the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 to form N 1 dielectric information layers corresponding to the N 1 layers, and for the N 1Analyze and fuse the dielectric information layers to obtain the dielectric information of the food ingredients, and compare the dielectric information of the food ingredients with the data in the dielectric information database of the food ingredients to effectively identify the types of food ingredients.

[0056] In addition, it can be understood that in actual use, the refrigerator 10 has multiple compartments 33, and food ingredients will be placed in each compartment 33. However, for a single compartment 33, only the height space where the food ingredient is located is the effective height. Therefore, when collecting data, in order to improve efficiency, the effective height of each compartment 33 can be mainly collected, and the effective height of each compartment 33 can be divided. At this time, the above-mentioned N 1 =(L i -H i ) / n 1 formula can be used to stratify each compartment 33, and each compartment 33 forms N 1 layers corresponding to N 1 dielectric information layers; analyze and fuse the N 1 dielectric information layers of each compartment 33 to obtain the dielectric information of the food ingredients in each compartment 33. Among them, n 1 is a constant, and L i , H i are the maximum distance and the minimum distance of the food ingredient in the i-th layer compartment 33 from the millimeter-wave antenna 41 respectively.

[0057] Optionally, the food ingredient management system is also used to obtain the three-dimensional position information of the food ingredient according to the received microwave signal to obtain the three-dimensional image of the food ingredient, and identify the quantity of the food ingredient according to the three-dimensional image.

[0058] In this way, relying on the millimeter-wave imaging technology, the shape of the food ingredient and its position in the storage space 30 can be obtained to form a three-dimensional image of the food ingredient, and the three-dimensional image of the food ingredient is compared with the data in the shape database of the food ingredient established in advance to obtain the quantity of the food ingredient. According to the user's needs, the quantity of the food ingredient in the refrigerating chamber 31 can be identified, or the quantity of the food ingredient in the freezing chamber 32 can be identified.

[0059] The different shapes of the food ingredients will also affect the absorption and reflection of the microwave signal. Therefore, a shape database of the food ingredients can be established by imitating the method of establishing the above-mentioned dielectric information database of the food ingredients. Or the shape information can be directly input to establish a shape database of a certain food ingredient. When applying, after identifying the type of the food ingredient, the obtained three-dimensional image of the food ingredient is compared with the shape database of the food ingredient of the known type to obtain the quantity of this food ingredient.

[0060] Optionally, the food ingredient management system is configured to: divide the food ingredient into N 2 layers, and respectively form N 2 image layers, where N 2 =(Li -H i ) / n 2 ; Analyze and fuse the N 2 image layers to obtain a three-dimensional image of the food ingredients; where n 2 is a constant, and L i and H i are respectively the maximum distance and the minimum distance of the food ingredients from the millimeter-wave antenna of the millimeter-wave radar detection system.

[0061] When the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 collects data, it collects data at different distances from the millimeter-wave antenna 41. Each distance plane is a layer of data, and the food ingredient management system can form multiple image layers based on the data of each layer. However, for the entire storage space 30, only the height space where the food ingredients are located is the effective height. The effective height of the food ingredients in the storage space 30 can be obtained through (L i -H i ). The value of n 2 is determined comprehensively according to the distance resolution of the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 and the average height of common food ingredients. For example, n 2 = 4 cm, which is used to divide the effective height corresponding to the storage space 30, so as to realize N 2 layer data collection. The food ingredient management system analyzes and fuses the N 2 image layers to obtain a three-dimensional image of the food ingredients in the storage space 30 and identify the quantity of the food ingredients according to the three-dimensional image.

[0062] In summary, after the user completes the action of storing food ingredients and closes the door body 12, the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 starts to work, emits microwave signals into the storage space 30 and receives the microwave signals reflected by the N 2 layers of food ingredients. The food ingredient management system processes the microwave signals transmitted by the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 to form N 2 image layers corresponding to the N 2 layers, analyzes and fuses the N 2 image layers, obtains a three-dimensional image of the food ingredients, and compares the three-dimensional image of the food ingredients with the data in the shape database of the food ingredients to effectively identify the quantity of the food ingredients.

[0063] It can be understood that N 1 and N 2 can be the same or different; n 1 and n 2 can be the same or different.

[0064] The method for dividing the effective height of each bin 33 is the same as the method used to obtain the dielectric information of the food materials in each bin 33 above, and will not be elaborated here. Through the above method, the three-dimensional image of the food materials in each bin 33 can also be obtained.

[0065] Optionally, the food material management system is configured to filter out the microwave signals reflected from the main body 20.

[0066] When the user first powers on, the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 will perform automatic initialization settings. Through initialization, the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 collects the microwave signals reflected when no food materials are placed in the refrigerator 10 and transmits them to the food material management system, and the food material management system marks them as environmental data. In this way, the interference of the microwave signals reflected from the main body 20 on the identification of the types and / or quantities of food materials can be filtered out through the filtering algorithm.

[0067] It can be understood that when identifying the types and quantities of the lower-layer food materials, the food material management system will, according to the three-dimensional position information of the food materials, in addition to filtering out the microwave signals reflected from the main body 20, also filter out the microwave signals absorbed and reflected by the upper-layer food materials to obtain the microwave data absorbed and reflected by the lower-layer food materials. When different food materials are placed on the left and right sides within the same bin 33, the food material management system obtains the dielectric information of the food materials at different positions on the same plane according to the three-dimensional position information of the food materials to identify the types of food materials placed at this position.

[0068] Optionally, the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 includes a millimeter-wave antenna 41, and the millimeter-wave antenna 41 is provided on the outer surface of the main body 20 and can cover the outer surface of the main body 20 corresponding to the storage space 30 in the XY plane or the XZ plane or the YZ plane.

[0069] Placing the millimeter-wave antenna 41 on the outer surface of the main body 20 can reduce the influence of water vapor in the storage space 30 on the millimeter-wave antenna 41 and keep the millimeter-wave antenna 41 relatively dry. The millimeter-wave antenna 41 can be provided on the outer surface of the main body 20 in the XY plane, or on the outer surface of the main body 20 in the XZ plane, or on the outer surface of the main body 20 in the YZ plane, as long as it is ensured that the microwave signals transmitted and received by the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 in the XY plane or the XZ plane or the YZ plane can cover the storage space 30.

[0070] Optionally, as Figure 3 shown, the millimeter-wave antenna 41 can move relative to the outer surface of the main body 20 so that the movement trajectory of the millimeter-wave antenna 41 covers the outer surface of the main body 20 corresponding to the storage space 30 in the XY plane or the XZ plane or the YZ plane.

[0071] In this way, while ensuring that the microwave signals transmitted and received by the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 in the XY plane, XZ plane, or YZ plane can cover the storage space 30, the area of the millimeter-wave antenna 41 is reduced to save costs.

[0072] Optionally, the millimeter-wave antenna 41 is slidably connected to the main body 20.

[0073] In this way, through the sliding connection, the millimeter-wave antenna 41 moves along the outer surface of the main body 20 so that the movement trajectory of the millimeter-wave antenna 41 covers the outer surface of the main body 20 corresponding to the storage space 30 in the XY plane, XZ plane, or YZ plane.

[0074] Optionally, the millimeter-wave antenna 41 is rollably connected to the main body 20.

[0075] In this way, through the rolling connection, the millimeter-wave antenna 41 moves along the outer surface of the main body 20 so that the movement trajectory of the millimeter-wave antenna 41 covers the outer surface of the main body 20 corresponding to the storage space 30 in the XY plane, XZ plane, or YZ plane.

[0076] Optionally, the main body 20 includes a side wall 21, and the side wall 21 connected to the millimeter-wave antenna 41 is made of plastic.

[0077] Compared with the metal material, the plastic material has good wave transmission performance. Using the plastic material for the side wall 21 can reduce the interference of the side wall 21 structure on the microwave signal transmission and save costs.

[0078] Optionally, the side wall 21 is located above the storage space 30, that is, in the positive Y direction, and the millimeter-wave antenna 41 is arranged on the surface of the side wall 21 facing away from the storage space 30.

[0079] For a common refrigerator 10, the area of the side wall 21 above the storage space 30 is the smallest. Arranging the millimeter-wave antenna 41 on the side wall 21 above the storage space 30 can save costs, and being arranged above the refrigerator 10 is less affected by other household electrical appliances.

[0080] It can be understood that the refrigerator 10 can be a refrigerator 10 with a door body 12, or a refrigerator 10 without a door body 12, such as a refrigerator 10 with an access opening. The millimeter-wave antenna 41 can be arranged on the box body 11 or the door body 12.

[0081] Optionally, a cover plate is provided on the surface of the millimeter-wave antenna 41 facing away from the side wall 21.

[0082] By providing the cover plate to cover the millimeter-wave antenna 41, the influence of the external environment on the millimeter-wave antenna 41 is reduced, such as dust accumulation and high humidity.

[0083] Optionally, the array unit of the millimeter-wave antenna 41 is a standing-wave type series-fed array.

[0084] The standing-wave type series-fed antenna array has the characteristics of low loss of the transmission line, small stray radiation, and high feeding efficiency, and can maximize the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal and improve the detection accuracy of the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40. The element spacing is about 1 / 2 wavelength, and the optimal radiation of the radiation pattern is achieved by fine-tuning the element spacing.

[0085] Optionally, the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 further includes a radar control system 42 and a radar chip cascade system 43. Among them, the radar control system 42 is connected to the radar chip cascade system 43, and the radar chip cascade system 43 is connected to the millimeter-wave antenna 41.

[0086] Optionally, the radar chip 44 in the radar chip cascade system 43 uses the AWR2243 device, which is an integrated single-chip frequency-modulated continuous-wave transceiver that can operate in the frequency band of 76 GHz to 81 GHz. The AWR2243 device achieves a high degree of integration with a very small package and has the advantages of low power consumption, self-monitoring, and ultra-precision.

[0087] Optionally, as Figure 4 shown, the radar chip cascade system 43 is a four-stage cascade.

[0088] The AWR2243 device integrates a phase-locked loop and an analog-to-digital converter. A single chip can achieve 3 transmissions and 4 receptions, and a four-stage cascade can achieve 12 transmissions and 16 receptions, greatly simplifying the number of control objects of the radar control system 42.

[0089] The radar chip 44 includes a transmitting channel 441 and a receiving channel 442, and the millimeter-wave antenna 41 includes a transmitting antenna 411, a receiving antenna 412, and an isolation antenna 413. Among them, the transmitting channel 441 is connected to the transmitting antenna 411, the receiving channel 442 is connected to the receiving antenna 412, and the isolation antenna 413 is arranged between the transmitting antenna 411 and the receiving antenna 412, as Figure 4 shown.

[0090] In this way, the millimeter-wave radar detection system 40 transmits microwave signals to the storage space 30 through the transmitting channel 441 and the transmitting antenna 411, and receives the microwave signals reflected by the storage space 30 through the receiving antenna 412 and the receiving channel 442. The isolation antenna 413 separates the transmitted microwave signals from the reflected microwave signals to avoid mutual interference.

[0091] The above description and the accompanying drawings fully illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure, enabling those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may include structural and other changes. The embodiments represent only possible variations. Unless explicitly required, individual components and functions are optional, and the order of operations may vary. Parts and features of some embodiments may be included in or substituted for parts and features of other embodiments. The embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the structures described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, characterized in that, comprising: a main body that defines a storage space; a millimeter-wave radar detection system disposed on the main body; a food management system connected to the millimeter-wave radar detection system; wherein, the millimeter-wave radar detection system is configured to transmit microwave signals into the storage space and receive the reflected microwave signals, the millimeter-wave radar detection system transmits the reflected microwave signals to the food management system, the food management system obtains the dielectric information of the food based on the received microwave signals, and identifies the type of the food according to the dielectric information.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, the food management system is configured to: Divide the food ingredients into N 1 layers, respectively forming N 1 dielectric information layers, where N 1 =(Li - Hi) / n 1 ; Analyze and fuse N 1 dielectric information layers to obtain the dielectric information of the food ingredients; where n 1 is a constant, and L i and H i are the maximum distance and the minimum distance of the food material from the millimeter-wave antenna of the millimeter-wave radar detection system, respectively.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, the food management system is further configured to obtain the three-dimensional position information of the food based on the received microwave signals, so as to obtain a three-dimensional image of the food, and identify the quantity of the food according to the three-dimensional image.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that, the food management system is configured to: Divide the food ingredients into N 2 layers, and respectively form N 2 image layers, where N 2 = (L i - H i ) / n 2 ; For N 2 Analyze and fuse the image layer to obtain a three-dimensional image of the food ingredient; where n 2 is a constant, and L i , H i are respectively the maximum distance and the minimum distance of the food ingredient from the millimeter-wave antenna of the millimeter-wave radar detection system.

5. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, the food management system is configured to: filter out the microwave signals reflected from the main body.

6. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, the millimeter-wave radar detection system includes a millimeter-wave antenna, and the millimeter-wave antenna is disposed on the outer surface of the main body and can cover the outer surface of the main body corresponding to the storage space in the XY plane or the XZ plane or the YZ plane.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, characterized in that, the millimeter-wave antenna can move relative to the outer surface of the main body, so that the movement trajectory of the millimeter-wave antenna covers the outer surface of the main body corresponding to the storage space in the XY plane or the XZ plane or the YZ plane.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7, characterized in that, the millimeter-wave antenna is slidably connected to the main body.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 6, characterized in that, the main body includes a side wall, and the side wall connected to the millimeter-wave antenna is made of plastic.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 6, characterized in that, the array unit of the millimeter-wave antenna is a standing-wave type series-fed array.

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