A refrigerator shelf and a refrigerator

Abstract

This application provides a refrigerator shelf and a refrigerator, specifically relating to the field of home appliance technology. The refrigerator shelf includes a first insulating plate, a touch panel, and a second insulating plate stacked sequentially. The touch panel is provided with an electrical interface for connecting to the refrigerator's control unit. The touch panel is used to collect touch signals and send the touch signals to the control unit. Changes in the touch signals indicate changes in the state of the corresponding storage space on the refrigerator shelf, and the location where these changes occur on the refrigerator shelf. The changes in the storage space state include space occupancy, space release, or space retention. This application can determine whether food has been placed on the refrigerator shelf, whether food has been removed from the refrigerator shelf, and the corresponding location, thus achieving effective management of food and its location.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of home appliance technology, and in particular to a refrigerator shelf and a refrigerator. Background Technology

[0002] As people's living standards improve, refrigerators have become an indispensable household appliance. The primary function of a refrigerator is to preserve food, but with the increasing variety and quantity of food, food management within the refrigerator is becoming increasingly important. Users have growing needs for effective food management, especially the ability to quickly and accurately locate food within the refrigerator to promptly retrieve needed items or dispose of expired food.

[0003] Currently, the main technologies for managing and recording food ingredients include camera solutions, electronic tag solutions, and manual recording. Camera solutions identify ingredients and their locations by installing cameras inside the refrigerator. However, due to the diversity and complexity of ingredients, camera accuracy is easily affected by factors such as obstruction and changes in lighting, leading to decreased accuracy and an inability to effectively identify and record the specific location of food. Electronic tag solutions attach electronic tags to ingredients and use technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), NFC (Near Field Communication), and UWB (Ultra Wide Band) for positioning. However, these technologies cannot achieve centimeter-level precision in the small and complex environment of a refrigerator. For example, RFID technology relies mainly on signal strength to determine location, but signal strength is greatly affected by the environment and cannot accurately distinguish the positions of ingredients on the same or adjacent shelves. While UWB technology has high positioning accuracy, signal propagation is easily interfered with in the metal and liquid environment of a refrigerator, leading to increased positioning errors. Furthermore, electronic tag solutions have a high false recognition rate, making it easy to misidentify ingredients on the same or adjacent shelves. Manual recording requires users to manually input the location information of ingredients, which is not only cumbersome but also prone to errors, failing to meet users' needs for efficient and accurate ingredient management. Clearly, existing refrigerator ingredient management technology has significant shortcomings in automatically recording ingredient locations. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address at least one of the shortcomings of the prior art, this application provides a refrigerator shelf, comprising: a first insulating plate, a touch panel, and a second insulating plate stacked sequentially; the touch panel is provided with an electrical interface for connecting to the refrigerator's control unit, and the touch panel is used to collect touch signals and send the touch signals to the control unit; the change information of the touch signals indicates the state change of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf, and the location where the state change occurs on the refrigerator shelf; the state change of the storage space includes space occupancy, space release, or space retention.

[0005] Optionally, the touch panel includes multiple touch units arranged in an array to form a touch dot matrix; each touch unit is used to collect sub-touch signals, the touch signals including multiple sub-touch signals and the position information of the touch unit corresponding to each sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix.

[0006] On the other hand, this application provides a refrigerator, including: The refrigerator liner, which encloses and forms a cavity; As can be any of the above optional refrigerator shelves, the refrigerator shelf is installed in the cavity; A control unit is electrically connected to the refrigerator shelf. The control unit is used to receive touch signals sent by the refrigerator shelf and update food storage information based on the changes in the touch signals. The food storage information includes the time when the food was stored in the refrigerator and the storage location of the food in the refrigerator.

[0007] Optionally, the change information of the touch signal is determined based on the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal within the cavity closure period, wherein the cavity closure period is the time interval between the moment when the cavity enters the closed state and the moment when the cavity entered the closed state last time; the control unit is used to control the refrigerator partition to collect the steady-state touch signal when the cavity is in the closed state, and to control the refrigerator partition to collect the current touch signal when the cavity is in the open state.

[0008] Optionally, the control unit is further configured to perform a record addition operation on the food storage information based on the change information of the touch signal when the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space occupancy.

[0009] Optionally, if the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is greater than or equal to a preset storage threshold, the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state change of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf is space occupancy.

[0010] Optionally, the control unit is further configured to perform a record deletion operation on the food storage information based on the change information of the touch signal when the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space release.

[0011] Optionally, if the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is less than or equal to a preset retrieval threshold, the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state change of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf is a space release.

[0012] Optionally, if the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is greater than the preset retrieval threshold and less than the preset storage threshold, the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state change of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf is space retention.

[0013] Optionally, an information verification module may also be included, which is used to verify the change information of the touch signal before updating the food storage information.

[0014] By adopting the above technical solution, this application has the following beneficial effects: This application provides a refrigerator shelf, comprising a first insulating plate, a touch panel, and a second insulating plate stacked sequentially. The touch panel is used to collect touch signals. By monitoring changes in the touch signals, it can accurately determine whether food has been placed on the refrigerator shelf and whether food has been removed from it, and can precisely pinpoint the location of these events. The touch panel also has an electrical interface for connecting to the refrigerator's control unit, enabling the control unit to manage food based on the touch signals, particularly achieving effective management of food location. Furthermore, the first and second insulating plates are designed to prevent external signals from interfering with the touch signals, thereby ensuring the accuracy and stability of the touch signals. This refrigerator shelf achieves effective management of food and its location, providing users with a more convenient and accurate food management experience.

[0015] Other features and advantages of this application will be described in detail in the following detailed description section. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. The same reference numerals usually represent the same components. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is an exploded view of a refrigerator shelf provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a top view of a refrigerator shelf provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the area block division of a refrigerator partition provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a refrigerator control method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0018] The following is supplementary explanation of the attached figures: 1. First insulating plate; 2. Touch panel; 3. Second insulating plate; 4. Electrical interface; 5. Touch unit. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0020] The term "an embodiment" or "embodiment" as used herein refers to a specific feature, structure, or characteristic that may be included in at least one implementation of this application. In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "top," "bottom," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. Moreover, the terms "first," "second," etc., 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.

[0021] refer to Figure 1-2This application provides a refrigerator shelf, comprising a first insulating plate 1, a touch panel 2, and a second insulating plate 3 stacked sequentially. The touch panel 2 is provided with an electrical interface 4, which is used to connect to the refrigerator's control unit. The touch panel 2 is used to collect touch signals and send them to the control unit. Specifically, the first insulating plate 1 and the second insulating plate 3 serve to insulate and protect the touch panel 2, preventing external signals from interfering with the touch signals and ensuring the stability and accuracy of the touch signals. The electrical interface 4 is used to transmit touch signals, enabling communication between the refrigerator shelf and the refrigerator control unit. The electrical interface 4 is located at the edge of the touch panel 2 and is used to connect the control IC (integrated circuit) PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) of the touch panel 2 to the electrical connector inside the refrigerator body. The electrical interface 4 includes metal contacts and a foolproof adapter structure. When the refrigerator shelf is inserted into the refrigerator body, it connects to the control unit inside the refrigerator body through the metal contacts of the electrical interface 4, uploading the touch data from the touch panel 2 to the refrigerator control unit in real time.

[0022] The changes in touch signals indicate the state changes of the corresponding storage space on the refrigerator shelf, and the location of these state changes on the shelf. These state changes include space occupancy, space release, or space retention. Specifically, the changes in touch signals refer to the differences between touch signals collected by the touch panel 2 at different times; these differences reflect the state changes of the storage space on the refrigerator shelf. The changes in storage space on the refrigerator shelf typically refer to the storage status of food items: space is occupied when food is placed on the shelf, released when food is removed, and retained when neither food is placed nor removed.

[0023] In specific implementations, the touch panel 2 can employ resistive touch technology, capacitive touch technology, infrared touch technology, surface acoustic wave touch technology, optical touch technology, electromagnetic touch technology, and so on. For example, a resistive touch panel can accurately locate the touch position by detecting changes in resistance at the touch point and combining this with a coordinate calculation algorithm. When food is placed on a refrigerator shelf, changes in the weight or shape of the food will cause changes in the resistance of the touch panel, thus determining the position of the food; the same applies when removing food from the refrigerator shelf. A capacitive touch panel generates a touch signal by detecting changes in capacitance between the touch panel and an object, and can accurately locate the touch point by combining this with a coordinate calculation algorithm for the capacitance matrix. When food is placed on a refrigerator shelf, changes in the capacitance value of the food will be detected, thus determining the position of the food; the same applies when removing food from the refrigerator shelf. When food approaches the touch panel 2, it changes the capacitance distribution on the surface of the touch panel 2. If the food is conductive, the capacitance change is more significant; if the food is non-conductive, such as most food packaging (plastic, glass, etc.), its dielectric constant differs from that of air, also causing a capacitance change. Infrared touch panels can accurately locate touch points by detecting the position of blocked infrared light and combining this with a coordinate calculation algorithm based on the infrared grid. When food is placed on the touch panel, it blocks some of the infrared light, thus determining the food's position.

[0024] Specifically, in this embodiment, the refrigerator shelf includes a first insulating plate, a touch panel, and a second insulating plate stacked sequentially. The touch panel is used to collect touch signals. By monitoring changes in the touch signals, it can accurately determine whether food has been placed on the refrigerator shelf and whether food has been removed from it, and can precisely pinpoint the location of these events. The touch panel also has an electrical interface for connecting to the refrigerator's control unit, enabling the control unit to manage food based on the touch signals, particularly achieving effective management of food location. Furthermore, the first and second insulating plates are designed to prevent external signals from interfering with the touch signals, thereby ensuring the accuracy and stability of the touch signals. This achieves effective management of food and its location, providing users with a more convenient and accurate food management experience.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the touch panel 2 includes multiple touch units 5 arranged in an array to form a touch dot matrix. Each touch unit 5 is used to collect sub-touch signals, which include multiple sub-touch signals and the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to each sub-touch signal within the touch dot matrix. Specifically, the touch unit 5 is the basic detection unit in the touch panel 2, and the touch dot matrix covers the entire surface of the touch panel 2, achieving comprehensive acquisition of touch signals. The sub-touch signals reflect the touch state at a specific location on the touch panel 2, i.e., the state change of the storage space corresponding to a specific location on the refrigerator shelf. The position information of the touch unit 5 within the touch dot matrix is ​​used to determine the location where the sub-touch signal occurs.

[0026] In specific implementation, refer to Figure 3 Assuming the touch panel 2 has m×n touch dots, the dots can be divided into m×n regions based on the required accuracy of position recognition. Each region corresponds to a touch unit 5 for more precise positioning of the food.

[0027] Specifically, in this embodiment, each touch unit 5 collects sub-touch signals and provides its position information in the touch dot matrix, thereby achieving precise positioning of the storage space status changes on the refrigerator shelf and enabling precise management of food ingredients and their positions.

[0028] On the other hand, a refrigerator is also provided, including: The refrigerator liner is a cavity formed by the enclosure of the refrigerator liner; the cavity is used to store food.

[0029] As provided in any of the above embodiments, the refrigerator shelf is installed in the refrigerator cavity to divide the storage space. Specifically, the refrigerator shelf can be fixed in the refrigerator cavity by means of buckles or slots to ensure its stability and reliability. The refrigerator shelf integrates touch function, which can monitor the placement and removal of food in real time, providing users with a more convenient food management experience. Specifically, the refrigerator shelf includes a first insulating plate 1, a touch panel 2, and a second insulating plate 3 stacked in sequence; the touch panel 2 is provided with an electrical interface 4, which is used to connect to the refrigerator control unit. The touch panel 2 is used to collect touch signals. The change information of the touch signal indicates the state change of the corresponding storage space of the refrigerator shelf, as well as the location of the state change on the refrigerator shelf. For example, when food is placed on the refrigerator shelf, the space is occupied; when food is removed from the refrigerator shelf, the space is released; when neither food is placed on nor removed from the refrigerator shelf, the space is maintained. Furthermore, the touch panel 2 includes multiple touch units 5. Each touch unit 5 collects sub-touch signals and provides its position information in the touch dot matrix, that is, the position on the refrigerator shelf corresponding to food placement, removal, etc.

[0030] The control unit is electrically connected to the refrigerator shelf and receives touch signals from the shelf. Specifically, an electrical connector for the control unit is installed at the corresponding position within the refrigerator cavity where the shelf is mounted. The electrical interface 4 of the refrigerator shelf matches the electrical connector of the control unit. When the refrigerator shelf is inserted into the cavity, it connects to the control unit. Food storage information is updated based on changes in the touch signals. This information includes the time the food was stored in the refrigerator and its location within the refrigerator, used to record and manage the food in the refrigerator. Specifically, each touch unit 5 on the touch panel 2 collects sub-touch signals and sends these signals to the control unit. The control unit determines the placement or removal status of the food based on the changes in the sub-touch signals. Based on the position information of the control unit 5 that issued the sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix, it determines the location on the refrigerator shelf where the food was placed or removed. For example, when a change in the touch signal indicates that food has been placed in a certain position, the control unit records the added storage time and position; when a change in the touch signal indicates that food has been removed from a certain position, the control unit records and deletes the corresponding food storage information.

[0031] In practice, multiple touch-sensitive shelves can be installed inside the refrigerator. Each shelf's touch panel operates independently, sending touch signals to the control unit. The control unit integrates the signals from all shelves to achieve comprehensive management of the food storage status throughout the refrigerator.

[0032] Specifically, in this embodiment, the refrigerator shelf collects touch signals in real time, and the control unit updates the food storage information in real time according to the changes in the control signals and the location where the control signals occur, so as to automatically record the storage location when food is entered during the refrigerator food management process.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the change information of the touch signal is determined based on the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal within the cavity closure cycle. The cavity closure cycle is the time interval between the moment the cavity enters the closed state and the moment the cavity last entered the closed state. The control unit is used to control the refrigerator shelf to collect the steady-state touch signal when the cavity is in the closed state, and to control the refrigerator shelf to collect the current touch signal when the cavity is in the open state. Specifically, when the cavity is in the closed state, i.e., the refrigerator door is closed, the environment inside the refrigerator is relatively stable. At this time, the touch signal collected by the touch panel can be used as a reference signal to determine whether the subsequent touch signal changes. When the cavity is in the open state, i.e., the refrigerator door is open, the user may be performing food storage and retrieval operations, and the change of the touch signal can reflect the storage and retrieval status of the food. By comparing the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal, the state change of the food storage space on the refrigerator shelf can be determined.

[0034] Specifically, the change information of the touch signal includes the change of each sub-touch signal, which is obtained by subtracting the current touch signal of each touch unit 5 from the steady-state touch signal during the cavity closing cycle. The change of the sub-touch signal represents the access of food, and the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to the sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix is ​​the position where the access of food occurs on the refrigerator shelf. Specifically, for a steady-state touch signal and a current touch signal collected by a touch unit 5 within a cavity closure cycle, if the intensity or value of the current touch signal increases compared to the steady-state touch signal, it usually indicates that new food has been placed on the refrigerator shelf at the position corresponding to the touch unit 5, resulting in an enhanced touch signal; if the intensity or value of the current touch signal decreases compared to the steady-state touch signal, it usually indicates that food has been removed from the refrigerator shelf at the position corresponding to the touch unit 5, resulting in a weakened touch signal; if the intensity or value of the current touch signal remains the same as the steady-state touch signal and does not change, it usually indicates that the food storage status at the position corresponding to the touch unit 5 on the refrigerator shelf has not changed, that is, no new food has been placed or removed.

[0035] Specifically, in this embodiment, the control unit controls the touch panel to collect steady-state touch signals when the cavity is closed, and controls the touch panel to collect current touch signals when the cavity is open. By comparing the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal, the storage and retrieval of food in various locations inside the refrigerator are determined, and the food storage information is updated in real time to achieve precise management of food and its location.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the control unit is further configured to perform a record addition operation on the food storage information based on the change information of the touch signal indicating that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space occupancy. Specifically, the touch signal includes multiple sub-touch signals and the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to each sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix. The control unit manages the food storage records based on the changes of each sub-touch signal and its corresponding position information. Specifically, space occupancy means that a certain storage space on the refrigerator shelf is occupied by food, that is, food is placed in that position. When the change of a certain sub-touch signal indicates space occupancy, the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to that sub-control signal in the touch dot matrix is ​​the location where the space occupancy occurs on the refrigerator shelf, that is, the placement position of the food on the refrigerator shelf. The control unit adds a new food record to the food storage information accordingly, including but not limited to the time when the food was stored in the refrigerator and the storage position of the food in the refrigerator.

[0037] Specifically, in this embodiment, when the change information of the touch signal indicates space occupancy, the control unit adds a new food record in the food storage information according to the position indicated by the change information of the touch signal, thereby accurately managing the storage position of food in the refrigerator, realizing precise management of food and its position in the refrigerator, and making it easier for users to understand and grasp the food and its position in the refrigerator.

[0038] In one possible implementation, when the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is greater than or equal to a preset storage threshold, the change in the touch signal indicates that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space occupancy. Specifically, the change in the touch signal includes the change in each sub-touch signal, obtained by subtracting the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal of each touch unit 5 within a cavity closing cycle. The change in the sub-touch signal represents the storage or retrieval of food, and the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to the sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix is ​​the location where the storage or retrieval of food occurs on the refrigerator shelf. For the steady-state touch signal and the current touch signal collected by a certain touch unit 5 within a cavity closing cycle, if the intensity or value of the current touch signal increases compared to the steady-state touch signal, it usually indicates that new food has been placed on the refrigerator shelf at the position corresponding to that touch unit 5, resulting in an enhanced touch signal. At this time, the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is positive. The preset storage threshold is greater than zero and is set according to the sensitivity of the touch panel 2 and the actual usage scenario to ensure that the user's operation of storing food in the refrigerator can be accurately judged.

[0039] Specifically, in this embodiment, the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal collected during the cavity closure cycle can accurately determine the food storage and retrieval operation on the refrigerator shelf. Based on the collection positions of the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal, the position corresponding to the storage and retrieval operation can be determined, thereby achieving precise management of the food and its position inside the refrigerator.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the control unit is further configured to perform a record deletion operation on the food storage information based on the change information of the touch signal indicating that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space release. Specifically, the touch signal includes multiple sub-touch signals and the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to each sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix. The control unit manages the food storage records according to the changes of each sub-touch signal and its corresponding position information. Specifically, space release refers to the removal of food from a certain position on the refrigerator shelf. When a sub-touch signal is triggered, the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to that sub-control signal in the touch dot matrix is ​​the location where the space release occurs on the refrigerator shelf, that is, the original placement position of the removed food on the refrigerator shelf. The control unit deletes the corresponding food record in the food storage information accordingly.

[0041] Specifically, in this embodiment, when the change information of the touch signal indicates that the space is released, the control unit deletes the corresponding food record in the food storage information according to the position indicated by the change information of the touch signal, thereby accurately managing the storage position of the remaining food in the refrigerator, realizing precise management of the food and its position in the refrigerator, and making it easier for users to understand and grasp the food and its position in the refrigerator.

[0042] In one possible implementation, when the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is less than or equal to a preset retrieval threshold, the change in the touch signal indicates a change in the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf, signifying space release. Specifically, the change in the touch signal includes the change in each sub-touch signal, obtained by subtracting the current touch signal from the steady-state touch signal of each touch unit 5 within a cavity closure cycle. The change in the sub-touch signal characterizes the access of food, and the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to the sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix is ​​the location where the access of food occurs on the refrigerator shelf. For the steady-state touch signal and the current touch signal collected by a certain touch unit 5 within a cavity closure cycle, if the intensity or value of the current touch signal is reduced compared to the steady-state touch signal, it usually indicates that food has been removed from the position corresponding to that touch unit 5 on the refrigerator shelf, causing the touch signal to weaken. In this case, the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is negative. The preset threshold for taking out food is less than zero. It is set according to the sensitivity of the touch panel 2 and the actual usage scenario to ensure that the operation of the user taking food out of the refrigerator can be accurately judged.

[0043] Specifically, in this embodiment, the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal collected during the cavity closure cycle can accurately determine the food storage and retrieval operation on the refrigerator shelf. Based on the collection positions of the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal, the position corresponding to the storage and retrieval operation can be determined, thereby achieving precise management of the food and its position inside the refrigerator.

[0044] In one possible implementation, when the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is greater than a preset retrieval threshold but less than a preset storage threshold, the change in the touch signal indicates that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to "space hold". Specifically, the touch signal includes multiple sub-touch signals and the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to each sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix. The control unit manages the food storage records based on the changes in each sub-touch signal and its corresponding position information. Specifically, "space hold" means that a certain position on the refrigerator shelf is neither occupied nor released. When the change in a sub-touch signal indicates "space hold", the position information of the touch unit 5 corresponding to that sub-control signal in the touch dot matrix is ​​the position where the space hold occurs on the refrigerator shelf, and the control unit does not update the food storage information accordingly. If food was originally placed in that position, then "space hold" means that the food in that position has not been removed; if food was originally not placed in that position, then "space hold" means that food is still not placed in that position.

[0045] Specifically, in this embodiment of the application, when the change information of the touch signal indicates that the space remains, it can be determined that no new food has been put into the corresponding position in the refrigerator, nor has any food been taken away. The control unit does not update the food storage information, thereby realizing precise management of the food and its position in the refrigerator, which makes it easier for users to understand and grasp the food and its position in the refrigerator.

[0046] In one possible implementation, an information verification module is also included, which is used to verify the change information of the touch signal before updating the food storage information.

[0047] Specifically, when food is stored or retrieved, the touch unit works with the information verification module to verify the information, such as through screen interaction, voice interaction, or automatic recognition using a camera, to ensure the accuracy and validity of food storage information during food management.

[0048] In practice, the refrigerator also includes a food type identification module, such as a camera and electronic tags. When managing food, the food type identification module confirms the type of food, and touch signals are used to identify the food storage and retrieval operations and their locations. The information verification module verifies the above information (food type, food storage and retrieval operations, and their locations). For example, through interactive confirmation, a voice prompt can remind the user: "Have you stored tomatoes in the front right side of the fresh food compartment?"

[0049] Specifically, in this embodiment, the information verification module verifies the changes in the touch signal before updating the food storage information, which can effectively reduce misjudgments and erroneous updates, improve the accuracy and reliability of food storage information, achieve precise management of food and its location in the refrigerator, and enhance the user experience.

[0050] To facilitate understanding of the technical solution of this application, the following will be used as an example. Figure 4 Taking this example, the food management process of the refrigerator provided in this application embodiment will be described in detail.

[0051] After the refrigerator door is closed, the steady-state touch signals of each touch unit 5 are recorded. When the door opens, the signal change of each touch unit 5 is detected and compared with a threshold to determine the action type (storage, retrieval, no storage / retrieval) and the position of the corresponding touch unit 5. Specifically, when the refrigerator door is closed, the control unit controls each touch unit 5 on the refrigerator shelf to collect steady-state touch signals. When the refrigerator door is opened, the control unit controls each touch unit 5 on the refrigerator shelf to collect the current touch signal and calculates the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal within the cavity closure cycle of each touch unit 5. It determines whether the difference corresponding to touch unit 5 reaches the preset storage threshold or preset retrieval threshold. If it does, it is determined that food has been stored or retrieved, and the storage or retrieval position is determined. Then, it returns to continue determining whether the refrigerator door is closed. If not, it returns to continue determining whether the refrigerator door is closed. If closed, a steady-state touch signal is collected; if the refrigerator door is not closed, the current touch signal is collected.

[0052] In summary, the refrigerator shelf of this application includes a first insulating plate, a touch panel, and a second insulating plate stacked sequentially. The touch panel is used to collect touch signals. By monitoring changes in the touch signals, it can accurately determine whether food has been placed on the refrigerator shelf and whether food has been removed from it, and can precisely pinpoint the location of the occurrence. The touch panel also has an electrical interface for connecting to the refrigerator's control unit, enabling the control unit to manage food based on the touch signals, especially achieving effective management of food location. Furthermore, the first and second insulating plates are designed to prevent external signals from interfering with the touch signals, thereby ensuring the accuracy and stability of the touch signals. The refrigerator shelf of this application achieves effective management of food and its location, providing users with a more convenient and accurate food management experience.

[0053] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the connection within two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0054] It should be noted that the order of the embodiments described above is merely for descriptive purposes and does not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments. Furthermore, while this specification describes specific embodiments, other embodiments are also within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps described in the claims can be performed in the order shown in different embodiments and still achieve the desired results. Additionally, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require a specific order or sequence of connections to achieve the desired results; in some implementations, parallel processing of multiple tasks is possible or may be advantageous.

[0055] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. The focus of each embodiment is to describe the differences from other embodiments.

[0056] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A refrigerator shelf, characterized in that, The refrigerator comprises a first insulating plate (1), a touch panel (2), and a second insulating plate (3) stacked in sequence. The touch panel (2) is provided with an electrical interface (4) for connecting to the refrigerator's control unit. The touch panel (2) is used to collect touch signals and send the touch signals to the control unit. The change information of the touch signals indicates the state change of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf, as well as the location where the state change occurs on the refrigerator shelf. The state changes of the storage space include space occupancy, space release, or space retention.

2. The refrigerator shelf according to claim 1, characterized in that, The touch panel (2) includes multiple touch units (5), which are arranged in an array to form a touch dot matrix. Each touch unit (5) is used to collect sub-touch signals, which include multiple sub-touch signals and the position information of the touch unit (5) corresponding to each sub-touch signal in the touch dot matrix.

3. A refrigerator, characterized in that, include: The refrigerator liner, which encloses and forms a cavity; The refrigerator partition as described in any one of claims 1-2, wherein the refrigerator partition is installed in the cavity; A control unit, which is electrically connected to the refrigerator shelf, is used to receive touch signals sent by the refrigerator shelf; The food storage information is updated based on the changes in the touch signal. The food storage information includes the time when the food was put into the refrigerator and the storage location of the food in the refrigerator.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that, The change information of the touch signal is determined based on the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal within the cavity closure period. The cavity closure period is the time interval between the current time when the cavity enters the closed state and the last time the cavity enters the closed state. The control unit is used to control the refrigerator partition to collect the steady-state touch signal when the cavity is in the closed state, and to control the refrigerator partition to collect the current touch signal when the cavity is in the open state.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, characterized in that, The control unit is also used to perform a record addition operation on the food storage information based on the change information of the touch signal when the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space occupancy.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, characterized in that, When the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is greater than or equal to a preset storage threshold, the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space occupancy.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 4, characterized in that, The control unit is also used to perform a record deletion operation on the food storage information based on the change information of the touch signal when the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space release.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7, characterized in that, When the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is less than or equal to a preset retrieval threshold, the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf has changed to space release.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the difference between the current touch signal and the steady-state touch signal is greater than the preset retrieval threshold and less than the preset storage threshold, the change information of the touch signal indicates that the state change of the storage space corresponding to the refrigerator shelf is space retention.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes an information verification module, which is used to verify the change information of the touch signal before updating the food storage information.

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