Household appliance with a reader, method for operating a household appliance and system

Abstract

Household appliance (100) with a reading device (105) configured to optically read at least one food information (135) representing information about a food (125), wherein the reading device (105) is configured to provide the food information (135) to a food information output device (130) arranged externally from the household appliance (100), wherein the household appliance (100) is a refrigerator (110) with a refrigerator door (120), characterized in that - that the reader (105) is arranged on an inside (115) of a refrigerator door (120) of the refrigerator (110) and - that the reader (105) is designed to detect, when the food (125) is moved over the reader (105) in a predetermined coating direction (205, 300), the addition of the food (125) to a food stock of the household appliance (100) and, in another predetermined coating direction, the removal of the food (125) from a food stock of the household appliance (100).

Description

[0001] The approach presented here concerns a household appliance with a reader, a method for operating a household appliance and a system.

[0002] In order to proactively store food in household appliances, it is important that the user of the household appliance has an overview of the food stored in the household appliance. Food stored in a refrigerator and / or freezer often has a short best-before date. To counteract the impending expiration of the best-before date, cameras are used that display the contents of the refrigerator and / or freezer on the outside of the refrigerator. Transparent refrigerator doors or a screen attached to the outside of the refrigerator currently also serve the purpose of showing the user the contents of the refrigerator. Although the user does not have to open the refrigerator door for this, they do have to be in the immediate vicinity of the refrigerator.

[0003] DE 10 2009 021 872 A1 describes a refrigeration device with a detection device, whereby information and the shelf life of food are displayed on the refrigeration device.

[0004] US 2016 / 0021342 A1 discloses a refrigerator with a management system for stored goods. For this purpose, a camera is provided in the inner container, which is directed downwards and can record handling.

[0005] DE 10 2013 211 097 A1 discloses a refrigeration device with a camera module that is designed to determine the degree of freshness based on the optical state of an object to be cooled.

[0006] DE 10 2014 006 650 A1 discloses a refrigeration device that features a sensor for monitoring the interior atmosphere. This sensor is used to determine the properties of food.

[0007] US 2008 / 0047 282 A1 discloses a device that detects a part or food item to be stored and transmits a suitable storage recommendation to the user.

[0008] US 2013 / 0117 106 A1 generally discloses a price management system for a sales counter.

[0009] The approach presented here is based on the task of creating an improved household appliance with a reading device, a method for operating an improved household appliance and an improved food information output device.

[0010] According to the invention, this object is achieved by a household appliance with a reading device, a method for operating a household appliance, and finally a food information output device having the features and steps of the main claims. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the approach are set forth in the following subclaims.

[0011] The advantages of the approach presented here are that food information, such as a best-before date, is accessible to the user of the household appliance at any time. This offers the user the opportunity to organize their food sustainably.

[0012] A household appliance comprises a reading device which is designed to optically read in at least one item of food information which represents information about a food, wherein the reading device is designed to provide the food information to a food information output device arranged externally of the household appliance.

[0013] A household appliance presented here can read the food information and make it available to the food information output device. The food information output device can be a computer and / or a mobile phone, for example, an internet-enabled smartphone. If the food information has been received and stored by, for example, the smartphone, the user can view the food information while on the move and, for example, check while shopping which foods are about to expire and / or have already expired if the food information includes the best-before date of the food. The food information can also alternatively or additionally represent a food category and / or a product name of a food and / or a number of foods of a product name.The food information, for example displayed on the smartphone in a dynamic Excel table, gives the user a comprehensive overview of the food in the household appliance.

[0014] The reader can be a QR code reader designed to read the food information from or within a QR code. QR codes can be easily read using application software such as a special application (app) for a food information output device, e.g., a web-enabled mobile phone.

[0015] According to a further embodiment, the reader can be configured to read a best-before date of the food as food information. Such an embodiment can provide important information to a user of the household appliance particularly quickly.

[0016] It is advantageous if the household appliance is designed to provide the food information wirelessly, particularly via Bluetooth and / or Wi-Fi, to the food information output device. Wireless transmission of the food information can be achieved quickly and easily, without the need for accessories such as a cable for data transmission.

[0017] According to the invention, the reader can be configured to detect the addition of the food to or removal from the food inventory of the household appliance when the food is moved across the reader in a predetermined coating direction. Thus, newly purchased food can be added to the food inventory, and consumed food can be removed from the food inventory to update the food information.

[0018] A procedure for operating one of the presented household appliances includes the following steps: -Reading food information; and -Providing the food information to the food information dispensing device.

[0019] It may be advantageous if, in the step of providing, the food information is provided wirelessly to the food information output device.

[0020] A system comprising a household appliance as described above and a food information output device is configured to read at least one item of food information provided by the reading device of one of the presented household appliances into the food information output device. The food information output device can be configured, for example, as a mobile phone such as an internet-enabled smartphone or a computer, for example a portable computer, e.g., a folding computer such as a laptop or notebook, or a flat computer such as a tablet computer.

[0021] It may be advantageous if the food information dispensing device is designed to display the food information, in particular where the food information represents a best-before date of the food. The food information can thus be accessed and / or viewed at any time by a user of the food information dispensing device, for example, on a smartphone.

[0022] Examples of the approach are shown purely schematically in the drawings and are described in more detail below. Fig. 1 a perspective view of a household appliance with a reader according to an embodiment; Fig. 2 a schematic representation of a reading device according to an embodiment; Fig. 3 a schematic representation of a reading device according to an embodiment; Fig. 4 a perspective view of a household appliance according to an embodiment; Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a food information output device according to an embodiment; Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a food information output device according to an embodiment; and Fig. 7 a flowchart of a method for operating a household appliance according to an embodiment.

[0023] Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a household appliance 100 with a reader 105 according to one exemplary embodiment. According to this exemplary embodiment, the household appliance 100 is a conventional refrigerator 110 for cooling food. According to an alternative exemplary embodiment, the household appliance 100 is designed as a freezer for freezing food or as a refrigerator-freezer combination for cooling and freezing food. According to this exemplary embodiment, the reader 105 is arranged on an inner side 115 of a refrigerator door 120 of the refrigerator 110. A food item 125 in the form of a can is arranged in an interior of the refrigerator 110. A food information output device 130 is arranged outside the household appliance 100.

[0024] The reading device 105 is configured to optically read at least one piece of food information 135 representing information about the food 125. Furthermore, the reading device 105 is configured to provide the food information 135 to the food information output device 130 arranged externally of the household appliance 110.

[0025] According to this embodiment, the food information 135 represents a best-before date of the food 125, wherein the reader 105 is configured to provide the food information 135 wirelessly, via Wi-Fi, to the food information output device 130. According to an alternative embodiment, the food information 135 is transmitted via Bluetooth.

[0026] Fig. Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of a reader 105 according to an embodiment. This may be the reader 105 described in Fig. 1. According to this exemplary embodiment, the reader 105 is designed to read the food information 135 from a QR code 200.

[0027] A predetermined coating direction 205 of the food 125 via the reader 105 represents an addition of the food 125 to a food inventory of the household appliance 100. According to this embodiment, the coating direction 205 has a leftward direction. Fig. 3, further predetermined coating direction directed to the right represents a removal of the food 125 from the food stock of the household appliance 100.

[0028] The environmentally friendly QR codes 200 are inexpensive to produce compared to RFID transponders, for example, and are easy to attach to food, including fresh and / or frozen foods. QR codes 200 are still widely used worldwide and can be read with a wide variety of reading devices 130. As long as food products are not yet labeled with QR codes 200 as standard, users can easily generate QR codes 200 themselves using well-known and sometimes free apps, add the necessary food information 135 to them, print them out, and attach them to the relevant food products 125. It is very likely that the food industry will label food products 125 with QR codes 200 in addition to EAN codes (European Article Numbers) in the future.

[0029] According to an alternative embodiment, the reading device 105 and / or another reading device is configured to read a best-before date printed on the food item using automated text recognition and to generate a QR code 200 using, for example, OCR software for recognizing text. A printer arranged, for example, in the refrigerator door of the household appliance is configured to print the generated QR code 200, which the user can then affix to the food item.

[0030] Fig. Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of a reader 105 according to an embodiment. This may be the reader 105 described in Fig. 2 described reader 105. The further predetermined coating direction 300 represents a removal of the food 125 from the food stock of the household appliance 100. The Fig. 2 and the further coating direction 300 can also be exchanged according to an alternative embodiment, so that the coating direction represents the removal of the food 125 from the food stock of the household appliance 100 and the further coating direction 300 represents the addition of the food 125 from the food stock of the household appliance 100.

[0031] Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a household appliance 100 according to an embodiment. This may be the appliance described in Fig. 1. According to this exemplary embodiment, the reading device 105 is arranged on an outer side 400 of the refrigerator door 120 of the household appliance 100.

[0032] Fig. Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of a food information output device 130 according to an embodiment. This may be the food information output device described in Fig. 1. The food information output device 130 is designed to read at least one piece of food information 135 provided by the reading device 105 of the household appliance.

[0033] According to this exemplary embodiment, the food information output device 130 is designed as a mobile phone 500 and is configured to display the food information 135 on a display 505 of the mobile phone 500, wherein the displayed food information 135 is, for example, a best-before date 510, abbreviated to MHD, of the food.

[0034] According to an alternative embodiment, the food information output device 130 is embodied as a computer. The food information 135 may additionally or alternatively display a category of the food and / or a product name of the food and / or a number of food items with a product name. For this purpose, the food information 135 may be displayable in a table, such as a dynamic Excel spreadsheet.

[0035] Fig. Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of a food information output device 130 according to an embodiment. This may be the food information output device 130 shown in Fig. 5 described food information output device 130.

[0036] According to this exemplary embodiment, the food information output device 130 is configured with the aid of a special application 600, or app for short, to issue consumption recommendations to the user using the food information. Thus, foodstuffs whose best-before date is approaching, for example, three days before the best-before date, can be suggested for consumption and / or a recommendation to repurchase the foodstuff. Using the food information 135 in the form of, for example, the product names of other foodstuffs in the household appliance's inventory and / or the quantity of these foodstuffs, a further application 605 can display recipe suggestions using the available foodstuffs on the food information output device 130.

[0037] Fig.Figure 7 shows a flowchart of a method 700 for operating a household appliance according to an exemplary embodiment. This may be the household appliance described with reference to the preceding figures. In a reading step 705, the food information is read in. In a providing step 710, the food information is provided to the food information output device.

[0038] According to this embodiment, in step 710 of providing, the food information is provided wirelessly to the food information output device.

Claims

[1] Household appliance (100) with a reading device (105) which is designed to optically read in at least one food information item (135) which represents information about a food item (125), wherein the reading device (105) is designed to provide the food information (135) to a food information output device (130) arranged externally of the household appliance (100), wherein the household appliance (100) is a refrigerator (110) with a refrigerator door (120), characterized by , - that the reading device (105) is arranged on an inner side (115) of a refrigerator door (120) of the refrigerator (110) and - that the reading device (105) is designed to detect an addition of the food (125) to a food stock of the household appliance (100) when the food (125) is moved in a predetermined coating direction (205, 300) over the reading device (105) and to detect a removal of the food (125) from a food stock of the household appliance (100) when the food (125) is moved in a further predetermined coating direction. [2] Household appliance (100) according to claim 1, wherein the reading device (105) is a QR code reading device which is designed to read the food information (135) from or from a QR code (200). [3] Household appliance (100) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the reading device (105) is designed to read out a best-before date (510) of the food (125) as food information (135). [4] Household appliance (100) according to one of the preceding claims, which is designed to provide the food information (135) wirelessly, in particular by means of Bluetooth and / or WiFi, to the food information output device (130). [5] A method for operating a household appliance (100) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a reading device (105) which is designed to optically read in at least one item of food information (135) representing information about a food (125), wherein the reading device (105) is designed to provide the food information (135) to a food information output device (130) arranged externally of the household appliance (100), wherein the household appliance (100) is a refrigerator (110) with a refrigerator door (120) and the reading device (105) is arranged on an inner side (115) of a refrigerator door (120) of the refrigerator (110), wherein the method (700) comprises the following steps: -reading (705) of food information (135); and -providing (710) the food information (135) to a food information output device (130), - wherein a predetermined coating direction (205) of the food (125) via the reader (105) represents an addition of the food (125) to a food inventory of the household appliance (100) and a further predetermined coating direction (300) represents a removal of the food (125) from the food inventory of the household appliance (100). [6] The method (700) of claim 5, wherein in the providing step (710), the food information (135) is provided wirelessly to the food information output device (130). [7] System comprising a household appliance according to claim 4 and a food information output device (130), wherein the food information output device (130) is designed to read in at least one food information item (135) provided by the reading device (105) of the aforementioned household appliance (100), which represents information about a food item (125). [8] System according to claim 7, wherein the food information output device (130) is designed to display the food information (135), in particular wherein the food information (135) represents a best-before date (510) of the food (125). [9] System according to one of claims 7 to 8, wherein the food information output device (130) is designed as a mobile phone (500) and / or a computer.

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