Refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator that can expand a range to be imaged by an imaging part arranged on an upper part of a refrigerator body.SOLUTION: A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises: a refrigerator body 11 comprising an opening part, and forming a storage chamber; doors 21 and 22 provided on the opening part of the refrigerator body 11, and to be rotated around shafts extending in a vertical direction; and an imaging part 72 arranged on an upper surface 11a of the refrigerator body 11 so as to image the inside of the storage chamber 2 from the outside of the refrigerator body 11. The imaging part 72 comprises a lens 721 arranged at a lower position than upper edge parts 21b and 22b of the doors 21 and 22 in a standby state in which the doors 21 and 22 close the opening part of the refrigerator body 11. The lens 721 is arranged outside rotation ranges of the doors 21 and 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a refrigerator in which a camera unit is installed on the top of the cabinet of the refrigerator body. The base block of this camera unit is located at the front of the top surface of the cabinet, approximately in the center in the left-right direction (width direction), and an arm is fixedly installed on this base block. The arm protrudes toward the front of the cabinet, and a camera is installed on the front end of the arm. This camera is rotated in the front-back direction by a first motor and in the left-right direction by a second motor. The camera has a downward-facing lens at the bottom and is covered with a transparent camera cover (see paragraph 0016 and Figures 1 and 2). Here, the camera is configured to be able to change and control the shooting direction using a first motor and a second motor, and can be moved to a first shooting position facing diagonally downward from the rear, which allows the interior of the refrigerator compartment with the door open to be photographed; a second shooting position facing downward, which allows the interior of a pulled-out drawer to be photographed from above; a third shooting position facing diagonally downward from the front, which allows the front of the refrigerator body to be photographed toward the user; and a fourth shooting position facing diagonally downward to the right, which allows the door pocket of the refrigerator compartment door to be photographed when the door is opened approximately 90 degrees (see paragraph 0017 and figures 4 to 7). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-42626 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a camera mounted on an arm fixedly attached to the top of the cabinet of the refrigerator body, and the camera can rotate forward, backward, and left and right. However, in the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1, the camera body and lens are located higher than the top end of the pivoting door located at the top of the refrigerator body. For example, when the camera is positioned in the first imaging position, a large blind spot is likely to occur when capturing an image of the back of the refrigerator compartment. In other words, the camera positioning in the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 tends to limit the camera's imaging range. Hereinafter, the camera that captures images of the interior of the refrigerator's storage compartment will be referred to as the "imaging unit."

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration system that can widen the imaging range of an imaging unit arranged on the top of the refrigerator body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In view of the circumstances, the refrigerator of the present invention is a refrigerator body having an opening and forming a storage compartment; a door provided at the opening of the refrigerator body and rotating around an axis extending in the vertical direction; an imaging unit that is arranged on an upper surface of the refrigerator body and captures an image of the inside of the storage compartment from the outside of the refrigerator body; Equipped with the imaging unit has a lens that is arranged at a position lower than an upper edge of the door in a standby state in which the door closes the opening of the refrigerator body, The lens is disposed outside the pivot range of the door. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the imaging range of the imaging unit arranged on the top of the refrigerator body can be widened.

[0008] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the refrigerator of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the refrigerator of FIG. 1 with the refrigerator compartment door open. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper part of the refrigerator in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the imaging unit 7 and the refrigerator compartment door in the height direction. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a top view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of an imaging unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of an imaging unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an image captured by an imaging unit according to the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of an imaging section according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an image captured by an imaging unit according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment and each drawing, common and similar components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0011] Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the refrigerator 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a side view (right side view) of the refrigerator 1 of Fig. 1 as viewed from the right side.

[0012] The up-down direction, front-rear direction, and left-right direction are defined as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The up-down direction corresponds to the vertical direction when refrigerator 1 is installed on a horizontal surface. The front-rear direction is parallel to the horizontal plane, and is the direction connecting the front side and the rear side (direction perpendicular to the front and rear sides), with the side where doors such as refrigerator compartment doors 21 and 22 are installed being the front side and the opposite side being the rear side (rear side). The left-right direction is parallel to the horizontal plane, and is the direction connecting the left side and right side (direction perpendicular to the left and right sides) when looking from the front side to the rear side. The front-rear direction is sometimes called the "depth direction," and the up-down direction is sometimes called the "height direction." The left-right direction also corresponds to the width direction of refrigerator 1.

[0013] Refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment has storage compartments arranged in this order from above: refrigerator compartment 2, ice-making compartment 3, upper freezer compartment 4, lower freezer compartment 5, and vegetable compartment 6, which are arranged side by side on the left and right. Refrigerator 1 is equipped with doors that open and close the openings of each storage compartment. These doors consist of rotating refrigerator compartment doors 21 and 22 divided into left and right sections that open and close the opening of refrigerator compartment 2, and drawer-type ice-making compartment door 31, upper freezer compartment door 41, lower freezer compartment door 51, and vegetable compartment door 61 that open and close the openings of ice-making compartment 3, upper freezer compartment 4, lower freezer compartment 5, and vegetable compartment 6, respectively.

[0014] The refrigerator 1 has an insulated box (casing) 11. The insulated box 11 has an insulating material, such as a foam insulating material such as rigid urethane foam or a vacuum insulating material, filled inside, and constitutes the main body of the refrigerator 1 (refrigerator main body). The refrigerator main body 11 has an opening 13 and forms storage compartments 2 to 6. Doors 21, 22, 31, 41, 51, and 61 are provided at the opening 13 of the refrigerator main body 11. The doors 21 and 22 are doors that rotate around an axis extending in the vertical direction, and In this embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 2 is a storage compartment provided at the top of the refrigerator body 11, and the refrigerator compartment doors 21 and 22 that open and close the opening on the front side are doors provided at the top of the refrigerator body 11. The left refrigerator compartment door 21 is configured to be rotatable around the axis of the left end hinge 21a. The right refrigerator compartment door 22 is configured to be rotatable around the axis of the right end hinge 22a. The doors 31, 41, 51, and 61 of the storage compartments 3 to 6 provided below the refrigerator compartment 2 are drawer-type doors.

[0015] Refrigerator 1 has imaging unit 7 for capturing images of the interior of the refrigerator on top surface 11a of refrigerator body 11. Imaging unit 7 is provided on the outside of refrigerator body 11 and captures images of at least the inside of refrigeration compartment (storage compartment) 21 from outside refrigerator body 11. Note that imaging unit 7 may be configured to capture images of the inside of ice making compartment 22, upper freezer compartment 23, vegetable compartment 24, and lower freezer compartment 25 with their drawer-type doors pulled out, within its imaging range.

[0016] The imaging unit 7 includes a support part 71 and a main body part 72. The main body part 72 is an imaging part that captures images of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22. The support part 71 is a base that supports the imaging part 72, and is installed on the top surface 11a of the refrigerator main body 11. One end of the imaging part 72 is supported by the support part 71, and a lens 721 is installed on the other end. In other words, the imaging part 72 is arranged on the top surface 11a of the refrigerator main body 11, and captures images of the inside of the storage compartment 2 from the outside of the refrigerator main body 11.

[0017] A photographing button 8 that can be pressed by a user is provided on the left and right refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 so that an image of the refrigerator compartment 2 etc. can be manually taken using the imaging unit 7. The imaging of the refrigerator compartment 2 etc. by the imaging unit 7 may be automatically performed by a control device (not shown) provided in the refrigerator 1.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a front view showing the refrigerator 1 of FIG. 1 with the refrigerator compartment doors 21 and 22 open. The refrigerator compartment 2 is provided with a plurality of shelves 23 that divide the compartment. The left refrigerator compartment door 21 is provided with a plurality of door pockets 211 for storing food and the like, and the right refrigerator compartment door 22 is similarly provided with a plurality of door pockets 221.

[0019] Lens 721 of imaging unit 7 is positioned so that when left and right refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are open as shown in FIG. 3, foods and the like in refrigerator compartment 21 and door pockets 211, 221 are in its field of view in a bird's-eye view.

[0020] 1 to 3 show an outline of the configuration of the imaging unit 7, and the details of the configuration will be described later.

[0021] An embodiment of the imaging unit 7 will now be described.

[0022] [Example 1] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper part of the refrigerator 1 of FIG. The imaging section (main body) 72 of the imaging unit 7 is formed in a rod shape and is arranged so that its longitudinal direction A is in the front-to-rear direction of the refrigerator 1. The imaging section (main body) 72 has a lens 721 arranged at one end in the longitudinal direction.

[0023] When the doors 21, 22 of the storage compartment 2 are closed, the lens 721 of the imaging section 72 of the imaging unit 7 is located forward of the front faces 21a, 22a of the doors 21, 22. This positioning of the lens 721 allows the imaging unit 7 provided outside the storage compartments 2 to 6 to capture an overhead image of the status of the interior of the storage compartment, including the door pockets 211, 221.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the imaging unit 7 and the refrigerator compartment doors 21 and 22 in the height direction. Lens 721 of imaging section 72 of imaging unit 7 is located at a position that is lower in the height direction (vertical direction) by δ721 than the upper edge portions (top ends) 21b, 22b of doors (refrigerator compartment doors) 21, 22 of storage compartment 2. When imaging section 72 is located as shown in Figure 4, the position of lens 721 is the same regardless of whether refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are open or closed. A portion (overlap portion) 72a of imaging section 72 that overlaps with refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 in the vertical direction when closed is located at a position higher than the upper edge portions (top ends) 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22.

[0025] This positioning of lens 721 enables the imaging range to be expanded towards the back of the refrigerator interior. Furthermore, by positioning lens 721 low, the height position of imaging unit 72 can be lowered, making imaging unit 72 less noticeable and improving the design of refrigerator 1. In particular, in refrigerators 1 with a large height, imaging unit 7 is positioned so that the user can look up at it, and therefore support portion 71 of imaging unit 7 can be hidden behind upper edges 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22.

[0026] FIG. 6 is a top view of the refrigerator 1 of FIG. In this embodiment, when refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are closed, lens 721 of imaging unit 72 is located forward of front surfaces 21a, 22a of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 and lower than upper edges (upper ends) 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22. In this case, there is a possibility that refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 and lens 721 may interfere with each other when refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are opened or closed.

[0027] To avoid this interference, lens 721 is placed outside the rotation ranges (rotation locus or rotation radius) R21, R22 of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22. In this case, there is no need to change the height position of lens 721 when refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are opened or closed.

[0028] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of the imaging unit 7 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7(a) shows the state of the imaging unit 7 when the refrigerator 1 is delivered to the user and in an operational state (actual working state), and Fig. 7(b) shows the state of the imaging unit 7 when the refrigerator 1 is shipped.

[0029] When the refrigerator 1 is shipped (state (b)), the imaging section 72 of the imaging unit 7 is positioned so that the lens 721 is located on the top surface 11a of the refrigerator body 11. In this case, the imaging section 72 is positioned at a position rotated 90 degrees in the horizontal plane from the position in the operating state. This state is called the "storage state."

[0030] When the refrigerator 1 is in an operating state, the imaging unit 72 is rotated 90 degrees in a horizontal plane from the stored state (b) and positioned so that the lens 721 is positioned forward of the front faces 21a, 22a of the closed refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22. When the imaging unit 72 takes a picture, the imaging unit 72 is positioned in the operating state (a). For this purpose, the imaging unit 7 has a horizontal displacement mechanism 711 that rotates the imaging unit 72 horizontally around an axis 71x along the vertical direction.

[0031] Even when the refrigerator 1 is in operation, if photography is not to be performed, the imaging unit 72 can be placed in the storage state (b). This can be done manually by the user, or a rotation drive mechanism for the imaging unit 72 can be provided in the imaging unit 7 and used to perform the operation.

[0032] When the imaging unit 72 transitions from the storage state (b) to the operating state (a), the lens 721, which is positioned lower than the upper edges 21b, 22b of the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, will collide with the upper edges 21b, 22b of the closed refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22.

[0033] In order to avoid collision between the above-mentioned lens 721 and refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, it is advisable to rotate imaging unit 72 using horizontal displacement mechanism 711 and provide notches 212 at the portions across which lens 721 crosses upper edge portions 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22. In this way, lens 721 passes through notches 212, thereby preventing collision between lens 721 and refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22.

[0034] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the imaging unit 72 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] To avoid collision between the above-mentioned imaging unit 72 and refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, while lens 721 crosses upper edge portions 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, overlap portion (tip) 72a is tilted so that the front side is higher than the rear side, as shown in (a), to lift lens 721 upward. This operation is made possible by a displacement mechanism (first displacement mechanism) 73 provided in imaging unit 72. Displacement mechanism 73 is a displacement mechanism that rotates in the vertical direction around an axis along the horizontal direction, and is referred to as the "vertical displacement mechanism (first vertical displacement mechanism)."

[0036] That is, the imaging unit 72 is configured so that when the horizontal displacement mechanism 711 is used to bring the lens 721 closer to the closed refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, the vertical displacement mechanism 73 can be used to displace the lens 721 to a position higher than the upper edge portions 21b, 22b of the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22.

[0037] This operation may be performed manually by the installer or user of the refrigerator 1, but if the displacement mechanism 73 has a drive unit (rotation drive unit), this operation can be performed automatically.

[0038] When lens 721 has crossed upper edge portions 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, overlapping portion 72a is returned to its original position as shown in (b). The position of overlapping portion 72a in the state of (b) is a standby position (standby state) when imaging unit 72 is not capturing images. That is, imaging unit 72 has lens 721 that is positioned lower than upper edge portions 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 in a standby state in which refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 close opening 13 (see FIG. 2) of refrigerator body 11. In this case, lens 721 is positioned outside the rotation range of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22.

[0039] This standby posture also serves as the first posture (first position) when imaging unit 72 captures an image of interior (refrigerator compartment) 2. Illustrated in (b) is a case where upper edge portions 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are positioned higher than top surface 11a of refrigerator body 11. Even in this case, in the first posture, lens 721 is positioned forward of front surfaces 21a, 22a of closed refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 and lower than upper edge portions (upper ends) 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22. This makes it possible to widen the imaging range toward the back of the refrigerator interior in the first posture, and also makes it possible to hide imaging unit 72 behind refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 and make it less noticeable.

[0040] The imaging unit 72 takes the first position with the overlapping portion 72a in the position (b) and captures an image of the interior 2 with the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 open. The limit of the imaging range at the back of the refrigerator compartment in this case is indicated by a dashed line. As described above, the image of the interior 2 may be captured by the user manually pressing the image capture button 8, or may be captured in conjunction with a door switch (not shown) provided on the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, for example.

[0041] Furthermore, in order to capture an image of the area further inside the refrigerator interior (refrigerating compartment) 2, the imaging unit 72 places the overlapping portion 72a in the state shown in (c) and takes the second posture (second position). In the second posture, the lens 721 moves to a position lower than the top surface 11a of the refrigerator body 11. That is, the imaging unit 72 is configured to use the vertical displacement mechanism 73 to move the lens 721 to a position lower than the top surface 11a of the refrigerator body 11, so that it can capture an image of the inside of the storage compartment 2. At this time, the overlapping portion 72a, whose longitudinal direction A (see FIG. 4) was parallel to the horizontal plane in the state shown in (b), is tilted in the state shown in (c) so that the front side is lower than the rear side.

[0042] This operation is performed by a vertical displacement mechanism 73 provided in the imaging unit 72, and if the vertical displacement mechanism 73 has a drive unit (rotation drive unit), this operation can be performed automatically. This operation may also be performed manually by the user. In this case, the vertical displacement mechanism may be configured as a second vertical displacement mechanism separate from the above-mentioned first vertical displacement mechanism 73, but in this embodiment, by configuring it as the first vertical displacement mechanism 73, the structure of the imaging unit 72 is simplified.

[0043] The dashed line indicates the limit of the imaging range at the back of the freezer in the state (c). In the state (c), the imaging range is wider toward the back of the freezer compared to the state shown in (b), and stored item O that could not be photographed in the state (b) can be photographed in the state (c).

[0044] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an image captured by the imaging section 72 according to the present invention. An image captured in the state of (c) is as shown in Figure 9, and it is possible to capture images of the contents stored in door pockets 211, 221 as well as the inside of refrigerator compartment 2. As mentioned above, the image capture range may also include the inside of ice-making compartment 22 with its drawer-type door pulled out, upper freezer compartment 23, vegetable compartment 24, and lower freezer compartment 25.

[0045] The imaging unit 72 is not limited to the two states shown in (b) and (c), and may be configured to stop the overlap portion 72a at any position between these two states to perform imaging.

[0046] [Example 2] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the imaging section 72 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. (a) corresponds to the standby state ((b) in FIG. 8) described above. In the standby state of (a), lens 721 is located behind closed refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 and at a position lower than the upper edges (upper ends) 21b, 22b of refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22. In this embodiment, the attitude (position) in the standby state of (a) is referred to as the first attitude (first position).

[0047] This standby state may be adopted as the storage state described in Figure 7, i.e., the state at the time of shipment. In the standby state, the imaging unit 72 takes the standby position (first position, first position) of (a), so that the imaging unit 72 is hidden behind the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, making the imaging unit 7 less noticeable. In this embodiment, the interior 2 is not photographed in the first position.

[0048] When capturing an image of the refrigerator interior 2 with the imaging unit 72, the overlapping portion 72a is tilted so that the front side is higher than the rear side, and the lens 721 is lifted upward. This state is shown in (b). The state (b) is a state (posture) in which the refrigerator doors 21, 22 are waiting to be opened, and by tilting the overlapping portion 72a so that the lens 721 is higher, the imaging unit 72 can be moved forward without interfering with the upper edges (upper ends) 21b, 22b of the refrigerator doors 21, 22 before the refrigerator doors 21, 22 are opened, or while the refrigerator doors 21, 22 are being opened.

[0049] This allows the imaging unit 72 to be used to check the degree to which refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are open, eliminating the need to add a new sensor. Note that this type of operation further improves convenience when refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are equipped with an automatic opening mechanism.

[0050] In this embodiment, overlapping portion 72a does not overlap vertically with closed refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 until it moves forward to a position where it photographs the interior 2. Furthermore, since overlapping portion 72a moves forward to a position where it photographs the interior 2 after refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are opened, overlapping portion 72a does not actually overlap with refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22. The term "overlapping portion" is used to mean that the overlap occurs when imaging unit 72 moves forward to a position where it photographs the interior 2 with refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 closed.

[0051] The imaging unit 72 advances to a predetermined position and takes an image. A drive unit (linear drive unit) that moves the imaging unit 72 forward or backward is provided on the support unit 71. That is, the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment has a vertical displacement mechanism 73 that rotates the imaging unit 72 in the vertical direction around an axis along the horizontal direction, and a linear drive unit 71 that drives the imaging unit 72 in the front-to-rear direction. The imaging unit 72 is configured so that when the linear drive unit 71 is used to advance the lens 721 and bring it close to the closed refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22, the vertical displacement mechanism 73 can be used to displace the lens 721 to a position higher than the upper edge portions 21b, 22b of the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22.

[0052] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an image captured by the imaging section 72 according to the present invention.

[0053] When the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 begin to open with the imaging unit 72 advanced to a predetermined position, an image like the one shown in Figure 11 can be obtained. At this time, the lower front edge 24 of the refrigerator compartment 2 is captured in the image. The degree to which the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are opened is confirmed from the image information of the lower front edge 24, and if it is determined that there is no interference between the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 and the overlapping portion 72a, the imaging unit 72 is moved further forward. That is, the imaging unit 72 performs imaging with the lens 721 displaced to a position higher than the upper edges 21b, 22b of the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 using the vertical displacement mechanism 73, and the refrigerator 1 determines the degree to which the refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 are opened from the captured image.

[0054] Thereafter, overlapping portion 72a is tilted so that the front side is lower than the rear side, and lens 721 is lowered to a position lower than top surface 11a of refrigerator body 11. That is, imaging unit 72 is configured to use vertical displacement mechanism 73 to move lens 721 to a position lower than top surface 11a of refrigerator body 11, so that it can capture an image of the inside of storage compartment 2. This state is state (c), and the attitude of imaging unit 72 at this time is the second attitude (second position).

[0055] The dashed line indicates the limit of the imaging range at the rear of the fridge in the state (c). In the state (c), the imaging range widens toward the rear of the fridge, similar to the state shown in Figure 8(c). In this embodiment, too, an image like the one shown in Figure 9 can be obtained.

[0056] If it is determined that there is no interference between refrigerator compartment doors 21, 22 and overlapping portion 72a, the image capturing unit 72 may move forward and the lens 721 may be lowered in parallel. Such control and image processing may be performed by a control device provided in refrigerator 1, or a dedicated processing device including a CPU may be provided.

[0057] The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention described above has the following features. (1) A refrigerator body 11 having an opening 13 and forming a storage compartment 2; Doors 21 and 22 are provided at an opening 13 of a refrigerator body 11 and rotate around an axis extending in the vertical direction; An imaging unit 72 that is arranged on the top surface 11a of the refrigerator body 11 and captures an image of the inside of the storage compartment 2 from the outside of the refrigerator body 11; Equipped with The imaging unit 72 has a lens 721 that is arranged at a position lower than the upper edge portions 21b and 22b of the doors 21 and 22 in a standby state in which the doors 21 and 22 close the opening 13 of the refrigerator body 11, The lens 721 is disposed outside the rotation range of the doors 21 and 22.

[0058] (2) The lens 721 is disposed so as to be located forward of the front surfaces 21a and 22a of the doors 21 and 22 in the standby state.

[0059] (3) It has a vertical displacement mechanism 73 that rotates the imaging unit 72 in the vertical direction around an axis along the horizontal direction.

[0060] (4) A horizontal displacement mechanism 711 is provided to rotate the imaging unit in the horizontal direction around an axis 71x along the vertical direction, The imaging unit 72 is configured so that when the horizontal displacement mechanism 711 is used to move the lens 721 closer to the closed doors 21 and 22, the vertical displacement mechanism 73 can be used to displace the lens 721 to a position higher than the upper edge portions 21b and 22b of the doors 21 and 22.

[0061] (5) The imaging unit 72 is configured to be able to capture an image of the inside of the storage compartment 2 by using the vertical displacement mechanism 73 to move the lens 721 to a position lower than the top surface 11a of the refrigerator body 11.

[0062] (6) A horizontal displacement mechanism 711 is provided to rotate the imaging unit 72 in the horizontal direction around an axis 71x along the vertical direction, By rotating the imaging unit 72 using the horizontal displacement mechanism 711, a notch 212 is formed in the upper edge portions 21b and 22b of the doors 21 and 22 at the portion across which the lens 721 crosses.

[0063] (7) The lens 721 is disposed so as to be located behind the doors 21 and 22 in the standby state.

[0064] (8) The imaging device includes a vertical displacement mechanism 73 that rotates the imaging unit 72 in the vertical direction around a horizontal axis, and a linear driving unit 71 that drives the imaging unit 72 in the forward and backward directions. The imaging unit 721 is configured so that when the lens 721 is advanced using the linear drive unit 71 and brought close to the closed doors 21, 22, the lens 721 can be displaced to a position higher than the upper edge portions 21b, 22b of the doors 21, 22 using the vertical displacement mechanism 73.

[0065] (9) The imaging unit 72 performs imaging in a state in which the lens 721 is displaced to a position higher than the upper edges 21b and 22b of the doors 21 and 22 using the vertical displacement mechanism 73, The refrigerator 1 determines the degree to which the doors 21 and 22 are open from the captured image.

[0066] (10) The imaging unit 72 is configured to be able to capture an image of the inside of the storage compartment 2 by using the vertical displacement mechanism 73 to move the lens 721 to a position lower than the top surface 11a of the refrigerator body 11.

[0067] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 2...storage compartment (refrigerator compartment), 11...refrigerator body, 11a...top surface of refrigerator body 11, 13...opening, 21, 22...door (refrigerator compartment door), 21a, 22a...front surfaces of doors 21, 22, 21b, 22b...upper edges of doors 21, 22, 71...linear drive unit, 71x...axis along the vertical direction, 72...imaging unit, 73...vertical displacement mechanism, 212...notch, 711...horizontal displacement mechanism, 721...lens.

Claims

1. a refrigerator body having an opening and forming a storage compartment; a door provided at the opening of the refrigerator body and rotating around an axis extending in the vertical direction; an imaging unit that is arranged on an upper surface of the refrigerator body and captures an image of the inside of the storage compartment from the outside of the refrigerator body; Equipped with the imaging unit has a lens that is arranged at a position lower than an upper edge of the door in a standby state in which the door closes the opening of the refrigerator body, The lens is disposed outside the rotation range of the door.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, The lens is disposed so as to be located forward of the front surface of the door in the standby state.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, A refrigerator having a vertical displacement mechanism that rotates the imaging unit in the vertical direction around an axis along the horizontal direction.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, a horizontal displacement mechanism that rotates the imaging unit in a horizontal direction around an axis along a vertical direction; The imaging unit is configured to be able to use the vertical displacement mechanism to displace the lens to a position higher than the upper edge of the door when the horizontal displacement mechanism is used to move the lens closer to the door in a closed state.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 3, The imaging unit is configured to use the vertical displacement mechanism to move the lens to a position lower than the top surface of the refrigerator body so as to be able to image the inside of the storage compartment.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 3, a horizontal displacement mechanism that rotates the imaging unit in a horizontal direction around an axis along a vertical direction; The refrigerator has a notch formed at the upper edge of the door at a portion across which the lens passes by rotating the imaging unit using the horizontal displacement mechanism.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1, The lens is disposed so as to be located rearward of the door in the standby state.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7, a vertical displacement mechanism that rotates the imaging unit in a vertical direction around an axis along a horizontal direction, and a linear driving unit that drives the imaging unit in a forward and backward direction, The imaging unit is configured such that, when the lens is advanced using the linear drive unit and brought close to the door in a closed state, the imaging unit can displace the lens to a position higher than an upper edge of the door using the vertical displacement mechanism.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 8, the imaging unit performs imaging in a state in which the lens is displaced to a position higher than an upper edge of the door using the vertical displacement mechanism, The refrigerator determines the degree to which the door is open from a captured image.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 8, The imaging unit is configured to use the vertical displacement mechanism to move the lens to a position lower than the top surface of the refrigerator body so as to be able to image the inside of the storage compartment.

Images