Refrigerator and method of food management thereof
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators lack effective methods for managing and tracking food storage locations and expiration dates, leading to potential food waste and inefficiencies in food organization.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator equipped with a front camera and a controller that uses machine learning and deep learning to recognize and identify food items, display their storage locations, and manage storage periods, allowing users to easily register and track food through a user-friendly interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a refrigerator uses conventional food storage management without automated recognition, then the device complexity is low, but the loss of information about food storage locations and expiration dates increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a digital copy of food items through camera imaging, storing visual representations and extracted information (name, expiration date, location) in a database. This digital twin approach allows the system to track and manage food without physically tagging or labeling each item, reducing information loss while avoiding the complexity of physical tracking mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical systems (physical labeling, manual tracking) with automated optical and computational systems. The camera captures food images and the controller uses image processing and machine learning to automatically extract and store food information, substituting human labor and simple mechanical tagging with intelligent automated recognition systems.
2Productivity
If the refrigerator implements automated food recognition and tracking, then the productivity of food management improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service food management where the refrigerator automatically performs recognition, identification, and tracking of food items without user intervention. The camera continuously monitors the storage space, the controller automatically processes images to identify food and extract information, and the system autonomously updates the food database, freeing users from manual tracking tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary recognition and information extraction as food is placed in the refrigerator. The camera captures images immediately when food is stored, and the controller processes these images to identify the food and extract relevant information before the user needs to access or use the food, enabling proactive inventory management.
3Measurement precision
If the refrigerator uses multiple storage locations for comparison food images, then the measurement precision of food recognition improves, but the loss of time for searching increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-processes and pre-organizes comparison food images across multiple storage locations (local storage, server storage, store server storage) before recognition is needed. Images are categorized, tagged, and indexed in advance, so when food recognition is required, the controller can efficiently query pre-organized databases rather than searching through all images from scratch.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the comparison food image database into multiple segmented storage locations with different purposes: local storage for frequently accessed items, server storage for comprehensive databases, and store server storage for supplier-specific products. This segmentation allows parallel searches across multiple specialized databases simultaneously, improving both accuracy and speed compared to a single monolithic database.
Data Source
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AI summary
A refrigerator and a food management method are provided. The refrigerator includes a main body that includes a storage. The refrigerator also includes a door configured to be hinged to the main body to rotate on a front side of one side of the storage and include a display. The refrigerator also includes a camera positioned on a front surface of the door and configured to photograph food to be recognized. The refrigerator also includes a controller configured to control the display, and the first camera. The controller is configured to display on the display a food name corresponding to an image of food, photographed by the first camera.