refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators lack the ability to provide users with information about the contents stored inside, leading to inconvenience when purchasing food, as users often buy duplicate items or forget necessary items.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator equipped with a camera and display unit that takes pictures of the stored food and transmits this information to a terminal device, allowing users to view the contents remotely and intuitively recognize the items stored, even when the door is closed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a refrigerator only stores food without additional functions, then the device complexity is low, but the user convenience and information availability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a camera to capture images of food stored in the refrigerator and transmits these images to a user terminal device. This creates a visual copy of the refrigerator contents that can be viewed remotely, allowing users to check stored food without opening the refrigerator door, thereby preventing cold air loss while maintaining full visibility of inventory.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a communication unit as an intermediary between the refrigerator and the user terminal device. This intermediary component enables information transmission about refrigerator contents without requiring direct physical access to the refrigerator interior, resolving the contradiction by mediating the information flow while keeping the refrigerator system relatively simple.
2Loss of information
If users open the refrigerator door to check contents, then they can see what is stored, but cold air is lost and energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring users to open the refrigerator door to see contents, the camera creates visual copies (images) of the interior that are transmitted to mobile devices. Users can view these copies remotely, achieving full inventory visibility without any physical door opening, thus completely preventing cold air loss associated with door opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by capturing images of refrigerator contents in advance and making them available for remote viewing. This preliminary capture of visual information allows users to check inventory before opening the door, eliminating the need to open the door for checking and thereby preventing energy loss.
3Productivity
If users purchase food without checking refrigerator contents, then shopping is convenient and quick, but duplicate purchases occur and food waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera creates visual copies of refrigerator contents that are transmitted to user terminals, allowing users to review their inventory quickly and conveniently before shopping. This visual copying system enables efficient shopping decisions without requiring physical inspection of the refrigerator, maintaining shopping speed while preventing duplicate purchases and food waste through better awareness of existing inventory.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a main body (2) having a first storage compartment (12) and a second storage compartment (18), in which food is stored, first doors (10) configured to open the first storage compartment (12) via pivotal rotation thereof, a second door (20) configured to be moved forward of the second storage compartment (18) to open the second storage compartment (18), a receptacle (30) configured to be moved along with the second door (20) and received in the second storage compartment (18), the receptacle (30) serving to store food therein, and a camera (100) installed to the main body (2) to take a picture of the receptacle (30). The refrigerator further includes a control unit (80) configured to combine a plurality of pictures taken by the camera (100) as the second door (18) is moved and configured to correct the images into an image showing the receptacle (30).