Refrigeration appliance and method of operating a refrigerator appliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulties in identifying and tracking items within refrigerator appliances, especially when multiple users interact without communication, leading to accidental duplication of purchases, consumption unawareness, and inefficient replenishment.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator appliance equipped with a camera module and controller that captures two-dimensional images, identifies users and items using edge matching and greyscale analysis, and associates them with user profiles to track consumption habits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual item input is required, then item tracking is achieved, but user convenience deteriorates and operation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator system automatically performs item tracking and user identification without requiring manual input. The camera captures images, the processor identifies users and items, and the system automatically logs consumption data, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring user intervention for each tracking operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical input methods with automated optical recognition. Instead of users physically entering data, the system uses camera-based image capture and processing to automatically identify users and items, substituting mechanical interaction with optical-field-based automated recognition
2Quantity of substance
If scales are used to estimate item quantity, then quantity estimation is provided, but measurement precision deteriorates and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical scale-based estimation with optical image analysis. The camera captures images of items and the processor analyzes visual characteristics to identify and quantity items, substituting mechanical weighing with optical-field-based recognition and counting that provides both presence detection and quantity estimation
3Loss of information
If user identification is implemented, then consumption tracking is improved, but device complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates and stores simplified digital representations (copies) of user characteristics from image data. Instead of complex real-time analysis, the system captures user images, extracts identifying features, and stores these as reference profiles for rapid matching, reducing processing complexity while maintaining identification accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary user identification and profile creation in advance. User characteristics are captured and stored as reference data before actual consumption tracking occurs, allowing rapid matching during item interaction events without complex real-time processing
Data Source
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AI summary
A refrigerator appliance may include a cabinet, a door, a camera module, and a controller. The camera module may be mounted to the cabinet. The controller may be operably coupled to the camera module. The controller may be configured to initiate an operation routine. The operation routine may include initiating an image capture sequence at the camera module. The image capture sequence may include a two-dimensional image captured at the camera module. The operation routine may further include determining an appendage-occupied region within the two-dimensional image and analyzing the appendage-occupied region in response to determining the appendage-occupied region. The operation routine may still further include assigning a confidence score to a user profile stored in the controller based on analyzing the appendage-occupied region, comparing the assigned confidence score to a threshold score, and recording metadata regarding the two-dimensional image based on comparing the assigned confidence score.