Refrigerator Door Cameras for Remote Food Inventory Viewing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face inconvenience when restocking items in a refrigerator due to lack of knowledge about the quantities and types of items stored, leading to inefficient purchasing and potential food waste.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator equipped with cameras installed on movable doors that take pictures of the interior as the doors open and close, combining these images to provide a user with a comprehensive view of stored items through a display or terminal, allowing remote access to inventory information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a user opens the refrigerator door to view stored items, then the user can see the contents, but energy is lost due to cold air escape and the operation becomes inconvenient when away from home
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses cameras to capture images of the refrigerator interior and transmits these images to a user terminal device. This creates a visual copy of the stored items, allowing users to view contents remotely without opening the door, thus preventing energy loss while maintaining information access.
2Loss of information
If multiple cameras are installed to capture the entire refrigerator interior, then complete coverage is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator interior is divided into multiple imaging zones, with cameras strategically positioned to capture different sections. The control unit processes and combines images from multiple cameras to create a comprehensive view, breaking down the complex task into manageable segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera system is designed to serve multiple functions: capturing images during door opening/closing, providing comprehensive interior coverage, and transmitting data to user terminals. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems while achieving complete monitoring.
3Area of stationary object
If cameras are installed on movable doors to capture images during opening and closing, then comprehensive coverage is achieved, but the system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The cameras are mounted on movable doors and automatically capture images during the dynamic process of door opening and closing. This dynamic mounting approach allows the stationary camera to achieve moving coverage, capturing the entire interior as the door moves without requiring complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator may include a main body having a storage compartment, a first door rotatably installed at a first side of the main body to open and close a first portion of the storage compartment, and a second door rotatably installed at a second side of the main body to open and close a second portion of the storage compartment. A first camera may be installed at the first door to take a picture of an interior of the first storage compartment during rotation of the first door, and a second camera may be installed at the second door to take a picture of the interior of the first storage compartment during rotation of the second door. A controller may combine plural pictures taken by the first camera and the second camera into a single corrected image of a region of the first compartment spanning from the first door to the second door.