Refrigerator Door Cameras for Full Interior Item Visibility
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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 shopping and potential 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 and management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If users open the refrigerator door to check stored items, then they can see the contents, but energy is lost and convenience is reduced
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 users manually check refrigerator contents, then they know what items are stored, but time is lost and the process is inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically captures images of the refrigerator interior at predetermined intervals or when the door is opened, and pre-processes these images for transmission. This preliminary action ensures that information about stored items is already available when the user needs it, eliminating the time required for manual checking.
Solution Approach 2:
By creating and transmitting visual copies of the refrigerator contents to the user terminal, the system provides immediate access to information about stored items, eliminating the time required for physical inspection.
3Loss of information
If multiple cameras are installed to capture full interior views, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator interior is divided into multiple regions, with cameras strategically positioned to capture specific zones. The control unit synthesizes these segmented views into a comprehensive image, achieving complete monitoring while minimizing the number of cameras required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the movement of the refrigerator door during opening and closing to change the viewing angle and position of cameras. This dimensional change allows a single camera to capture different regions of the interior at different door positions, reducing the total number of cameras needed while maintaining comprehensive coverage.
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.