Refrigerator Door Cameras for Full-Compartment Inventory Imaging
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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 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 directly 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, creating a visual copy of the stored items. This allows users to view contents remotely without opening the door, thus preventing energy loss from cold air escape while maintaining visibility of stored items.
2Loss of information
If multiple cameras are installed to capture the entire refrigerator interior, then comprehensive coverage is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a movable camera that rotates to capture different angles of the refrigerator interior sequentially. This dynamic approach allows a single camera to cover the entire storage space by taking multiple images at different positions, achieving comprehensive coverage without installing multiple static cameras simultaneously.
3Loss of information
If the refrigerator door is opened frequently to check contents, then the user has accurate information about stored items, but time is wasted and energy is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically capturing images of the refrigerator interior at predetermined intervals or when the door is closed, and stores these images on the user terminal. This allows users to access previously captured images at any time without needing to open the door, thus saving time and avoiding repeated door openings.
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.