Refrigerator Drawer Imaging Control for Fresh Food Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators require the door to be opened to check the interior, leading to inefficiencies in food storage management, such as redundant purchases and inadequate information about stored food, due to limited camera range and issues with dew condensation, power consumption, and picture quality.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator with a camera fixed to the ceiling that captures images of both external and internal food storage regions within the same picture, using a controller to separate and display these regions individually, while also optimizing camera operation to prevent dew condensation and reduce power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If multiple cameras are installed to photograph various storage regions, then the photographing coverage is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a rotatable camera module that can dynamically change its photographing angle to capture images of different storage regions including the refrigerating compartment, freezing compartment, and drawer. This dynamic positioning capability allows a single camera to perform the function of multiple fixed cameras, resolving the contradiction between coverage area and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The single camera system is designed to serve multiple storage regions through rotation and angle adjustment, making it a universal solution that replaces multiple specialized cameras. The camera can photograph various compartments by changing its orientation, achieving multi-functionality with a single device
2Loss of information
If the camera operates continuously to capture food storage information, then the information freshness is improved, but the power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera operates periodically based on door opening/closing events rather than continuously. The control unit triggers the camera to photograph when the door state changes, ensuring information is updated at meaningful intervals while avoiding unnecessary continuous operation that would waste energy
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses door state sensors to provide feedback that triggers camera operation. When the door is opened or closed, this state change is detected and feeds back to the control unit, which then activates the camera to capture updated images, creating an event-driven operation mode that balances information freshness with energy efficiency
3Loss of information
If the door is opened frequently to check stored food, then the information accuracy is improved, but the energy loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates visual copies (photographs) of the food storage contents and displays them on a terminal device or display panel. Users can view these image copies to check stored food without physically opening the door, eliminating the need for repeated door openings while maintaining full information access about food inventory
Solution Approach 2:
The camera and display system act as an intermediary between the user and the stored food. Instead of directly opening the door to see contents, users interact with the intermediary image display system that provides the same information, thereby preventing direct energy loss from door opening
4Area of stationary object
If the camera is installed inside the storage compartment to photograph food, then the photographing range is improved, but dew condensation degrades picture quality
Solution Approach 1:
The camera is extracted from the cold storage compartment environment and positioned outside (in the door body or on the cabinet). This removes the camera from the harmful cold and humid environment that causes dew condensation, while the camera can still photograph the storage regions through strategic positioning and rotation when the door is open
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator and a control method for the same are disclosed. A refrigerator includes a storage compartment, a drawer movably provided in the storage compartment and provided with a marker, a camera that photographs inside the drawer from outside the drawer, and a controller that senses a position of the marker in photographs taken through the camera at time intervals, and that determines state information about the drawer based on a change in position of the marker in the photographs. A method includes recognizing closing of the drawer by sensing a start of opening of the drawer; acquiring an image of the drawer interior using the camera; processing the image to recognize the marker from the image; tracing a movement of the marker; acquiring a final image of the drawer interior using the camera when closing of the drawer begins; and displaying the final image.