Refrigerator Terminal Display for Visual Power Consumption Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators lack the ability to provide users with comprehensive and visually engaging information on power consumption and management, making it difficult for users to monitor and optimize their energy usage effectively.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator equipped with a terminal that includes a display module, communication part, and controller to compare actual power consumption with reference values, displaying the results using color-coded lights and graphs, and allowing users to adjust settings through a touch screen for optimal energy management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a conventional display device is provided in the refrigerator door to display operational state information, then information on temperature and ice making can be provided to users, but the display cannot provide comprehensive and visually engaging information on power consumption and energy management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color-coded visual indicators (green, yellow, red lights) to represent different power consumption levels and comparison results. This transforms abstract power consumption data into intuitive visual information, resolving the contradiction by providing comprehensive power consumption information through simple color changes rather than complex numerical displays.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a terminal device as an intermediary between the refrigerator's control system and the user. The terminal receives power consumption data, processes it through comparison with reference values, and presents it in an visually engaging format. This intermediary approach enables comprehensive power consumption information display without directly complicating the refrigerator's core control system.
2Ease of operation
If detailed power consumption data is displayed to help users monitor energy usage, then users can optimize energy consumption, but the display becomes less visually engaging and easier to understand
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color-coded lights (green for low consumption, yellow for medium, red for high) to create visually engaging feedback that is immediately understandable. This approach simultaneously achieves ease of operation through intuitive color recognition and visual engagement through dynamic color changes, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the parameter representation from raw numerical power consumption data to color-coded visual indicators. This parameter transformation makes the energy monitoring both easier to operate (through intuitive color interpretation) and more visually engaging (through dynamic color displays), resolving the contradiction effectively.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the refrigerator provides comprehensive information on power consumption and energy management, then user convenience is enhanced, but the display device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal device is designed to perform multiple functions: displaying power consumption data, comparing it with reference values, providing visual feedback through color codes, and offering energy management guidance. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single terminal device, the patent achieves comprehensive information management capability while avoiding the complexity that would result from separate dedicated components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal acts as an intermediary that handles the complexity of comprehensive information processing while keeping the refrigerator's core system simple. The terminal receives basic power consumption data from the refrigerator, performs complex comparisons and analysis, and presents comprehensive energy management information to users, thus achieving high adaptability without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a refrigerator including a terminal and to a method for controlling same, and particularly, to a refrigerator including a terminal and to a method for controlling same which can visually provide necessary information to a user. To achieve this aim, the present invention provides a refrigerator including a terminal, comprising: a display module provided on the refrigerator; a communication unit communicating with the outside; and a control unit performing control to display various information on the display module.