Food detection device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food detection systems struggle to accurately capture images of food items being taken into or out of a refrigerator due to limitations in camera positioning, often missing items behind others.
Innovation Solution
A food detection device positioned at the upper front of a refrigerator, equipped with cameras and sensors, captures images from above to ensure all items are detected, including a power supply system that can connect to a commercial power source, USB, or battery for operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the camera is positioned at the front of the refrigerator to capture images, then the device structure is simple, but food items behind other items cannot be accurately detected
Solution Approach 1:
The camera is repositioned from a horizontal front view to a vertical upper view, changing the observation dimension. This allows the camera to capture food items that were previously obscured by other items in the horizontal field of view, thereby improving detection accuracy without adding complex mechanical structures.
2Reliability
If the camera module is equipped with continuous power supply to ensure constant operation, then the detection reliability is improved, but the device complexity and power management become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous operation, the camera module operates periodically based on door opening/closing events. The control unit activates the camera when the door is opened and deactivates it when the door is closed, reducing power consumption and simplifying the power supply system while maintaining reliable detection of food items being taken in or out.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a food detection device 2 that can accurately detect, with a camera, a food item taken into or out of a refrigerator 1. The food detection device 2 is attached to an upper part of the refrigerator 1 by a user P and configured to detect, with a refrigerator compartment camera 21 and a drawer camera 22, a food item taken into or out of the refrigerator 1 and includes a camera module 220 including the refrigerator compartment camera 21 and the drawer camera 22 configured to capture an image of the refrigerator 1 from an upper front of the refrigerator 1, and an electric power supply unit 230 configured to supply electric power at least to the camera module 220.