JP2014209049A - Refrigerator and refrigerator system - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide a refrigerator capable of notifying a cold state of a drink or the like. An image pickup means for picking up an image inside the storage room, an image display means for displaying an image picked up based on the image pickup means, and a predetermined area based on the image displayed on the image pickup means. A temperature state confirming unit for confirming a temperature state of the region identified by the region identifying unit and the region identifying unit; and a notifying unit for notifying predetermined information regarding the storage chamber, wherein the notifying unit includes the temperature A notification is made (step 87) when the detected temperature state of the state confirmation means reaches a predetermined temperature state (step 86). As a result, when the drink specified by the area specifying means reaches a predetermined temperature, the notification means notifies the user, so that the user frequently opens the door to check whether it has cooled down, or closes the stopper without being sufficiently cooled. It is possible to know that the food has cooled down without removing it. [Selection] Figure 33

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator capable of photographing food in a storage room such as a refrigerator room and confirming the storage status or the like with a display terminal or the like, and a refrigerator system thereof.

  In general, many refrigerators and refrigeration systems of this type have been proposed. For example, a refrigerator and a refrigeration system described in Patent Document 1 are provided with a small camera in a storage room such as a refrigeration room, and the state of food storage in the storage room photographed by the small camera is transmitted via an Internet line to a mobile phone or the like. The display terminal can be confirmed.

  Also, Patent Document 2 discloses a refrigerator and a refrigeration system similar to Patent Document 1, and the one described in Patent Document 1 captures the state of food in a storage room with a small camera when the refrigerator door is closed. It is comprised so that it may do.

  Furthermore, the refrigerator and the refrigeration system described in Patent Document 3 are provided with a display terminal on the surface of the refrigerator in addition to the structure described in Patent Document 1, and the display terminal includes a fixed terminal and a refrigerator incorporated on the refrigerator surface. It is composed of a display device such as a mobile phone that can be taken away from the surface, and both the terminals can display the food storage status in the storage room taken with a small camera via the Internet line on the display unit, and when they are out Of course, it is configured so that the food storage condition in the storage room can be known without opening the refrigerator door even when at home.

JP 2002-236798 A JP 2007-46833 A JP 2002-81818 A

  As described above, many refrigerators and refrigerator systems of this type have been proposed, that is, refrigerators and refrigerator systems in which food in a storage room can be photographed and the storage status can be checked with a display terminal or the like. Nothing has been put to practical use yet.

  Therefore, the inventors have made studies for practical application of the refrigerator and the refrigerator system as described above, and have verified the practical application. As a result, it has been found that this kind of refrigerator and its refrigerator system have many practical problems that must be solved in order to put it into practical use.

  One of them is to make it possible to check the cooling state of the stored items. For example, drinks such as beer and juice are said to be delicious when they are cooled to about 6 ° C to 8 ° C. This seems to be one of the issues that are practically demanded as an added value of the refrigerator that can be displayed.

The refrigerator and the refrigerator system described in each of the patent documents can confirm the storage state, but cannot confirm the cooling state of the drink. Therefore, if you put a new drink in the refrigerator and try to drink it when it has cooled sufficiently, you will not know when it is cold (when it is time to drink) and frequently open the door. Checking whether or not the product has cooled down causes wasteful power consumption, or unplugging the plug while it is not sufficiently cooled, making it unusable for the user and one of the issues that need to be solved.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an easy-to-use refrigerator capable of notifying the cooling condition of food such as drinks placed in a storage room.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heat insulating box that is configured by an inner box and an outer box and has an open front surface, a storage chamber that is formed by partitioning the heat insulating box, and a heat insulating door that covers the storage chamber. Imaging means provided in the storage room or the heat insulating door for imaging the interior of the storage room, image display means for displaying an image captured based on the imaging means, and an image displayed on the imaging means An area specifying means for specifying a predetermined area based on the temperature, a temperature state checking means for checking the temperature state of the area specified by the area specifying means, and a notification for notifying predetermined information about the storage chamber And the notification means is configured to notify when the detected temperature state of the temperature state confirmation means reaches a predetermined temperature state, and the image display means, the area specifying means, and the notification means It is constituted with the one of the display terminals of the hot box body or portable.

  As a result, when the food such as a drink specified by the area specifying means reaches a predetermined temperature, the notification means notifies the user, so that the user often opens the door to check whether it has cooled, or does not cool sufficiently You can be sure that the food has cooled without unplugging.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to surely know that the food has reached the appropriate temperature, improve usability, and frequently open and close the door to know whether or not the food has been cooled to the appropriate temperature, thereby wasting power. There can be no energy-saving refrigerator.

The perspective view of the refrigerator in embodiment of this invention Schematic sectional view of the refrigerator The perspective view which shows the inside when the storage chamber door of the refrigerator is opened (A) The perspective view which equipped the same refrigerator with the display terminal integrally, (b) The perspective view which equipped the display terminal with the display terminal so that attachment or detachment was possible. The example of the mounting configuration of the display terminal used for the refrigerator is shown, (a) is a cross-sectional view when the display terminal is attached integrally, (b) is a cross-sectional view when the display terminal is detachably attached. The display visual recognition structural example of the display terminal used for the refrigerator is shown, (a) (b) is a schematic sectional view when the cover panel of the door is made of glass, (c) is a cover panel of the door configured with a magic mirror Schematic cross section when Longitudinal sectional view showing an example of camera mounting of the refrigerator The camera attachment example of the refrigerator is shown, (a) is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator door portion with the door closed, and (b) is a front view of the door inner surface when the door is opened. (A) (b) (c) The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other example of the camera attachment example of the refrigerator Longitudinal sectional view showing an example of camera installation in the case of a single door of the refrigerator An example of camera mounting of the refrigerator is shown, (a) is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator door portion with the door closed, and (b) is a front view of the door inner surface when the door is opened. Vertical sectional view showing another example of camera mounting in the case of a single door of the refrigerator Explanatory drawing which shows the imaging | photography state in the camera attachment example of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the camera attached to the refrigerator System configuration diagram of refrigerator system in the same embodiment Block diagram showing the refrigerator configuration of the refrigerator system Block diagram showing the server configuration of the refrigerator system Flow chart showing data storage operation from photographing when the door of the refrigerator system is closed Flow chart showing data storage operation from photographing at the time of cooling room cooling operation of the refrigerator system Flowchart showing data storage operation from photographing when the door of the refrigerator system is opened FIG. 15 to FIG. 20 are flowcharts showing other operation examples of the photographing operation. The flowchart which shows the case where data storage and the synthetic | combination operation | movement in the refrigerator system are performed with a server apparatus The flowchart which shows the case where the data preservation and composition operation in the refrigerator system are done on the refrigerator side The flowchart which shows the case where the data storage and composition operation in the refrigerator system are performed on the display terminal side Flow chart showing normal image data transmission / reception in the refrigerator system The flowchart which shows transmission / reception of the image data in case the image data is preserve | saved at the display terminal in the refrigerator system The flowchart which shows the case where a separate image and a synthesized image are switched and transmitted / received in the refrigerator system Flowchart showing image data transmission / reception upon advance transmission request in the refrigerator system Front view of a display terminal for explaining switching of transmission / reception paths in the refrigerator system Flow chart of image display in the refrigerator in the refrigerator system Flow chart of continuous reproduction in the refrigerator in the refrigerator system Flow chart for creating image memo in the refrigerator in the refrigerator system Flowchart for notifying the coldness of food such as drinks in the refrigerator system The flowchart which displays the cooling condition of the foodstuff of the whole inside in the refrigerator system The figure for demonstrating the image composition process in the refrigerator system

  Hereinafter, specific and detailed embodiments of the present invention will be described. First, the main points of the embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  The embodiment of the refrigerator in the present invention includes a heat insulating box that is configured by an inner box and an outer box and has a front surface opened, a storage room that is formed by partitioning the heat insulating box, and a heat insulating door that covers the storage room. Imaging means provided in the storage room or the heat insulating door for imaging the interior of the storage room, image display means for displaying an image captured based on the imaging means, and an image displayed on the imaging means An area specifying means for specifying a predetermined area based on the temperature, a temperature state checking means for checking the temperature state of the area specified by the area specifying means, and a notification for notifying predetermined information about the storage chamber And the notification means is configured to notify when the detected temperature state of the temperature state confirmation means reaches a predetermined temperature state, and the image display means, the area specifying means, and the notification means Serial there as a configuration with in any of the mobile terminals such as the heat-insulating main body or a smart phone.

As a result, when the drink specified by the area specifying means reaches a predetermined temperature, the notification means notifies the user, so that the user frequently opens the door to check whether it has cooled down, or closes the stopper without being sufficiently cooled. It is possible to know that the food has cooled down without removing it.

  Further, the imaging device is configured to take an image of the inside of the storage chamber after a predetermined time from the start of cooling of the storage chamber.

  As a result, an unnecessary temperature state confirmation operation during the initial cooling period that is clearly not cooled can be omitted, and wasteful power consumption can be suppressed.

  Further, in the region specified by the region specifying unit, when the temperature state detected by the temperature state detecting unit is detected to be higher than the specific temperature state, the cooling amount of the region is increased. is there.

  Thereby, the drink etc. which were specified by the area specifying means can be rapidly cooled, so that it is possible to quickly reach the time of drinking.

The refrigerator system
An image pickup unit that is provided in a storage room or a heat insulating door that opens and closes the storage chamber and images the inside of the storage chamber, an image display unit that displays an image captured based on the image pickup unit, and an image displayed on the image pickup unit An area specifying means for specifying a predetermined area based on an image, a temperature state checking means for checking the temperature state of the area specified by the area specifying means, and for notifying predetermined information about the storage chamber Notification means, and the notification means is configured to notify when the detected temperature state of the temperature state confirmation means reaches a predetermined temperature state.

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

[Embodiment 1]
<1. Configuration>
1-1. Configuration of refrigerator 1-1-1. Configuration of French Door Type Refrigerator First, a configuration example in the case of a French door type refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS.

  1 to 3, the refrigerator body 1 includes a metal (for example, iron plate) outer box 2 that opens forward, an inner box 3 made of hard resin (for example, ABS), the outer box 2 and the inner box 3. It is made of a heat insulating material 4 such as hard foam urethane filled with foam. The refrigerator main body 1 has a plurality of compartments formed therein. This storage room is located from the upper part of the refrigerator body 1 to the refrigerator compartment 5, the switching chamber 6 located below the refrigerator compartment 5, the ice making chamber 7 juxtaposed to the switching chamber 6, the switching compartment 6, and the ice making chamber 7 below. A freezer compartment 8 and a vegetable compartment 9 located below the freezer compartment 8. The front face of the refrigerator compartment 5 is closed freely by a double door 10 and the front parts of the switching compartment 6, ice making compartment 7, freezer compartment 8, and vegetable compartment 9 are drawer type doors 11, 12, 13 , 14 (hereinafter referred to as a pull-out door) can be freely opened and closed.

  There is a cooling chamber 16 on the back of the refrigerator main body 1, a cooler 17 that generates cool air, a blower fan 18 that supplies the cool air to each chamber, and a damper (air volume adjusting means) for adjusting the air volume to the refrigerator compartment. 22 are provided. In addition, a compressor 19 is provided at the back of the main body top of the refrigerator body 1, and a condenser (not shown), a heat radiating pipe 20, a capillary tube 21, and the cooler 17 described above are sequentially provided. A refrigerant is enclosed in a refrigeration cycle connected in a ring shape, and a cooling operation is performed.

  Here, each said door 10-14 is filled with hard foaming urethane similarly to the refrigerator main body 1, and has heat insulation, In this refrigerator, the storage room 5 used as a refrigerator compartment among the said doors 10-14. A display terminal 15 is provided on one front surface of the door 10. The display terminal 15 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel and a control unit that controls the display unit 15 as shown in FIG. 4A. The display terminal 15 is attached to the door 10 integrally or as shown in FIG. 4B. It is formed by a smartphone or a tablet PC, and is detachable from the door 10 and may be equipped by any method.

  5 (a) and 5 (b) show examples of the configuration of mounting the display terminal 15 on the door 10, FIG. 5 (a) shows a case where the display terminal 15 is integrally attached, and FIG. The case where it is detachably mounted is shown.

  5 (a) and 5 (b), the door 10 mainly includes an outer cover panel 10a facing the front side of the refrigerator, an inner plate 10b facing the refrigerator interior, an outer cover panel 10a and an inner plate. It is comprised with the heat insulating material 4 with which it filled between 10b. The jacket panel 10a is made of a metal member such as a color steel plate or a transparent member such as a glass plate, and the inner plate 10b is a synthetic resin member formed by vacuum forming. A raised wall portion 10b-1 protruding inward in a square shape when viewed from the inner side is provided in a peripheral portion of the inner plate 10b. Further, as already described, for example, hard foamed urethane is used for the heat insulating material 4.

  Further, in the door 10 of FIG. 5A in which the display terminal 15 is integrated, a resin storage frame body 23 is provided on the front side of the door 10 so as to cover the heat insulating material 4 continuously with the jacket panel 10a. (If the jacket panel 10a is a glass plate, it is integrally bonded to the glass plate). The display terminal 15 is fixed to the storage frame body 23 via the terminal holding body 24. A touch panel 25 is provided on the front side of the display terminal 15. A gap 26 is provided between the display terminal 15 and the touch panel 25 so that the touch panel 25 does not malfunction due to noise from the display terminal 15. The display terminal 15 and the touch panel 25 are fixed by attaching a frame body 27 covering the outer periphery of the display terminal 15 and the touch panel 25 to the surface of the door 10. Thus, since the heat insulating material 4 does not touch the display terminal 15 directly by providing the storage frame 23, when the heat insulating material 4 is foamed, the display terminal 15 is exposed to a high temperature or deformed. It is possible to prevent problems such as On the other hand, in the door 10 of FIG. 5B in which the display terminal 15 is detachable, a recess 28 is formed by providing the storage frame 23 on the front surface of the door 10, and the display terminal 15 is attached to and detached from the recess 28. It is comprised so that it may do.

  6A, 6B, and 6C show an example of a display see-through configuration of the door 10 and the display terminal 15, and FIGS. 6A and 6B show that the outer cover panel 10a of the door 10 is a glass plate. In the case of 10a-1, FIG.3 (c) shows the case where the jacket panel 10a of the door 10 is comprised by the magic mirror 10a-2.

In FIG. 6A, a smoke sheet 29 in which only a portion facing the display terminal 15 is transparent is provided between the display terminal 15 embedded in the door 10 and the glass plate 10a-1, and the display terminal 15 is Even when turned off and looks blackish, the glass sheet 10a-1 other than the display terminal 15 also looks blackish by the smoke sheet 29 and the boundary with the display terminal 15 does not stand out, and the appearance can be maintained well. Further, in FIG. 6B, a transparent liquid crystal display unit is used as the display unit of the display terminal 15 and an entirely black smoke sheet 29a is laid along the back surface of the transparent liquid crystal display unit. Can be made good. Further, in FIG. 6C, the glass plate 10a-1 in FIGS. 6A and 6B is a magic mirror 10a-2, and the smoke sheet 29 is not required. be able to. In any case, an example in which the display terminal 15 is integrally attached to the door 10 is shown. Instead of the smoke sheet 29, the glass plate 10a-1 may be painted so that it looks blackish.

  FIG. 7, FIG. 8 (a), (b) is an example of mounting of a camera for internal shooting as a main part of the present invention, a thermo camera for measuring internal temperature as a temperature state confirmation means, and an internal illumination lamp. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator with the door closed, FIG. 8A is a transverse sectional view showing the inner surface of the door in the refrigerator with the door closed, and FIG. 8B is the same. It is a front view of a door inner surface part when a door is opened.

  7, 8 (a), and 8 (b), the storage chamber 5 of the refrigerator is provided with shelf plates 30-1 to 30-4 in a plurality of upper and lower stages. The shelf boards 30-1 to 30-4 are made of a transparent material such as a transparent synthetic resin material or glass except for the surrounding frame.

  Reference numeral 31 denotes a storage container provided so as to be freely drawn out below the lowermost shelf plate 30-4. Although the lowermost shelf plate 30-4 is fixed because it constitutes the upper surface of the storage container 31, the shelf plates 30-1 to 30-3 are respectively protruding side walls provided on both side walls of the storage chamber 5. It is placed on the parts 32-1 to 32-4 and is detachable. In particular, among the shelf plates 30-1 to 30-3 excluding the bottom shelf plate 30-4, the central shelf plate 30-2 is provided with a plurality of corresponding side wall protrusions 32-2 at different heights. The shelf height can be adjusted.

  33-1 to 33-3 are door pockets provided on the inner surface of the door 10 for opening and closing the opening of the storage chamber 5, and are provided in a plurality of stages. The door pockets 33-1 to 33-3 are also formed of a material having permeability.

  34-1 and 34-2 are interior lighting lamps provided on the front opening both side walls and the front opening upper wall surface of the storage chamber 5 in front of the front ends of the shelf plates 30-1 to 30-4. . In addition, the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are provided with a substrate having a plurality of LEDs arranged in the vertical direction, for example, for the purpose of energy saving and covered with a translucent cover.

  35-1 and 35-2 are cameras provided so as to be located on the front side of the storage room 5 like the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2, and are constituted by, for example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera. There are no particular limitations on the type, but it is preferably resistant to condensation.

  Reference numerals 37-1 and 37-2 denote temperature state checking means provided at the same positions as the cameras 35-1 and 35-2, which are composed of a thermo camera or the like, and are images taken by the cameras 35-1 and 35-2. It measures the temperature of the food.

  In this embodiment, there are two cameras and temperature state checking means (hereinafter referred to as a thermo camera), one of which is 35-1 and 37-1 at the approximate center in the front-rear direction of the upper door pocket 33-1. It is attached to the lower surface, and the other 35-2 and 37-2 are attached near the upper part of the lowermost door pocket 33-3. Here, the front-rear direction of the door pocket 33 is a direction perpendicular to the surface formed by the inner plate 10 b of the door 10, and is the same direction as the front-rear direction of the storage chamber 5 when the door 10 is closed. is there.

  In addition, the upper camera 35-1 and the thermo camera 37-1 are substantially in front of the uppermost shelf 30-1, and the lower camera 35-2 and the thermo camera 37-2 are the third shelf in the figure. It is provided at the front position 30-3. In other words, each camera is not a shelf 30-2 placed on a plurality of side wall projections 32-2 provided on the premise of height adjustment, but a shelf that is detachable but is not premised on height adjustment. It is provided at a substantially forward position of the plate 30-1 and the shelf plate 30-3.

And any camera 35-1,35-2,37-1,37-2 is a front position from the front end of each shelf board 30-1 to 30-4, and it is clear from FIG. As shown in FIG. 8 (b), the two cameras 35 are provided so as to be located near the open end side end Y opposite to the shaft support X of the door 10, that is, at the substantially central portion in the left-right direction of the refrigerator 51. In -1, 35-2, 37-1, and 37-2, almost the entire area in the warehouse can be photographed and measured for temperature. In the case of this French door, the cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, and 37-2 are provided on the large-area door 10 side, and are set so as to be positioned at the substantially central portion of the refrigerator 51. . In this example, the cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, 37-2 are provided on the door 10 side where the center pillar 36 (see FIG. 3) is not provided, It is set to be located. As is well known, the center pillar 36 is provided on one side surface of the two doors 10 in the case of a French door, and the cool air in the storage chamber 5 is generated from a gap generated between the two doors 10. This is a member provided to prevent leakage.

  The cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, 37-2 may be additionally installed with dedicated cameras 35-3, 37-3 in the storage container as shown in FIG. The lower cameras 35-2 and 37-2 can be moved up and down as shown in FIG. 5B, or the lower cameras 35-2 and 37-2 can be rotated up and down as shown in FIG. What is necessary is just to set arbitrarily according to the form of the refrigerator to install, providing freely.

  Further, as is apparent from FIG. 7, the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are provided at positions farther from the storage room than the cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, and 37-2. It is provided so that the light from the internal illumination lamps 34-1 and 34-2 does not directly enter the imaging unit and the temperature measurement unit of the cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, and 37-2.

  More specifically, as shown to Fig.8 (a), the imaging | photography part and temperature measurement part of cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, 37-2 are the interior lighting lamps 34-1, 34. -2 in the irradiation direction (maximum irradiation amount) in the irradiation direction, a range where the irradiation amount becomes 1/2 or more, in this example, outside the range of the irradiation angle of 60 degrees.

  Although not shown, this is provided with a light shielding portion on the camera side of the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2, or a light source such as an LED constituting the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2. Are arranged in a slanting rearward direction so that the light from the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 is directly captured by the photographing units of the cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, and 37-2. In addition, the temperature measurement unit may not be entered, and may be appropriately selected according to the installation conditions of the camera. The same applies to a single door type refrigerator described below.

1-1-2. Configuration of Single Door Type Refrigerator FIGS. 10 to 13 show examples of attachment of a camera and an interior lighting when the door 10 is a single door. In this single-type door refrigerator, the same parts as those of the already described French door-type refrigerator are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only different parts will be described.

  First, an example will be described with reference to FIGS. 10, 11A and 11B.

10 and 11 (a) and 11 (b), in the case of the single door refrigerator, the upper camera 35-1 and the thermo camera 37-1 are a typical arrangement example in the single door. The left and right divided door pockets 33-4, 33-5, 33-6 are provided on the raised wall 10b-2, and the lower camera 35-2 and the thermo camera 37-2 are provided with door pockets 33-7 and 33-. 8 is provided on the inner surface of the door. Each of the cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, and 37-2 is the same as the French door type, but can be attached / detached, but the shelf 30-1 and the shelf 30-3 are not premised on height adjustment. It is provided at a substantially forward position. And as shown in FIG. 10, it is a front position from the front end of each shelf board 30-1-30-4, and the center part vicinity of the door 10 so that it can understand in FIG. 11 (a) (b), ie, It is provided so as to be positioned at a substantially central part in the left-right direction of the refrigerator 51, and the two cameras 35-1, 35-2 and the thermocameras 37-1, 37-2 can shoot and measure the temperature in almost the entire area. It is like that.

  The interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are provided in the same manner as the French door type. That is, the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are provided in front of the front ends of the respective shelf plates 30-1 to 30-4, and are provided on the front opening side walls and the front opening upper wall surface of the storage chamber. The positions where the light does not directly enter the photographing units and temperature measuring units of the cameras 35-1, 35-2 and the thermo cameras 37-1, 37-2, that is, the cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-. The range in which the imaging unit 1 and 37-2 and the temperature measuring unit have an irradiation amount of 1/2 or more with respect to the irradiation amount (maximum irradiation amount) in the irradiation direction of the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2, In the example, it is provided outside the range of the irradiation angle of 60 degrees.

  12 (a), 12 (b), and 13 show other examples of the single door type.

  In this example, the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 and the thermo cameras 37-1 and 37-2 are opened on the side opposite to the shaft support portion X of the door 10 as shown in FIGS. It is provided near the end Y. The height positions of the cameras 35-1, 35-2, 37-1, and 37-2 are the same positions as in the case of the single door. When the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are provided near the door open end Y, the image is taken when the door 10 is opened at a predetermined angle, for example, 30 degrees. As a result, it is possible to shoot a wide range up to the vicinity of the opening of the storage chamber 5 as indicated by a broken line, and the image confirms the state when the user slightly opens the door from time to time. When viewing the image, it is substantially the same as the viewing state, and when viewing the image on the display terminal 15, the image can be viewed in a natural manner without any sense of incongruity. In addition, the internal temperature is measured when a temperature measurement instruction is given with the door closed.

1-1-3. Camera Configuration FIG. 14 shows an example of a camera used for in-compartment shooting and temperature measurement. As described in each of the above examples, the cameras are most preferably provided at positions that are separated from each other in the vertical direction. However, as shown in FIG. 14, the upper and lower cameras 35-1, 35-2 and the thermocamera 37-1, As a result of the verification, it was confirmed that even if 37-2 was installed in the vicinity, the entire area inside the cabinet could be photographed and temperature measured.

  Therefore, in such a case, it is conceivable that the cameras 35-1, 35-2 and 37-1, 37-2 are integrated into the camera module 41, and thus modularization facilitates installation. Cost reduction is possible. The module can also be formed by using a wider-angle lens such as a fisheye lens.

1-2. Next, the whole refrigerator system using the refrigerator as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 15 shows an overall configuration of a refrigerator system 50 using the above-described refrigerator. As shown in FIG. 15, the refrigerator system 50 is a system for confirming the state of food in the refrigerator 51 using the display terminal 15 or the like.

  The refrigerator system 50 includes a refrigerator 51 and a display terminal 15, and further includes a wireless adapter (communication device) 53, a gateway device (relay device) 54, a router device 55, the Internet 56, and a server device 57.

  The refrigerator 51 is arrange | positioned in a user's residence A, for example, is arrange | positioned in the kitchen room in the residence A.

  The wireless adapter (communication device) 53 is configured to be electrically connected to a control unit (described later) of the refrigerator 51 and communicate with the router device 55 via a gateway device (relay device) 54. The wireless adapter 53 receives the signal transmitted from the router device 55 and outputs the received signal to the control unit of the refrigerator 51. Based on this signal, the refrigerator 51 is configured to perform a corresponding operation.

  The wireless adapter 53 also acquires identification information (for example, a serial number and model number) of the refrigerator 51, image data in a warehouse to be described later, and the like from the storage unit of the refrigerator 51, and a router via the gateway device (relay device) 54. It is configured to transmit to the device 55. The wireless adapter 53 may be provided integrally with the refrigerator 51 or may be configured to be detachable.

  The wireless adapter 53 includes a “connect” button 53a. The “connect” button 53a is used to newly connect to the gateway device (relay device) 54. When the “connect” button 53 a is operated by the user, the wireless adapter 53 is configured to acquire identification information (for example, a manufacturing number or a model number) of the refrigerator 51 from the storage unit of the refrigerator 51.

  As described above, the display terminal 15 is a general-purpose portable terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet PC (personal computer). In the present embodiment, the display terminal 15 is detachable from the door 10 of the refrigerator 51 described above. And a function (means) for connecting to the Internet 56 and a function (means) for communicating with a gateway device 54 described later.

  The display terminal 15 (for example, a smartphone) is configured to connect to the Internet 56 via a telephone line network (for example, a 3G line network). In addition or alternatively, for example, the display terminal 15 is configured to connect to the Internet 56 via a public wireless LAN with a Wi-Fi communication function.

  By connecting to the Internet 56, for example, the display terminal 15 receives image data and temperature data of food in the refrigerator that is the subject of the present invention and data for energy saving operation (for example, data such as the number of times the door is opened and closed). The program to be acquired can be acquired from the website of the manufacturer of the refrigerator 51 via the Internet 56. By installing the acquired program on the display terminal 15 and starting the installed program, the display terminal 15 can acquire image data of food in the refrigerator. That is, the display terminal 15 can generate and transmit an operation signal for acquiring the image data of the refrigerator 51 by operating the operation screen of the display 15a. Details will be described later.

  The display terminal 15 is also connected to the router device 55 by general-purpose communication not via the Internet 56 such as Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, or infrared communication, and the gateway device 54 via the router device 55. Is configured to connect to the communication. A device for that purpose (for example, a Wi-Fi antenna or the like) is incorporated in the display terminal 15.

  The gateway device (relay device) 54 is a device that relays communication between the wireless adapter 53 and the display terminal 15. For example, the gateway device (relay device) 54 and a specific low power wireless special small frequency band (924.0 to 928.0MHz). ) Is used for communication. The communication frequency band between the gateway device 54 and the wireless adapter 53 is preferably a low frequency band that reaches a long distance, and is installed in the residence A of the user where the refrigerator 51 is installed together with the router device 55.

  The gateway device 54 is also configured to be in communication connection with the display terminal 15 via the router device 55. That is, the gateway device 54 is configured so that communication (first communication) can be executed only through the router device 55 without going through the display terminal 15 and the Internet 56.

  The gateway device 54 is further configured to be connectable to the Internet 56 via the router device 55. Accordingly, the gateway device 54 can communicate with the display terminal 15 (second communication) via the Internet 56 and the router device 55 and can also communicate with the server device 57.

  Therefore, the gateway device 54 communicates with the display terminal 15 via the Internet 56 (ie, the first communication via the router device 55 only) and via the Internet 56 (ie, via the Internet 56 and the router device 55). Second communication). The reason for this configuration will be described later.

  The server device 57 is prepared by a manufacturer of the refrigerator 51, for example. The server device 57 manages information necessary for access and authentication regarding the display terminal 15, the refrigerator 51, and the wireless adapter 53. For example, the server device 57 determines whether or not the identification information of the display terminal 15 included in the communication request signal matches the identification information of the display terminal 15 stored (registered) in association with the wireless adapter 53. Authenticate (distinguish). And when these correspond, the display terminal 15 to access is authenticated as a regular display terminal, and communication with the refrigerator 51 in the residence A is permitted.

  In addition, the server device 57 stores the image data and temperature data of the food in the refrigerator transmitted from the refrigerator 51, data for energy saving operation, and the like. These data are transmitted to the display terminal 15 based on a data call signal from the display terminal 15. That is, the user can confirm the food image data in the refrigerator by operating the display terminal 15 on the display.

1-3. FIG. 16 shows a system configuration of a refrigerator used in the refrigeration system.

  In FIG. 16, the refrigerator 51 includes an interface (I / F) 58, a control calculation unit 59, a storage unit 60, a door opening / closing detection unit 61, interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2, a camera 35-1, 35-2 and 37-1, 37-2 A fan drive circuit 62, a compressor drive circuit 63, a blower fan 18, and a compressor 19 are provided, and are supplied with power from an AC power source 64 such as a commercial power source in the house A, for example.

  The interface (I / F) 58 exchanges data and the like between the wireless adapter 53 and the control calculation unit 59 of the refrigerator 51.

The control calculation unit 59 controls the operation of the refrigerator. The control calculation unit 59 controls the cameras 35-1, 35-2 and 37-1, 37-2 and the interior lighting lamps 34-1, 34-2 to photograph food in the refrigerator and measure the temperature. At the same time, the image data is temporarily stored in the storage unit 60 and transmitted to the server device 57 of the Internet 56. Further, if there is a request signal for advance transmission of image data or the like from the display terminal 15 via the server device 57, the display terminal 15 is instructed to send it to the display terminal 15 via the server device 57 immediately after photographing food. Details thereof will be described later. Further, when there is an instruction for notifying that the temperature of a drink or the like, which will be described later, has reached an appropriate temperature, the control calculation unit 59 compares the measured temperature of the thermocameras 37-1 and 37-2 with a predetermined temperature. If the measured temperature is cooled to a predetermined temperature, a signal for notifying this is transmitted to the display terminal 15.

  In addition to the identification symbol and the control program, the storage unit 60 stores image data of food in the cabinet and data for energy saving operation taken by the cameras 35-1, 35-2 and the thermo cameras 37-1, 37-2. It is rewritten and stored for a certain period together with time information.

  The interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are controlled to be turned on / off by the control calculation unit 59 based on a signal from the door opening / closing detection unit 61, and are turned on when the door 10 is opened, and the door 10 is closed. Turns off after a delay of several seconds.

  The cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are controlled by the control calculation unit 59 based on a signal from the door opening / closing detection unit 61, and shoot food in the refrigerator when the door 10 is closed. Details thereof will be described later.

  The thermo cameras 37-1 and 37-2 operate when there is a specific area instruction and a cooling notification instruction, which will be described later, and measure the temperature of the specific area in the storage. Details thereof will also be described later.

  The fan drive circuit 62 receives the control signal from the control calculation unit 59 and controls the rotation of the blower fan 18.

  The compressor drive circuit 63 receives a control signal from the control calculation unit 59 and controls driving of the compressor 19 such as the rotational speed.

  The blower fan 18 operates according to the control of the fan drive circuit 62 and generates an air flow for circulating the cool air.

  The compressor 19 compresses a refrigerant (not shown) circulating in the refrigerator 51 according to the control of the compressor drive circuit 63.

1-4. Configuration of Server Device Next, a configuration example of the server device of the refrigerator system in Embodiment 1 will be described using FIG. Here, the configuration of the server device 57 in FIG. 15 is taken as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the server device 57 includes a server interface 65, a server control unit 66, and a data storage unit 67.

  The server interface 65 is a communication unit that exchanges data and the like between the display terminal 15 and the router device 55 and the server device 57 via the Internet 56 under the control of the server control unit 66.

  The server control unit 66 controls the overall operation of the server device 57. The server control unit 66 also combines the image data of the food transmitted from the refrigerator 51 and stores the image data together with the time information in the data storage unit 67. When there is a signal for requesting prior transmission of image data from the display terminal 15, The latest image data of the image data stored in the data storage unit 67 is transmitted to the display terminal 15 each time the image data is transmitted from the refrigerator 51, and rewritten by storing the display terminal 15 together with time information for a certain period. Update. Of course, when a data call signal is transmitted from the display terminal 15 in the absence of a signal for requesting prior transmission of image data, the latest image data stored in the data storage unit 67 is transmitted to the display terminal 15. Further, the server control unit 66 also performs time-series comparison of the image data.

  The data storage unit 67 stores necessary data such as a management program and an application program for executing the refrigerator system. Further, the data storage unit 67 rewrites and stores the latest data of the food image data transmitted from the refrigerator 51 by adding time information in accordance with the control of the server control unit 66. The data storage unit 67 is configured by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or the like.

  The server device 57 can be constructed by either a server composed of a single large computer or a cloud server composed of a large number of computers.

<2. Operation>
Next, the operation of the refrigerator and the refrigeration system configured as described above will be described. In the following descriptions, the same operations are described with the same step numbers added.

2-1. Food photographing operation 2-1-1. Photographing when the door is closed FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation when photographing food in the storage room when the door 10 of the refrigerator 51 is closed.

  When the door 10 is opened to put in and out the food (Y in Step 1), the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are turned on (Step 2), and when the door 10 is closed (Y in Step 3), The illuminance of the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 is decreased (step 4), and after a few seconds, for example, a few seconds have elapsed, the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are activated to photograph the food in the interior (step 5). . Thereafter, the captured image data is stored together with time information in the storage unit 60 of the refrigerator 51 (step 6), and the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are turned off (step 7). In addition, the time information which shows an imaging date is acquired via communication from refrigerator itself or a server.

  Here, if the illuminance of the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 is reduced during the above photographing, the food can be clearly photographed, which is preferable. That is, when food is photographed by turning on the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2, the inner surface of the storage room is white, and the reflected light is applied to the food from the entire peripheral surface except the opening part of the storage room. Reflects strongly (returns to food with high illuminance without lowering illuminance), and the food becomes whitish, making clear photography difficult. However, if the illuminance of the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 is reduced as in the above example, the influence of the reflected light from the interior surface of the storage room can be greatly reduced, and a clear image can be taken immediately. It becomes possible.

2-1-2. Photographing at the time of cooling room cooling operation FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an operation when photographing food in the storage room at the time of cooling the refrigerator after the food in and out of the refrigerator is taken in and out.

  When the door 10 is opened to put food in and out (Y in Step 1), the interior lighting 34-1 and 34-2 are turned on (Step 2), the door 10 is closed (Y in Step 3), and the refrigerator compartment It is determined whether or not it is in the cooling operation state (step 8). If the blower fan 18 is ON and the damper 22 is open and the refrigerator is in the cooling operation, the illuminance of the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 is reduced as in the case of closing the door (step 4). ), The cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are activated, and the food in the cabinet is photographed (step 5). Thereafter, the captured image data is stored in the storage unit 60 of the refrigerator 51 together with time information (step 6), and the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are turned off (step 7).

In this way, by taking a picture during the cooling room cooling operation, for example, even if condensation occurs on the surface of the food newly put in the storage room due to a temperature difference between the outside and the storage room, this condensation is eliminated by the cooling operation. It ’s gone. Therefore, photographing with the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 is preferably performed so clearly that the characters written on the food packaging container can be read.

  During the above operation, when the door 10 is closed (Y in Step 1), the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are once turned off, and the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34 are again turned on before photographing. -2 is turned on to reduce the illuminance thereof, it is possible to suppress wasteful power consumption due to continuous lighting of the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2.

2-1-3. Photographing when door is opened FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an operation when photographing a food in a storage room when the door 10 is opened at a predetermined angle in the case of a single door.

  When the door 10 is opened to put food in and out (Y in Step 1), the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are turned on (Step 2), and the opening angle of the door is a predetermined angle, for example, as shown in FIG. When the opening angle shown is 30 degrees (Y in Step 10), the illuminance of the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 is decreased (Step 4), the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are activated, and the warehouse The food inside is photographed (step 5). Thereafter, the captured image data is stored in the storage unit 60 of the refrigerator 51 together with time information (step 6), and when the door is closed (Y in step 11), the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are turned off ( Step 7).

  If the door 10 is opened when the door 10 is opened at a predetermined angle as in this example, it is possible to shoot a wide range of the storage room as described above, and the image becomes natural with no sense of incongruity. is there.

  Note that when shooting is performed when the predetermined angle is opened, shooting is performed at least twice during the door opening operation and the door closing operation. At this time, the latest storage room in which food has been taken in and out is stored in the storage unit 60 by storing the last image data (at the time of the door closing operation) in the operation time from one door opening to closing. The food condition can be taken.

  Needless to say, in step 10 for detecting whether or not the opening angle of the door 10 reaches a predetermined angle, if the door 10 is closed before reaching the predetermined angle, the interior illumination lamp 34-1 is used. , 34-2 is turned off, and it is waited for the door 10 to be opened again.

  As described above, a typical example of the shooting operation has been described. However, in addition to the shooting operation, for example, shooting is performed when a predetermined time elapses after a predetermined time or the previous shooting, or when a shooting instruction is given from the display terminal 15 A photographing operation such as, for example, is also conceivable.

2-1-4. Illumination at the time of photographing Food illumination at the time of photographing reduces the illuminance after lighting the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2, as already described with reference to FIGS. Irradiate and shoot. Depending on the case, it is also conceivable to illuminate and illuminate the image by lowering the illuminance as only the interior lighting 34-1 on both sides of the storage room or the interior lighting 34-2 on the upper surface of the storage room. The reason for shooting with the illuminance lowered is as described above.

  As another example of food irradiation at the time of photographing, the following may be considered. That is, FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the state of lighting / extinguishing of the interior illumination lights 34-1 and 34-2 at the time of photographing by the cameras 35-1 and 35-2. This corresponds to the operation of the broken line portion.

The imaging in FIGS. 18, 19, and 20 is an example in which the interior illumination lights 34-1 and 34-2 are turned on and the illuminance is lowered, and in this example, the storage room is stored. Turn off one of the interior lamps 34-1 on both sides, in other words, illuminate and shoot food with only one of the interior lamps 34-1 on both sides of the storage room turned on. is there. In this case, the interior illumination lamp 34-2 on the upper surface of the storage room may be either turned on or off, but any one may be selected as appropriate so that the illuminance in the interior is optimal for photographing.

  In FIG. 21, before shooting with the cameras 35-1 and 35-2, one of the interior lighting lamps 3-1 on both sides of the storage room that has already been lit, for example, the right interior lighting lamp is turned off. (Step 12), the food in a state irradiated by the left interior lamp is photographed (Step 13) and stored (Step 14). Thereafter, the right interior lamp is turned on (step 15), and then the left interior lamp is turned off (step 16), and the food being irradiated with the right interior lamp is photographed (step 17). ). The image data is stored (step 18), and the right interior illumination lamp is turned off (step 19). The image data stored by irradiating food from one side in this way is combined into one image and stored together with time information.

  As described above, the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are turned on one by one to photograph foods and combine them into one. In other words, as described above, the illuminance of the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 is reduced during photographing, and if the illuminance reduction is too large, the image becomes dark and lacks in clarity. Therefore, there is a limit to the decrease in illuminance. For this reason, a certain level of illuminance is maintained. However, even when the illuminance is high, there are cases in which the influence of reflected light remains when the volume of the storage room is small. However, as described in this example, when food is photographed by lighting one of the left and right sides of the interior illumination lamp 34-1, the influence of the reflected light can be reduced, and the interior illumination lamp illumination lamp 34-1 is illuminated. The surface on the side you are shooting can be taken with moderate brightness. Therefore, it is preferable to perform a combining process that combines the left and right images of food taken with moderate brightness, so that the whole image becomes clear.

2-2. Image Storage and Composition Next, storage and composition of image data taken by the above-described operations will be described.

2-2-1. Storage and Compositing by Server FIG. 22 shows a case where image data is stored and composited by the server device 57. When the interior is photographed by the operations shown in FIGS. 18 to 20 including FIG. 21, the refrigerator 51 becomes a wireless adapter. 53 is connected to the Internet 56 via the gateway device 54 and the router device 55 (step 20), and individual image data photographed and stored by each camera is transmitted to the server device 57 connected to the Internet 56 (step 21). . The image data transmitted via the Internet 56 is subjected to a combining process (step 22) for combining individual image data by the server control unit 66 of the server device 57. The combined image data is stored by adding the current time information acquired from the server to the data storage unit 67 of the server device 57 as the photographing time (step 23).

  If the image is synthesized and stored in the server device 57 as in this example, the load on the control calculation unit 59 and the storage unit 60 on the refrigerator side can be reduced, and an internet-compatible refrigerator is inexpensive. Can be provided.

2-2-2. Storage and Compositing on the Refrigerator Side FIG. 23 shows a case where image data is stored and combined on the refrigerator side. When the interior is photographed by the operation shown in FIGS. The unit 59 takes out individual image data from each camera stored in the storage unit 60, combines them, and combines them (step 24). The synthesized image data is stored (step 25), the refrigerator 51 is connected to the internet 56 from the wireless adapter 53 via the gateway device 54 and the router device 55 (step 20), and the stored image data is connected to the internet 56. The data is transmitted to the server device 57 (step 21). The composite image data transmitted via the Internet 56 is stored in the data storage unit 67 of the server device 57 with the current time information acquired from the server added as the photographing time (step 23).

  In this example, although the load on the control calculation unit 59 and the storage unit 60 on the refrigerator side increases, image data can be transmitted and received with the display terminal 15 without going through the data storage unit 67 of the server device 57, and the system operating cost is reduced. It can be made cheap.

2-2-3. Storage and Compositing on Display Terminal Side FIG. 24 shows a case where image data is stored and combined on the display terminal 15 side. When the interior is photographed by the operations shown in FIGS. 18 to 20 including FIG. Connects to the Internet 56 from the wireless adapter 53 via the gateway device 54 and the router device 55 (step 20), and transmits image data to the display terminal 15 instead of the server (step 26). The image data transmitted via the Internet 56 is subjected to a combining process (step 27) for combining the image data by the display terminal 15. The synthesized image data is stored in the data storage unit of the display terminal 15 together with the time information of the display terminal itself (step 28).

  Also in this example, although the load on the display terminal 15 increases, the load on the control calculation unit 59 and the storage unit 60 on the refrigerator side can be reduced, and an Internet-compatible refrigerator can be provided at low cost.

  The image data transmission and the composition operation have been described above by exemplifying typical ones. However, the storage and the composition portion are not necessarily performed at the same location, for example, the server device 57. For example, the refrigerator 51 The image data may be combined with each other and the server device 57 may store the image data.

2-3. Normal transmission / reception of image data 2-3-1. Transmission / Reception of Image Data Stored in Server and Refrigerator FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing transmission / reception between server device 57 or refrigerator 51 and display terminal 15, and shows transmission / reception of image data stored in server device 57 or refrigerator 51. is there.

First, the user presses a server connection button (not shown) displayed on the display terminal 15 at a shopping destination or the like, for example, and makes a request to read image data stored in the data storage unit 67 of the server device 57 (see FIG. Step 31). It is detected whether image data has been taken in from the server device 57 (step 32). If no image data is transferred, the display terminal 15 connects to the Internet 56 (step 33). The image data stored in the data storage unit 67 of the server device 57 or the storage unit 60 of the refrigerator is taken out (step 34), and the image data is transferred to the display terminal 15 such as a smartphone that is a data caller via the Internet 56. Is transferred (step 35). It is detected whether image data has been captured from the server device 57 (step 32), and when the image data is captured, the image data is output to the display of the display terminal 15 (step 36).
Thereafter, it is detected whether an enlarge button (not shown) displayed on the display of the display terminal 15 has been pressed (step 37), and if it is detected that the enlarge button has been pressed, the inside of the storage room output on the display is detected. Image data obtained by enlarging image data 1.1 times or more by digital conversion is created. The enlarged and converted image data is output to the display of the display terminal 15 (step 36).

After that, the local keypad button (not shown) displayed on the display
Is detected (step 38), and when it is detected that the numeric keypad is pressed, the enlarged image data in the storage room output to the display is used as the image data of the location designated by the numeric keypad, and is output to the display. (Step 36). Further, it is detected whether the numeric keypad is pressed (step 38). Exit if not detected.

  It should be noted that the enlargement button and the numeric keypad for displaying image data at a predetermined location may be of a type in which the surface of the display is slid with a finger. Such a configuration improves usability.

  As described above, according to this refrigerator system, the contents of the refrigerator 51 can be confirmed at a glance at a shopping destination, so that forgetting to buy can be prevented and the waste of purchasing extra ingredients can be eliminated. . In addition, in a family working together, it is possible to check the inside of the storage room 5 of the refrigerator 51 just before returning, and to purchase foods and the like on the way home, thereby reducing the time for the user.

  In addition, by displaying an enlarged display or a predetermined location, it is possible to reliably display foods that are difficult to confirm on the small display terminal 15 by displaying an enlarged image on the display terminal 15 that has been miniaturized like the display terminal 15. Can see.

2-3-2. Transmission / Reception of Image Data Saved on Display Terminal FIG. 26 shows a case where image data is already stored and saved on the display terminal 15. In this case, as described with reference to FIG. 24, the image data is transmitted and stored in the display terminal 15, and when this image data is requested to be read (step 31), the image data is fetched from the storage unit of the display terminal 15. The image data is output to the display of the display terminal 15 (step 36). The subsequent enlargement display operation and local display are as described with reference to FIG.

2-3-3. Image data switching reception Images taken by the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are obtained by taking the respective captured images of the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 (the upper half or the lower half of the storage room) and the respective captured images. An example is shown in which composite images combined and combined (images combined from the top to the bottom of the storage room into one image) are stored and stored, and these images can be switched and transmitted and displayed on the display terminal 15.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the operation in such a case.

  First, the user presses an individual image / composite image call button (not shown) displayed on the display of the display terminal 15 (step 41), and calls either an individual image or a composite image (step 42). ). Thereafter, either the individual image data or the composite image is captured by the flow shown in FIG. 25 or 26 and displayed on the display of the display terminal 15.

  When the image displayed on the display terminal 15 can be switched to either an individual image or a composite image as in this example, the state of food in the storage room is usually confirmed at a glance by calling up and displaying the composite image. However, when it is difficult to discriminate food due to the corners of the storage room, etc., it can be surely discriminated by switching to individual images and displayed, improving usability.

2-4. Transmission / Reception at the Time of Prior Transmission Request for Image Data, etc. FIG. 28 shows a flowchart when there is a request for image prior transmission from the display terminal 15.

First, the user operates the display terminal 15 to perform a request operation for a prior request signal (step 51). The server device 57 or the refrigerator 51 receives this request signal (step 52), and reads and transmits image data (individual image data or composite image data, the same applies hereinafter) stored in the data storage unit 67 or the storage unit 60 (step 52). 53). The display terminal 15 detects whether the image data from the server device 57 or the refrigerator 51 has been taken in (step 54). If no image data is transmitted, the display terminal 15 connects to the Internet 56 (step 55). The server devices 57 take out the image data stored in the refrigerator 51 (step 56), and transmit the image data to the display terminal 15 via the Internet 56 (step 57). It is detected whether the image data has been taken in from the server device 57 (step 54). When the image data is detected, the process waits until the image data is called (N in step 58). If there is an image data call (Y in step 58), the image data is output to the display of the display terminal 15 (step 59).

  Thus, when image data is requested on the display terminal 15, even when access to the server device 57 is concentrated and transmission of image data from the server device 57 is delayed, the image data is requested in real time simultaneously with the request for image data. Can be displayed on the display to check the image. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation of waiting for image data to be displayed at the shopping destination, and to shorten the shopping time.

  Further, if there is an image pre-transmission request from the display terminal 15, the server device 57 is set to transmit image data transmitted each time the door 10 of the refrigerator 51 is closed to the display terminal 15, and the display terminal If the user having 15 is set to notify when image data is transmitted, the user can know this whenever the door is opened and closed. Therefore, for example, when the number of times of door opening / closing increases and the power consumption is likely to increase, the user can talk to the child to refrain from using the refrigerator 51 by calling his home. Convenience is also improved.

2-5. Switching of transmission / reception path of image data etc. FIG. 29 shows a display on the display terminal 15 when a communication path is selected. The flow of transmission / reception of image data is as described above, but the communication route is changed to speed up the acquisition of image data.

  Specifically, the user can select whether to perform the display terminal 15 directly with the gateway device 54 via the router device 55 or with the server device 57 via the Internet 56.

  29, reference numerals 70 and 71 denote communication path selection buttons displayed on the display of the display terminal 15. Reference numeral 70 denotes a “direct” selection for directly connecting the display terminal 15 to the refrigerator 51 via the router device 55 and the gateway device 54. A button 71 is a “server” selection button for connecting to the server device 57 or the refrigerator 51 via the Internet 56. 72 and 73 are data selection buttons for data to be called, 72 is a button for food image data, and 73 is a button for energy saving related data such as the number of times the door is opened and closed. 74 is a temperature measurement button for instructing food temperature measurement and notification, and 75 is a transmission button.

When the “direct” selection button 70 is selected, the display terminal 15 is set to “direct” communication. When the user touches the send button 75 while “direct” communication is set, the image data request signal of the display terminal 15 is directly transmitted from the display terminal 15 to the gateway device (relay device) 54 via the router device 55. Sent. The gateway device 54 transmits the received data request signal to the wireless adapter 53 of the refrigerator 51. When the wireless adapter 53 receives the image data request signal, it transmits this to the control calculation unit 59 of the refrigerator 51. When receiving the image data request signal, the control calculation unit 59 of the refrigerator 51 reads the image data stored in the storage unit 60 and transmits the image data to the display terminal 15 through the wireless adapter 53 and the router device 55.

  Accordingly, when the user is located in the residence A as shown by the broken line in FIG. 15, in a broad sense, when the display terminal 15 is present at a position where it can communicate directly with the router device 55, the display terminal 15 is connected to the router device 55. The image data can be directly acquired from the storage unit 60 of the refrigerator 51 by communicating with the gateway device 54 via the network.

  As a result, when a delay occurs in the transmission response of the image data in response to the user's operation to the display terminal 15 due to congestion of the line due to concentration of access to the Internet 56, the user sets the display terminal 15 to “ By switching to “direct” communication, it is possible to acquire image data without being congested with the Internet 56 line. Therefore, the user can check the food status in the storage room 5 by displaying an image on the display of the display terminal 15 in real time without waiting.

  On the other hand, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 15, when the user is located outside the residence A, in a broad sense, when the display terminal 15 exists in a position where the user cannot directly communicate with the router device 55, the user selects the “server” selection button. By touching 71, the display terminal 15 communicates with the server device 57 via the Internet 56 and reads the image data of the refrigerator 51. That is, when the user is outside the residence A and touches the “server” selection button 71 to set “server” communication, the user can obtain the image data of the refrigerator by the display terminal 15 even in a remote place, You can know the storage status of.

  As described above, the refrigerator system in this embodiment allows the user to select either “direct” communication or “server” communication. You can select the communication and view the image in a comfortable state without being affected by the congestion of the Internet line. This is the same when notifying that the temperature of the specific region measured by thermo cameras 37-1 and 37-2 described later has reached a predetermined temperature.

  As mentioned above, although the specific structure was illustrated and the refrigerator and refrigerator system of this invention were demonstrated, this invention is not limited to the said structure.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the gateway device 54 is interposed in the communication path between the display terminal 15, the wireless adapter 53 of the refrigerator 51, and the Internet 56. However, the gateway device 54 is not necessarily required, and the router device 55. It may be configured to communicate directly with the display terminal 15, the wireless adapter 53 of the refrigerator 51, and the Internet 56, and in this way, the system configuration can be simplified.

  In the above embodiment, the image data is acquired from the server device 57 when the user is outside the residence A. However, the Internet 56, the router device 55, and the gateway device are connected from the display terminal 15 without using the server device 57. The image data stored in the storage unit 60 of the refrigerator 51 may be directly captured from the refrigerator 51. In this case and when “direct” communication is performed, it is preferable to perform image combining processing in the storage unit 60 of the refrigerator 51 and transmit the image data after the combining processing.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, a case where the “direct” selection button 70 and the “server” selection button 71 are displayed on the display of the display terminal 15 and the user selects “direct” communication or “server” communication is illustrated. However, this may be configured so that the display terminal 15 has a function of automatically switching to “direct” communication when the radio wave of the router device 55 is caught, so that “direct” communication is automatically selected. Can be improved.

2-6. Reproduction of image data on display terminal 2-6-1. Reproduction of normal internal image FIG. 30 shows a flowchart of normal internal image display. The user arbitrarily sets the display period or date / time of the internal image to be displayed from the display terminal 15 and presses the image data selection button 72. For example, a prior transmission request is made from the display terminal 15 and an in-store image is acquired within a specified period. The flow of acquiring image data is as shown in FIG. The internal image is stored in the display terminal 15 (step 60), and the display terminal 15 checks the presence / absence of image data within a specified period from the stored images (step 61), and the image data is time-series. Are output to the display unit of the display terminal 15 (step 62). When the user presses the playback button, the image data read in time series on the display unit of the display terminal 15 is automatically switched (step 64), and is continuously displayed by displaying. As for the timing of image switching, image switching is performed after the display time has elapsed or when an image feed operation is performed by the user (step 63). The image feed operation by the user can be browsed while pressing the feed button or using a seek bar while skipping images by time width. This makes it possible to search for images in the warehouse by specifying the date and time, and to continuously browse images in the time series, greatly reducing the time required for image search, and by using a seek bar, It becomes possible to find the target image effectively.

2-6-2. Storage Change Detection Reproduction FIG. 31 shows a flowchart in the case of detecting the change in the storage image and continuously reproducing the storage image. The image data is stored in the display terminal 15 and output to the display section (step 66), and the user traces the displayed image in the cabinet with his / her finger to specify the food material or the area in the cabinet (step 67). By doing this, the specific area between the image displayed last time and the image currently displayed is compared (step 68), and automatic change is stopped when a change is detected. As a result, users can easily know changes in the specific area in the warehouse or the presence or absence of food by performing automatic playback without checking image data one by one, making inventory management easy. Can do. Furthermore, by designating a specific area, the amount of image change detection processing can be reduced, and a constant processing speed can be maintained. Note that it is preferable to compare the specific area between the previous display image and the current display image and detect the change by the control calculation unit 59 of the refrigerator or the server control unit 66 of the server device 57.

2-6-3. Creation of Internal Image Memo FIG. 32 shows a flowchart for creating a memo using an internal image. The user can input the memo information on the internal image by tracing the internal image output to the display terminal 15 (step 72) (step 73), and can reflect this (step 74). Further, by selecting a tracing range with the finger in the internal image area (step 75), trimming is performed (step 76) and the image is partially transmitted. As a result, the transmission image size can be reduced and the transmission time can be shortened, so that it is easy to use and the creation of memos and the sharing of images in the cabinet can be performed without any trouble.

2-7. Next, the coldness notification of food, which is the gist of the present invention, will be described.

FIG. 33 shows a flowchart for informing the cooling condition of food such as drinks stored in the refrigerator. When the in-store image of the storage item is displayed on the display terminal from step 31 to step 36 in FIG. 25, the user wants to notify the user of the cold condition in the in-store image displayed on the display terminal 15, For example, if there is beer, the area where the beer is stored is traced with a finger to specify the area (step 81). Then, a cold notification instruction is given (step 82). As a result, the thermocameras 37-1 and 37-2 start measuring the temperature in the specific area (step 83).
The temperature measurement is preferably performed at regular intervals (for example, every 3 minutes).

  When the temperature of the specific area is higher than the predetermined specific temperature (step 84), the cooling amount to the specific area is increased (step 85). For example, the opening degree of the cold air outlet of the part corresponding to the specific region is increased. Thereby, when the temperature of the drink etc. stored in the specific region is relatively high, the drink etc. can be rapidly cooled, and can be quickly cooled to a predetermined temperature which is the temperature of drinking.

  When the temperature of the specific area is not as high as the specific temperature, the temperature is cooled as it is, and when the temperature of the specific area becomes lower than the predetermined temperature that is the drinking temperature (step 86), a notification signal is output (step 87). This notification signal is received by the display terminal 15 via the Internet, and is notified by sound or voice or a combination of these and an image.

  Therefore, the user can know that the drink has been cooled to an appropriate temperature by using this sound or voice or a combination of these sounds and images. As a result, it is possible to prevent the power from being unnecessarily consumed by checking the door as often as it has been cooled, as in the case of conventional refrigerators, or unplugging the plug without being sufficiently cooled. It can be used, and it is highly energy efficient and easy to use.

  The above-described cooling condition notification is not limited to those exemplified in the above embodiments. In other words, the embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. That is, the scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the scope of claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

  It is also possible to display not only the specific area but also the cooling state of the entire imageable range. FIG. 34 shows a flowchart for displaying the cooling level of the food in the entire cabinet. When a cold notification instruction is given (step 91), the thermocameras 37-1 and 37-2 start measuring the temperature (step 92), and the display unit 15b confirms the cooling state of the entire interior (step 93). be able to. The display means 15b is constituted by the display screen of the display terminal 15 described above in the present embodiment. For example, 5 ° C. or lower is displayed in a blue frame, 5 ° C. to 10 ° C. is displayed in a yellow frame, and 10 ° C. or higher is displayed in a red frame according to the temperature.

  As a result, it is possible to grasp the temperature distribution in the entire chamber at a glance.For example, if you want to quickly cool food to be stored, such as drinks, in a place where there is no warm storage around it, Since the food can be put in, it can be quickly cooled to a predetermined temperature at the time of drinking.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the portable display terminal 15 is informed that food such as drinks has reached an appropriate temperature by using the Internet, but this indicates the operating state etc. provided in the refrigerator itself. An informing means for displaying and informing may be used. If the portable display terminal is notified to 15, there is an advantage that the notification can be surely known even if the user is on the second floor or the like far away from the refrigerator.

  Further, although the temperature state confirmation means 37-1 and 37-2 are constituted by a thermo camera or the like, it may be a temperature detector such as a thermistor, and similarly, the area specifying means traces an image displayed on the display terminal. For example, a proper noun such as “beer” may be input, or as a voice recognition method, a specific location of the image position may be specified by voice, or the proper noun may be recognized. Any method may be used as long as the region can be specified.

  In addition, there is more than one suitable temperature for beer, for example, for juice and wine, and it can be changed according to the food you want to know when to drink, or food in the specified area is automatically recognized from the image. It may be changed automatically. Of course, the target food is not limited to drinks, and may be watermelon, for example.

  In addition, the thermocameras 37-1, 37-2 have been described in the case where both the photographing cameras 35-1, 35-2 are provided in the refrigerating room 5, but this may be achieved by the vegetable room 9, the freezing room 8, etc. May also be provided.

  In addition, since the refrigerator and refrigerator system which were illustrated in embodiment of this invention have the following advantages, it describes.

  That is, in the refrigerator of this embodiment, the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 photograph food in the storage room 5 from the front side of the storage room 5, but at this time, the interior lighting lamps 13-0 and 34-2 Is also provided on the front side of the storage room 5, and the food in the storage room 5 is irradiated from the same front side as the photographing direction by the cameras 35-1 and 35-2. Therefore, the captured image is not as dark or difficult to see as when the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are provided on the back wall of the storage chamber 5, and becomes a clear image. Further, it is not necessary to request the server device 57 to perform image processing that brightens and sharpens the captured image.

  Moreover, since the said cameras 35-1, 35-2 and the interior lighting lamps 34-1, 34-2 are provided so that it may be located ahead from the front end of the said shelf boards 30-1 to 30-4, The images in the storage room 5 taken by the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are the same as when the user actually opens the door 10 of the refrigerator 51 and sees it. Therefore, when the user displays the image data on the display terminal 15, the food condition in the storage room 5 can be confirmed without any sense of incongruity. Moreover, since the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 illuminate the food on the shelf board from the front front of the shelf boards 30-1 to 30-4, they are mounted on the front edge parts of the shelf boards 30-1 to 30-4. The food that is placed can be photographed brightly and clearly.

  The cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are provided on the inner surface of the door 10 of the refrigerator 51, and the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are provided on both side walls of the opening edge of the storage chamber 5. First, the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are positioned at the left and right central portions of the storage chamber 5. Accordingly, the images taken by the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 can be made closer to a state in which the user opens the door 10 of the refrigerator 51 and actually sees it. In addition, it is possible to take a wide range in the storage room 5 by taking a large distance between the cameras 35-1, 35-2 and the food on the shelf, and display a wider range of food storage status. This can be confirmed on the terminal 15.

  Further, since the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are provided so as to be positioned at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the door pockets 33-1 and 33-2 on the inner surface of the door, not only the food in the storage chamber 5 but also the door. A part of the food stored in the pockets 33-1 and 33-2, such as a milk pack, can also be photographed. Since the user has stored it by himself, the user can recognize what it is even if only a part of it is shown. Therefore, it is possible to photograph almost all food in the storage room.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, if the camera is provided with a camera 14-3 dedicated to the storage container, the food in the storage container 31 can be clearly photographed. Further, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), the camera 35-2 can be moved up and down, and the food in the storage container 31 is also made up of two cameras by making the camera 35-2 rotatable up and down as shown in FIG. 9 (c). You can shoot efficiently with a small number of cameras.

  On the other hand, the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are provided at positions farther from the cameras 35-1 and 35-2, as is apparent from FIGS. Since the light of 34-2 is provided so as not to directly enter the photographing units of the cameras 35-1 and 35-2, the lights of the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are transmitted to the cameras 35-1 and 35-2. The camera 35-1 and 35-2 can be prevented from being deteriorated, and a good image can always be obtained. This can be achieved by providing a light-shielding portion on the camera side of the interior lighting lamps 35-1 and 35-2, or tilting the light source such as the LED constituting the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 obliquely backward. The same effect can be obtained even if a configuration such as arrangement is adopted.

  The interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 have an illuminance in the storage room of 150 lux to 200 lux, and if the illuminance is taken as it is, the food is whitish as described in the section of the photographing operation in FIG. It is difficult to see and distinguish. For this reason, in this embodiment, the illuminance is lowered to take a picture. This enables clear photographing even with a CCD camera or CMOS camera. The illuminance of the interior lighting lamps 34-1 and 34-2 is controlled by the control calculation unit 59 so that the illuminance is lower than normal only when the door 10 is closed or the door 10 is opened for photographing. By performing such control, it is possible to make clear photographing while keeping the illuminance as usual and making it easy to see the inside in the normal time when photographing is not performed. The decrease in illuminance may be caused by, for example, turning off a part of one or both of the interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2, or lighting both interior lamps 34-1 and 34-2. Various considerations such as lowering the illuminance of the lamps 34-1 and 34-2 are conceivable and may be appropriately selected.

  The images in the storage room 5 taken by the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are transmitted to the server device 57 from the respective cameras 35-1 and 35-2, and the server device 57 or the refrigerator 51. Alternatively, the combination processing is performed in the display terminal 15, and in this embodiment, the image combining processing is facilitated.

  That is, the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are door inner surfaces corresponding to the front ends of the shelf boards 30-1 to 30-4, in this example, the upper shelf board 30-1 and the third shelf board 30-. 3 is provided on the inner surface of the door corresponding to the front end of the rack 3, so that the cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are photographed on the shelf boards 30-1 and 30-3 so that the line Z in FIG. Will be taken around.

  Therefore, the image data in the storage room 5 photographed by the two cameras 35-1 and 35-2 can be combined at the second shelf plate 30-2 serving as the boundary line Z. That is, as shown in the “photographed raw image” in FIG. 34, the shelf plate 30-2 is shown in common in each of the upper and lower images. After “image”, if the common shelf 30-2 moved to the upper and lower images is matched, a captured image of the entire storage room is obtained. As a result, it is not necessary to perform extremely difficult correction processing to align and combine each food placed on the shelf board at the time of image combining processing, and image combining processing is easy. Become. Therefore, the processing program for image combining can be simplified, and the capacity of the control unit of the server device 57, the refrigerator 51, or the display terminal 15 for image combining processing is also required to be large. This can contribute to speeding up of processing speed.

  Further, since the two cameras 35-1 and 35-2 are provided substantially in front of the shelf plate 30-1 and the shelf plate 30-3 that cannot be adjusted in height, the shelf plate 30-that can be adjusted in height. Even when the height of 2 is changed, the image combining process can be easily performed by adjusting the range to be combined according to the height of the shelf 30-2 during the image combining process.

According to the present invention, it is possible to surely know that the food has reached the appropriate temperature, improve usability, and frequently open and close the door to know whether or not the food has been cooled to the appropriate temperature, thereby consuming power wastefully. It can be a refrigerator with no energy saving, and can be applied to various refrigerators including a home refrigerator.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator main body 2 Outer box 3 Inner box 4 Heat insulating material 5 Refrigeration room (storage room)
6 Switching room 7 Ice making room 8 Freezing room 9 Vegetable room 10 Door 10a Cover panel 10a-1 Glass plate 10a-2 Magic mirror 10b Inner plate 10b-1, 10b-2 Raised wall portion 11-14 Drawer type door (door)
15 Display terminal (image display means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15a Display 15b Display means 16 Cooling chamber 17 Cooler 18 Blower fan 19 Compressor 20 Radiation pipe 21 Capillary tube 22 Damper 23 Storage frame body 24 Terminal holding body 25 Touch panel 26 Gap 27 Frame body 28 Recess 29, 29a Smoke sheet 30-1 30-4 Shelf plate 31 Storage container 32-1 to 32-4 Side wall convex part 33-1 to 33-8 Door pocket 34-1 and 34-2 Interior lamp 35-1, 35-2, 35-3 Camera (Imaging means)
36 Center pillars 37-1, 37-2 Thermo camera (Temperature condition check means)
41 Camera module 50 Refrigerator system 51 Refrigerator 53 Wireless adapter (communication device)
53a "Connect" button 54 Gateway device (relay device)
55 Router device 56 Internet 57 Server device 58 Interface (I / F)
59 Control Calculation Unit 60 Storage Unit 61 Door Open / Close Detection Unit 62 Fan Drive Circuit 63 Compressor Drive Circuit 64 AC Power Supply 65 Server Interface 66 Server Control Unit 67 Data Storage Unit 70 “Direct” Selection Button 71 “Server” Selection Button 72 Image Data Selection button 73 Energy saving related data selection button 74 Temperature measurement button 75 Send button

Claims (4)

A heat insulating box made up of an inner box and an outer box and having an open front,
A storage room configured by partitioning the heat insulating box; and
A heat insulating door covering the storage room;
Imaging means provided in the storage chamber or the heat insulating door for imaging the inside of the storage chamber;
Image display means for displaying an image captured based on the imaging means;
Area specifying means for specifying a predetermined area based on the image displayed on the imaging means;
Temperature state confirmation means for confirming the temperature state of the region identified by the region identification means;
Informing means for informing predetermined information about the storage room,
The notification means is configured to notify when the detected temperature state of the temperature state confirmation means reaches a predetermined temperature state, and the image display means, the area specifying means, and the notification means are the heat insulating box or the portable type. A refrigerator comprising any one of the display terminals. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit images the inside of the storage chamber after a predetermined time from the start of cooling of the storage chamber. In the region specified by the region specifying unit, when it is detected that the temperature state detected by the temperature state checking unit is higher than the specific temperature state, the cooling amount of the region is increased. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2. An imaging means provided in a heat insulating door for opening and closing the storage chamber or the storage chamber, and for imaging the inside of the storage chamber;
Image display means for displaying an image captured based on the imaging means;
Area specifying means for specifying a predetermined area based on the image displayed on the imaging means;
Temperature state confirmation means for confirming the temperature state of the region identified by the region identification means;
Informing means for informing predetermined information about the storage room,
The refrigerator system configured to notify when the temperature detected by the temperature state confirmation unit reaches a predetermined temperature state.