JP2006329597A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of updating the expiration date after opening when food is used and stored. <P>SOLUTION: A shelf 24 in a refrigerating chamber 14 of the refrigerator 10 is provided with a weight sensor 30, and when there is a change between the weight of the food detected by the weight sensor 30 and the weight of the food detected last time, the food is determined to be opened, and an unopened expiration date is updated to the expiration data after opening. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator capable of storing and managing a food provided with a wireless tag.

  Recently, wireless tag technology has advanced, and a refrigerator for home use that can store and manage foods attached with the wireless tag has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Such a refrigerator has a plurality of antennas for transmitting / receiving radio waves from a wireless tag attached to food, a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving wireless tag information using these antennas, and for controlling the transmission / reception unit. The main controller is provided.
JP 2002-81848 A

  One of the services performed in the refrigerator as described above is a food management service. This food management service is a service in which food in the refrigerator is input in advance from a controller or the like, information input from the controller is transmitted from the information server to each user's mobile phone, and notification is made when the expiration date is approaching.

  However, the expiration date described in the food is in an unopened state, and the expiration date after opening is not described.

  Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention provides a refrigerator that can be updated to the expiration date after opening when food is used and stored.

  The invention according to claim 1 is provided in a refrigerator cabinet, and food information reading means for reading the food information of the food from the food information holding means attached to the food, and when the food is stored in the warehouse Food state detection means for detecting the state of the food, food state storage means for storing the state of the food detected by the food state detection means, expiration date storage means for storing the expiration date after opening for each food, When the food is taken out and stored again, when the state of the current food detected by the food state detection means is different from the previous food state stored in the food state storage means, the expiration date of the food A renewal means for updating the expiration date after opening stored in the expiration date storage means.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the updating means determines that the food state of the newly stored food is not opened when the food state of the food stored in advance is the same as the initial food state of the food stored in advance. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the unopened shelf life of the food is determined, and when it is different from the prestored initial food state of the food, the opened shelf life is determined based on the determination that the food is opened. It is.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food information holding means is a wireless tag, and the food information reading means is a tag detection means.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food information holding means is a bar code, and the food information reading means is a bar code reader.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food state detection means is a weight sensor and detects the weight of the food as the state of the food.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food state detection means is an image sensor, and detects an unsealed state of the food as the state of the food.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the update means includes a display means for displaying the expiration date to be updated, or a speaker for informing.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the updating means changes the post-opening best-before date to be updated based on an outside air temperature or a set temperature in the cabinet. .

  The invention according to claim 9 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the updating means changes the updated expiration date after opening based on the season.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the updating means shortens the renewal expiration date after opening as the time during which the food is taken out is longer.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising in-chamber food storage means for storing the expiration date after opening updated by the update means together with the food name of the food.

  In the refrigerator of the present invention, when the food is taken out and stored again, if the state of the current food is different from the state of the previous food, it is determined that the food is opened, and the expiration date of the food is opened. Update to a later expiration date. Thus, the user can use the food based on the expiration date after opening rather than the unopened expiration date.

  Hereinafter, the refrigerator 10 of one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS. 1-3.

  The refrigerator 10 of this embodiment can read the food information of the wireless tag 2 attached to the food 1. Examples of the food information include a food name, an unopened expiration date, and a weight.

(1) Structure of the refrigerator 10 The structure of the refrigerator 10 is demonstrated based on FIG.

  Inside the cabinet 12 of the refrigerator 10, a refrigerator compartment 14, a vegetable compartment 16, an ice making compartment 18, and a freezer compartment 20 are provided from the top. Further, on the right side of the ice making chamber 18, a switching chamber 22 capable of switching the setting of the internal temperature is provided.

  Inside the refrigerator compartment 14, two-stage shelves 24 and 26 are provided, and a chilled compartment 28 is provided on the bottom surface of the refrigerator compartment 14.

  Four weight sensors 30 are provided on the ceiling surfaces of the shelf 24, the shelf 26, and the chilled chamber 28, respectively. The four weight sensors 30 form a set, and for example, the weight of the food 1 placed on the shelf 24 can be detected.

  An antenna 32 for reading food information transmitted from the wireless tag 2 is provided on the side surface of the refrigerator compartment 14.

  A display unit 36 made of a liquid crystal display device is provided in front of the door 34 of the refrigerator compartment 14, and a speaker 38 is provided in the vicinity of the display unit 36.

(2) Electrical configuration of refrigerator 10 Next, a block diagram of the refrigerator 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The main control unit 40 of the refrigerator 10 manages the food temperature from the wireless tag 2 of the food 1 while managing the internal temperature.

  The main control unit 40 is connected to the weight sensor 30, the display unit 36, and the speaker 38, and is provided with a communication unit 44 for communicating with an external home network 42. This home network 42 can communicate with the portable terminal 46 and can also communicate with other portable terminals 46 via the Internet.

  A wireless tag read / write device 48 for receiving food information from the wireless tag 2 is connected to the main control unit 40. The wireless tag reader / writer 48 includes the antenna 32 described above and a wireless tag controller 50 that performs communication using the antenna 32.

  The main control unit 40 has a plurality of databases. That is, it consists of a food information database 52, an in-store food database, a new food database 56, and an expiration date database 58.

  The food information database 52 stores, for each food item, food name, unopened best-before date, capacity data indicating an initial weight in an unopened initial state, and the like.

  The food product database 54 stores the names of foods currently stored in the refrigerator 10, the unopened best-before date or the best-before date after opening, the measured weight, the opened date, and the like.

  The new food database 56 stores newly stored food names and first detection data to be described later.

  The expiration date database 58 stores the expiration date after opening for each food. The expiration date after opening is shorter than the unopened expiration date.

(3) Processing of expiration date Next, how the refrigerator 10 manages the expiration date of food will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In steps 1 and 2, it is detected based on the weight sensor 30 whether or not food has been stored. After the user opens the door 34 of the refrigerator 10 and places the food 1 on the shelf 34, for example, the increase in weight is measured by the weight sensor 30 of the shelf 34, and the increase is used as the measured weight. And if the weight sensor 30 detects an increase, it will progress to step 3, and if it does not detect, it will judge that the foodstuff 1 is not accommodated and will be complete | finished.

  In step 3, since the weight sensor 30 has changed, the wireless tag reader / writer 48 reads the food information from the wireless tag 2 of the food 1 using the antenna 32. Further, the weight measured by the weight sensor 30 is stored as first detection data.

  In step 4, the food information database 52 is searched based on the read food information, and the food name, unopened expiration date, and capacity data regarding the stored food are obtained.

  In steps 5 and 6, the in-store food database 54 is searched based on the read food information, and it is determined whether the food is already stored in the store or newly stored. If it is new, the process proceeds to step 7; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 13.

  In steps 7 and 8, since it is determined that the food is new, the measured weight as the first detection data is compared with the capacity data in the acquired food information. If the first detection data is smaller than the volume data, it is determined that the food is already used even though the food is stored for the first time, and the process proceeds to step 10 where the first detection data is equal to the volume data. If it is heavy, it is determined that the food is new and the process proceeds to step 9.

  In step 9, assuming that the food is a new food, the food information and the first detection data (measured weight) are stored in the food database 54 and the new food database 56, respectively. At this time, the unopened best-before date of the food is displayed on the display unit 36 and also notified by sound from the speaker 38. And it ends.

  In Steps 10 and 11, since it is determined that the food is not the first food but a new food, the expiration date after opening the food is acquired from the expiration date database 58, and the expiration date in the food information is set as the expiration date after opening. Update. In step 12, the food information is stored in the food database. Further, the updated expiration date after opening is displayed on the display unit 36 or notified by the speaker 38.

  In steps 13 and 14, since it is determined that it is not the first storage but the second and subsequent storages and is not a new food, it should be stored in the new food database 56. Therefore, if it is stored in the new food database 56, the process proceeds to step 15. On the other hand, if it is not stored for some reason, it ends as an error.

  In step 15, the measured weight of the food as the first detection data read by the weight sensor 30 last time is acquired from the new food database 56.

  In step 16, the first detection data newly read in step 7 is compared with the previous measured weight. In step 17, if there is a change in the comparison result, the process proceeds to step 18. On the other hand, if there is no change, the food is not used in the state of a new food and is returned to the warehouse again, and the process ends.

  In step 18, since the weight has changed, the post-opening expiration date is acquired from the expiration date database 58, and the expiration date stored in the food product database 54 in step 19 is updated to the post-opening expiration date. Then, the updated expiration date after opening is displayed on the display unit 36 or notified by the speaker 38. In step 20, the food is deleted from the new food database 56.

  In the case of the above processing, when the food is not opened with a new food, the unopened expiration date can be stored and notified to the user. In addition, when the user opens and uses the food even once, the expiration date after opening is stored and notified. Therefore, the user can use the food based on the expiration date after opening.

(Modification 1)
In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made with the configuration in which the wireless tag 2 is provided on the food 1. However, instead of this, the barcode is provided on the food 1, and the barcode reader that reads the barcode is provided on the refrigerator 10. Even if it exists, food information can be read.

(Modification 2)
In the above embodiment, the weight sensor 30 is used to detect a change in the state of the food, but instead, a CCD camera is provided inside the refrigerator compartment 14 and the food is opened or unopened by image processing. You may judge whether it is.

(Modification 3)
In the above embodiment, the expiration date after opening stored in the expiration date database 58 is constant, but instead, the expiration date after opening is shortened as the outside temperature is higher, or the inside temperature of the refrigerator compartment 14 is increased. The higher the setting is, the shorter the expiration date after opening may be set.

  Moreover, you may change the expiration date after opening according to a season. For example, in the summer period from May to October, the expiration date after opening may be shortened, and in the winter period from November to April, the expiration date after opening may be increased.

(Modification 4)
In the above embodiment, the expiration date is displayed on the display unit 36 or notified by the speaker 38, but in addition to this, the portable terminal 46 may be notified via the communication unit 44.

(Modification 5)
If the wireless tag 2 is writable, the updated expiration date and opened date data after opening may be stored in the wireless tag 2.

(Modification 6)
In the above embodiment, the expiration date has been described as the food information to be updated, but the weight of the food may be updated in addition to this.

It is a perspective view of the refrigerator which shows one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of a refrigerator. It is a flowchart for managing the expiration date.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Foodstuff 2 Wireless tag 10 Refrigerator 14 Refrigeration room 24 Shelf 26 Shelf 28 Chilled room 30 Weight sensor 32 Antenna 34 Door 36 Display part 38 Speaker 40 Main control part 48 Wireless tag reading / writing apparatus 50 Wireless tag control part 52 Food information database 54 Storage Domestic food database 56 New food database 58 Expiration date database

Claims (11)

A food information reading means that is provided in the refrigerator and reads the food information of the food from the food information holding means attached to the food;
Food state detection means for detecting the state of the food when the food is stored in the cabinet;
Food state storage means for storing the state of the food detected by the food state detection means;
Expiration date storage means for storing the expiration date after opening for each food,
When the food is taken out and stored again, when the state of the current food detected by the food state detection means is different from the previous food state stored in the food state storage means, the expiration date of the food Updating means for updating the expiration date after opening stored in the expiration date storage means,
The refrigerator characterized by having. The updating means determines that the food state of the newly stored food is the same as the pre-stored initial food state of the food and determines that the food is not opened, and sets the unopened expiration date of the food stored in advance. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein when it is different from the initial food state of the food stored in advance, it is determined that the food is opened, and the expiration date after opening is set as the refrigerator. The food information holding means is a wireless tag,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food information reading means is tag detection means. The food information holding means is a barcode,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food information reading means is a bar code reader. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food state detection means is a weight sensor, and detects the weight of the food as the state of the food. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the food state detection means is an image sensor, and detects the opened state of the food as the state of the food. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the updating unit includes a display unit that displays the expiration date to be updated or a speaker that notifies the updating unit. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the updating unit changes the updated expiration date after opening based on an outside air temperature or a set temperature in the storage. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the update unit changes the updated expiration date after opening based on a season. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the updating means shortens the updated expiration date after the opening as the time during which the food is taken out is longer. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising: a food storage unit that stores the shelf-life after opening updated by the updating unit together with a food name of the food.

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