U.S. patent application number 11/011465 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-10 for refrigerator with a display module.
Invention is credited to Ching Yu Chang, Kuo Ching Chiang, Chi Wen Liu.
Application Number | 20060174641 11/011465 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36778540 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060174641 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liu; Chi Wen ; et
al. |
August 10, 2006 |
Refrigerator with a display module
Abstract
A refrigerator comprises one or more chamber to store food or
beverage; a power source provided in the refrigerator to provide
power; a compressor equipped in the refrigerator and couple to the
power source to compress gas to generate refrigerant gas in the
chamber; a door attached on the refrigerator; a display panel
equipped on the door; an image capturing device set in the chamber,
wherein the image capturing device is electrically coupled to the
display panel.
Inventors: |
Liu; Chi Wen; (Hsin Chu
City, TW) ; Chang; Ching Yu; (Yi Lan Xian, TW)
; Chiang; Kuo Ching; (Taoyuan Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
THE MAXHAM FIRM
750 "B" STREET, SUITE 3100
SAN DIEGO
CA
92101
US
|
Family ID: |
36778540 |
Appl. No.: |
11/011465 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/246 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 27/00 20130101;
F25D 2400/361 20130101; F25D 29/00 20130101; F25D 2500/06
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
062/246 |
International
Class: |
A47F 3/04 20060101
A47F003/04 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator comprising: one or more chamber to store food or
beverage; a compressor equipped in the refrigerator to compress gas
to generate refrigerant gas in the one or more chamber; a display
panel equipped on the refrigerator; and an image capturing device
set in the one or more chamber used to capture the image of the
food or beverage stored in the one or more chamber, wherein the
display panel is coupled to the image capturing device for
displaying the image captured by the image capturing device.
2. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising an illumination
device set in the chamber to provide the illumination for the image
capturing device.
3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the illumination device
includes LED, UV-light or lamp.
4. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the image capturing device
is selected from the group consisting of digital still camera,
digital video camera, CCD, CMOS sensor and pinhole camera.
5. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising a
transmission/receiving module set in the refrigerator to transmit
the captured image to a remote terminal.
6. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein the remote terminal
comprises a receiver and a display, thereby allowing a user to
check what item is in the refrigerator.
7. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the display panel is
selected from the group consisting of LCD panel, plasma display
panel, LED display panel, CRT, FED display panel, EL panel, OEL and
OLED panel.
8. A refrigerator comprising: one or more chamber to store food or
beverage; a compressor equipped in the refrigerator to compress gas
to generate refrigerant gas in the chamber; an image capturing
device set in the one or more chamber used to capture the image of
the food or beverage stored in the one or more chamber; and a
transmission/receiving module set in the refrigerator and coupled
to the image capturing device to transmit the image captured by the
image capturing device to a remote terminal.
9. The refrigerator of claim 8, further comprising an illumination
device set in the chamber to provide the illumination for the image
capturing device.
10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein the illumination device
includes LED, UV-light or lamp.
11. The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein the image capturing device
is selected from the group consisting of digital still camera,
digital video camera, CCD, CMOS sensor and pinhole camera.
12. The refrigerator of claim 8, further comprising a display panel
equipped on the refrigerator and coupled to the image capturing
device.
13. The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein the remote terminal
comprises a transceiver and a display, thereby allowing a user to
check what item is in the refrigerator.
14. The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein the display panel is
selected from the group consisting of LCD panel, plasma display
panel, LED display panel, CRT, FED display panel, EL panel, OEL and
OLED panel.
15. A method of monitoring food or beverage in a refrigerator
comprising: providing an image capturing device in one or more
chamber of the refrigerator; switching on the image capturing
device to capture the image of the food or beverage stored in the
one or more chamber; transmitting the captured image to a display
panel set on the refrigerator or a remote terminal for displaying
the captured image.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising following steps
before capturing the image of the food or beverage stored in the
one or more chamber: transmitting a signal from the remote terminal
to switch on the image capturing device; and receiving the signal
by a RF module set for the refrigerator.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising following step
before transmitting the captured image: sending the captured image
to the RF module; transmitting the captured image by the RF module
to the remote terminal.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to a freezer and
more particularly to a device to display the items in a
refrigerator.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In order to keep temperature-sensitive foodstuffs,
especially beverages, an electrically refrigerated cabinet has been
used. In refrigeration systems, a refrigerant gas is compressed in
a compressor unit. Heat generated by the compression is then
removed generally by passing the compressed gas through a water or
air cooled condenser coil.
[0003] A problem which has arisen with such refrigeration is that
when the front door is opened too often, the extremely cold air
within the chamber tends to spill out through the front opening of
the refrigeration. This not only undesirably increases the
temperature of the refrigeration chamber, but places increased
loads on the refrigeration unit as it must operate on a more
continuous basis to account for all of the lost cold air from
within the chamber.
[0004] It would therefore be desirable to provide an advanced
freezer which allowed monitoring the item contain therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention also provides many additional
advantages which shall become apparent as described below.
[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a
refrigerator with a display module.
[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a
refrigerator with a RF (radio frequency) module.
[0008] A refrigerator comprises one or more chamber to store food
or beverage. A power source is provided for the refrigerator. A
compressor is equipped in the refrigerator and couple to the power
source to compress gas to generate refrigerant gas in the chamber.
A door is attached on the refrigerator; a display panel equipped on
the door. The display panel is equipped on the refrigerator. The
image capturing device is set in the one or more chamber used to
capture the image of the food or beverage stored in the one or more
chamber, wherein the display panel is coupled to the image
capturing device for displaying the image captured by the image
capturing device. The image capturing device is embedded in the
wall of the chamber. The refrigerator further comprises an
illumination device set in the chamber to provide the illumination
for the image capturing device.
[0009] FIG. 1 shows a function diagram of a refrigerator according
to the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 shows a refrigerator according to the present
invention.
[0011] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart according to the present
invention.
[0012] FIG. 4 shows a display panel according to the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] The following description is provided to enable any person
skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various
modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those
skilled in the art, since the generic principles of the present
invention have been defined herein specifically to provide an
overall method and devices for a food storage tracking system.
[0014] FIGS. 1 and 2 show an illustration and a block diagram of
the present invention. The refrigerator 100 has one or more chamber
10 to store food or beverage as know in the art. A power source 24
is provided in the refrigerator 100 to provide the power needed. A
compressor 12 is equipped in the refrigerator 100 and couple to
power source 24 to compress gas to generate refrigerant gas in the
chamber 10. Heat generated by the compression is then removed
generally by passing the compressed gas through a water or air
cooled condenser coil. One or more front door 16 is attached on the
refrigerator 100 and could be pivotally opened. A control circuits
110 is embedded in the refrigerator 100 to process the command,
signal and instruction from the user.
[0015] One aspect of the present invention is that a display panel
18 is equipped on the refrigerator, preferably, on the front door
16 and coupled to the power source 24 and the control circuits 110.
One or more image capturing device 20 is set in the chamber 10. The
image capturing device 20 is electrically (or optically) coupled to
the display panel 18, control circuits 110. The image capturing
device 20 is set in the chamber 10. A switch 22 is provided on the
display panel 18 used to turn-on the image capturing device 20. An
illumination device 26 is set in the chamber 10 also to provide the
illumination for the image capturing device 20 when the image
capturing device 20 is power on. The image capturing device 20 and
the illumination device 26 could be built-in on or in the wall of
the chamber 10. The image capturing device 20 could capture the
image in the chamber 10, therefore, the image of the items stored
in the chamber 10 could be taken or shot by the image capturing
device 20. The image capturing device 20 could be, for example,
digital still camera, digital video camera, CCD, CMOS sensor or
pinhole camera. The illumination device 26 could be LED, UV light
source, lamp or the like. The frequency range of the illumination
source may range from substantially 10E13-10E16 Hz. If the image
capturing device is capable of operating in the infrared ray
spectrum range, the illumination device 26 could be omitted. If the
illumination device may illuminate UV-ray spectrum, the bacteria
will be eliminated or killed by the UV ray. When the image
capturing device 20 is on, the image in the chamber 10 can be
captured and send it to the display panel 18, thereby displaying
captured image in the form of video or picture on the display panel
18, allowing the user to watch image on the display panel and take
a look at what items are stored in the chamber and their location.
The image capturing device 20 could be set in each layer of the
chamber 10 depending on the necessary. This will provide relative
ease to monitor the stored food item without opening the door of
the refrigerator. In one embodiment, a LCD screen is provided for
the display panel to display item in the chamber 10. Other type
display could also be used such as plasma display panel, LED
display panel, CRT, FED display panel, EL panel, OEL and OLED
panel. The panel further includes On/Off button, a Mode button. A
low-power CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor)
microprocessor with integral FLASH maybe employed. A molded plastic
case for the screen encloses the circuit board. Power is provided
by batteries or, alternately, by the refrigerator itself. The image
capturing device 20 includes a charged coupled device (referred to
as "CCD"). Further, the image capturing device 20 has the zoom-in
and zoom-out functions controlled by the mode button described in
FIG. 4. Memory means 22 is coupled to the image capturing device 20
for storing a single frame image that is generated by image signal
from the CCD, wires are used to connect the control circuits 110,
power source 24 and the display 18. A conical convex lens is
accommodated to have an apical angle and the apex is fixed so as to
face the object. The image capturing device 20 is available to
catch image of an object.
[0016] The details of the base unit now having been explained, one
can readily understand the functioning of the entire method. For
example, one would discover what item stored in the chamber and
their location from the display panel. Another embodiment of the
present invention further includes a wireless or wired
transmission/receiving module 30 coupled to the image capturing
device 20 and the control circuit 110. The wireless or wired
transmission/receiving module 30 could be set adjacent to the
display panel 18. It should be noted, it is not the only way to set
the wireless or wired transmission/receiving module module. The
transmission/receiving module could be wired (such as ADSL cable or
Ethernet device) or wireless transmission (RF, blue-tooth or
802.11x available device). Take the RF module as an example, as
know in the art, the RF (wireless transmission/receiving) module
includes an antenna connected to a transceiver which is used to
receive and transmit signal. As know, the RF module may further
include, base band processing unit, DSP and A/D converter. The
received signal will turn on the vibration mode or speaker of the
cellular phone in the mobile phone application. In the present
invention, the received signal will be used to power on the image
capturing device 20 (and the illumination device 26). Due to the RF
module is not the feature of the present invention, therefore, the
detailed description is omitted. The captured image can be
transmitted through the RF module 30 by operation frequency while
the image capturing device is in function. The captured result can
be send to a remote terminal 32 with a transceiver 32a and a
display screen 32b, thereby allowing the user to check what item
left in the refrigerator. The user may determine what should be
supplied. The remote terminal 32 could be, such as remote computer
system, portable device (cellular) or TV set. The signal could be
transmitted or received through wired network or wireless
transmission.
[0017] The present invention discloses and provides a method of
monitoring food or beverage in a refrigerator. In step 300, an
image capturing device is provided and set in one or more chamber
of the refrigerator. Then, next step 310 is to switch on the image
capturing device (and the illumination device) to capture the image
of the food or beverage stored in the one or more chamber by
pushing a button on the refrigerator or remote control through a RF
module. Then, the captured image is send 320 to a display panel,
wherein the display panel is coupled to the image capturing device
for displaying the captured image. As aforementioned, the display
panel is set on the refrigerator or remote terminal. If the display
panel is set on the remote terminal, a RF module is necessary for
the refrigerator. Thus, the method further comprises the steps
before capturing the image of the food or beverage: 330
transmitting a signal from a remote terminal to switch on the image
capturing device; 340 receiving the signal by the RF module
(transmission/receiving module). The method further comprises the
step before transmitting the captured image: 350 sending the
captured image to the RF module and transmitting the captured image
by the RF module to the remote terminal.
[0018] FIG. 4 shows the more advanced version of the current
invention. An LCD screen 42 is provided for the display panel to
display items captured by the image capturing device. Below the LCD
42 are an On/Off button 44, a layer selection button 46, and a mode
button 48 which provide the function of zoom-in and zoom out. At
the bottom of the unit are a microphone 50 and a speaker 52 when
the instruction input unit includes voice activated technology. A
molded plastic case for the screen and other function keys encloses
the circuit board. Power on the LCD screen, the cursor is displayed
at the beginning. To enter a selected layer, the user moves the
cursor on the display. Next the user simply presses the selected
layer and the corresponding image capturing device is power on.
[0019] As will be understood by persons skilled in the art, the
foregoing preferred embodiment of the present invention is
illustrative of the present invention rather than limiting the
present invention. Having described the invention in connection
with a preferred embodiment, modification will now suggest itself
to those skilled in the art. Thus, the invention is not to be
limited to this embodiment, but rather the invention is intended to
cover various modifications and similar arrangements included
within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of
which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to
encompass all such modifications and similar structures. While the
preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and
described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made
therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention.
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