Object recognition system for an appliance and method for managing household inventory of consumables

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11556889-B2
Application number	US-201916589621-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2019
Priority date	Aug 5, 2015
Publication date	Jan 17, 2023
Grant date	Jan 17, 2023

Abstract

A refrigerating appliance includes a cabinet having an inner liner that defines at least one aperture for accessing a refrigerating compartment. A door is operably coupled to the cabinet and is operable between open and closed positions. A plurality of storage surfaces is positioned within the refrigerating compartment. Each storage surface is adapted to receive at least one temporarily stored item. A scanning apparatus is adapted to record data related to the storage surfaces and the at least one temporarily stored item. The scanning apparatus conducts first and second data capturing phases. The secondary data recorded during the second data capturing phase is compared against previous data recorded during the first data capturing phase to create a current inventory manifest. The current inventory manifest is compared with a set of predetermined parameters related to the at least one temporarily stored item to selectively provide an output.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-compartment storage system comprising:
a first storage device having a first set of storage surfaces for placing temporarily stored items;
a second storage device having a second set of storage surfaces for placing the temporarily stored items, wherein the first storage device and the second storage device are separate compartments of a single appliance; and
an object recognition system that includes a first scanning apparatus of the first storage device, a second scanning apparatus of the second storage device, an external scanner for identifying a moved temporarily stored item and a controller that monitors locations of the temporarily stored items within the first and second sets of storage surfaces; wherein
the first scanning apparatus and the second scanning apparatus also detect and monitor available space within the first set and the second set of storage surfaces, respectively;
the available space is characterized by open areas between the temporarily stored items within which the moved temporarily stored item can be located;
the moved temporarily stored item is located outside of the first and second storage devices;
upon a request for locating the moved temporarily stored item within the available space within one of the first and second storage devices, the controller and the first scanning apparatus and the second scanning apparatus are configured to cooperatively provide a storage recommendation for locating the moved temporarily stored item from outside the first and second storage devices to within a recommended storage surface of the first and second sets of storage surfaces; and
the storage recommendation is based upon an identity of the moved temporarily stored item as determined by the external scanner and the controller and the available space within the first set and the second set of storage surfaces.

2. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 1 , wherein the external scanner is a camera for a portable computing device.

3. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 1 , wherein the first scanning apparatus and the second scanning apparatus each include at least a temperature sensor, and wherein the storage recommendation is based upon a first temperature of the first storage device and a second temperature of the second storage device.

4. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 3 , wherein the storage recommendation is further based upon the identity of the moved temporarily stored item, the identity including temperature storage information.

5. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 1 , wherein the moved temporarily stored item is one of the temporarily stored items within the first and second storage devices and the storage recommendation is related to a relocation of the moved temporarily stored item to the recommended storage surface.

6. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 1 , wherein the first scanning apparatus and the second scanning apparatus each include at least a humidity sensor, and wherein the storage recommendation is based upon a first humidity of the first storage device and a second humidity of the second storage device.

7. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 1 , wherein the single appliance is a refrigerating appliance.

8. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 4 , wherein each storage surface of the first and second sets of storage surfaces includes dedicated temperature sensors.

9. A multi-compartment storage system comprising:
a plurality of storage devices that include sets of storage surfaces for placing temporarily stored items, wherein the temporarily stored items define an inventory manifest of the plurality of storage devices, wherein the plurality of storage devices are a plurality of refrigerating appliances located within a building structure;
an object recognition system that includes respective scanning devices for each storage device of the plurality of storage devices, wherein the respective scanning devices are operated by a controller to monitor the sets of storage surfaces and the temporarily stored items of the inventory manifest, wherein the respective scanning devices detect and monitor available space within the plurality of storage devices, respectively, to form the inventory manifest, wherein the inventory manifest includes the available space within the set of storage surfaces; and
an external scanning device that determines an identity of a moved temporarily stored item to be added to the inventory manifest and to be located upon a storage surface of the available space within the sets of storage surfaces, the available space being characterized by open areas between the temporarily stored items within which a moved temporarily stored item can be located, wherein the controller in cooperation with the object recognition system and the external scanning device provides a storage recommendation for locating the moved temporarily stored item from outside of the plurality of storage devices to within a recommended storage surface within the sets of storage surfaces, and wherein the storage recommendation is at least partially based upon the identity of the moved temporarily stored item and the available space within the sets of storage surfaces of the plurality of storage devices.

10. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 9 , wherein the external scanning device is a camera for a portable computing device.

11. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 9 , wherein each storage device of the plurality of storage devices includes a respective temperature sensor, and wherein the storage recommendation is based upon a comparison of respective storage temperatures of the plurality of storage devices.

12. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 11 , wherein the storage recommendation is further based upon the identity of the moved temporarily stored item, the identity including size information and temperature storage information of the moved temporarily stored item.

13. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 9 , wherein the moved temporarily stored item is one of the temporarily stored items within the sets of storage surfaces and the storage recommendation is related to a relocation of the moved temporarily stored item to the recommended storage surface of the sets of storage surfaces.

14. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 9 , wherein each storage surface of the sets of storage surfaces include dedicated temperature sensors.

15. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to periodically provide an automatic storage recommendation for the inventory manifest, wherein the automatic storage recommendation is related to a relocation of at least one temporarily stored item of the inventory manifest.

16. The multi-compartment storage system of claim 9 , wherein a portion of each storage device of the plurality of storage devices are climate-controlled spaces.

17. A multi-compartment storage system for a residential structure, the multi-compartment storage system comprising:
sets of storage surfaces for placing temporarily stored items, wherein the temporarily stored items define an inventory manifest of the sets of storage surfaces, wherein the sets of storage surfaces are located within respective refrigerated storage compartments of a single refrigerating appliance;
an object recognition system that includes respective scanning devices for monitoring each storage surface of the sets of storage surfaces, wherein the respective scanning devices are operated by a controller

Assignees

• Whirlpool Co

Inventors

• Corona Enrique
• Edwards David
• Moore Michael T
• Post Ryan M

Classifications

• G06F18/24

  Classification techniques · CPC title

• G06Q10/087 Primary

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• F25D2500/06

  Stock management · CPC title

• G06Q30/0633

  Managing shopping lists, e.g. compiling or processing purchase lists (shipping orders G06Q10/083; order filling G06Q10/087) · CPC title

• F25D2700/08

  Sensors using Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] · CPC title