Refrigerator with camera and control method for the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-RE50269-E
Application number	US-202117200309-A
Country	US
Kind code	E1
Filing date	Mar 12, 2021
Priority date	Apr 23, 2013
Publication date	Jan 14, 2025
Grant date	Jan 14, 2025

Abstract

A refrigerator includes a storage compartment formed in a cabinet of the refrigerator by a fixed insulation wall, the storage compartment being provided with an access opening. The refrigerator also includes a door rotatably provided to the cabinet to open and close the access opening, a drawer provided in the storage compartment, a camera fixed to a ceiling of the storage compartment to photograph both a first region for storing of food arranged in an external space of the drawer and a second region for storing of food arranged in an internal space of the drawer, and a controller configured to separate, through a capturing time of a picture containing both the first region and the second region, a first region picture and a second region picture from the picture to individually divide and store the first region picture and the second region picture.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet in which a storage compartment is defined by a fixed insulation wall, the storage compartment configured to store food and having an access opening;
a door rotatably provided at the cabinet and configured to open and close the access opening of the storage compartment;
a drawer provided in the storage compartment;
a shelf provided in the storage compartment and arranged above the drawer;
a camera disposed in the storage compartment and configured to take a photo of an interior of the storage compartment; and
at least one processor configured to divide the photo taken by the camera into a plurality of images corresponding to a plurality of regions inside the refrigerator,
wherein the plurality of regions includes a region that is defined by at least one of the shelf or the drawer in the storage compartment, and
wherein the camera is configured to take a photo of the region inside the drawer based on the drawer being withdrawn.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of regions comprises an internal space of the drawer and an external space of the drawer, and
wherein the external space of the drawer is inside of the cabinet and outside of the drawer.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of regions comprises a first region for storing food defined in an external space of the drawer on the shelf in the storage compartment, and a second region for storing food defined in an internal space of the drawer, and
wherein the external space is inside of the cabinet and outside of the drawer.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3 7 , wherein the plurality of regions further comprises a third region defined under the drawer, the third region vertically overlapping with the drawer in a state in which the drawer is withdrawn.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , wherein at least two regions among the plurality of regions are arranged at different heights from each other in the storage compartment.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , wherein the first region, the second region, and the third region are arranged sequentially along a vertical direction.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 4 3 , wherein the camera is configured to take the photo of the interior of the storage compartment by taking a photo that captures the plurality of regions inside the refrigerator together.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7 4 , wherein the camera is configured to take the photo that captures the plurality of regions inside the refrigerator by taking a photo that captures the first region and the second region.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to divide the photo taken by the camera into the plurality of images corresponding to the plurality of regions inside the refrigerator by:
dividing the photo taken by the camera into a first image and a second image corresponding to the first region and the second region, respectively.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 7 4 , wherein the camera is configured to take the photo that captures the plurality of regions inside the refrigerator by taking a photo that captures the first region and the third region together.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to divide the photo taken by the camera into the plurality of images corresponding to the plurality of regions inside the refrigerator by:
dividing the photo taken by the camera into a first image and a third image corresponding to the first region and the third region, respectively.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 7 4 , further comprising a display,
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the display to display at least one of the first region, the second region, or the third region.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the display to simultaneously display the first region, the second region, and the third region.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the display to display one among the first region, the second region, or the third region.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , wherein the third region is located at a bottom of the storage compartment and is exposed to the an external space of the drawer in a state in which the drawer is inserted, the external space of the drawer being located inside of the cabinet and outside of the drawer.

16. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , wherein the third region is configured to store food.

17. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , further comprising a barrier arranged below the drawer and extending horizontally in the storage compartment to partition the storage compartment, the barrier defining a recessed portion configured to store food,
wherein the third region includes the recessed portion.

18. The refrigerator according to claim 17 , wherein the barrier is arranged to partition the storage compartment into a freezer compartment and a fresh food compartment.

19. The refrigerator according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the display to display the third region together with the second region regardless of the drawer being in the withdrawn state.

20. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to replace the plurality of images with updated images individually.

21. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , wherein the third region vertically overlaps with the drawer in a state in which the drawer is withdrawn.

22. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the camera is disposed in the storage compartment outside of the drawer.

23. The refrigerator according to claim 22 , wherein the camera is disposed above the drawer.

24. The refrigerator according to claim 23 , wherein the camera is disposed at a ceiling of the storage compartment.

25. The refrigerator according to claim 7 , wherein the camera is a single camera.

26. The refrigerator according to claim 24 , wherein the camera is disposed between a front edge of the shelf and the access opening of the cabinet.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Kwanhyung
• Hong Samnyol
• Kwon Sungdu
• Lee Ikkyu
• Lee Myoungju
• Kim Jeonghwan

Classifications

• G06T7/254

  involving subtraction of images · CPC title

• G06T7/33

  using feature-based methods · CPC title

• G06T7/73

  using feature-based methods · CPC title

• G06T7/246

  using feature-based methods, e.g. the tracking of corners or segments · CPC title

• G06T7/90

  Determination of colour characteristics · CPC title