Refrigerators having internal content cameras, and methods of operating the same

• US 10,027,866 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2015
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Carlotto, Victor Henrique Sfoggia, Moore, Michael Todd, Purandhar, Sushanth, Post, Ryan Michael, Richards, Michael S.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUANG, FRANK F
• Application Number:
  US14/934,316
• Publication Number:
  US 20170041520A1
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/00 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/587 using geographical or spatial information, e.g. location
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0004 Industrial image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

Example refrigerators having internal content cameras, and methods of operating the same are disclosed. A disclosed example refrigerator includes a cabinet, an internal compartment disposed within the cabinet, a closing member operatively coupled to the cabinet providing selective access to the internal compartment, two cameras disposed in the compartment and positioned to capture images of different portions of the compartment, two light sources disposed in the compartment, and a controller communicatively coupled with the cameras and light sources and configured to control the light sources to provide two different illuminations for respective ones of the two cameras.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a cabinet;

an internal compartment disposed within the cabinet;

a closing member operatively coupled to the cabinet providing selective access to the internal compartment;

two cameras disposed in the compartment and positioned to capture images of different portions of the compartment;

a first light source configured to emit light within the compartment;

a second light source configured to emit light within the compartment at a different angle than the first light source to illuminate multiple sides of items within the cabinet; and

a controller communicatively coupled with the cameras and light sources and configured to move the cameras to a first position and a second position and to control the intensity of the light sources to provide different illuminations for respective ones of the two cameras.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

capture a first image using one of the two cameras;

start transmission of the first image to a remote server; and

after starting transmission, capture a second image using the other camera.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to:

control at least one of the first and second light sources to provide a first illumination in the cabinet during capture of the first image; and

control at least one of the first and second light sources to provide a second illumination different than the first illumination in the cabinet during capture of the second image.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the first and second illuminations differ in intensity and/or color.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the images are stored for subsequent retrieval by a user device.

6. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a first of cameras is disposed on at least one of a wall of the compartment, the closing member, or a storage bin.

7. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the closing member comprising a door, and one of the cameras is communicatively coupled to the controller via a wire, cable and/or conductor passing through a hinge of the door.

8. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising another closing member, wherein one of the cameras is disposed on one of the closing member, and the other camera is disposed on the other closing member.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising a pulse-width modulator, wherein the controller controls the pulse-width modulator to control the illuminations.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the cameras to capture the images after a door closure event is detected.

11. A method of operating a refrigerator having two or more cameras, and illumination sources disposed within a compartment of the refrigerator, the method comprising:

controlling the illumination sources to provide a first illumination while one of the cameras captures a first image of the compartment; and

movably adjusting the illumination sources to provide a second illumination at a different angle and light intensity than the first illumination while another of the cameras captures a second image of the compartment, wherein the first and second images are of different portions of the compartment.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting the first image to a remote server, wherein the transmission is started before the second image is captured.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising notifying a user when the first and second images are available at the remote server.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising using pulse-width modulation to control the illumination sources.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

detecting a door closure event; and

initiating capture of the first image after detection of the door closure event.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying an aggregate of the first and second images.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising displaying a larger version of the first image when the first image is selected in the aggregate.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising moving between the aggregate and a second aggregate of third and fourth images when a different time frame is selected.

19. A refrigerator comprising:

a cabinet;

an internal compartment disposed within the cabinet;

a closing member operatively coupled to the cabinet providing selective access to the internal compartment;

a plurality of cameras disposed in the compartment and positioned to capture images of different portions of the compartment;

a plurality of light sources disposed in the compartment; and

a controller communicatively coupled with the cameras and light sources and configured to movably adjust the light sources to provide at least two different illuminations from different angles for respective ones of the at least two cameras.

20. The refrigerator of claim 19, wherein the controller is configured to:

control at least one of the light sources to provide a first illumination in the cabinet during capture of the first image; and

control at least one of the light sources to provide a second illumination different than the first illumination in the cabinet during capture of the second image, wherein the first and second illuminations differ in intensity and/or color.