Refrigerator for managing food by using RFID

• US 20070016852A1
• Filed: 05/25/2006
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Eun, Kim, Yong, Lee, Su, Park, Eun, Kong, Byung, Bae, Sun, Kwon, Yong, Youn, Deok, Shin, Jong, Sim, Jae, Son, Ku
• Granted Patent: US 7,716,935 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/236
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2500/06 Stock management
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2700/08 Sensors using Radio Frequency Identification [RFID]
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/00 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices

Abstract

Refrigerator for managing food by using RFID including a plurality of storage portions divided in the refrigerator for storing food, RFID devices each having storage information of each kind of food stored in the storage portions, and controller for reading the storage information and setting up the storage portion which maintains a storage condition suitable to the storage information read thus, thereby permitting easy storage of food in a storage portion having the storage condition by using the RFID device.

Claims

1. A refrigerator for managing food by using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) comprising:

a plurality of storage portions divided in the refrigerator for storing food;

RFID devices each having storage information of each kind of food stored in the storage portions; and

a controller for reading the storage information and setting up the storage portion which maintains a storage condition based on the storage information read thus.

2. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller reads the storage information from the RFID device, and stores food managing information for the storage information.

3. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising sensors for measuring storage conditions of the storage portions.

4. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising display means for the user to notice the storage information and food managing information based on the storage information, and the storage portion set up thus.

5. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage portions include movable shelves such that a position at the time of placing of the food in the storage of the food and a stored position of the food after placing of the food are different.

6. A refrigerator for managing food by using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) comprising:

a plurality of storage portions divided in the refrigerator for storing food;

sensors on the storage portions for measuring storage conditions of the storage portions, respectively;

a plurality of RFID devices each having storage information of each kind of food to be stored in the storage portions;

controller for reading the storage information from the RFID devices, storing food managing information based on the storage information, and setting up the storage portion which maintains a storage condition suitable to the storage information read from the RFID device thus from the storage conditions of the storage portions measured by the sensors, and

display means for the user to notice the storage information and the food managing information based on the storage information from the controller, and the storage portion set up thus.

7. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the storage portions include movable shelves for moving in front/rear directions or up/down directions, respectively.

8. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 7, wherein the movable shelf is arranged at a particular position through which the food can be introduced to the refrigerator, and once the storage portion is set up, the movable shelf moves to a position of the storage portion.

9. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the storage conditions include temperatures, humidity, cold air circulating rates, composition of air, vibration, light quantities of respective storage portions.

10. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controller controls such that, once the storage condition is set up, the storage portion maintains a storage condition suitable to the storage information.

11. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 10, wherein the controller includes;

a damper mounted on at least one cold air supply hole in one side of the storage portion so as to open/close the hole for introduction of cold air passed around an evaporator of a refrigerating cycle mounted in an inside wall of the refrigerator into the refrigerator, and

a microcomputer for controlling the opening/closing of the damper so that the storage portion maintains a storage condition suitable to the storage information.

12. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the display means is a liquid crystal display on a refrigerator door mounted on the refrigerator so as to be opened/closed, the display means being connected to the controller.

13. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 12, wherein the display means further includes light emitting diodes mounted in correspondence the storage portions respectively and connected to the controller for indicating the storage portion with a light emitted from the controller.

14. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 13, wherein the light emitting diode is a dual light emitting diode having at least two colors for turning on/off or displaying various colors according to storage states of the food stored in the storage portions.

15. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 13, wherein the display means further includes vibrators mounted in correspondence the storage portions respectively and connected to the controller for indicating the storage portion by means of vibration generated by the controller.

16. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 13, wherein the display means further includes automatic open/close devices mounted in correspondence the storage portions so as to be opened/closed respectively and connected to the controller for opening/closing in response to a signal from the controller to indicate the storage portion.