Refrigerator

• US 8,042,346 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2006
• Issued: 10/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Oh, Seung Jin, Lee, Ik Kyu, Lee, Sung Ae, Son, Hee Soo, Jeon, Ji Won
• Primary Examiner(s): Norman; Marc
• Application Number:
  US11/993,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20100043466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,951 Days
• Field of Search: 621/25, 621/26, 621/27, 621/29, 236/51, 236/94
• US Class Current: 62/125
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/12 Arrangements of compartments additional to cooling compartments; Combinations of refrigerators with other equipment, e.g. stove
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2400/361 Interactive visual displays
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2400/40 Refrigerating devices characterised by electrical wiring
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/005 Mounting of control devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a receiver unit for receiving information required for every day life, a control unit for determining information a user is in need from the information required for every day life, and a display unit for displaying the information the user is in need to an outside of the refrigerator.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a receiver unit for receiving information useful for daily life;

a control unit for determining information a user needs from the information useful for daily life; and

a display unit for displaying the information the user needs to an outside of the refrigerator,

wherein the receiver unit includes;

an antenna; and

a receiver module for receiving the information useful for daily life from a radio wave through the antenna, and

wherein the antenna projects outward through a door hinge on top of the refrigerator.

2. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the information useful for daily life comprises information on weather.

3. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 2, wherein the information on weather includes information on weather in the future.

4. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 2, wherein the information useful for daily life includes information on a particular day in the future, or information on a particular period in the future which can be selected by the user.

5. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information useful for daily life includes information on weather, and information on food relevant to the information on weather.

6. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 5, wherein the information on food includes information on price of the food.

7. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiver unit receives the information useful for daily life from an external network through wire or radio.

8. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antenna has one side connected to the receiver module, and another side projected outward from a top side of a refrigerator door.

9. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the door hinge has a hole formed therein through which the antenna passes.

10. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiver module is coupled with the control unit of the refrigerator by terminal coupling.

11. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiver unit is detachably mounted to one side of a body of the refrigerator.

12. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a storage unit for storing the information useful for daily life, and information relevant to the information useful for daily life.

13. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 12, wherein the information relevant to the information useful for daily life is avatar information.

14. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 12, wherein the information relevant to the information useful for daily life is regional information.

15. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an input unit for inputting the information relevant to the information useful for daily life.

16. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the information the user needs with characters.

17. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the information the user needs with an avatar.

18. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit displays information the user selects.