RE50269

Refrigerator with Camera and Control Method for the Same

PublishedJanuary 14, 2025
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

Patent Claims
26 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.

1

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and wherein the camera is configured to take a photo of the region inside the drawer based on the drawer being withdrawn.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

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

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

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defined under the drawer, the third region vertically overlapping with the drawer in a state in which the drawer is withdrawn.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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

17

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

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

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

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

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

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

23

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

24

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

25

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

26

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.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

Unknown

Publication Date

January 14, 2025

Inventors

Kwanhyung KIM
Samnyol HONG
Sungdu KWON
Ikkyu LEE
Myoungju LEE
Jeonghwan KIM

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Cite as: Patentable. “REFRIGERATOR WITH CAMERA AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME” (RE50269). https://patentable.app/patents/RE50269

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REFRIGERATOR WITH CAMERA AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME — Kwanhyung KIM | Patentable