KR20050077657A - System and method for managing food of internet refrigerator, its program storing recorded medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a food management system and method thereof for an internet refrigerator, and a recording medium storing the program.

The food management system and method of the Internet refrigerator, and a recording medium storing the program, collect RFID tag information of food by detecting the import / export of a food with a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag while the door of the refrigerator is opened and closed. After that, the food information is stored in the database, and the food information in the database is periodically retrieved to perform food management functions related to the stock status, expiration date, and order of the food, and the list of foods with expired foods or food inventory that is out of stock. If found, the food list is displayed to the user for sanitation or order processing of the food.

In this way, you can automate food inventory management, expiration date management, and order management using RFID technology, check the delivery status of foods in real time, and manage delivery schedules based on RFID tag information attached to foods. The freshness of the food can be optimally maintained by adjusting the storage temperature of the refrigerator.

Description

TECHNICAL AND METHOD FOR MANAGING FOOD OF INTERNET REFRIGERATOR, ITS PROGRAM STORING RECORDED MEDIUM}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food management system and method for an internet refrigerator, and a recording medium storing the program, and more particularly, to a food management system and method for an internet refrigerator capable of automatically performing food management and ordering using RFID technology. The present invention relates to a recording medium storing the program.

Existing Internet refrigerators have a built-in network card in the general refrigerator, and can be connected to the Internet. The image display installed in the front of the refrigerator can perform functions such as not only searching the Internet but also managing food in the refrigerator.

The Internet refrigerator is provided with a key input unit, a memory, a control unit, or a barcode reader for food management.

Therefore, the user can select a specific food from the list of foods stored in the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment and input the same food into the memory through the key input unit, or automatically read the barcode attached to the food through the barcode reader.

In this case, the user is inconvenient to input the food individually or to recognize the barcode of the food with a barcode reader for food management, and the user directly manages the inventory of food, the expiration date management, and the order of insufficient food. There is discomfort to be done.

As such, existing Internet refrigerators do not fully utilize the advantages of the Internet connection.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to combine the RFID technology with the Internet refrigerator to automatically manage food inventory, expiration date management, order management, food management system of the Internet refrigerator to maintain the optimal freshness of food and its A method and a recording medium storing the program are provided.

In order to solve this problem, the present invention is to combine the RFID technology in the Internet refrigerator to perform the food inventory management, expiration date management, order management, storage temperature control functions.

The food management system of the Internet refrigerator according to the first aspect of the present invention is a food management system of the Internet refrigerator which can communicate with various online companies including food vendors and transport companies through a network, and is connected to the network to the user's command. A refrigerator control unit configured to perform communication according to the control and control the operation of the refrigerator; And a food management control unit which communicates with the refrigerator control unit and reads information of a food having a radio frequency identification RFID tag and performs food management functions related to inventory, expiration date, and order of food. Include.

The refrigerator control unit may include a user interface unit configured to input a user command according to a user's key input; A first controller configured to perform a network connection and an operation control of the refrigerator according to a user command of the user interface unit; A first network connection unit connected to a network under the control of the controller to communicate with various online companies; A display unit which displays the operation state of the refrigerator or information through a network connection under the control of the controller; And a first communication unit connected to the food management control unit so as to communicate with each other.

The food management control unit, the second communication unit connected to the refrigerator control unit to communicate with each other; A third communication unit for reading information of the food to which the RFID tag is attached; A data converter converting and outputting food information transmitted through the third communication unit into a data form suitable for a system; And a second control unit configured to perform food management including a stock of food, an expiration date, a stock state of essential foods, and an order of food based on the food information output from the data converting unit, and update the food management information. .

The apparatus may further include a second network connection unit connected to a network to process food order related information under the control of the second control unit.

Preferably, the second control unit instructs a network connection to the first network connection unit through the second communication unit to process food order related information.

The second control unit interoperates with a food information database that stores food information including an essential food list, a currently stored food list, a used food list, an ordered food list, and a delivered food list based on the food information entering and exiting the refrigerator. It is preferable to be.

When the user designates the essential food list through the user interface unit, the second control unit may grasp the stock state of the essential food list and automatically order online.

The food management method of the Internet refrigerator according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the food management method of the Internet refrigerator that can communicate with various online companies including food vendors and transport companies through a network, a) the door of the refrigerator is opened and closed Detecting import / export of a food having a Radio Frequency Identification RFID tag and reading RFID tag information of the food; b) storing food information in a database through the RFID tag information read in step a), and periodically searching the food information in the database to perform food management functions related to stock status, expiration date, and order of the food; ; And c) searching for a food list that has passed an expiration date or a food list that is out of inventory while performing the food management function in step b), displays the food list to the user so that hygiene treatment or order processing of the food is performed. It includes a step.

In step b), when the food is imported, the food information such as inventory information and expiration date information related to the food is updated in the food information database through the RFID tag information of the food, and the food is exported. It is preferable to remove food information such as food-related inventory information and expiration date information from the food information database through the RFID tag information of the food.

The step c) may include c-1) determining whether the food list corresponds to a pre-specified list of essential foods if the food list is found out of stock; c-2) displaying the food list and awaiting input of a user's ordered food list when the food list which is out of stock corresponds to the essential food list in step c-1); And c-3) when the user inputs an ordered food list in step c-2), connecting to a food vendor through a network and ordering foods corresponding to the ordered food list.

c-4) When the delivery of the food ordered in step c-3 is completed, it is preferable to further include the step of sending a delivery completion message to the food vendor.

The food vendor receives an order of food items corresponding to the ordered food list, attaches an RFID tag to the ordered foods, and sends the food to the carrier, and the transporter receives a delivery request from the food vendor. It is then preferable to deliver the ordered food to the delivery destination.

In step b), the storage temperature of the food is determined and displayed to the user through the RFID tag information attached to the food, and the optimal temperature is maintained according to the user's manual / automatic mode selection. desirable.

The recording medium storing the program of the food management method of the Internet refrigerator according to the third aspect of the present invention, the program of the food management method of the Internet refrigerator that can communicate with various online companies including food vendors and transportation companies through a network A recording medium comprising: a first function of detecting a carry-in / out of a food having a Radio Frequency Identification RFID tag attached thereto while the door of a refrigerator is opened and collecting RFID tag information of the food; A second food store function storing the food information in a database through the RFID tag information collected through the first function, and periodically searching the food information of the database to perform a food management function related to stock status, expiration date and order of the food; function; And when a food list having expired expiration date or a food list which is out of stock is searched while performing the food management function through the second function, the corresponding food list is displayed to the user so that hygiene treatment or order processing of the food is performed. It includes a third function.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the specification.

Radio recognition technology using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) stores data in a tag containing a microchip and reads the tag data from an RFID interrogator using radio frequency.

The wireless recognition technology using RFID has a longer identifiable distance than a conventional bar code and a large amount of data to be stored.

Wireless recognition technology using RFID is used in various fields such as logistics, transportation, transportation, book management, livestock management, access control, and parking management. Especially, in real-time transportation in inventory management of goods tagged with RFID in the logistics and transportation fields. It can automatically manage the status, access status of goods, etc.

First, a food management system of an internet refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

1 is a block diagram of a food management system of an internet refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a food management system of an internet refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention communicates with a food seller 300 and a carrier 400 connected through a network to perform overall food management in the refrigerator. The control unit 100 and the food control control unit 200 is included.

The refrigerator control unit 100 is connected to a network, performs communication according to a user's command, and controls the operation of the refrigerator. The food management control unit 200 communicates with the refrigerator control unit 100 and reads information of a food with an RFID tag to perform food management functions related to inventory, expiration date, and order of food.

The RFID tag attached to the food stores food information such as food ID, food name, classification, expiration date, country of origin, storage temperature, date of manufacture and manufacturer.

First, the refrigerator control unit 100 includes a user interface unit 110, a first control unit 120, a first network connection unit 130, a display unit 140, a first communication unit 150, and a memory unit 160. But it is not limited thereto.

The user interface 110 inputs a user command according to a user's key input, the first controller 120 performs a network connection and operation control of the refrigerator according to a user command of the user interface 110, and a second The network connection unit 260 is connected to a network under the control of the first control unit 120 to communicate with various online companies.

In addition, the display 140 displays an operation state such as a food storage temperature of the refrigerator or information through a network connection under the control of the first control unit 120, and the first communication unit 150 is connected to the food management control unit 200. The memory unit 160 is connected to each other to communicate with each other, the memory unit 160 stores the information transmitted and received through the network connection or the operation state of the refrigerator under the control of the first control unit 120.

Next, the food control control unit 200 includes a second communication unit 210, a third communication unit 220, a data converter 230, a second control unit 240, a flash memory 250, and a second network connection unit 260. , Food information database 270, but is not limited thereto.

The second communication unit 210 is connected to the first communication unit 150 of the refrigerator control unit to communicate with each other, the third communication unit 220 leads the information of the food with the RFID tag, the data conversion unit 230 is 3 is an encoder / decoder (ENCODER / DECODER) for converting and outputting food information transmitted through the communication unit 220 into a data form suitable for the system.

The second controller 240 performs food management, including food inventory, expiration date, stock status of essential foods, and food order, based on the food information output from the data converter 230, and updates food management information. .

At this time, the second control unit 240 may instruct the network connection to the first network connection unit 130 through the second communication unit 210 to process the food order-related information, and directly through the refrigerator control unit 100 The second network connection unit 260 may also instruct network connection.

The flash memory 250 stores information transmitted and received through a network under the control of the second control unit 240 or other food management information. The second network connection unit 260 is connected to a network to process food order related information under the control of the second control unit 240.

The food information database 270 includes a list of essential foods, a list of foods currently stored, a list of used foods, a list of ordered foods, and a list of foods that have been delivered, based on the food information that enters the refrigerator in conjunction with the second control unit 240. Store food information.

Meanwhile, the food vendor 300 may include, but is not limited to, an order processor 310, a delivery confirmation processor 320, a member manager 330, a customer database 340, and an article database 350.

The order processing unit 310 receives and processes the ordered food information through the food management control unit 200, and the delivery confirmation processing unit 320 delivers the food received by the order processing unit 310 to the transportation company 400 and the corresponding. Check the delivery status of the food.

At this time, it is preferable that the RFID tag is attached to the food delivered to the transportation company 400.

The member manager 330 manages user information including personal information, address information, preference information, order cycle and recovery information of a user who orders food through an internet refrigerator.

The user information of the member manager 330 is stored in the customer database 340 and is updated according to the change of the information, and the information about the order or delivery status of the food processed by the order processor 310 or the delivery confirmation processor 320 is It is stored in the article database 350 and then updated.

The carrier 400 may include, but is not limited to, a delivery order processor 410 and a delivery status service provider 420.

The delivery order processing unit 410 allows the food seller 300 to deliver the received food to the address received when the food delivery request is made. When the delivery status service provider 420 inquires about the delivery status of a particular food in the Internet refrigerator or food vendor 300, the RFID tag information of the food is used to track the transport status of the food, thereby accurately indicating the current delivery location of the food. .

In this case, the shipping order processing unit 410 and the shipping status service provider 420 stores the shipping order information, shipping goods information, information on whether the delivery is completed in the database 430, and updates when the information changes.

Next, with reference to Figure 2 will be described in detail the operation of the food management system of the Internet refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a flow chart of a food management method of the Internet refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 2, the food management method of the Internet refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, when a particular food is brought in / out of the freezer or refrigerator compartment while the door of the refrigerator is opened and closed, the third communication unit of the food management control unit 200 220 reads the RFID tag information of the food (S1, S2, S3).

The second control unit 240 searches for the list of the food information database 270 and updates the information of the currently imported / exported food (S4).

That is, the second control unit 240 registers a new food in the food information database 270 when a new food enters, and removes the food from the food information database 270 when the food stored in the refrigerator exits.

The second control unit 240 periodically searches the data in the food information database 270 to check whether the expired food is searched (S5). Stored separately and informs the user through the display 140 (S6).

In addition, the second control unit 240 checks whether there is a food item that is out of stock from the list of essential foods stored in advance by the user.

The second control unit 240 notifies the user of the display unit 140 of a list of essential foods or a list of foods that are not in stock, or a list of foods that are not currently in the refrigerator (S8).

In this case, when the user selects the automatic order, the second control unit 240 may automatically order the essential food that needs to be purchased online.

When the user inputs a list of purchased foods from the list of essential foods through the user interface unit 110, the user may enter the food list 300 through the first network connection unit 130 or the second network connection unit 260 according to the purchased food list. Order the food (S9)

If the delivery of the ordered food is not completed, the second control unit 240 requests the shipping company 400 to check the delivery status of the food, checks the current delivery status of the food, and updates the food information database when the delivery of the food is completed. The food information of the food information database 270 is periodically examined and managed. (S10, S11, b12)

If the user brings new food into the refrigerator after the online ordered food arrives, the food management controller 200 registers the food in the food information database 270 and manages storage, expiration date, and stock status.

However, if the ordered food is not delivered even after a certain period of time, the user instructs to confirm the delivery status of the food through the user interface 110, the first control unit 120 or the second control unit 240 food After connecting the network with the seller 300 or the carrier 400, the shipping status is inquired and the inquiry result is displayed.

On the other hand, the first control unit 120 or the second control unit 240 may automatically query the delivery status of the food and display the inquiry result if the ordered food is not delivered even after a certain period of time.

In addition, the first control unit 120 or the second control unit 240 refers to the storage temperature of the food stored in the RFID tag of the food, grasps the storage temperature of the current refrigerator and displays it on the display unit 140.

At this time, the first control unit 120 or the second control unit 240 to display on the display unit 140 the storage temperature of the refrigerator is higher or lower than a predetermined reference value to allow the user to adjust the temperature to the optimal storage temperature or , Adjust the temperature automatically.

In addition to this, the user can check the current state of stock of food, the list of foods with an expiration date, designation of a new essential food list, replacement of food vendors, change of user information, and manual / food management through the user interface 110. You can use various functions such as automatic mode setting.

Figure 3 illustrates a food sales and delivery request procedure of the food sales company according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the food seller 300 receives an order of food from the order processor 310, and when the payment for the food is confirmed, the food seller 300 delivers the food with the RFID tag to the transporter 400. (S21, S22, S23)

Thereafter, the delivery confirmation processing unit 320 confirms whether a delivery completion message indicating that the delivery of the food is normally received from the transportation company 400 or the food management control unit 200 is received (S24).

If the delivery confirmation processing unit 320 does not receive a delivery completion message, the shipping status of the current food inquiries to the carrier 400 (S24), if the delivery location information of the food is received from the carrier 400, the delivery confirmation The information is stored in the article database 350. (S25, S26)

When the delivery confirmation processor 320 receives the delivery completion message, the delivery confirmation information of the corresponding food is stored in the goods database 350. (S27)

4 illustrates a delivery procedure of a carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the delivery order processing unit 410 of the transportation company 400 is requested to deliver the food with the RFID tag from the food sales company 300, the delivery address is extracted from the information about the food. To deliver the food (S31, S32).

At this time, the transportation company 400 extracts information such as a manufacturing date, an expiration date, and a storage temperature of the food through an RFID tag attached to the food to determine a delivery schedule such as a delivery time, a delivery distance, and a delivery environment.

In this way, after the user receives the food ordered, the safety, freshness, and the like of the food can be trusted.

At this time, when the delivery status service provider 420 is requested to check the delivery status of a particular food from the Internet refrigerator or food vendor (S33), and examines the list of the shipping foods to extract the RFID tag information of the food (S34). )

In addition, the delivery status service provider 420 tracks the RFID tag information of the food using a GPS (Global Position System) or a satellite to accurately find the current food delivery location (S35).

The delivery status service providing unit 420 transmits the information on the delivery location of the current food tracked above to the Internet refrigerator or the food vendor 300 so as to check the current delivery status of the food.

On the other hand, the food management method of the Internet refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above is implemented as a program in a computer-readable form of a recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.) Can be stored in.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various other changes and modifications are possible.

As described above, the food management system and method of the Internet refrigerator according to the present invention and the recording medium storing the program can automate inventory management, expiration date management, order management of food using RFID technology, and provide food in real time. It is effective to check the delivery status of the.

In addition, the food management system and method of the Internet refrigerator according to the present invention, and a recording medium storing the program manages the delivery schedule based on the RFID tag information attached to the food, and adjusts the storage temperature of the refrigerator to improve the freshness of the food. There is an effect that can be optimally maintained.

1 is a block diagram of a food management system of an internet refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a flow chart of a food management method of the Internet refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates a food sales and delivery request procedure of the food sales company according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 illustrates a delivery procedure of a carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (20)

In the food management system of the Internet refrigerator, which can communicate with various online businesses including food vendors and transportation companies through the network, A refrigerator controller connected to a network to perform communication according to a user's command and to control an operation of the refrigerator; And A food management control unit which communicates with the refrigerator control unit and performs food management functions related to inventory, expiration date, and order of foods by reading information on foods with a radio frequency identification RFID tag. Food management system of the Internet refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 1, The refrigerator control unit, A user interface for inputting a user command according to a user's key input; A first controller configured to perform a network connection and an operation control of the refrigerator according to a user command of the user interface unit; A first network connection unit connected to a network under the control of the controller to communicate with various online companies; A display unit which displays the operation state of the refrigerator or information through a network connection under the control of the controller; And A first communication unit connected to the food control control unit so as to communicate with each other; Food management system of the Internet refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 2, The food management system of the Internet refrigerator further comprises a memory for storing information transmitted and received over a network connection under the control of the control unit or the operation state of the refrigerator. The method of claim 1, The food management control unit, A second communication unit connected to the refrigerator control unit so as to communicate with each other; A third communication unit for reading information of the food to which the RFID tag is attached; A data converter converting and outputting food information transmitted through the third communication unit into a data form suitable for a system; And A second control unit performing food management including a stock of food, an expiration date, a stock state of essential foods, and an order of food based on the food information output from the data converting unit, and updating the food management information Food management system of the Internet refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein And a second network connection unit connected to a network for processing food order related information under control of the second control unit. The method according to claim 2 or 4, And the second control unit instructs the network connection to the first network connection unit through the second communication unit to process food order related information. The method of claim 4, wherein The second control unit interoperates with a food information database that stores food information including an essential food list, a currently stored food list, a used food list, an ordered food list, and a delivered food list based on the food information entering and exiting the refrigerator. Food management system of the Internet refrigerator. The method according to claim 2 or 4, The second control unit, if the user designates a list of essential foods through the user interface, the food management system of the Internet refrigerator to grasp the inventory status of the essential food list and automatically order online. The method of claim 1, The food seller, An order processing unit for receiving and processing food information ordered through the food management control unit; A delivery confirmation processing unit which delivers the food received at the order processing unit to the transporter and confirms the delivery status of the food; And Member management unit for managing user information including personal information, address information, preference information, order cycle and recovery information of the user ordering food through the Internet refrigerator Food management system of the Internet refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 1, The carrier is A delivery order processor configured to receive and process a delivery order of the food when the food management order the specific food through the food sales company and the food sales company requests the delivery of the corresponding food; And When the Internet refrigerator or food sales company inquires the delivery status of a particular food, a delivery status service provider for providing delivery status information of the food Food management system of the Internet refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 10, The delivery status service providing unit, the food management system of the Internet refrigerator to inform the current shipping location of the food by storing the tag information of the RFID-attached food to track the transport status of the food. In the food management method of the Internet refrigerator, which can communicate with various online businesses including food vendors and transportation companies, a) detecting a carry-in / out of a food having a radio frequency identification RFID tag attached thereto while the door of the refrigerator is opened and reading the RFID tag information of the food; b) storing food information in a database through the RFID tag information read in step a), and periodically searching the food information in the database to perform food management functions related to stock status, expiration date, and order of the food; ; And c) If the food list that has passed the expiration date or the food list that is out of stock is retrieved while performing the food management function in step b), the food list is displayed to the user so that hygiene treatment or order processing of the food is performed. step Food management method of the Internet refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 12, B), When the food is brought in, the food information such as inventory information and expiration date information of the food is updated in the food information database through the RFID tag information of the food, and when the food is taken out, the RFID tag information of the food is exported. Food management method of the Internet refrigerator through the food information database to remove the food information such as food-related inventory information, expiration date information. The method of claim 12, In step c), if a food list of which the expiration date has passed is found, the food list is displayed. The method of claim 12, C), c-1) determining whether the food list corresponds to a pre-specified essential food list when the food list which is out of stock is found; c-2) displaying the food list and awaiting input of a user's ordered food list when the food list which is out of stock corresponds to the essential food list in step c-1); And c-3) in step c-2), when the user inputs the ordered food list, connecting to a food vendor through a network to order foods corresponding to the ordered food list. Food management method of the Internet refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 15, c-4) when the delivery of the food ordered in step c-3) is completed, the food management method of the Internet refrigerator further comprising the step of transmitting a delivery completion message to the food vendor. The method of claim 15, Step c-3), The food vendor receives an order of food items corresponding to the ordered food list, attaches an RFID tag to the ordered foods, and sends the food to the carrier, and the transporter receives a delivery request from the food vendor. And a food management method of the internet refrigerator which delivers the ordered food items to a delivery destination. The method of claim 17, The transport company manages a food delivery schedule such as the expiration date, storage temperature, storage environment of the ordered foods through the RFID tag attached to the ordered foods. The method of claim 12, B), The food management method of the Internet refrigerator to determine the storage temperature of the food through the RFID tag information attached to the food to display to the user, and to adjust to the optimum temperature to maintain the freshness of the food according to the user's manual / automatic mode selection. In the recording medium storing the program of food management method of the Internet refrigerator which can communicate with various online companies including food vendors and transportation companies through the network, A first function of detecting a carry-in / out of a food having a radio frequency identification RFID tag attached thereto while the door of the refrigerator is opened and collecting RFID tag information of the food; A second food store function storing the food information in a database through the RFID tag information collected through the first function, and periodically searching the food information of the database to perform a food management function related to stock status, expiration date and order of the food; function; And If the food list that has passed the expiration date or the food list that is out of inventory is retrieved while performing the food management function through the second function, the hygiene treatment or order processing of the food is performed by displaying the food list to the user. 3 functions Recording medium storing the program of the food management method of the Internet refrigerator comprising a.