Disclosed is a refrigerator for uniformly illuminating an inner space thereof. The refrigerator includes a cabinet including a storage compartment having a predetermined size, a shelf installed in the storage compartment, the shelf including a light source unit for illuminating an inside of the storage compartment, a transmitter connected to an external power supply for wirelessly transmitting power, the transmitter having a primary resonance frequency within a predetermined range, and a receiver for wirelessly receiving the power from the transmitter so as to supply the power to the light source unit of the shelf, the transmitter transmitting the power to the receiver using a secondary resonance frequency generated when the receiver is located close to the transmitter.

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and to an apparatus and method for refrigerator diagnosis. More particularly, the refrigerator converts product information and outputs a tone when a command for storing data and performing a diagnosis is inputted during operation. The refrigerator diagnosis apparatus receives the tone and diagnoses the state of or presence of defects in the refrigerator based on the data contained in the product information so as to analyze the cause of the defect and propose countermeasures to repair the refrigerator. Thus, the diagnosis of defects may be accurately and easily performed upon the occurrence of defect in the refrigerator.

Door alarm systems, methods, and apparatus are disclosed. A door alarm system may monitor a door of a refrigeration device and detect a failed attempt at closing the door. In response to detecting the failed attempt, the door alarm system may generate a notification of the detected, failed attempt so that remedial action may be taken.

Provided are an acoustic sensor and a home appliance system comprising the same. The acoustic sensor comprises a communication unit, a microphone to collect an acoustic signal, a memory to store a failure acoustic signal of a home appliance, and a processor, wherein in response to the acoustic signal, collected by the microphone, corresponding to the failure acoustic signal of the home appliance, the processor transmits the collected acoustic signal, or data corresponding to the collected acoustic signal, to an external server or a terminal. Accordingly, failure of the home appliance may be easily diagnosed.

A system and a method for generated synchronized audible communications are provided. In one aspect, a system includes a suite of appliances, including at least a first and second appliance. Each appliance has a speaker operable to generate one or more audible communications. The system includes one or more controllers that output one or more sound commands that cause the speakers of the appliances to generate their respective audible communications. One or more of the appliances include a proximity device operable to detect whether a user is within a proximity range thereof. In some instances, the speakers can generate audible communications to amplify their audible communications. In other instances, the speakers can generate audible communications to create localization cues for directing a user's attention to a particular appliance.

Disclosed are various embodiments for determining whether food in a refrigerator has spoiled. An application executing on a computing device receives an identification of a food item located in a compartment of the refrigerator. The application then receives a chemical sensor reading from the refrigerator, wherein the chemical sensor reading represents a measured amount of a chemical associated with spoilage of the food item. Subsequently, the application determines that the measured amount of the chemical associated with spoilage of the food item exceeds a threshold amount of the chemical associated with spoilage of the food item. Finally, the application sends a notification to the client device, the notification comprising an indication that the food item is spoiled.

A controller for a refrigerator for an entrance gate according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to: register a user authentication means through a user authentication method setting process; and to open an outer door only when user authentication has succeeded, if an article delivery command is input, thereby preventing theft of the article.

A moisture detector includes a sensor chip and a moisture determining unit. The sensor chip includes a humidity detector having a detection surface on which to measure humidity, and also includes a heater heating the detection surface, and the moisture determining unit is configured to, after causing the heater to start heating, determine whether moisture is present on the detection surface based on a difference in changes in the humidity measured by the humidity detector.

Secure medication storage is described herein. A smart latch includes an actuator, a communication interface, a display, and a processor. The actuator is configured to open and close a latch to secure a door of the enclosure. The processor can be configured to receive a user credential for accessing the enclosure, validate the user credential for accessing the enclosure, trigger the actuator to open the latch, thereby allowing the door to be opened, and trigger the actuator to close the latch after detecting that the door is closed, thereby securing the door.

Systems and methods can control refrigeration within a refrigerated freight container. Thermal sensor nodes can be positioned within the freight container. Temperature measurements can be wirelessly relayed from the sensor nodes to a gateway associated with the freight container. The received temperature measurements can be aggregated and logged at the gateway. Thermal models of the freight container and associated cargo loads can be established in response to the logged temperature measurements and loading plan for the foreign container. The refrigeration system can be controlled in response to processing the thermal models. The refrigeration system can be controlled to optimize compliance parameters associated with the cargo loads.