Provided is a sensor package in a refrigerator configured to provide information related to refrigerated food. The sensor package may include a body having a mark classified by a type of food allocated to the sensor package and indicating the type of food of a food to which the sensor package is coupled, a battery, an operation switch, a memory configured to store food information corresponding to the type of food corresponding to the mark, a sensor communication module that communicates with a display provided in the refrigerator, a sensing module that senses state information associated with the food, and a sensor control module that controls the sensor communication module to initiate communication between the sensor package and the display of the refrigerator based on the state information sensed by the sensing module.

A smart refrigerator has a body having a shelf and a drawer, a door coupled to the body and has a plurality of trays. The shelf has a corresponding camera configured to capture an image of items on the shelf. The drawer has a corresponding camera configured to capture an image of items in the drawer. The trays have a corresponding camera configured to capture an image of items in the trays. The images captured by the cameras are processed to identify the type of the item and the location of the item within the smart refrigerator.

A smart refrigeration system includes at least one rotatable shelf having at least one storage compartment, the at least one storage compartment having an identification unit for identifying an item in the at least one storage compartment, where the smart refrigeration system is configured to track at least one of weight and freshness information of the item. The identification unit is configured to capture an image of the item or scan a barcode of the item. The smart refrigeration system further includes a reminder unit notifying a user to restock the item. The smart refrigeration system further includes a temperature control unit configured to adjust the temperature of the at least one storage compartment independently from other storage compartments in the smart refrigeration system.

A refrigerator includes a main body, a door configured to open or close a storage compartment, and a beverage receiving chamber that defines a space for reception of a beverage container. The refrigerator includes a light emitting device and a camera arranged with the beverage receiving chamber in its field of view and configured to capture an image of an interior of the beverage receiving chamber. The refrigerator includes a beverage residual quantity sensing device located in the beverage receiving chamber and configured to measure a weight of a beverage. The refrigerator includes a display configured to display a kind and residual quantity of the beverage, and a controller configured to control operation of the camera, receive a weight sensing signal from the sensing device, determine the residual quantity of the beverage based on the weight sensing signal, and provide a user with information on the kind and residual quantity.

Batches (9a and 9b) pass in succession into a (pre) refrigeration machine. An actuator (17) in the chamber (1) of the machine is controlled by a logic controller (16) to insert a temperature sensor (18) into a product selected in the batch. Above batch (9a) in front of entrance door (6) of chamber (1), a preparatory module (27) explores the top surface of the area at the top of the batch located under sensor (18). An image analyzer selects a product into which sensor (18) will be inserted, and a future insertion point in the selected product. This data is transmitted to a memory to which logic controller (16) will refer to control actuator (17) when the batch is in chamber (1). Preferably, the data refer to a repository linked to the batch, for example provided by a corner of the box (3) containing the selected product.

Disclosed are various embodiments for determining whether food in a refrigerator has spoiled. An application executing on a computing device receives an image from a refrigerator of a compartment of the refrigerator. The application then analyzes the image to identify a food item in the image. Subsequently, the application analyzes the image to identify a potentially spoiled area of the food item. The application then compares the potentially spoiled area of the food item to a model of a spoiled food item. Afterwards, the application determines that the identified food item has spoiled based at least in part on a comparison of the potentially spoiled area of the identified food item to the model of the spoiled food item.

A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes a main body including a door, a door opening device including a motor, and for opening the door using the motor, a proximity sensor, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to detect whether an object exists within a first distance from a predetermined area of the refrigerator, identify whether the object is detected during a threshold time range, based on the object being detected during the threshold time range, identify whether the object is detected outside a second distance from the predetermined area, and based on the object being detected outside the second distance, control the motor to open the door.

A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes a main body including a first door and a second door, a door opening device configured to open the first door and the second door, a first proximity sensor disposed adjacent to the first door, a second proximity sensor disposed adjacent to the second door, and a processor, and the processor may control the first proximity sensor and the second proximity sensor to operate alternately, based on sensing data obtained by the first proximity sensor and the second proximity sensor, identify a door close to an external object that approaches within a threshold distance from the refrigerator, and control the door opening device to open the identified door among the first door and the second door.

A refrigerator of the present disclosure turns on a heater, which supplies heat to an ice making cell, in at least partial section while a cooler supplies cold to the ice making cell so that bubbles dissolved in the water within the ice making cell moves from a portion, at which the ice is made, toward the water that is in a liquid state to make transparent ice. A defrosting process may be performed when a defrosting start condition is satisfied in a state in which the heater is turned on. In this case, the amount of cold supply of the cooler in the defrosting process can be reduced more than the amount of cold supply of the cooler before the defrosting start condition is satisfied.

A method for automatically filling a container with water and/or ice from a dispenser in a refrigerator door or within a refrigerator cavity includes the steps of: placing a container adjacent the dispenser; determining a volume of the container by using a camera associated with the dispenser, capturing a picture of the containing, visually estimating a volume of the container via a microprocessor associated with the camera or a cloud-based application associated with the camera, and converting the estimated container volume to an estimated weight based on densities of water and/or ice; filling the container with water and/or ice from the dispenser based on the estimated weight; and terminating filling of the container based on the estimated weight. And the refrigerator carrying out the method.