Various techniques are described to compensate for weather and other extraneous temperature conditions along a transit route when preparing a product for cold-chain shipment packaging. The origin and destination of the shipment may be determined to calculate one or more transit routes, which may include each stage along each transit route. Weather data may be received from one or more sources to build a weather database for one or more locations, which may be used to generate a temperature profile indicating the expected temperature and duration at each stage of transit to which the cold-chain shipment will be exposed. Thermodynamic calculations may then be performed in accordance with the temperature profile to determine the best available packaging option to prevent the product's temperature from falling outside of a desired or mandatory cold-chain temperature range.

A refrigerated storage container is provided and includes a container housing defining an interior, an air conditioner operable to maintain control of temperatures within the interior and a local controller configured to cycle the air conditioner on and off within a time window based on waste heat ingestion from neighboring refrigerated storage containers.

A refrigerator may include a temperature sensor, a thermoelectric device module having a thermoelectric device, and at least one fan and configured to cool a storage compartment, and a controller that controls the output power of the thermoelectric device based on the temperature of the storage compartment, a set temperature, and the outside temperature. The output power of the thermoelectric device may be determined based on whether the temperature of the storage compartment is within a first temperature region including the set temperature, a second temperature region, or a third temperature region. In the first and second temperature regions, the thermoelectric device may operate at different output power and which gradually increases as the outside temperature increases. In the third temperature region, the thermoelectric device may operate at a third output power which exceeds the first output power and is greater than or equal to the second output power.

Disclosed is a system for managing power in a transport refrigeration unit (TRU) installed on a trailer, having: a TRU controller configured to perform steps such as: executing a system-level energy manager, wherein the TRU controller: adaptively selects energy flow parameters based on one or more mission specific parameters and TRU power health; executes a predictive analytics module for collecting mission specific parameters and predicting TRU cooling power demands; and executes an online optimization module for generating a power source schedule for the TRU based on the predicted TRU cooling power demands; and operating the TRU according to the generated power source schedule.

A refrigerator includes a compressor configured to circulate a refrigerant, a condenser configured to condense the refrigerant circulated by the compressor, a cooling component configured to cool a storage compartment using the refrigerant condensed by the condenser, and a processor configured to control driving of the cooling component, acquire a load variation of the storage compartment of the refrigerator, the load variation having an effect on a refrigeration cycle, determine a drive value for driving a component forming the refrigeration cycle based on the load variation, drive the cooling component based on the drive value, and acquire the load variation with a lapse of time during at least one cooling period in which the refrigeration cycle cools the storage compartment.

Disclosed are various embodiments for an automated temperature logging and predictive alerting system for monitoring items that are being cooled or heated. In one embodiment, a predictive logging application may compare a predicted temperature curve of an item to a predefined slope to predict whether or not the item will meet a target threshold. The target threshold may be a target temperature or duration rule that can be aggregated discontinuously over a single day or multiple days. If the projected temperature curve is predicted to not meet the target threshold, the logging application may send alerts notifying a client of available corrective actions. In projecting the predicted slope, the predictive logging application may train machine learning models to analyze historical data associated with the item and the user.

A refrigerator for recognizing an object to be stored and automatically opening a door based on the recognized object, and a method therefor are provided. The refrigerator includes a main body, at least one door provided on a front surface of the main body, one or more storage rooms provided in the main body or the at least one door and configured to store an object, a cooler configured to cool the one or more storage rooms, a door driver configured to generate power for automatically opening and closing the at least one door, a camera configured to photograph an image of surroundings around the at least one door, and at least one processor configured to, in the case in which an object is recognized from the image of surroundings photographed by the camera, transmit a control signal for opening the at least one door to the door driver based on the recognized object.

New systems, devices and methods for manufacturing, preparing, rapidly transporting, and managing personal care products including fluid(s), lotion(s), gel(s), powder(s), solid(s) are provided. In some such embodiments, new forms of personal care product containers are provided for such preparations. For example, in some embodiments, new forms of flat-packed, convertible personal care fluid containers are provided. In some embodiments, some such personal care fluid containers include a plurality of chambers for segregating and then mixing different personal fluid ingredients. In some embodiments, a usage-tracking personal care container shelf system is provided, comprising personal care routine monitoring and application tools. In some embodiments, the usage-tracking personal care container shelf system scans, stores and preserves personal care fluids within a plurality of individually temperature-regulated compartments, and aids users in managing their personal care routines.

A power storage device includes a storage battery that stores electric power, a battery management unit that monitors and protects the storage battery, an inverter configured to convert DC power outputted from the storage battery into AC power and outputting the AC power, and convert externally supplied AC power into DC power and supplying the DC power to the storage battery, a liquid storage container that houses therein the storage battery, the battery management unit, and the inverter in a state where surroundings of the storage battery, the battery management unit, and the inverter are filled with a liquid, a temperature adjustment unit that performs heat transfer between the liquid and outside air to adjust a temperature of the liquid to a particular target temperature, and a heat insulating material arranged to surround the liquid storage container.

A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes: a body having a storage compartment; a door pivotally coupled to the body to open and close the storage compartment; a planar heater including first heating wires arranged to surround an edge of the door and second heating wires arranged on only one portion of the edge; a sensor configured to measure at least one of temperature and humidity outside the refrigerator; and a processor configured to control driving of at least one of the first heating wires and the second heating wires based on a measured value of the sensor.