Monitoring system with a wireless transmitting/receiving module
A monitoring system includes a chamber; an image capturing device set in the chamber used to capture an image in the chamber, a first transceiver coupled to the image capturing device to transmit the captured image; a remote terminal having a second transceiver to receive the captured image.
The application is a CIP application of United States Patent Application 20060174641, Ser. No. 11/011,465, and filed on Dec. 13, 2004. Applicant claim the priority date of the parent patent.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to a monitoring system and more particularly to a monitoring system with Wireless Transmitting/Receiving module.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSecurity matter is more important than ever. Most of the people hired security guard to secure their household. However, most of the security only checks the surrounding status of house or building. He or she is not allowed to enter into the house to monitor. Thus, he or she can report nothing within the house while the house host is absent. The present invention can be also used to monitor the item in the chamber such as a refrigerator. In order to keep temperature-sensitive foodstuffs, especially beverages, an electrically refrigerated cabinet has been used. In refrigeration systems, a refrigerant gas is compressed in a compressor unit. Heat generated by the compression is then removed generally by passing the compressed gas through a water or air cooled condenser coil.
A problem which has arisen with such refrigeration is that when the front door is opened too often, the extremely cold air within the chamber tends to spill out through the front opening of the refrigeration. This not only undesirably increases the temperature of the refrigeration chamber, but places increased loads on the refrigeration unit as it must operate on a more continuous basis to account for all of the lost cold air from within the chamber.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an advanced system with remote monitoring which allowed monitoring the item contain therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention also provides many additional advantages which shall become apparent as described below.
The object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring system with a display module.
The object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring system with a Wireless Transmitting/Receiving module such as WLAN module. The Wireless Transmitting/Receiving module is compatible with blue tooth standard, WiFi, WiMAX, 802.11x standard, x refers to a, b, g, n.
A monitoring system comprising: a chamber or room; an image capturing device set in the chamber used to capture an image in the chamber, a first transceiver coupled to the image capturing device to transmit the captured image; a remote terminal having a second transceiver to receive the captured image. The system further comprises an illumination device set in the chamber to provide the illumination for the image capturing device. The illumination device includes LED, IR-light or lamp. The image capturing device is selected from the group consisting of digital still camera, digital video camera, CCD, CMOS sensor and pinhole camera. The display is selected from the group consisting of LCD panel, plasma display panel, LED display panel, CRT, FED display panel, EL panel, OEL and OLED panel. The present invention provides a system of accessing data via wireless transmission comprising a wireless storage device having a first wireless transmitting/receiving module coupled to a storage medium in the wireless storage device and a control terminal having a second wireless transmitting/receiving module. The control terminal accesses data stored in the storage medium by transmitting and receiving signal between the first and second wireless transmitting/receiving module. A storage device includes a control unit; a first type memory and a second type memory coupled to the control unit; an interface coupled to the control unit for I/O and an embedded system coupled to the control unit to determine or assign the duty of the first type memory and the second type memory.
The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the generic principles of the present invention have been defined herein specifically to provide an overall method and devices for a food storage tracking system.
If the remote terminal 32 includes a cellular, the wireless module could be a RF module or a further RF module 32g maybe incorporated into the terminal 32 for transmitting and receiving communication data. As mentioned in
If there are pluralities of device under control, the user may remote control each device as shown in
(A) Assume the total memory capacity (hard disk and flash) is A bits, assume again that magnetic memory (hard disk for instance) occupies X bits and the cost of the magnetic memory is M/bit while the flash memory is Y bits and the cost of the flash memory is N/bit.
The cost of the memory=(MxX)+(NxY)=Z (total cost of both memory)
According to Cauchy inequality equation:
(M2+N2)(X2+Y2)≧(MX+NY)2=Z2
(X2+Y2)≧Z2/(M2+N2);
When X/M=Y/N, the maximum cost of the memory capacity is obtained;
Zmax=[(M2+N2) (X2+Y2)]1/2
the minimum cost of the memory capacity is illustrated as follows:
If M>N, one of the higher cost memory is approaching null, thus, the Zmin≈NY.
If M<N, similarly, one of the higher cost memory is approaching null as well, therefore, the Zmin≈MX.
If M>N, one of the lower cost memory is approaching null, thus, the Zmax=AM.
If M<N, similarly, one of the lower cost memory is approaching null as well, Zmax=AN
The cost Z is: 0<Max(MX, NY)≦Zmin≦Z≦Zmax=[(M2+N2) (X2+Y2)]1/2
The result of the present invention may provide the formula to estimate the combination cost of the memory.
X+Y=A; MX+NY=Z; (B)
X=(Z−NA)/M−N; Y=(AM−Z)/M−N;
The memory ratio (R1) of magnetic memory (hard disk) to flash memory is equal to X/Y=(Z−NA)/(AM−Z)
Alternatively, the memory ratio (R2) of magnetic memory (hard disk) to flash memory is equal to Y/X=(AM−Z)/(Z−NA)
Please refer to
One aspect of the present invention is that a display panel 18 is equipped on the refrigerator, preferably, on the front door 16 and coupled to the power source 24 and the control circuits 110. One or more image capturing device 20 is set in the chamber 10. The image capturing device 20 is electrically (or optically) coupled to the display panel 18, control circuits 110. The image capturing device 20 is set in the chamber 10. A switch 22 is provided on the display panel 18 used to turn-on the image capturing device 20. An illumination device 26 is set in the chamber 10 also to provide the illumination for the image capturing device 20 when the image capturing device 20 is power on. The image capturing device 20 and the illumination device 26 could be built-in on or in the wall of the chamber 10. The image capturing device 20 could capture the image in the chamber 10, therefore, the image of the items stored in the chamber 10 could be taken or shot by the image capturing device 20. The image capturing device 20 could be, for example, digital still camera, digital video camera, CCD, CMOS sensor or pinhole camera. The illumination device 26 could be LED, UV light source, lamp or the like. The frequency range of the illumination source may range from substantially 10E13-10E16 Hz. If the image capturing device is capable of operating in the infrared ray spectrum range, the illumination device 26 could be omitted. If the illumination device may illuminate UV-ray spectrum, the bacteria will be eliminated or killed by the UV ray. When the image capturing device 20 is on, the image in the chamber 10 can be captured and send it to the display panel 18, thereby displaying captured image in the form of video or picture on the display panel 18, allowing the user to watch image on the display panel and take a look at what items are stored in the chamber and their location. The image capturing device 20 could be set in each layer of the chamber 10 depending on the necessary. This will provide relative ease to monitor the stored food item without opening the door of the refrigerator. In one embodiment, a LCD screen is provided for the display panel to display item in the chamber 10. Other type display could also be used such as plasma display panel, LED display panel, CRT, FED display panel, EL panel, OEL and OLED panel. The panel further includes On/Off button, a Mode button. A low-power CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) microprocessor with integral FLASH maybe employed. A molded plastic case for the screen encloses the circuit board. Power is provided by batteries or, alternately, by the refrigerator itself. The image capturing device 20 includes a charged coupled device (referred to as “CCD”). Further, the image capturing device 20 has the zoom-in and zoom-out functions controlled by the mode button described in
The details of the base unit now having been explained, one can readily understand the functioning of the entire method. For example, one would discover what item stored in the chamber and their location from the display panel. Another embodiment of the present invention further includes a wireless or wired transmission/receiving module 30 coupled to the image capturing device 20 and the control circuit 110. The wireless or wired transmission/receiving module 30 could be set adjacent to the display panel 18. It should be noted, it is not the only way to set the wireless or wired transmission/receiving module module. The transmission/receiving module could be wired (such as ADSL cable or Ethernet device) or wireless transmission (RF, blue-tooth or 802.11x available device). Take the RF module as an example, as know in the art, the RF (wireless transmission/receiving) module includes an antenna connected to a transceiver which is used to receive and transmit signal. As know, the RF module may further include, base band processing unit, DSP and A/D converter. The received signal will turn on the vibration mode or speaker of the cellular phone in the mobile phone application. In the present invention, the received signal will be used to power on the image capturing device 20 (and the illumination device 26). Due to the RF module is not the feature of the present invention, therefore, the detailed description is omitted. The captured image can be transmitted through the RF module 30 by operation frequency while the image capturing device is in function. The captured result can be send to a remote terminal 32 with a transceiver 32a and a display screen 32b, thereby allowing the user to check what item left in the refrigerator. The user may determine what should be supplied. The remote terminal-32 could be, such as remote computer system, portable device (cellular) or TV set. The signal could be transmitted or received through wired network or wireless transmission.
The present invention discloses and provides a method of monitoring food or beverage in a refrigerator. In step 300, an image capturing device is provided and set in one or more chamber of the refrigerator. Then, next step 310 is to switch on the image capturing device (and the illumination device) to capture the image of the food or beverage stored in the one or more chamber by pushing a button on the refrigerator or remote control through a RF module. Then, the captured image is send 320 to a display panel, wherein the display panel is coupled to the image capturing device for displaying the captured image. As aforementioned, the display panel is set on the refrigerator or remote terminal. If the display panel is set on the remote terminal, a RF module is necessary for the refrigerator. Thus, the method further comprises the steps before capturing the image of the food or beverage: 330 transmitting a signal from a remote terminal to switch on the image capturing device; 340 receiving the signal by the RF module (transmission/receiving module). The method further comprises the step before transmitting the captured image: 350 sending the captured image to the RF module and transmitting the captured image by the RF module to the remote terminal.
As will be understood by persons skilled in the art, the foregoing preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrative of the present invention rather than limiting the present invention. Having described the invention in connection with a preferred embodiment, modification will now suggest itself to those skilled in the art. Thus, the invention is not to be limited to this embodiment, but rather the invention is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures. While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A monitoring system comprising:
- a chamber;
- an image capturing device set in said chamber used to capture an image in said chamber;
- a first transceiver coupled to said image capturing device to transmit said captured image; and
- a remote terminal having a second transceiver to receive said captured image.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an illumination device coupled to said image capturing device to provide the illumination for said image capturing device.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said illumination device includes LED, IR-light or lamp.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said image capturing device is selected from the group consisting of digital still camera, digital video camera, CCD, CMOS sensor and pinhole camera.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said remote terminal comprises a display allowing a user to monitor the status in said chamber.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said first and second transceiver are compatible with blue tooth standard, WiFi, WiMAX, 802.11, 3G or 4G.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said image is transmitted by wired or wireless communication.
8. A method of monitoring comprising:
- providing an image capturing device in a chamber and a first transceiver coupled to said image capturing device;
- capturing an image in said chamber by said image capturing device;
- transmitting said captured image by said first transceiver to a second transceiver of a remote terminal for displaying said captured image.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising following steps before capturing said image: transmitting a signal from said remote terminal to capture said image by said image capturing device; and receiving said signal by a transceiver coupled to said image capturing device.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising following step before transmitting said captured image: sending said captured image to said transceiver; transmitting said captured image by said transceiver to said remote terminal.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein said image capturing device is selected from the group consisting of digital still camera, digital video camera, CCD, CMOS sensor and pinhole camera.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein said remote terminal comprises a display allowing a user to check what item is in said chamber.
13. The method of claim 8, further including a first and a second transceiver set in said chamber and compatible with blue tooth standard, WiFi, WiMAX, 802.11, 3G or 4G.
14. The method of claim 8, wherein said image is transmitted by wired or wireless communication.
15. The method of claim 8, wherein said remote terminal includes mobile phone, PDA, notebook, smart phone or computer.
16. A system of accessing data via wireless transmission comprising:
- a wireless storage device having a first wireless transmitting/receiving module coupled to a storage medium in said wireless storage device;
- a control terminal having a second wireless transmitting/receiving module, wherein said control terminal accesses data stored in said storage medium by transmitting and receiving signal between said first and second wireless transmitting/receiving module.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein said first and second wireless transmitting/receiving module are compatible with blue tooth standard, WiFi, WiMAX, 802.11, 3G or 4G.
18. The system of claim 16, wherein said storage medium includes hard disk or memory.
19. The system of claim 16, wherein said control terminal further includes a port driver coupled to a VCOM port.
20. A storage device comprising:
- a control unit;
- a wireless transmitting/receiving module coupled to said control unit;
- a storage medium coupled to said control unit for data-storage; and
- wherein said wireless transmitting/receiving module is utilized to transfer data to/from said storage medium with an external device.
21. The device of claim 20, wherein said wireless transmitting/receiving module are compatible with the standard of blue tooth standard, WiFi, WiMAX, 802.1-1, 3G or 4G.
22. The device of claim 20, wherein said wireless storage device acts as a separated or build-in data storage for said external device including computer, notebook, mobile phone, PDA or medium player.
23. A storage device comprising:
- a control unit;
- a first type memory and a second type memory coupled to said control unit;
- an interface coupled to said control unit for I/O;
- an embedded system coupled to said control unit to determine or assign the duty of said first type memory and said second type memory.
24. The device of claim 23, wherein said first and second type memory are a magnetic memory and an nonvolatile memory or NAND type and NOR type memory.
25. The device of claim 23, wherein said storage device acts as a separated data storage or build-in data storage for computer, notebook, mobile phone, PDA or medium player.
26. A storage device comprising:
- a magnetic disk module used to store first data;
- a nonvolatile memory used to store second data;
- wherein cost Z of memory including a magnetic disk and said nonvolatile memory is: 0<Z≦[(M2+N2)(X2+Y2)]1/2;
- wherein said magnetic disk is X bits and a first cost of said magnetic disk is M/bit, while said nonvolatile memory is Y bits and a second cost of said nonvolatile memory is N/bit; wherein Z=MX+NY.
27. A storage device comprising:
- a substrate;
- control circuits formed on said substrate to control the reading, writing and erasing of memory cells of said storage device; and
- a nonvolatile memory array formed on said substrate including NAND type memory array and a NOR type memory array coupled to said control circuits;
- wherein cost Z of said nonvolatile memory including a NAND type and a NOR type is: 0<Z≦[(M2+N2)(X2+Y2)]1/2;
- wherein said NAND type is X bits and a first cost of said NAND type is Mibit, while said NOR type is Y bits and a second cost of said NOR type is N/bit; wherein Z=MX+NY.
28. A storage device comprising:
- a first column decoder and second column decoder formed between a NAND type memory and a NOR type memory; a first row decoder and a second row decoder formed adjacent to said NAND type memory and said NOR type memory.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 15, 2007
Publication Date: Jul 5, 2007
Inventors: Kuo Chiang (Linkou Township), Yi Cheng (Yongjing Township)
Application Number: 11/724,262
International Classification: G05D 23/00 (20060101); A47F 3/04 (20060101);