METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING MODE

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method for adjusting a mode and an apparatus for adjusting a mode, belonging to a field of intelligent household technology. Aspects of the disclosure provide a method for controlling a refrigerator. The method includes receiving a list of participants to join a meal, determining a first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants, determining a processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator, determining a first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator, and adjusting a working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201510463439.2, filed on Jul. 31, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a field of intelligent household technology, and more particularly, to a method for adjusting a mode and an apparatus for adjusting a mode.

BACKGROUND

As living standards rise, a refrigerator has been essential equipment for each household, which brings about great convenience for a user's diet.

It is necessary to manually set an operation mode of the refrigerator for pretreatment of ingredients every time before cooking the ingredients, and take out the ingredients to perform subsequent cooking operations after the pretreatment. For example, the user needs to set a thawing mode for a meat storage area in the refrigerator before cooking the meat and then takes out the ingredient for cooking after the thawing process is completed.

SUMMARY

In order to solve the problems in the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for adjusting a mode and an apparatus for adjusting a mode. The technical solution is presented as follows.

Aspects of the disclosure provide a method for controlling a refrigerator. The method includes receiving a list of participants to join a meal, determining a first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants, determining a processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator, determining a first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator, and adjusting a working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time.

To receive the list of participants to join the meal, in an example, the method includes receiving a user identifier of a terminal device that accesses a local area network, and determining the list of participants to join the meal according to the user identifier of the terminal device. In another example, the method includes receiving location information of users who have registered in a management program, and determining a user to join the meal when a distance from a location of the user to a destination location is shorter than a pre-determined threshold distance. Further, in an example, the method includes receiving at least one of communication information and schedule information of users who have registered in a management program, and identifying a user to join the meal based on at least one of the communication information and the schedule information.

To determine the first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants, in an example, the method includes receiving diet preference information associated with a participant in the list, and determining the first ingredient used in the meal according to the diet preference information. To determine the processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator, in an example, the method includes receiving a processing mode of the first ingredient in the refrigerator and determining the processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator according to the processing mode.

To determine the first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator, the method includes receiving historical records of time when ingredients in a same category as the first ingredient are taken out of the refrigerator, and determining the first time based on the time in the historical records, such as an average of the time in the historical records, and the like. In another example, the method includes receiving location information and a speed of a participant in the list, computing a second time when the participant arrives at a destination according to the location information and the speed of the participant in the list, and determining the first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator according to the second time.

To adjust the working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time, in an example, the method includes receiving a processing mode of the first ingredient in the refrigerator and a storage area of the first ingredient in the refrigerator, and controlling the refrigerator to change the storage area from a first cooling mode to a second cooling mode corresponding to the processing mode at a time that is before the first time by the processing period. Further, in an example, the method includes determining a third time to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator when the first ingredient is not taken out of the refrigerator at the first time, restoring the storage area into the first cooling mode, and controlling the refrigerator to change the storage area from the first cooling mode to the second cooling mode corresponding to the processing mode at another time that is before the third time by the processing period.

Aspects of the disclosure provide an apparatus for controlling a refrigerator. The apparatus includes a processor and a memory configured to store an instruction executable by the processor. The processor is configured to receive a list of participants to join a meal, determine a first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants, determine a processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator, determine a first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator, and adjust a working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time.

Aspects of the disclosure provide a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, when executed by a processor of a device, causes the device to perform operations for controlling a refrigerator. The operations include receiving a list of participants to join a meal, determining a first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants, determining a processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator, determining a first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator, and adjusting a working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an apparatus for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a first obtaining module in an apparatus for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a second obtaining module in an apparatus for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a determining module in an apparatus for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an adjusting module in an apparatus for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an apparatus for adjusting a mode according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure (a general structure of an intelligent device).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of present disclosure will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure more apparent.

An example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for adjusting a mode. Referring to FIG. 1, the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to an intelligent device, and the method includes the following steps.

In step 101, a user list for a meal is obtained.

In step 102, an ingredient used in the meal and a processing period for processing the ingredient in an intelligent refrigerator are obtained according to the user list.

In step 103, a first time point of fetching the ingredient from the intelligent refrigerator is determined.

In step 104, a working mode of the intelligent refrigerator is adjusted according to the processing period and the first time point.

This embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to the intelligent refrigerator which may adjust the working mode for storing the ingredients in the refrigerator according to the number of diners, and the diners will certainly fetch the ingredients from the intelligent refrigerator, such as fresh vegetables and fruit, frozen meat, or the like in the refrigerator. Thus, it is possible to determine the content and quantity of the ingredients fetched from the intelligent refrigerator according to the number of users in the user list for the meal and identifiers of users, and adjust the working mode of the intelligent refrigerator according to the fetched ingredients to facilitate processing the ingredients directly without the manual adjustment of the working mode of the intelligent refrigerator for pre-treating the ingredients.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, by determining the user list for the meal, determining the ingredient used in the meal and the processing period for processing the ingredient according to the user list, and determining the first time point of fetching the ingredient, the working mode of the refrigerator is adjusted according to the first time point and the processing period. In this way, it is achievable to adjust the working mode of the refrigerator automatically before the user fetches the ingredients, such that the refrigerator has completed the pretreatment before the user fetches the ingredients, which improves the efficiency of pretreatment of the ingredients by the refrigerator and the man-machine interaction.

Another example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for adjusting a mode. Referring to FIG. 2, the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to an intelligent device, and the method includes the following steps.

In step 201, a user list for a meal is obtained. This step may be triggered and executed at a certain time point before fetching and processing the ingredient.

The time point of executing this step may be obtained in such a way that, according to a category of the meal, time records of fetching an ingredient corresponding to the same category are selected from historical records, an average value of the multiple time records is computed, and then the longest processing period of various ingredients in the intelligent refrigerator is inferred forwards according to the computed average value.

The category of the meal may involve breakfast, lunch, supper, etc. A HiWiFi router in the intelligent refrigerator receives the historical records of fetching the ingredients corresponding to each category.

For the intelligent refrigerator, the user may log in the intelligent refrigerator in advance via a management application for controlling the intelligent refrigerator in a terminal, so as to configure parameters of the intelligent refrigerator and functions thereof. The connection mode may be a communication mode of direct connection established between the terminal and the intelligent refrigerator via a wireless manner; or may be communication between the terminal and the intelligent refrigerator through a network access device (like a router) accessed by the terminal and the intelligent refrigerator simultaneously.

After the user logs in the intelligent refrigerator through the terminal, it is possible to turn family members into registered users in the management application of the intelligent refrigerator by registration, in which the registration information may be user identifier, gender, age, weight, diet preference, etc. The intelligent refrigerator may provide diet recommendations for the registered users according to the registration information, and adjust the working mode at a specified time point according to the diet preference, such that a user may obtain the pre-treated ingredients before the meal and it is convenient for the user to process the ingredients.

Alternatively, the registered user may associate his own user identifier with the intelligent refrigerator, in which the association relationship needs to be recorded in a cloud server, such that the intelligent refrigerator may send an inquiry to the cloud server by accessing the network to obtain location information, communication information and schedule information corresponding to the user identifier, so as to control the working mode of the intelligent refrigerator more accurately according to the above contents.

The way of obtaining the user list for the meal in step 201 may be determined in three situations. That is, step 201 may be realized by the following steps.

First Situation:

In step 2011, a user identifier of a terminal accessing a current local area network is obtained and the user list for the meal is determined according to the user identifier.

In this situation, the intelligent refrigerator may send an inquiry request to a network access device connected with itself, in which the inquiry request is used to inquire the number of terminals accessed by the network access device and the user identifier corresponding to each terminal. The network access device will feed back the terminals currently accessed and the user identifier corresponding to each terminal to the intelligent refrigerator. Then, the intelligent refrigerator determines how many users in the house at present according to the information from the network access device and regards these users as the users for the meal. The content in the use list is the user identifier corresponding to each terminal.

Second Situation:

In step 2012, location information of registered users is obtained, and the user list for the meal is determined according to a registered user at a location from which a distance of a home location is smaller than a preset distance.

In this situation, the terminal for each user reports its own location information to the cloud server regularly; the intelligent refrigerator sends a location-inquiring request carrying the user identifier of a registered user to the cloud server; the cloud server obtains the corresponding location information according to the user identifier in the location-inquiring request and feeds back the corresponding location information to the intelligent refrigerator; the intelligent refrigerator may obtain the home location information when actuated for the first time, or may obtain the home location information by positioning when inquiries the location information of the registered user every time.

The way of determining the distance smaller than the preset distance is to determine the users capable of arriving home within a specified time period, and then the users are regarded as the users for the meal. For example, it is possible to determine a time threshold according to the history time points of returning home from work, and determine whether the user can arrive before the time threshold according to the distance between the home location and the location of the user, as well as the current movement speed of the user.

Third Situation:

In step 2013, communication information or schedule information of registered users is obtained to identify a user to attend the meal from the communication information or schedule information, and the user list for the meal is determined according to the user to attend the meal.

In this situation, the terminal for each user reports its own communication information and schedule information to the cloud server regularly, in which the communication information may include chat records and email records, etc. The intelligent refrigerator sends a request carrying the user identifier of a registered user to the cloud server to inquire the communication information or the schedule information; the cloud server obtains the corresponding communication information or the schedule information according to the user identifier and feeds back the information to the intelligent refrigerator; the intelligent refrigerator may semantically identify the received communication information or schedule information—identifying a preset key word to determine whether the registered user is on business, or whether there is a friend or visitor. The preset key word may be “on business,” “visit” or any content involving time and date. The user list for the meal may be determined according to the above content.

If it is identified that a user is on business at the meal, the user will not be in the user list for the meal; if it is identified that a friend will come over, the user identifier of the friend needs to be listed in the user list for the meal.

Alternatively, the intelligent refrigerator may obtain an address book in the terminal of a registered user in advance, and identify contact information from the communication information or the schedule information according to the contact information in the address book, which may identify the users for the meal more accurately, and thus may obtain corresponding diet preference information of these users. Finally, it is possible to determine the ingredients that need to be pretreated in the intelligent refrigerator according to the diet preference information.

Alternatively, step 2011, step 2012 and step 2013 may be executed together to determine the user list for the meal, or a single step may be executed individually to determine the user list for the meal, which will not be defined herein.

Alternatively, if the user list for the meal is null, the intelligent refrigerator remains the original working mode till step 201 is executed next time.

In step 202, an ingredient used in the meal and a processing period for processing the ingredient in an intelligent refrigerator are obtained according to the user list.

Step 202 may be realized by the following steps.

In step 2021, corresponding diet preference information is obtained according to a user identifier of a user in the user list.

The diet preference information may be input in the management application of the terminal by the user during registration, transmitted by the terminal to the intelligent refrigerator for storage, or transmitted by the terminal to the cloud server for storage. The intelligent refrigerator may obtain the diet preference information of each user from the local storage area, or the cloud server may obtain the diet preference information of each user. Moreover, if the user list for the meal includes a non-registered user, a request for inquiring the user diet preference is sent to the cloud server based on the user identifier in the user list to obtain the diet preference information of the non-registered user.

In step 2022, the ingredient used in the meal is determined according to the diet preference information.

The ingredient is determined according to the diet preference information. For example, if the diet preference information is steak, the necessary ingredient is beef; if the diet preference information is vegan, the ingredients used are vegetables.

Since the ingredients are placed in different storage areas in the refrigerator correspondingly, the position of an ingredient is determined after the ingredient is determined.

The intelligent refrigerator may determine the ingredients stored in each storage area by video scanning; or the user may sort out and store the ingredients according to a prompt of each storage area after presetting stock ingredients stored in each storage area.

In step 2023, a processing mode of the ingredient used in the meal in the intelligent refrigerator is obtained, and the processing period for processing the ingredient used in the meal in the intelligent refrigerator is determined according to the processing mode.

Different ingredients are pretreated in different manners. For example, the pretreatment of frozen meat before cooking is thawing, so the corresponding processing mode may be a thawing mode. The pretreatment of vegetables before eating is sterilization, so the corresponding processing mode may be a sterilizing mode. The pretreatment of fruits before eating is ripening, so the corresponding processing mode may be a ripening mode. Consequently, it is possible to preset a corresponding processing mode of each ingredient in the intelligent refrigerator.

Each processing mode corresponds to a different processing period. For example, the thawing mode needs 30 minutes, the sterilization mode 10 minutes and the ripening mode 20 minutes. Hence, it is possible to preset a processing period corresponding to each processing mode in the intelligent refrigerator.

In step 203, a first time point of fetching the ingredient used in the meal from the intelligent refrigerator is determined.

The first time point represents the time point of taking out the ingredient from the intelligent refrigerator so as to cook the ingredient, and needs considering two factors—time point of arriving home and time point of starting cooking.

Therefore, step 203 may be realized in two situations.

In step 2031, a time record of fetching an ingredient in a same category as the meal is obtained from a historical record, and an average value of the time record is determined as the first time point of fetching the ingredient used in the meal from the intelligent refrigerator.

In step 2032, location information and a movement speed of a user in the user list are obtained, a second time point when the user reaches home is computed according to the location information and movement speed of the user, and the first time point of fetching the ingredient used in the meal from the intelligent refrigerator is determined according to the second time point.

Step 2031 and step 2032 may compute the first time point respectively, and a latter one of the two results is selected; or either of step 2031 and step 2032 is selected to compute the first time point, which will not be defined herein.

In step 204, a working mode of the intelligent refrigerator is adjusted according to the processing period and the first time point.

In step 2041, a processing mode of the ingredient used in the meal in the intelligent refrigerator and a storage area thereof are obtained.

In step 2042, a working mode in the storage area is adjusted from an original working mode to a working mode corresponding to the processing mode at a first time instant the processing period before the first time point.

For example, if the ingredient is frozen meat, the first time point is 6:00 p.m. and the processing period lasts 30 minutes, it is necessary to adjust the working mode of the storage area of frozen meat to subject the storage area to a thawing mode.

Another example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for adjusting a mode. Referring to FIG. 3, the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to an intelligent device, and the method includes the following steps.

In step 301, a third time point of fetching the ingredient used in the meal is determined again if it is detected that the ingredient used in the meal cannot be fetched at the first time point, and the working mode in the storage area is configured into the original working mode before the adjustment.

This step may be executed when the user list is not null and an incident occurs. For example, if the schedule of the user changes, this step is performed when it is impossible to reach home and fetch the ingredients at the first time point. Thus, the working mode needs to be adjusted again.

Alternatively, the way of detecting that it is impossible to fetch the ingredient at the first time point may be to detect the location information or the schedule information of the user periodically at a specified time interval before the first time point.

If it is determined that the user cannot arrive at the first time point according to the distance between the location of the user and the home location, as well as the current movement speed, the third time point is computed according to the movement speed and the distance. For example, if there is a traffic jam on the way home, the third time point of reaching home is computed again according to the location information of the user and the driving speed.

In addition, if the schedule of the user changes, for example, a business trip appearing in the schedule information, the third time point is a time point of the first meal after the user returns home.

In step 302, the working mode in the storage area is adjusted from the original working mode to the working mode corresponding to the processing mode at a second time instant the processing period before the third time point.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, by determining the user list for the meal, determining the ingredient used in the meal and the processing period for processing the ingredient according to the user list, and determining the first time point of fetching the ingredient, the working mode of the refrigerator is adjusted according to the first time point and the processing period. In this way, it is achievable to adjust the working mode of the refrigerator automatically before the user fetches the ingredients, such that the refrigerator has completed the pretreatment before the user fetches the ingredients, which improves the efficiency of pretreatment of the ingredients by the refrigerator and the man-machine interaction.

An example embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for adjusting a mode, which is able to realize the method of adjusting the mode provided in the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4, the apparatus includes: a first obtaining module 401 configured to obtain a user list for a meal; a second obtaining module 402 configured to obtain a first ingredient used in the meal and a processing period for processing the first ingredient in an intelligent refrigerator according to the user list; a determining module 403 configured to determine a first time point of fetching the first ingredient from the intelligent refrigerator; and an adjusting module 404 configured to adjust a working mode of the intelligent refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time point.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first obtaining module 401 includes: a first obtaining unit 4011 configured to obtain a user identifier of a terminal accessing a local area network and to determine the user list for the meal according to the user identifier of the terminal; a second obtaining unit 4012 configured to obtain location information of registered users and to determine the user list for the meal according to a registered user at a location from which a distance of a home location is smaller than a preset distance; and a third obtaining unit 4013 configured to obtain communication information or schedule information of registered users to identify a user to attend the meal from the communication information or schedule information, and determine the user list for the meal according to the user to attend the meal.

As shown in FIG. 6, the second obtaining module 402 includes: a fourth obtaining unit 4021 configured to obtain diet preference information according to a user identifier of a user in the user list; a first determining unit 4022 configured to determine the first ingredient used in the meal according to the diet preference information; a fifth obtaining unit 4023 configured to obtain a processing mode of the first ingredient in the intelligent refrigerator; and a second determining unit 4024 configured to determine the processing period for processing the first ingredient in the intelligent refrigerator according to the processing mode.

As shown in FIG. 7, the determining module 403 includes: a sixth obtaining unit 4031 configured to obtain a time record of fetching a second ingredient in a same category as the meal from a historical record; a third determining unit 4032 configured to determine an average value of the time record as the first time point of fetching the first ingredient from the intelligent refrigerator; a seventh obtaining unit 4033 configured to obtain location information and movement speed of a user in the user list; a computing unit 4034 configured to compute a second time point when the user in the user list reaches home according to the location information and movement speed of the user in the user list; and a fourth determining unit 4035 configured to determine the first time point of fetching the first ingredient from the intelligent refrigerator according to the second time point.

As shown in FIG. 8, the adjusting module 404 includes: an eighth obtaining unit 4041 configured to obtain a processing mode of the first ingredient in the intelligent refrigerator and a storage area thereof; and a first adjusting unit 4042 configured to adjust a working mode in the storage area from an original working mode to a working mode corresponding to the processing mode at a first time instant the processing period before the first time point.

As shown in FIG. 8, the adjusting module 404 further includes: a fifth determining unit 4043 configured to determine a third time point of fetching the first ingredient if it is detected that the first ingredient is not fetched at the first time point; a setting unit 4044 configured to set the working mode in the storage area into the original working mode; and a second adjusting unit 4045 configured to adjust the working mode in the storage area from the original working mode to the working mode corresponding to the processing mode at a second time instant the processing period before the third time point.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, by determining the user list for the meal, determining the ingredient used in the meal and the processing period for processing the ingredient according to the user list, and determining the first time point of fetching the ingredient, the working mode of the refrigerator is adjusted according to the first time point and the processing period. In this way, it is achievable to adjust the working mode of the refrigerator automatically before the user fetches the ingredients, such that the refrigerator has completed the pretreatment before the user fetches the ingredients, which improves the efficiency of pretreatment of the ingredients by the refrigerator and the man-machine interaction.

It is noted that the various modules and units in the present disclosure can be implemented using any suitable technology. In an example, a module can be implemented using integrated circuit (IC). In another example, a module can be implemented as a processing circuit executing software instructions.

Corresponding to the apparatus for adjusting the mode provided by above example embodiments, another example embodiment of the present disclosure provides an intelligent device 900, referring to FIG. 9. For example, the intelligent device 900 may be an intelligent refrigerator.

Referring to FIG. 9, the device 900 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 902, a memory 904, a power component 906, a multimedia component 908, an audio component 910, an input/output (I/O) interface 912, a sensor component 915, and a communication component 916.

The processing component 902 typically controls overall operations of the device 900, such as the operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component 902 may include one or more processors 920 to execute instructions to perform all or part of the steps in the above described methods. Moreover, the processing component 902 may include one or more modules which facilitate the interaction between the processing component 902 and other components. For instance, the processing component 902 may include a multimedia module to facilitate the interaction between the multimedia component 908 and the processing component 902.

The memory 904 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of the device 900. Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods operated on the device 900, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, video, etc. The memory 904 may be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a magnetic or optical disk.

The power component 906 provides power to various components of the device 900. The power component 906 may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and any other components associated with the generation, management, and distribution of power in the device 900.

The multimedia component 908 includes a screen providing an output interface between the device 900 and the user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the screen includes the touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may not only sense a boundary of a touch or swipe action, but also sense a period of time and a pressure associated with the touch or swipe action. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 908 includes a front camera and/or a rear camera. The front camera and the rear camera may receive an external multimedia datum while the device 900 is in an operation mode, such as a photographing mode or a video mode. Each of the front camera and the rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have focus and optical zoom capability.

The audio component 910 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 910 includes a microphone (“MIC”) configured to receive an external audio signal when the device 900 is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signal may be further stored in the memory 904 or transmitted via the communication component 916. In some embodiments, the audio component 910 further includes a speaker to output audio signals.

The I/O interface 912 provides an interface between the processing component 902 and peripheral interface modules, such as a keyboard, a click wheel, buttons, and the like. The buttons may include, but are not limited to, a home button, a volume button, a starting button, and a locking button.

The sensor component 915 includes one or more sensors to provide status assessments of various aspects of the device 900. For instance, the sensor component 915 may detect an open/closed status of the device 900, relative positioning of components, e.g., the display and the keypad, of the device 900, a change in position of the device 900 or a component of the device 900, a presence or absence of user contact with the device 900, an orientation or an acceleration/deceleration of the device 900, and a change in temperature of the device 900. The sensor component 915 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. The sensor component 915 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component 915 may also include an accelerometer sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 916 is configured to facilitate communication, wired or wirelessly, between the device 900 and other devices. The device 900 can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, 2G, or 3G, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 916 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 916 further includes a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, an infrared data association (IrDA) technology, an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, a Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In example embodiments, the device 900 may be implemented with one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components, for performing the above described methods.

In exemplary embodiments, there is also provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions, such as included in the memory 904, executable by the processor 920 in the device 900, for performing the above-described methods. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage device, and the like.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has stored therein instructions that, when executed by a processor of a mobile terminal, causes the mobile terminal to perform a method for adjusting a mode. The method includes: obtaining a user list for a meal; obtaining a first ingredient used in the meal and a processing period for processing the first ingredient in an intelligent refrigerator according to the user list; determining a first time point of fetching the first ingredient from the intelligent refrigerator; and adjusting a working mode of the intelligent refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time point.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by determining the user list for the meal, determining the ingredient used in the meal and the processing period for processing the ingredient according to the user list, and determining the first time point of fetching the ingredient, the working mode of the refrigerator is adjusted according to the first time point and the processing period. In this way, it is achievable to adjust the working mode of the refrigerator automatically before the user fetches the ingredients, such that the refrigerator has completed the pretreatment before the user fetches the ingredients, which improves the efficiency of pretreatment of the ingredients by the refrigerator and the man-machine interaction.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed here. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the exact construction that has been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention only be limited by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a refrigerator, comprising:

receiving a list of participants to join a meal;

determining a first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants;

determining a processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator;

determining a first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator; and

adjusting a working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the list of participants to join the meal comprises:

receiving a user identifier of a terminal device that accesses a local area network; and

determining the list of participants to join the meal according to the user identifier of the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the list of participants to join the meal comprises:

receiving location information of users who have registered in a management program; and

determining a user to join the meal when a distance from a location of the user to a destination location is shorter than a pre-determined threshold distance.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the list of participants to join the meal comprises:

receiving at least one of communication information and schedule information of users who have registered in a management program; and

identifying a user to join the meal based on at least one of the communication information and the schedule information.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants comprises:

receiving diet preference information associated with a participant in the list; and

determining the first ingredient used in the meal according to the diet preference information.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein determining the processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator comprises:

receiving a processing mode of the first ingredient in the refrigerator; and

determining the processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator according to the processing mode.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator comprises:

receiving historical records of time when ingredients in a same category as the first ingredient are taken out of the refrigerator; and

determining the first time based on the time in the historical records.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator comprises:

receiving location information and a speed of a participant in the list;

computing a second time when the participant arrives at a destination according to the location information and the speed of the participant; and

determining the first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator according to the second time.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein adjusting the working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time comprises:

receiving a processing mode of the first ingredient in the refrigerator and a storage area of the first ingredient in the refrigerator; and

controlling the refrigerator to change the storage area from a first cooling mode to a second cooling mode corresponding to the processing mode at a time that is before the first time by the processing period.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

determining a third time to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator when the first ingredient is not taken out of the refrigerator at the first time;

restoring the storage area into the first cooling mode; and

controlling the refrigerator to change the storage area from the first cooling mode to the second cooling mode corresponding to the processing mode at another time that is before the third time by the processing period.

11. An apparatus for controlling a refrigerator, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory configured to store an instruction executable by the processor;

wherein the processor is configured to:

receive a list of participants to join a meal;

determine a first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants;

determine a processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator;

determine a first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator; and

adjust a working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:

receive a user identifier of a terminal device that accesses a local area network; and

determine the list of participants to join the meal according to the user identifier of the terminal device.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:

receive location information of users who have registered in a management program; and

determine a user to join the meal when a distance from a location of the user to a destination location is shorter than a pre-determined threshold distance.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:

receive at least one of communication information and schedule information of users who have registered in a management program; and

identify a user to join the meal based on at least one of the communication information and the schedule information.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:

receive diet preference information associated with a participant in the list;

determine the first ingredient used in the meal according to the diet preference information;

receive a processing mode of the first ingredient in the refrigerator; and

determine the processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator according to the processing mode.

16. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:

receive historical records of time when ingredients in a same category as the first ingredient are taken out of the refrigerator; and

determine the first time based on the time in the historical records.

17. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:

receive location information and a speed of a participant in the list;

compute a second time when the participant arrives at a destination according to the location information and the speed of the participant in the list; and

determine the first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator according to the second time.

18. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:

receive a processing mode of the first ingredient in the refrigerator and a storage area of the first ingredient in the refrigerator; and

control the refrigerator to change the storage area from a first cooling mode to a second cooling mode corresponding to the processing mode at a time that is before the first time by the processing period.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a third time to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator when the first ingredient is not taken out of the refrigerator at the first time;

restore the storage area into the first cooling mode; and

control the refrigerator to change the storage area from the first cooling mode to the second cooling mode corresponding to the processing mode at another time that is before the third time by the processing period.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, when executed by a processor of a device, causes the device to perform operations for controlling a refrigerator, the operations comprising:

receiving a list of participants to join a meal;

determining a first ingredient used in the meal based on the list of participants;

determining a processing period for processing the first ingredient in the refrigerator;

determining a first time when to take the first ingredient out of the refrigerator; and

adjusting a working mode of the refrigerator according to the processing period and the first time.