Abstract:
A terminal and a control method thereof are disclosed. The terminal that may be built in or detached from a refrigerator comprises a display module displaying information on food on a screen; and a controller displaying a shopping list on food buying, providing detailed shopping information of food selected from the displayed shopping list, and transmitting and receiving information on order and payment of the corresponding food to and from an online mart linked with the terminal.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/583,625, filed on Jan. 6, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a terminal and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a terminal that provides a user with shopping information to allow the user to buy a corresponding item, and a control method of the terminal. 
         [0004]    2. Discussion of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Generally, home appliances such as a cooking machine, a refrigerator and a washing machine perform their suitable functions to provide a user with convenience. 
         [0006]    Recently, a ‘home network’ which connects home appliances to one network has been provided, and the user could remotely control the home appliances through the home network. 
         [0007]    Also, with the development of a smart phone, various applications, which can monitor the status of the home appliances through the home network and drive the home appliances, have been developed, and efforts for improving user interfaces of the applications have been made. 
         [0008]    Particularly, since the refrigerator serves to store food, it is likely that a user recognizes that correlation between food information and the refrigerator is high. Accordingly, a desire of a consumer who desires to acquire and process information on food stored in the refrigerator through a terminal has been increased. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a terminal and a control method thereof, which substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
         [0010]    An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal and a control method thereof, in which a user may receive a list of food of which buying is required, through the terminal. 
         [0011]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a terminal and a control method thereof, in which a user may order food and pay for the ordered food through the terminal. 
         [0012]    Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings. 
         [0013]    To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a terminal that may be built in or detached from a refrigerator comprises a display module displaying information on food on a screen; and a controller displaying a shopping list on food buying, providing detailed shopping information of food selected from the displayed shopping list, and transmitting and receiving information on order and payment of the corresponding food to and from an online mart linked with the terminal. 
         [0014]    In another aspect of the present invention, a control method of a terminal that may be built in or detached from a refrigerator comprises the steps of displaying a shopping list on food buying for a user; detecting food selected by the user from the shopping list; receiving information on the selected food from an online mart linked with the terminal; and processing order information and payment information input by the user. 
         [0015]    According to the present invention, since the user may receive a list of food of which buying is required, through the terminal, user convenience is improved. 
         [0016]    Also, since the user may order and pay for food through the terminal, an inconvenience caused as the user directly visits a mart may be improved. 
         [0017]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator to which the present invention may be applied; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a control block diagram illustrating a terminal according to the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a control flow chart illustrating a terminal according to the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating a procedure of displaying a shopping list in a terminal according to the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  are diagrams illustrating a procedure of selecting food from a terminal according to the present invention and receiving related information from an online mart; 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8  are diagrams illustrating a procedure of inputting order information in a terminal according to the present invention; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10  are diagrams illustrating a procedure of inputting payment information in a terminal according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]    Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
         [0027]    Elements of the present invention may be shown in the drawings in exaggerated sizes or shapes for conciseness and convenience of description. Also, the terms defined especially considering the embodiments of the present invention may be modified depending on intention of a person skilled in the art, practices, or the advent of new technology. Also, in special case, the terms mentioned in the description of the present invention may be selected by the applicant at his or her discretion, the detailed meanings of which are described in relevant parts of the description herein. Accordingly, the terms used herein should be understood not simply by the actual terms used but by the meaning lying within and the description disclosed herein. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a refrigerator  100  to which the present invention may be applied includes a main body  100   a , a door  101   b  provided on a front surface of the main body  100   a , and a handle  100   c  fixed to the door  101   b.    
         [0029]    The door  101   b  may be provided with a dispenser  110  that may dispense cool water or ices and a terminal  200  that may provide a user with various kinds of information such as food stored in the refrigerator and transmit information input by the user to another device. 
         [0030]    Preferably, the terminal  200  includes a display module  241  that displays predetermined information and allows a predetermined command to be input by a touch. 
         [0031]    Preferably, a touch screen that allows input and display at the same time is used as the display module  241 . However, a general display module having a display function only and a button type input device provided separately from the display module may be provided. 
         [0032]    The terminal  200  may be fixed to the front surface of the door, and may be provided detachably so that the user may fix or detach the terminal  200  to or from the refrigerator if necessary. 
         [0033]    On the other hand, the terminal  200  may be provided separately from the refrigerator in the form of a smart phone, whereby the user may shift the terminal  200  to a remote place where the refrigerator  100  is not provided. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the terminal  200  according to the present invention includes a communication module  210 , an audio/video (A/V) input module  220 , a user input module  230 , an output module  240 , a memory  250 , an interface module  260 , an RFID reader  270 , a controller  280 , and a power supply module  290 . It is to be understood that the modules or elements shown in  FIG. 1  are not required essentially. Accordingly, the terminal  200  having modules or elements more than or smaller than the modules or elements shown in  FIG. 1  may be provided. 
         [0035]    Hereinafter, the aforementioned modules or elements will be described. 
         [0036]    The communication module  210  may include one or more modules that enable Internet between the terminal  200  and a wireless communication system or at Internet network where the terminal  200  is located. 
         [0037]    For example, the communication module  210  may include a broadcast receiving module  211 , a mobile communication module  212 , an Internet module  213  and a short-range communication module  214 . 
         [0038]    The broadcast receiving module  211  receives a broadcast signal and/or broadcasting related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel under the control of the controller  280  and plays the broadcast signal and/or the broadcasting related information in the display module  241 . 
         [0039]    The mobile communication module  212  transmits and receives a radio signal to and from at least one of a base station, an external terminal and a server on a mobile communication network. The radio signal may include an audio signal, a video communication signal, or various types of data based on transmission and reception of text/multimedia messages. 
         [0040]    The Internet module  213  means a module for wire/wireless Internet access, and WLAN (Wireless LAN) (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) may be used as the radio Internet technology. 
         [0041]    The short-range communication module  214  means a module for short-range communication. Bluetooth, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), infrared communication (IrDA, infrared Data Association), UWB (Ultra Wideband), ZigBee, etc. may be used as the short-range communication technology. 
         [0042]    The audio/video (A/V) input module  220  is for audio signal input or video signal input, and may include a camera  221  and a mike  222 . 
         [0043]    The camera  221  processes image information such as still image or moving picture image, which is obtained by an image sensor in an image communication mode or camera mode. The processed image information may be displayed in the display module  241 . 
         [0044]    The image data processed by the camera  221  may be stored in the memory  250  or may be transmitted to the outside through the communication module  210 . Two or more cameras  221  may be provided depending on its usage condition. 
         [0045]    The mike  222  receives an external sound signal through a microphone in a communication mode, recording mode, or voice recognition mode and processes the received sound signal to electrical audio data. 
         [0046]    The user input module  230  generates input data for allowing the user to control the operation of the terminal  200 . The user input module  230  may include a key pad, a direction key, a dome switch, a touch pad (static pressure/electrostatic), a jog wheel, and a jog switch. 
         [0047]    The output module  240  is intended to generate the output related to vision or hearing, and may include the display module  241  and a sound output module  242 . 
         [0048]    The display module  241  displays (outputs) information processed by the terminal  200 . 
         [0049]    For example, if the display module  241  displays information related to the terminal  200  and the refrigerator  100  is displayed, it displays the information related to the refrigerator  100  in the form of a user interface (UI) or a graphic user interface (GUI) such as widget and icon. 
         [0050]    The aforementioned display module  241  may include at least one of a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, and a 3D display. 
         [0051]    If the display module  241  and a sensor (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘touch sensor’) that senses touch action form a mutual layer structure (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘touch screen’), the display module  241  may be used as an input device in addition to an output device. 
         [0052]    The touch sensor may have a type such as a touch film, a touch sheet, and a touch pad, for example. 
         [0053]    The touch sensor may be configured to convert a pressure given to a specific portion of the display module  241  or capacitance occurring in the specific portion of the display module  241  to an electrical input signal. The touch sensor may be configured to detect even a touch pressure as well as a touched position and a touched area. 
         [0054]    If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, signal(s) corresponding to the touch input are forwarded to a touch controller (not shown). The touch controller processes the signal(s) and then corresponding data to the controller  280 . As a result, the controller  280  may recognize which portion of the display module  241  has been touched. 
         [0055]    The sound output module  242  outputs data which include audio provided in the memory  250 , or outputs sound for notifying a user of action status related to the refrigerator  100 . The sound output module  242  may include a receiver, a speaker and a buzzer. 
         [0056]    The memory  250  may store a program for processing and control of the controller  280 , or may include information related to food kept in the refrigerator. Also, the memory  250  may include information on expiration date of food kept in the refrigerator. 
         [0057]    Also, the memory  250  stores graphic data of various messages and information, which are provided to the user in various visual effects. 
         [0058]    The aforementioned memory  250  may include a storage medium of at least one of a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (e.g., a Secure Digital (SD) or eXtreme Digital (XD) memory), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disc, an optical disc, etc. 
         [0059]    The interface module  260  serves to a communication path with all the external devices connected with the terminal  200  for a refrigerator. The interface module  260  receives data from the external device or is supplied with a power source, and forwards the power source to each module inside the terminal  200  or allows the data inside the terminal  200  to be transmitted to the external device. 
         [0060]    For example, the interface module  260  may include a wire/wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wire/wireless data port, a memory card port, a port connecting a device having an identification module, an audio input/output (I/O) port, a video I/O port, and an earphone port. 
         [0061]    The controller  280  generally controls an overall operation of the terminal  200 . 
         [0062]    The power supply module  290  receives the external power source supplied through the interface module  260  and supplies the power source required for the operation of each module under the control of the controller  280 . 
         [0063]    Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in a recording medium that may be read out by a computer or its similar device, by using software, hardware, or their combination. 
         [0064]    If the embodiments are implemented by hardware, the embodiments may be implemented by at least one of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, and other electrical units for performing functions. 
         [0065]    In some cases, the embodiments described in this specification may be implemented by the controller  280 . 
         [0066]    According to a software configuration, embodiments of procedures and functions described in the present invention may be implemented by separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more functions and operations described in this specification. 
         [0067]    A software code may be implemented by a software application written in a proper program language. The software code may be stored in the memory  250  and may be implemented by the controller  280 . 
         [0068]      FIG. 3  is a control flow chart illustrating a terminal according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the control operation of the terminal will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
         [0069]    The user may recognize a shopping list on food buying, receive detailed shopping information on food selected from the displayed shopping list, and transmit and receive information on order and payment of corresponding food by interacting with an online mart, through the terminal  200  according to the present invention. A detailed control flow will be described. 
         [0070]    First of all, the shopping list on food may be displayed in the display module  241  (S 10 ). 
         [0071]    At this time, the shopping list may include information stored in the terminal  100  and information stored outside the terminal  200 , that is, information stored in the server or refrigerator of the terminal  200 . 
         [0072]    Meanwhile, the shopping list may mean a list of food promoting buying of the user. The user may recognize what food will be required to be bought currently, through the shopping list. 
         [0073]    The shopping list may include information on food of which expiration date is shorter than a predetermined date. In the food kept in the refrigerator, the food of which expiration date is imminent will be required to be newly bought by the user for sanitary reasons. Accordingly, the shopping list may promote re-buying of the corresponding food to the user. 
         [0074]    At this time, the predetermined date of the expiration date may be set or changed by the user or various persons such as a manufacturer of the terminal. 
         [0075]    Also, the shopping list may include information on food source required for a recipe of a cooking menu which the user desires to cook. For example, if the user desires to cook special food such as steak, information on related food for cooking the corresponding steak, such as beef, may be provided to the user. The recipe desired by the user may be selected by the user or may be recommended to the user automatically by the terminal. 
         [0076]    The user may select food of which additional information or buying is required, from the food provided by the shopping list. At this time, the terminal  200  may sense what the food selected by the user is (S 20 ). 
         [0077]    Information related to the food selected by the user may be provided to the user through the online mart linked with the user through a network (S 30 ). 
         [0078]    At this time, the information provided to the user may include various kinds of information such as food stock, food price, and the origin place of food. 
         [0079]    The user may order the corresponding food through the terminal  200  (S 40 ). At this time, various kinds of information such as delivery place and delivery date may be input to the terminal  200  by the user. 
         [0080]    The user may pay for the corresponding food through the terminal  200  (S 50 ). At this time, the user may pay the online mart through various credit cards. 
         [0081]      FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating a procedure of displaying a shopping list in a terminal according to the present invention. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the display module  241  is implemented as a touch screen. Hereinafter, the procedure of displaying a shopping list in the terminal will be described with reference to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0082]    An input window  300  for allowing the user to input a command to display the shopping list on a screen of the display module  241  is provided on an initial screen of the display module  241 . 
         [0083]    At this time, in addition to the input window  300 , input windows for inputting various other commands such as detailed control of the refrigerator and food management may exist on the initial screen of the display module  241 . 
         [0084]    If the user selects the input window  300 , the shopping list is displayed to the user. At this time, the shopping list displayed to the user is the shopping list already stored in the terminal  200 . The shopping list already stored in the terminal  200  is displayed in a region  302  for displaying the corresponding shopping list. Meanwhile, the shopping list already stored in the terminal  200  may be obtained on the basis of the result of the input window  300  previously used by the user. 
         [0085]    The shopping list already stored in the terminal  200  means information that may be provided to the user even though the terminal  200  accesses another external server and no information is transmitted and received. 
         [0086]    In the meantime, a region  304  requesting the shopping list stored outside the terminal  200  is provided below the region  302  for displaying the shopping list already stored in the terminal  200 . The user may update the shopping list stored inside and outside the terminal  200  by selecting the region  304 . 
         [0087]    In the meantime, the shopping list stored outside the terminal  200  may mean the shopping list forwarded to the terminal  200  by data transmission and reception of the terminal  200 . The user may change the information on the food through another computer or another terminal not the terminal  200 , and the shopping list stored outside the terminal  200  may include this information on the food. 
         [0088]    The outside of the terminal  200  may include a server that may perform communication with the refrigerator or the terminal  200 . In other words, the information on the shopping list may partially be stored in the refrigerator or the external server, and its related contents may be updated to a recent version in accordance with selection of the user. 
         [0089]    The user may display the final shopping list in the display module  241  by synchronizing the shopping list stored inside the terminal  200  with the shopping list stored outside the terminal  200 . At this time, a selection input window  256  that allows the user to select whether to synchronize a plurality of shopping lists with one another is displayed to the user, and the user may command whether to synchronize the shopping lists with one another, through the selection input window. 
         [0090]    Finally, the display module  241  is provided with a region  308  where the final shopping list is displayed. In other words, the final shopping list may be provided to the user in such a manner that the shopping lists distributed to several portions are incorporated into one. 
         [0091]    In other words, the user may access the shopping list by using various media such as a computer or refrigerator in addition to the terminal, and may generate shopping lists of various versions. 
         [0092]    However, the terminal may provide the user with the shopping list of the latest version by incorporating the shopping lists of various versions with one another. 
         [0093]      FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  are diagrams illustrating a procedure of selecting food from a terminal according to the present invention and receiving related information from an online mart. Hereinafter, this procedure will be described with reference to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 . 
         [0094]    The user may select desired food from the shopping list shown in the display module  241  to obtain detailed information of the food. In other words, the controller  280  may determine whether the user desires to search for detailed information of the corresponding food, depending on whether the user has checked a check box  312 . 
         [0095]    If the user checks the check box  312  corresponding to the desired food, detailed information on the corresponding food from the online mart is provided to the user. 
         [0096]    At this time, information on the corresponding food may be provided from a plurality of online marts. In other words, product information of various online marts may be provided for one food, and the user may select a product of a desired online mart. 
         [0097]    In a state that detailed information of food is provided, the user may select a shopping list input window  314 . In this case, since the user may change checking of the check box  312 , he/she may change food desired to search for detailed information. 
         [0098]    In the meantime, the user may select an icon  316  to allow desired food to be managed in a separate order list. The icon  316  may display whether the desired food of the user is managed in the order list depending on selection of the user. 
         [0099]    On the other hand, may select a text display region  318  for the corresponding product. If the user selects the text display region  318 , more detailed imaged and information may be displayed in the corresponding product unlike the selection system of the icon  316 . 
         [0100]    The user may input information on the number of corresponding products. Also, in a state that the detailed image and information on the corresponding product are displayed, the corresponding product may be managed by the order list. 
         [0101]    If the detailed information on the desired product is provided to the user, the user may select an input region  320  to identify food listed in the order list. If the input region  320  is selected, the user may identify the list of the product listed in the order list. 
         [0102]    The user may select a check box  322  of each food, and may delete food of which buying is not required, through a delete window  324  after selecting the check box  322 . 
         [0103]    In the meantime, the display module  241  may display brief information on foods included in the order list. At this time, the display module  241  may display information on prices of products included in the order list together with the brief information to provide the user with convenience. 
         [0104]    The user may identify the products included in the order list and actually perform buying of the order list. At this time, the user may input whether to perform actual buying of the products included in the order list in the controller  280  through an input window  326 . 
         [0105]      FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8  are diagrams illustrating a procedure of inputting order information in a terminal according to the present invention. This procedure will be described hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 . 
         [0106]    If the user clicks the input window  326 , a detailed buying procedure of a corresponding order list may be performed. In other words, a detailed order and payment procedure of the corresponding order list is performed. 
         [0107]    The user may identify a delivery address listed in a delivery address information confirm window  330  and review whether the corresponding information is exact. If the user desires to change a delivery address of a product, he/she may select the delivery address information confirm window  330  and then change the delivery address to a desired delivery address through a key pad. 
         [0108]    Also, the user may identify a contact phone number listed in a contact phone number information confirm window  332  and review whether the corresponding information is exact. If the user desires to change a contact phone number of a product, he/she may select the contact phone number information confirm window  332  and then change the contact phone number to a desired contact phone number through the key pad. 
         [0109]    And, the user may select a delivery date of the corresponding product through a delivery date confirm window  334 . 
         [0110]    Although the delivery address, the contact phone number and the delivery date have been selected sequentially in  FIG. 7 , they may be input differently depending on convenience of the user, and their order may be changed. 
         [0111]    After inputting the delivery address, the contact phone number and the delivery date, the user may click an order complete window  340  and notify the controller  280  that the order of the corresponding product has been completed. If the user selects an order complete window  340 , the display module  241  performs a payment procedure of the corresponding product. 
         [0112]      FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10  are diagrams illustrating a procedure of inputting payment information in a terminal according to the present invention. This procedure will be described hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10 . 
         [0113]    The display module  241  provides the user with an information display window for payment of a product included in the order list. 
         [0114]    The display module  241  may display a display window  342  that may display a credit card, a display window  344  that may display a card number, and a display window  346  that may display a password. 
         [0115]    If the display window  342  is selected by the user, the user may select a desired credit card through which payment of the order list will be performed. 
         [0116]    In the meantime, if the display window  344  is selected by the user, the user may input a card number of the selected card. 
         [0117]    Also, if the display window  346  is selected by the user, the user may input a password by using the key pad. 
         [0118]    In the meantime, the display module  241  may provide a display window  348  that may display expiration date of a credit card. If the corresponding display window  348  is selected, the user may change the expiration date of the selected credit card. 
         [0119]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention. Thus, the above embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims and all change which comes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in the scope of the invention.