ECE 477Digital Systems Senior Design Project – Grp 11(Foreigner) Fall 2004

Introduction

The Foreigner Cold as Ice smart refrigerator consists of a miniature refrigerator equipped with an array of devices which combine to form the basis of an intelligent appliance. This refrigerator includes a RFID scanner to allow for inventory tracking, a digital thermistor to provide temperature information, a LCD screen for information display, a 4-arrow keypad for user input, and an Ethernet device to allow remote control and interaction with the refrigerator over a network. Additionally, the Cold as Ice refrigerator will contain a microcontroller to handle all user input, manage user output information (over the LCD), control all communication routines, and control the fridge’s temperature.

All of the aforementioned components will be housed in an off-the-shelf, pre-packaged miniature refrigerator. As designers and developers of this new product, team Foreigner recognizes the importance of an aesthetically pleasing, easy-to-use package to the consumer. Thus, in order to develop the best possible packaging for the refrigerator, multiple commercial products were analyzed and the practicality of each product’s features was weighed.

Analysis of Commercial Products

In order to develop the best possible packaging solution for the Cold as Ice smart refrigerator, two similar commercially available products were analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of possible features to incorporate and potential problems to avoid when designing the refrigerator’s packaging. Although refrigerators have been commercially available products for over half of a century, it was not until very recently that manufacturers attempted to add “intelligence” to these appliances. Due to the novelty of intelligent appliances, there are very few smart refrigerators currently on the market. Of these presently available refrigerators, team Foreigner decided on two for packaging analysis. The two refrigerators chosen are:

  • Samsung RH2777AT HomePAD Refrigerator
  • Lexical Smart Refrigerator

Samsung RH2777AT HomePAD Refrigerator

Fig. 1 – Samsung RH2777AT HomePAD Refrigerator

The RH2777AT HomePAD Refrigerator, as seen in Fig. 1, is Samsung’s attempt to develop the refrigerator of the future. The refrigerator comes complete with a multitude of high-tech, entertaining, and common convenience features. For example, users of the refrigerator are able to access the internet, text message, watch TV, and control the internal temperature all from this one appliance. This Samsung refrigerator has a height of 5’10”, a width of 3’, and a depth of 2’10” [1]. In addition, the refrigerator uses a 10.4 inch TFT-LCD display which has a pop-up keyboard window and a control panel as shown in Fig. 2 [2].

Fig. 2 – Samsung RH2777AT Control Panel

As can be seen, this control panel allows for temperature viewing and control, as well as some safety features. Finally, the refrigerator has a water and ice dispenser and is packaged with an aluminum groove finish [3].

Clearly, the most positive aspect of the RH2777AT is its overall aesthetically pleasing appearance. Put simply, it is a very attractive, sleek-looking refrigerator. Also, the large (10.4 inch) LCD display is quite easy to read and has the capability for advanced graphics. Finally, the control panel, as shown in Fig. 2, is very intuitive and user friendly.

Although a large refrigerator has a large food capacity, the overall size of the Samsung fridge could make it difficult to market. Most Americans simply do not have the space for such a large appliance. Also, the pop-up keyboard window could be cumbersome and difficult to use for users who are not “technically savvy.” Perhaps a physical keyboard would be more intuitive.

The most prominent feature of the RH2777AT that team Foreigner plans to adapt is the LCD interface. An LCD interface (embedded in the fridge’s door) would be an attractive, user-friendly feature to display information. Also, a version of the RH2777AT’stemperature control panel will be adapted, in which the user can view and control the temperature from the door panel.

Although the Cold as Ice refrigerator will utilize a LCD display (as in the Samsung fridge), the size of the LCD will be much smaller, capable of displaying four lines of text. Also, instead of a pop-up keypad, team Foreigner feels that all user input should be performed through physical buttons (a 4-arrow keypad to be embedded in the door). Overall, the entire user-interface will be much simpler and more user-friendly (smaller LCD, physical keypad, etc…). Instead of utilizing such a large refrigerator, the Cold as Ice refrigerator will be housed in a much smaller miniature refrigerator, which again will be more practical (as far as space consumption) than the Samsung.

Lexicle Smart Refrigerator

Fig. 3 – Lexicle Smart Refrigerator

The Lexicle Smart Refrigerator, as seen in Fig. 3, is a another intelligent refrigerator that was developed at the University of York’s Department of Computer Science, and is currently being demonstrated and promoted to the manufacturing community. The Smart Fridge contains many of the same features as the Samsung refrigerator, such as a touch-screen LCD display, but also contains many other features, such as a barcode scanner (for food inventory), camera, printer, microphone (for speech recognition), and a PC for recipe storage [4]. It is nearly the same size as the RH2777AT, and also utilizes the same finish.

As in the Samsung refrigerator, the large, attractive LCD display is a positive feature which gives the fridge a sleek look. It is capable of providing information and entertainment to the user that is easily readable, and provides a “high-tech” feature that the user can enjoy. Also, the overall aluminum finish of the refrigerator is quite aesthetically pleasing. Finally, the Smart Fridge’s capability to maintain a running food inventory, through the use of the barcode scanner, sets this refrigerator apart from other similar appliances.

The largest negative aspect of the Smart Fridge is that the entire packagingsolution (and feature set) seems to be overkill. For example, the printer and microphone (as can be seen under the LCD in Fig. 3) are simply unnecessary, and in the opinion of team Foreigner, unattractive. It is quite possible that a user of such a fridge would find these packaging choices both unappealing and somewhat annoying. Also, the Smart Fridge comes with a PC (though it cannot be seen in Fig. 3), and this would seem to be a very space-consuming and cumbersome packaging solution.

As in the Samsung RH2777AT and Smart Fridge, the Cold as Ice fridge will use an adaptation of the LCD panel on the refrigerator’s door. Similar to the Smart Fridge, the Cold as Ice fridge will embed all user input and output devices in the refrigerator’s front panel. Also, team Foreigner would like to adapt some system of maintaining a food inventory.

The use of an RFID scanner inside of the Cold as Ice refrigerator is unique compared to the Smart Fridge, which utilizes a barcode scanner for inventory tracking. Additionally, the Cold as Ice fridge will use a simple text LCD display with a physical 4-arrow keypad instead of a touch-screen LCD. Also, the overall simplicity of the Cold as Ice packaging will differentiate it from the Smart Fridge. Unlike the Smart Fridge, which crams a large LCD display, camera, printer, microphone, and speakers onto the fridge’s external packaging, the Cold as Ice fridge will only externally utilize the keypad and LCD. Finally, team Foreigner will do away with the need for an external PC, and simply store the inventory and recipes in the microcontroller.

Specifications for Design Packaging

The Cold as Ice project will be housed in a pre-fabricated miniature refrigerator. The fridge measures 19.25 inches in height, 17.5 inches in width, and 18 inches in depth. Nearly all electrical components, excluding the RFID receiver and the temperature sensor, will be housed in a molded plastic enclosure to be placed on the refrigerator’s front door. This plastic enclosure will allow for storage of the PCB board and embedding of the keypad and LCD display, without breaching the refrigerator door insulation. This molded plastic housing can easily be found at hardware stores and from molded plastic suppliers. In fact, the company PacTec offers many “snap-on” molded enclosures in which the base of the enclosures would screw to the door, and the top would snap-on to allow easy access to the interior of the enclosure [5]. A detailed drawing of the Cold as Ice refrigerator can be seen below in Fig. 4:

Fig. 4 –Cold as Ice Refrigerator External CAD Drawing

As can be seen from Fig. 4, most added components will reside externally on the refrigerator’s door. Two additional components, the temperature sensor IC and the RFID receiver, must reside within the refrigerator. Figure 5 details this solution:

Fig. 5 – Cold as Ice Internal CAD Drawing

As can be seen from Fig. 5, the RFID scanner will be placed on the bottom (or perhaps on the side) of the refrigerator. Thus, all food items will be scanned over the top of this receiver upon input into the refrigerator. Finally, the temperature sensor IC must also reside internally, but the exact location will be determined later (most likely somewhere on the inside of the door).

Materials List

Material / Quantity
Mini-Refrigerator / 1
Plastic Enclosure Kit / 1
Caulk / 1 Tube
20x4 LCD Display / 1
4-Arrow Keypad / 1

Table 1 – Cold as Ice Refrigerator Packaging Materials List

Tooling Requirements

The only major tooling required will be to attach the plastic enclosure to the front of the refrigerator, which should only require a few screws. Additionally, it will be necessary to cut out an appropriately sized area from the enclosure for the LCD and keypad. Thus, some cutting tools (Dremel) will be required. Finally, any internal components (the temperature IC, wires, etc…) will require caulking. Thus, the tooling requirements for the Cold as Ice packaging are:

  • Caulk/Caulk Gun
  • Screws/Screwdriver
  • Electric Drill
  • Dremel
  • Wire Strippers
  • Soldering Tools

Packaging Weight Estimate

Material / Weight (lbs)
Mini-Refrigerator / 55
Plastic Enclosure / 0.5
20x4 LCD Display / 0.5
4-Arrow Keypad / 0.5
Rabbit 2200 Microcontroller / 0.5
RFID Receiver / 1
Temperature Sensor IC / Negligible
Total / 58.00

Table 2 – Cold as Ice Refrigerator Estimated Packaging Weight

Cost Estimate

Material / Cost ($)
Mini-Refrigerator / 110.00
Plastic Enclosure / 6.00
20x4 LCD Display / 17.61
4-Arrow Keypad / 19.75
RFID Receiver / 645.00
Rabbit 2200 Microcontroller / 55.00
Temperature Sensor IC / 0.94
Total / 854.30

Table 3 – Cold as Ice Refrigerator Estimated Unit Cost

References

[1]Samsung RH2777AT HomePAD Refrigerator,

Refrigerator_HomePADRefrigerator_RH2777AT_sp.htm

[2] Samsung RH2777AT HomePAD Refrigerator,

20030207095107281_Homepad(user).pdf

[3] Samsung RH2777AT HomePAD Refrigerator,

Refrigerator_HomePADRefrigerator_RH2777AT.htm

[4] Lexicle Smart Fridge,

[5] PacTec Plastic Enclosures,

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