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Sensor rubber mat for in your fridge

posted by zuchi238 on 29 August 2007 20:35 Go to forum

Problem context :

You always found out that you ran out of something just when you need it. Especially from the fridge ...

Proposed Solution :

In your fridge you put a flexibel rubber mat, with some print on it of "Milk", "Butter", "Soda", "Butter".

This rubber mat has a sensor which weighs the item. If the items is less then 50% of the initial weight, the rubber mat will trigger en event on your computer (via wifi) to order a e.g some new milk. Or supermarkets can supply this to their A+ customers with an automated order process.

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argh! and another patent found. =(

answered by pedxing on 30 August 2007 3:22

oh well. Some ideas are just so good that they occur twice. ;) The patent was awarded in 2001 and even goes on to describe the use of sensor pads. http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6204763-description.html

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Detect by weight?

answered by ChrisNo on 30 August 2007 1:46

I know my household is just too chaotic to count on anyone putting the milk back in the correct spot. Especially when it gets full, there's just no way to ensure that the right things get in the right place. I was wondering if there was a way to detect objects without a "geographic" identifier. What about weight? If the store knows the weights of everything it sells, then they can compare increased weights to objects that are known to be purchased, and do some smart guesswork when it encounters a pattern like "door opened-->object removed-->door closed-->time passes-->door opened-->object placed that is slightly less weighty than before-->door closes". An audio or simple LCD interface can let the user verify or cancel attention to an item.

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Detect by weight?

answered by ChrisNo on 30 August 2007 1:46

I know my household is just too chaotic to count on anyone putting the milk back in the correct spot. Especially when it gets full, there's just no way to ensure that the right things get in the right place. I was wondering if there was a way to detect objects without a "geographic" identifier. What about weight? If the store knows the weights of everything it sells, then they can compare increased weights to objects that are known to be purchased, and do some smart guesswork when it encounters a pattern like "door opened-->object removed-->door closed-->time passes-->door opened-->object placed that is slightly less weighty than before-->door closes". An audio or simple LCD interface can let the user verify or cancel attention to an item.