Refrigerators having internal content cameras, and methods of operating the same

1 . A method of capturing images within an appliance, comprising:

coupling one or more doors to a cabinet to allow selective access to an internal compartment;

coupling at least one camera and at least one light to said appliance to view the internal compartment;

sensing a door closure event;

sending a start notice from a controller of said appliance to an external server indicating that a new group of images of the internal compartment are being obtained;

capturing a first image of a first portion of the internal compartment;

setting the at least one light to a first color before the first image is captured;

capturing a second image of a second portion of the internal compartment;

setting the at least one light to a second color before the second image is captured; and

sending an end notice to the external server to indicate the new group of images is complete.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

setting the at least one light to a first illumination before the first image is captured; and

setting the at least one light to a second illumination before the second image is capture.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

adjusting a position of the at least one camera to a first angle to capture the first portion of the internal compartment in the first image; and

adjusting the position of the at least one camera to a second angle to capture the second portion of the internal compartment in the second image.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sending the first image to the external server after the first image has been captured and before the second image has been captured; and

sending the second image to the external server after the second image has been captured and before the end notice has been sent.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

storing the first and second images locally in the controller until the new group of images is complete; and

sending the first and second images to the external server when the new group of images is complete.

6 . A method capturing and storing images of contents of a refrigerator, comprising:

coupling cameras to said refrigerator;

positioning the cameras at different angles to view different portions within an internal compartment, the different portions including a first portion and a second portion;

coupling lights to said refrigerator to provide for different illuminations of the internal compartment during capture of the first and second images;

sealing the cameras and the lights to reduce exposure to liquid;

receiving a start notice from a controller of said refrigerator at an external server;

initializing a record for a new group of images in the external server;

receiving a first image of the first portion of the internal compartment of said refrigerator;

storing the first image in the record of the external server;

receiving a second image of the second portion of the internal compartment;

storing the second image in the record in the external server;

receiving an end notice from the controller;

closing the record; and

sending a notice to a user device when the first and second images are stored in the external server.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

receiving a third image of a third portion of the internal compartment after storing the second image and before receiving the end notice; and

storing the third image in the record.

8 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising: adjusting the illuminations generated by the lights via a pulse-width modulator.

9 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising: adjusting the lights via the controller between different angles.

10 . A method of imaging an internal compartment of an appliance, comprising:

coupling at least one camera and at least one light to said internal compartment of a cabinet of said appliance containing a door, wherein coupling the at least one camera includes coupling the at least one camera to at least one of a liner of the door and a bottom of a storage bin coupled to the door;

initiating a starting event;

adjusting the at least one camera to a first position;

adjusting the at least one light to a first intensity;

capturing a first image of said internal compartment of the cabinet with the at least one camera;

adjusting the at least one camera to a second position;

adjusting the at least one light to a second intensity; and

capturing a second image of said internal compartment of the cabinet with at least one camera, the second image being different than the first image.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

adjusting the at least one camera to a first angle before capturing the first image; and

adjusting the at least one camera to a second angle before capturing the second image.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the step of initiating the starting event includes at least one of moving the door to a closed position and receiving a request from a user.

13 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

sending a notice to a server that the cabinet is to be imaged;

establishing a record for the first and second images in the server; and

storing the first and second images in the record in the server.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

marking the first and second images in the record to indicate a portion of the cabinet that was captured;

recording the record as a current image record;

communicating an alert to a user device that the current image record has been stored on the server; and

permitting access the record after the first and second images have been stored on the server.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the step for coupling the at least one camera to the liner of the door includes:

spacing the at least one camera from contents in said internal compartment of the cabinet to allow for a wider view of the contents.