System and method for communicating with an appliance through a light emitting diode

• US 20030170033A1
• Filed: 01/21/2003
• Published: 09/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nidec Motor Corporation (Nidec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Emerson Electric Company
• Inventors: Peterson, Gregory A., Astrauskas, Jurgis
• Granted Patent: US 7,030,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/172
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4293 Arrangements for programme selection, e.g. control panels; Indication of the selected programme, programme progress or other parameters of the programme, e.g. by using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/32 characterised by graphical features, e.g. touchscreens
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2633 Washing, laundry
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1141 One-way transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication

Abstract

An apparatus includes a controller for controlling operation of an appliance, an indicator light coupled to the controller to provide a visible indication of an operator selection in response to the controller energizing the indicator light, and a driver coupled to the controller and the indicator light so that the controller may communicate data through the indicator light by controlling the driver. The indicator light may be a light emitting diode or a segment of an alphanumeric display of an appliance control panel. A detector LED may also be coupled to the controller so the controller may receive data from an external device that communicates by flashing light on the detector LED. A terminal for communicating with the appliance may include a detector LED and a conductor that couples the detector LED to a diagnostic tool. The detector LED may receive data from an optical transmitter of the appliance control panel. The terminal may also include a LED that is coupled to the diagnostic tool by a conductor so the LED may be selectively energized by the diagnostic tool to communicate with an optical receiver of the appliance control panel. The detector LED and LED coupled to the diagnostic tool may be located within a housing having apertures for the transmission of visible light to and from the detector LED and LED. The housing may be mounted to the appliance control panel and aligned for communication by means of a magnet or engagement with supports on the appliance control panel.

Claims

1. A system for communicating data between an appliance and a device external to the appliance comprising:

a controller for controlling operation of an appliance;

an indicator light coupled to the controller, the indicator light providing a visible indication of an operator selection in response to the controller energizing the indicator light; and

a driver coupled to the controller and the indicator light so that the controller may communicate data through the indicator light by controlling the driver.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the indicator light is a light emitting diode (LED).

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the indicator light is a segment of an alphanumeric display.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the driver is a transistor.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the driver is a NPN transistor.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a detector LED coupled to the controller so that the controller may receive data from an external device through the detector LED.

7. The system of claim 6 further comprising:

an amplifier coupled to the detector LED and the controller for amplifying data received through the detector LED.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the amplifier is a transistor.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the transistor is an NPN transistor.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the controller controls the driver to communicate an acknowledgement through the indicator light in response to the detector LED receiving data from an external device.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the controller controls the driver in response to the detector LED receiving a handshake signal.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the controller controls the driver to communicate diagnostic data through the indicator light after the acknowledgement is communicated through the indicator light.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the controller communicates the diagnostic data through the indicator light in response to a data request signal received through the detector LED.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the driver is coupled to a plurality of indicator lights so that the controller may control the driver to communicate through the plurality of indicator lights.

16. The system of claim 14 further comprising an amplifier coupled to the detector LED and the controller for amplifying the received data provided to the controller.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the amplifier is a transistor.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the amplifier is a NPN transistor.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein an anode of the detector LED and a base of transistor are coupled to a negative voltage through a resistor and a cathode of the detector LED and an emitter of the transistor are coupled to the negative voltage so that the controller is coupled to the amplifier through the collector of the transistor.

15. A system for communicating data between an appliance and a device external to the appliance comprising:

a controller for controlling operation of an appliance;

a detector LED coupled to the controller, the detector LED for receiving data communicated by a visible light generating device and for providing the received data to the controller.

20. The system of claim 15 further comprising:

an indicator light coupled to the controller so that the controller may communicate data to an external device through the indicator light.

21. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

a driver coupled to the indicator light and the controller so the controller communicates data through the indicator light by controlling the driver.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the driver is a transistor.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the transistor is an NPN transistor.

24. The system of claim 21 wherein the controller controls the driver to communicate an acknowledgement through the indicator light in response to the detector LED receiving data from an external device.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the controller controls the driver in response to the detector LED receiving a handshake signal.

26. The system of claim 24 wherein the controller controls the driver to communicate diagnostic data through the indicator light after the acknowledgement is communicated through the indicator light.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the controller communicates the diagnostic data through the indicator light in response to a data request signal received through the detector LED.

28. The system of claim 21 wherein the driver is coupled to a plurality of indicator lights so that the controller may control the driver to communicate through the plurality of indicator lights.

29. The system of claim 21 wherein the controller is also coupled to the indicator light so that the controller may control the indicator light to indicate an operator selection.

30. A terminal for communicating with an appliance comprising:

a light emitting diode (LED); and

a conductor for coupling the LED to a diagnostic tool so that the diagnostic tool may selectively energize the LED for communication with an appliance.

31. The system of claim 30 further comprising:

a housing in which the LED is located, the housing including an aperture through which light from the LED is transmitted to the appliance.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the aperture includes a transparent element.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the aperture includes an optically transmitting element.

34. The system of claim 31 wherein the housing is configured to engage alignment supports of the appliance so that the LED is aligned with an optical receiver of the appliance for communication with the appliance.

35. The system of claim 31 further comprising:

a mount for mounting the housing in alignment with an optical receiver of the appliance for communication with the appliance.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein the mount is a magnet.

37. The system of claim 30 further comprising:

a detector LED; and

a conductor for coupling the detector LED to the diagnostic tool so that the detector LED may provide data received by the detector LED from the appliance.

38. The system of claim 37 further comprising a housing in which the LED and detector LED are located, the housing including an aperture through which the detector LED may receive light and the LED may transmit light.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein the aperture is comprised of two apertures, one of which is aligned with the detector LED so that the detector LED may receive light communicated from the appliance and the other of which is aligned with the LED so that the LED may transmit light for communication with the appliance.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein the apertures include a transparent element.

41. The system of claim 39 wherein the apertures include optically transmitting elements.

42. The system of claim 38 further comprising:

a mount for mounting the housing in alignment with an optical receiver of the appliance so that the diagnostic tool and appliance may communicate through the LED and detector LED.

43. The system of claim 42 wherein the mount is a magnet.

44. The system of claim 38 wherein the housing is configured to engage an alignment support on the appliance so that the diagnostic tool and appliance may communicate through the LED and detector LED.

45. A terminal for communicating with an appliance comprising:

a detector light emitting diode (LED); and

a conductor for coupling the detector LED to a diagnostic tool so that the detector LED may provide data received by the detector LED from the appliance to the diagnostic tool.

46. The system of claim 45 further comprising:

a housing in which the detector LED is located, the housing including an aperture through which light from an optical transmitter of the appliance is transmitted to the detector LED.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the aperture includes a transparent element.

48. The system of claim 47 wherein the aperture includes an optically transmitting element.

49. The system of claim 46 wherein the housing is configured to engage alignment supports of the appliance so that the detector LED is aligned with the optical transmitter of the appliance for communication with the appliance.

50. The system of claim 46 further comprising:

a mount for mounting the housing in alignment with an optical transmitter of the appliance for communication with the appliance.

51. The system of claim 50 wherein the mount is a magnet.

52. The system of claim 45 further comprising:

a LED; and

a conductor for coupling the LED to the diagnostic tool so that the diagnostic tool may selectively energize the LED to communicate with the appliance.

53. The system of claim 52 further comprising a housing in which the LED and detector LED are located, the housing including an aperture through which the detector LED may receive light and the LED may transmit light.

54. A method for communicating data between an appliance and a device external to the appliance comprising:

controlling operation of an appliance;

providing a visible indication of an operator selection for controlling operation of the appliance; and

communicating data through an indicator light used to provide the visible indication of an operation selection.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein the data is communicated through a light emitting diode (LED) of a control panel on the appliance.

56. The method of claim 54 wherein the data is communicated through a segment of a alphanumeric display.

57. The method of claim 54 further comprising:

receiving data from an external device through a detector LED.

58. The method of claim 57 wherein the data communication includes communication of an acknowledgement through the indicator light in response to the detector LED receiving data from an external device.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein the data communication includes communication of diagnostic data through the indicator light after the acknowledgement is communicated through the indicator light.

60. The method of claim 59 wherein the controller communicates the diagnostic data through the indicator light in response to a data request signal received through the detector LED.

61. A method for communicating data between an appliance and a device external to the appliance comprising:

controlling operation of an appliance; and

receiving data communicated by a visible light generating device.

62. The method of claim 61 further comprising:

amplifying the received data.

63. The method of claim 61 further comprising:

communicating data to an external device through an indicator light used to indicate operator selections during controlled operation of the appliance.

64. The method of claim 63 wherein the data communication to an external device occurs in response to receipt of a handshake signal from the visible light generating device.

65. The method of claim 64 wherein the data communication includes the communication of diagnostic data after an acknowledgement is communicated to the external device.

66. The method of claim 65 wherein the diagnostic data communication occurs in response to a data request signal received from the visible light generating device.

67. A method for communicating data with an appliance from an external device comprising:

coupling a light emitting diode (LED) to a diagnostic tool; and

selectively energizing the LED so that the diagnostic tool may communicate data with an appliance.

68. The method of claim 67 wherein light generated from the selective energizing of the LED is transmitted through an aperture to the appliance.

69. The method of claim 67 further comprising:

aligning the LED with supports of the appliance so that light transmitted by the LED is received by an optical receiver of the appliance for communication with the appliance.

70. The method of claim 69, the alignment further comprising:

magnetically mounting the LED to the appliance so that light transmitted by the LED is received by the optical receiver of the appliance for communication with the appliance.

71. The method of claim 67 further comprising:

coupling a detector LED to the diagnostic tool so that the diagnostic tool may receive data from the appliance through the detector LED.

72. The method of claim 71 wherein the LED transmits data through an aperture and the detector LED receives data through the aperture.

73. The method of claim 71 wherein the LED transmits data through an aperture and the detector LED receives light through another aperture for communication with the appliance.

74. The method of claim 71 further comprising:

mounting the LED and the detector LED in alignment with an optical receiver and an indicator light of the appliance, respectively, so that the diagnostic tool and appliance may communicate through the LED and detector LED.

75. A method for communicating with an appliance comprising:

coupling a detector light emitting diode (LED) to a diagnostic tool; and

receiving data transmitted from an indicator light of an appliance through the detector LED.

76. The method of claim 75 further comprising:

aligning an aperture between an optical transmitter of the appliance and the detector LED so that data may be communicated between the detector LED and the optical transmitter of the appliance.

77. The system of claim 76, the alignment further including:

engaging alignment supports of the appliance so that the detector LED is aligned with the optical transmitter of the appliance for communication with the appliance.

78. The method of claim 76 further comprising:

magnetically mounting the detector LED in alignment with the optical transmitter of the appliance for communication with the appliance.

79. The system of claim 75 further comprising:

coupling a LED to the diagnostic tool so that the diagnostic tool may selectively energize the LED to communicate with the appliance.