HOME APPLIANCE SYSTEM

• US 20100066554A1
• Filed: 09/01/2009
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: KIM, Young Soo, CHO, In Haeng, JEONG, Hoi Jin, JEON, Si Moon, HAN, Jong Hye, LEE, Phal Jin
• Application Number:
  US12/551,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20100066554A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/679
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/00 User input for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/58 Indications or alarms to the control system or to the user
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/60 Audible signals
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/05 for wireless communication between components, e.g. for remote monitoring or control
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/28 Arrangements for program selection, e.g. control panels therefor; Arrangements for indicating program parameters, e.g. the selected program or its progress
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F

Abstract

A home appliance system includes a home appliance outputting product information as a sound and a mobile terminal confirming the product information based on the sound. The mobile terminal can receive the sound, convert the sound into the product information and output the product information to an external user and a repairman.

Claims

1. A home appliance system comprising:

a home appliance receiving an external on/off command signal, converting product information into at least one audio signal and outputting a signal sound corresponding to the at least one audio signal; and

a mobile terminal receiving the signal sound, inversely converting the signal sound into the product information based on the signal sound and outputting the product information such that an external user recognizes the product information.

2. The home appliance system of claim 1, wherein the home appliance comprises:

an operating unit receiving the external on/off command signal;

a conversion unit converting the product information of the home appliance into the at least one audio signal and outputting the at least one audio signal;

an output unit which is turned on/off according to the external on/off command signal when the external on/off command signal is input from the operating unit and outputs a signal sound corresponding to the at least one audio signal output from the conversion unit; and

a controller controlling the at least one audio signal converted by the conversion unit and output to allow a user to recognize output of the signal sound.

3. The home appliance system of claim 2, wherein the at least one audio signal includes a plurality of audio signals which include a first audio signal output from the conversion unit to allow the user to recognize output of the product information and a second audio signal converted from the product information and output after the first audio signal is output.

4. The home appliance system of claim 3, wherein the controller controls the conversion unit to convert and output a third audio signal such that the user recognizes output of the produce information to the output unit after the second audio signal is output.

5. The home appliance system of claim 4, wherein a signal sound corresponding to the first audio signal and a signal sound corresponding to the third audio signal include at least one of a voice, melody and buzzer sound which are recognizable by the user.

6. The home appliance system of claim 4, wherein the controller controls the conversion unit to output a discrimination signal for discriminating among the first, second and third audio signals for a dummy time between the neighboring audio signals.

7. The home appliance system of claim 6, wherein the controller controls the output unit to output no sound as a signal sound corresponding to the discrimination signal when the discrimination signal is input to the output unit.

8. The home appliance system of claim 3, wherein the controller controls the conversion unit to repeatedly output the second audio signal after the conversion unit outputs the first audio signal.

9. The home appliance system of claim 8, wherein the controller controls the conversion unit to output a data discrimination signal for a data dummy time between the repeatedly output second audio signals.

10. The home appliance system of claim 9, wherein the controller controls the output units to output no sound as a signal sound corresponding to the data discrimination signal when the data discrimination signal is input.

11. The home appliance system of claim 1, wherein the product information includes at least one of operation information and trouble information of the home appliance.

12. The home appliance system of claim 2, further comprising an input unit receiving an external operation command signal, the controller controls the outputting order of the at least one audio signal when the user inputs the external operation command signal through the input unit.

13. The home appliance system of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal compares the signal sound to previously input data to confirm the product information, determines whether the home appliance has a trouble based on the product information and outputs the product information to a repairman

14. The home appliance system of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal comprises:

a transceiver transmitting/receiving an audio signal corresponding to the signal sound;

a signal converter inversely converting the audio signal received from the transceiver into the product information; and

a mobile terminal controller reading the product information.

15. The home appliance system of claim 14, wherein the mobile terminal further comprises a mobile terminal output unit outputting the read product information such that the user recognizes the product information.

16. The home appliance system of claim 15, wherein the output unit comprises a display displaying the read product information as an image.

17. The home appliance system of claim 15, wherein the output unit comprises a voice output unit outputting a voice to allow the user recognize the product information.