ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE, IN PARTICULAR AN ELECTRICAL HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE, A CORRESPONDING OPTIONAL AUXILIARY DEVICE, AND A SYSTEM COMPRISING SAID APPLIANCE AND DEVICE

• US 20100085144A1
• Filed: 01/10/2008
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool EMEA SpA (Whirlpool Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Indesit Company SPA (Whirlpool Corporation)
• Inventors: Santonicola, Paolo, Cascio, Valerio, Aisa, Valerio
• Granted Patent: US 8,319,599 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/3.100
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0423 Input/output
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/21076 Plug, connector with build in decoding, encoding for module
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25012 Two different bus systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25022 LAN local area network for controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25188 Superposition high frequency data signal on power lines, current carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25448 Control module is pluggable into wall connector
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2613 Household appliance in general
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2633 Washing, laundry
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2639 Energy management, use maximum of cheap power, keep peak load low
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2654 Fridge, refrigerator
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00004 characterised by the power network being locally controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00009 using pulsed signals
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/12 The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/00 Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 End-user application control systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 : Home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/121 : using the power network as support for the transmission

Abstract

An electrical appliance (100) comprises a digital control system (SC), configured for enabling the performance of a plurality of pre-determined basic functions, and an auxiliary device (200) comprises means (PM, 230-231) for acquiring and/or processing auxiliary information. The electrical appliance (100) and the auxiliary device (200) moreover comprise respective communication means (270), for setting up between them a bi-directional communication of data. The control system (SC) of the electrical appliance (100) is provided for enabling execution of additional functions with respect to the basic functions and for sending to the auxiliary device (200), via the communication means (270), requests for auxiliary information, necessary for the performance of said additional functions. The auxiliary device (200) is pre-arranged for communicating to the control system (SC) of the electrical appliance (100), via the communication means (270), the auxiliary piece or pieces of information requested, as processed and/or acquired by the device itself.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A system comprising

an electrical household appliance connected to a source of electrical energy and including a digital control system that is configured for enabling performance of a plurality of pre-determined basic functionalities by the electrical appliance;

and

an auxiliary device including a control means and first means for acquiring and/or processing auxiliary information;

a communication means for setting up between the electrical household appliance and the auxiliary device a bi-directional communication of data in point-to-point mode,

the control system of the electrical household appliance being pre-arranged for enabling execution of one or more functionalities that are additional with respect to said basic functionalities, and for sending to the auxiliary device, via said communication means, at least one request regarding at least one piece of auxiliary information necessary for execution of one or more of said additional functionalities; and

the control means of the auxiliary device are pre-arranged for communicating to the control system of the electrical appliance, following upon said at least one request and via said communication means, said at least one auxiliary piece of information which is processed and/or acquired via the first means, said at least one auxiliary piece of information being the value of an electrical quantity associated with said source of electrical energy and/or the operation of the electrical appliance, and

said electrical quantity being in particular selected from among;

supply voltage, mains frequency, electric power and/or electric current absorbed by the electrical household appliance, angle of phase displacement between the supply voltage applied to the electrical household appliance and the electric current absorbed thereby, and electrical energy consumed by the electrical household appliance in a time interval.

18. The system according to claim 17 wherein

the auxiliary device is electrically connected between a means for electrical supply of the electrical appliance and an electric-power socket, and

said communication means includes transmission means comprising a power-supply cable of the electrical household appliance.

19. The system according to claim 17 wherein the auxiliary device comprises additional communication means for reception and/or data transmission, particularly in peer-to-peer mode, with an external communication network.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the auxiliary device is pre-arranged for acquiring at least one further piece of auxiliary information from said external network, where said at least one further piece of auxiliary information acquired from said external network is selected from among:

current time, current date, contractual value of the electrical power, cost of the electrical energy, information coming from a service provider, warnings of conditions of excessive absorption of electrical power, warnings of variations of the mains frequency, alarm warnings, and information available on the Internet and/or coming from devices and/or apparatuses and/or systems connected directly or indirectly to said local network.

21. The system according to claim 17 wherein said additional functionality or functionalities include one or more of the following:

activity of self-diagnosis by the electrical household appliance, in particular with verification of operation of individual electrical parts of the electrical appliance itself;

increase in the energy efficiency of the electrical appliance;

increase in the effectiveness of the result of operations performed by the household electrical appliance;

increase in the number of functions, operating cycles or programs that the electrical household appliance can carry out;

increase in the number and/or type of information made available through interface means of the electrical household appliance;

increase in the safety in the operation of the electrical household appliance; and

execution, by the electrical household appliance, of dynamic demand control functions.

22. The system according to claim 20, wherein said additional functionality or functionalities include one or more of the following:

execution of commands and/or satisfaction of requests coming from said local network by the control system of the electrical household appliance;

interaction of the electrical household appliance with a user-interface device connected to said local network; and

interaction of the electrical household appliance with a supervision system connected to said local network.

23. The system according to claim 17 wherein the electrical household appliance further includes means for interacting with a display, on which said at least one piece of auxiliary information can be displayed.

24. The system according to claim 18, wherein the auxiliary device is configured to supply on said power-supply cable an a.c. voltage drawn from said electric-power socket, and the communication means of the auxiliary device comprise:

means for associating to a time value, t_i, a piece of information to be transmitted, where said time value t_i is comprised in a set of pre-determined time values t₁, . . . , t_N and where said pre-determined time values t₁, . . . , t_N are measured starting from the occurrence of a pre-determined condition regarding the a.c. voltage, in particular zero-crossing by the a.c. voltage; and

means for generating at least one variation, Δ

V, of the a.c. voltage that can be supplied via the auxiliary device to the electrical appliance, substantially at said time value t_i.

25. The system according to claim 24, wherein said means for associating and said means for generating are pre-arranged for causing a reduction in the a.c. voltage that can be supplied by the auxiliary device and for interrupting said reduction in voltage substantially at said time value t_i, said reduction in voltage being in particular maintained for a pre-determined period of time Δ

t and having a pre-determined amplitude.

26. An electrical household appliance, prearranged for use with an auxiliary device that communicates auxiliary information over a power supply cable of the electrical household appliance, the electrical household appliance comprising

communication means for communicating with said auxiliary device;

and a control system pre-arranged for one or more of;

verifying autonomously the presence or otherwise of the auxiliary device

verifying the presence or otherwise of the auxiliary device before carrying out any cycle or program of operation of the electrical appliance;

verifying the presence or otherwise of the auxiliary device by means of sending of a request for declaration of presence and recognizing as effective the presence of the auxiliary device if and only if said device sends properly to the control system a correct declaration of presence within a given time interval subsequent to the instant of sending of said request for declaration of presence;

using at least one piece of auxiliary information provided by the auxiliary device if and only if the auxiliary device supplies correctly to the control system said at least one piece of auxiliary information within a given maximum time from the corresponding request by said control system;

sending to the auxiliary device, if this is present, at least one piece of information regarding operation of the electrical household appliance, in order to make available the information itself on an external communication network.

27. The electrical household appliance according to claim 26, wherein said control system is pre-arranged for using said at least one piece of information for the purpose of one or more of:

modifying at least one phase of a cycle of current operation of the electrical household appliance so as to improve the energy efficiency of said operating cycle and/or improve the global energy efficiency of the environment in which said electrical household appliance is installed and/or improve the effectiveness of the result of said operating cycle in relation to the working conditions of said electrical household appliance and/or guarantee the performance of said operating cycle in a condition of safety in regard to the user;

verifying, during execution of an operating cycle of the electrical household appliance, proper operation of at least one actuator device of the electrical household appliance used for execution of the same operating cycle;

making available to the user, through interaction means of the electrical household appliance, at least one additional piece of information and/or one additional functionality and/or one additional operating cycle beyond the ones that the electrical appliance itself is able to provide in the absence of the auxiliary device.

28. The electrical household appliance according to claim 27 wherein said additional functionality or functionalities include one or more of the following:

activity of self-diagnosis by the electrical household appliance, in particular with verification of operation of individual electrical parts of the electrical appliance itself;

increase in the energy efficiency of the electrical appliance;

increase in the effectiveness of the result of operations performed by the household electrical appliance;

increase in the number of functions, operating cycles or programs that the electrical household appliance can carry out;

increase in the number and/or type of information made available through interface means of the electrical household appliance;

increase in the safety in the operation of the electrical household appliance; and

execution, by the electrical household appliance, of dynamic demand control functions.

29. The electrical household appliance according to claim 27, wherein said additional functionality or functionalities include one or more of the following:

execution of commands and/or satisfaction of requests coming from said local network by the control system of the electrical household appliance;

interaction of the electrical household appliance with a user-interface device connected to said local network; and

interaction of the electrical household appliance with a supervision system connected to said local network.

30. The electrical household appliance according to claim 26 further including means for interacting with a display, on which said at least one piece of auxiliary information can be displayed.

31. An auxiliary device pre-arranged for communication with an electrical household appliance over a power supply cable of the electrical household appliance, the auxiliary device comprising

means for acquiring and/or processing auxiliary information, including means for measuring one or more electrical quantities that constitute at least one piece of auxiliary information, and

communication means for communicating said at least one piece of auxiliary information to said electrical household appliance.

32. The device according to claim 31 wherein the auxiliary device is pre-arranged for sending a declaration of presence spontaneously and/or upon request, via the communication means.

33. The device according to claim 32 wherein the auxiliary device is pre-arranged for sending spontaneously and/or upon request, via the communication means, a list of pieces of auxiliary information available.

34. The device according to claim 31 further comprising additional communication means for reception and/or data transmission, particularly in peer-to-peer mode, with an external communication network.

35. The device according to claim 34, wherein the auxiliary device is pre-arranged for acquiring at least one further piece of auxiliary information from said external network, where said at least one further piece of auxiliary information acquired from said external network is selected from among:

current time, current date, contractual value of the electrical power, cost of the electrical energy, information coming from a service provider, warnings of conditions of excessive absorption of electrical power, warnings of variations of the mains frequency, alarm warnings, and information available on the Internet and/or coming from devices and/or apparatuses and/or systems connected directly or indirectly to said local network.

36. The device according to claim 31, wherein the auxiliary device is configured to supply on said power-supply cable an a.c. voltage drawn from said electric-power socket, and the communication means of the auxiliary device comprise:

means for associating to a time value, t_i, a piece of information to be transmitted, where said time value t_i is comprised in a set of pre-determined time values and where said pre-determined time values t₁, . . . , t_N are measured starting from the occurrence of a pre-determined condition regarding the a.c. voltage, in particular zero-crossing by the a.c. voltage; and

means for generating at least one variation, Δ

V, of the a.c. voltage that can be supplied via the auxiliary device to the electrical appliance, substantially at said time value t_i.

37. The device according to claim 36, wherein said means for associating and said means for generating are pre-arranged for causing a reduction in the a.c. voltage that can be supplied by the auxiliary device and for interrupting said reduction in voltage substantially at said time value t_i, said reduction in voltage being in particular maintained for a pre-determined period of time Δ

t and having a pre-determined amplitude.