DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HOME APPLIANCE

• US 20110022358A1
• Filed: 07/23/2010
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Han, Jonghye, Lee, Phaljin, Cho, Inhaeng, Jeong, Hoijin
• Granted Patent: US 8,983,798 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/183
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24067 Processor stores variables, events and date in eeprom, for external monitor
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24084 Remote and local monitoring, local result to remote, remote takes action
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house

Abstract

A home appliance diagnostic system and method are disclosed. A home appliance outputs product information in the form of a sound signal, which is transmitted to a service center at a remote site over a communication network so that the service center can readily check the state of the home appliance. The home appliance performs a sound signal re-output operation in such a manner that it re-outputs the same product information in the form of a different sound signal. Therefore, it is possible to improve a sound recognition rate, so as to improve fault diagnosis accuracy.

Claims

1. A home appliance comprising:

a selector for inputting a command for execution of a fault diagnosis of the home appliance;

a memory for storing product information of the home appliance for the fault diagnosis;

a controller for, when the fault diagnosis execution command is input by the selector, changing an operating mode of the home appliance to a smart diagnosis mode and encoding the product information stored in the memory to generate a digital signal including a plurality of frames;

a modulator for generating a signal of a frequency corresponding to the digital signal for a specified symbol time; and

a sound output device driven by the modulator for outputting a sound signal corresponding to the frequency signal,

wherein the controller changes at least one of the symbol time and frequency when the selector is re-input after the sound signal is output.

2. The home appliance according to claim 1, wherein, when the symbol time is changed, the modulator generates the signal of the frequency corresponding to the digital signal for the changed symbol time and applies the generated frequency signal to the sound output device.

3. The home appliance according to claim 2, wherein, when the selector is re-input after the sound signal is output a first time, the sound output device outputs a sound signal having a length different from that of the first output sound signal a second time.

4. The home appliance according to claim 1, wherein, when the frequency is changed, the modulator generates a signal of the changed frequency corresponding to the digital signal for the symbol time and applies the generated frequency signal to the sound output device.

5. The home appliance according to claim 4, wherein, when the selector is re-input after the sound signal is output a first time, the sound output device outputs a sound signal different from the first output sound signal a second time.

6. The home appliance according to claim 3, wherein the sound output device outputs a sound signal different from the first output sound signal a second time using the digital signal used for the first output sound signal.

7. A home appliance diagnostic system comprising:

a home appliance for outputting product information necessary for a fault diagnosis thereof as a sound signal;

a diagnostic server for receiving the sound signal and, based on the received sound signal, diagnosing a state of the home appliance, whether a fault has occurred in the home appliance and a cause of the fault and deriving a countermeasure against the fault; and

a portable terminal for receiving the sound signal output from the home appliance and transmitting the same to the diagnostic server over a communication network,

wherein the diagnostic server checks an error of the received sound signal and requests the home appliance of sound signal re-output through the portable terminal when the received sound signal is abnormal.

8. The home appliance diagnostic system according to claim 7, wherein the diagnostic server checks an error resulting from a signal loss or distortion in a process of receiving the sound signal, measures a signal quality of the sound signal, and requests the home appliance of the sound signal re-output upon determining, based on results of the checking and measurement, that the sound signal is inappropriate to the fault diagnosis of the home appliance.

9. The home appliance diagnostic system according to claim 8, wherein, when a sound signal re-output command is input, the home appliance changes at least one of a frequency of the sound signal and a length of a symbol, which is a basic unit of the sound signal, to output a sound signal different from the sound signal.

10. A method for operating a home appliance, comprising:

converting pre-stored product information into a digital signal upon inputting a command for execution of a fault diagnosis of the home appliance;

outputting a signal of a frequency corresponding to the digital signal as a first sound signal for a predetermined symbol time;

re-inputting the fault diagnosis execution command; and

changing at least one of the frequency and symbol time to output a second sound signal corresponding to the digital signal, the second sound signal being different from the first sound signal.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the outputting the second sound signal comprises outputting the second sound signal having a frequency different from that of the first sound signal.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the outputting the second sound signal comprises outputting the second sound signal having a length different from that of the first sound signal.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the outputting the second sound signal comprises outputting the second sound signal having a frequency and length different from those of the first sound signal.