Apparatus for power failure identification in a programmable household appliance and method for identifying power failure

• US 6,684,111 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2002
• Issued: 01/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerã¤Te GmbH (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerã¤Te GmbH (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Inventors: Werkmann, Horst, Übler, Lothar, Klein, Hans-Wilhelm
• Primary Examiner(s): Gordon, Paul P.
• Application Number:
  US10/095,243
• Publication Number:
  US 20020138160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 687 Days
• Field of Search: 307/116, 307/125, 307/126, 307/130, 340/635, 700/21, 700/79, 700/81, 700/293, 702/58, 702/60, 714/2, 714/15, 714/21, 714/22, 714/25
• US Class Current: 700/21
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24137 Non volatile memory to store program on power loss
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24139 Recovery from power loss, failure

Abstract

An apparatus for power failure identification in a programmable household appliance includes an electronic program control apparatus having a first device disposed upstream of the mains switch on the power supply system side and a second device disposed downstream from the mains switch on the appliance side for identifying an electrical variable of the external power supply system or of the supply system in the household appliance. The program control apparatus compares the signals produced by each of the devices from the electrical variables to decide whether the failure or the change in the electrical variable of the household appliance is due to a failure of the external power supply system, or due to the household appliance being switched off deliberately.

Claims

1. In a programmable household appliance configured to be switched off by an operator deliberately even while a program is running, a power failure identification apparatus comprising:

a power supply;

a mains switch supplying power to the appliance from an external electrical power supply system, said mains switch electrically connected to said power supply;

an electronic program control apparatus electrically connected to said power supply and to said mains switch, said control apparatus having a memory for recording a program status of the appliance;

a first identification device disposed between said mains switch and the external power supply system;

a second identification device disposed between said mains switch and the appliance;

said first and second identification devices each;

identifying an electrical variable of at least one of;

the external power supply system; and

said power supply; and

producing an output signal based upon the electrical variable; and

said control apparatus programmed;

to store the program status if the external power supply system fails;

to compare said output signal of each of said first and second identification devices;

to determine whether one of a failure and a change in a respective electrical variable is due;

to a failure of the external power supply system;

or

to the operator deliberately switching off the appliance; and

to continue running the program from a point defined by the program status once the failure of the external power supply system has ended.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first identification device is isolated from a potential of the mains voltage.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said first identification device has a circuit with an input side and an output side, said circuit having:

at least one optocoupler;

a transmitting diode disposed on said input side; and

a device selected from one of the group consisting of a receiving diode and a phototransistor disposed on said output side.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, including a current limiter limiting current through said transmitting diode of said optocoupler.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said current limiter is one of the group consisting of a power supply system capacitor and a power series resistor.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, including a radio suppression filter having a filter capacitor, said power supply system capacitor being said filter capacitor.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said first identification device is one of the group consisting of a relay and a transformer.

8. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

said device produces an output signal; and

a level converter digitizes said output signal of said device.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said level converter is a Schmitt trigger.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said power supply produces a voltage; and

said second identification device identifies said voltage produced by said power supply.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control apparatus has a microcontroller electrically connected to said first identification device and to said second identification device.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said power supply is electrically connected to and resets said microcontroller.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, including at least one control element and at least one sensor, said microcontroller having inputs electrically connected to said control element and to said sensor for checking said control element and said sensor.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, including at least one actuator and at least one operating display, said microcontroller having outputs electrically connected to said actuator and said operating display for controlling said actuator and said operating display.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said microcontroller has a non-volatile memory.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said non-volatile memory is an EEPROM.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said control apparatus is programmed to cyclically store, in said memory, data relating to the program status during a run of the program.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, including an energy store for supplying electricity to said microcontroller after a power failure, said control apparatus being programmed to store the data relating to the given point in the program run in said memory after identification of a power failure.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1, including an interruption switch, and wherein:

a third identification device is associated with said interruption switch, said third identification device identifying a deliberate program interruption and producing an output signal; and

said control apparatus is programmed;

to decide, based upon said output signal of said third identification device, whether one of a failure and a change in an electrical variable of the appliance is due;

to a failure of the power supply system;

to a deliberate switching off by the operator;

or

to a deliberate program interruption;

to store, in said memory, the program status reached at a time when the program was interrupted; and

once the program interruption has ended, to continue running the program from the stored program status.

20. In a programmable household appliance configured to be switched off by an operator deliberately even while a program is running, a power failure identification apparatus comprising:

a power supply;

a mains switch supplying power to the appliance from an external electrical power supply system, said mains switch electrically connected to said power supply;

an electronic program control apparatus electrically connected to said power supply and to said mains switch, said control apparatus having a memory for recording a program status of the appliance;

a first means for identifying an electrical variable disposed between said mains switch and the external power supply system;

a second means for identifying an electrical variable disposed between said mains switch and the appliance;

said first and second identification means each;

identifying an electrical variable of at least one of;

the external power supply system; and

said power supply; and

producing an output signal based upon the electrical variable; and

said control apparatus programmed;

to store the program status if the external power supply system fails;

to compare said output signal of each of said first and second identification devices;

to determine whether one of a failure and a change in a respective electrical variable is due;

to a failure of the external power supply system;

or

to the operator deliberately switching off the appliance; and

to continue running the program from a point defined by the program status once the failure of the external power supply system has ended.

21. A method for identifying a power failure in a programmable household appliance configured to be switched off by an operator deliberately even while a program is running, which comprises:

connecting a first identification device between the mains switch and the external power supply system and connecting a second identification device between the mains switch and the appliance;

supplying power to the appliance through a mains switch from an external electrical power supply system;

storing a program status in a memory of an electronic program control apparatus if the external power supply system fails;

identifying one of an electrical variable of the power supply system and an electrical variable of the supply system in the appliance with the first and second identification devices and producing a respective output signal from the first and second identification devices;

determining, with the control apparatus, whether one of a failure and a change of the electrical variable is due to a failure of the external power supply system or to a deliberate switching off of the appliance by the operator by comparing the signals produced by each of the first and second identification devices; and

continuing the program from the stored program status once the failure of the power supply system has ended.