Energy usage monitor for a household appliance

• US 8,461,861 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2008
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BSH Home Appliances Corporation (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: BSH Home Appliances Corporation (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Inventors: Botts, Ronald
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tung X
• Application Number:
  US12/268,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20100117625A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,673 Days
• Field of Search: 324/103.R, 324140-142, 324/770, 324/764.01, 340/825.06, 340/870.02, 700/295, 700/297, 700/62, 622/386, 624/30, 624/33, 624/40
• US Class Current: 324/764.01
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/082 on ranges, e.g. control panels, illumination
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques

Abstract

An energy usage monitor for a household appliance, and a method of monitoring energy usage of a household appliance, are provided. The system and method include a system and an energy usage monitor that monitors energy usage information of the system of the household appliance. The system and method may include outputting energy usage information of the system of the household appliance based on the energy usage determined by the energy usage monitor.

Claims

1. A household appliance comprising:

a body enclosing an interior compartment;

a door being movable between open and closed states with respect to the body for providing access to the interior compartment;

a subsystem of a plurality of subsystems for operating the household appliance;

an internal energy usage monitor that monitors an amount of energy usage of the subsystem over a time period and tracks and records energy usage information for the subsystem based on the amount of energy usage of the subsystem over the time period;

a controller in communication with the subsystem and the internal energy usage monitor, the controller controlling an operation of the subsystem of the household appliance based on the energy usage information obtained by the internal energy usage monitor.

2. The household appliance according to claim 1, further comprising:

a power source that supplies power to the system of the household appliance;

wherein the internal energy usage monitor determines the amount of energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance by monitoring an amount of the power supplied to the subsystem from the power source.

3. The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein the internal energy usage monitor receives operation information for the subsystem from the controller and determines the amount of energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance based on the operation information.

4. The household appliance according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display in communication with the energy usage monitor,

wherein the display displays energy usage information for the subsystem of the appliance based on the amount of energy usage of the subsystem monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

5. The household appliance according to claim 4, wherein the energy usage information includes a representation of the energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance.

6. The household appliance according to claim 5, wherein the representation of the energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance includes an amount of the energy usage.

7. The household appliance according to claim 5, wherein the representation of the energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance includes a graphical representation of the energy usage.

8. The household appliance according to claim 4, wherein the energy usage information includes a suggestion for reducing the energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance based on the amount of energy usage determined by the internal energy usage monitor.

9. The household appliance according to claim 4, wherein the subsystem of the household appliance includes a first subsystem and a second subsystem,

wherein the internal energy usage monitor monitors energy usage of the first subsystem and the second subsystem system, and

wherein the display displays a first energy usage information for the first subsystem and a second energy usage information for the second subsystem of the appliance based on the energy usage monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

10. The household appliance according to claim 4, wherein the subsystem of the household appliance includes a first subsystem and a second subsystem, wherein the internal energy usage monitor monitors energy usage of the first subsystem and the second subsystem system, and

wherein the display displays one of a first suggestion for reducing the energy usage of the first subsystem of the household appliance and a second suggestion for reducing energy usage of the second subsystem of the household appliance based on the energy usage monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

11. The household appliance according to claim 1, further comprising:

a sensor for detecting a predetermined condition,

wherein the sensor is in communication with the internal energy usage monitor, and

wherein the internal energy usage monitor receives an input from the sensor and determines the amount of energy usage of the subsystem based on the input from the sensor.

12. The household appliance according to claim 11, wherein the internal energy usage monitor outputs a suggestion for reducing the amount of energy usage based on the input from the sensor.

13. The household appliance according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory in communication with the internal energy usage monitor,

wherein the memory stores energy usage information for the subsystem of the appliance based on the amount of energy usage of the subsystem monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

14. The household appliance according to claim 1, further comprising:

a data transmission device that transmits energy usage information for the subsystem of the appliance from the household appliance to an external device, wherein the energy usage information for the subsystem of the appliance is based on the amount of energy usage of the subsystem monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

15. The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein the subsystem includes a plurality of subsystems, and

wherein the internal energy usage monitor determines an amount of energy usage of one of the plurality of subsystems of the household appliance.

16. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the operation of the subsystem of the household appliance based on the amount of energy usage of the subsystem monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

17. The household appliance of claim 1, further comprising:

a power source that supplies power to the household appliance; and

an internal power source in communication with the external power source, the internal power source supplying power to the subsystem of the household appliance,

wherein the internal energy usage monitor determines the amount of energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance by monitoring an amount of the power supplied to the subsystem from the internal power source.

18. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the subsystem of the household appliance includes a first subsystem,

wherein the internal energy usage monitor monitors a first amount of energy usage of the first subsystem, and

wherein the controller controls operation of the first subsystem of the appliance based on the first amount of energy usage monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

19. The household appliance of claim 18, wherein the subsystem of the household appliance further includes a second subsystem,

wherein the internal energy usage monitor monitors a second amount of energy usage of the second subsystem, and

wherein the controller controls operation of the first subsystem and the second subsystem of the appliance based on the first amount of energy usage and the second amount of energy usage monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

20. A household appliance comprising:

a subsystem of a plurality of subsystems for operating the household appliance;

an internal energy usage monitor that monitors an amount of energy usage of the subsystem over a time period and tracks and records energy usage information for the subsystem based on the amount of energy usage of the subsystem over the time period; and

a controller in communication with the subsystem and the internal energy usage monitor, the controller controlling an operation of the subsystem of the household appliance based on the energy usage information obtained by the internal energy usage monitor.

21. The household appliance according to claim 20, further comprising:

a power source that supplies power to the subsystem of the household appliance,

wherein the internal energy usage monitor determines the amount of energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance by monitoring an amount of power supplied to the subsystem by the power source.

22. The household appliance according to claim 20, wherein the internal energy usage monitor receives operation information for the subsystem from the controller and determines the amount of energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance based on the operation information.

23. The household appliance of claim 20, wherein the controller controls the operation of the subsystem of the household appliance based on the amount of energy usage of the subsystem monitored by the internal energy usage monitor.

24. A method of monitoring an energy usage of a household appliance, the method comprising:

determining an amount of the energy usage of a subsystem of a plurality of subsystems of the household appliance over a time period using an internal energy usage monitor;

tracking and recording energy usage information for the subsystem based on the amount of energy usage of the subsystem over the time period;

outputting the energy usage information of the subsystem of the household appliance based on the amount of the energy usage determined by the internal energy usage monitor; and

controlling, based on the energy usage information obtained by the internal energy usage monitor, an operation of the subsystem of the household appliance using a controller.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the amount of the energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance is determined by monitoring an amount of power supplied to the subsystem by a power source.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the amount of the energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance is determined based on operation information received from the controller that controls the operation of the subsystem of the household appliance.

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein the amount of the energy usage of the subsystem of the household appliance is determined based on a condition sensed by a sensor.

28. The method according to claim 24, wherein the amount of the energy usage information of the subsystem of the household appliance is output using one of a display, an interface device, a wired data transfer device, a wireless data transfer device, a memory, and an audio device.

29. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

controlling the operation of the subsystem of the household appliance using the controller based on the amount of the energy usage of the subsystem determined by the internal energy usage monitor.