Home appliance and home appliance system

• US 8,565,393 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2009
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Phal Jin, Jeong, Hoi Jin, Han, Jong Hye, Kim, Young Soo, Cho, In Haeng, Jeon, Si Moon
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang, Leshui
• Application Number:
  US12/431,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20090323914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,637 Days
• Field of Search: 379/106.01, 379/106.07, 379/106.11, 379/102.01, 379/102.07, 379/102.04, 379/93.37, 379/37, 379/90.01, 379/9.04, 379/92.01, 379/92.03, 379/92.04, 340/53, 340/679, 340/310.06, 340/310.08
• US Class Current: 379/106.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/066 Telephone sets adapted for data transmision

Abstract

A home appliance and a home appliance system are disclosed. Product information and status information of the home appliance are converted into at least one transmission acoustic signal, and a sound corresponding to the at least one transmission acoustic signal is output to the outside. The product information and status information are formed as a digital signal and stored in a storage device. The digital signal is encoded through a conversion device, and converted into at least one transmission acoustic signal. The at least one transmission acoustic signal is formed as an analog signal. Meanwhile, the at least one transmission acoustic signal can be dividedly formed.

Claims

1. A home appliance for a home appliance system that transmits product information to a management device via a communication network for fault diagnosis of the home appliance, and diagnoses a fault of the home appliance using the product information, the home appliance comprising:

a selection device that receives input of an external command signal for executing a fault diagnosis from a user;

a conversion device that converts product information into a plurality of acoustic signals and outputs the plurality of acoustic signals;

a sound output device that outputs to outside of the home appliance a sound corresponding to the plurality of acoustic signal output by the conversion device;

a storage device that stores the product information of the home appliance; and

a controller that obtains the product information from the storage device, provides the product information to the conversion device, and controls the conversion device to output a start acoustic signal to inform the user that at least one acoustic signal corresponding to the product information is about to be output, and a main acoustic signal corresponding to the product information, upon receipt of the external command through the selection device, wherein the conversion device dividedly converts the product information into a first main acoustic signal, a second main acoustic signal, and outputs a separation signal during a dummy time between the first main acoustic signal and the second main acoustic signal, wherein each of the first and second main acoustic signals comprises;

a first acoustic signal containing header information for the product information of the home appliance, including information identifying the home appliance, the first acoustic signal being recognized by an external device;

a second acoustic signal output upon completion of the first acoustic signal and corresponding to the product information of the home appliance; and

a third acoustic signal output upon completion of the second acoustic signal and indicating completion of the outputting of the product information.

2. The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the conversion device repeatedly outputs the second acoustic signal.

3. The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the controller further controls the conversion device to output an end acoustic signal that informs the user of the completion of the output of the main acoustic signal.

4. The home appliance of claim 2, wherein the separation signal is further provided between the second acoustic signals.

5. A home appliance system comprising the home appliance of claim 1, and further comprising a management device that receives the sound and inversely converts the sound into the product information.

6. The home appliance system of claim 5, wherein the management device comprises:

a transmission/reception device that transmits and receives a sound corresponding to the at least one acoustic signal;

a signal conversion device that inversely converts the sound into the product information and outputs the same based on the at least one acoustic signal corresponding to the sound transmitted from the transmission/reception device; and

a management device controller that reads the inversely converted product information.

7. The home appliance system of claim 6, further comprising:

a management device storage device that stores the product information of the home appliance read by the management device controller.

8. The home appliance system of claim 6, wherein the product information of the home appliance read by the management device controller is transmitted to a repairman.

9. The home appliance system of claim 5, further comprising:

an acoustic input device configured to receive a sound corresponding to an acoustic signal output by the management device; and

an inverse conversion device that inversely converts the sound input into the acoustic input device into a re-transmit command, wherein if the sound is input into the acoustic input device from the management device, the inverse conversion device inversely converts the re-transmit command and dividedly transmits the at least one acoustic signal output from the conversion device based on the re-transmit command.

10. The home appliance system of claim 5, wherein the product information includes status information for the home appliance.