HOME APPLIANCE AND HOME APPLIANCE SYSTEM

• US 20100026507A1
• Filed: 04/29/2009
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Yong Tae, Jeon, Si Moon, Kang, Hae Yong, PARK, Hyung Jun, Kim, Young Soo, Lee, Koon Seok
• Granted Patent: US 8,532,273 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/679
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/0049 Detection or prevention of malfunction, including accident prevention arrangements to prevent clogging of filters A47L15/4208; safety arrangements for preventing water damage A47L15/421
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/0063 using remote monitoring or controlling of the dishwasher operation, e.g. networking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2501/26 Indication or alarm to the controlling device or to the user
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/20 Operation modes, e.g. delicate laundry washing programs, service modes or refreshment cycles
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/60 Audible signals
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 33/47 Responding to irregular working conditions, e.g. malfunctioning of pumps safety arrangements D06F37/42
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/05 for wireless communication between components, e.g. for remote monitoring or control
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/28 Arrangements for program selection, e.g. control panels therefor; Arrangements for indicating program parameters, e.g. the selected program or its progress

Abstract

A home appliance and a home appliance system are provided. The home appliance may convert product information into an acoustic signal and externally output the same as a sound. The home appliance system may receive the sound, convert the same into the acoustic signal, and then inversely convert the acoustic signal into the product information and read the same. Accordingly, the home appliance may externally output the acoustic signal as the sound so that the user may be easily notified of transmission. Also, the home appliance system may easily transmit the sound to a management device to read the product information because the sound may be transmitted via a communications network.

Claims

1. In a home appliance system that transmits product information to a management device via a wire/wireless communication network for fault diagnosis of a home appliance, and diagnoses a fault of the home appliance,

the home appliance, comprising:

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

a conversion device that converts product information into at least one acoustic signal;

a sound output device that outputs a sound corresponding to the acoustic signal output from the conversion device to the outside when the external command signal is input from the selection device; and

a controller that includes a storage device that stores the product information of the home appliance for the fault diagnosis, loads the product information stored in the storage device and transmits the same to the conversion device when the fault diagnosis is selected through the selection device, and controls a unit conversion time during which the conversion device outputs the product information as the acoustic signal when the acoustic signal is output to the sound output device.

2. The home appliance of claim 1, further comprising:

an input device configured to receive input of a control command.

3. The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the product information includes at least one of operation information and fault information of the home appliance.

4. The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the conversion device to output the at least one acoustic signal corresponding to unit signals of the product information during the unit conversion time.

5. The home appliance of claim 3, wherein the unit signals comprise:

a first unit signal; and

a second unit signal different from the first unit signal.

6. The home appliance of claim 5, wherein the controller controls the conversion device to output a first acoustic signal corresponding to the first unit signal during a first unit conversion time and the conversion device outputs a second acoustic signal corresponding to the second unit signal during a second unit conversion time different from the first unit conversion time.

7. The home appliance of claim 6, wherein the controller controls the conversion device to output a separation signal during a separation time between the first unit conversion time and the second unit conversion time in order to separate the first acoustic signal from the second acoustic signal.

8. The home appliance of claim 6, wherein the first unit signal and the second unit signal have at least one frequency.

9. The home appliance of claim 8, wherein the at least one frequency comprises a plurality of frequencies, and wherein the plurality of frequencies comprises:

a first frequency corresponding to the first unit signal; and

a second frequency different from the first frequency and corresponding to the second unit signal.

10. The home appliance of claim 9, wherein the controller controls:

a first unit conversion time during which the conversion device outputs the first unit signal as the first acoustic signal containing the first frequency; and

a second unit conversion time, which is different from the first conversion time, during which the conversion device outputs the second unit signal as the second acoustic signal containing the second frequency.

11. The home appliance of claim 1, further comprising an acoustic input device configured to receive input of an operation control command, wherein, when the user inputs the operation control command through the acoustic input device, the controller controls the unit conversion time.

12. The home appliance of claim 1, wherein, when the user inputs the external command signal into the selection device, the controller controls transmission of the product information stored in the storage device to the conversion device and the conversion device outputs the at least one acoustic signal corresponding to the product information.

13. A home appliance system that transmits product information to a management device via a wire/wireless communication network for fault diagnosis of a home appliance, and diagnoses a fault of the home appliance,

wherein the home appliance comprises:

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

a conversion device that converts product information into at least one acoustic signal;

a sound output device that outputs a signal sound corresponding to the acoustic signal output from the conversion device to the outside when the external command signal is input from the selection device; and

a controller that includes a storage device that stores the product information of the home appliance for the fault diagnosis, loads the product information stored in the storage device and transmits the same to the conversion device when the fault diagnosis is selected through the selection device, and controls a unit conversion time during which the conversion device outputs the product information as the acoustic signal when the acoustic signal is output to the sound output device.

14. The home appliance system of claim 13, further comprising:

an input device configured to receive input of a control command.

15. The home appliance system of claim 13, wherein the product information includes at least one of operation information and fault information of the home appliance.

16. The home appliance system of claim 13, wherein, when the conversion device converts product information, the controller controls the conversion device to output the at least one acoustic signal corresponding to unit signals of the product information during the unit conversion time.

17. The home appliance system of claim 16, wherein the unit signals comprise:

a first unit signal; and

a second unit signal different from the first unit signal.

18. The home appliance system of claim 17, wherein the controller controls the conversion device to output a first acoustic signal corresponding to the first unit signal during a first unit conversion time and a second acoustic signal corresponding to the second unit signal during a second unit conversion time different from the first unit conversion time.

19. The home appliance system of claim 18, wherein the controller controls the conversion device to output a separation signal during a separation time between the first unit conversion time and the second unit conversion time in order to separate the first acoustic signal from the second acoustic signal.

20. The home appliance system of claim 13, wherein the first unit signal and the second unit signal have at least one frequency.

21. The home appliance system of claim 20, wherein the at least one frequency comprises a plurality of frequencies, the plurality of frequencies including:

a first frequency corresponding to the first unit signal; and

a second frequency different from the first frequency and corresponding to the second unit signal.

22. The home appliance system of claim 21, wherein the controller controls:

a first unit conversion time during which the conversion device outputs the first unit signal as the first acoustic signal containing the first frequency; and

a second unit conversion time, which is different from the first conversion time, during which the conversion device outputs the second unit signal as the second acoustic signal containing the second frequency.

23. The home appliance system of claim 13, further comprising an acoustic input device that receives an operation control command, wherein, when the user inputs the operation control command through the acoustic input device, the controller controls the unit conversion time.

24. The home appliance system of claim 13, wherein the management device comprises:

a transmission/reception device that transmits and receives a sound;

a signal conversion device that inversely converts the sound received from the transmission/reception device into the product information; and

a management device controller that reads the converted product information.

25. The home appliance system of claim 24, wherein the management device further comprises a management device storage device that stores the product information read by the management device controller.

26. The home appliance system of claim 24, wherein the management device further comprises a repair terminal that transmits the product information read by the management device controller to a repairman.

27. The home appliance system of claim 13, wherein the sound output from the sound output device is delivered to the management device via a communications network.

28. The home appliance system of claim 27, further comprising an external terminal connected to the management device and the communications network, wherein the user inputs the sound output from the sound output device into the external terminal.

29. The home appliance system of claim 28, wherein the management device checks the product information by comparing the sound input from the external terminal with previously input data, judges based on the product information, and links the product information to a repairman.

30. The home appliance system of claim 13, further comprising:

an acoustic input device that receives an operation control command from the management device, wherein, when the external command signal is input into the acoustic input device from the management device, the controller controls the unit conversion time.

31. A home appliance system, comprising:

a home appliance that converts product information into at least one acoustic signal containing at least one frequency and outputs a sound corresponding to the at least one acoustic signal, and that controls a unit conversion time during which a conversion device converts the product information into the at least one acoustic signal when the at least one acoustic signal converted in the conversion device is transmitted to a sound output device; and

a management device that receives the output sound and inversely converts the same into the product information based on the sound.