CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE

Abstract: A control system for a household appliance is described, said household appliance (1) comprising an electronic control unit (2) and selection means (3), located in particular on a control panel, to select predetermined basic functions of the apparatus (1), where in said electronic unit (2) first information are codified for allowing said appliance (1) to perform said basic functions, in function of the selection made through said selection means (3). According to the invention, in said electronic unit (2) second information are codified, which allow said appliance (1) to perform additional functions with respect to the ones that can be selected through said selection means (3); moreover, said electronic unit (2) is prearranged for its interfacing with an external and optional electronic device (5; 9; 9A), which is provided for enabling and select in a simplified manner the performance of said additional functions.

Description: CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE DESCRIPTION The present invention telates to a contiol system foi a household appliance, of the type comprising an electronic control umt and control means for the selection of predetermined basic functions of said appliance As known, the mam resources offeied by the use of electronic technologies for the control of household appliances tend to fa\ our the development of pioducts with an increasing number of functions, but at the same time with an evei inci easing managing complexity For instance, the possibility of implementing several cooking procedures in one same oven gives the user a large number of possible optimal cookings, let us think. in fact, of the ovens providing for several piocedures of use, such as static. ventilated, miciowaves steam infrared cooking conditions, etc . and possible combinations of such techniques Theiefore. if on one hand the usage opportunities of the oven are increasing, on the other hand it is apparent that to fully exploit such resouices complex sequences of times temperatuies and baking piocess combinations (com entional steam microwaves) have to be entered by the user from a keyboaid Similar pioblems aπse when other household appliances aie used instead of a baking apparatus such as laundrv washing-machines dishw asheis l efπgeiatois and it is desned to exploit at the most the lesouices the\ can offer An attempt to simplifλ the usage pioceduies of complex household appliances lequπes in fact the use of piopei dialogue means such as displaλ s and key boards w hich make things easiei foi the user thiough a most possible mtei ctive piogiamming How evei these dialogue means being expensi e on then own also lequne implementation of a complex electronics capable to w ithstand difficult opeiating conditions, thus leading to a further cost mcrease Other known solutions provide for the assembly of sophisticated automatic programming systems, based on bar-code or magnetic card readers onboard the household apparatus, which are user-fπendly, but cause the final cost of household apparatus to become forbiddingly high For this reason, multifunction household appliances usually have a really high cost, which limits their distribution and reduces their " 'user friendly" feature The present invention has the aim of providing a solution to the above problems, without increasmg the cost of the household apparatus to a forbiddingly high level Said object is reached according to the present invention through a household apparatus incorporating the characteristics of the annexed claims which form an integial part of this description Further objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention w ill be apparent from the following detailed descπption and the annexed drawings which are only supplied by way of a non limiting example, wherein - Fig l shows schematically a household appliance according to a first embodiment of the present invention - Fig 2 show s schematicallv a household appliance according to a second embodiment of the present invention - Fig " ? show s schematically a household appliance according to a third embodiment of the piesent invention - Fig 4 show s schematically a household appliance according to a fourth embodiment of the piesent invention The basic idea of the present invention is to realize a household appliance which under usual operating conditions, is equipped w ith functions of conventional type, l e having common standaid progiams how ever with the pecuhai featuie of being already pieset or preaπanged for the execution of additional oi sophisticated functions performances or operating programs According to the invention said additional functions, performances or programs can be obtained through a data input to the household apparatus (for example by physical connection or through an infrared or radio-frequency system) from an electronic device being external and optional, capable of supplying the control system of the apparatus with the necessary 7 information for the purpose According to the invention, the control system of the household apparatus is at least partially electronic and compnses a microcontrollei. duly programmed and having memory means, within which information for the execution of the vaπous functions of the household appliance are codified (the fact that the control system of the household appliance is of the electronic type, should not be considered as a limit to the invention, since such a characteπstic is framed under the current natural evolution of control systems for household appliances, subject to an increasingly change from electromechanical to electronic technology) Such a control system can obviously be interfaced with the above mentioned external electronic device, whose purpose is to ensure an easiei management of the complex usage procedures of the apparatus for the user Therefore, the control system of the household appliance according to the invention has to be associated with a proper interfacing module, being cost-effective and simple to leahze which forms an optional accessory for the apparatus itself The control panel of the household apparatus according to the in ention has anywav a conventional appearance, and therefore comprises classic knobs, push-buttons. pilot lights, and so on. to let the user have access in a simple known manner to the basic standard functions and programs of the appaiatus As regards progiammmg of the control sv stem of the household appliance according to the invention a first condition consists in splitting its possible functions (or piogiams) in basic or standard functions ( or programs) and additional functions (or progiams) Basic functions are the ones conventionally performed by a conventional middle- class household appliance In the instance of a baking oven, reference can be made foi example to conventional infrared cooking, with the possibility of selectmg the cooking piogram (among those bemg available, which typically range from 5 to 10), the lelevant tempeiatuie and likely the cooking time, using the proper keys and knobs In the instance of a freezei, reference can be made for example to a push-button and a rapid fieezmg pilot lamp, a tempeiatuie setting knob and an alarm pilot light (dangeious tempeiatuie ) In the instance of a laundry washing-machine, reference can made for example to a typical program selectoi a tempeiature setting knob, a spin speed selector and pushbuttons foi various options (prewash. no-spin, small load, etc ) Similaily, in the instance of a dishwasher, refeience can made foi example to a program selector and some push-buttons for various options (small load ciockery wetting, etc ) As stated, accoidmg to the invention, the above functions and setting means aie provided m the basic veision of the household appliance On the contrary, additional functions oi programs according to the invention may be as follows With lefeience to a baking ov en said additional functions may be leahzed by the possibility of dv namicalh changing the heating elements configuration dunng the cooking piocess. so determining a large number of new progr ams being diffeient from the basic ones which allow to obtain proper tempeiature profiles associated with specific recipes, or the possibility for the special instance of o eni> equrpped w ith mixed cooking sy stems (foi example mfiaied - miciow aves). to best set the cooking contribution associated w ith each one of such sv stems and a\ oιd the tiouble for the usei of planning determined operation sequences With leference to a fieezei an additional function may be foi instance the opportunity of managing a file for the preserved food w rth advice foiecast to the user when a given food is approaching the expire date for its consumption. With reference to a washing machme (either a laundry washer or dishwasher), additional functions may include for instance the possibility of performing washing during scheduled time periods of low-cost energy, or the possibility of performing the washing during the scheduled times of lower energy consumption, thus planning the daily energy consumption and avoiding possible blackouts due to an overflow of the value of the maximum installed power for the household environment where the apparatus is in use. Thus, according to the invention, the control system of the apparatus, is prearranged or preset to allow the use of all its programs or functions, I e both the conventional or standard ones and the additional ones as provided according to the invention. To this purpose, in a preferred embodrment of the invention, the instructions which allow the household apparatus to perform its conventional functions, through the controls normally provided in the appliance itself, are duly codified in the permanent memory means associated with the microcontroller of the control system. Moreover, within such permanent memory means, a software or data is codified which allows the control system to manage the parameters associated with the additional functions - duly controlled by an external device Such parameters, being related to the additronal functions, selected through the likely optional external device, can be stored from time to time, l e depending upon the selected additional function, within temporary memories (RAM or E " PROM) of the control system As rt rs clear, the basrc v ersion of the household appliance according to the invention is capable of performing the conventionally known functions associated to it. but its cost is not penalized if compared to a conventional middle-class household appliance In fact, the difference w ith respect to a known household appliance - which merely concerns the adopted control technology (electronic control m-heu of electromechanical control) - does not involve as such an apprecrable cost increase. . „ as it is always dealing with a cheap electronics, being related to the functional aspect only (use of notoriously low-pπced microprocessors) and is free from expensive interface means for the user (displays, keyboards, etc ), on the other hand, the additional software does not practically implies any additional cost, since its development cost is split over a large number of machines As stated, the electronic control system of the household appliance according to the invention, being based on a microcontroller, provides for the possibility of receiving from the outside, in a codified form proper values or data concerning the operating parameters (temperatuie timing, thermal gradient and active thermal-load configuration values, etc ). for exploiting all its additional potentialities, as indicated for instance m the previous examples of a baking oven a freezer, and washing- machine Also this pre-arrangement does not entail any significant additional costs, as it can be obtained by the simple choice of a micropiocessor which is capable of communicating outside To this purpose, for instance, any microprocessor with a standard asynchronous senal line (ELA - RS232) and adequate memoiy area also allowing a softw are management of the additional functions or programs would be suitable Microcontrolleis of this kind can be easilv found on the market at low cost (typically not over 2 or 3 OS Dollars) Finally as stated abov e according to the invention a proper module should be provided foi interfacing the control sy stem of the household applrance wrth the abov e external electronic device Such an interfacing module consrsts of a proper adapter of a limited complexity and cost whrch v an rn function of the natuie and complexity of the external electronic de ice How ev er it should be highlighted that also this adapter can be av ailable as an option and is not absolutely necessary for the household applrance to perform its ow n basic functrons rn a regular manner An essentral requrrement for the external device which sends the control mformatron to the control sy stem for improving and extending the functions of the . . apparatus, should be easiness of use and versatility, and possibly the programmability; an ideal electronic device for performing the above function is represented for instance by a Personal Computer. In this case, the interfacing procedures to the household appliance, can be of two kinds, i.e. either direct interfacing or through a proper serial data bus. The case of direct interfacing is showτi by way of example in Fig. 1. where a household apparatus according to the invention is indicated with 1, being represented in the specific case by baking oven. Such a household apparatus 1 is equipped with an electronic control system indicated with 2. of the type having a microcontroller and proper memory means, indicated with M. as previously described. In a proper area N of said memory means M. the data required for performance of the basic functions are stored, whereas in a special area A of the memory means M proper programs are stored to interpret and convert into actions the data coming from the external device. A usual control panel of the household apparatus 1 is indicated with 3, for the selection and activation of its basic operating functions or programs. The above optional interfacing module of the household appliance 1 is indicated with 4. consisting in the example of a proper serial port, connected in a known manner with the microcontroller of the control system 2. The external device, i.e. a Personal Computer or PC. is indicated with 5. for which a proper software is provided on a suitable magnetic or optical support 6. for the control of the additional programs or functions of the oven 1. Finally, a serial or two-pole cable is indicated with 7. for the connection of the PC 5 with the interfacing module 4 and consequently with the control system 2. As it can be seen, the direct interfacing between the household apparatus and the external electronic device represented in Fig. 1 by way of example is the simplest, as well as most cost-effective solution. In fact, it will be enough to connect the PC 5 to the household apparatus 1 having the proper communicating port 4. through cable . . 7. To avail himself of this opportunity, the user should preferably have a portable PC for access to the household apparatus Interfacing through a serial data bus is represented in Fig. 2. wheie the same reference numbers shown in the previous figuie are used As it is obvious, this interfacing system is by far the most suitable from a practical viewpoint, when using a PC, even if it iequires the availability of a piopei home bus. as indicated with number 8 in the figure, in itself known Such a bus 8 can be used to exchange information betw een a master device (in this instance the PC 5) and the vaπous household devices (among which the household apparatus 1 according to the invention), and may use different transmission means. such as earner data tiansmission sy stem, phone cable, coaxial cable ladio- frequency, infrared rays, etc The theme i elated to the home bus is framed under the wider home automation thematic presently subject to keen attention, above all for the resources offered in terms of energetic consumption rationalization In view of vanous solutions now available to obtain home automation with lelevant data buses and communication protocols, it ensues that also the present invention can be concretized in a simple way In a most simple practical case, the data bus 8 can be of the carrier data tiansmission type ( or power line camei ) also known as such. 1 e of the type where the exchange of information between the PC and the v anous household appaiatus is obtained exploiting the house electnc netwoik As stated, the PC allow ing to realize the expansion of the functions of the household appaiatus accoidrng to the invention will be combined w ith a management program supplred on a suitable magnetrc or optrcal support (floppy disk or CD) as rndrcated Sev eial utilities or utility piogiams can also be advantageously made a ailable on such a piogram support 6 for the use of the household appliance For a refrigerator, it can be thought of a database for the preserved food, with advice forecast to the user when a given food is approaching its expire date. For a baking oven, it can be thought of the data related to pre-established baking recipes and the possibility of permanent storage of the users ' personal recipes. Specifically, for a baking oven, such a PC program could have the following basic features: • display, and likely amendment, on the PC display screen of the baking process parameters related to the various recipes; • management of new recipes, designed by the user with the aid of the same program, which is advantageously designed to guide the user interactively in writing them down and codifying them adequately; • management of a complete cook-book on a diskette, as a typical easy-to-use database; in this case, the cook-book could be delivered on a magnetic support (floppy) or optical support (compact disk); • simple adjustment of the recipes (i.e. quantities of ingredients, baking times, temperatures, etc.) as a function of the number of people to be served; in fact, considering that a basic recipe is usually foreseen for a fixed number of people, the cited program can be provided, upon the user ' s request, for modifying and storing the reference parameters being necessary, so that the baking result is adjusted for a different number of persons; • planning of weekly menus related to the various recipes, with the advantage of having automatically a weekly and/or monthly purchase Irst. It is obvious, anyway, that many other functions can be performed by said additional software program, according to the development degree assigned to it; for instance, a function can be provided to indicate what recipes stored on a disk can be obtained with some lrmited ingredients indicated by the user (let us think of an instance where at week-end or late in the day. a user was unable to do any shopping and only a few mgredients are available). At any rate, apart from the above utilities, the availability of a Personal Computer for managing the additional complex functions of a household appliance will greatly facilitate the planning activity for the user. To this purpose, the program for obtaining the control of the household appliance through a PC shall be designed to be "user friendly", i.e. easy to be managed by the user and allowing easy programming of the additional functions of the apparatus, for instance through the use of menus for guided consultation and programming. Such a program will also favorably provide control routines to prevent the user from making a wrong or improper programming, that may lead to unsatisfactory results or performance. A possible alternative to the PC may be for instance a remote control, through which the control system of the household appliance can receive the controls to carry out the complex functions not included in the standard ones. In this case there is obviously the advantage of an easier handling for the user. An example of embodiment, using an infrared remote control instead of a PC as external electronic device, is illustrated in Fig. 3. In this case, the interfacing module indicated with 4A and connected with the control unit of the household appliance, consists of an infrared signal receiver, with a relevant decoding software already available in the permanent memory M of the control system 2 of the apparatus. In Fig. 3. the household appliance according to the invention consists of an oven 1 (for example a combined baking oven. i.e. conventional type plus microwaves or conventional type plus steam, etc.): such an oven 1 is fitted with the above microprocessor based control system 2, having the same features as previously described. As stated, the control system 2 is provided to manage the conventional control means, which allow the user to use the oven 1 also apart from the remote control 9. Such conventronal control means comprise usual push-buttons, keyboards, displays, etc.. which are known as such and available on the control panel 3 of the oven 1. In the case of Fig 3. the control system 2 has a proper additional software, being stored in the area A of a permanent memory M (for instance of the ROM type), capable of adequately lnterpietmg the controls from a remote control 9, so that the control system itself may enable performance of the additional programs already codified in the memory means M In the case of the system descnbed with iefeience to Fig 3. it is preferable in fact that also the information required to perform the additional functions of the household appliance should be contained in the permanent memory means of the control system since the limited memory means of a conventional i emote contiol do not allow storage of a consideiable volume of infoπnation At any rate, such limit can be oveicome with the use of likely additional memoπes for instance in the form of magnetic cards oi solid state electronic memones (e g as those used on cellulai telephones) In Fig 4 a lemote contiol indicated with 9 A is represented, which has a reader of additional memones 10 foi instance magnetic type cards onto which seveial recipes aie stored bndei this frame it can also be thought of the use of a single lemote contiol being capable of conti oiling the additional functions of a numbei of different household appliances accoidmg to the invention, to which relevant cards 10 w ill be associated or foi the case in which vanous opeiatmg piograms foi one same household appliance (e g associated with v arious cooking lecipes in the instance of a baking oven) may be contained on seveial caids 10 Any^v ay iπespectiv e of the appioach being chosen if a lemote contiol is used to activate a given cooking progiam available m the memory of the remote contiol 2 it ill be enough to digit for instance a numerical code associated with the lelevant appaiatus piogram and press a confirmation key to enable transmission of the codified contiol data fr om such a program to the infiaied leceivei 4 A of the ov en and fiom here to the control sv stem 2 As an alternativ e, the remote control could foresee some dedicated keys calling for specific additional functions or programs The charactenstics of the present invention and its advantages are clear from the above descnption The substantial advantage of the invention, which also represents its most significant element, concerns the user and refers to a simplification of the usage procedures for the household apparatus, since the additional functions or programs tending for their own nature to increase the managing complexity for the user, are simplified by the use of said external electronic device (for example a Personal Computer or other dedicated device, such as a remote contiol) A second advantage for the user is the possibility for the latter to initially purchase a basic veision of the household apparatus, and then add the additional functions, by buying the relevant "control means " Moreover, should the user already have an electromc device capable of managing the information associated with the additional functions of said household appliances (e g a Personal Computer), the cost required to convert a basic version of the appliances mto an improved one will be minimized, since it only involves the interface module between them and the external electronic device A further advantage of the invention is of a commercial nature, and i elates to the possibility of handling with household appliances appearing more attractive in then basrc v ersion, due to then " expandable " functrons. and therefore more competrtr e compared to the known household appliances having equal performances (since the piesettmg for the expansron of functrons does not entail addrtronal costs) and whrch rn the expanded v ersion acquire supplementary functions so assuming a stiongh competrtrv e posrtron as hrgh-class lev el applrances on the market It rs ob ous that many changes are possrble for the man skilled in the art to the household apparatus descrrbed by w ay of example w rthout departing from the rnnovativ e sprrrt of the in entive solution Foi instance, in a piefeπed embodrment of the invention the external electronic device can be used for updatmg the clock of the household appliance In the instance of an oven, due to obvious reasons of thermal stress, it is not advisable according to the pπoi art to equip the appliance with a battery clock, to protect it against electric blackouts, due to temperatuie and need of battery maintenance For this reason, following a mams blackout, in the daily piactice the oven clock display w ill systematically flash waiting foi ieset by the user Accoiding to the invention, such an inconvenience can be solved m a very simple manner with an external electromc device prov ided with its own battery (usual features of PC's or remote controls) and also with a clock This means that, m order to reset the oven clock it will be enough to enter a simple instruction in the PC or press a proper push-button on the remote control According to a further v ariant embodiment of the invention the contiol system 2 can also be associated with a data transmission sy stem for transmitting proper information concerning the appliance operation status to the PC 5 oi remote control 9 oi 9 A (that w ill be equipped with a proper receiver and display ) e g the parameters identifying the pi ogress status of a performed program for instance always in the case of cooking such data could refer to the current tempeiature activ e function, time elapsed since baking start estimation of the time still lequired to cooking end estimation of the food cooking level likelv adv ice foi the user rf a manual operation is requned diagnostic messages foi technical sen ice and so on Finally a dedicated remote contiol may also be prov ided specifically for technical assistance allow ing the technical assistant to control specific diagnostic functions of the household appliance duly codified in the memory means of the control sy stem e to check opeiation of the internal dev ices of the household appliance Howevei it is obv ious that many other changes aie possible for the man skilled in the art to the electronic controlled household apparatus descnbed by way of example w rthout departing fiorn the novelty spirit of the inventive idea

Claims: - - CLAIMS 1 Control system foi a household appliance, said household appliance ( 1) comprising an electronic contiol unit (2) and selection means (3), located in particulai on a control panel, for the selection of predetermined basic functions of the appliance ( 1), where in said electronic unit (2) first information are codified foi said apparatus ( 1) to perform said basic functions, in function of the selection made through said selection means (3) characterized in that said electiomc unit (2) second infoπnation aie codified which allow the appaiatus ( 1 ) to perform additional functions in respect to the ones that can be selected though said selection means (3 ), and that said electromc unit (2) is prearranged for its interfacing with an external and optional electiomc device (5. 9 9 A) being provided to enable and select the execution of said additional functions 2 Control system accoidmg to claim 1. characteπzed m that said electiomc unit (2) compnses memoiy means (M). wheie in a fust area of said memory means (M) said first information are codified and in a second area ( A) of said memoiy means (M) mfoimation aie codified used by the contiol sy stem to interpret and/or convert into actions data from said external and optional electronic device (5, 9 9A) 3 Control system accoiding to claim 1 characteπzed in that interfacing means (4 4 A) are piovided for allo ing the connection betw een said electiomc unit (2) and said optional electi omc dev ice (5. 9 9A) 4 Contiol system accoiding to claim 3 characteπzed in that said interfacing means compπse an optional interfacing module (4 4 A) to be associated w ith said electiomc unit (2) 5 Contiol sy stem accoiding to at least one of the pievious claims characterrzed rn that said electiomc unrt (2) a micioconti oiler havrng a communication line to external devices 6 Control sy stem according to at least one of the previous claims chaiacteπzed in that said electromc umt (2) is provided to transmit mfoimation relating to the operating status of the household appliance (1) 7 Control system, according to the pievious claim, charactenzed m that said optional device (5, 9. 9A) is provided for receiving said information relating to the operating status of the household appliance ( 1) 8 Control system accoiding to at least one of the previous claims, chaiacteπzed in that said optional device (5 9. 9A) compπses a display device 9 Control sy stem, according to claims 7 and 8 characterized in that said optional device is piovided for displaying on said display device said information relating to the operating status of the household appliance ( 1) 10 Control system, according to at least one of the pievious claims, charactenzed in that said household appliance ( 1 ) compnses a clock that said optional device (5 9 9 A) comprises a batten and a relevant clock, and that said optional device (5, 9, 9A) is provided for updating the clock of the household appliance ( 1 ) 1 1 Control system, according to at least one of the previous claims chaiacteπzed in that said optional device (5 9 9A) is a Peisonal Computer (5) 12 Contiol s stem according to the previous claim chaiacteπzed in that said Personal Computei ( 5) is connected with said household appliance ( 19) through a data bus in partrcular by conveyed wav es 13 Control sy stem accordrng to at least one of claims 1 to 9 chaiacter rzed in that said optronal device (5 9 9 A) is a remote control ( 9 9 A) rn particular of the f aied or radro-frequency t pe, and that sard interfacing means comprise a signal receiv er (4 A) from said lemote control 14 Control sy stem accordrng to at least one of the piev ious claims chaiacteπzed in that a management program rs provided supplied on a suitable support (6) for said optional device (5 9 9 A) for an easy setting of said additional functions tin ough said optional device (5 9 9A) 15 Control system, accordrng to the previous claim, characterized in that said management program provides control routines for avoiding the wrong or lmpropei programming of the household appliance ( 1) 16 Control system, according to the previous claim, characterized in that said management program comprises utilities functions for the use of the household appliance ( 1 ). such as a cook-book for the use of an oven oi a database for the food presen'ed in a refrigerator 17 Method for programming an electronically controlled household appliance ( 1 ), of the type able to perform basic functions and sophisticated additional functions, w here said basic functions can be programmed by standard control means (3) comprised in said household appliance ( 1 ), characteπzed in that the programming of the sophisticated additional functions that for their nature tend to increase the managing complexity of the household appliance ( 1 ) foi the user, is simplified by the use of an optional and dedicated external electronic device (5. 9. 9A)

Inventors: AISA VALERIO, AISA, VALERIO
Applicants: AISA VALERIO, MERLONI ELETTRODOMESTICI SPA, AISA, VALERIO, MERLONI ELETTRODOMESTICI S.P.A.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: G05B19
IPC codes: G05B19