Abstract:
A standby electric power cutoff apparatus for an electronic product is disclosed. A power supply/cutoff unit ( 20 ) of the present invention comprises: a power switch (SW) for manually turning an input of an AC power source of the electronic product on/off; a pair of photo-triacs ( 21, 22 ) which are disposed in parallel to each other between input terminals of the AC power source, and which receive power through the power switch (SW); a photo-coupler ( 23 ) which is disposed between the power switch (SW) and the input terminals on one side of the AC power source and comprises a light emitting diode (D 3 ) and a transistor (Q 1 ) for receiving a light emitting signal from the light emitting diode; and a relay means which comprises a relay (K 1 ) connected to a control unit ( 60 ) having a microcomputer (u-COM), and which supplies or cuts off the AC supply power to a power supply unit ( 30 ) by controlling operations for connecting or disconnecting contact points of the relay according to a control state of the control unit ( 60 ). In addition, a standby electric power cutoff apparatus for an electronic product ( 100 ) which controls functions using a remote controller ( 300 ). A power supply/cutoff unit ( 400 ), according to the present invention, comprises: IR-receiving triacs ( 110 ) which receive IR signals from the remote controller, and which are turned on so as to transfer the AC supply power to a power supply unit ( 130 ) when the IR signals are received; and an IR-receiving unit ( 120 ) for receiving the IR signals and transferring the received IR signals as control signals to a control unit ( 160 ).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is continuation of International Application No. PCT/KR2013/003578 filed on Apr. 25, 2013, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0043549 filed on Apr. 26, 2012. The applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a standby electric power cutoff apparatus which cuts off a standby electric power of an electronic product, and more particularly, to a standby electric power cutoff apparatus capable of completely and automatically cutting off a consumption of a standby electric power even though a power plug of a product is not separated from a socket, when a power of an electronic product such as a TV, an air-conditioner and a stereo is turned off manually or using a remote controller. 
     The present invention also relates to a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product, which can turn on a power using a remote controller in a state in which the electronic product is turned off (i.e., a state in which a standby electric power is zero). 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A standby electric power refers to a small amount of power continuously consumed owing to any reason even when an electronic device is not used in a state in which a power plug of the electronic device is generally connected to a socket. Recently, an effective cutoff of such a standby electric power has been raised as one of the most important problems in increasing an energy efficiency of various electronic products. 
     A laid-open patent publication No. 10-2012-0027409 of Sony, which is one of prior arts for cutting off a standby electric power discloses an electronic device controller which controls a product power with a remote controller using a laser as a light source in a state in which a standby electric power is zero. This includes an energy converter which receives light energy from a laser of the remote controller capable of remotely controlling a television and using the laser to convert the light energy into electric energy. In the above-mentioned patent, since the used laser is a single color and has a single wavelength, the laser beam should be accurately focused to a light source receiving unit (of which light sensing angle is generally narrow) of the electronic product to generate the light energy and to operate the electronic product. Therefore, in order to turn on an electronic product, when the laser beam is not accurately focused, the electronic product is not operated, which is inconvenient. In addition, since power consumption for emitting the laser is considerably large, battery power consumption in the remote controller is comparatively increased, and thus a period in which a user must change a battery is shortened. Furthermore, in order to resolve the difficulty of the focusing of the laser beam when it is used, a laser light source may be added in the remote controller or a laser receiving unit of the electronic device may be disposed in a plurality of positions. However, a manufacturing cost is increased even the above-mentioned problem is completely not resolved. 
     A registered patent publication No. 10-0975642 which is another prior art discloses a standby electric power cutoff apparatus and a control method thereof. This relates to a standby electric power cutoff apparatus including a control unit which studies power on/off control data transmitted from a remote controller and performs a standby electric power consumption cutoff control of an electronic product under the received on/off control data of the remote controller. Since this technique is a construction for cutting off an output terminal of a socket to which a product is connected by including a separate socket rather than controlling a turning on and off of the electronic product controlled by an IR remote control, using a direct IR signal, a circuit construction is more complex due to an addition of such a device. Therefore, a manufacturing cost is increased and since a study mode should be set in order to recognize a signal of the remote control before using the remote control when the remote control corresponding electronic product is used, it is inconvenient to use. 
     In addition, when a power of the electronic product is turned off, a standby electric power is cut off, however, a power is supplied to a socket until a super condenser is charged. Although a corresponding electronic product is not used for a long time, when the product is discharged, it should be frequently charged, and thus a standby electric power is still consumed. 
     Therefore, in the prior art, even when the power of the electronic product is turned off, when a power plug of the product is not separated from the socket, the standby electric power is still generated, and thus a power is unnecessarily wasted. In addition, in a case of an electronic product using an IR remote controller, in order to enable a corresponding IR receiving module to always receive a signal, an operation power should be always supplied to at least the corresponding IR receiving module, and thus a standby electric power is wasted more than that of a normal product. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to enhance the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The present invention is to provide a standby electric power cutoff apparatus and a control method thereof capable of turning on/off a power using one switch mainly used as a power ‘on/off’ switch of an existing electronic product, and capable of controlling the power of the product to an ‘on’ state using a remote controller even without a separate power supply to an IR receiving module of the remote controller in a state in which a standby electric power is completely cut off in the electronic product. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product. The standby electric power cutoff apparatus includes a power unit that generates and supplies operation power necessary in an operation of the electronic product from an AC supply power, a control unit including a microcomputer (u-COM) performing general functions of a monitoring for a satisfaction-or-not of an operation state of the electronic product and predetermined control conditions, an operation, an analysis and a control, and a power supply/cutoff unit that receives the AC supply power and supplies or cuts off the AC supply power to the power unit of the electronic product under a control of the control unit, wherein the power supply/cutoff unit comprises: 
     a power switch that manually turns an AC power of the electronic product on/off; 
     a pair of photo-triacs that pass through the power switch between input terminals of the AC power and disposed in parallel, wherein each photo-triac includes at least one light emitting diode of which one terminal is connected from the power switch and a triac connected so that operates by receiving a light emitting signal from the diode; 
     a photo-coupler disposed between the power switch and one side input terminals of the AC power, and including at least one light emitting diode and a transistor that is formed to receive a light emitting signal from the light emitting diode; and 
     a relay means that includes a relay connected to the control unit, and supplies or cuts off the AC supply power to the power unit by driving the relay according to a control state of the control unit to connect or disconnect contact points of the relay. 
     Preferably, the microcomputer (u-COM) of the control unit is a microprocessor. 
     Preferably, a current limiting resistor (R 1 ) serially connected between an input terminal of the AC supply power and the photo-triacs and a diode are included. 
     The relay means may include a transistor of which a base is connected to an output terminal (O 1 ) of the control unit and a relay directly connected to the transistor, drives the relay to an energized/de-energized state under a control of the microcomputer to drive the contact points to the connected or the disconnected state. 
     Selectively, the power switch (SW) includes at least one tact switch. 
     In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product controlled by a remote control ( 300 ). The power supply/cutoff unit comprises: 
     at least one IR receiving triac that receives an IR signal from the remote control, and when the IR signal is received, turns on to transfer the AC supply power to the power unit; 
     an IR receiving unit that receives the IR signal and transfers the IR signal to the control unit as a control signal; and 
     a relay means that includes at least one relay connected to an output (O 2 ) of the control unit, and supplies or cuts off the AC supply power to the power unit by driving the relay according to a control state of the control unit to connect or disconnect contact points of the relay. 
     Preferably, the power supply/cutoff unit is formed so that the AC power is supplied to the power unit, when the IR receiving triac is turned on and the AC power is supplied to the power unit, the power unit generates and supplies a power necessary for the electronic product to supply the operation power to the control unit, and when the operation power is supplied, the control unit sets the relay to an energized state through an output (O 2 ) to connect the contact points of the relay (K 2 ) so that the AC power is supplied to the power unit. 
     Selectively, the IR receiving triac is formed with a pre-amp terminal including at least one triac operated by a low current, and is formed so that when the triac is turned on, a next connected triac oscillates, and a main triac is turned on to flow a large current. 
     A standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product according to the present invention uses an existing IR remote controller, and therefore, if an IR receiving unit of a product is not blocked by other things, even if the IR remote controller shoots an IR signal to a wall, the product may be operated by a reflected IR signal. Thus, since a sensing angle is wide, the product is easily operated without focusing. Therefore, it is convenient and only one receiving unit is necessary, and thus a manufacturing cost can be reduced. 
     In addition, the present invention completely cuts off a standby electric power of a product when a power of the electronic product is turned off. Therefore, a standby electric power which was wasted in the prior art is eliminated, energy can be reduced, and CO 2  generated in a case of a generating of a standby electric power can be reduced, and thus there is an effect of preventing an environment pollution. 
     In addition, in a case of a product operated by an IR remote controller, a power is always supplied to an IR receiving module to receive an infrared signal and a power is consumed, however, even if a power is not supplied to the IR receiving module, the IR receiving module receives the infrared signal to operate, and thus there is an effect of reducing a consumed power. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a circuit diagram of a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a circuit diagram of an example of a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product controlled by an IR remote controller according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a view illustrating an embodiment of an IR receiving triac having a pre-amplifying terminal so that an IR receiving module of the present invention is operated by a small IR signal. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, a preferable embodiment of a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. In the description for an embodiment to be described later, specific construction elements such as a power unit, a control unit, an input unit, a display unit, a load, a photo-triac, a photo-couple, a power switch, an IR receiving module and a power supply/cutoff unit are named. All of these are provided to help an overall understanding for the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It should be understood that such specific details may be modified or changed using elements having similar functions, without departing from a scope and a spirit of an invention defined by patent claims to be described later, by a person having a common knowledge in a concerned technical field. 
     Hereinafter, a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product and an operation method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a circuit diagram of a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product according to an embodiment of the present invention. A reference numeral  10  in the drawing shows an electronic product such as a television including a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of the present invention or a schematic construction of a part including a power unit  30  thereof. A power supply/cutoff unit  20  to which an AC power is input supplies or cuts off the AC power to the power unit  30  of the electronic product under a control of a microcomputer  60 . The microcomputer  60  includes a microprocessor (u-COM) for controlling overall operations of the standby electric power cutoff apparatus  10  according to the present invention. The microprocessor may be implemented using, for example, a low power microcomputer of Texas Instruments. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a power switch SW for manually turning on/off a power of the electronic product  10  is formed to be connected between an input terminal of the AC power and at least one, preferably, of a pair of photo-triacs  21  and  22  which are constructed in parallel, through a current limiting resistor R 1  and a diode D 1 . The power switch SW may be formed with a tact switch. The resistor R 1  plays a role of enabling the power switch SW not to be forced by decreasing an input voltage through the resistor R 1  and a diode D 1 . Each of the photo-triacs  21  and  22  is connected between an AC main power and the power unit  30  of the electronic product. When a user pushes the switch SW manually, a current flows to an LED D 3  of a photo-coupler  23  and LEDs D 2  and D 4  of the photo-triacs  21  and  22 , and the LEDs are lighted, the photo-triacs  21  and  22  are turned on, and the AC power is supplied to the power unit  30 . At this time, the power unit  30  generates a power necessary for the electronic product, and supplies an operation power to the microcomputer  60  and each circuit unit, for example, a display unit  40 , an input unit  50 , a load  70  and the like of the electronic product. When the microcomputer  60  is operated by the application of the above-mentioned operation power, a high signal is supplied to an output terminal O 1  thereof and a transistor Q 2  is turned on, a relay K 1  connected to the output terminal O 1  of the microcomputer is driven to an energized state, contact points K 1   a /K 1   b  and K 1   c /K 1   d  are connected, and the power supply/cutoff unit  20  is constructed so that the AC power is continuously supplied to the power unit  30  through these relays. 
     Meanwhile, when the manual power switch SW is pushed one more time in order to turn off the AC power, since a current flows to the LED D 3  of the photo-coupler  23  and the transistor Q 1  turns on, the power supply/cutoff unit  20  according to the present invention is constructed so that an input I 1  of the microcomputer  60  is set to a low state and the microcomputer  60  senses a power ‘off’ signal. 
     Here, the power unit  30  which generates and supplies the operation power necessary in an operation of the electronic product from the AC power, the microcomputer control unit  60  which performs general functions of sensing a satisfaction-or-not of a state of the electronic product and control conditions, an operation, an analysis and a control, the display unit  40  which displays information according to the operation of the electronic product to an outside thereof, the input unit  50  which inputs data to the electronic product and corrects the data, and the load  70  generated according to a predetermined operation of the electronic product are common elements which are normally included or commonly included in an electronic product, and detailed descriptions about these elements will be omitted here for convenience. 
     Hereinafter, an operation of the standby electric power cutoff apparatus according to the construction in  FIG. 1  of the present invention will be described in detail. In  FIG. 1 , when the power switch SW is pushed once in a state in which a power of the electronic product  10  is turned off, the AC power (e.g., 220 V or 100 V) is divided, a current is limited, the current flows through the diode D 1  only in a case of a forward direction, a voltage is applied to the LEDs D 2  and D 4  of the photo-triacs  21  and  22 , the current flows to the LEDs D 2  and D 4 , and the LEDs are lit. Then, T 1  and T 2  of the photo-triacs  21  and  22  turn on, the AC power is supplied to the power unit  30 , and thus the power unit  30  generates and supplies the power necessary for the electronic product. At this time, although a current is also flowed to the LED D 3  of the photo-coupler  23  and the LED D 3  is lit, since a power voltage Vcc is not still applied to the transistor Q 1 , the transistor Q 1  is not operated. 
     Next, a power is supplied to the control unit  60  from the power unit  30 , the microcomputer  60  controls the output O 1  to be in a ‘high’ state, and a transistor Q 2  of the power supply/cutoff unit  20  turns on. Therefore, a current flows to a coil of the relay K 1 , the relay K 1  becomes an energized state, and the contact points K 1   a /K 1   b  and K 1   c /K 1   d  of the relay are connected. When the power switch SW is disconnected and opened, the current flowing to the LEDs D 2  and D 4  is shut off. At this time, since the LEDs D 2  and D 4  are turned off, when the T 1  and T 2  of the photo-triacs  21  and  22  are turned off, the AC power provided to the power unit  60  through the photo-triacs  21  and  22  is cut off. However, since the AC power is continuously supplied through the relay contact points K 1   a /K 1   b  and K 1   c /K 1   d , the electronic product is normally operated. 
     If, when the power switch SW is pushed again in order to turn off the electronic product  10 , like a case in which a power is turned on (i.e., power ‘on’) as described above, the LEDs D 2  and D 4  of the photo-triacs  21  and  22  are lit, the triacs T 1  and T 2  are turned on, and the power is supplied to the power unit  60 . However, since a power having the same phase is already supplied through the relay contact point, there is no effect in an operation. 
     Meanwhile, the LED D 3  of the photo-coupler  23  connected to the power switch SW in parallel is lit, the transistor Q 1  turns on, a current flows to a resistor R 2 , the microcomputer detects a change in which the input I 1  of the microcomputer control unit  60  is changed from a ‘high’ state to a ‘low’ state, determines that the power is to be turned off, and outputs the output O 1  as a low. 
     At this time, since the transistor Q 2  is turned off and the current flowing to the relay K 1  is cut off, the coil is de-energized, and the contact points K 1   a /K 1   b  and K 1   c /K 1   d  are disconnected. Therefore, all pieces of the AC power supplied to the power unit  60  are cut off and thus a standby electric power can be completely cut off. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a circuit diagram of an example of a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product controlled by an IR remote controller according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , an electronic product controlled by a remote controller  300  or a part  100  thereof includes a power supply/cutoff unit  400 . The power supply/cutoff unit  400  includes an IR receiving triac  110  and an IR receiving module  200 . The IR receiving triac  110  receives an IR signal, and when the IR signal is received, the IR receiving triac  110  turns on to supply an AC power to a power unit  130 . The IR receiving module  200  is an IR receiving unit  120  which is connected to receive the IR signal and transfer the IR signal to a microcomputer control unit  160 . 
     The power supply/cutoff unit  400  is formed so that the power unit  130  generates and supplies a power necessary for the electronic product  100  and supplies an operation power to the microcomputer control unit  160 , when the IR receiving triac  110  turns on and the AC power is supplied to the power unit  130 . When the operation power is supplied, the microcomputer turns on a transistor Q 3  through an output O 2 . Therefore, a relay K 2  is energized, contact points K 2   a /K 2   b  and K 2   c /K 2   d  of the relay are connected, and thus the AC power is continuously supplied to the power unit  130 . 
     Meanwhile, the power supply/cutoff unit  400  is formed so that when a function of a power ‘off’ of the electronic product is selected using the IR remote controller  300 , the IR receiving unit  120  senses a corresponding IR signal and inputs the IR signal to an input I 2  of the microcomputer  160 . When the power ‘off’ signal is input, the microcomputer turns off the transistor Q 3  through the output O 2  to cut off a power to the relay K 2 . The contact points K 2   a /K 2   b  and K 2   c /K 2   d  are disconnected, and thus the supply of the AC power is cut off. 
     Here, the power unit  130  which generates and supplies the operation power necessary in an operation of the electronic product from the AC power, the microcomputer control unit  160  which performs general functions of sensing a satisfaction-or-not of a state of the electronic product and control conditions, an operation, an analysis and a control, the display unit  140  which display information according to the operation of the electronic product to an outside thereof, an input unit  150  which inputs data to the electronic product and corrects the data, and a load  170  according to the operation of the electronic product are common elements which are normally included or commonly included in an electronic product, have the same or performs similar functions those of the elements shown in  FIG. 1 , and detailed descriptions about these elements will be omitted here for convenience. 
       FIG. 3  is a view illustrating an embodiment of an IR receiving triac  110  having a pre-amplifying terminal so that an IR receiving module  200  performs a good operation even for an IR signal having a small level when a standby electric power cutoff apparatus of an electronic product controlled by an IR remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention is operated. The IR receiving triac includes a photo-triac TQ 1  which is operated even by a weak signal when an IR signal is input weakly through a lens, as a pre-amp terminal, and an IR receiving triac increasing an amplification ratio so that when the photo-triac TQ 1  is turned on, a following diac is oscillated, and a main triac is turned on, as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Hereinafter, in the case of the electronic product  100 , an operation principle is described in detail with reference to  FIG. 2 . In a state in which a power is cut off in the electronic product  100 , a power ‘on’ signal is transmitted from the remote controller  300  and received by the IR receiving triac  110  of the IR receiving module  200 , the triac is turned on only while the power ‘on’ signal is received, and thus the AC power is supplied to the power unit  130 . 
     When the power is supplied to the power unit  130 , the power unit  130  generates and supplies a power necessary for the electronic product. When a power voltage is supplied from the power unit  130  to the microcomputer control unit  160 , the microcomputer is operated, the output O 2  is a ‘high’ state, the transistor Q 3  of the power supply/cutoff unit  400  is turned on, a current flows to a coil of the relay K 2 , the relay becomes an energized state, the contact points K 2   a /K 2   b  and K 2   c /K 2   d  are connected, and the AC power is continuously supplied to the power unit  130  without a signal of the remote controller  300 , and thus the electronic product  100  is normally operated. 
     At this time, once a power is supplied to the electronic product, a DC voltage is supplied to the IR receiving unit  120  of the power supply/cutoff unit  300 , and thus common function controls such as channel and volume controls are possible using the remote controller  300 . 
     Meanwhile, when the power is turned off using the remote controller  300  in order to turn off the power, the IR receiving unit  120  transfers this signal to the input I 2  of the microcomputer  160 . At this time, the microcomputer  160  determines this signal, when this signal is a power ‘off’ signal, the microcomputer  160  outputs a ‘low’ state through the output O 2  thereof, turns off the transistor Q 3  of the power supply/cutoff unit  300 , and cuts off the current flowed to the coil, the coil is de-energized, the contact points K 2   a /K 2   b  and K 2   c /K 2   d  of the relay are disconnected, and thus the supply of the AC power for the power unit  130  is completely cut off. 
     Therefore, by completely cutting off the supply of the AC power for the power unit  130 , the supply of the power is completely cut off to the electronic product  100  controlled using the IR remote controller, and thus it is understood that a standby electric power is zero. 
     Meanwhile,  FIG. 3  illustrates another embodiment of the IR receiving triac  110  of which an amplification ratio is increased so as to be operated even when the IR signal is weakly received from the remote controller  300 . As shown, a triac TQ 1  operated by a low current is formed as a pre-amp terminal. It is formed so that a diac is oscillated, a main triac TQ 2  is turned on, and thus a large current flows when the triac TQ 1  of the pre-amp terminal is turned on. 
     Meanwhile, a control method in a case in which the power is turned on in the electronic product using the IR remote controller is as follows. When a power is turned on using the remote controller in a state in which a power is completely cut off in the electronic product  100 , in order to prevent an incorrect operation due to an external disturbance, when a predetermined signal is carried on a carrier frequency of the remote controller and is transmitted, the IR receiving triac  110  is turned on, the AC power is supplied to the power unit  130 , and the power unit  130  generates and supplies the power to the electronic product. At this time, the power is applied to even the IR receiving unit  120 , the IR receiving unit  120  receives a control signal carried on a carrier signal to provide the control signal to the microcomputer control unit  160 , the microcomputer analyzes the control signal, only when the control signal is determined as a predetermined normal signal, and the microcomputer controls to operate the relay K 2  of the power supply/cutoff unit  400 , the AC power is supplied to the power unit  130 , and thus the microcomputer may prevent the incorrect operation of the IR remote controller due to the disturbance. 
     As described above, the standby electric power cutoff apparatus and the control method thereof according to the present invention are shown and described with reference to random example embodiments, however, common experts of a related technical field will understand that forms and details thereof may be variously modified without departing from a spirit and a scope of the present invention as defined by a scope of the accompanying claims and equivalents thereof.