Patent Description:
Recently, home appliances such as washing machines, electric ovens, and air conditioners provide users with various options to implement various functions.

In the case of providing such various options, home appliances may be provided with manipulators such as various buttons to allow users to select functions and options through manipulation, but in a case where a user is not fully familiar with the manipulation method, the user may feel difficulty in manipulation.

Therefore, there is a need for a product that is easily operated by users. <CIT> relates to a home appliance that includes a microphone unit and a speaker unit and is capable of performing a function by recognising a speech of a user.

The present disclosure is directed to providing a home appliance capable of being operated by a speech of a user.

The present disclosure is directed to providing a home appliance capable of being operated by a user at a remote site without moving to the home appliance.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a home appliance according to claim <NUM>. Further features of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.

Because a user can operate a home appliance by using a speech of the user without directly manipulating manipulators and receive an operation state with speech, usability of the home appliance can be improved.

Further, because the home appliance can be manipulated through speech recognition and the manipulators for selecting functions and options can be simplified, an aesthetic feeling of the home appliance can be improved and the manufacturing cost of the home appliance can be reduced.

Like reference numbers or signs in the various drawings of the application represent parts or components that perform substantially the same functions. In the term including 'portion' to be used hereinafter, the 'portion' may be implemented as one component or as a plurality of components according to an embodiment.

In the specification, when a part is described as being connected to another part, it may mean a physical connection or an electrical connection according to a part and a different part.

When a part is described as including another part, it does not exclude another part other than the other part unless there is a description to the contrary, and it means that it may further include another part according to the designer's choice.

The terms "first" and "second" are used to distinguish one part from another part, and unless otherwise specified, they do not mean a sequential expression.

The singular expressions herein may include plural expressions, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In this specification, the terms "front end," "rear end," "upper portion," "lower portion," "upper end" and "lower end" used in the following description are defined with reference to the drawings, and the shapes of each component is not limited by these terms.

The present disclosure is applicable to any home appliance that requires an operation of a user. For example, the home appliance may include a washing machine, a refrigerator, an oven, a dishwasher, a robot cleaner, and an air conditioner.

<FIG> illustrate a washing machine as an example of a home appliance. <FIG> illustrates an oven as an example of a home appliance, and <FIG> illustrates an air conditioner as an example of a home appliance. Although not shown in the drawings, various home appliances including a refrigerator may be presented.

<FIG> is a perspective view of a washing machine as a home appliance according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> is a view illustrating a state in which some components in <FIG> are disassembled.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, in an embodiment, a washing machine <NUM> may include a main body <NUM> forming an outer appearance, and the main body <NUM> may include a plurality of washing parts <NUM> and <NUM>. For example, the washing machine <NUM> may include the first washing part <NUM> in which a first washing space <NUM> is provided, and the second washing part <NUM> in which a second washing space <NUM> is provided. <FIG> and <FIG> only illustrate an embodiment in which the washing machine <NUM> includes two of the washing parts <NUM> and <NUM>, but this is exemplary. That is, according to a designer's choice, only one washing part or three or more washing parts provided in one of the washing machine <NUM> is included in the present disclosure.

The first washing part <NUM> may include a first housing <NUM> forming a side outer appearance, a front housing <NUM> forming a front outer appearance, and a first door <NUM> rotatably installed on the front housing <NUM> to open and close the first washing space <NUM>.

The second washing part <NUM> may also include a second housing <NUM> forming a side outer appearance, and a second door <NUM> to open and close the second washing space <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the washing machine <NUM> may include a fixing bracket <NUM> configured to couple the first housing <NUM> and the second housing <NUM> so as not to be separated from each other. The fixing bracket <NUM> may be coupled to, for example, the front of the first housing <NUM> and the front of the second housing <NUM>. The fixing bracket <NUM> may also be coupled to a side of the first housing <NUM> and a side of the second housing <NUM>, or to the rear of the first housing <NUM> and the rear of the second housing <NUM>, depending on the designer's consideration.

The washing machine <NUM> may further include a control panel <NUM>. The control panel <NUM> may be disposed at an upper portion of the front housing <NUM> of the washing machine <NUM> and coupled to the front housing <NUM> and the second housing <NUM>, for example, for the convenience of the operation of a user and information confirmation. However, the arrangement position of the control panel <NUM> is not limited thereto.

The control panel <NUM> may be provided with a user interface <NUM> configured to receive various commands related to the operation of the washing machine <NUM>, and/or to visually and/or audibly provide information related to the washing machine <NUM>.

The user interface <NUM> may include at least one input device and/or at least one output device. The input device may be implemented using at least one of, for example, a physical button, a touch pad, a touch screen, a knob, a stick, a trackball, and a trackpad, and may be implemented using various devices that may be considered by the designer. The output device may include a display for visually outputting information, and the display may be implemented using, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) or various display panels such as a liquid crystal display panel (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel, and a quantum dot display panel. A sound output device may be implemented using a speaker device and the like.

<FIG> is a perspective view of a control panel according to an embodiment, <FIG> is an exploded view illustrating a rear surface of the control panel in <FIG>, and <FIG> is an exploded view illustrating a front surface of the control panel in <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, the control panel <NUM> may include a switch (not shown) constituting an interface, a panel body <NUM> to which various electronic components including a display (not shown) are installed, and a front cover <NUM> coupled to a front surface of the panel body <NUM>.

The panel body <NUM> may form a coupling relationship with the front housing <NUM> (<FIG>) and the second housing <NUM> (<FIG>) described above.

The front cover <NUM> may be disposed in the front of the panel body <NUM> to cover the front surface of the panel body <NUM> in order to prevent moisture and dust from the outside from being introduced into components inside the control panel <NUM>.

The front cover <NUM> may be provided with a transparent portion through which light emitted from a display element indicating an operation state of a home appliance may be transmitted to the outside, and an operation button for manipulating the operation of the home appliance.

A rear surface of the front cover <NUM> may be provided with a plurality of hooks 152a for coupling with the panel body <NUM>, and the panel body <NUM> may be provided with hooking steps 151a at positions corresponding to the hooks 152a in a state of being coupled with the front cover <NUM> to form a coupling relationship with the hooks 152a.

The control panel <NUM> may be provided with a microphone unit <NUM> configured to sense sound in order to recognize a speech of the user.

The microphone unit <NUM> may be disposed in a space between the front cover <NUM> and the panel body <NUM>, and the front cover <NUM> may be provided with a microphone hole 152b penetrating the inside and outside of the front cover <NUM> so that the speech of the user may be smoothly transmitted to the microphone unit <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the microphone unit <NUM> may be disposed at a central portion of the control panel <NUM>. However, the arrangement position of the microphone unit <NUM> is not limited thereto and may vary depending on a space inside the control panel <NUM>.

The microphone unit <NUM> may include a printed circuit board <NUM> on which a circuit constituting an electric circuit is patterned, and a microphone chip <NUM> installed on the printed circuit board <NUM>.

The printed circuit board <NUM> may be provided with a connector <NUM> to which a terminal (not shown) is connected to transmit a speech signal collected from the microphone chip <NUM> to the outside of the printed circuit board <NUM>.

The microphone chip <NUM> may be a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) microphone in which ultra-fine mechanical parts and electronic circuits are integrated at the same time by applying a semiconductor manufacturing process.

A sensing portion 12a detecting sound from the microphone chip <NUM> may be disposed to direct to the front of the washing machine <NUM>, and a pair of the microphone chips <NUM> may be provided to configure two channels and may be disposed on opposite sides of the printed circuit board <NUM> to be spaced apart from each other.

When the pair of microphone chips <NUM> are disposed to be spaced apart from each other as described above, a position of the user may be tracked through loudness of the speech of the user detected by two of the microphone chips <NUM>, and through this process, a process of deleting the noise part from the input speech signal is possible by contrasting a speech signal input from the microphone chip <NUM> positioned at a close distance from the user's location with a speech signal input from the microphone chip <NUM> positioned at a long distance from the user's location, and the sensitivity of the microphone may be improved by amplifying the speech signal input from the microphone chip <NUM> positioned at a close distance from the user's location.

Because signal processing may be performed more efficiently as a distance between the pair of microphone chips <NUM> increases, the distance between the microphone chips <NUM> may be at least <NUM> or more. However, as the distance between the microchips increases, a width of the printed circuit board <NUM> may increase, which may adversely affect the placement of the printed circuit board inside the control panel <NUM>, and thus the distance may not exceed <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, a pair of the microphone chips <NUM> are disposed in the microphone unit <NUM>, but the number of the microphone chips <NUM> may be one, or three or more.

A fixing protrusion <NUM> may be provided at the rear surface of the front cover <NUM> to guide and fix the microphone unit <NUM> to an installation position so that the microphone unit <NUM> may be fixed to the control panel <NUM>.

The fixing protrusion <NUM> may include a first fixing protrusion 153a formed to protrude in a columnar shape rearward from the rear surface of the front cover <NUM> at the installation position of the microphone unit <NUM>, and a second fixing protrusion 153b formed around the installation position of the microphone unit <NUM> at the rear surface of the front cover <NUM>.

The printed circuit board <NUM> of the microphone unit <NUM> may be provided with a guide hole 11a to allow the first fixing protrusion 153a to penetrate therethrough. The fixing protrusion <NUM> and the guide hole 11a may guide the microphone unit <NUM> to the installation position and at the same time provide a restraining force to fix the microphone unit <NUM> to the front cover <NUM>.

When the microphone unit <NUM> is installed in the washing machine <NUM>, the user may command the operation of the home appliance by a speech, the speech of the user may be transmitted to the microphone unit <NUM> to be converted into a speech signal, and when the speech signal is recognized as a command related to the operation of the home appliance through a process for speech recognition, the corresponding operation may be activated by a speech. The corresponding operation may be performed by communicating with a speech recognition server outside the home appliance in the process of recognizing the speech.

Therefore, the microphone unit <NUM> may be used as an input device among the interfaces for the operation of the washing machine.

The control panel <NUM> may be provided with a speaker unit <NUM> configured to output sound. The speaker unit <NUM> may be configured to output a speech by which a user may confirm an operation state of the home appliance and an operation command recognized by the microphone unit <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the speaker unit <NUM> may be installed at one side of the control panel <NUM> to be spaced apart from the microphone unit <NUM> installed at a central portion of the control panel <NUM>. The reason why the microphone unit <NUM> and the speaker unit <NUM> are disposed to be separated from each other is to prevent a howling phenomenon in which when the microphone unit <NUM> and the speaker unit <NUM> operate simultaneously, sound of the speaker enters the microphone and is amplified and then comes out again through the speaker to form a loop and become in a oscillating state.

The speaker unit <NUM> may be installed on a rear surface of the control panel <NUM>. The speaker unit <NUM> may be received in an inner space of the control panel <NUM> when a thickness thereof is sufficiently thin.

The speaker unit <NUM> may be coupled to a rear surface of the panel body <NUM>, and in this case, the panel body <NUM> may be provided with a sound transmission hole 151b at a position corresponding to a diaphragm <NUM> of the speaker unit <NUM> in a state in which the speaker unit <NUM> is coupled to the panel body <NUM> so that sound output from the speaker unit <NUM> may be transmitted toward the front of the washing machine <NUM>.

The speaker unit <NUM> may have a coupling structure for being coupled to the panel body <NUM>. According to an embodiment, a locking protrusion <NUM> and a screw hole <NUM> may be provided on opposite sides of the speaker unit <NUM>, and a locking portion 151c to allow the locking protrusion <NUM> to be inserted therein and a screw hole 151d corresponding to the screw hole <NUM> of the speaker unit <NUM> may be provided on the rear surface of the panel body <NUM>. Such a coupling method is only one example, and the speaker unit <NUM> may be fixed to the panel body <NUM> using only a locking structure or using only a screw fastening structure.

A speaker hole 152c may be provided on the front cover <NUM> such that sound output from the speaker unit <NUM> may be transmitted toward the front of the washing machine <NUM>.

The speaker hole 152c may be provided below the speaker unit <NUM> while being provided in the front of the speaker unit <NUM>, and disposed below the sound transmission hole 151b.

This is to prevent moisture from being introduced into the speaker unit <NUM>, and even though moisture is introduced into the speaker hole 152c, the introduced moisture does not direct to the speaker unit <NUM>, but may be induced to flow downward along the space between the front cover <NUM> and the panel body <NUM> by gravity and to be discharged to the outside.

As the speaker hole 152c is disposed below the sound transmission hole 151b, a distance between the two becomes large, and thus in order to more smoothly transmit sound, a guide structure for guiding sound may be provided in a space between the speaker unit <NUM> and the sound transmission hole 151b.

According to an embodiment, the guide structure may include guide ribs 151c and 152d provided on the panel body <NUM> and the front cover <NUM>.

The guide rib 151c may be formed along a periphery of the sound transmission hole 151b and may have a structure protruding from the front surface of the panel body <NUM>.

The guide ribs 152d may be formed in the up-down direction on both sides of a space between the sound transmission hole 151b and the speaker hole 152c and may have a structure protruding from the rear surface of the front cover <NUM>.

Such a guide structure of sound is only one example, and may be modified in various shapes, and the guide structure may be provided only at any one of the front cover <NUM> and the panel body <NUM>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a state before a microphone unit is installed on a front cover of the washing machine, and <FIG> is a view illustrating a state in which the microphone unit is installed on the front cover of the washing machine.

According to an embodiment with reference to <FIG>, a buffer member <NUM> may be disposed around the sensing portion 12a of the microphone chip <NUM>. The buffer member <NUM> may be disposed between the sensing portion 12a and the rear surface of the front cover <NUM> in order to prevent vibration and noise caused by the operation of the washing machine <NUM> from being transmitted from the front cover <NUM> to the sensing portion 12a and may be made of a material having a foam form for absorbing vibration and noise.

The buffer member <NUM> may be formed in a ring shape to surround a periphery of the sensing portion 12a.

An adhesive may be applied to both surfaces of the buffer member <NUM> such that the buffer member <NUM> may be attached to the printed circuit board <NUM> and a waterproof sheet <NUM> which will be described later.

The waterproof sheet <NUM> may be disposed between the buffer member <NUM> and the rear surface of the front cover <NUM>, and the adhesive may be applied to a front surface of the waterproof sheet <NUM>.

The waterproof sheet <NUM> may block inflow of moisture from the outside to the microphone unit <NUM> and release moisture inside the front cover <NUM> to the outside and may be formed of a material that is advantageous for sound transmission.

A double-sided tape <NUM> may be disposed between the microphone unit <NUM> and the front cover <NUM> to fix the microphone unit <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the waterproof sheet <NUM> may be attached around the microphone hole 152b at the rear surface of the front cover <NUM> by an adhesive pre-applied on the front surface thereof, and thus the inflow of moisture into the sensing portion 12a through the microphone hole 152b may be blocked.

A front surface of the buffer member <NUM> may be bonded to a rear surface of the waterproof sheet <NUM>, and a rear surface of the buffer member <NUM> may be bonded to surround the sensing portion 12a.

Like the buffer member <NUM>, the double-sided tape <NUM> may be formed of a material having a foam form to prevent the vibration and noise of the front cover <NUM> from being transmitted to the microphone unit <NUM> and fix the microphone unit <NUM> to the rear surface of the front cover <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view of an oven as a home appliance according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> is an enlarged view of a control panel in <FIG>. <FIG> is a view illustrating a state in which a microphone unit and a speaker unit are disassembled from a rear surface of the control panel. <FIG> is a view illustrating a state in which the microphone unit and the speaker unit are assembled.

Referring to <FIG>, the oven <NUM>, in one embodiment, an oven <NUM> may include a main body <NUM> forming an outer appearance and a door <NUM> disposed on a front surface of the main body <NUM> to open and close a cavity formed in the main body <NUM>.

A control panel <NUM> provided with a manipulator <NUM> for operating a function of the oven <NUM> and a display <NUM> for indicating an operation state of the oven <NUM> may be disposed above the door <NUM>.

A cooktop <NUM> may be provided on a top portion of the main body <NUM> to place and heat a container containing food. However, the oven <NUM> having the cooktop <NUM> is only an example according to an embodiment, and the cooktop <NUM> may not be provided.

The control panel <NUM> may be provided with the microphone unit <NUM> and the speaker unit <NUM> applied to the washing machine <NUM> described above.

The microphone unit <NUM> and the speaker unit <NUM> may have the same or similar structure as those installed in the washing machine <NUM>. Functions of the microphone unit <NUM> and the speaker unit <NUM> may be the same as those applied to the washing machine <NUM> described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When the microphone unit <NUM> and the speaker unit <NUM> are installed in the oven <NUM> according to an embodiment, because the internal space and configuration of the control panel <NUM> are different from those of the control panel <NUM> of the washing machine <NUM>, the arrangement position and installation structure of the microphone units <NUM> and the speaker units <NUM> may be different from each other.

For example, the microphone unit <NUM> may be disposed to be biased to one side of the control panel <NUM> and may be disposed below the manipulator <NUM>.

The speaker unit <NUM> may be spaced apart from the microphone unit <NUM> and disposed adjacent to one side of the display <NUM>.

The structure in which the microphone unit <NUM> is installed in the control panel <NUM> may be the same as the installation structure of the microphone unit <NUM> in the washing machine <NUM> described above.

Accordingly, a microphone hole 223a may be provided on a front cover <NUM> of the control panel <NUM>, and a front surface of the microphone unit <NUM> may be fixed to the rear surface of the control panel <NUM> such that the sensing portion 12a (<FIG>) of the microphone unit <NUM> directs to the front of the oven <NUM>.

In addition, the buffer member <NUM> (<FIG>) may be similarly attached around the sensing portion 12a (<FIG>), and in order to fix the microphone unit <NUM>, the double-sided tape <NUM> (<FIG>) may also be disposed between the rear surface of the control panel <NUM> and the front surface of the microphone unit <NUM>.

However, in the case of the waterproof sheet <NUM> (<FIG>), the waterproof sheet <NUM> (<FIG>) may be omitted in that a large amount of moisture is less likely to flow into the control panel <NUM> in a process of using the oven <NUM>.

When a space for arranging components inside the control panel <NUM> is small, the speaker unit <NUM> may be disposed such that the diaphragm <NUM> of the speaker unit <NUM> directs to a side surface of the oven <NUM> as shown in the drawing, and in this case, a fixing structure of the speaker unit <NUM> may be the same as the structure applied to the washing machine <NUM>.

As the diaphragm <NUM> of the speaker unit <NUM> is disposed to direct to the side surface of the oven <NUM>, a hole <NUM> communicating with the diaphragm <NUM> may be provided on one side surface of the speaker unit <NUM> such that sound output from the speaker unit <NUM> may direct to the front.

<FIG> is a view illustrating the arrangement of a speaker unit according to another embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, the microphone unit <NUM> is disposed on one side of the control panel <NUM> as in the previous embodiment, but the speaker unit <NUM> may be disposed on the other side of the control panel <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the speaker unit <NUM> may be disposed to direct to the front of the diaphragm <NUM> the same as that applied to the washing machine <NUM>. In addition, a speaker hole 223b may be provided on the control panel <NUM> below the speaker unit <NUM> to prevent the inflow of moisture.

<FIG> is a view illustrating an indoor unit of an air conditioner as a home appliance according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, <FIG> is an enlarged view of an upper portion of the indoor unit in <FIG>, and <FIG> is a view illustrating a state in which some components in <FIG> are disassembled.

Referring to <FIG>, an indoor unit <NUM> may include a main body <NUM> forming an outer appearance, and a plurality of discharge ports <NUM> for blowing air may be provided on a front surface of the main body <NUM>.

An electrical equipment compartment <NUM> may be provided at an upper portion of the main body <NUM> such that various electric and electronic elements for performing functions of the air conditioner may be installed.

The electrical equipment compartment <NUM> may be provided to be partitioned from a flow path inside the indoor unit <NUM> so as not to be affected by airflow inside the indoor unit <NUM>.

A substrate <NUM> for controlling and the speaker unit <NUM> for outputting sound may be disposed in the electrical equipment compartment <NUM>. An opened upper portion of the electrical equipment compartment <NUM> may be opened and closed by an electrical equipment compartment cover <NUM>.

The speaker unit <NUM> may be disposed at one side of the electrical equipment compartment <NUM>, and a speaker hole <NUM> for outputting sound may be provided on the electrical equipment compartment cover <NUM>.

The microphone unit <NUM> for speech recognition may be disposed in the front of the electrical equipment compartment <NUM> to be spaced apart from the speaker unit <NUM> and may be disposed on the centre of the upper end portion of the indoor unit <NUM> as a whole.

The microphone unit <NUM> may be installed in the indoor unit <NUM> as a box-shaped case <NUM> is coupled to an upper surface <NUM> of the indoor unit <NUM> in a state where the microphone unit <NUM> is installed to and received in the case <NUM>.

A coupling hook <NUM> for coupling with the upper surface <NUM> of the indoor unit <NUM> may be provided at a lower portion of the case <NUM>, and a hooking portion <NUM> into which the coupling hook <NUM> is detachably inserted may be provided on the electrical equipment compartment cover <NUM> forming the upper surface <NUM> of the indoor unit <NUM>.

Accordingly, the microphone unit <NUM> may be detachably coupled to the main body <NUM> to facilitate repair or replacement.

The structure in which the microphone unit <NUM> is installed in the case <NUM> may be the same as the installation structure of the microphone unit <NUM> in the washing machine <NUM> described above.

Therefore, the microphone hole <NUM> may be provided in a front surface of the case <NUM>, and the front surface of the microphone unit <NUM> may be fixed to a rear surface of the case <NUM> such that the sensing portion 12a (<FIG>) of the microphone unit <NUM> directs to the front of the indoor unit <NUM>.

In addition, the buffer member <NUM> (<FIG>) may be similarly attached around the sensing portion 12a (<FIG>), and in order to fix the microphone unit <NUM>, the double-sided tape <NUM> (<FIG>) may also be disposed between the rear surface of the case <NUM> and the front surface of the microphone unit <NUM>.

However, in the case of the waterproof sheet <NUM> (<FIG>), the waterproof sheet <NUM> (<FIG>) may be omitted in that a large amount of moisture is less likely to flow into the upper surface <NUM> in a process of using the indoor unit <NUM>.

Functions of the microphone unit <NUM> and the speaker unit <NUM> may be the same as those applied to the microphone unit <NUM> and the speaker unit <NUM> of the washing machine <NUM> described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Claim 1:
A home appliance comprising:
an electrical equipment compartment (<NUM>) recessed downward from a top surface of the home appliance;
an electrical equipment compartment cover (<NUM>) covering the electrical equipment compartment;
a microphone accommodating portion (<NUM>) protruding upward from the electrical equipment compartment cover to form a space inside the microphone accommodating portion, and having a front portion that faces forward and includes a first microphone hole (<NUM>) and a second microphone hole (<NUM>); and
a printed circuit board (PCB) (<NUM>) accommodated in the space inside the microphone accommodating portion, and comprising a first microphone chip (<NUM>) having a sensing portion (12a) and a second microphone chip (<NUM>) having a sensing portion (12a),
wherein the first microphone chip and the second microphone chip are laterally spaced apart from each other,
the first microphone chip is aligned with the first microphone hole so that speech transmitted from outside of the home appliance through the first microphone hole is detectable via the sensing portion of the first microphone chip, and
the second microphone chip is aligned with the second microphone hole so that speech transmitted from outside of the home appliance through the second microphone hole is detectable via the sensing portion of the second microphone chip.