WO2020122329A1

WO2020122329A1 - Contactless communication module of home appliance, and control system comprising same

Info

Publication number: WO2020122329A1
Application number: PCT/KR2019/004868
Authority: WO
Inventors: 서동진; 오용주; 김민석
Original assignee: 주식회사 미로
Priority date: 2018-12-10
Filing date: 2019-04-23
Publication date: 2020-06-18

Abstract

A contactless communication module of a home appliance according to an embodiment may comprise: a first communication unit for transmitting and receiving signals to and from a home appliance by using short-range wireless communication; a second communication unit for transmitting and receiving signals to and from a server or a user's terminal; and a control unit for transmitting the signals received from the first communication unit to the user's terminal via the second communication unit.

Description

Non-contact communication module of home appliance and control system including the same

The embodiment relates to a non-contact communication module of a home appliance capable of performing transmission and reception in a contactless manner with the home appliance and a control system including the same.

Recently, in order to increase the user's convenience, a communication module is installed inside a home appliance such as a refrigerator, a washing machine, an oven, and an air conditioner, or a technology that enables various information to be transmitted and received through a network connection is implemented. have.

The communication module is mounted and used in various types of home appliances as the price becomes cheaper, but the small home appliances are not equipped due to the difficulty of price increase and inventory management.

In order to solve this, the communication module can be manufactured in a removable form of a memory, but in this case, since the mold of the small device case needs to be modified, a problem of cost increase and manufacturing complexity arises.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a non-contact communication module of a home appliance for performing wireless communication without changing the structure of a small home appliance and a control system including the same.

The non-contact communication module of the home appliance according to an embodiment includes a first communication unit for transmitting and receiving signals using a short-range wireless communication with the home appliance, a second communication unit for transmitting and receiving signals with a server or a user's terminal, and a signal received from the first communication unit It may include a control unit for transmitting to the user's terminal through the second communication unit.

It may include a power receiver for receiving power from an external device.

The external device may include a home appliance, and the home appliance may include a power transmitter that transmits power therein.

It may include a rechargeable battery for charging the power received from the power receiver.

The short-range wireless communication may include an NFC method.

When the distance from the home appliance is less than a first threshold, the controller receives power in real time to maintain power, and the first threshold may be a distance capable of receiving power in real time.

When the distance from the home appliance is greater than or equal to a first threshold or less than a second threshold, the controller may maintain power using the rechargeable battery.

If the distance from the home appliance is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the power is cut off, and the second threshold may be a distance at which the communication signal is cut off.

In addition, the device control system according to the embodiment includes a plurality of home appliances equipped with a communication module, a server that transmits and receives signals to and from a server or a user terminal, and a contactless device that transmits and receives signals to and from the plurality of home appliances. A communication module, wherein the non-contact communication module includes a first communication unit that transmits and receives signals to and from the communication module, a second communication unit that transmits and receives signals to and from the server, and an information collection unit that collects signals received from the plurality of home appliances. And, it may include a control unit for controlling the operation of the home appliance by analyzing the signal collected from the information collection unit according to the signal provided from the user terminal.

When a request signal is received from the server or the user terminal, the controller selects controllable home appliances corresponding to the request signal and controls the selected home appliances.

The controller may select controllable home appliances by determining whether the controllable home appliances are within a communicable distance.

The controller may select controllable home appliances by determining whether the controllable home appliances are suitable for the user request.

The control unit may provide a power supply signal to the selected home appliances.

The control unit may operate one or more of the selected household appliances.

The non-contact communication module may include a display unit displaying a connection state and a control state of the home appliance.

The display unit may include a flashing LED or an LCD that displays the connection status and control status of the home appliance in text.

The non-contact communication module may include a sensor unit.

The non-contact communication module may further include a power receiver that receives power from the home appliance.

The non-contact communication module may include a charging battery for charging power received from the power receiving unit.

The embodiment has the effect that the wireless communication is possible without changing the structure of the existing home appliance by providing a non-contact communication module for non-contact communication with the home appliance.

In addition, the embodiment has an effect of effectively using power by controlling the power source according to the communication distance.

In addition, the embodiment has the effect of maintaining a comfortable space that meets the needs of the user by controlling the home appliances through wireless communication.

1 is a block diagram showing a home appliance control system according to a first embodiment.

2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the contactless communication module of the home appliance control system according to the first embodiment.

3 is a block diagram showing a home appliance control system according to a second embodiment.

4 and 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of the contactless communication module of the home appliance control system according to the second embodiment.

The present invention can be applied to various changes and can have various embodiments, and specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing each drawing, similar reference numerals are used for similar components.

Terms such as first, second, A, and B may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components. For example, the first component may be referred to as a second component without departing from the scope of the present invention, and similarly, the second component may be referred to as a first component. The term and/or includes a combination of a plurality of related described items or any one of a plurality of related described items.

When an element is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that other components may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but there may be other components in between. It should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that no other component exists in the middle.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, terms such as “include” or “have” are intended to indicate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, one or more other features. It should be understood that the existence or addition possibilities of fields or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof are not excluded in advance.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms, such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary, should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with meanings in the context of related technologies, and should not be interpreted as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in the present application. Does not.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing a home appliance control system according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the non-contact communication module of the home appliance control system according to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the home appliance control system 1000 according to the first embodiment may include a non-contact communication module 400.

The contactless communication module 400 may perform wireless communication with the home appliance 100 and the server 200 or the home appliance 100 and the user terminal 300. To this end, the non-contact communication module 400 may include a communication unit. The communication unit may use one or two or more of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, G-Wave, RF, NFC, and infrared communication methods.

The non-contact communication module 400 may include a first communication unit 410 and a second communication unit 420. The first communication unit 410 may perform wireless communication with the home appliance 100. Here, the home appliance 100 may include, but is not limited to, a refrigerator, a cooking appliance, a washing machine, a cleaner, a water purifier, a cold/hot air fan, a fan, a warmer, an air conditioner, a humidifier, an air purifier, and the like. The interior of the home appliance 100 may include a communication module 120 capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from the first communication unit 410.

The first communication unit 410 may transmit and receive signals in both directions with the home appliance 100. The first communication unit 410 may include short-range wireless communication. The short-range wireless communication method may be a Near Field Communication (NFC) method.

The NFC communication method is compatible between various devices, and data synchronization is possible by matching data standards between all terminals including a short range wireless communication module. The NFC communication method can generally perform communication within a communication distance of less than 10 cm. Since the NFC communication method has a short communication distance, there is a very small effect of fear of leakage of personal information. The short-range wireless communication method may include Bluetooth, Zigbee, and infrared communication methods in addition to NFC.

The second communication unit 420 may perform wireless communication with the server 200. Here, the server 200 may include a server operated by a manufacturer of the home appliance 100 or a company commissioned by the manufacturer, a server for a service of the home appliance 100, a web server, and the like. The server 200 may transmit information of the home appliance 100 to the user terminal 300. The user terminal 300 may include a smart phone, an AI speaker, and the like.

The second communication unit 420 may transmit and receive signals in both directions with the server. The second communication unit 420 may use a communication module such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee, but may be used as Wi-Fi in this embodiment.

In the above, the second communication unit 420 transmits and receives signals to and from the server 200, but may also directly transmit and receive signals to and from the user terminal 300.

The non-contact communication module 400 may include a control unit 430.

The control unit 430 transmits the signal received from the first communication unit 410 to the server 200 through the second communication unit 420 or controls the home appliance 100 according to the signal received from the server 200. A control signal may be provided to the home appliance 100. The signal may include a signal or data signal for control.

For example, the control unit 430 transmits data provided from the home appliance 100 to the server, and when a command signal is received from the user, the controller 430 sends a signal to change the operation of the home appliance 100 by the command signal ( 100).

The non-contact communication module 400 may include a power receiver 440.

The power receiver 400 serves to wirelessly receive power from an external device. The power receiving unit 440 may receive power in an electromagnetic induction method used for a smart phone, a tablet, various wearable devices, an electric toothbrush, and a razor. Although the electromagnetic induction method has a short transmission distance, the transmission efficiency is 90% or more, which is very effective.

Since the power receiving unit 440 receives electric power through an electromagnetic induction method, power can be effectively received through a wireless charger for a mobile phone and a wireless charger for a transmission toothbrush. The power receiving unit 440 may be an induction coil.

In this embodiment, the wireless power may be received from the home appliance 100. To this end, the power transmission unit 140 may be disposed in the home appliance 100. When the non-contact communication module 400 is placed on the top of the home appliance 100 in an area where the power transmission unit 140 is disposed, power may be received by the non-contact communication module 400. Here, the non-contact communication module 400 may be formed in a pebble shape.

In the above, the wireless charging method transmits and receives power by an electromagnetic induction method, but is not limited thereto, and a charging method using a magnetic resonance method may be used.

The non-contact communication module 400 may include a rechargeable battery 450.

The rechargeable battery 450 is formed with a battery pack capable of storing electricity therein, and may include a PCB substrate that controls charging and discharging of the rechargeable battery 450. The rechargeable battery 450 stores the power received from the power receiving unit 440 to use the power stored in the rechargeable battery 450 when the real-time power of the non-contact communication module 400 is cut off, the non-contact communication module 400 Can operate.

Meanwhile, the control unit 430 may cut off power according to the distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100. For example, when the non-contact communication module 400 is separated from the home appliance 100 by a certain distance and transmission/reception of a signal is impossible, the non-contact communication module 400 may be controlled to cut off the power.

In general, NFC-type communication is operated at a distance of less than 10 cm from the home appliance, and charging is operated at a distance from the home appliance less than 1 cm. Therefore, when the communication distance and the charging distance are used, the power of the contactless communication module 400 is used. Can be effectively controlled.

The control unit 430 may control to use real-time power, use the charging battery 450 power, or completely cut off power depending on the distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100.

The operation of the control unit 430 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, when a signal is received from the first communication unit 410, the control unit 430 performs a step of checking whether the distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100 is less than a first threshold value. It can be done (S120). The first threshold may be a distance capable of receiving power in real time. The first threshold may be set to a value of 1 cm, for example.

If the distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100 is less than the first threshold value, the control unit 430 may control to maintain power by receiving real-time power (S130). During this period, power may be charged in the rechargeable battery 450.

If the distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100 is less than the first threshold, the control unit 430 has a distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100 greater than or equal to the first threshold. A step of checking whether the threshold is less than 2 may be performed (S140). The second threshold may not be real-time power reception, but may be a distance at which communication is possible. The second threshold may be set to a value of 10 cm, for example.

If the distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100 is greater than or equal to a first threshold and less than a second threshold, the controller 430 may maintain power using the portable battery 450 (S150).

If the distance between the contactless communication module 400 and the home appliance 100 is greater than or equal to a first threshold and less than a second threshold, the control unit 430 has a distance between the contactless communication module 400 and the home appliance 100. A step of checking whether it is equal to or greater than the second threshold value may be performed (S160 ).

If the distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100 is greater than or equal to the second threshold, the control unit 430 may control to cut off power (S170).

That is, when communication is not possible, the control unit 430 can prevent unnecessary power consumption.

The control unit 430 checks whether the distance between the non-contact communication module 410 and the home appliance 100 is greater than or equal to the second threshold, or if the distance between the non-contact communication module 400 and the home appliance 100 is less than the first threshold. It may return to the step (S120).

The home appliance control system of the first embodiment has a non-contact communication module 400 provided separately from the home appliance 100, thereby enabling wireless communication without changing the structure of the existing home appliance.

In the above, the control of the home appliance 100 was performed by the sensor non-contact communication module 400, but the home appliance 100 can be controlled through the server 200.

3 is a block diagram showing a home appliance control system according to a second embodiment, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the operation of the contactless communication module of the home appliance control system according to the second embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the home appliance control system 1000 according to the second embodiment may include a non-contact communication module 500.

The contactless communication module 500 may perform wireless communication with the home appliance 100 and the server 200 or the home appliance 100 and the user terminal 2300. To this end, the non-contact communication module 400 may include a communication unit. The communication unit may use one or two or more of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, G-Wave, RF, infrared, and NFC communication methods.

The non-contact communication module 500 may include a first communication unit 510 and a second communication unit 520. The first communication unit 510 may perform wireless communication with the plurality of home appliances 100.

The plurality of home appliances 100 may include, but are not limited to, a refrigerator, a cooking appliance, a washing machine, a cleaner, a water purifier, a cold/hot air fan, a fan, a warmer, an air conditioner, a humidifier, and an air purifier. The interior of the home appliance 100 may include a communication module 120 capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from the first communication unit 510.

The first communication unit 510 may be formed in a plurality to transmit and receive 1:1 with the plurality of home appliances 100.

The second communication unit 520 may communicate with the server 200. The second communication unit 520 may transmit and receive signals in both directions with the server 200. In the above, the second communication unit 520 transmits and receives signals to and from the server 200, but may also directly transmit and receive signals to and from the user terminal 300.

The contactless communication module 500 may include an information collection unit 560. The information collection unit 560 may collect signals received from the plurality of home appliances 100. The information collection unit 560 may be divided into a first information collection unit to an n-th information collection unit so that information of a plurality of home appliances 100 can be stored respectively. The information collecting unit 560 may be a memory that stores the received signal.

The non-contact communication module 500 may include a control unit 530.

The control unit 530 transmits the data signal received from the first communication unit 510 to the server 200 through the second communication unit 520 or controls the home appliance 100 according to the signal received from the server 200. To this end, a control signal may be provided to the home appliance 100.

The control unit 530 transmits the data signal provided from the home appliance 100 to the server 200, and when a command signal is received from the user terminal 300, signals to change the operation of the home appliance 100 by the command signal Can provide.

The non-contact communication module 500 may include a power receiver 540.

The power receiver 540 serves to wirelessly receive power from an external device. In this embodiment, the wireless power may be received from the home appliance 100. To this end, the power transmission unit 140 may be disposed in the home appliance 100. Here, the non-contact communication module 500 may be formed in a pebble shape.

The non-contact communication module 500 may include a rechargeable battery 550.

The rechargeable battery 550 is formed with a battery pack capable of storing electricity therein, and a PCB substrate for controlling charging and discharging of the rechargeable battery 550 may be included.

The control unit 530 may cut off power according to the distance between the non-contact communication module 500 and the home appliance 100. For example, when the non-contact communication module 500 is separated from the home appliance 100 by a certain distance and transmission/reception of a signal is impossible, the non-contact communication module 500 may be controlled to cut off the power. That is, the controller 530 may control to use real-time power according to the distance between the non-contact communication module 500 and the home appliance 100, use the power of the rechargeable battery 550, or completely cut off the power. .

The non-contact communication module 500 may include a display unit 570. The display unit 570 may display a connection state and a control state of the home appliance 100. From this, the user can grasp the type of the home appliance 100 currently being operated.

The display unit 570 may include a flashing LED or an LCD displaying a connection state and a control state of the home appliance 100 by text or pictures.

The non-contact communication module 500 may include a sensor unit 580. The sensor unit 580 collects surrounding information. Ambient information can collect information such as temperature, humidity, and brightness.

Meanwhile, the controller 530 may operate the home appliances 100 to respond to the user's request signal. For example, when the user requests a comfortable environment, the control unit 530 may operate the plurality of home appliances 100 so that the temperature and humidity measured from the sensor unit 580 are at an appropriate level. The control unit 530 may respond to the user's demand by operating the cold/hot air fan, the humidifier, and the air purifier simultaneously or in combination to respond to the user's request.

Hereinafter, the operation of the control unit 530 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the controller 530 may perform a step of receiving a signal from the user terminal 300 (S210). When a signal is transmitted from the user terminal 300 by the user, the server 200 receives the signal and transmits the signal to the non-contact communication module 500.

When a signal is received, the controller 530 may perform a step of selecting controllable home appliances 100 (S220 ). For example, if the received signal is a signal that requires a comfortable environment, the controller 530 may select a cold/hot air fan, a humidifier, or an air purifier from among the plurality of home appliances 100.

The control unit 530 may determine whether the controllable home appliances 100 are within a communicable distance and select controllable home appliances 100. For example, if the cold/hot air fan and the humidifier are within a communicable distance, but the air purifier is in a position where communication is impossible, the control unit 530 may select only the cold/hot air fan and the humidifier.

In addition, the control unit 530 may select controllable home appliances 100 by determining whether the controllable home appliances 100 are suitable for the user request. For example, since a temperature and humidity must be considered for a comfortable environment, the water purifier and the vacuum cleaner among the household appliances 100 are not included in the control target.

The control unit 530 may provide a power supply signal to the selected home appliances 100 by selecting controllable home appliances 100 (S230). The home appliance 100 receives a power supply signal, and operates the power of the home appliance 100. At this time, if there is a household appliance that the cord is not connected to the power, the controller 530 may be informed that power supply is impossible.

The control unit 530 controls one or more home appliances 100 by controlling one or more of the controllable home appliances 100.

The operation of controlling the home appliances 100 by operating the plurality of home appliances 100 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The control unit 530 controls the home appliance 100 such that the temperature is about 25 to 27 degrees and the humidity is 50 to 60 in response to a signal requesting a comfortable environment from the user. The control unit 530 may operate the home appliances 100 based on the temperature and humidity measured from the sensor unit 580.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 530 may perform a step of determining whether control of the home appliance 1 is necessary (S241). The home appliance 1 may be a cold or hot air fan for increasing or decreasing the temperature. The control unit 530 determines whether to operate the cold/hot air fan based on the temperature measured by the sensor unit 580. If the temperature required by the user is 25 to 27 degrees, and the temperature measured by the sensor unit 580 is less than 25 degrees or exceeds 27 degrees, the control unit 530 operates the household electrical appliance 1 (S242).

The display unit 570 lights the lamp corresponding to the home appliance 1 to display the operation of the home appliance 1.

On the other hand, when the temperature measured by the sensor unit 580 is in a temperature range required by the user, the control unit 530 does not operate the home appliance 1.

The controller 530 may perform a step of determining whether control of the home appliance 2 is necessary (S243). The home appliance 2 may be a humidifier for increasing humidity. The control unit 530 determines whether to operate the home appliance 2 based on the humidity measured from the sensor unit 580. If the humidity measured by the sensor unit 380 does not satisfy the humidity required by the user, the control unit 530 operates the home appliance 2 (S244).

The display unit 570 lights the lamp corresponding to the home appliance 2 to display the operation of the home appliance 2.

On the other hand, when the humidity measured from the sensor unit 580 is in a range required by the user, the control unit 530 does not operate the household electrical appliance 2.

The controller 530 may perform a step of determining whether control of the home appliance 3 is necessary (S245). The home appliance 3 may be an air cleaner for air cleaning. The control unit 530 determines whether to operate the air purifier based on the air clean state measured by the sensor unit 580. If the degree of air cleanliness measured by the sensor unit 530 does not satisfy the condition required by the user, the control unit 530 operates the home appliance 3 (S246).

The display unit 370 lights the lamp corresponding to the home appliance 3 to display the operation of the home appliance 3.

On the other hand, when the degree of air cleanliness measured by the sensor unit 580 is within a range required by the user, the control unit 530 does not control the home appliance 3.

The home appliance control system according to the second embodiment is effective in maintaining a comfortable space that meets a user's needs by controlling home appliances through wireless communication.

Claims

A first communication unit for transmitting and receiving a signal using a short-range wireless communication with the home appliance;

A second communication unit for transmitting and receiving signals to and from a server or a user's terminal; And

And a control unit that transmits a signal received from the first communication unit to the user's terminal through the second communication unit.
According to claim 1,

Non-contact communication module including a power receiving unit for receiving power from an external device.
According to claim 2,

The external device includes a home appliance, and the home appliance has a non-contact communication module having a power transmitter for transmitting power therein.
According to claim 3,

Non-contact communication module including a rechargeable battery for charging the power received from the power receiver.
The method of claim 4,

The short-range wireless communication is a contactless communication module including an NFC method.
The method of claim 5,

The control unit maintains power by receiving power in real time when the distance from the home appliance is less than a first threshold, and the first threshold is a contactless communication module that is a distance capable of receiving power in real time.
The method of claim 6,

The controller is a contactless communication module that maintains power by using the rechargeable battery when the distance from the home appliance is greater than or equal to a first threshold or less than a second threshold.
The method of claim 7,

If the distance from the home appliance is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the power is cut off, and the second threshold is a distance at which the communication signal is cut off.
According to claim 1,

The home appliance includes a plurality of home appliances,

The control unit selects the controllable home appliances corresponding to the request signal when the request signal is received from the server or the user terminal, and controls the selected home appliances.
A plurality of home appliances equipped with a communication module;

A server that transmits and receives signals to and from a server or user terminal; And

It includes a non-contact communication module for transmitting and receiving the transmitted and received signals to and from the plurality of home appliances to the server,

The non-contact communication module includes a first communication unit that transmits and receives the communication module, a second communication unit that transmits and receives signals to and from the server, an information collection unit that collects signals received from the plurality of home appliances, and the server or user terminal. And a control unit to control the operation of the home appliance by analyzing the signal collected from the information collection unit according to the signal provided from the home appliance control system.
The method of claim 10,

The controller selects the controllable home appliances corresponding to the request signal when the request signal is received from the server or the user terminal, and controls the selected home appliances.
The method of claim 11,

The control unit is a home appliance control system for selecting controllable home appliances by determining whether the controllable home appliances are within a communicable distance.
The method of claim 11,

The control unit is a home appliance control system for selecting controllable home appliances by determining whether the controllable home appliances are suitable for a user request signal.
The method of claim 11,

The control unit is a home appliance control system that provides a power supply signal to the selected home appliances.
The method of claim 11,

The control unit is a home appliance control system for operating one or more of the home appliances among the selected home appliances.
The method of claim 15,

The non-contact communication module is a home appliance control system including a display unit for displaying a connection state and a control state of the home appliance.
The method of claim 16,

The display unit is a home appliance control system including a flashing LED or an LCD that displays the connection status and control status of the home appliance in text.
The method of claim 10,

The non-contact communication module is a home appliance control system including a sensor unit.
The method of claim 10,

The non-contact communication module is a home appliance control system including a power receiving unit for receiving power from the home appliance.
The method of claim 19,

The non-contact communication module is a home appliance control system including a charging battery for charging the power received from the power receiver.