KR20140057358A - Household appliance, system and method of controling houseshold appliances - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a control system and a control method for controlling an input voltage (1) for a household appliance comprising at least one electric motor in a set (5) of their electric charges. This control is made by the processing unit 3, which can act selectively and independently with respect to the set 4 of output switches, and thus acts differently for each device of the set of electric bills 5.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system and a method for controlling home appliances,

The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling an input voltage for an appliance having at least one electric motor in an assembly of their electric charges. This control is done by a processing unit that can act selectively and independently to the assembly of the output switch and thus acts in a different mode for each device of the assembly of electric bills.

Currently, many countries differ in the production and distribution of electrical energy at different levels of voltage in each country. The majority of electrical devices, especially computers, television sets, stereo sets, etc., have two voltage characteristics with an automatic voltage controller, which allows to adjust various input voltages, typically 110V or 220V, Respectively. This feature is still scarcely spread in the area of consumer electronics, as most of them are limited by today's technology due to factors such as power and control, and most require an electric motor to function.

In this regard, a small number of products capable of operating at two-voltages have passive switching performed by the end user by a switch, which typically changes the organization of coils of the device for their functionality . However, a small number of users are not limited to defects for these users as well as those resulting in a partial loss of fire and functionality of the appliance, which, in accordance with the level of protection of the device, Have specific knowledge of the function.

For these reasons, in order to avoid these drawbacks, it is necessary to prevent unnecessary use of the warranty service as well as to increase the protection for the user, thereby reducing the damage to the associated image for the manufacturer, Automatic change of the input voltage to the level becomes an essential practice.

Likewise, single-phase induction motors are widely used in consumer electronics due to their simplicity, robustness and high performance. In particular, since the induction motor is applied to a variety of household appliances such as a refrigerator, a freezer, an air conditioner, and a washing machine, the induction motor generally includes two windings, A cage-type rotor and a stator are conventionally provided.

In this regard, during normal operation of the compressor, the run winding is the half supplied by the alternating voltage, at the beginning of the start motion there is more power to accelerate the rotor As necessary, the start winding is only supplied during the first moment when the motor is functioning. Thus, a motor is specially designed and constructed for operation in a certain limited voltage range, with possible variations typically not exceeding 10% or more of what is designed. If these variations are greater than 10%, a new design and configuration of the motor is required.

Therefore, possible attempts to solve this problem are presented in the literature for the design of two-voltage systems. The document US 4,415,964 provides a related design, wherein the system is configured to automatically adjust the voltage output independently of the input voltage, and when turned on at 110V, Changing the coil arrangement of the transformer, thus causing it to be a 110V output, and conversely turning the coil for configuration in series when turned on at 220V, thus repeating the 110V output. However, in this method, the literature uses a transformer at the output, but it is not a direct combination of the operating devices, thus limiting the control over them as well as the possible charges that are turned on.

Other information contemplated as prior art provides an automatic control system with a continuous current output, but it has been found in literature US 5,001,623, having the same drawbacks provided in the above document, that the voltage provided at that particular location is required for the functionality of the device Can be found in document US 7,528, 734, which provides a system that is configured to let the user know whether or not the output voltage is changed or controlled, but which does not have an output voltage change or control.

Additionally, the DC power supply system is disclosed in the document JP 2010 288387, which is intended to provide satisfactory usability to the user while taking advantage of the DC power supply. Such a system includes DC power supply means for supplying a DC voltage, and voltage conversion means for converting the DC voltage supplied to the advanced line from the DC power supply means to the load into a plurality of DC voltages having different operating voltages. The system further comprises voltage setting means for setting the prescribed DC voltage converted by the voltage converting means.

It should be noted that the literature provided is very sensitive to manufacturing and maintenance costs as compared to the present invention, as well as oscillation transients and other disturbances in the supply line, in addition to the enormous consumption of energy.

In this regard, low power controls, such as lamps and fans, require extra expenditure of energy loss on transformers and other automatic control systems designed to reconfigure the currently used input voltage.

In particular, conventional household appliances employing electric motors are not able to use a transformer to operate as a voltage regulation sources because of the high volume of electric motors due to the large volume they have in order to scale in these applications It is generally designed for a specific voltage.

Moreover, currently used household appliances have various functions for the convenience of the user. Documents such as U.S. Patent 7,716,937 are particularly useful for dampers, fans, evaporators, condensers, motors, deicing resistances, lights, displays, , Temperature sensors, and so on. These various types of devices not only have different operating requirements, but can also have different specifications for optimized functions.

Thus, the control provided by the present invention is intended to achieve optimization of all controlled devices as well as automatic control of the device by changing the type of operation on the input voltage delivered to the device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic voltage control device with a simple and robust topology that enables reduction of the required model to meet a determined group of products for large- .

It is a further object of the present invention that electronic control of these devices should have negligible energy consumption.

It is a further object of the present invention that the electronic control should not be sensitive to vibration transients and disturbances coming from the feedback network.

Another object of the present invention is not only the different requirements for operation but also the control of various functions for the comfort of the user and the optimized control of the various devices with the interaction with the interface of the appliance.

A first embodiment of the present invention provides a control system for a consumer appliance, the system comprising at least a set of an electric charge including an input voltage, a processing unit, a set of output switches, and an electric motor, The processing unit is configured to detect the input voltage and acts on the set of output switches to activate the set of electricity rates and to set the detected input voltage to match the input voltage independently for each device of the set of electricity rates Is configured to match the operating voltage of each device in the set of electrical charges, which otherwise acts on the set of output switches.

Further, according to the present invention,

a. Detecting an input voltage;

b. Defining an operating voltage of the device of the set of electricity rates,

c. Defining a mode of operation for the output switch, and

d. The method further comprising the step of operating on a set of output switches in a different way to match the voltages independently for each device of the set of electricity bills. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 >≪ / RTI >

1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram illustrating possible controls achieved in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a graph of one of the device control modes, with complete cycles having an input voltage of 110V.
4 is a graph of one of the device control modes by a full cycle with an input voltage of 220V.
Figure 5 is a graph of one of the device control modes, in phase, with an input voltage of 110V.
Figure 6 is a graph of one of the device control modes, in phase, with an input voltage of 220V.
FIG. 7 is a diagram of one of the device control modes, by way of charge, according to an input voltage of 110V.
Figure 8 is a diagram of one of the device control modes, by way of charge, according to an input voltage of 220V.

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Thus, Fig. 1 shows the processing unit 3, to which the input voltage 1 is supplied by the rectifier 2. Fig. The processing unit 3 is also configured to detect the magnitude of this input voltage 1 that can be supplied by the input voltage 1 and applied to the system. The detection in the system is performed by detecting the input voltage 1 directly sent to the processing unit 3, or indirectly, the magnitude of this input voltage 1, which directly calculates and defines the voltage value, Either one of the input voltage 1 that supplies the voltage-level sensor 6 that supplies this information to the unit 3 and the processing unit 3 thus calculates the value of the input voltage 1 And is responsible for defining.

In this regard, the processing unit 3 preferably comprises an electromechanical switch (such as a relay or solenoid) or an electronically controlled switch (such as a static switch, a TRIAC or a transistor) To define various modes of selective operation with respect to the set 4 of output switches. These switches of the set 4 of the output switches are configured to operate in various ways for the device (having a determined operating voltage, preferably 127V) of the set 5 of electric charges, so that the input voltage 1 Can be adjusted for the operating voltages of the various devices of the set 5 of electricity rates, which operating means are defined not only by the input voltage 1 but also by the form of the device of the set 5 of the electric charges to be controlled.

Thus, the processing unit 3 is configured to detect the input voltage 1 and to define the best means of operation either directly or by the voltage-level sensor 6, and also with respect to the set 4 of output switches . Fig. 1 also shows that the processing unit 3 can also be used to provide information to a user of the appliance, for example by means of a control interface 7, which can use a display or a light emitting diode, And the temperature sensor are configured to receive information from the control interface 7 and thus to obtain the information necessary to manage the devices of the system in an optimized manner.

In this regard, Figure 2 shows a block diagram according to a controllable possible device. The processing unit 3 can be used in an independent and other manner, for example, a compressor 8, an ice making resistor 9, a lamp 10, various motors 11 for opening and closing automation of ports or other forms, A set of electric bills 5, which may have various elements, such as, for example, one or more outputs 15 for one or more other types of signals 12, such as a loudspeaker for an alarm, It should be noted that

Likewise, the processing unit 3 may also be implemented in a cooling system, such as a processing unit (not shown), to optimize the functionality of the controlled device, which may be, for example, a display or screen with a button, LCD or LED, 3 or a sensor other than the cooling system, for example a port sensor 13, a temperature sensor 14 or a control interface 7 of a consumer electronics.

The processing unit 3 therefore comprises a set of output switches 4 for selecting a specific voltage for each element to carry out all the necessary operations at the correct time and furthermore to bring about energy saving by the functionality of the operating program ), As well as a program configured to simultaneously manage all devices in an optimal manner depending on the time to turn on / off each switch, so that the cooling system can function in accordance with its technical specifications It should be noted.

An example of the management of the operation that can be given is the operation of the apparatus in the opposite manner, for the rates to be interfered with each other, such as, for example, the lamp and the deicing resistor 9. By opening the port of the cooling system when this ice-making resistor 9 is turned on, it is possible to notice a flicker (a flickering light instead of a constant light) on the lamp 10. This is due to the voltage drop in the cycle in which the ice-making resistor 9 is turned on. Thus, the processing unit 3 can be configured to detect a problem, and when the ice-making resistor 9 is turned on as the cooling-system port is opened, it is turned off for the time the port remains open. When the port is closed, the ice-making resistor 9 is turned on again.

Figures 3-8 illustrate possible modes of control for management of the apparatus of the present invention. In a preferred mode, the devices of set 5 of electricity rates are dimensioned for 127V, and these devices differ from the resistors for lamps, fans, and motors. It should be noted that the motors used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention have a specific configuration, which will be described in more detail below.

In this regard, Figure 3 shows that the apparatus of the set 5 of electric bills detects an input voltage 1 having a value of about 110 V with a preferred range of operation of the invention of 90-170 V, Which is referred to as control by phase, which is controlled by the control unit 3 of the present invention. Thus, the processing unit 3 acts on the set 4 of output switches, so that all the waves of the input voltage 1 are supplied to the electric charge of the set 5 of electric charges. In this way, the voltage applied to the device has a voltage value of the operation of the device, so these devices have a 100% input voltage 1 (about 127 V) applied to them.

In a similar manner, Fig. 4 illustrates this control mode, by phase, acting on the device according to an input voltage having a value of about 220V, in accordance with the preferred range of operation of the present invention from 170V to 260V. Thus, the processing unit 3 defines that the input voltage 1 should be detected and changed before it is supplied to the device of the set 5 of electric bill, and thus by acting on the set 4 of output switches, Resulting in cutting in wave cycles. It should be noted that this cutoff by phase provides the final voltage supplied to the device which halves the value of the operating voltage, and is thus about 127V. In this way, even when the input voltage 1 is different from the operating voltage of the device of the set 5 of electric charges, the system delivers the operating voltage to the device. It should be pointed out that this control uses the Flicker rule and is therefore generally used for deicing resistance, fans, especially without speed control.

5 shows a control system for managing the apparatus of the set 5 of electric bills having an operating voltage of 127 V, wherein the mode is a full cycle control (Fig. 5) in which the processing unit 3 detects that the input voltage is about 110 V complete cycle control. It should therefore be noted that the processing unit 3 acts on the set 4 of output switches in such a way that the total input voltage ripple is supplied to the charge.

Figure 6 shows the same control mode of the present invention by full cycle control when the set 5 of electricity rates has an operating voltage of 127V and the processing unit 3 detects an input voltage of about 220V. In this regard, the processing unit defines that the best mode for controlling a given device with a meaningless level of low power and harmonics, such as incandescent lamps, uses full cycle control. It should be noted that, for some cases, the application of the entire wave cycle and the cutting of the full cycle can not be used because, as in the case of lamps, this leads to visible variations in the light intensity, This control mode is used to generate a non-sine wave that makes physical cuts during the cycle.

7 and 8 show an arrangement of a set of electric bills 5 with elements that can be configured to selectively operate for operation at various voltages. Thus, the processing unit 3 detects the input voltage 1 having a value of about 110 V, while FIG. 7 shows the combination of the charges of the apparatus of the set 5 of electric charges in parallel, The combination of the charges of the device of the set of charges 5 is described, wherein the processing unit detects the input voltage 1 having a value of about 220V. It should be noted that the set 4 of output switches acts directly on this combination of the rates of the devices of the set 5 of electric charges. Such control is generally applied to devices with high power, such as electric motors generally adopted for compressors, with coils that can be combined in various ways.

These electric motors are preferably induction motors in addition to cage-type rotors, preferably with at least one stator, preferably with at least one operating winding and at least one starting winding. These induction motors may also be in the form of controlled variable speeds, or other forms that may not be further cited but may be configured in a particular configuration. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the coils of these induction motors have a main coil divided into two parts, which can be coupled in series or in parallel, and an auxiliary starting coil connected in parallel to one of the parts of the main coil Lt; / RTI > connection.

Finally, the technique used by the present invention does not use a transformer, so there is no additional consumption of power when the device is off, and it is possible to use a converter with pulse width modulation (PWM), voltage generators, , And voltage multipliers (or dividers), as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. A strong control such as that provided in the present invention can thus be used in a wide range of voltages (preferably 90V to 260V). Thus, various types of devices can be controlled simultaneously, independently, and in other ways according to the present invention.

It should be understood that the preferred embodiments of the embodiments have been described and that the scope of the invention, which is limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, including possible equivalents, includes other possible variations.

Claims (26)

An input voltage (1);
A processing unit (3);
A set of output switches (4); And
A set (5) of electric bills having an operating voltage, the control system comprising:
The system is:
The processing unit 3 is configured to detect the input voltage 1 and acts on the set of output switches 4 to actuate the set of electricity rates 5, To the operating voltage of each device of the set 5 of electric bills, which acts on the set 4 of output switches in a different way so as to correspond to the input voltage 1 independently for each device of the set 5 of charges. Wherein the control unit is configured to match the plurality of control signals.
The method according to claim 1,
And a voltage-level sensor 6 for providing information on the input voltage 1 so that the processing unit 3 can detect the input voltage 1 detected by each of the devices 5, And wherein the control system is configured to match the operating voltage.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Characterized in that the processing unit (3) is configured to define a timing for turning on and off each device of the set of electric bills (5).
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Characterized in that the processing unit (3) operates in the range of an input voltage (1) of 90V to 260V.
5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Characterized in that the processing unit (3) acts on the set (4) of output switches to match the input voltage (1) to an operating voltage of 90 V to 127 V for each device of the set Control system for products.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Characterized in that the processing unit (3) is configured for managing the devices of the set (5) of electric bills according to the control interface (7) of the appliance.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Characterized in that the processing unit (3) is configured for managing the devices of the set (5) of electric charges by controlling the phase of the input voltage (1).
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Characterized in that the processing unit (3) is configured for managing the devices of the set (5) of electricity rates by controlling the full cycle of the input voltage (1).
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
At least one of the devices of the set of electric charges 5 has two or more coils and the processing unit 3 is adapted to manage the devices of the set 5 of electric charges by combining two or more coils in series or in parallel And a control unit for controlling the control unit.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Characterized in that the processing unit (3) is configured for managing the devices of the set (5) of electric bills by PWM (pulse width modulation).
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
At least one of the sets of electric charges 5 has at least two coils and the processing unit 3 controls the phase of the input voltage 1 or controls the cycle by means of PWM, Characterized in that the control system is configured for simultaneously managing the devices of the set (5) of electric bills by coupling two or more coils in parallel.
12. The method of claim 11,
Characterized in that the processing unit (3) uses a voltage grader, a converter with a rectifier, and a multiplier and / or a voltage divider.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Characterized in that at least one of the devices of the set of electric charges (5) is an electric motor with at least two coils.
A control method for a consumer appliance having an input voltage (1), the set (5) of electric bills having an operating voltage, the method comprising:
a. Detecting an input voltage (1);
b. And defining an operating voltage for the device of the set of electric charges (5)
c. Defining a mode acting on the set (4) of output switches;
d. Acting on the set of output switches (4) in a different way to match the input voltage (1) independently to the operating voltage of each device of the set of electricity rates (5) Control methods for products.
15. The method of claim 14,
Characterized in that during the step of acting on the set (4) of the output switches, the timing for turning on and off each device of the set (5) of electricity rates is defined.
16. The method according to claim 14 or 15,
Characterized in that the step of acting on the set (4) of output switches is characterized by matching the input voltage (1) to an operating voltage of 90 V to 127 V for each device of the set of electricity rates Control method for household appliances.
17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16,
Characterized in that the step of acting on the set of output switches (4) manages the set of electric bills (5) according to the control interface of the appliance.
17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16,
Characterized in that the step of acting on the set of output switches (4) manages the device of the set (5) of electric charges by controlling the phase of the input voltage (1).
17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16,
Characterized in that the step of acting on the set of output switches (4) manages the device of the set (5) of electric charges by controlling the cycle of the input voltage (1).
17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16,
Characterized in that at least one of the devices of the set of electric charges (5) has at least two coils and the step of acting on the set (4) of the output switches comprises a set of electric charges ) Is controlled in accordance with the control information.
17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16,
Characterized in that the step of acting on the set (4) of the output switches is to manage the devices of the set (5) of electric charges by PWM.
17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16,
Characterized in that at least one of the devices of the set of electric charges (5) has more than two coils and the step of acting on the set (4) of output switches controls the phase of the input voltage (1) Characterized in that the device of the set of electric bills (5) is managed simultaneously by coupling two or more coils in series or in parallel by PWM.
23. The method of claim 22,
Characterized in that the step of acting on the set of output switches (4) uses a voltage grader, a converter with a rectifier, and a multiplier and / or a voltage divider.
17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16,
Characterized in that at least one of the devices of the set of electric charges (5) is an electric motor equipped with at least two coils.
A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 or a system as defined in any one of claims 14 to 24.
26. The method of claim 25,
Characterized by a refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner or washing machine.

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