GB2313924A - Control device for domestic appliances - Google Patents
Control device for domestic appliances Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2313924A GB2313924A GB9611518A GB9611518A GB2313924A GB 2313924 A GB2313924 A GB 2313924A GB 9611518 A GB9611518 A GB 9611518A GB 9611518 A GB9611518 A GB 9611518A GB 2313924 A GB2313924 A GB 2313924A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- appliance
- human
- control device
- message
- messages
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 230000000977 initiatory effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims 2
- 241000282412 Homo Species 0.000 description 1
- 230000001960 triggered effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005406 washing Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
- H05B6/00—Heating by electric, magnetic or electromagnetic fields
- H05B6/64—Heating using microwaves
- H05B6/6435—Aspects relating to the user interface of the microwave heating apparatus
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F34/00—Details of control systems for washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
- D06F34/28—Arrangements for program selection, e.g. control panels therefor; Arrangements for indicating program parameters, e.g. the selected program or its progress
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
- G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
- G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
- G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
- G05B19/042—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers using digital processors
- G05B19/0426—Programming the control sequence
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F2103/00—Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
- D06F2105/58—Indications or alarms to the control system or to the user
- D06F2105/60—Audible signals
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
- G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
- G05B2219/20—Pc systems
- G05B2219/23—Pc programming
- G05B2219/23068—Give instructions, messages to operator
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
- G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
- G05B2219/20—Pc systems
- G05B2219/25—Pc structure of the system
- G05B2219/25128—Transmission with higher frequency than the processing frequency
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
- G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
- G05B2219/20—Pc systems
- G05B2219/25—Pc structure of the system
- G05B2219/25289—Energy saving, brown out, standby, sleep, powerdown modus for microcomputer
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
- Electromagnetism (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
- Electric Ovens (AREA)
Abstract
A domestic appliance has a CPU A which serves to control the operating cycles of the appliance and also to initiate the delivery of audible messages, such as voice messages by way of synthesiser C, amplifier D and speaker F. Such messages indicate that human intervention and response is required before the next cycle can take place. If no such human response takes place, the appliance adopts a quiescent state until proximity sensor B senses the presence of a human in the vicinity of the appliance. The sensor B then re-activates the CPU to re-deliver the previous message and alert the human to intervene.
Description
IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC APPLIANCES AND CONTROL DEVICES THEREFOR.
This invention relates to domestic appliances such as microwaves, computers,ovens,washing machines,tumble driers and the like where there is a need for human intervention during operative cycles.
In particular the invention relates to appliances of the type having an in-built voice synthesiser to provide an audible message,usually signifying that human intervention is needed.
In such circumstances a person can be absent or out of vicinity and earshot of the appliance immediatly after an audio message has been given by the appliance for attention and the appliance remains neglected ,even if the message is repeated periodically.
There is thus a real need for an improved control of appliances which need such human intervention and which would otherwise remain in some intermediate state in their operative cycle awaiting the human intervention.
According to the present invention there is provided a control device for use with an appliance which device employs a proximity sensor which senses the presence of a human in the vicinity of the appliance and means for automatically initiating the re-delivery of a message previously put out by the appliance and signifying human intervention is needed in the operation of the appliance when the sensor senses the presence of a human after the message has first been delivered and no response by such a human has been made to the first message.
The control device can be incorporated directly into the existing control means of the appliance or in part of such a control means or connected thereto.
Thus the sensor can be connected to an existing control means to trigger the latter to re-deliver the message previously given out in known manner.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a block schematic representation of a control device constructed in accordance with the invention.
As shown the control means is composed of a CPU. A , programmed to control operative cycles and coupled to a voice synthesiser
C which drives a loudspeaker F via an amplifier D.
In accordance with the invention a proximity sensor in the form
of a passive infra red detector B is connected to the CPU A to trigger the latter to re-activate the message delivery function.
The detector B can be of conventional type used in burglar
alarms and is conveniently disposed on the front panel of the appliance to sense the presence of a human in proximity to the appliance.
The CPU A would normally control the appliance through some operation cycle which wculd halt at some stage while the CPU A causes the sytheslss; 6 to deliver an audible message from the loudspeaker F. This may be repeated at intervals but if a human fail s to respond and activate some control button for example, the appliance will adopt a quiescent state. As soon as a human is detected by the sensor B the CPU A will be triggered to re-activate the message and the human is now alerted to intervene.
Further preferred features of the invention are depicted in the drawings.A selectable actuable control knob G is provided to select different languages for the message,to initiate a test sequence and to mute the message delivery capability.
Where the appliance is sited in a noisy environment the message ma not always be heard even when there are humans in the vicinity of the appliance. In such circumstances a further detector E is provided to detect the ambient noise level and this detector E is coupled to the amplifier D to control the gain of the amplifier
D in accordance with the sensed ambient noise level.
Claims (8)
1. A control device for use with a domestic appliance which requires human intervention at some stage during its operation after delivery of a message signifying that such intervention is needed; said device comprising a proximity sensor adapted to sense the presence of a human in the vicinity of the appliance and means for automatically initiating the re-delivery of the message when the sensor senses the presence of a human after the message has been delivered and no response has occurred.
2. A control device according to claim 1 wherein the proximity sensor is an infrared detector.
3. A control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor is connected to a programmable control means which serves to control the operation of the appliance and to initiate the delivery of the messages.
4. A control device according to claim 3 wherein the messages are audible messages.
5. A control device according to claim 4 and further comprising a detector for detecting the ambient noise level in the vicinity of the appliance and a variable gain amplifier controlled by the detector for varying the level of the audible messages.
6. A control device substantially as described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompany drawing.
7. A domestic appliance incorporating a control device according to any one or more of the preceding claims.
8. A method of controlling a domestic appliance which performs operative cycles requiring human intervention and response; said method comprising delivering a message one or more times to signify that human intervention is required before the next operative cycle is commenced, adopting a quiescent state in the event that human intervention and response does not take place, sensing the next presence of a human in the vicinity of the appliance during the quiescent state and re-delivering the message once the presence of a human has been sensed.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9611518A GB2313924A (en) | 1996-06-03 | 1996-06-03 | Control device for domestic appliances |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9611518A GB2313924A (en) | 1996-06-03 | 1996-06-03 | Control device for domestic appliances |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9611518D0 GB9611518D0 (en) | 1996-08-07 |
| GB2313924A true GB2313924A (en) | 1997-12-10 |
Family
ID=10794660
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9611518A Withdrawn GB2313924A (en) | 1996-06-03 | 1996-06-03 | Control device for domestic appliances |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2313924A (en) |
Cited By (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2001069331A1 (en) * | 2000-03-15 | 2001-09-20 | Luxmate Controls Gmbh | System and control device for the control of several actuators in a room |
| WO2002023295A1 (en) * | 2000-09-13 | 2002-03-21 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | System with a process element provided with a screen with an activating element for remote-controlled cancellation of the screen saver function and an activating element for said system |
| EP1276351A3 (en) * | 2001-07-11 | 2004-01-02 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Microwave oven with proximity detector |
| US11182123B2 (en) | 2019-04-30 | 2021-11-23 | Whirlpool Corporation | User-interface system for a laundry appliance |
| US11252490B2 (en) | 2019-08-21 | 2022-02-15 | Haier Us Appliance Solutions, Inc. | Appliance suite equipped with a synced sound system |
| US11686032B2 (en) | 2019-04-30 | 2023-06-27 | Whirlpool Corporation | User-interface system for a laundry appliance |
Citations (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4508948A (en) * | 1984-01-16 | 1985-04-02 | Amana Refrigeration, Inc. | Microwave cooking method |
| GB2146821A (en) * | 1983-09-20 | 1985-04-24 | Thorn Emi Ferguson | Display apparatus |
| US4853678A (en) * | 1987-02-05 | 1989-08-01 | Bishop Jr Chester O | Advertising device |
| US4912457A (en) * | 1988-12-21 | 1990-03-27 | Ladd Electronics | Detector and message annunciator device |
-
1996
- 1996-06-03 GB GB9611518A patent/GB2313924A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2146821A (en) * | 1983-09-20 | 1985-04-24 | Thorn Emi Ferguson | Display apparatus |
| US4508948A (en) * | 1984-01-16 | 1985-04-02 | Amana Refrigeration, Inc. | Microwave cooking method |
| US4853678A (en) * | 1987-02-05 | 1989-08-01 | Bishop Jr Chester O | Advertising device |
| US4912457A (en) * | 1988-12-21 | 1990-03-27 | Ladd Electronics | Detector and message annunciator device |
Cited By (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2001069331A1 (en) * | 2000-03-15 | 2001-09-20 | Luxmate Controls Gmbh | System and control device for the control of several actuators in a room |
| WO2002023295A1 (en) * | 2000-09-13 | 2002-03-21 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | System with a process element provided with a screen with an activating element for remote-controlled cancellation of the screen saver function and an activating element for said system |
| US6763272B2 (en) | 2000-09-13 | 2004-07-13 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | System having a process element with a screen and an activation element for remote-controlled cancellation of a screen saver function |
| EP1276351A3 (en) * | 2001-07-11 | 2004-01-02 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Microwave oven with proximity detector |
| US11182123B2 (en) | 2019-04-30 | 2021-11-23 | Whirlpool Corporation | User-interface system for a laundry appliance |
| US11686032B2 (en) | 2019-04-30 | 2023-06-27 | Whirlpool Corporation | User-interface system for a laundry appliance |
| US11782677B2 (en) | 2019-04-30 | 2023-10-10 | Whirlpool Corporation | User-interface system for a laundry appliance |
| US11252490B2 (en) | 2019-08-21 | 2022-02-15 | Haier Us Appliance Solutions, Inc. | Appliance suite equipped with a synced sound system |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB9611518D0 (en) | 1996-08-07 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |