EP3304224A1 - Selectively powered auxiliary power unit in an electrical household appliance - Google Patents

Selectively powered auxiliary power unit in an electrical household appliance

Info

Publication number
EP3304224A1
EP3304224A1 EP15728478.7A EP15728478A EP3304224A1 EP 3304224 A1 EP3304224 A1 EP 3304224A1 EP 15728478 A EP15728478 A EP 15728478A EP 3304224 A1 EP3304224 A1 EP 3304224A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
power supply
circuit
household appliance
optical isolation
electrical household
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Withdrawn
Application number
EP15728478.7A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Mucahit Bacaksiz
Ihsan Mert OZCELIK
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Arcelik AS
Original Assignee
Arcelik AS
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Arcelik AS filed Critical Arcelik AS
Publication of EP3304224A1 publication Critical patent/EP3304224A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • 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
    • G05B19/0428—Safety, monitoring
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J3/00—Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks
    • H02J3/12—Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks for adjusting voltage in ac networks by changing a characteristic of the network load
    • H02J3/14—Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks for adjusting voltage in ac networks by changing a characteristic of the network load by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J9/00—Circuit arrangements for emergency or stand-by power supply, e.g. for emergency lighting
    • H02J9/005—Circuit arrangements for emergency or stand-by power supply, e.g. for emergency lighting using a power saving mode
    • 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
    • G05B2219/10—Plc systems
    • G05B2219/11—Plc I-O input output
    • G05B2219/1182—I-O isolation, optical
    • 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
    • G05B2219/23316—Standby, inactive, sleep or active, operation mode
    • 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
    • G05B2219/25279—Switch on power, awake device from standby if detects action on device
    • 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
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J2310/00—The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load
    • H02J2310/10—The network having a local or delimited stationary reach
    • H02J2310/12—The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
    • H02J2310/14—The load or loads being home appliances
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
    • Y02B70/30—Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
    • Y02B70/30—Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
    • Y02B70/3225—Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B90/00—Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02B90/20—Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y04S20/20—End-user application control systems
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y04S20/20—End-user application control systems
    • Y04S20/222—Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y04S20/20—End-user application control systems
    • Y04S20/242—Home appliances

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an electrical household appliance having a secondary function component powered by a primary function component power unit on a selective basis, said secondary component’s power unit being temporarily powered to achieve a lowered power consumption standby state.
  • Each electrical household appliance performs various simultaneous functions.
  • a refrigerator has a dedicated control unit for the compressor.
  • the power control unit therefore drives the compressor in order for effecting circulation of the refrigerant fluid.
  • This secondary control unit remains powered and dissipates around 1W standby power while the compressor’s motor is not driven. Therefore, an additional power loss continuously adds to the total standby power usage of the refrigerator.
  • the driving power unit of the compressor comprises large capacitors
  • use of a corresponding relay is both an expansive solution and impacts the size of the circuit board.
  • powering on and off of the brushless DC motor of a dishwasher effectuating the operations of circulation of the washing water and water discharge is not desirable in terms of its effects on the lifetime of the circuit board.
  • US2013088898 discloses a switching mode power supply (SMPS) including a power transistor coupled to the primary winding of transformer and a resistor coupled between the input power source and a control terminal of the power transistor for triggering a primary current flow through the power transistor for providing startup power.
  • a primary side control circuit is configured to regulate the output of the SMPS.
  • a secondary side control circuit is coupled to the secondary winding and being configured to provide a first electrical signal to the secondary winding when an output voltage of the SMPS is less than a first reference voltage, whereupon an awakening signal is induced in the auxiliary winding and causes the primary side control circuit to provide a turn-on signal to the power transistor.
  • the primary side control circuit is configured to enter a standby mode or a normal operating mode in response to the awakening signal.
  • the present invention provides a circuit solution by which a secondary power supply performing a dedicated function in a time-dependent manner is selectively activated and deactivated in the manner that the circuit board in association with the secondary function is powered by the power supply which is operable so as to achieve zero power consumption during standby mode.
  • the invention therefore provides an activation circuit such that a secondary power circuit board’s power supply dissipating no electrical power when inactive is powered to reinitiate an interrupted active mode.
  • the present invention provides an electrical household appliance with a secondary function circuit board activated by an activation circuit such that the secondary function circuit board requires no power consumption when in standby mode as provided by the characterizing features defined in Claim 1.
  • Primary object of the present invention is to provide an electrical household appliance with at least one additional circuit board having a true zero-power off state standby mode allowing an off state with no power drain.
  • the present invention proposes an electrical household appliance having an optical isolation block providing electrical communication between a primary and secondary circuit boards such that a microcontroller of the secondary circuit board as well as a zero standby wake-up circuit thereof receives the same communication signal as an awakening signal for a secondary board power supply and as a communication signal for the microcontroller.
  • the secondary board power supply started by the zero standby wake-up circuit is configured to output a particular voltage to the zero standby wake-up circuit, upon which repetitive restarting of the secondary board power supply is prevented during the ongoing communication between the primary board and the microcontroller.
  • a first optical isolation block in series with a second optical isolation block is provided in the manner that the same communication signal is separately communicated through two optocouplers connected in series with each other.
  • Fig. 2 demonstrates a simplified circuit block diagram of a secondary circuit board activation circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • the present invention relates to a secondary control board of a refrigerator having a dedicated compressor control unit driving the compressor in order for effecting circulation of a refrigerant fluid.
  • the present invention relates to a dishwasher comprising a dedicated control unit driving a brushless DC motor effectuating the operations of circulation of the washing water and/or water discharge.
  • the present invention relates to any electrical household appliance, such appliances including but being not limited to rotary machines such as laundry treatment machines, TV sets, printers and so on, equipped with a network interface board commonly referred to as a network adapter and a dedicated control unit thereof.
  • the secondary board is a microprocessor-based electronic control unit receiving an activation signal upon which the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) of the secondary board activates the secondary board power supply (5).
  • the primary board is configured to cut power supply to the secondary board upon which no standby power is dissipated so that the secondary board can be powered through the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) only when needed. Therefore, zero standby power dissipation is maintained until a certain function in association with the secondary board is needed to be performed.
  • the secondary board does not remain powered during standby mode, it does not involve active power dissipation until the secondary board power supply (5) is started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7).
  • the secondary board power supply (5) can be turned off by the microcontroller (4) through a power supply deactivation line (8).
  • an input terminal of the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) receives from the secondary board power supply (5) a power supply restart disable signal through a power supply restart disable line (10).
  • a first optical isolation block (1) in series with a second optical isolation block (2) is provided.
  • the same communication signal is separately communicated through the two optocouplers (first and second first optical isolation blocks (1, 2)) to the microcontroller (4) and the zero standby wake-up circuit (7). Therefore, the same current passing through the two optocouplers, the primary circuit board communicates with the auxiliary (secondary) circuit board so as to start the secondary board power supply (5) at the same time conveying a certain control signal to the microcontroller (4).
  • the same current flowing through the two optocouplers advantageously provides power saving.
  • the same communication signal is transmitted by the primary board (transmitting side (TX)) to the secondary board’s (receiving side (RX)) microcontroller (4) by means of the first optical isolation block (1) that is in series with the second optical isolation block (2) communicating with the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through the wake-up circuit communication line (6).
  • the secondary board power supply (5) is started when the BP pin of the second optical isolation block (2) is pulled to ground, upon which the secondary board power supply (5) is started and is thereby configured to generate an output voltage.
  • the output voltage (3V3) of the secondary board power supply (5) serves to the purpose of pulling the gate of MOSFET Q2 (Fig. 3) to ground through transistor Q3, thereby disabling the transistor Q2. Therefore, the output voltage (3V3) of the secondary board power supply (5) provides the power supply restart disable signal at the respective terminal of the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) and repetitive restarting of the secondary board power supply (5) is avoided.
  • the alternative exemplary embodiment of Fig. 4 additionally provides that the operation of the secondary board power supply (5) can be directly controlled and terminated by the microcontroller (4) when needed.
  • the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) of Fig. 4 with the transistors Q4 and Q5 eliminates repetitive restarting of the secondary board power supply (5) in response to the output voltage of the same.
  • the household appliance according to the present invention therefore has two different operational modes.
  • the appliance In the event that the appliance is needed to execute a requested operation in association with the auxiliary or secondary circuit board, the latter is energized by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) in response to a corresponding signal from the primary circuit board, the same signal being also used to communicate with the microcontroller (4).
  • the invention proposes an electrical household appliance comprising a primary circuit board and a secondary circuit board communicating through an optical isolation block (1), said optical isolation block (1) having a primary side in electrical communication with the primary circuit board and a secondary side in electrical communication with the secondary circuit board.
  • the optical isolation block (1) provides electrical communication with a microcontroller (4) of the secondary circuit board through a microcontroller communication line (3) in the manner that the same communication signal is transmitted to a zero standby wake-up circuit (7) of the secondary circuit board through a wake-up circuit communication line (6).
  • the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) has an output terminal providing the restart signal through a power supply restart line (9) to a secondary board power supply (5).
  • the secondary board power supply (5) started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) outputs a particular voltage to an input terminal of the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) functioning as a power supply restart disable signal through a power supply restart disable line (10).
  • the secondary board power supply (5) is turned off by the microcontroller (4) through a power supply deactivation line (8).
  • the secondary board power supply (5) is a switch-mode power supply (SMPS).
  • SMPS switch-mode power supply
  • the primary circuit board communicates with the secondary circuit board through a first optical isolation block (1) in series with a second optical isolation block (2) in the manner that the same communication signal is separately communicated through the first optical isolation block (1) and the second optical isolation block (2).
  • the first optical isolation block (1) provides communication with the microcontroller (4) through the microcontroller communication line (3) and the second optical isolation block (2) provides communication with the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through the wake-up circuit communication line (6).
  • the secondary board power supply (5) started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through the second optical isolation block (2) is configured to generate an output voltage.
  • the electrical household appliance is a refrigeration appliance, a dishwasher, an image display device or a laundry treatment appliance.
  • the primary aspect of the present invention lies in that a secondary circuit board in an electrical household appliance that is operated in a time-dependent manner requires no power consumption when in standby mode.
  • the present invention therefore provides an electrical household appliance with primary and secondary power circuit boards communicating with each other in a time-dependent manner so that the secondary circuit board is energized only when needed and without causing standby power losses during inactive mode.
  • the communication can be effected through optocouplers having any number of pins in the form of one-wire communication with protocols such as for instance i2C, SPI, UART or many other equivalents.

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrical household appliance having a secondary component powered by a primary component power unit on a selective basis, said secondary component's power unit being temporarily powered to achieve a lowered power consumption standby state. The present invention more particularly relates to an electrical household appliance comprising a primary circuit board and a secondary circuit board communicating through an optical isolation block (1), the optical isolation block (1) having a primary side in electrical communication with the primary circuit board and a secondary side in electrical communication with the secondary circuit board.

Description

    SELECTIVELY POWERED AUXILIARY POWER UNIT IN AN ELECTRICAL HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE
  • The present invention relates to an electrical household appliance having a secondary function component powered by a primary function component power unit on a selective basis, said secondary component’s power unit being temporarily powered to achieve a lowered power consumption standby state.
  • It is well-known that during standby mode, electrical and electronic household appliances continue power consumption. Electronic devices are often controlled by an electronic control unit, which opens a powering circuit to interrupt power supply to a sub-system. The present invention relates to an electrical household appliance such as for instance a refrigeration appliance, a dishwasher or a laundry treatment appliance, i.e. a washing, drying or washing/drying machine having a primary system with secondary sub-systems.
  • Each electrical household appliance performs various simultaneous functions. For instance a refrigerator has a dedicated control unit for the compressor. The power control unit therefore drives the compressor in order for effecting circulation of the refrigerant fluid. This secondary control unit remains powered and dissipates around 1W standby power while the compressor’s motor is not driven. Therefore, an additional power loss continuously adds to the total standby power usage of the refrigerator. As the driving power unit of the compressor comprises large capacitors, use of a corresponding relay is both an expansive solution and impacts the size of the circuit board. As a further example, powering on and off of the brushless DC motor of a dishwasher effectuating the operations of circulation of the washing water and water discharge is not desirable in terms of its effects on the lifetime of the circuit board.
  • It is also to be noted that wireless network connectivity of various electrical household appliance requires that the appliances be equipped with a network board, or a network interface board, which is commonly referred to as a network adapter, which are either built into the main circuit board of the appliance or provided separately. In the latter case, the network adapter’s additional power consumption should be adjusted such that the overall standby consumption remains within predetermined limits.
  • Among others, a prior art publication in the technical field of the invention may be referred to as US2013088898, which discloses a switching mode power supply (SMPS) including a power transistor coupled to the primary winding of transformer and a resistor coupled between the input power source and a control terminal of the power transistor for triggering a primary current flow through the power transistor for providing startup power. A primary side control circuit is configured to regulate the output of the SMPS. A secondary side control circuit is coupled to the secondary winding and being configured to provide a first electrical signal to the secondary winding when an output voltage of the SMPS is less than a first reference voltage, whereupon an awakening signal is induced in the auxiliary winding and causes the primary side control circuit to provide a turn-on signal to the power transistor. The primary side control circuit is configured to enter a standby mode or a normal operating mode in response to the awakening signal.
  • The present invention, on the other hand, provides a circuit solution by which a secondary power supply performing a dedicated function in a time-dependent manner is selectively activated and deactivated in the manner that the circuit board in association with the secondary function is powered by the power supply which is operable so as to achieve zero power consumption during standby mode.
  • The invention therefore provides an activation circuit such that a secondary power circuit board’s power supply dissipating no electrical power when inactive is powered to reinitiate an interrupted active mode.
  • The present invention provides an electrical household appliance with a secondary function circuit board activated by an activation circuit such that the secondary function circuit board requires no power consumption when in standby mode as provided by the characterizing features defined in Claim 1.
  • Primary object of the present invention is to provide an electrical household appliance with at least one additional circuit board having a true zero-power off state standby mode allowing an off state with no power drain.
  • The present invention proposes an electrical household appliance having an optical isolation block providing electrical communication between a primary and secondary circuit boards such that a microcontroller of the secondary circuit board as well as a zero standby wake-up circuit thereof receives the same communication signal as an awakening signal for a secondary board power supply and as a communication signal for the microcontroller.
  • The secondary board power supply started by the zero standby wake-up circuit is configured to output a particular voltage to the zero standby wake-up circuit, upon which repetitive restarting of the secondary board power supply is prevented during the ongoing communication between the primary board and the microcontroller.
  • As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a first optical isolation block in series with a second optical isolation block is provided in the manner that the same communication signal is separately communicated through two optocouplers connected in series with each other.
  • Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying an electrical household appliance with a secondary function circuit board whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in brief hereinafter.
  • The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should it be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in the claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.
  • Fig. 1 demonstrates a simplified circuit block diagram of a secondary circuit board blocks according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 2 demonstrates a simplified circuit block diagram of a secondary circuit board activation circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 3 demonstrates an exemplary circuit diagram of a zero standby wake-up circuit according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 4 demonstrates a further exemplary circuit diagram of the zero standby wake-up circuit according to the present invention.
  • The following numerals are assigned to different parts referred to in the present detailed description:
    1. Optical isolation block
    2. Second optical isolation block
    3. Microcontroller communication line
    4. Microcontroller
    5. Secondary board power supply
    6. Wake-up circuit communication line
    7. Zero standby wake-up circuit
    8. Power supply deactivation line
    9. Power supply restart line
    10. Power supply restart disable line
  • The present invention proposes an electrical household appliance such as for instance a refrigeration appliance, a dishwasher or a laundry treatment appliance, i.e. a washing, drying or combo washing/drying machine having a primary system with secondary sub-systems, said primary system and secondary sub-systems being for instance associated with the primary function of the household appliance and further secondary functions thereof.
  • The present invention relates to a secondary control board of a refrigerator having a dedicated compressor control unit driving the compressor in order for effecting circulation of a refrigerant fluid. Alternatively, the present invention relates to a dishwasher comprising a dedicated control unit driving a brushless DC motor effectuating the operations of circulation of the washing water and/or water discharge.
  • Alternatively, the present invention relates to any electrical household appliance, such appliances including but being not limited to rotary machines such as laundry treatment machines, TV sets, printers and so on, equipped with a network interface board commonly referred to as a network adapter and a dedicated control unit thereof.
  • The present invention proposes a primary control board in electrical communication with a secondary board, the first board communicating with the secondary board by means of optocouplers as will be delineated hereinafter.
  • The secondary side pins of an optical isolation block (1) provides communication with a microcontroller (4) through a microcontroller communication line (3) and also with a zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through a wake-up circuit communication line (6). The zero standby wake-up circuit (7) in the appliance of the invention has an output terminal providing the restart signal through a power supply restart line (9) to a secondary board power supply (5), which can be a switch-mode power supply (SMPS), the latter typically serving to the purpose of powering the secondary board and any associated component and thereby effecting performing of various functions in association therewith.
  • Therefore, the secondary board is a microprocessor-based electronic control unit receiving an activation signal upon which the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) of the secondary board activates the secondary board power supply (5).
  • Accordingly, the primary board is configured to cut power supply to the secondary board upon which no standby power is dissipated so that the secondary board can be powered through the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) only when needed. Therefore, zero standby power dissipation is maintained until a certain function in association with the secondary board is needed to be performed.
  • As the secondary board does not remain powered during standby mode, it does not involve active power dissipation until the secondary board power supply (5) is started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7). When started, the secondary board power supply (5) can be turned off by the microcontroller (4) through a power supply deactivation line (8).
  • According to the present invention, when the secondary board power supply (5) is started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) and outputs a particular voltage (3,3V), an input terminal of the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) receives from the secondary board power supply (5) a power supply restart disable signal through a power supply restart disable line (10). This ensures that, when started, the secondary board power supply (5) continues its operation without repetitive restarting while the primary transmitting side (TX) communicates with the secondary receiving side (RX). In other words, when the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) starts the secondary board power supply (5), repetitive restarting is avoided thanks to the power supply restart disable signal because the microcontroller (4) in the secondary circuit board remains in communication with the primary circuit board through the same communication line. Therefore, the same communication signal is advantageously used to activate the secondary board power supply (5) as well as to communicate with the microcontroller (4).
  • Now referring to Fig. 3 demonstrating an exemplary zero standby wake-up circuit (7) according to the present invention, a first optical isolation block (1) in series with a second optical isolation block (2) is provided. The same communication signal is separately communicated through the two optocouplers (first and second first optical isolation blocks (1, 2)) to the microcontroller (4) and the zero standby wake-up circuit (7). Therefore, the same current passing through the two optocouplers, the primary circuit board communicates with the auxiliary (secondary) circuit board so as to start the secondary board power supply (5) at the same time conveying a certain control signal to the microcontroller (4). The same current flowing through the two optocouplers advantageously provides power saving.
  • In Fig. 3, the same communication signal is transmitted by the primary board (transmitting side (TX)) to the secondary board’s (receiving side (RX)) microcontroller (4) by means of the first optical isolation block (1) that is in series with the second optical isolation block (2) communicating with the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through the wake-up circuit communication line (6). The secondary board power supply (5) is started when the BP pin of the second optical isolation block (2) is pulled to ground, upon which the secondary board power supply (5) is started and is thereby configured to generate an output voltage. The output voltage (3V3) of the secondary board power supply (5) serves to the purpose of pulling the gate of MOSFET Q2 (Fig. 3) to ground through transistor Q3, thereby disabling the transistor Q2. Therefore, the output voltage (3V3) of the secondary board power supply (5) provides the power supply restart disable signal at the respective terminal of the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) and repetitive restarting of the secondary board power supply (5) is avoided.
  • The alternative exemplary embodiment of Fig. 4 additionally provides that the operation of the secondary board power supply (5) can be directly controlled and terminated by the microcontroller (4) when needed. Likewise, the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) of Fig. 4 with the transistors Q4 and Q5 eliminates repetitive restarting of the secondary board power supply (5) in response to the output voltage of the same.
  • The household appliance according to the present invention therefore has two different operational modes. In the event that the appliance is needed to execute a requested operation in association with the auxiliary or secondary circuit board, the latter is energized by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) in response to a corresponding signal from the primary circuit board, the same signal being also used to communicate with the microcontroller (4).
  • When the secondary board power supply (5) is started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7), the ongoing communication with the microcontroller (4) does not impact the operation of the secondary board power supply (5) because the secondary board power supply (5) generates an output signal disabling the restart signal.
  • In summary, the invention proposes an electrical household appliance comprising a primary circuit board and a secondary circuit board communicating through an optical isolation block (1), said optical isolation block (1) having a primary side in electrical communication with the primary circuit board and a secondary side in electrical communication with the secondary circuit board.
  • In one embodiment of the invention, the optical isolation block (1) provides electrical communication with a microcontroller (4) of the secondary circuit board through a microcontroller communication line (3) in the manner that the same communication signal is transmitted to a zero standby wake-up circuit (7) of the secondary circuit board through a wake-up circuit communication line (6).
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) has an output terminal providing the restart signal through a power supply restart line (9) to a secondary board power supply (5).
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the secondary board power supply (5) started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) outputs a particular voltage to an input terminal of the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) functioning as a power supply restart disable signal through a power supply restart disable line (10).
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the secondary board power supply (5) is turned off by the microcontroller (4) through a power supply deactivation line (8).
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the secondary board power supply (5) is a switch-mode power supply (SMPS).
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the primary circuit board communicates with the secondary circuit board through a first optical isolation block (1) in series with a second optical isolation block (2) in the manner that the same communication signal is separately communicated through the first optical isolation block (1) and the second optical isolation block (2).
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the first optical isolation block (1) provides communication with the microcontroller (4) through the microcontroller communication line (3) and the second optical isolation block (2) provides communication with the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through the wake-up circuit communication line (6).
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the secondary board power supply (5) started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through the second optical isolation block (2) is configured to generate an output voltage.
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the electrical household appliance is a refrigeration appliance, a dishwasher, an image display device or a laundry treatment appliance.
  • In a further embodiment of the invention, the laundry treatment appliance is a washing, drying or combo washing/drying machine.
  • The primary aspect of the present invention lies in that a secondary circuit board in an electrical household appliance that is operated in a time-dependent manner requires no power consumption when in standby mode. The present invention therefore provides an electrical household appliance with primary and secondary power circuit boards communicating with each other in a time-dependent manner so that the secondary circuit board is energized only when needed and without causing standby power losses during inactive mode. The communication can be effected through optocouplers having any number of pins in the form of one-wire communication with protocols such as for instance i2C, SPI, UART or many other equivalents.

Claims (10)

  1. An electrical household appliance comprising a primary circuit board and a secondary circuit board communicating through an optical isolation block (1), said optical isolation block (1) having a primary side in electrical communication with the primary circuit board and a secondary side in electrical communication with the secondary circuit board, characterized in that
    the optical isolation block (1) provides electrical communication with a microcontroller (4) of the secondary circuit board through a microcontroller communication line (3) in the manner that the same communication signal is transmitted to a zero standby wake-up circuit (7) of the secondary circuit board through a wake-up circuit communication line (6).
  2. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 1, characterized in that the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) has an output terminal providing the restart signal through a power supply restart line (9) to a secondary board power supply (5).
  3. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 2, characterized in that the secondary board power supply (5) started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) outputs a particular voltage to an input terminal of the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) functioning as a power supply restart disable signal through a power supply restart disable line (10).
  4. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the secondary board power supply (5) is turned off by the microcontroller (4) through a power supply deactivation line (8).
  5. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 1, characterized in that the secondary board power supply (5) is a switch-mode power supply (SMPS).
  6. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the primary circuit board communicates with the secondary circuit board through a first optical isolation block (1) in series with a second optical isolation block (2) in the manner that the same communication signal is separately communicated through the first optical isolation block (1) and the second optical isolation block (2).
  7. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 6, characterized in that the first optical isolation block (1) provides communication with the microcontroller (4) through the microcontroller communication line (3) and the second optical isolation block (2) provides communication with the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through the wake-up circuit communication line (6).
  8. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 3 or 7, characterized in that the secondary board power supply (5) started by the zero standby wake-up circuit (7) through the second optical isolation block (2) is configured to generate an output voltage.
  9. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the electrical household appliance is a refrigeration appliance, a dishwasher, an image display device or a laundry treatment appliance.
  10. An electrical household appliance as in Claim 9, characterized in that the laundry treatment appliance is a washing, drying or washing/drying machine.
EP15728478.7A 2015-06-04 2015-06-04 Selectively powered auxiliary power unit in an electrical household appliance Withdrawn EP3304224A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/EP2015/062478 WO2016192798A1 (en) 2015-06-04 2015-06-04 Selectively powered auxiliary power unit in an electrical household appliance

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3304224A1 true EP3304224A1 (en) 2018-04-11

Family

ID=53385622

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP15728478.7A Withdrawn EP3304224A1 (en) 2015-06-04 2015-06-04 Selectively powered auxiliary power unit in an electrical household appliance

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP3304224A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2016192798A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN110967999A (en) * 2019-11-29 2020-04-07 苏州贝昂科技有限公司 Power consumption control device and communication system
CN111580431A (en) * 2020-05-08 2020-08-25 北京中电华大电子设计有限责任公司 Power supply quick wake-up circuit and method in MCU

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2002026812A (en) * 2000-07-05 2002-01-25 Sharp Corp Power source control apparatus, receiving device for remote controller and optical communication apparatus
WO2011133119A2 (en) * 2010-04-22 2011-10-27 National Science And Technology Development Agency System with zero power standby mode for controlling electric apparatus
TWI458221B (en) * 2012-08-21 2014-10-21 Wistron Corp Electronic device, electronic system and operation method thereof

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2016192798A1 (en) 2016-12-08

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US9467084B2 (en) Motor-driven appliance system and method for controlling the system
KR100273439B1 (en) Apparatus and method for reducing power consumption of a power supply
WO2014177056A1 (en) Low-power consumption standby circuit device, air conditioner and control method for air conditioner
CN103502649B (en) A kind of system and method for the accessory power supply of the frequency changer being remotely connected and disconnected from for the variable displacement compressor used in a cooling system
WO2016192798A1 (en) Selectively powered auxiliary power unit in an electrical household appliance
CN108762159B (en) Industrial personal computer restarting device, system and method
KR20180109433A (en) Air conditioner having power saving function
WO2015032433A1 (en) Electrical appliance having zero stand-by power consumption
KR102498254B1 (en) Method for reducing standby-power and electronic device thereof
WO2016192800A1 (en) Electrical household appliance with automatic zero standby dissipation mode
US9705323B2 (en) Power supply system and power control circuit thereof
CN105471247B (en) A kind of low-power consumption standby control circuit, high power switching power supply and electrical equipment
KR20070040603A (en) Washing machine and control method for the same
CN111752365B (en) Linkage switching method and circuit, first electronic equipment and second electronic equipment
US10747294B2 (en) Electronic apparatus efficiently conducting power supply control
KR100324744B1 (en) Apparatus and method for saving stand-by electric power
JP2012070500A (en) Power supply device, electronic apparatus device, and image forming device
CN112968514B (en) Power supply circuit and frequency conversion equipment
KR101911273B1 (en) Air conditioner having power saving function and method for controlling the same
KR102001934B1 (en) Power supplying apparatus having power saving function and air conditioner including the same
US8542001B2 (en) Power circuit for reducing standby power consumption
KR101437996B1 (en) Apparatus for shut off the standby power
JP2006129641A (en) Power supply
CA3026008A1 (en) Optimized management of the power supply of a microcontroller
KR101923457B1 (en) Power supplying apparatus having power saving function and air conditioner including the same

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20171101

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: BA ME

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN

18W Application withdrawn

Effective date: 20180720