ES2375419T3 - PROGRAM CONTROLLED APPLIANCES WITH A DEVICE FOR SOUND EMISSION. - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for emitting a sound has a driver unit (7) and a transducer device (6) for converting a digital output pattern into an analog output signal (U Amp) for the driver unit or loudspeaker. A memory (9) has a serial output (S), through which the digital output pattern is emitted in series as a sequence of bits. The transducer device has a low-pass filter, whose output links directly to the driver unit.

Description

Program-controlled appliance with a sound emission device

The invention relates to a program-controlled appliance, such as a washer, dryer, dishwasher or oven, with a sound emission device, comprising a speaker and a memory, in which emission patterns for emission are stored of sound in digital form.

An appliance of this type is known from DE 100 56 498 B4, in which a music storage medium or a radio is incorporated, which can be controlled according to a program. CDs or cassettes can be played with the music storage medium. For the emission of simple sounds, which signal certain program states, such a system is too expensive. In addition, care must also be taken that the cassette or CD inserted does not get dirty or wet.

From DE 10 2006 030 184 A1 an appliance is known, in this case a washing machine, to which an MP3 player can be connected. In this regard, the MP3 player is connected via a data link to the control element of the washing machine, which converts the received audio data into a broadcast signal for the speaker. The control element of the washing machine can control the MP3 player through the data link in such a way that according to the status of the program development in the appliance the corresponding audio file is transmitted from the MP3 player through the link of data to the audio playback unit and is output to the speaker. This system is also very expensive, and only one MP3 player that can be operated permanently in a humid environment can be used. In addition, a good tightness of the connector must be ensured so that the signal transmission is not damaged by the corrosion of the contacts.

For the emission of program states it is generally known to use sound emissions. For example, in the case of the Miele W 2557 WPS washing machine, buzzers are used to acoustically signal the operation of switches or program states. However, in the case of a buzzer, the different signals are sometimes difficult to recognize. Also the tones of a buzzer can be annoying for some users.

From DE 34 03 487 C2, an appliance with a device for voice emission is known. In this regard, voice sequences in digital form are stored in a voice memory. The digital information is converted by means of a transmission network into analog signals and is taken to an amplifier. From DE 10 2005 006 858 A1 it is known to provide a sound emission in a hearing aid with the aid of a delta-sigma modulator. In this regard, an analog sound signal is registered and the delta-sigma converter is transmitted through an analog-digital converter, from which the sound signal to be emitted from the loudspeaker is generated through additional components.

It is known from the periodic publication “ct 1988, notebook 8, pages 74 to 87 to provide a controlled voice broadcast on a computer. The tone signal is generated when an emission is carried out in the form of bits of values at specific times to a speaker. In this respect the individual bits as a direct current signal stimulate the speaker membrane, taking advantage of the inertia of the membrane for the generation of sound. However, this system is not suitable for generating high quality acoustic images, since different levels cannot be generated for sound emission.

The object of the invention is to provide an appliance with a device for sound emission, which has a high sound quality and can be manufactured simply and economically.

According to the invention, this objective is solved by an appliance with the characteristics of claim 1. Advantageous configurations and improvements of the invention are obtained from the following dependent claims.

The advantages that can be achieved with the invention consist in addition to a simple and economical construction in which the sound emission has a high quality. Due to the high sound quality a high quality of the appliance is assumed. Also in the case of a pleasant sound emission there is no danger of the user disconnecting it, since it finds the simplest sound emissions, such as beeps, unpleasant. Therefore, it is always guaranteed that the emission of acoustic signals remains activated and that program states or emergency situations can be communicated to the user reliably and in real time.

For this, the sound emission device comprises an actuator and a converter device for the conversion of the digital emission patterns into an analog emission signal for the actuator or speaker. The memory has a serial output, through which digital emission patterns can be issued in series as a sequence of bits. In this way, a very simple construction for the sound emission device is achieved, the signal to be emitted as a digital bit sequence being stored in memory and emitted in series. The program control element, in particular the microcontroller of the program control element, also controls the sound emission, when this is foreseen in the program development, for example, in the washing program or in the baking program.

In a convenient embodiment, the converter device has a low-pass filter, the output of which is connected directly to the actuator, and the low-pass filter can be made with the conversion of the serial digital emission pattern into an analog emission signal. The low pass filter acts in this case as an integrator, causing the bits that arrive sequentially in time with the state "1" a gradual increase in level for the analog broadcast signal. When the incoming bits have the "0" state, then they cause a gradual reduction of the level for the analog broadcast signal. Through this interaction, an analogue emission signal is provided for the actuator or the loudspeaker, which is prepared in the memory by means of the previous determination and storage.

In a further embodiment the low pass filter comprises an RC element, which has a limit frequency of approximately 15 kHz to 20 kHz. In this way, audible frequencies for the human being are optimally generated, thanks to which the quality for the sounds to be emitted is improved again.

In a convenient embodiment, a serial PROM, EPROM or FLASH is used as memory, in which the serial digital broadcast pattern can be permanently programmed. These so-called serial PROMs are cheap and can be used perfectly for this purpose.

In this case it is appropriate for the memory to have a clock input, with which the serial emission of the emission pattern can be controlled, using a range of between 0.5 MHz and 2 MHz as clock frequency. With this clock frequency it is achieved that almost all audible frequencies with the preset intensity can be output as digital serial bit stream from the serial PROM.

In a convenient refinement a memory with a capacity in the range of from 4 to 20 Mbit is used. Together with the 1 MHz clock frequency, a total duration for sound emission from 4 to 20 s is obtained. It has proved convenient a memory with a capacity of 16 Mbit, which as a consumer item can be obtained at a truly economical price.

In an advantageous improvement the memory can be controlled by zones, each zone containing in each case a separate emission pattern. By setting the respective initial address, from which the respective emission pattern is stored as a digital bit stream, the individual emission pattern is selected. Thus, in a single PROM, several emission patterns can be deposited, which in each case form their own sound, and activate them during operation by means of the program control element.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is schematically represented in the drawings and is described in more detail below. They show:

Figure 1: a program-controlled washer or dryer with a sound emission device;

Figure 2: a block diagram of the device for sound emission and

Figure 3: the evolution of the emission pattern and the output signal in a schematic representation.

In figure 1 a washing machine 1 is represented as a program-controlled appliance. The washing machine 1 has on the side facing the user or operator a control panel 2, on which the control and display elements 3 are arranged. In the control panel 2 the device 4 is also housed for the sound emission, the speaker 8 (figure 2) being arranged so that the sound emission is not impaired.

In figure 2 the structure of the device 4 for sound emission as a block diagram is clarified. In serial memory 9, for example, a ROM, PROM, EPROM or FLASH in series, digital emission patterns for sound generation are stored. As memory 9, the so-called "read-only" memory is used, which are programmed in the manufacturing process with the emission patterns. In the case of a FLASH or a specific type of EPROM, it can be programmed later, thanks to which adaptations are also possible with respect to the sound emissions to the respective taste of the moment or other fashions that appear. For the serial transmission of the emission pattern, the Clk clock input is synchronized with a 1 MHz clock pulse, the start address in serial memory 9 being set in advance to the address address Ax, from which serial broadcast is done. The clock pulse and the address setting are provided in this case by means of the microcontroller 10 of the program control element for the appliance 1. The programming for serial memory 9 is not illustrated in this case, in this case it should be observed , that the data to be entered into memory 9 must be generated or calculated previously. In the case of this data generation, the behavior of the integrator 6, the loudspeaker 8 and the clock frequency Clk used must be considered to achieve the desired sound. The calculation is performed, for example, according to the deltasigma procedure or similar procedures, to generate the data for a suitable bit pattern. The high calculation effort to generate the data for the appropriate bit pattern must not occur in the appliance 1, but is carried out only once in an external computer.

5 The serial output S of memory 9 is connected to the input of the low pass filter 6, which acts as an integrator. In this respect, for example, in the case of the occurrence of a sequence of "1" the capacitor C is charged, thanks to which the voltage level U_Amp is gradually increased at the input of the actuator 7. The actuator 7 serves to provide the necessary power for the speaker 8 and perform the decoupling of the low pass filter 6 with respect to the speaker 8.

10 In figure 3 the evolution of the signal is schematically represented by way of example. With the Clk clock pulse, the serial bit stream S is synchronized from the serial memory 9 (Figure 2). At the input of actuator 7 (figure 2) is the signal U_Amp. Zeros are emitted from the Clk 1 to 3 clock pulse. The U_Amp level remains at a low initial value. From the clock pulse Clk 4 follows a series of ones, which

15 cause an essentially constant increase in the U_Amp level. From the clock pulse Clk 12 again follows a series of zeros, which causes a reduction of the U_Amp level to the clock pulse 18. From the clock pulse Clk 14 again follows a series of ones, thanks to which as of this moment an increase in the U_Amp level is caused again. The U_Amp signal, which has an oscillation along a longer succession of Clk clock pulses, in this case 20 clock pulses, is carried through the actuator 7 (figure 2) to the speaker 8 (figure 2), which

20 converts the conversion of the electrical signal into an acoustic signal as sound. In this example, the unit us is used for the time axes t, so that for each clock pulse a us is provided.

Claims (8)

one.

Appliance (1) program controlled, in particular washer, dryer, dishwasher or oven, with a device (4) for sound emission, comprising a speaker (8) and a memory (9), in which patterns are stored of emission for the emission of sound in digital form, characterized in that the device (4) for the emission of sound comprises an actuator (7) and a converter device (6) for the conversion of the digital emission patterns into an emission signal analog (U_Amp) for the actuator (7) or loudspeaker (8), the memory (9) having a serial output (S), through which the digital emission patterns can be issued in series as a bit sequence and because The converter device (6) has a low pass filter (6), whose output is directly connected to the actuator (7), and it can be done with the filter (6) under the conversion of the serial digital emission pattern into a signal of analog broadcast (U_Amp ).

2.

A program-controlled appliance (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the low-pass filter (6) comprises an RC element, which has a limit frequency of approximately 15 kHz to 20 kHz.

3.

Appliance (1) controlled by program according to claim 1, characterized in that a serial PROM, EPROM or FLASH is used as memory (9), in which the serial digital emission pattern can be permanently programmed by programming.

Four.

Appliance (1) controlled by program according to claim 3, characterized in that the memory

(9) has a clock input (Clk), with which the serial emission of the emission pattern can be controlled, using a range between 0.5 MHz and 2 MHz as the clock frequency.

5.

Appliance (1) controlled by program according to claim 3, characterized in that the memory

(9) has a capacity of from 4 to 20 Mbit.

6.

Appliance (1) controlled by program according to claim 5, characterized in that the memory

(9) has a capacity of 16 Mbit.

7.

Appliance (1) program-controlled according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the memory (9) can be controlled by intervals, each interval containing in each case a separate emission pattern.

8.

Appliance (1) controlled by program according to claim 1, characterized in that the device

(6) converter to generate the analog broadcast signal (U_Amp) is intended to process the digital broadcast pattern according to a delta-sigma procedure.