KR101301808B1 - Automatic liquid dispenser and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic liquid distributor and a driving method thereof, comprising: a container height measuring unit configured to transmit ultrasonic waves to an upper surface of a container, and to receive the ultrasonic waves reflected from the upper surface of the container to measure the height of the container a plurality of times; A container height determining unit configured to determine a container height by calculating an average value of the container heights measured by the container height measuring unit a plurality of times; A liquid dispenser unit for discharging a liquid into the container; A storage unit for storing data in which the liquid level is preset for the container height; A water level detector for detecting the level of the liquid in the container; And a comparator configured to receive the container height determined by the container height determiner and the level detected by the water level detector, and compare the liquid level with respect to a preset container height stored in the storage.

Therefore, the present invention can freely detect the height of the container regardless of the shape, material, and surface state of the container, and has the effect of detecting the height of the container regardless of the position where the container is placed.

In addition, the present invention has an effect of realizing an automatic liquid distributor at a lower manufacturing cost than using light by using ultrasonic waves.

Dispenser, Water Level, Vessel, Height, Ultrasonic, Proximity, Measurement

Description

Automatic liquid dispenser and driving method thereof

1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a liquid distributor according to the prior art is installed in a refrigerator

2 is a schematic structural block diagram of an automatic liquid distributor according to the present invention

3a to 3d schematically illustrate a method for driving an automatic liquid distributor according to the invention.

4 is a view showing a state in which a liquid dispenser unit and ultrasonic transducers are installed according to the present invention;

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a receiving ultrasonic transducer for measuring the liquid level in a container according to the present invention.

6 is a view for explaining a receiving ultrasonic transducer for measuring the liquid level in accordance with the present invention.

7A and 7B are conceptual views illustrating the concept of measuring the height of a container in an automatic liquid dispenser equipped with a button type container contact part according to the present invention.

8 is a flow chart showing another method for driving an automatic liquid distributor in accordance with the present invention.

9A and 9B are flow charts illustrating a method for detecting vessel input in accordance with the present invention.

10 is a characteristic graph for explaining the concept of measuring the height of the container with the ultrasonic transducer in accordance with the present invention

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

200: container height measuring unit 210: container height determining unit

220,400: liquid dispenser 230: storage

240: water level detection unit 250: comparison unit

260 control unit 310,311,312 container

410,410b: outgoing ultrasonic transducer

421,421a, 421b, 422,422a, 422b, 423,423a, 423b, 424,424b, 425b, 426b

: Receiving Ultrasonic Transducer

The present invention relates to an automatic liquid distributor and a driving method thereof.

In general, the liquid distributor is installed in a refrigerator, a water purifier or the like so that the user can easily take out the liquid.

In particular, the liquid distributor installed in the refrigerator is configured to take out the liquid inside the refrigerator through the liquid distributor installed outside the refrigerator without opening the door of the refrigerator.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a liquid distributor according to the related art is installed in a refrigerator, and a liquid distributor 120 is installed on a front surface of the door 110 of the refrigerator 100.

The liquid distributor 120 is provided with a container mounting portion 130, and a liquid ejection key (not shown) for discharging the liquid is provided in the liquid distributor 120.

Therefore, the user inserts the container 140 into the container seating portion 130 of the liquid distributor 120 installed in front of the door 110 of the refrigerator 100, and presses the liquid discharge key for the time that the liquid discharge key is pressed. Only liquid can be dispensed into the container 140.

When the liquid dispenser is installed in the refrigerator, the door does not need to be opened, and thus the cold air inside the refrigerating compartment does not leak to the outside, thereby reducing the power consumption of the refrigerator and maintaining the freshness of the food stored in the refrigerator for a longer time. .

Recently, development of an automatic liquid dispenser has been attempted, and an automatic liquid dispenser has been developed with an emphasis on user convenience.

The present invention can detect the height of the container by sending an ultrasonic wave from the upper surface of the container, and receiving the ultrasonic wave reflected from the upper surface of the container, so that the height of the container can be freely detected regardless of the shape, material and surface state of the container. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic liquid dispenser capable of detecting the height of a container regardless of the position in which it is placed and a driving method thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic liquid distributor and a driving method thereof, by which ultrasonic waves can be used to implement an automatic liquid distributor at a lower manufacturing cost than a method using light.

In order to achieve the above objects of the present invention,

A container height measuring unit for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the upper surface of the container and receiving the ultrasonic waves reflected from the upper surface of the container to measure the height of the container a plurality of times;

A container height determining unit configured to determine a container height by calculating an average value of the container heights measured by the container height measuring unit a plurality of times;

A liquid dispenser unit for discharging a liquid into the container;

A storage unit for storing data in which the liquid level is preset by the user with respect to the container height;

A water level detector for detecting the level of the liquid in the container;

There is provided an automatic liquid dispenser configured to include a comparator configured to receive a container height determined by the container height determiner and a level detected by the water level detector, and compare the liquid level with respect to a preset container height stored in the reservoir. .

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the objects of the present invention,

Measuring a container height;

Measuring the liquid level in the vessel;

A method of driving an automatic liquid dispenser is provided which comprises stopping the dispensing of liquid when the liquid level in the vessel reaches a predetermined height.

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

Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of an automatic liquid dispenser according to the present invention, the vessel height measuring unit for transmitting the ultrasonic wave to the upper surface of the container, the ultrasonic wave reflected from the upper surface of the container to measure the height of the container a plurality of times ( 200); A container height determination unit 210 for determining a container height by calculating an average value of the container heights measured by the container height measuring unit 200 a plurality of times; A liquid dispenser unit 220 for discharging liquid into the container; A storage unit 230 storing data in which the liquid level is preset for the container height; A level detector 240 for detecting the level of the liquid in the container; A comparator 250 for receiving a container height determined by the container height determiner 210 and a liquid level detected by the water level detector, and comparing the liquid level with respect to a preset container height stored in the storage 230. It consists of.

Here, the container height measuring unit 200, the container height determining unit 210, the liquid dispenser unit 220, the storage unit 230, the water level detecting unit 240 and the comparing unit 250 are controlled by the control unit 260. Receive.

In addition, the container height measuring unit 200 includes an outgoing ultrasound transducer and a plurality of receiving ultrasound transducers, and transmits ultrasound from the outgoing ultrasound transducer to the upper surface of the container, and reflects the ultrasound from the upper surface of the container. It is preferable that the container height measuring unit measures the height of the container a plurality of times by the first receiving ultrasound transducer among the plurality of receiving ultrasound transducers.

In addition, the water level detector 240 is a receiving ultrasonic transducer which is closest to the liquid dispenser 220 and the transmitting ultrasonic transducer, among the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers of the container height measuring unit 200. desirable.

In addition, when the level detector 240 is a reception ultrasound transducer that is closest to the liquid dispenser 220 and the outgoing ultrasound transducer, the reception ultrasound transducer measures the liquid level in the container a plurality of times.

In addition, the automatic liquid dispenser according to the present invention preferably further includes a level determining unit (not shown) for determining the liquid level by calculating an average value of the liquid level measured plural times by the receiving ultrasonic transducer.

At this time, the comparison unit 250 receives the liquid level determined by the water level determination unit.

When the user dispenses the container, the automatic liquid dispenser according to the present invention configured as described above outputs a control signal to the container height measuring unit 200 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the upper surface of the container.

Therefore, the ultrasonic wave transducer of the vessel height measuring unit 200 transmits ultrasonic waves to the upper surface of the vessel, and the ultrasonic waves reflected from the upper surface of the vessel are received by the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers.

At this time, the height of the container is measured a plurality of times by the first receiving ultrasonic transducer among the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers.

In this case, the plural times of measurements are performed continuously until the liquid is discharged in real time from the start of the liquid to the container.

Thereafter, an average value of the heights of the containers measured by the container height measuring unit 200 a plurality of times is calculated by the container height determining unit 210 to determine the container height.

When the container height is determined by the container height determiner 210, the controller 260 applies a control signal to the liquid dispenser 220, and the liquid dispenser 220 starts discharging liquid into the container. .

Subsequently, when the liquid dispenser unit 220 starts discharging liquid into the container, the water level detector 240 detects the level of the liquid in the container.

Meanwhile, the storage unit 230 stores data in which the liquid level desired by the user for the container height is preset.

For example, 80% of the height of the vessel is set at the liquid level, and the set data is stored in the storage unit.

Accordingly, the comparator 250 receives the container height and the water level determined by the container height determiner 210, compares the liquid level with respect to a preset container height stored in the storage unit 230, and If the level in the container is equal to or higher than the liquid level for the preset container height, the controller 260 applies a control signal to the liquid dispenser 220 to terminate the liquid discharge.

Therefore, the present invention can detect the height of the container by sending an ultrasonic wave to the upper surface of the container and receiving the ultrasonic wave reflected from the upper surface of the container, so that the height of the container can be freely detected regardless of the shape, material and surface state of the container. Therefore, there is an advantage that the height of the container can be detected regardless of the position where the container is placed.

In addition, the present invention has an advantage that the automatic liquid distributor can be implemented at a lower manufacturing cost than the method using light by using ultrasonic waves.

3A to 3D are conceptual views schematically illustrating a method for driving an automatic liquid dispenser according to the present invention. First, with respect to the height h of the container 310, the liquid level h1 to be discharged into the container 310 is shown. (Fig. 3a).

This set liquid level h1 is proportional to the size of the vessel 310 (eg 70% of the vessel).

This water level setting can be set by the user pressing an operation key.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, even if the first and second containers 311 and 312 having different widths and heights, a predetermined fraction of the heights Ha and Hb of each of the first and second containers 311 and 312 ( For example, 70% of the height of the vessel) may be set to the level of the liquid to be dispensed.

For example, if liquid is filled up to 80% of the height of the vessel, 80% of the height of the vessel is the set level of the liquid to be dispensed.

Here, the width of the first container 311 is 'W', the height is 'Ha', the width of the second container 312 is 'W1', the height is 'Hb', the first and second containers ( 311,312 differ in width and height.

Thereafter, when the container 310 is positioned under the liquid dispenser 400 in which the outgoing ultrasound transducer and the plurality of receiving ultrasound transducers are disposed, the container 310 in the outgoing ultrasound transducer 410 is located. ) Ultrasound is sent to the upper surface. (Fig. 3b)

Next, the height of the container is measured a plurality of times by the first receiving ultrasound transducer 421 which receives the ultrasonic wave reflected from the upper surface of the container 310 among the plurality of receiving ultrasound transducers 421, 422, and 423, and measures the number of times. The vessel height is determined by calculating the average of the vessel heights obtained (FIG. 3C).

Here, depending on the position where the container 310 is placed, and the width and height of the container 310, the receiving ultrasonic transducer that first receives the ultrasonic wave reflected from the upper surface of the container 310 is different.

Finally, after the height of the container 310 is determined, the liquid dispenser 400 discharges the liquid to the container 310 up to the set level (FIG. 3D).

At this time, when the liquid level is reached by measuring the liquid level with the receiving ultrasonic transducer that is closest to the liquid dispenser unit 400, the liquid dispenser unit 400 terminates dispensing of the liquid.

Then, the level of the liquid discharged into the container 310 inside the container is detected in real time by the water level detector.

4 is a view illustrating a state where a liquid dispenser unit and an ultrasonic transducer are installed according to the present invention, and the outgoing ultrasonic transducer 410 and the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers 421, 422, 423, 424 around the liquid dispenser unit 400. This is installed.

The transmitting ultrasonic transducer 410 and the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers 421, 422, 423, 424 are freely arranged and installed, but are not limited to the installation diagram of FIG. 4.

In this case, when containers 321 and 322 having different widths are placed below the liquid dispenser unit 400, first, in case of the small container 321, ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitting ultrasonic transducer 410 are received ultrasonic waves. If the transducer '423' is reached first, the vessel height is measured only by the receiving ultrasonic transducer '423'.

And, in the case of the large container '322', when the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitting ultrasonic transducer 410 reaches the receiving ultrasonic transducer '422' first, the container height is measured only by the receiving ultrasonic transducer '422'. It is.

Here, the beam angle of the outgoing ultrasonic transducer 410 is preferably 30 ~ 150 °.

At this time, at a beam angle of 150 ° or more, interference occurs that the transmitting ultrasonic wave directly passes to the receiving ultrasonic transducers 421, 422, 423, 424.

In addition, the present invention preferably attaches a sound absorbing agent to the outer wall of the transmitting and receiving ultrasonic transducers.

That is, by using a plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers, the entirety of the outer wall of the transmitting and receiving ultrasonic transducers is difficult because the ultrasonic waves received at each of the receiving ultrasonic transducers cause interference and it is difficult to accurately analyze the height or liquid level of the container. Or by enclosing a portion of the sound absorbing agent, it is possible to minimize the interference of the ultrasonic wave.

In addition, the measurement band of the receiving ultrasonic transducers is preferably 2cm ~ 1m.

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a receiving ultrasonic transducer for measuring the liquid level in a container according to the present invention. In the present invention, the receiving ultrasonic transducer 410 and the liquid dispenser 400 are the closest to the receiving receiver. The liquid level in the container is measured on an ultrasonic transducer.

That is, referring to FIG. 5, when the transmitting ultrasonic transducer 410 and the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers 421a, 422a and 423a are installed around the liquid dispenser unit 400, the receiving ultrasonic transducer ′ Since 422a 'is closest to the outgoing ultrasonic transducer 410 and the liquid dispenser 400, the liquid level is measured by the received ultrasonic transducer' 422a '.

Since the distance from the transmitting ultrasonic transducer 410 to the receiving ultrasonic transducer '422a' is shorter than the distance of the remaining receiving ultrasonic transducers '423a' and '421a' from the transmitting ultrasonic transducer 410, the receiving ultrasonic transducer '422a' is the closest from the outgoing ultrasound transducer 410.

6 is a view for explaining a receiving ultrasonic transducer for measuring the liquid level in accordance with the present invention, the outgoing ultrasonic transducer and the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers can be freely designed and arranged.

When the transmitting ultrasonic transducer 410b and the six receiving ultrasonic transducers 421b, 422b, 423b, 424b, 425b, and 426b are arranged, the receiving ultrasonic transducers 421b, 422b, 423b, 424b, 425b, 426b), since D11 is shorter than D12 to D16, the liquid level is measured by the '421b' receiving ultrasonic transducer.

Here, the level measurement receiving ultrasound transducer should be closest to the liquid dispenser section.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing another method for driving an automatic liquid dispenser according to the present invention, which first sets the level of liquid to be discharged into the container (step S10).

Here, the liquid level in the container is the saturation height (%) of the liquid to be discharged into the container versus the height of the container inserted into the automatic liquid distributor.

For example, when the liquid is dispensed into a container having a height, when the container height 'a' is 100%, the level of the liquid discharged into the container is set to 30 to 80%.

After that, the container is put in the lower portion of the liquid dispenser (step S20).

Then, the ultrasonic wave is oscillated by the oscillating ultrasonic transducer.

Subsequently, the ultrasonic waves oscillated by the oscillating ultrasonic transducer are reflected on the upper surface of the vessel, and the ultrasonic waves reflected on the upper surface of the vessel are received by a plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers, so that the ultrasonic waves arrive first. Detect the height of the container with the (S40 step).

Subsequently, the liquid is dispensed from the liquid dispenser to the container (step S50).

Subsequently, one of the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers detects the level of the liquid discharged into the container (step S60).

Here, detecting the level of the liquid discharged into the container preferably detects the level of the liquid in the receiving ultrasonic transducer closest to the outgoing ultrasonic transducer and the liquid dispenser of the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers.

The detecting of the level of the liquid discharged into the container is continuously performed in real time from the time when the liquid starts to be discharged from the liquid dispenser until the liquid discharge is finished.

Thereafter, it is checked whether the detected liquid level is higher than the set liquid level (step S70).

At this time, when the detected liquid level is checked for the set liquid level, and the detected liquid level reaches the set liquid level, the liquid dispensing is terminated in the liquid dispenser unit.

9A and 9B are flowcharts illustrating a method for detecting a container input according to the present invention, in which the container is put into the automatic liquid distributor (after step S20) in the driving method of the automatic liquid distributor of FIG. Before the container height is detected (before step S30), a flow as shown in FIG. 9A or 9B is performed.

That is, first, as shown in Figure 9a, after the container is put into the automatic liquid distributor (step S20), it is determined whether the drive switch is activated (step S21).

Here, the drive switch is mounted to the automatic liquid distributor.

That is, when the user presses the drive switch after the container is inserted, the automatic liquid dispenser senses the container and performs the subsequent process.

Thereafter, the drive switch is operated, and performs the step S30 to detect the container height.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9B, after the container is inserted into the automatic liquid distributor (step S20), the automatic liquid distributor determines whether the container has been detected (step S22).

Here, the detection of the container is preferably detected using a detection sensor.

Thereafter, if the container is detected, step S30 of detecting the height of the container is performed.

FIG. 10 is a characteristic graph illustrating the concept of measuring the height of a container by using ultrasonic transducers. First, when the transmitting ultrasonic transducer transmits periodic ultrasonic signals 501, 502, 503, it is reflected from the upper surface of the container. Thus, periodic signals 511, 512, 513 are also received at the first receiving transducer, and periodic signals 521, 522, 523 are also received at the second receiving transducer.

In the present invention, since the height of the container is first measured by the receiving transducer in which the ultrasonic signal is received, the height of the container is measured by the signals 511, 512, and 513 received by the first receiving transducer.

At this time, the distance is the ultrasonic velocity x time / 2, the distance is proportional to the time, the container height in the characteristic graph of the first receiving transducer is D1, D2, D3.

Therefore, the average value of D1, D2, and D3 is calculated to determine the height of the container.

As described above, the present invention can detect the height of the container by transmitting ultrasonic waves from the upper surface of the container and receiving the ultrasonic waves reflected from the upper surface of the container, thereby increasing the height of the container regardless of the shape, material and surface state of the container. It can be detected freely, there is an effect that can detect the height of the container irrespective of the position where the container is placed.

In addition, the present invention has an effect of realizing an automatic liquid distributor at a lower manufacturing cost than using light by using ultrasonic waves.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (14)

A container height measuring unit for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the upper surface of the container and receiving the ultrasonic waves reflected from the upper surface of the container to measure the height of the container a plurality of times; A container height determining unit configured to determine a container height by calculating an average value of the container heights measured by the container height measuring unit a plurality of times; A liquid dispenser unit for discharging a liquid into the container; A storage unit for storing data in which the liquid level is preset for the container height; A water level detector for detecting the level of the liquid in the container; And a comparator configured to receive a container height determined by the container height determiner and a liquid level detected by the water level detector, and compare a liquid level with respect to a preset container height stored in the storage unit. The automatic liquid dispenser is a transmitting ultrasonic transducer and a plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers installed around the liquid dispenser portion. The method of claim 1, The container height measuring unit, The ultrasonic wave is transmitted from the transmitting ultrasonic transducer to the upper surface of the container, and the ultrasonic wave reflected from the upper surface of the container is measured by the receiving ultrasonic transducer which receives the first ultrasonic wave among the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers. An automatic liquid dispenser, characterized in that the vessel height measurement. The method of claim 2, The water level detection unit, And a receiving ultrasonic transducer closest to the outgoing ultrasonic transducer and the liquid dispenser, among the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers of the container height measuring unit. The method of claim 3, wherein The receiving ultrasonic transducer, To measure the liquid level in the container multiple times, It is further provided with a level determination unit for determining the liquid level by calculating the average value of the liquid level measured a plurality of times in the receiving ultrasonic transducer, And the comparing unit receives the liquid level determined by the level determining unit. The method of claim 2, Sound absorbing material surrounds the whole or part of the outer wall of the transmitting and receiving ultrasonic transducers, Automatic beam distributor, characterized in that the beam angle of the outgoing ultrasonic transducer is 30 ~ 150 °. The method of claim 2, The measuring band of the receiving ultrasonic transducers is 2cm ~ 1m automatic liquid distributor, characterized in that. Measuring a container height; Measuring the liquid level in the vessel; When the liquid level in the container reaches a predetermined height, stopping the discharge of the liquid, and measuring the height of the container, oscillating the ultrasonic wave in the outgoing ultrasonic transducer to a plurality of ultrasonic waves reflected from the upper surface of the container, Detecting the height of the vessel with a receiving ultrasonic transducer which is first received by the two receiving ultrasonic transducers and the ultrasonic wave arrives, and the ejection of the liquid is performed in the liquid dispenser portion, and the outgoing ultrasonic transducer around the liquid dispenser portion And the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers are installed. The method of claim 7, wherein Before the step of measuring the container height, Setting a level of liquid to be dispensed into the container; The method further comprises the step of injecting a container under the liquid dispenser, When the liquid level in the container reaches a predetermined height, stopping the discharge of the liquid, Checking whether the level of the detected liquid is higher than the level of the set liquid, and terminating liquid ejection from the liquid dispenser if the level of the detected liquid is higher than the level of the set liquid. Method of driving. The method of claim 7, wherein The beam angle of the outgoing ultrasonic transducer is 30 ~ 150 ° drive method of the automatic liquid distributor, characterized in that. The method of claim 7, wherein Measuring the liquid level in the vessel, Detecting the level of liquid dispensed from the liquid dispenser into the container by one of the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers. 9. The method of claim 8, The set water level is, A method of driving an automatic liquid distributor, characterized in that it is proportional to the size of the vessel. 11. The method of claim 10, Detecting the water level of the liquid discharged into the container, And a liquid level is detected in the receiving ultrasonic transducer closest to the outgoing ultrasonic transducer and the liquid dispenser unit among the plurality of receiving ultrasonic transducers. 9. The method of claim 8, Between the step of putting a container under the liquid dispenser and the step of detecting the container height, Determining whether the drive switch is activated; And the drive switch is actuated and detecting the height of the vessel. 9. The method of claim 8, Between the step of putting a container under the liquid dispenser and the step of detecting the container height, Determining whether the container has been detected; And if the container is detected, detecting the height of the container.

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