KR102010971B1 - Method for controlling water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a water purifier control method, the water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication connection step for connecting the communication between the terminal device and the water purifier; A state information receiving step of reading, by the terminal apparatus, state information of the water purifier stored in a storage unit of the water purifier; A display step of the terminal apparatus visually displaying the state of the water purifier using the state information; And a setting change step of changing, by the terminal device, state information stored in a storage unit of the water purifier according to the input change signal.

Description

Water Purifier Control Method {Method for controlling water purifier}

The present invention relates to a water purifier control method, and more particularly to a water purifier control method that can control the operation of the water purifier using a terminal device.

A water purifier is a device for generating purified water filtered by using a plurality of filters of foreign substances contained in raw water, and conventionally, a water purification function for filtering raw water or some convenience functions centered on the water purification function (hot water and cold water providing function) It was released in a form that included only. However, with the development of electronic control techniques and the like, microprocessors and the like are also incorporated in water purifiers and are designed to be controlled electronically according to stored control programs. However, most of the control programs built into the water purifier are designed and released in a structure that is difficult to change. In particular, as the importance of the design of the water purifier is increased and miniaturization for increasing the utilization of space is progressed, input / output panels located in the exterior case of the water purifier are also designed or minimized. Therefore, it is increasingly difficult for a user to set or change a specific operation for the water purifier.

However, when using the water purifier, the user may need to change the operation or setting of the water purifier. For example, there may be a case in which the amount of hot water is used in summer to reduce the amount of hot water generated to prevent the waste of standby power or to maintain the internal hygiene of the water purifier by reducing the self-sterilization cycle. However, even in such a case, setting change is difficult or impossible in most cases due to the design and miniaturization of the water purifier. Therefore, there is a need for a method of directly setting and changing an electronic control program or the like embedded in a water purifier.

The present invention is to provide a water purifier control method that can control the operation of the water purifier using a terminal device.

Water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication connection step for connecting the communication between the terminal device and the water purifier; A state information receiving step of reading, by the terminal apparatus, state information of the water purifier stored in a storage unit of the water purifier; A display step of the terminal apparatus visually displaying the state of the water purifier using the state information; And a setting change step of changing, by the terminal device, state information stored in a storage unit of the water purifier according to the input change signal.

Here, the status information, whether the hot water, cold water, purified water or ice of the water purifier, the temperature and flow rate of the hot water, cold water or purified water, the capacity of the ice stored in the water purifier, the self-sterilization cycle and the water purifier inside the water purifier It may include at least one of the fault diagnosis information of.

The water purifier control method may further include a water purifier recognition step of determining, by the terminal apparatus, the type of the water purifier using the information stored in the barcode when the camera unit provided in the terminal apparatus recognizes a barcode attached to the water purifier. can do.

Here, in the communication connection step, communication may be connected using at least one of near field communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), wireless LAN, and Bluetooth.

The water purifier control method may further include a failure diagnosis step of displaying, by the terminal apparatus, a type of a failure occurring in the water purifier and a failure processing method using the failure diagnosis information.

Here, the fault diagnosis information may be generated by performing a self test when the preset test period arrives or a self test signal transmitted by the terminal device is input.

The fault diagnosis step may include: transmitting, by the terminal device, a fault code included in the fault diagnosis information to a fault diagnosis database; A receiving process of receiving, by the terminal apparatus, from the fault diagnosis database a fault type corresponding to the fault code and a fault handling method according to the fault type; And a display process in which the terminal device displays the type of the failure and a failure handling method.

Here, the fault diagnosis database may be provided inside the terminal device, and a fault type corresponding to the fault code and a fault handling method according to the kind of the fault may be stored.

Here, the fault diagnosis database is provided in an external server, and when the terminal device transmits the fault code to the external server through a communication network, the external server indicates the type of fault corresponding to the fault code and a method of handling the fault. It can transmit to the terminal device.

Here, in the fault diagnosis step, when the fault code included in the fault diagnosis information corresponds to a preset call fault code, the terminal device may transmit the fault diagnosis information to a customer support server.

In addition, the solution of the said subject does not enumerate all the characteristics of this invention. Various features of the present invention and the advantages and effects thereof may be understood in more detail with reference to the following specific embodiments.

According to the water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to control the operation of the water purifier using a terminal device.

According to the water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the operation control of the water purifier according to the intention of the user can be easily performed, unnecessary power waste can be prevented and user satisfaction can be improved.

1 is a block diagram showing a terminal device of a water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the state information of the water purifier according to the water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the change of state information by the water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the failure diagnosis by the water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart showing a water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. However, in describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for parts having similar functions and functions.

In addition, throughout the specification, when a part is 'connected' to another part, it is not only 'directly connected' but also 'indirectly connected' with another element in between. Include. In addition, the term 'comprising' of an element means that the element may further include other elements, not to exclude other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

1 is a block diagram showing a terminal device of a water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, a display unit 13, an interface unit 14, and a failure diagnosis database 15. .

Hereinafter, a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

The terminal device 10 controls the operation of the water purifier 20 and may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet PC, a PDA, or the like. For example, when the terminal device 10 is a smartphone, an application for controlling the operation of the water purifier is installed in the smartphone, and then the operation of the water purifier 20 is controlled using the application. It may be. In addition, the terminal device 10 may be a separate product designed to apply the water purifier control method of the present invention to the water purifier.

The water purifier 20 generally means a device installed in a home, a restaurant, a company, etc. to filter raw water to generate purified water, but a water processor for processing raw water in various forms and supplying it to a user may be included in the water purifier 20. . That is, the water purifier 20 may include a coffee maker, a juicer, an ionizer, etc. in addition to a device for filtering raw water to generate purified water, cold water, hot water, ice, and the like. However, here, the ice water purifier capable of producing hot water, purified water, cold water and ice is mainly described as an example.

The operation of the water purifier 20 is controlled by the central controller 22, and the storage unit 23 may store state information in which the operation state of the water purifier 20 is recorded. That is, a microprocessor may be included in the central controller 22 to perform operations necessary for controlling the operation of the water purifier 20, and data and programs necessary for the operation of the microprocessor may be stored in the storage unit 23. Can be stored in. Here, the storage unit 23 may be implemented as a memory such as an electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

Furthermore, the water purifier 20 may include a communication unit 21 for performing communication with the terminal device 10, and perform wired or wireless communication with the terminal device 10 using the communication unit 21. Can be. As a wired communication method, USB (Universal Serial Bus), UART (Universal Asunchronous Receiver Transmitter) can be used.Wireless communication methods include Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and Wireless LAN. (wireless LAN), Bluetooth, Zigbee and so on. Here, the communication unit 21 may communicate with the terminal device 10 by using a mobile communication standard such as 3G, 4G.

In the past, it was difficult for a user to arbitrarily check or change a target temperature such as hot water, cold water, hot water, cold water, ice generation, sterilization cycle, etc., which are set internally in a water purifier. In particular, since it is impossible to adjust the amount of production reflecting the change in the usage amount of hot water, cold water, ice, etc. according to the change of seasons or the change of life patterns of the user, there is a problem that unnecessary power waste occurs.

In this regard, when the terminal device 10 communicates with the water purifier 20 to control the operation of the water purifier 20, efficient power usage and user convenience may be improved. Hereinafter, operation control of the water purifier 20 using the terminal device 10 will be described in detail.

The terminal device 10 may communicate with the water purifier 20 by using the communication unit 11, and may receive state information from the water purifier 20 through the communication. As described above, the communication unit 11 of the terminal device 10 may perform communication with the water purifier 20 in various ways, preferably with the water purifier 20 through near field communication (NFC). Can communicate. The state information may be stored in the storage unit 23 of the water purifier 20, and the state information may vary depending on the type of the water purifier 20. For example, in the case of the ice water purifier, the state information may include whether to perform the hot water, cold water, purified water, ice generation function of the water purifier, the temperature and amount of hot water, cold water, purified water generated by the water purifier, the water purifier The amount of ice generated may be included. In addition, when the water purifier has a self-sterilization function for self-sterilization with respect to the inside of the water purifier may include information on the self-sterilization cycle, if there is a failure diagnosis function for diagnosing whether a failure has occurred inside the water purifier. May also include failure diagnosis information corresponding to the diagnosis result.

The terminal device 10 may read the state information from the storage unit 23 of the water purifier 20, and may visually display an operation state of the water purifier 20 included in the state information. Here, the operation of reading the state information stored in the storage unit 23 of the water purifier 20 through the communication unit 11 may be performed according to the control signal of the control unit 12. The display unit 13 may visually display the state information of the water purifier 20, and the user may visually grasp the state information of the water purifier 20 through the display unit 13. The display unit 13 may be implemented as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting device (LED), or the like.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which the terminal device 10 displays status information of the water purifier 20. Referring to FIG. 2, a model name of the water purifier, a level of cold water and a purified water, cold water, hot water, a temperature of a purified water, and the like are displayed. In addition, the capacity of the ice or an indication of the ice formation step may be presented as the status information.

Further, in addition to displaying the state information, it is also possible to change the state information stored in the storage unit 23 of the water purifier 20 by using the communication unit 11. For example, a user who grasps the state information of the water purifier 20 through the display unit 13 may input a change to the state information of the water purifier 20 through the interface unit 14. Thereafter, in response to the user input, the interface unit 14 may generate a change signal and transmit the change signal to the control unit 12, and the control unit 12 may be stored in the storage unit of the water purifier according to the change signal. Status information can be changed. That is, the state information stored in the storage unit 23 of the water purifier 20 may be changed and stored through the communication unit 11.

Figure 3 (a) shows the change of the water purifier 20 state information using the terminal device 10, as shown in Figure 3 (a), the hot water function, cold water function, ice function, etc. of the water purifier 20 Can be turned on and off. That is, the user can control whether the hot water, cold water, ice generation of the water purifier 20. In addition, as shown in Figure 3 (b), it is possible to adjust the self-sterilization period of the water purifier 20 by using the terminal device 10, it is also possible to reserve the timing of self-sterilization in advance. That is, when the terminal device 10 reserves the self sterilization cycle and self sterilization, the water purifier may perform self sterilization according to the set self sterilization cycle and the self sterilization reservation time.

In addition, the terminal device 10 may receive the fault diagnosis information of the water purifier 20 as the state information, and display the type of the fault occurring in the water purifier 20 and the fault handling method using the fault diagnosis information. have. The fault diagnosis information is generated by the water purifier 20 by performing a self test, and the self test may be performed according to a self test signal transmitted by the terminal device 10. Here, the self-test may be performed by the water purifier 20 by itself at every preset test cycle.

According to the self-test, the water purifier 20 may operate the components included in the water purifier 20, such as a sensor, a heater, a cooler, and the like sequentially in a predetermined order. Thereafter, if the measured value of the sensor differs from the preset target value and the error range, the operation of each configuration is different from the preset inspection criteria, it is determined that a failure occurs in the configuration and the failure diagnosis information is generated. Can be. Here, the fault diagnosis information may include different fault codes according to the types of the faults and the locations of the faults.

The fault diagnosis information is stored in the storage unit 23 of the water purifier 20, but as previously described, the terminal device 10 can read the fault diagnosis information of the water purifier 20 through communication. Accordingly, the terminal device 10 may display the type of failure occurring in the water purifier 20 and a failure handling method for the failure by using the failure diagnosis information. Specifically, there may be a failure diagnosis database 15 in which a failure type corresponding to the failure code and a failure processing method according to the failure type are stored, and the terminal device 10 is connected to the failure diagnosis database 15. The fault code can be retrieved. That is, when the controller 12 transmits the fault code to the fault diagnosis database 15, the fault diagnosis database 15 indicates the type of fault corresponding to the fault code and the fault handling method. Can be sent to. Thereafter, the controller 12 may use the display unit 13 to display the type of failure and the method of handling the failure and provide the same to the user.

In FIG. 1, the failure diagnosis database 15 is included in the terminal device 10. However, the failure diagnosis database 15 may be provided outside the terminal device 10. That is, there may be a separate external server including the fault diagnosis database 15, and the terminal device 10 communicates with the external server to determine the type of fault corresponding to the fault code and the fault handling method. It is also possible to receive it. In this case, the terminal device 10 may communicate with the external server through a mobile communication network such as 3G, 4G, or Wifi.

In addition, if the failure code corresponds to a preset call failure code, the terminal device 10 may transmit the failure diagnosis information to a customer support server provided separately. If the call failure code is not, the user can simply fix the failure by performing a repair on the water purifier 20 according to the failure processing method. However, when the call failure code corresponds to a case in which the user simply cannot solve the failure, a repair by a professional repair service may be required. Therefore, in this case, the terminal device 10 may transmit the failure diagnosis information to the customer support server, so that the customer support center receives the failure of the water purifier 20. When the fault diagnosis information is received by the customer support server, the customer support center may perform a fault repair on the water purifier 20 through a telephone call or a visit to the user.

4 is a diagram illustrating a failure diagnosis of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, a self-test of the water purifier 20 may be performed according to a self-test signal of the terminal device 10. Subsequently, a type of a failure corresponding to the failure code generated as a result of the self-test and a failure handling method may be displayed. In this case, if the failure is not resolved even after the repair is performed according to the displayed failure handling method, as shown in FIG. 4, the failure diagnosis information may be transmitted to the customer support server. When the failure diagnosis information is transmitted to the customer support server, as shown in FIG. 4, a screen confirming that the failure repair request for the failure has been received by the customer support center may appear on the display unit 13.

Although not shown, the terminal device 10 may further include a camera unit, and the type of the water purifier 20 may be grasped using the camera unit. Specifically, the camera unit may be a camera device generally used in a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, and externally using a semiconductor imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor and a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. It may be to change the image of the light incident from the electric signal. Therefore, when the barcode unit, QR (Quich Response) code, etc. provided in the water purifier 20 are recognized using the camera unit, the terminal device 10 may read the information stored in the barcode. The barcode, QR code, etc. may include information such as the model name, production date, production location, etc. of the water purifier 20, and when the information stored in the bar code of the water purifier 20 is read by the camera unit, the type of the water purifier 20 is determined. I can figure it out. Accordingly, the terminal device 10 may perform a communication connection with the water purifier 20 or a failure diagnosis corresponding to the type of the water purifier 20.

5 is a flowchart showing a water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 5, the water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, water purifier recognition step (S10), communication connection step (S20), status information receiving step (S30), display step (S40), setting change step (S50) and fault diagnosis step (S60) may be included.

Hereinafter, a water purifier control method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

In the water purifier recognition step S10, when the camera unit provided in the terminal apparatus recognizes a barcode attached to the water purifier, the terminal apparatus may determine the type of the water purifier using the information stored in the barcode. As described above, since the barcode stores information about the model name of the water purifier, the type of the water purifier can be grasped using the camera unit of the terminal device.

The communication connection step S20 may connect communication between the terminal device and the water purifier. Here, the communication connection step (S20) may be connected to the communication using at least one of Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wireless LAN (Bluetooth) and Bluetooth (Bluetooth). have. As described above, the terminal device may connect wired or wireless communication according to the type of the water purifier, and preferably communicate with the water purifier using a short range wireless communication method.

In the state information receiving step (S30), the terminal device can read the state information of the water purifier stored in the storage unit of the water purifier using the communication. Here, the state information, whether the hot water, cold water, purified water or ice of the water purifier, the temperature and flow rate of the hot water, cold water or purified water, the capacity of the ice stored in the water purifier, the self-sterilization cycle and the inside of the water purifier It may include at least one of the fault diagnosis information of the water purifier.

In the display step (S40), the terminal device may visually display the state of the water purifier using the state information. That is, the user can determine the state of the water purifier through the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device may include a speaker or the like to visually display the state of the water purifier.

In the setting change step S50, the terminal apparatus may change state information stored in the storage unit of the water purifier according to the input change signal. The user who has grasped the state of the water purifier in the display step S40 may change the setting of the water purifier through the setting change step S50. Specifically, the setting of the water purifier may be changed by changing the state information stored in the storage of the water purifier. For example, you can turn the water purifier on or off, or adjust the amount of ice produced. Alternatively, the period of autoclaving for the inside of the water purifier can be adjusted or the autoclaving time can be scheduled in advance.

In the fault diagnosis step S60, the terminal apparatus may display the type of the fault occurring in the water purifier and the fault handling method using the fault diagnosis information. The fault diagnosis information is generated by the water purifier by performing a self test, and may be performed when a preset test period arrives or a self test signal transmitted by the terminal device is input. Specifically, the fault diagnosis step S60 may include a transmission process, a reception process, and a display process.

In the transmission process, the terminal device may transmit the fault code included in the fault diagnosis information to the fault diagnosis database. When the fault code is transmitted to the fault diagnosis database, the fault diagnosis database may search for a kind of fault corresponding to the fault code and a fault handling method according to the kind of fault. Thereafter, the type of failure corresponding to the failure code and the method of handling the failure may be transmitted from the failure diagnosis database through a reception process. The terminal device receiving the type of the fault and the method for handling the fault may display the type of the fault and the fault handling method through a display process. Therefore, the user can grasp the type of failure occurring in the water purifier and the failure handling method through the terminal apparatus.

Here, the fault diagnosis database is a storage medium that stores a kind of a fault corresponding to the fault code and a fault handling method according to the kind of the fault, and may be provided in the terminal device or in an external server. When the fault diagnosis database is provided in an external server, the fault code, a type of fault corresponding to the fault code, and a fault handling method may be transmitted and received through communication between the terminal device and the external server.

Further, if the fault code included in the fault diagnosis information corresponds to a preset call failure code, the terminal device may transmit the fault diagnosis information to a customer support server. That is, if the fault cannot be solved by the fault handling method stored in the fault diagnosis database, or the fault is not resolved despite the fault handling performed according to the fault handling method, the fault diagnosis information is sent to the customer support server. Can transmit When the customer support server receives the fault diagnosis information, a professional repair service provider may perform a fault repair on the water purifier 20 through a telephone call or a visit in a customer support center.

The present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiment and the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be substituted, modified, and changed in accordance with the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

10: terminal device 11: communication unit
12: control unit 13: display unit
14: interface unit 15: troubleshooting database
20: water purifier 21: communication unit
22: central control unit 23: storage unit
S10: water purifier recognition step S20: communication connection step
S30: Receive status information S40: Display step
S50: setting change step S60: troubleshooting step

Claims (10)

A water purifier recognition step of determining, by the terminal apparatus, a type of the water purifier using the information stored in the barcode when the camera unit provided in the terminal apparatus recognizes a barcode attached to the water purifier;
A communication connection step of connecting, by the terminal apparatus, communication with the water purifier by selecting a communication method according to the type of the water purifier;
A state information receiving step of reading, by the terminal apparatus, state information of the water purifier stored in a storage unit of the water purifier;
A display step of the terminal apparatus visually displaying the state of the water purifier according to the type of the water purifier using the state information; And
A setting change step of changing, by the terminal device, state information stored in a storage unit of the water purifier according to an input change signal;
The state information includes fault diagnosis information of the water purifier,
The fault diagnosis information includes a person who compares a predetermined test criterion corresponding to a type of the water purifier with a sensor measurement value of the water purifier when the preset test period arrives or a self-test signal transmitted by the terminal device is input. Water purifier control method generated by performing inspection.
The method of claim 1, wherein the barcode is
A water purifier control method in which information is stored including at least one of a model name, a production date, and a production place of the water purifier.
delete The method of claim 1, wherein the communication connection step
A water purifier control method for connecting communication using at least one of Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wireless LAN, and Bluetooth.
The method of claim 1,
And a fault diagnosis step of the terminal device displaying a type of fault occurring in the water purifier and a fault handling method using the fault diagnosis information.
delete The method of claim 5, wherein the fault diagnosis step
A transmission process of the terminal device transmitting a fault code included in the fault diagnosis information to a fault diagnosis database;
A receiving process of receiving, by the terminal apparatus, from the fault diagnosis database a fault type corresponding to the fault code and a fault handling method according to the fault type; And
And a display process for displaying, by the terminal device, the type of fault and the fault handling method.
The method of claim 7, wherein the failure diagnosis database is
The water purifier control method provided in the terminal device, the type of fault corresponding to the fault code and the fault handling method according to the fault type are stored.
The method of claim 7, wherein the failure diagnosis database is
Water purifier control provided in an external server, the terminal device transmits the failure code to the external server through a communication network, the type of failure corresponding to the failure code and the method for handling the failure to the terminal device. Way.
The method of claim 5, wherein the fault diagnosis step
If the fault code included in the fault diagnosis information corresponds to a preset call failure code, the terminal device transmits the fault diagnosis information to the customer support server.

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