KR20020022950A - A wshing machine and system data changing method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A washing machine and a system data changing method for the washing machine are provided to optimize programs by changing or substituting preset programs through the exchange of data on use or malfunction with a personal computer, thereby maximizing the performance and the operation efficiency of the washing machine considering the malfunction due to the internal or any other external factors, wherein the washing machine is operational normally even though the change of data or program is interrupted before completed. CONSTITUTION: A method for changing system data of a washing machine includes the steps of determining existence of data in a first sector to which data to change belongs, as an interrupt signal is input for stopping changing data or program in the process of changing information relating to the washing machine, and recovering unchanged original data of the first sector by copying the data from a second sector to which the data was transferred from the first sector before initiating the data change, if the data of the first sector is deleted or remains partially in the process of the data change.

Description

How to change the washing machine and its system data {A WSHING MACHINE AND SYSTEM DATA CHANGING METHOD OF THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and in particular, to identify the causes of the product itself, problems in installation, problems in local characteristics, changes in living patterns of the user, and responds appropriately to increase convenience in use, improve washing performance, and improve operation efficiency. It relates to a washing machine and a method of changing the system data that can be achieved.

In general, a washing machine is a device that removes contaminants from contaminated laundry through washing, rinsing, and dehydration according to a predetermined algorithm, and is fully automatic using horizontal rotation of a rotary blade, outer tank, or inner tank (washing tank / dehydrating tank). A washing machine or a drum washing machine using vertical rotation of the drum can be broadly classified.

Such a washing machine has been developed for a variety of washing courses, functions, etc. in order to respond to a variety of needs of the user and applied to the actual product.

As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine according to the related art includes a motor 10 for directly or indirectly rotating a washing blade, an inner tank, or an outer tank, other loads 11 such as a water supply valve, a drain valve, and the like. A key input unit 12 for inputting an operation instruction related to washing, a display unit 13 for displaying an operation state or a function of a washing machine, and a washing operation corresponding to an operation command of a user input through the key input unit 12 It comprises a system microcomputer 14 for controlling the drive of the motor 10, the load 11 to achieve this and for controlling the display unit 13 to display the operation state or function.

At this time, the display unit 13 is provided with a light-emitting diode (LED) and a ROM (ROM) for storing a non-changeable laundry related program in the system microcomputer 14.

Referring to the operation of the washing machine according to the prior art configured as described above are as follows.

First, the user 'turns on' the power of the washing machine, puts laundry into the washing tank, and then inputs a washing instruction through the key input unit 12.

Subsequently, the system microcomputer 14 recognizes the washing instruction, reads the washing program from the internal ROM, and drives the motor 10 and various loads 11 based on the washing program.

Then, the display unit 13 is controlled to display the current laundry progress state and the like.

Unlike conventional home appliances, such a conventional washing machine has often been incapable of exhibiting performance due to incompatibility of a built-in program and various usage environments, even if the product itself is not broken.

First, let's look at the incongruity of the built-in program and the usage environment.

There is no problem in the product itself, but the user may not be satisfied with the washing performance, which is often the cause of the problem of water hardness. In other words, washing performance is greatly affected by water hardness (hard water / sweet water) difference.In order to improve washing performance, it is necessary to change the control program such as the rotation angle of washing blade and washing time to match the program and environment. A conventional washing machine cannot change a preset program.

In addition, the nature of the laundry changes according to the change of the family members of the user, for example, the newly married couple's laundry can perform standard washing, but when you have children, laundry such as diapers occurs, hygiene is very important Therefore, a program with enhanced rinsing performance should be applied, but the conventional washing machine cannot change the program.

As such, the conventional washing machine cannot change the program, and thus, the problem caused by the change of the living pattern cannot be solved.

The washing machine according to the prior art has the following problems.

First, since a non-changeable laundry program is applied to the low-capacity memory, it is not possible to solve problems caused by installation, regional characteristics, and changes in living patterns, which are not abnormalities of the above-described products themselves.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to replace the pre-stored program with an appropriate program according to the use environment of the washing machine, the change of household members, the change of the flower pattern, the change of seasons, etc. Another object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine and a system data changing method.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for handling a case where the process of changing information is interrupted or stopped due to user operation or power failure or other environment during data or program change when downloading a program through the Internet or a PC. have.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a washing machine according to the prior art

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a washing machine according to the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of changing data or a program according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing method when a stop signal is input during a data or program change process according to the present invention;

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

20: motor 21: load

22: drive micom 23: key input

24: display unit 25: flash ROM

26: interface unit 27: system microcomputer

31: PC

Referring to the preferred embodiment of the modification in detail as follows.

The washing machine according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. Drive microcomputer 22 for controlling the operation of the drive 21 and reading the operation state, a key input unit 23 for the user to input various operation commands or setting the washing machine function, and for displaying the washing machine function and the washing machine operation state. A display unit 24, a flash ROM 25 for storing washing machine related information including a washing machine operation algorithm, a washing machine usage history, a personal computer 31 connected to a RS-232C communication standard, or a washing machine. The interface unit 26 for performing data modulation operation so as to exchange data with the modem, and the washing operation corresponding to the operation command of the user through the key input unit 23 may be performed. Lock the drive micom 22 and control the display unit 24 to display the operation state or function, and through the washing machine-related information transmitted through the drive micom 22 or the interface unit 26 And a system microcomputer 27 for storing the data transmitted from the PC 31 in the flash ROM 25 or uploading the information stored in the flash ROM 25 to the PC 31.

In this case, the flash ROM 25 is divided into 10 sectors having a storage capacity of 8 to 64K bits. The first sector includes data communication, that is, a program for downloading / uploading / uploading via the PC 31 and data reading / writing / Input / output related programs such as copy / delete are saved. At least one sector is an empty sector, and in other sectors, a washing course and control-related programs are stored separately for each sector.

Referring to the overall operation of the washing machine according to the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, the user 'turns on' the power of the washing machine, puts laundry into the washing tank, and then inputs a washing instruction through the key input unit 23.

Subsequently, the system microcomputer 27 recognizes the washing instruction and reads the washing program from the flash ROM 25 and drives the motor 20 and the various loads 21 with the drive microcomputer 22 according to the washing program read. Transmit the drive signal for

Therefore, the drive micom 22 drives the motor 20 and the load 21 according to the drive signal transmitted from the system micom 27 to perform washing.

In addition, the system microcomputer 27 controls the display unit 24 to display a current washing progress state and the like.

In addition, the drive microcomputer 22 transmits the usage history of the motor 20 and the load 21 to the system microcomputer 27.

That is, data such as temperature rise and speed, water supply time, and drainage time of the motor 20 are stored in the flash ROM 25 through the system microcomputer 27.

In addition, the system microcomputer 27 stores the washing administration matters selected by the user in the flash ROM 25 and also stores the data about the administrations performed by the user not satisfied with the result of the current washing administration in the flash ROM 25. It is.

At this time, downloading or changing the program or system data is performed by the PC of the serviceman or the user directly connecting to the washing machine through the interface unit 26, and then downloading a predetermined program or changing a previously stored program through its own data or the Internet. The method of changing the program or system data is described in detail as follows.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of changing old data or old programs stored in the flash ROM 25 into new data or programs.

When data downloading is notified from the PC to the system microcomputer 27, the system microcomputer 27 reads data communication and input / output related programs stored in the first sector of the flash ROM 25 described above. In this case, it is assumed that a sector to be changed among the sectors of the flash ROM 25 is a second sector and an empty sector is a third sector.

First, the case where only a part of the second sector is changed will be described.

The entire data of the second sector is copied to the third sector and all the data of the second sector is deleted.

The system microcomputer 27 downloads the change data through the PC or the Internet by using the data communication program and writes the data to the second sector.

Subsequently, data change of the second sector is completed by copying data except for the changed data among the data of the third sector to the second sector. The data of the third sector is then deleted upon data download.

Next, a case where the entire data of the second sector is changed will be described.

The entire data of the second sector is copied to the third sector and the entire data of the second sector is deleted, or all the data of the second sector is not copied to the third sector.

The system microcomputer 27 downloads the change data through the PC or the Internet using the data communication program and writes the change data in the second sector to complete the data change.

When the data change is completed as described above, the washing machine operates according to the changed data and the corresponding program.

However, in the case of connecting data to the Internet through a modem inside the washing machine or executing data change through a personal PC, the data change may be stopped or the user may want to stop due to a user's choice or other environmental reasons.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing method when a change stop signal is input during a data change process according to the present invention.

In the process of changing the information on sector 2 of the flash memory 25 as shown in FIG. 3, if the stop signal for changing the information is input due to a user abort key operation or the like, the change of data is stopped. Check if data is stored in sector 1, and if the old information is not stored in sector 2, check sector 3, copy the old data from sector 3 to sector 2, and display the initial screen. do. In addition, if there is data in sector 2 above, is information stored in sector 2 historical information? If the information is newly replaced, delete the contents of sector 2, and then copy the information of sector 3 to sector 2.

Alternatively, if the information in sector 2 is newly replaced, check whether the information in the sector 3 has historical information. If the information in the past is not copied, the newly replaced information of sector 2 can be used as it is. Even if the process is interrupted during data change or program change, the operation of the washing machine proceeds without error.

The washing machine and its system data changing method according to the present invention store data such as usage history and failure history of the product and upload it to a connected PC or download laundry program information from the PC and change or replace a predetermined program. It can be optimized to fit, and even if the program change is interrupted by the user's operation or other environment while the program is changed, the washing machine can be operated without any problem when the washing machine is turned on.

Claims (5)

Read / write, classified into a certain number of sectors, data communication and write / read / move related programs and washing machine-related information are classified into sectors. Stored memory, interface unit for exchanging data with external devices, and user's operation. Changing the washing machine-related information of the washing machine having a microcomputer for controlling the washing machine component to perform a washing operation corresponding to the command and storing data transmitted from the external device through the interface unit in the memory or changing data stored in the memory. In the method, During the change process of the washing machine related information, if a stop signal of data or program change is input, the presence or absence of data is checked in a specific sector being changed among the sectors divided into a plurality of sectors, and data is deleted in the specific sector being changed. If only a portion of the remaining data, the data of the particular sector is copied to the data of the evacuation sector is evacuated by the data recovery method, characterized in that to recover the data to the state before the change. According to claim 1, And a method for reproducing a change in the washing machine, characterized in that the program change is retried if there is no data in the evacuation sector where the data before the change to the new data is evacuated. The method of claim 1, If data remains in a specific sector where data is to be changed, if the data of the specific sector is newly changed data, the newly changed data is deleted and the data of the sector to which the conventional data is copied is copied to the specific sector. Processing method when the interruption signal for the data change of the washing machine characterized in that the. The method of claim 3 When data remains in a specific sector where the change of data is progressed, if the data of the specific threshold is newly changed data, the data of the washing machine, which is characterized in that the change data is kept as it is and that the data change is completed in the specific sector. What to do if a break signal occurs for a change. Read / write, classified into a certain number of sectors, data communication and write / read / move related programs and washing machine-related information are classified into sectors. Stored memory, interface unit for exchanging data with external devices, and user's operation. Micom for controlling the washing machine component to perform a washing operation corresponding to the command and storing data transmitted from the external device through the interface unit in the memory or changing data stored in the memory, and new information related to the washing machine in the memory. Washing machine equipped with a change / stop storage button that can stop the change of the data stored in the memory or stored in progress.