KR20180085287A - Refrigerator and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a method of controlling the refrigerator by collecting status information of the refrigerator and transmitting the collected status information. The refrigerator includes: a storage part; a communication part performing wireless connection with a specific mobile terminal located around the refrigerator; a sensing part having at least one sensor for sensing operational status and internal status of the refrigerator and operational status of main components of the refrigerator; and a control part configured such that, when a user selects to collect or to store the status information of the refrigerator, the control part generates the status information that includes a sensing value which is generated from the sensing part at a preset collection time period and a preset value for each function and each area of the refrigerator, stores the generated status information in the storage part, and, when the control part receives a transmission request for the status information from the specific mobile terminal, the control part transmits the status information which is stored during a time period from a time when the user selects to a time when the control part receives the transmission request, as a response to the transmission request.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator,

The present invention relates to a method of collecting state information of a refrigerator and transferring collected state information.

Generally, when the user judges that the refrigerator is operating abnormally during operation, the user can contact the service center to inquire about the current symptom. And simple steps can be taken, such as checking the refrigerator according to the measures indicated by the service center.

On the other hand, if the abnormality occurred in the refrigerator is a state in which the connection of the power cord for supplying power is poor, or if it is a temporary error occurring during performing a specific function, a countermeasure method instructed by the service center, An abnormality in operation of the refrigerator may be solved depending on the connection method or the initialization method in which the power of the refrigerator is turned off and then turned on. However, if the abnormal operation problem can not be solved, the user can request a professional worker to solve the abnormal operation problem, and the service center can check the operation state of the user's refrigerator, You can send a professional worker to solve the problem.

However, in general, in the case of an electronic product, a state in which deterioration of a function to be performed occurs (a state in which an abnormal operation is performed) may be intermittently repeated unless a specific component is broken and the function is not completely performed.

After the dispatch of the above-mentioned specialist personnel is decided, it may take up to two days or more for a week, depending on the professional workforce of the service center, until the dispatched specialist visits. There is a problem in that it is difficult to guarantee that the refrigerator is in an abnormal state when the user checks the user's refrigerator because a relatively long time lag occurs before the user checks the abnormal operation after the user reports the abnormal operation . Further, even in the case where a professional worker checks the refrigerator, there is a problem that it is not easy to grasp the problem of the refrigerator due to the reported abnormal operation when the refrigerator is operating normally.

In order to solve such a problem, Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0105234 proposes a method of extracting pieces of partial data such as an average value and a maximum value or a minimum value among the operation information of a refrigerator and storing a maximum of two identical data . However, this method stores only the refrigerator operation information of up to two matches, so that the collected operation information is lost when the time from the user's reporting of the abnormal operation to the inspection by the specialist exceeds 2 days have. Also, as described above, the above method has a problem in that it can not collect enough data to analyze the user's refrigerator operation pattern by collecting only the fractional data such as the average value and the maximum value or the minimum value.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and other problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a refrigerator, A refrigerator capable of transmitting history information on a driving state of a refrigerator to the professional manpower, and a control method of the refrigerator.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which is capable of analyzing a refrigerator operation pattern of a user during a period from when a dispatch of a specialist is requested by a user to an abnormal operation of the refrigerator, A refrigerator capable of collecting and storing sufficient state information, and a control method of the refrigerator.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including a storage unit, a communication unit for performing a wireless connection with a specific mobile terminal located in the vicinity of the refrigerator, A sensing unit including at least one sensor for sensing the operation state of the components and sensing values sensed by the sensing unit according to a predetermined collection period when the user selects the sensing unit and the functions of the refrigerator, The state information including the setting values set for the respective areas is stored in the storage unit, and when the transmission request of the stored state information is received from the specific mobile terminal, The status information stored during a period from when the transmission request is received to when the transmission request is received, And a control unit for transmitting the control signal to the control unit.

In one embodiment, the communication unit is configured to perform a wireless connection with the specific mobile terminal according to any one of short-range communication schemes including NFC (Near Field Communication) or Wi-Fi direct communication scheme .

In one embodiment, the storage unit may further include a status information storage unit in which the status information is stored, and the status information storage unit is implemented as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

In one embodiment, when the status information storage unit is implemented separately from the storage unit, the control unit may further include: a time interval in which the status information is collected and stored based on an information storage characteristic according to a storage medium of the status information storage unit; And the period is determined.

In one embodiment, the setting values set for each function and each area of each sensor and the refrigerator included in the sensing unit are classified into those basically collected and those basically not collected, and the control unit , Sensing values and set values of the sensors according to the abnormality symptom or abnormal area of the refrigerator selected by the user, among the sensed values and set values of the sensors that are basically not collected, Values and setting values for each predetermined collection period to generate the state information.

In one embodiment, the controller may set sensing values and setting values of sensors related to an abnormal symptom or an abnormal area of the refrigerator selected by the user, among the sensors of the sensing unit and the set values, And generates the state information.

In one embodiment, when the status information storage unit is separately implemented, the control unit may divide the entire area of the status information storage unit into a plurality of areas so as to use the entire area as much as possible, Is stored.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a refrigerator, the method comprising: a first step of checking whether a preset time has elapsed according to a user's selection of whether or not the refrigerator is abnormal; As a result of the check, when a predetermined time has elapsed, the sensing values are collected from the sensors for sensing the operation state and the high state of the refrigerator, and the operation states of the major components, and are set for each function and each area of the refrigerator A second step of collecting the set values, a third step of generating state information including the collected sensed values and the set values, and a third step of storing the generated state information in a separate storage area A fourth step of checking whether there is a transmission request for the stored status information, And a sixth step of repeating the second step to the fifth step in response to the transmission request, the state information being stored for a period after the user's selection until the transmission request is received .

In one embodiment, the first step further includes a step (1-1) of receiving, from a user, information on an abnormal symptom or an abnormal area of the refrigerator, and the step And a second step of determining sensing values and setting values to be included in the sensing information among the sensing values and the setting values of the sensors based on the information on the abnormal condition or the abnormal area inputted in the step .

Effects of the refrigerator and the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described as follows.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, even if a period of time from when a dispatch of a professional worker is requested by a user to an abnormal operation of the refrigerator to when the professional worker checks the refrigerator is prolonged, It is possible to collect the status information of the refrigerator during the period and to provide the collected status information to the dispatched professional manpower.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, the present invention collects and provides sufficient state information to analyze the operation pattern of the user refrigerator, thereby more accurately determining whether the refrigerator is abnormal or not, So that it is possible to detect it.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, a mobile terminal that receives status information collected from the refrigerator, and a server that obtains the collected operation information from the mobile terminal.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of collecting state information of a refrigerator and transmitting collected state information in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an example in which state information is collected and stored in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

It is noted that the technical terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Also, the singular forms "as used herein include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, "comprises" Or "include." Should not be construed to encompass the various components or steps described in the specification, and some of the components or portions may not be included, or may include additional components or steps And the like.

Further, in the description of the technology disclosed in this specification, a detailed description of related arts will be omitted if it is determined that the gist of the technology disclosed in this specification may be obscured.

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in this specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator 100 includes a mobile terminal 110 receiving status information collected by the refrigerator 100, FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a server 130 that acquires the collected status information from the server 130.

Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can collect status information of the refrigerator 100 according to a user's selection. The refrigerator 100 may collect various information related to the state of the refrigerator 100 every predetermined collection period. More preferably, the refrigerator 100 collects information related to the operating state of the refrigerator 100 at intervals of 5 minutes, thereby collecting sufficient state information to analyze the operation pattern of the refrigerator 100.

Meanwhile, in a state where the state information is collected and stored, the refrigerator 100 may sense a transmission request for the stored state information. For example, a professional worker dispatched according to a user's request can be connected to the refrigerator 100 through the mobile terminal 110 according to a communication connection method that can be supported by the refrigerator 100, and can request the stored state information to the refrigerator 100 have.

If the refrigerator 100 is capable of WIFI wireless connection, the mobile terminal 110 may be wirelessly connected to the refrigerator 100 in a Wi-Fi manner. However, if the refrigerator 100 does not support a Wi-Fi wireless connection, the mobile terminal 110 may be connected to the refrigerator 100 using at least one of various local communication schemes.

When there is a request to transmit stored status information from the connected mobile terminal 110, the refrigerator 100 may transmit the status information to the mobile terminal 110. Then, the mobile terminal 110 may transmit the received status information to the predetermined server 130 through the wireless network 120.

Meanwhile, the server 130 may analyze the status information transmitted from the mobile terminal 110. For example, the server 130 may analyze the operation pattern of the refrigerator 100 by analyzing the received status information. And transmit the analyzed result to the mobile terminal 110 again. Then, the mobile terminal 110 can display the analyzed result through the display unit. The expert manpower judges whether the refrigerator 100 is abnormally operated based on the analyzed result, for example, the analyzed operation pattern can do. And information on the abnormal operation state of the refrigerator 100 can be obtained. Accordingly, a professional worker can detect the failure of the refrigerator 100 and check the part where the failure occurs.

2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, a refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a controller 200, a communication unit 210 connected to the controller 200, a sensing unit 220, an input unit 230, (240) and a storage unit (250). The components shown in FIG. 1 are not essential for implementing the refrigerator 100, so that the refrigerator 100 described in this specification can have more or less components than the components listed above.

The communication unit 210 may include one or more modules that enable wireless communication between the at least one external device and the refrigerator 100. [ For example, the communication unit 210 may include a short-range communication module for short-range communication. The short-range communication module may be a wireless communication module such as Bluetooth, Infrared Data Association (IrDA), UWB (Ultra Wideband), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), Wi- Can support short-range communication using at least one of them. And may support wireless communication between the refrigerator 100 and at least one external device such as the mobile terminal 110.

Meanwhile, the sensing unit 220 may include at least one sensor for sensing the operating state and the high state of the refrigerator 100. For example, the sensing unit 220 may include humidity sensors capable of sensing the humidity of each refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment. And temperature sensors capable of sensing the temperatures of the freezing compartments and the freezing compartments. And door sensors for sensing the open or closed states of the refrigerating and freezing compartments.

In addition, the sensing unit 220 may include sensors for sensing the operation state of the main components in the refrigerator 100. For example, the sensing unit 220 may include at least one sensor for sensing an operation state of a compressor or an operation state of a heat radiation fan of the compressor. In addition, it may include sensors for sensing the operation state of the fans installed in the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment, or may include various sensors for sensing the operation state of the heater currents or the operation state of the valves. The sensors of the sensing unit 220 may perform sensing according to the control of the controller 200 and may transmit the sensing results to the controller 200 again.

Meanwhile, the input unit 230 may be formed of at least one key for receiving information from a user. These keys may include mechanical input means such as buttons, dome switches, jog wheels, jog switches. Alternatively, the keys may be a virtual key, a soft key, or a visual key displayed on the touch screen through a software process, or may be a touch key disposed on a portion other than the touch screen touch key). Meanwhile, the virtual key or the visual key can be displayed on a touch screen having various forms, for example, a graphic, a text, an icon, a video, As shown in FIG.

The output unit 240 may generate an output related to visual and auditory information. The output unit 240 may include a display unit configured to generate an output related to the time, and may include an audio output unit including a speaker for generating an output related to the auditory sense. Meanwhile, the display may have a mutual layer structure with the touch sensor or may be integrally formed to realize a touch screen. The touch screen may function as the input unit 230 providing the input interface between the refrigerator 100 and the user and may provide an output interface between the refrigerator 100 and the user.

In addition, the storage unit 250 stores data supporting various functions of the refrigerator 100. The storage unit 250 may store a plurality of application programs or applications that are driven by the refrigerator 100, data for operation of the refrigerator 100, and commands. At least some of these applications may be downloaded from an external server via wireless communication. Also, at least some of these applications may reside on the refrigerator 100 from the time of dispatch for basic functions of the refrigerator 100 (e.g., a temperature management function for each storage area).

Meanwhile, the controller 200 controls the overall operation of the refrigerator 100. The control unit 200 processes signals, data, information, and the like input or output through the above-described components or drives an application program stored in the storage unit 250 to thereby discharge the basic function of the refrigerator 100, Perform functions of freezing or refrigerating the food by lowering the temperature in the compartment, and provide or process appropriate information related to the functions of the refrigerator 100 to the user.

In addition, the controller 200 may control at least some of the other components illustrated in FIG. 1 in order to drive an application program stored in the storage unit 250. FIG. Furthermore, the controller 200 may operate at least two of the components included in the refrigerator 100 in combination with each other for driving the application program.

On the other hand, the controller 200 can select and collect status information of the refrigerator 100 from the user. For example, when the input of the predetermined user is received through the input unit 230, the control unit 200 can start collecting and storing the status information. When the collection and storage of the state information is started, the controller 200 may collect the sensed information through the sensors of the sensing unit 220 every predetermined collection period expires. The controller 250 may store the status information of the refrigerator 100 including the collected information and the setting information including the setting values currently set in the refrigerator 100 in the storage unit 250.

Meanwhile, the storage unit 250 may include a separate storage unit (hereinafter, referred to as a status information storage unit 255) for storing the status information. The state information storage unit 255 may use storage media of various capacities and types. Preferably, the state information storage unit 255 may be implemented as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). When the state information storage unit 255 is implemented as an EEPROM, The time interval at which the status information is stored may be determined according to the characteristics of the EEPROM. For example, if the state information storage unit 255 is implemented as an EEPROM, the collection period may be set to 5 minutes. In this case, And status information including configuration information can be stored in the status information storage unit 255. [

Meanwhile, the stored status information may include information on each date and time. In addition, the controller 200 may store status information as information in the form of a bit string in which the information sensed by the sensing unit 220 and the set values of the refrigerator 100 are arranged in a predetermined order. When the state information is stored in the form of a bit string, the capacity required for storing collected state information can be greatly reduced.

For example, if the size of the status information generated every time is 24 bytes and the status information is collected and stored every 5 minutes, the capacity of the status information collected when the refrigerator 100 is operated for one day may be approximately 6912 bytes have. When the state information storage unit 255 is implemented as an EEPROM having a capacity of 64 kbytes (64,000 bytes), the state information storage unit 255 stores the state information of the state information storage unit 255 for nine days (about 62,208 bytes) The refrigerator 100 can store the refrigerator 100 status information for a period longer than the predetermined time (e.g., when collected at intervals of 5 minutes). That is, when the user finds an abnormal operation phenomenon of the refrigerator 100 and requests dispatch of a professional worker, the refrigerator 100 checks the refrigerator 100 for the entire period from arrival of the dispatched professional worker to checking of the refrigerator 100, The status information of the mobile terminal 100 can be stored.

Meanwhile, the control unit 200 may be connected to a predetermined external device through the communication unit 210. Here, the predetermined external device may be the mobile terminal 110 of the dispatched professional manpower. For example, if the Wi-Fi communication is possible, the controller 200 can connect to the mobile terminal 110 through the Wi-Fi system. If the Wi-Fi communication is not possible, the controller 200 can transmit NFC, Bluetooth, The mobile terminal 110 may be connected to the mobile terminal 110 using a short-distance communication method such as a Wi-Fi direct. And may be requested to transmit the stored status information from the connected mobile terminal 110.

On the other hand, the control unit 200 can collect and store operation information repeatedly until the collection of the operation information from the user is stopped or the transmission of the stored operation information is received. When the transmission request of the stored status information is received from the connected mobile terminal 110, the status information may be transmitted in response to the transmission request. In this case, the controller 200 can transmit the status information through the method in which the transmission request is received, that is, the wireless connection method to which the mobile terminal 110 is connected. Therefore, if the mobile terminal 110 is connected through a Wi-Fi system, the mobile terminal 110 may be connected via a Wi-Fi communication system such as NFC, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi direct. Status information of the refrigerator 100 may be transmitted to the mobile terminal 110 by a Wi-Fi direct or the like.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of collecting state information of the refrigerator 100 and transmitting the collected state information in the refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the controller 200 of the refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may set a collection period for collecting status information of the refrigerator 100 and status information to be collected (S300).

Here, the step S300 may further include a step of receiving an abnormal symptom of the refrigerator 100 from a user. For example, the user may select at least one of the at least one abnormal symptom predetermined in step S300, such as a humidity abnormality, a refrigeration or freezing temperature abnormality, a ventilation abnormality, or the like. Further, the user may designate an area within the hood where the abnormal operation is considered to be performed, that is, a specific refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment, or a specific fresh vegetable compartment. Then, the control unit 200 may set the collection period so that the state information including the sensed values and the set values of the sensors related to the abnormal symptom or the abnormal region selected by the user are collected every predetermined collection period. Meanwhile, in this case, the controller 200 may include only the sensor values and the setting values related to the abnormal symptom or the abnormal region selected by the user.

Meanwhile, the controller 200 controls the sensor values and the setting values of the sensors related to the abnormal symptom or the abnormal region selected by the user, as well as the sensing values of the other sensors of the refrigerator 100 and other functions The set values may be included in the collected status information. In this case, the controller 200 may include more detailed sensing values and setting values in the status information for the abnormal symptom or the abnormal area selected by the user.

For example, the control unit 200 may collect the sensors and the setting values that are basically collected, regardless of whether the user selects or not, and the sensors and setting values that are additionally collected according to the user's selection Sensors and set values. For example, the humidity sensor and the temperature sensors in the high-temperature interior region may be sensors that basically need to collect the measured values. However, the sensors that sense the operating states (e.g., rotational speed) of the fans in each region may be basically sensors that do not need to collect measurements. This is because, if the temperature or humidity in the refrigerator 100 is normal, the operation status of the fans is also likely to be normal.

In this case, when the user selects a specific abnormal symptom or an abnormal region, the control unit 200 may collect all the sensors and setting values that are basically required to be collected every predetermined collection period. On the other hand, in the case of the sensors and setting values which are basically not required to be collected, they may not be collected unless they are related to the abnormal symptom or the abnormal region selected by the user. In this case, the size of the collected and stored state information can be further reduced.

If the collection period and the status information to be collected are set in step S300, the controller 200 may check whether a time corresponding to the collection period has elapsed (step S302). That is, the controller 200 drives a timer (not shown) in step S302 to check whether a time corresponding to a predetermined collection period has elapsed.

 If it is determined in step S302 that the time corresponding to the collection period has elapsed, the sensing values and the setting values included in the state information set in step S300 may be collected. That is, the control unit 200 receives the measured values sensed from at least one of the sensors included in the sensing unit 220, and can read the set values set in at least one of the regions and the respective functions in the high region . Then, state information including input measurement values and read setting values can be generated (S304). The generated state information may be stored in the storage unit 250 (S306). Here, if the state information storage unit 255 is separately implemented as a separate storage unit (e.g., an EEPROM) as described above, the step S306 may store the state information in the storage unit 250, And storing it in the storage unit 255.

If the state information storage unit 255 is separately implemented in the form of an EEPROM, the controller 200 may store state information as much as possible in consideration of the lifetime of the EEPROM in step S306. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 where the state information is collected and stored, the control unit 200 divides (400) the EEPROM into two regions (A region and B region) By alternately using the areas, the entire area of the EEPROM can be used evenly.

If the state information is stored in step S306, the controller 200 can initialize a timer (S308). Then, it is checked whether there is a transmission request for the stored status information (S310). Here, the transmission request may be made by the mobile terminal 110 connected to the refrigerator 100 through a local communication method such as Wi-Fi or NFC.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S310 that the request for transmission of the status information is not received, the controller 200 proceeds to step S302 to check whether the time corresponding to the currently set collection period has elapsed have. Then, the processes from step S304 to step S308 may be repeated according to the check result of step S302.

However, if it is determined in step S310 that the request for transmission of the status information is received, the controller 200 transmits status information stored in the status information storage unit 255 until now according to the transmission mode in which the transmission request is received (S312). Therefore, if the mobile terminal 110 is connected to the refrigerator 100 through the Wi-Fi scheme, the stored status information can be transmitted to the mobile terminal 110 via the Wi-Fi scheme. However, if the mobile terminal 110 is connected to the refrigerator 100 through a local communication method such as NFC or Wi-Fi direct, the stored state information can be transmitted to the mobile terminal 110 through the same local communication method .

Accordingly, even if a comparatively long time difference occurs until a professional worker checks the abnormal operation after the user reports an abnormal operation, the refrigerator operation information for the corresponding period is stored and transmitted, So that the state can be judged more accurately.

Also, even when a user who is not a specialist misunderstands that the refrigerator is operating abnormally in the case where the refrigerator is normally driven, the result of analyzing the operation pattern of the refrigerator 100 and after the user reports the abnormal operation, The user's misunderstanding can be solved by using the history information of the refrigerator 100 operated until then, thereby minimizing user complaints.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, the state information is collected and stored every five minutes, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, it is needless to say that the collection period may be set to a time shorter than 5 minutes within the limit of the information storage characteristic of the EEPROM, or the collection period may be set to a longer time.

In addition, in the above description, the state information storage unit 255 is implemented as an EEPROM, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the status information storage unit 255 may be implemented as any other storage medium. If the state information storage unit 255 is changed to another storage medium, the collection period may be determined as long as the information storage characteristics of the changed storage medium allow.

Meanwhile, in the above description of the present invention, it is assumed that a period of time from when the user requests dispatch of a specialist worker due to an abnormal operation of the refrigerator 100 until the dispatched expert worker starts checking the refrigerator 100 The state information storage unit 255 is implemented as an EEPROM having a capacity of about 64 kb so as to store the refrigerator 100 state information of about 9 days in consideration of the fact that it is about one week. It is needless to say that a smaller capacity EEPROM may be used or a larger capacity EEPROM may be used if necessary.

Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the essential characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention but to limit the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

100: refrigerator 200: control unit
210: communication unit 220: sensing unit
230: input unit 240: output unit
250: storage unit 255: status information storage unit

Claims (9)

In the refrigerator,
A storage unit;
A communication unit for performing a wireless connection with a specific mobile terminal located in the vicinity of the refrigerator;
A sensing unit including at least one sensor for sensing an operation state of the refrigerator, a state of the refrigerator, and an operation state of major components; And
Generates state information including sensed values sensed by the sensing unit according to a preset collection period and setting values set for each function and each area of the refrigerator according to a user's selection, In the storage unit,
When the transmission request of the stored status information is received from the specific mobile terminal, the status information stored during the period from when the user is selected to when the transmission request is received is transmitted in response to the transmission request And a control unit. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,
Wherein the mobile terminal performs a wireless connection with the specific mobile terminal according to any one of short-range communication methods including NFC (Near Field Communication) or Wi-Fi direct communication method. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
And a state information storage unit in which the state information is stored,
The state information storage unit stores,
(EEPROM). ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 8. < / RTI > The apparatus of claim 3,
Wherein the controller determines the time interval and the period at which the status information is collected and stored based on information storage characteristics of the status information storage unit when the status information storage unit is implemented separately from the storage unit. The method according to claim 1,
Each of the sensors included in the sensing unit and the functions of the refrigerator and the set values set for the respective areas are classified into those basically collected and those basically not collected,
Wherein,
Among the sensing values and the setting values of the sensors that are not basically collected, the sensing values and the setting values of the sensors according to the abnormal symptom or the abnormal region of the refrigerator selected by the user, and the sensed values And collects the set values and the set values every predetermined collection period to generate the state information. The apparatus of claim 1,
Wherein the controller collects sensing values and setting values of sensors related to an abnormal symptom or an abnormal area of the refrigerator selected by the user from the sensors of the sensing unit and the set values every predetermined collection period to generate the state information Refrigerator. The apparatus of claim 3,
Wherein the state information storage unit stores state information by dividing the entire area of the state information storage unit into a plurality of areas so that the state information storage unit can be used as evenly as possible when the state information storage unit is separately implemented. A control method for a refrigerator,
A first step of checking whether a preset time has elapsed according to a user's selection as to whether or not the refrigerator is abnormally operated;
As a result of the check, when the predetermined time has elapsed, the sensing values are collected from the sensors for sensing the operation state of the refrigerator, the state of the refrigerator, and the operation states of the major components, A second step of collecting the set values;
A third step of generating state information including the sensed values and the set values collected;
A fourth step of storing the generated state information in a separate storage area;
Checking whether there is a transmission request for the stored status information; And
And transmits status information stored during a period from the selection of the user to the reception of the transmission request in response to the transmission request according to a result of checking the transmission request, And a sixth step of repeating step (5). 9. The method of claim 8,
In the first step,
Further comprising a first step of receiving, from a user, information on an abnormal symptom or an abnormal area of the refrigerator,
The second step comprises:
2-1 for determining sensing values and setting values to be included in the sensing information among the sensing values and the setting values of the sensors based on the information on the abnormal condition or the abnormal area input in the step 1-1, The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

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