WO2010076138A1

WO2010076138A1 - A household appliance having key lock function

Info

Publication number: WO2010076138A1
Application number: PCT/EP2009/066713
Authority: WO
Inventors: Engin Bayatli; Ersoy Ozcan; Sezgin Parmaksiz; Baris Unal
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2008-12-30
Filing date: 2009-12-09
Publication date: 2010-07-08
Also published as: PL2379789T3; ES2400412T3; EP2379789A1; EP2379789B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a household appliance (1), for example a washing machine, comprising a control panel (2), a switch (3, 103) which is located on the control panel (2), and which provides the household appliance (1) to be turned on and off by being energized or beside the function of turning on/off, which has the program (P) select function as well, more than one push button (4) which determines the auxiliary functions (F) to be applied, a start button (5) which provides the selected program (P) to be started and when desired, which provides the program (P) to be paused by being pressed again, and a microcontroller (6) which activates the key lock function (KL) and blocks the functions of the buttons (4, 5) when the push button (4) combination, defined in the software, is pressed by the user.

Description

A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE HAVING KEY LOCK FUNCTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a household appliance wherein the key functions are blocked by the key lock being activated while operating the household appliance.

[0002] In household appliances, for example in washing machines, key lock function, which is also named as the child lock, is used in order that the user interface functions such as program cancellation, program pause or new program start can be deactivated. The key lock function is activated and deactivated automatically or as a result of using a predefined input combination of the push buttons or of the program selector switch, which are situated on the control panel. For example, the user activates the key lock by pressing more than one push button situated on the control panel, and when he/she presses the same push buttons again, the key lock is deactivated. As long as the key lock is activated, intervention of the user to the household appliance to change the operating program is not possible. In the state of the art, while a household appliance operates, even if the key lock is activated, the operation of the household appliance can be stopped in an emergency situation by disconnecting it from the main supply, for example by unplugging the household appliance or pressing the on/off button, and can be restarted; in other words, the on/off button is made independent of the key lock; however, to deactivate the key lock in a fast manner, there is no method other than the reapplication of the push button input combination, which is defined in the software, by the user.

[0003] In the state of the art Japanese Patent Application No JP2000082352, in a household appliance, a child lock switch provides the operation switches to change from the unlocking mode to the locking mode or from the locking mode to the unlocking mode, and even when the child lock is activated, this does not affect the main power switch, and on - off functions of the machine are performed.

[0004] In the state of the art German Patent No DE4031266, when the rotary selector switch situated in a household appliance is brought to the end mode and kept in this mode for a certain period of time, the washing program is terminated independently of the child lock and can be restarted.

[0005] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a household appliance, the key lock function of which is provided to be easily cancelled by the user when required.

[0006] The household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is explicated in the claims.

[0007] In the household appliance, on the control panel, an on/off switch having on/off function, more than one push button determining the auxiliary functions to be applied, and a start button providing the selected program to be started are located. Automatically or when the user presses the push button combination, which is defined in the software, for example two push buttons simultaneously, the key lock function is activated by the microcontroller and the functions of the push buttons are blocked.

[0008] In the embodiment of the present invention, in the period of time between the turning on and off of the household appliance, if the key lock function is activated by the user or automatically in any one of the waiting modes exclusive of the run mode, then in the same waiting mode, the key lock function is provided to be cancelled without using the push button combination defined in the software and only by turning the on/off switch off and on once.

[0009] The household appliance of the present invention is preferably a washing machine, and the on/off switch has the function of selecting the program, such as cotton, synthetic or wool fabric washing program, that will be applied, as well as the on/off option, and when the on/off switch is brought to the on/off position, it provides the energy to be cut off and when it leaves the on/off position and is brought to any position which indicates the washing programs, it provides the household appliance to be energized.

[0010] In this embodiment, in the household appliance, in the period of time between the energizing of the household appliance by bringing the switch to the on position and the de-energizing of the household appliance by bringing the switch to the off position, if the key lock function is activated in any one of the waiting modes such as the idle, end, pause and time delay modes, excluding the run mode, then in the same waiting mode, the key lock function is cancelled without using the push button combination defined in the software and only by bringing the switch to the on/off position and then again to the initial program option.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, in the household appliance, an on/off switch that only provides the household appliance to be turned on and off and independently of this switch, a program selector switch that provides the program, which will be applied, to be selected are situated.

[0012] In this embodiment, if the key lock function is activated in any one of the waiting modes of the household appliance exclusive of the run mode, the household appliance is turned off and on only by pressing the on/off switch regardless of the position of the program selector switch, and the key lock function is provided to be cancelled. In other words, beside the on/off function, also the function of cancelling the key lock is loaded to the on/off switch.

[0013] In the household appliance of the present invention, according to whether an off signal is received from the on/off switch or not, the microcontroller distinguishes that the household appliance is turned off either by "cutting off the energy from the main supply / unplugging the household appliance" or by "the on/off switch being brought to the off position by the user", and if the microcontroller detects that the household appliance is turned off by being disconnected from the main supply or by being unplugged, it does not cancel the key lock function.

[0014] If the microcontroller detects that the household appliance in the waiting mode is turned off without cutting off the energy from the main supply and by the switch being brought to the off position by the user, the microcontroller cancels the key lock function. Thus, cancellation of the key lock function without user request is prevented.

[0015] The household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0016] Figure 1 - is the perspective view of a household appliance.

[0017] Figure 2 - is the schematic view of a control panel and a microcontroller in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 - is the schematic view of a control panel and a microcontroller in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

[0020] 1 - Household appliance

[0021] 2 - Control panel

[0022] 3, 103 - Switch

[0023] 4 - Push button

[0024] 5 - Start button

[0025] 6 - Microcontroller

[0026] 7 - Program selector switch

[0027] The household appliance (1) comprises a control panel (2), a switch (3, 103) which is located on the control panel (2) and which has an on/off function, more than one push button (4) which determines the auxiliary functions (F), that will be applied, according to the preference of the user, a start button (5) which provides the selected program (P) to be started and when desired, which provides the program (P) to be paused by being pressed again, and a microcontroller (6) which has a non-volatile memory and a processor, and which activates the key lock function (KL) automatically or when the push button (4) input combination that is predefined by the producer and that is preferably indicated on the control panel (2) is applied by the user, and which blocks the functions of the push buttons (4) and the start button (5).

[0028] The household appliance (1) is set in the run mode (I) and in the waiting modes (II) in the period of time elapsing between the energizing of the household appliance (1) by bringing the switch (3, 103) to the on position and the de-energizing of the household appliance (1) by bringing the switch (3, 103) to the off position.

[0029] The household appliance (1) changes to the run mode (I) when the program (P) is selected and the start button (5) is pressed after the switch (3, 103) is brought to the on position, and the household appliance (1) remains in the run mode (I) until the selected program (P) ends. The household appliance (1) is set in the waiting mode (II) in the periods of time excluding the run mode (I), for example in the period of time elapsing after the switch (3, 103) is brought to the on position at the beginning and until the start button (5) is pressed, or in the periods of time elapsing after the applied program (P) ends and until the switch (3, 103) is brought to the off position by the user. When the user presses the start button (5) while the household appliance (1) is in the run mode (I), the household appliance (1) changes to the waiting mode (II) from the run mode (I) and when the user presses the start button (5) again, the household appliance (1) changes to the run mode (I) from the waiting mode (II).

[0030] The household appliance (1) of the present invention (1) has a microcontroller (6) which provides the key lock function (KL) to be cancelled without applying the defined push button (4) combination and only by turning the switch (3, 103) off and on in the waiting mode (II) if the key lock function (KL) is activated by the user or automatically in any waiting mode (II) wherein no program (P) is applied and in the period of time between the energizing of the household appliance (1) by bringing the switch (3, 103) to the on position for the operation of the household appliance (1) and the de-energizing of the household appliance (1) by bringing the switch (3, 103) to the off position in order that the household appliance (1) is turned off after the applied program (P) ends.

[0031] In the household appliance (1) of the present invention, if there is no continuing program (P) and if the switch (3, 103) is on and in the waiting mode (II), and when the key lock function (KL) is activated automatically or by the user applying the push button (4) input combination, the same push button (4) input combination is not required to be applied again to cancel the key lock function (KL) and the key lock function (KL) is cancelled only by turning the switch (3, 103) off and on once.

[0032] Since the key lock function (KL) is preferred to be activated while the household appliance (1) is in the run mode (I), when the key lock function (KL) is activated, the microcontroller (6) does not allow the key lock function (KL) to be passivated by turning the switch (3, 103) off and on in the run mode (I). When the switch (3, 103) is turned off and on while the household appliance (1 ) is in the run mode (I), only the operation of the household appliance (1) is cut and then resumed, and the active state of the key lock function (KL) does not change. In the run mode (I), the key lock function (KL) can be cancelled only by applying the predefined push button (4) input combination, as in the state of the art.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance (1) has the feature of washing laundry, and comprises a rotary switch (3) which serves to turn the household appliance (1) on and off and beside the on/off option, which has the function of selecting the program (P), such as cotton, synthetic or wool fabric washing program (P), that will be applied, and which provides the energy to be cut off when brought to the on/off position, and which provides the household appliance (1) to be energized when brought to any position indicating the washing programs (P) by leaving the on/off position (Figure 2). After being energized by bringing the switch (3) to the on position and until being turned off, the household appliance (1) is either in the run mode (I) or in the waiting modes (II) such as the idle mode, end mode, pause mode or time delay mode.

[0034] The run mode (I) is the mode wherein, after the program (P) is selected and the auxiliary function (F) adjustments are made, the selected program (P) and the auxiliary function (F) are applied by the user pressing the start button (5). In this mode, the household appliance (1), for example, receives water from the outside, washes and rinses the laundry and finishes the program by spinning the laundry.

[0035] The idle mode, being one of the waiting modes (II), is the mode wherein no program (P) is operated at the beginning in the household appliance (1) and wherein, by the user, the program (P) selection is performed by means of the switch (3) and the selection of the auxiliary functions (F) is performed by means of the push buttons (4) and thus, for example, the operating temperature and the spin speed are adjusted.

[0036] The end mode, being one of the waiting modes (II), is the mode, which is set after the run mode (I) ends. In this mode, the household appliance (1) can be turned off by bringing the switch (3) to the off position or a new program (P) can be started by changing the switch (3) to the idle mode. For example, the washed laundry is unloaded and other laundry is loaded, and after the program (P) is selected, the run mode (I) is set by pressing the start button (5).

[0037] The pause mode, being one of the waiting modes (II), is the mode which is set by the user pressing the start button (5) with pause function for the second time after the run mode (I) is started by pressing the start button (5). When the start button (5) is pressed again, the run mode (I) is reset.

[0038] The time delay mode, being one of the waiting modes (II), is the mode wherein the program (P), which is selected in the idle mode, stands by to be started later when desired. To apply the time delay mode, the user has to define the time delay selection and period by means of the push buttons (4) after performing the program (P) selection.

[0039] In this embodiment, if the key lock function (KL) is activated in any one of the waiting modes (II) such as the idle, end, pause and time delay mode, excluding the run mode (I), then in the same waiting mode (II), the microcontroller (6) provides that the key lock function (KL) is cancelled only by the switch (3) being brought to the on/off option and then again to the program (P) option (Figure 2).

[0040] In another embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance (1) comprises a switch (103) that only provides the household appliance (1) to be turned on and off, and independently of this switch (103), a program selector switch (7) that provides the program (P), which will be applied, to be selected. In this embodiment, if the key lock function (KL) is activated in any one of the waiting modes (II) exclusive of the run mode (I), the microcontroller (6) provides the key lock function (KL) to be cancelled by the household appliance (1) being turned off and on once only by the switch (103) being pressed regardless of the position of the program selector switch (7) (Figure 3).

[0041] In this embodiment, for example when the key lock function (KL) is activated before pressing the start button (5) and in the situation that any program (P) is selected by the program selector switch (7), an intervention with the program selector switch (7) to unlock the active key lock (KL) is not required and only turning the switch (103) off and on once is sufficient.

[0042] While the household appliance (1) operates, in unexpected situations such as power failures originating from the main supply or unplugging of the household appliance (1), the key lock function (KL) is not cancelled. According to whether it receives an off signal from the switch (3, 103) or not, the microcontroller (6) distinguishes that the household appliance (1) is turned off either by "cutting off the energy from the main supply" or by "the switch (3, 103) being brought to the off position by the user", and if the microcontroller (6) detects that the household appliance (1) is turned off not by the user but by being disconnected from the main supply or by being unplugged, it does not cancel the key lock function (KL), and if the microcontroller (6) detects that the user turned the household appliance (1) off by bringing the switch (3, 103) to the off position in the waiting mode (II), it cancels the key lock function (KL).

[0043] The microcontroller (6) takes only the intervention of the user into consideration to cancel the key lock function (KL) in a practical manner and does not take the turning off of the household appliance (1), which happens as a result of the power failure originating from the main supply, into consideration, and thus, prevents the key lock function (KL) from being cancelled without user request.

[0044] In the household appliance (1) of the present invention, in order to passivate the key lock function (KL), instead of applying the push button (4) input combination, which is present in the software, only turning the switch (3, 103) off and on once is sufficient and thus, the user can cancel the key lock function (KL) in a fast and practical manner when required. The key lock function (KL) is cancelled only by the intervention of the user and in an unexpected situation such as a power failure originating from the main supply, the microcontroller (6) detects that the household appliance (1) is not turned off by the intervention of the user and thus, does not cancel the key lock function (KL).

[0045] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above and an expert in the technique can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A household appliance (1) comprising a control panel (2), a switch (3, 103) which is located on the control panel (2) and which has an on/off function, more than one push button (4) which determines the auxiliary functions (F) to be applied, a start button (5) which provides the selected program (P) to be started and when desired, which provides the program (P) to be paused by being pressed again, and a microcontroller (6) which activates the key lock function (KL) automatically or when the predefined push button (4) input combination is applied by the user, characterized by the microcontroller (6) which provides the key lock function (KL) to be cancelled without applying the defined push button (4) combination and only by turning the switch (3, 103) off and on in the waiting mode (II) if the key lock function (KL) is activated in any waiting mode (II) exclusive of the run mode (I) in the total period of time between the energizing of the household appliance (1) by bringing the switch (3, 103) to the on position and the de-energizing of the household appliance (1) by bringing the switch (3, 103) to the off position.

2. A household appliance (1) as in Claim 1 , having the feature of washing laundry and characterized by - the switch (3) which serves to turn the household appliance (1) on and off, and which has the function of selecting the program (P), such as cotton, synthetic or wool fabric washing program (P), that will be applied, as well as the on/off option, and which provides the energy to be cut off when brought to the on/off position, and which provides the household appliance (1) to be energized when brought to any position indicating the washing programs (P) by leaving the on/off position, and - the microcontroller (6) which, in the waiting mode (II), provides that the key lock function (KL) is cancelled only by the switch (3) being brought to the on/off option and then again to the program (P) option if the key lock function (KL) is activated in any one of the waiting modes (II) such as the idle, end, pause and time delay mode, excluding the run mode (I).

3. A household appliance (1) as in Claim 1 , characterized by - the switch (103) which only provides the household appliance (1) to be turned on and off, - independently of this switch (103), by a program selector switch (7) which provides the program (P), that will be applied, to be selected, and - by the microcontroller (6) which provides the key lock function (KL) to be cancelled by the household appliance (1) being turned off and on only by the switch (103) being pressed regardless of the position of the program selector switch (7), if the key lock function (KL) is activated in any one of the waiting modes (II) exclusive of the run mode (I).

4. A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by the microcontroller (6) which, according to whether it receives an off signal from the switch (3, 103) or not, distinguishes that the household appliance (1) is turned off either by "cutting off the energy from the main supply" or by "the switch (3, 103) being brought to the off position by the user", and which does not cancel the key lock function (KL) by the detection that the household appliance (1) is turned off by being disconnected from the main supply, and which cancels the key lock function (KL) by the detection that the user turned the household appliance (1) off by bringing the switch (3, 103) to the off position.