Patent Application
20250194894
The present disclosure relates to a dishwasher and a controlling method thereof, and more particularly to, a dishwasher that provides a method for intuitively guiding how to load dishes inside the dishwasher and a controlling method thereof.
Among the electronic devices that assist with household chores is a dishwasher, which is used to wash dishes that have held food.
The dishwasher has a dish loading space inside the device, and when dishes are placed in the loading space, it sprays detergent and water to perform an operation to wash dishes contaminated with food.
Unlike washing dishes by hand, the dishwasher washes dishes by spraying detergent and water through nozzles placed inside, so the effectiveness of the dishwasher's cleaning can vary depending on how the dishes are placed in the loading space inside the dishwasher.
Therefore, in order to maximize the dishwashing effect using a dishwasher, users need to be aware of the position and angle at which various types of dishes such as cups, pots, frying pans, bowls, and plates, are placed within the dish loading space.
The dishwasher as described above may provide visual or auditory information to the users regarding how to use the dishwasher and how to place the dishes.
A dishwasher according to an embodiment may include a user interface, a display, memory storing at least one instruction, and one or more processors configured to execute the at least one instruction to, based on the dishwasher being turned on, control the display to display a first GUI corresponding to at least one dishwashing course, based on a user input for selecting a dishwashing course being received through the user interface, control the display to display a second GUI including an animation effect that indicates dish loading information corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, and based on a dishwashing operation being started based on the selected dishwashing course, control the display to display a third GUI indicating the dishwashing course and dishwashing time.
The second GUI may include at least one icon corresponding to a dish loading space and a dish loading position, and the one or more processors may be configured to execute the at least one instruction to control the display to provide an animation effect that alternately displays the at least one icon at a first location and at a second location spaced apart from the first location by a preset distance on the display.
The second GUI may include at least one icon corresponding to a dish loading space and a dish loading position, and the one or more processors may be configured to execute the at least one instruction to control the display to display an icon corresponding to the dish loading space in a first color and display an icon corresponding to the dish loading position in a second color that is different from the first color.
The second GUI may include at least one icon corresponding to a dish loading space and a dish loading position, and the one or more processors may be configured to execute the at least one instruction to control the display to provide an animation effect in which an icon corresponding to the dish loading position flashes at a preset time interval.
The one or more processors may be configured to execute the at least one instruction to, based on a user input for selecting a dishwashing course being received through the user interface, identify whether a number of uses of the selected dishwashing course is less than a preset value, and based on identifying that the number of uses is less than a preset value, control the display to display the second GUI including an animation effect that indicates a dish loading space and a dish loading position corresponding to the selected dishwashing course and text guiding the dish loading position and a dish loading method.
The one or more processors may be configured to execute the at least one instruction to, based on identifying that the number of uses is equal to or greater than a preset value, perform a dishwashing operation based on the selected dishwashing course without displaying the second GUI and the text.
The one or more processors may be configured to execute the at least one instruction to, based on a door of the dishwasher being closed, control the display to display information that a dishwashing operation is performed, and based on a door of the dishwasher being closed, perform a dishwashing operation.
A controlling method of a dishwasher according to an embodiment may include, based on the dishwasher being turned on, controlling a display to display a first GUI corresponding to at least one dishwashing course, based on a user input for selecting a dishwashing course being received through a user interface, controlling the display to display a second GUI including an animation effect that indicates dish loading information corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, and based on a dishwashing operation being started based on the selected dishwashing course, controlling the display to display a third GUI indicating the dishwashing course and dishwashing time.
The second GUI may include at least one icon corresponding to a dish loading space and a dish loading position, and the controlling method may further include controlling the display to provide an animation effect that alternately displays the at least one icon at a first location and at a second location spaced apart from the first location by a preset distance on the display.
The second GUI may include at least one icon corresponding to a dish loading space and a dish loading position, and the controlling method may include controlling the display to display an icon corresponding to the dish loading space in a first color and display an icon corresponding to the dish loading position in a second color that is different from the first color.
The second GUI may include at least one icon corresponding to a dish loading space and a dish loading position, and the controlling method may include controlling the display to provide an animation effect in which an icon corresponding to the dish loading position flashes at a preset time interval.
The controlling method may include, based on a user input for selecting a dishwashing course being received through the user interface, identifying whether the number of uses of the selected dishwashing course is less than a preset value, and based on identifying that the number of uses is less than a preset value, controlling the display to display the second GUI including an animation effect that indicates a dish loading space and a dish loading position corresponding to the selected dishwashing course and text guiding the dish loading position and a dish loading method.
The controlling method may include, based on identifying that the number of uses is equal to or greater than a preset value, performing a dishwashing operation based on the selected dishwashing course without displaying the second GUI and the text.
The controlling method may include, based on a door of the dishwasher being closed, controlling the display to display information that a dishwashing operation is performed, and based on a door of the dishwasher being closed, performing a dishwashing operation.
According to an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium may store at least one computer instruction that, when executed by one or more processors of a dishwasher, cause the dishwasher to, based on the dishwasher being turned on, controlling a display to display a first GUI corresponding to at least one dishwashing course, based on a user input for selecting a dishwashing course being received through a user interface, controlling the display to display a second GUI including an animation effect that indicates dish loading information corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, and based on a dishwashing operation being started based on the selected dishwashing course, controlling the display to display a third GUI indicating the dishwashing course and dishwashing time.
Aspects, features, and advantages of specific embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiments of the present disclosure may be modified in various ways, and may have various embodiments, so specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to specific exemplary embodiments, but include all modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives according to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. Throughout the description of the accompanying drawings, similar components may be denoted by similar reference numerals.
In describing the disclosure, when it is decided that a detailed description for the known functions or configurations related to the disclosure may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the disclosure, the detailed description therefor will be omitted.
In addition, the following exemplary embodiments may be modified in several different forms, and the scope of the technical spirit of the disclosure is not limited to the following exemplary embodiments. Rather, these exemplary embodiments make the disclosure thorough and complete, and are provided to completely transfer the spirit of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
Terms used in the disclosure are used only to describe specific exemplary embodiments rather than limiting the scope of the disclosure. Singular forms are intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
In the disclosure, the expressions “have”, “may have”, “include” or “may include” used herein indicate existence of corresponding features (e.g., elements such as numeric values, functions, operations, or components), but do not exclude presence of additional features.
In the disclosure, the expressions “A or B”, “at least one of A or/and B”, or “one or more of A or/and B”, and the like may include any and all combinations of one or more of the items listed together. For example, the term “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, or “at least one of A or B” may refer to all of the case (1) where at least one A is included, the case (2) where at least one B is included, or the case (3) where both of at least one A and at least one B are included.
Expressions “first”, “second”, “1st,” “2nd,” or the like, used in the disclosure may indicate various components regardless of sequence and/or importance of the components, will be used only in order to distinguish one component from the other components, and do not limit the corresponding components.
When it is described that an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to” or “connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it should be understood that it may be directly coupled with/to or connected to the other element, or they may be coupled with/to or connected to each other through an intervening element (e.g., a third element).
On the other hand, when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being “directly coupled with/to” or “directly connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it should be understood that there is no intervening element (e.g., a third element) in-between.
An expression “˜configured (or set) to” used in the disclosure may be replaced by an expression, for example, “suitable for,” “having the capacity to,” “˜designed to,” “˜adapted to,” “˜made to,” or “˜capable of” depending on a situation. A term “˜configured (or set) to” may not necessarily mean “specifically designed to” in hardware.
Instead, an expression “˜an apparatus configured to” may mean that an apparatus “is capable of” together with other apparatuses or components. For example, a “processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C” may mean a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing the corresponding operations or a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor) that may perform the corresponding operations by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory device.
In exemplary embodiments, a ‘module’ or a ‘unit’ may perform at least one function or operation, and be implemented as hardware or software or be implemented as a combination of hardware and software. In addition, a plurality of ‘modules’ or a plurality of ‘unit’ may be integrated into at least one module and be implemented as at least one processor except for a ‘module’ or a ‘unit’ that needs to be implemented as specific hardware.
Meanwhile, various elements and areas in the drawings are schematically drawn in the drawings. Therefore, the technical concept of the disclosure is not limited by a relative size or spacing drawn in the accompanying drawings.
Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that a person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs can easily implement the present disclosure.
Referring to
Specifically, a user may load dishes into the dish loading space through a door provided in an area of an external surface of the dishwasher 100, and when the door is closed, the dishwasher 100 may spray detergent and water on the dishes placed in the dish loading space to wash the dishes.
However, the dishwasher 100 according to the present disclosure may not necessarily be a device that cleans dishes only, but may be a device that has a loading space therein and washes various contaminated utensils placed in the loading space.
The dishwasher 100 may include a display 110 on one area of the external surface. The dishwasher 100 may control the display 110 to output (or display) visual content, for example, icons, GUIs or text.
Thus, the user may recognize control information, state information, usage information, etc. of the dishwasher 100 through icons, GUIs, or text displayed on the display 110.
The dishwasher 100 may also have a user interface 120 on one area of the external surface, which receives a user input related to control or use of the dishwasher 100, a speaker 150 that outputs auditory content such as control information, state information, usage information, etc. of the dishwasher 100, and the like.
The device configuration included in the dishwasher 100 will be described in greater detail with reference to
Referring to
However, the dishwasher 100 is not limited to the configurations described above, and may additionally include various device configurations necessary for washing dishes by providing a dish loading space inside the dishwasher 100 or may omit some of them.
The display 110 may include various types of display panels such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panel, an Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) panel, an Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AM-OLED), a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LcoS), a Quantum dot Light-Emitting Diode (QLED), a Digital Light Processing (DLP), a Plasma Display Panel (PDP) panel, an inorganic LED panel, a micro LED panel, etc., but is not limited thereto. Meanwhile, the display 110 may configure a touch screen together with a touch panel, and may also be configured as a flexible panel.
The display 110 may be implemented as a square or rectangle in a 2D shape, but is not limited thereto, and may be implemented in various shapes such as circular, polygonal, 3D stereoscopic shapes, etc.
The display 110 may be located on one area of an external surface of the dishwasher 100. For example, the display 110 may be located on one area of a door surface of the dishwasher 100 or on one area of the front of the dishwasher 100, but is not limited to.
The processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI that includes images, videos, or text corresponding to a dishwashing course.
For example, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI corresponding to a standard course, an Al customized course, an eco course, a strong course, a steam soaking course, a night low-noise course, a top rapid course, a pot and frying pan washing course, a glass washing course, a plastic washing course, a baby bottle sterilization course, a rinse-dry course, a cold water rinse course, a dry-only course, and a full sterilization course.
The processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI that includes an animation effect indicating a dish loading space and a dish loading position corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, and text to guide the user on where to load the dishes and how to load the dishes.
Here, the animation effect may be an effect in which an image or icon included in the GUI is alternately displayed at a first location on the display 110 and at a second location spaced apart from the first location by a preset distance.
The processor 140 may control the display 110 to display the colors of a plurality of images or icons included in the GUI in different colors.
The processor 140 may control the display 110 to provide an animation effect in which an image or icon included in the GUI flashes at a preset time interval.
Further, the processor 140 may include a GUI or text indicating a dishwashing course and a dishwashing time once the dishwashing operation is initiated.
In addition, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI or text describing the operation of the dishwasher 100.
The user interface 120 may include buttons, levers, switches, touch-type interfaces, and the like, and the touch-type interface may be implemented in a way that the user's touch input is received on the display 110.
The processor 140 may receive a user command or user input through the user interface 120.
Specifically, the processor 140 may receive a user input through the user interface 120 to select a washing course among a plurality of washing courses.
In addition, the processor 140 may receive various user inputs for controlling the dishwasher 100 through the user interface 120, such as a user input for turning on the dishwasher 100 or a user input for adjusting the washing time.
The memory 130 stores various programs or data temporarily or non-temporarily, and transmits the stored information to the processor 140 according to the call of the processor 140. The memory 130 may also store various information necessary for the calculation, processing or control operation of the processor 140 in an electronic form.
The memory 130 may include at least one of, for example, a main memory or an auxiliary memory. The main memory may be implemented using a semiconductor storage medium such as ROM and/or RAM. The ROM may include, for example, conventional ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and/or MASK-ROM. The RAM may include, for example, DRAM and/or SRAM. The auxiliary memory may be implemented using at least one storage medium capable of permanently or semi-permanently storing data, such as a flash memory 130 device, a secure digital (SD) card, a solid-state drive (SSD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a magnetic drum, optical media such as a compact disc (CD), a DVD, or a laser disc, magnetic tape, a photomagnetic disk, and/or a floppy disk.
The memory 130 may store instructions for at least one dishwashing course. The memory 130 may store a GUI or text corresponding to the at least one dishwashing course.
For example, memory 130 may store instructions for running a standard course, an Al customized course, an eco course, a strong course, a steam soaking course, a night low-noise course, a top rapid course, a pot and frying pan washing course, a glass washing course, a plastic washing course, a baby bottle sterilization course, a rinse-dry course, a cold water rinse course, a dry-only course, and a full sterilization course, and may include information about each course or store a GUI and text to guide the user through each course.
The memory 130 may store a GUI including an animation effect that indicates a dish loading space and a dish loading position corresponding to a dishwashing course. The memory 130 may store instructions for executing at least one animation effect on the display 110.
The memory 130 may store information about the internal space of the dishwasher 100. Specifically, the memory 130 may store information about trays, racks, detergent spray nozzles, water spray nozzles, and cup hanging bars placed inside the dishwasher 100.
The memory 130 may store information about where to load the dishes and how to load the dishes. The memory 130 may store information about the optimal dishwashing time for each dishwashing course.
The processor 140 controls the overall operations of the electronic device. Specifically, the processor 140 may be connected to the components of the electronic device including the memory 130 as described above, and may execute at least one instruction stored in the memory 130 as described above to control the overall operations of the electronic device. In particular, the processor 140 may be implemented not only as one processor 140 but also as a plurality of processors 140.
The processor 140 may be implemented in various ways. For example, the one or more processors 140 may include one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a many integrated core (MIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a neural processing unit (NPU), a hardware accelerator, or a machine learning accelerator. The one or more processors 140 may control one or any combination of the other components of the electronic device, and may perform communication-related operations or data processing. The one or more processors may execute at least one program or instruction stored in the memory 130. For example, the one or more processors 140 may perform a method according to an embodiment by executing at least one instruction stored in the memory 130.
When a method according to an embodiment includes a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations may be performed by one processor 140 or by a plurality of processors 140. For example, when a first operation, a second operation, and a third operation are performed by the method according to an embodiment, all of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation may be performed by the first processor 140, or the first operation and the second operation may be performed by the first processor 140 (e.g., a general-purpose processor) and the third operation may be performed by the second processor 140 (e.g., an artificial intelligence-dedicated processor 140).
The one or more processors 140 may be implemented as a single core processor 140 including a single core, or as one or more multicore processors 140 including a plurality of cores (e.g., homogeneous multicore or heterogeneous multicore). When the one or more processors 140 are implemented as a multicore processor 140, each of the plurality of cores included in the multicore processor 140 may include internal memory 130 of the processor 140, such as cache memory and an on-chip memory 130, and a common cache shared by the plurality of cores may be included in the multicore processor 140. Each of the plurality of cores (or some of the plurality of cores) included in the multi-core processor 140 may independently read and perform program instructions to implement the method according to an embodiment, or all (or some) of the plurality of cores may be coupled to read and perform program instructions to implement the method according to an embodiment.
When a method according to an embodiment includes a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations may be performed by one core of a plurality of cores included in a multi-core processor 140, or may be performed by a plurality of cores. For example, when a first operation, a second operation, and a third operation are performed by a method according to an embodiment, all of the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation may be performed by the first core included in the multi-core processor 140, or the first operation and the second operation may be performed by the first core included in the multi-core processor 140 and the third operation may be performed by the second core included in the multi-core processor 140.
In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 140 may mean a system-on-chip (SoC) in which one or more processors 140 and other electronic components are integrated, a single-core processor 140, a multi-core processor 140, or a core included in a single-core processor 140 or multi-core processor 140, and here, the core may be implemented as CPU, GPU, APU, MIC, DSP, NPU, hardware accelerator, or machine learning accelerator, etc., but the core is not limited to the embodiments of the present disclosure.
The schematic control operation for the processor 140 of the dishwasher 100 will be described with reference to
Referring to
Here, the first GUI 310 may include an image or text. Specifically, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI or text consisting of the names of the dishwashing courses and a brief description corresponding to each dishwashing course.
Upon receiving a user input for selecting a dishwashing course through the user interface 120, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display dish loading information corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, such as a second GUI 320-1 that includes an animation effect indicating a dish loading space and a dish loading position, and text 320-2 (e.g., “Adjust the height and position of the trays and racks before use.”) guiding where to load the dishes or how to load the dishes.
Here, when receiving a user input selecting a dishwashing course through the user interface 120, the processor 140 may identify whether the number of uses of the selected dishwashing course is less than a preset value.
When it is identified that the number of uses is less than a preset value, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display dish loading information corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, for example, the second GUI that includes an animation effect indicating a dish loading space and a dish loading position, or text guiding where to load the dishes or how to load the dishes.
When it is identified that the number of uses is equal to or greater than a preset value, the processor 140 may perform a dishwashing action based on the selected dishwashing course without displaying the second GUI or text.
As described above, when the display 110 is controlled to display the second GUI or text a preset number of times, the user may become sufficiently familiar with how and where to load the dishes inside the dishwasher 100, so from the subsequent point in time, the user may skip the step of displaying the second GUI including an animation effect that indicates the dish loading space and the dish loading position corresponding to the dishwashing course or the text guiding the user on where to load the dishes and how to load the dishes, thereby reducing time and electricity consumption.
When a preset time has elapsed after the second GUI 320-1 or the text 320-2 guiding the dish loading position and dish loading method is displayed on the display 110 or a user input is received through the user interface 120, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display information that a dishwashing operation is performed when the door of the dishwasher 100 is closed. For example, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to output guidance text 330, “Start when the door is closed.”
When the door of the dishwasher 100 is closed, the processor 140 may perform a dishwashing operation.
As described above, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display information accompanying the overall process of the dishwashing operation through visual content, for example, a GUI, an icon, an image, or text.
Here, the GUI and text that the processor 140 displays through the display 110 for each dishwashing course of the dishwasher 100 will be described in detail with reference to
Referring to
Here, the “all courses except special courses” 410 may be standard washing courses used for washing general dishes.
Referring to
In other words, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to provide an animation effect that alternately displays icons corresponding to trays and racks included in the GUI at the first location on the display 110 and in the second location spaced apart from the first location by a preset distance.
However, the processor 140 is not limited thereto, and the processor 140 may also provide various animation effects or GUIs that will be described later.
In addition, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display English guidance text “Pull upper rack upwards to load larger or taller dishes underneath” alternately with or together with Korean guidance text.
However, the guidance text that the processor 140 displays through the display 110 is not limited thereto.
When the dishwashing course is a “glassware wash course” 420, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI corresponding to the dish loading space and the dish loading position, for example, a rack including a support located on one side inside the rack.
Referring to
Thus, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to alternately display at a preset time interval a GUI 610 that displays only the icons corresponding to the trays and racks in addition to the cup supports in gray and a GUI 620 that displays the cup supports in white and the icons corresponding to the trays and racks in gray.
However, when the dishwashing course is a “glassware washing course” 420, the animation effects or GUIs that the processor 140 provides through the display 110 are not limited thereto and as described above, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to provide a flashing animation effect by alternately displaying icons included in the GUI at a first location and a second location that is spaced apart from the first location by a preset distance at a preset time interval.
In addition, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to provide an animation effect in which an icon corresponding to a cup support flashes at a preset time interval.
Further, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display Korean guidance text “” or English guidance text “Use a wine glass holder or a wine glass hanger.”
However, the guidance text that the processor 140 displays through the display 110 is not limited thereto.
When the dishwashing course is a “full sterilization course” 430, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI corresponding to the dish loading space or the dish loading position, for example, trays and racks.
Here, the “full sterilization course” 430 may be a dishwashing course that sterilizes all dishes located inside the dishwasher 100 through an ultraviolet irradiation unit.
Referring to
However, when the dishwashing course is the “full sterilization course” 430, the processor 140 is not limited to the embodiment of providing animation effects and GUIs described above, and may control the display 110 to provide various other animation effects or GUIs.
The processor 140 may control the display 110 to display Korean guidance text “ (100)
” or English guidance text “Empty the dishwasher.”
However, the guidance text that the processor 140 displays through the display 110 is not limited thereto.
When the dishwashing course is a “top rapid course” 440, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI corresponding to the dish loading space or the dish loading position, for example, trays and racks.
Here, the “top rapid course” 440 may be a course that rapidly washes dishes located in one area of the internal space of the dishwasher 100 within a shorter time than a preset time.
Referring to
However, when the dishwashing course is the “top rapid course” 440, the processor 140 is not limited to the embodiment of providing animation effects and GUIs described above, and may control the display 110 to provide various other animation effects or GUIs.
In addition, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display Korean guidance text “” or English guidance text “Use cutlery tray and top rack.”
However, the guidance text that the processor 140 displays through the display 110 is not limited thereto.
When the dishwashing course is a “dry only course” 450, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI that includes an icon corresponding to the dish loading space or the dish loading positions, for example, trays and racks, and an icon corresponding to a warm air outlet that is located inside the dishwasher 100 and through which warm air flows into the dish loading space.
Here, the “drying-only course” 450 may refer to a washing course in which warm air is injected into the dish loading space to dry the dishes.
Specifically, referring to
However, when the dishwashing course is the “dry only course” 450, the animation effects or GUIs that the processor 140 provides through the display 110 are not limited to, and as described above, the processor 140 may also control the display 110 to alternately display the icons included in the GUI at the first location and the second location that is spaced apart from the first location by a preset distance at a preset time interval.
In addition, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display Korean guidance text “” or English guidance text “Do not block the entrance of warm air.”
The guidance text that the processor 140 displays on the display 110 is not limited thereto.
As described above, the processor 140 may control the display 110 of the dishwasher 100 to provide the user with various GUIs, animation effects, and guidance text to effectively guide the user on where and how to load the dishes for each dishwashing course.
Referring to
The speaker 150 may consist of a tweeter for reproducing high-pitched sound, a midrange for reproducing midrange sound, a woofer for reproducing low-pitched sound, a subwoofer for reproducing extremely low-pitched sound, an enclosure for controlling resonance, and a crossover network for dividing the frequency of an electrical signal input to the speaker 150 into bands.
The speaker 150 may output an acoustic signal to the outside of the electronic device. The speaker 150 may output multimedia playback, recording playback, various notification sounds, voice messages, etc. The electronic device may include an audio output device such as the speaker 150, but may include an output device such as an audio output terminal. In particular, the speaker 150 may provide obtained information, information processed and produced based on obtained information, response results or operation results regarding a user voice, etc. in the form of a voice.
The processor 140 may control the speaker 150 to output text displayed with a GUI as a voice. Specifically, the processor 140 may control the speaker 150 to output a pre-stored voice corresponding to information related to control, state, and use of the dishwasher 100, or control the speaker 150 to convert text information related to control, state, and use of the dishwasher 100 into voice data through a Text-to-Speech (TTS) module and output the voice.
The sensor 160 may detect the operation state of the dishwasher 100 or the external environmental state (e.g., a user state), and generate an electrical signal or a data value corresponding to the detected state.
According to an embodiment, the sensor 160 may be, for example, a temperature sensor 160, a humidity sensor 160, a weight sensor 160, a contamination sensor 160, or the like. Specifically, the sensor 160 may be the weight sensor 160 that detects the weight of dishes placed in the dish loading space or the contamination sensor 160 that detects the level of contamination of contaminated water used to wash dishes.
Specifically, the processor 140 may detect the weight of dishes placed in the dish loading space or the dish loading position through the sensor 160. When it is identified that dishes are not placed in the dish loading space or the dish loading position corresponding to the selected dish washing course based on the dish weight information obtained through the weight sensor 160, the processor 140 may control the display 110 to display a GUI or text guiding the user to properly place dishes in the dish washing space or the dish loading position corresponding to the currently selected dishwashing course, or control the speaker 150 to output a voice corresponding thereto.
In addition, when it is identified that no dishes are placed in the dish loading space or the dish loading position corresponding to the selected dishwashing course based on the weight information obtained through the weight sensor 160, the processor 140 may not perform the dishwashing operation.
The processor 140 may obtain dish contamination level information through the contamination sensor 160 by detecting the level of contamination of the contaminated water discharged to the outside after washing dishes. Based on the obtained dish contamination level information, the processor 140 may control the display 100 to display a GUI or text recommending a dishwashing course corresponding to the dish contamination level information, or control the speaker 150 to output a voice corresponding thereto.
In other words, the processor 140 may control the configuration of the dishwasher 100 to provide a customized dishwashing course based on the dish contamination level information obtained through the contamination sensor 160.
The microphone 170 may refer to a module that obtains sound and converts it into an electrical signal, and may be a condenser microphone 170, a ribbon microphone 170, a moving coil microphone 170, a piezoelectric element microphone 170, a carbon microphone 170, or a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) microphone 170. The microphone 170 may also be implemented in an omnidirectional, cardioid, unidirectional, sub-cardioid, super-cardioid, or hyper-cardioid manner.
Based on voice data obtained through the microphone 170, the processor 140 may identify the user's control command for the dishwasher 100 included in the voice data. In the above process, the processor may identify a control command included in the voice data using a natural language processing module. The processor 140 may control the configuration of the dishwasher 100 to perform an operation corresponding to the identified control command.
The camera 180 may capture still images and moving images. According to an embodiment, the camera 180 module may include one or more lenses, an image sensor 160, an image signal processor 140, or a flash.
The processor 140 may identify, based on images obtained through the camera 180 located inside the dishwasher 100, whether dishes are properly placed in the dish loading space or the dish loading position corresponding to the selected dishwashing course.
Here, the processor 140 may identify whether the dishes are properly placed in the dish loading space or the dish loading position corresponding to the selected dishwashing course using an image classification model.
When it is identified that the dishes are not properly placed in the dish loading space or the dish loading position corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, the processor 140 may control the display to output a GUI or text guiding the user to properly place the dishes in the dish loading space or the dish loading position corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, or control the speaker 150 to output a voice corresponding thereto.
The communication interface 190 may include a wireless communication interface 190, a wired communication interface 190, or an input interface. The wireless communication interface 190 may perform communication with various external devices using wireless communication technologies or mobile communication technologies. The wireless communication technologies include, for example, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, CAN communication, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, ultrawide band (UWB), Zigbee, infrared Data Association (IrDA), near field communication (NFC), etc. and the mobile communications technologies may include, for example, 3GPP, Wi-Max, Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, etc.
The wireless communication interface 190 may be implemented using antennas, communication chips and substrates, and the like capable of transmitting electromagnetic waves to the outside or receiving electromagnetic waves transmitted from the outside.
The wired communication interface 190 may perform communication with various external devices based on a wired communication network. Here, the wired communication network may be implemented using physical cables, for example, pair cables, coaxial cables, fiber optic cables, or Ethernet cables.
Depending on the embodiment, one of the wireless communication interface 190 and the wired communication interface 190 may be omitted. Thus, the dishwasher 100 may include only the wireless communication interface 190 or only the wired communication interface 190. Furthermore, the dishwasher 100 may have an integrated communication interface 190 that supports both wireless access by the wireless communication interface 190 and wired access by the wired communication interface 190.
The dishwasher 100 is not limited to the case where a single communication interface 190 that performs one type of communication connection, but may include multiple communication interfaces 190 that perform a communication connection in multiple ways.
The dishwasher 100 may receive various dishwashing instruction information from an external device or an external server through the communication interface 190.
Based on the received dishwashing instruction information, the processor 140 may periodically update the dishwashing course and store it in the memory 130, and may control the display 110 to display information about how to wash different types of dishes, where to place the dishes, etc. that was not initially stored, or control the speaker 150 to output a voice corresponding thereto.
Referring to
Upon receiving a user input for selecting a dishwashing course through the user interface 120, the dishwasher 100 may control the display 110 to display dish loading information corresponding to the selected dishwashing course, for example, a second GUI including an animation effect that indicates a dish loading space and a dish loading position, or text guiding the user on where to load the dishes and how to load the dishes (S1120).
Once a dishwashing operation is initiated based on the selected dishwashing course, the dishwasher 100 may control the display 110 to display a third GUI indicating the dishwashing course and dishwashing time (S1130).
According to an embodiment, the methods according to an embodiment may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a purchaser. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)) that is readable by devices, may be distributed through an application store (e.g., PlayStore™) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones), or may be distributed online (e.g., by downloading or uploading). In the case of an online distribution, at least part of the computer program product (e.g., a downloadable application) may be at least temporarily stored in a storage medium readable by a machine such as a server of the manufacturer, a server of an application store, or the memory of a relay server or may be temporarily generated.
Although preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described above, the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the gist of the disclosure as claimed in the claims, and such modifications are not to be understood in isolation from the technical ideas or prospect of the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2022-0154752 | Nov 2022 | KR | national |
| 10-2022-0171931 | Dec 2022 | KR | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/KR2023/017898, filed Nov. 8, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2022-0154752, filed Nov. 17, 2022, and Korean Application No. 10-2022-0171931, filed Dec. 9, 2022, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/KR2023/017898 | Nov 2023 | WO |
| Child | 19072529 | US |
