CLIAMS:Claims:
1. An apparatus for providing zero standby power and power outage compensation in an appliance, said apparatus comprising of:
a. a microcontroller; and
b. a switch electrically connected in line between the appliance and the terminals of the appliance, wherein the switch is configured to close or open based on a control signal from the microcontroller,
c. wherein the microcontroller senses the operation of the appliance and sends the control signal to the switch to close when the appliance enters an operational mode to thereby connect the appliance to the power source and to open when the appliance enters an unpowered mode to thereby disconnect the appliance from the power source.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch comprises a relay switch.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch is software controlled switch.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprises at least one remote device.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the unpowered mode comprises interruption of the power supply.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the unpowered mode comprises no operation of the appliance.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operational mode comprises at least one operation of the appliance.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the microcontroller stores the current operation status of the appliance during interruption of the power supply.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the appliance resumes the operation based on the current operation status when the appliance is in operational mode.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the appliance resumes the operation based on the current operation status when the power supply resumes back after interruption.
,TagSPECI:FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970) &
The Patent Rules, 2005

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTION 10 AND RULE 13)

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

“APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING ZERO STANDBY POWER AND POWER OUTAGE COMPENSATION IN AN APPLIANCE”

APPLICANTS:

Name: IFB INDUSTRIES LIMITED

Nationality: INDIA (A company established under provisions of Companies Act, 1956)

Address: IFB Industries Limited, Verna Electronic City, Verna – 403722, Goa, India

Field of Invention:
[0001] Present invention relates to power control in an appliance. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing zero standby power and power outage compensation in home appliances power supply boards.

Background of Invention:
[0002] US 8421275 B2 discloses apparatus for providing zero standby power control in an appliance. An apparatus is provided that includes first and second switches in line between an appliance and terminals of the appliance that are connectable to a power source. The first switch is configured to open and close based on closing and opening of a door of the appliance, and the second switch is configured to open and close based on the mode of the appliance. Thus, the appliance may be connected to the power source when the first switch or the second switch is closed, and disconnected from the power source when both the first switch and the second switch are open. The apparatus further includes a third switch connected to the second switch and configured to control the second switch to close upon actuation of the third switch by a user, where actuation of the third switch may cause the appliance to enter an operational mode.
[0003] US20150003122 provides power converter for reducing standby power consumption. The power converter includes a rectifier configured to rectify AC power into DC power, a transformer configured to output power by converting a voltage of DC power rectified by the rectifier, a PWM control module configured to control an output power by switching a power switching device connected to the transformer, a first external switch configured to provide a disable signal, a first capacitor that is connected in parallel to one side of the first external switch, a second external switch configured to provide an enable signal, and a second capacitor that is connected in parallel to one side of the second external switch.
[0004] CN103616920 discloses energy saving device with zero standby power consumption and method for operating energy saving device. The energy saving device and the method are applicable to achieving the purpose of saving power for office electric appliances and household electric appliances. The energy saving device comprises an alternating-current power circuit, a direct-current stabilized-voltage power circuit, an energy storage switching circuit of a power source, a starting control circuit of the power source, an infrared receiving circuit, a driving circuit and a current detecting circuit. The method includes that alternating-current power sources of a computer host and peripheral equipment of a computer and the alternating-current power source of the power saving device can be automatically switched off after the computer host is powered off; an alternating-current power source of electric equipment and the alternating-current power source of the energy saving device can be automatically switched off after the electric equipment with an infrared remote-control receiving function is powered off under the remote control; only a power on/off button on the original remote control needs to be pushed when the electric equipment needs to be used again, so that the electric equipment can be started under the condition of zero standby power consumption; alternating-current power sources of the office electric appliances or household electric appliances which are in standby states and the alternating-current power source of the energy saving device can be automatically switched off, so that the standby power consumption can be eliminated. The power saving device and the method have the advantages that the power saving device is applicable to various types of electric equipment, and the energy saving device and the method are high in practicality.
[0005] Prior art has various limitations. While during regular usage of appliance, if there is any power cuts/ interruptions the switch need manual intervention to again restart the operation from same program coordinates from it stopped due to power cut. Further, the switch used is not software controlled switch and hence require manual intervention.
Summary of Invention:
[0006] The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiment and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained by taking into consideration the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.

[0007] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide an apparatus for providing zero standby power and power outage compensation in an appliance, said apparatus comprising of:
a. a microcontroller; and
b. a switch electrically connected in line between the appliance and the terminals of the appliance, wherein the switch is configured to close or open based on a control signal from the microcontroller,
c. wherein the microcontroller senses the operation of the appliance and sends the control signal to the switch to close when the appliance enters an operational mode to thereby connect the appliance to the power source and sends the control signal to the switch to open when the appliance enters an unpowered mode to thereby disconnect the appliance from the power source.
[0008] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus wherein the switch comprises a relay switch.
[0009] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus wherein the switch is software controlled switch.
[0010] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus further comprising at least one remote device. The switch is configured to close or open based on a signal from the remote device.
[0011] It is therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus wherein the unpowered mode comprises interruption of the power supply and no operation of the appliance.
[0012] It is therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus wherein the operational mode comprises at least one operation of the appliance.
[0013] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus wherein the microcontroller stores the current operation status of the appliance during interruption of the power supply.
[0014] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus wherein the appliance resumes the operation based on the current operation status when the appliance is in operational mode.
[0015] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus wherein the appliance resumes the operation based on the current operation status when the power supply resumes back after interruption.
[0016] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide a method for providing zero standby power and power outage compensation in an appliance, said method comprising of:
a. connecting a relay switch electrically in line between the appliance and the terminals of the appliance;
b. configuring the switch to close or open based on a control signal from a microcontroller;
c. sensing the operation of the appliance using the microcontroller;
d. sending the control signal to the switch to close when the appliance enters an operational mode to thereby connect the appliance to the power source; and/or
e. sending the control signal to the switch to open when the appliance enters an unpowered mode to thereby disconnect the appliance from the power source.
[0017] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the method further comprising configuring the switch to close or open based on a signal from the remote device.
[0018] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the method further comprising storing a current operation status of the appliance during interruption of the power supply.
[0019] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the method further comprising resuming operation of the appliance based on the current operation status when the appliance is in normal operational mode.
[0020] It is, therefore, one aim of the disclosed embodiments to provide the apparatus that need not require manual intervention to again restart the operation from same program coordinates from it stopped due to any power cuts/ interruptions. Further, the switch used is software controlled switch and hence not require manual intervention.
Detailed description of drawings:
[0021] The summary above, as well as the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the present disclosure, exemplary constructions of the disclosure are shown in the drawings. However, the disclosure is not limited to specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed herein. Moreover, those in the art will understand that the drawings are not to scale. Wherever possible, like elements have been indicated by identical numbers.
[0022] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an appliance for providing zero standby power and power outage compensation;
[0023] Figure 2 shows a flow chart depicting the operation of the switch of the apparatus of Figure 1; and
[0024] Figure 3 shows another flow chart depicting the operation of the switch of the apparatus of Figure 1.
Detailed description of the Invention:
[0025] The particular configurations discussed in the following description are non-limiting examples that can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate at least one embodiment and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.
[0026] Present invention provides an apparatus for providing zero standby power and power outage compensation in an appliance, said apparatus comprising of: a microcontroller; and a switch electrically connected in line between the appliance and the terminals of the appliance, wherein the switch is configured to close or open based on a control signal from the microcontroller, wherein the microcontroller senses the operation of the appliance and sends the control signal to the switch to close when the appliance enters an operational mode to thereby connect the appliance to the power source and sends the control signal to the switch to open when the appliance enters an unpowered mode to thereby disconnect the appliance from the power source.
[0027] Figure 1 shows the arrangement of the components of present invention. The apparatus 100 can be utilized for providing zero standby power and power outage compensation in home appliances power supply boards. The home appliance can be refrigerator, washing machine, television, air conditioner, etc, without limitation. A switch 104 is electrically connected in line between the power supply 106 of the appliance (not shown) and the terminals L, N of the appliance. The switch can be configured to close or open based on a control signal from the microcontroller 112. The power supply 106 can be a Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS), while other types of power supplies for appliance can also be used without limitation.
[0028] The apparatus 100 has a bush bottom 102 connected in parallel to the switch 104 as shown in Figure 1. The bush bottom 102 is to power on the appliance.
[0029] As shown in Figure 1, in one embodiment of the invention, the switch 104 can be a latching relay, while other types of switches can also be used without limitation. The latching relay switch 104 comprises at least one metal arm 106 and one or more coils L1 and L2. The coils L1 and L2 are connected to the transistors 108 and 110 respectively. The transistors 108 and 110 provide latching relay reset and set signal from the microcontroller 112 respectively. The transistors 108 and 110 can be for example, (BC547)
[0030] Once the push button is pressed by user, internal power circuitry generates required DC voltage to power up microcontroller 112. The metal arm 106 connects to the line when the coil L2 receives set signal from the microcontroller 112, thereby closing the switch 104. When a current is passed through the coil L2 , the resulting magnetic field attracts the metal arm 112 thereby closing the switch 104. After completion of appliance operation, microcontroller 112 sends “reset” signal to L2. The metal arm 106 disconnects from the line when the coil L1 receives reset signal from the microcontroller 112, thereby opening the switch 104.
[0031] In one embodiment of the invention, when the user presses the push button, a 5V Direct Current (DC) supply will be available to microcontroller 112. This will put the set logic to “1” (high), which will turn “ON” the latch relay switch 104. In another embodiment of the invention, the microcontroller 112 understands the operation of the appliance. After completion of the operations of the appliance and when the appliance has no operations, the microcontroller 112 will put the reset logic to “1” (high), which will turn “OFF” the latch relay switch 104.
[0032] For example, in case of washing machine, the microcontroller understands the wash cycle program status. After completion of wash cycle and door release delay time, the reset will be pulled as “1 ” (high), which in turn will put the set logic to “1”(high). This reset (high) will turn OFF the latch relay, which cut off the power to SMPS.
[0033] It should be noted that the appliance can be in at least two modes, for example, an unpowered mode and an operational mode. During unpowered mode, the appliance performs no operation and does not consume power. Hence, when the appliance uses no power, the microcontroller sends reset signal to the coil L1 to open the switch 104. This disconnects the power supply of the appliance from the mains. During operational mode, the appliance performs operation and consumes power. Hence, when the appliance uses power, the microcontroller sends set signal to the coil L2 to close the switch 104. This connects the power supply of the appliance to the mains.
[0034] In one embodiment of the invention, an alternative latch has been used as software controlled switch to open up the primary part of power supply circuit to prevent power consumption when device is not in use. When the processor senses no activity in any of the connected loads such as motors, sensors, heater, etc, it issue a command to open the switch to save power. While during regular usage of appliance, if there are any power cuts/ interruptions, this switch does not need manual intervention to again restart the operation from same program coordinates from it stopped due to power cut. The manual intervention here also covers situations such as opening the refrigerator door etc. Moreover, since this is a software controlled switch, it can be integrated with and operated from various remote devices such as a mobile phone.
[0035] Figure 2 shows a flow chart 200 depicting the operation of the switch of the apparatus of Figure 1. As at step 202, the microcontroller monitors the operation of the applications. The microcontroller checks whether the appliance performs any operation, as at step 204. When the appliance performs at least one operation, as at step 206, the microcontroller will set the set logic to “High”. This closes the relay switch, as at step 208. When the appliance performs no operation, as at step 210, the microcontroller will set the reset logic to “High”. This opens the relay switch as at step 212.
[0036] Figure 3 shows another flow chart 300 depicting the operation of the switch of the apparatus of Figure 1. As at step 302, the microcontroller monitors for interruption of power supply. The microcontroller checks whether there is interrupted power supply, as at step 304. When there is interrupted power supply, as at step 310, the microcontroller saves the current operational state of the appliance and will set the reset logic to “High”. This opens the relay switch and disconnects the appliance from the mains, as at step 312. The microcontroller keeps monitoring the interruption of power supply. When there is no interruption of power supply or when the power supply resumes back, as at steps 306 and 308, the microcontroller closes the relay switch, and continues with the current operational state or the saved operational state.
[0037] For example, in case of washing machine, the microcontroller continuously senses the input mains voltage signal. The SMPS hold-up time can be approx 500 ms. Whenever power cuts down, the microcontroller senses mains voltage signal .and writes present wash Program status (as a pointer) to EPROM. Whenever power resumes microcontroller checks wheatear it is new wash cycle or a previous program pointer already exist. If pointer value is not zero, it starts the program from the same state where it left at the time of power cut. Driving a switch by different means may replicate the same advantage as per suitability of PCB requirements.
[0038] The present invention need not require manual intervention to again restart the operation from same program coordinates from it stopped due to any power cuts/ interruptions. Further, the switch used is software controlled switch and hence not require manual intervention.
[0039] It will be appreciated that variations of the above disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also, various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

[0040] Although embodiments of the current disclosure have been described comprehensively in considerable detail to cover the possible aspects, those skilled in the art would recognize that other versions of the disclosure are also possible.