DESC:Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for a smart home appliance.

Background

Management of air quality within an environment, such as a room, can be performed using several ways. For instance, if the intended objective is to condition the air, one may implement an air conditioner for the purpose. However, air conditioner is limited in that it can only condition the air and may not effectively filter out air pollutants, such as PM 2.5, CO, and the like. Thus, there arises an inherent need for implementing a separate appliance, such as an air purifier for purification of the air. This, in turn, leads to increase in monetary expenses. Furthermore, such air filters often operate at predefined settings, for example, pre-set air speeds or multistage filter action, thereby resulting in increased maintenance costs.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved smart home appliance to address at least one of the aforementioned deficiencies.

Summary

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment, a smart home appliance is disclosed. The smart home appliance includes a conditioning unit for conditioning air in an environment and a purification unit for purifying the air in the environment. The smart home appliance further includes a plurality of sensors configured to output air quality data including information about a plurality of air pollutant levels corresponding to a plurality of air pollutants present in the environment. The smart home appliance further includes a controller coupled to the conditioning unit the purification unit and the plurality of sensors (204), wherein the controller is configured to control an operation of the conditioning unit and the purification unit based on the air quality data.

In another embodiment, a smart home appliance is disclosed. The smart home appliance includes a conditioning unit for conditioning air in an environment and a purification unit for purifying the air in the environment. The smart home appliance further includes a controller coupled to the conditioning unit and the purification unit wherein the controller is configured to obtain air quality data including information about a plurality of air pollutant levels corresponding to a plurality of air pollutants present in the environment, recorded by a plurality of sensors disposed remotely within the environment. The controller is further configured to control an operation of the conditioning unit and the purification unit based on the air quality data

In yet another embodiment, a method of operating a smart home appliance is disclosed. In an example, the smart home appliance comprises a conditioning unit and a purification unit and a controller configured to control an operation of the conditioning unit and the purification unit. In an example, the method comprises obtaining air quality data including information about a plurality of air pollutant levels corresponding to a plurality of air pollutants present in the environment, as recorded by a plurality of sensors. The method further comprises controlling an operation of the conditioning unit and the purification unit based on the air quality data.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a smart home appliance, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 2 illustrates a detailed block diagram of a smart home appliance, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 3 illustrates a method of operating a smart home appliance, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

Detailed Description of Figures

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

The term “some” as used herein is defined as “none, or one, or more than one, or all.” Accordingly, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would all fall under the definition of “some.” The term “some embodiments” may refer to no embodiments or to one embodiment or to several embodiments or to all embodiments. Accordingly, the term “some embodiments” is defined as meaning “no embodiment, or one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments.”

The terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and does not limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the claims or their equivalents.

More specifically, any terms used herein such as but not limited to “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and grammatical variants thereof do NOT specify an exact limitation or restriction and certainly do NOT exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated, and furthermore must NOT be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated with the limiting language “MUST comprise” or “NEEDS TO include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, either way, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do NOT preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language such as “there NEEDS to be one or more . . . ” or “one or more element is REQUIRED.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skills in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements presented in the attached claims. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of illuminating one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the attached claims fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms such as but not limited to “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or variants thereof do NOT necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or alternatively in the context of more than one embodiment, or further alternatively in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should NOT be necessarily taken as limiting factors to the attached claims. The attached claims and their legal equivalents can be realized in the context of embodiments other than the ones used as illustrative examples in the description below.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 illustrates a smart home appliance 100, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. In said example embodiment, the smart home appliance 100 comprises a conditioning unit 102, a purification unit 104, and a controller 106. The conditioning unit 102, in an example, is configured to condition the air present in an environment. The purification unit 104, in an example, is configured to purify the air present in the environment. In other words, the purification unit 104 is configured to filter the air. The controller 106, in an example, is configured to control the operation of the conditioning unit 102 and the purification unit 104. In an example, the controller 106 may be implemented as one or more of processor, microprocessor, micro-controller, logical circuits, and state-machines.

In an example embodiment, the smart home appliance 100 is configured to operate in multi modes. For instance, the smart home appliance 100 may be configured to operate in a first mode, wherein the smart home appliance 100 operates to purify the air. This mode may interchangeably be referred to as the air purification mode. In the air purification mode, the controller 106 switches ON the purification unit 104 and subsequently, the purification unit 104 purifies the air.

In a second mode, the smart home appliance 100 may be configured to condition the air. This mode may interchangeably be referred to as the air conditioning mode. In the air conditioning mode, the controller 106 switches ON the conditioning unit 102. Subsequently, the conditioning unit 102 conditions the air.

In an example embodiment, the smart home appliance 100 may operate only in one of the first mode and the second mode at a given time instant. In another example embodiment, the smart home appliance 100 may operate in both the first mode and the second mode simultaneously, wherein the first mode is switched ON first and after all impurities are purified, the second mode is switched ON. Thus, the air purification mode and the air conditioning mode work simultaneously, in said aforementioned embodiment.

In an example, on being switched ON, the smart home appliance 100 first operates in the air purification mode, wherein the smart home appliance 100 measures the air pollutants. In a case where it is determined that at least one air pollutant is greater than its corresponding predetermined threshold level, the smart home appliance 100 may not switch ON the air conditioning mode and may continue operation in the air purification mode.

Once the air is purified to an acceptable level, i.e., the at least one air pollutant is now less than corresponding threshold level, the smart home appliance 100 may switch OFF the air purification mode and may switch to the air conditioning mode. In another embodiment, while operating in the air conditioning mode, the smart home appliance 100 may continue to check the air quality using one or more sensors. This is the embodiment where the air conditioning and air purification mode operate simultaneously. In said embodiment, monitoring of the air pollutants level is done along with air conditioning. Now, in said embodiment, if the air pollutants level goes above the threshold, the conditioning mode is switched OFF and the purification mode is switched ON. The smart home appliance 100 then continues to operate in only the purification mode until the pollutants level goes below the threshold value. Once the air pollutant level goes below threshold, the operation continues as described above.

Fig. 2 illustrates a detailed block diagram of the smart home appliance 100, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the conditioning unit 102 comprises a compressor 200. Furthermore, the purification unit 104 comprises a fan 202. The smart home appliance 100 further comprises a plurality of sensors 204. In another example embodiment, the plurality of sensors 204 sensors may be provided separately and may be disposed remotely in relation to the smart home appliance. As is further shown, the smart home appliance 100 may comprise an inverter 206 and a wireless communication unit 208. In the example where the plurality of sensors 204 is disposed remotely to the smart home appliance 100, the wireless communication unit 208 may be configured to receive data, for example, the air quality data, from the sensors 204, and may store the data in an internal storage (not shown in the figure). In an example, the controller 106 may be coupled to the internal storage.

Furthermore, as shown, the smart home appliance 100 may be communicatively coupled to a User Equipment, for example, a smartphone 210 of a user 212. In an example, the smartphone 210 may be used to control the operation of the smart home appliance 100. For instance, the smartphone 210 may be used to switch ON or switch OFF the smart home appliance 100. In another example, the smart home appliance 100 may provide data, such as air quality data to the smartphone 210. The air quality data may include information about levels of a plurality of air pollutants present in the air, a current temperature of the air, and the like.

In an example embodiment, the user 212 may switch ON the smart home appliance 100 either using a remote control or using the smartphone 210. In an example where the user 212 is in a vicinity of the smart home appliance 100, the smartphone 210 may transmit a direct wireless communication signal to the smart home appliance 100 for switching it ON. In another example where the user 212 is at a remote location, for example, at a super market near his home, and intends to switch ON the smart home appliance 100 in advance, the smartphone 210 may provide an indirect communication signal to the smart home appliance 100. Herein, the indirect communication signal may be transmitted to the smart home appliance 100 using the Internet.

In an example embodiment, the controller 106 may operate the smart home appliance 100 first operate in the air purification mode and subsequently in the air conditioning mode, as explained above in Fig. 1. In the air purification mode, the plurality of sensors 204 is configured to measure a level of each of a plurality of air pollutants present in the environment. Examples of the air pollutants may include, but are not limited to, PM 2.5, CO, NO, CO2, NO2, Ozone, Odour, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). Herein, in an example, each sensor of the plurality of sensors 204 is configured to measure a unique air pollutant present in the air. The data related to the levels of the plurality of air pollutants may be stored as air quality data in an internal storage (not shown in the figure) and may be provided to the controller 106.

In an example, the controller 106 is configured to compare each air pollutant level with a corresponding threshold. Accordingly, the controller 106 may be configured to identify one or more air pollutants, from the plurality of air pollutants, having levels greater than their corresponding thresholds based on the comparison. After identifying the one or more air pollutants, the controller 106 may be configured to operate the purification unit 104 to purify the air. In an example, the purification unit 104 may be operated till the one or more air pollutants are above their corresponding threshold. Once the level of the one or more air pollutants come below the respective thresholds, the controller 106 switches off the air purification mode and turns off the purification unit 104. Subsequently, the controller 106 turns on the conditioning unit 102 for conditioning the now purified air. In an example, where no air pollutant is above the threshold level, the controller 106 switches OFF the air purification mode and switches ON the air conditioning mode.

In another example embodiment, the controller 106 may operate the smart home appliance in both the air purification mode and the air conditioning mode simultaneously. Herein, the conditioning unit 102 operates simultaneously with the purification unit 104. In said example, the controller 106 obtains the air quality data from the sensors 204 for monitoring the air pollutant level of the air pollutants. To this end, the controller 106 is configured to periodically obtain and analyze the air quality data for determining whether each of the air pollutants is below its respective threshold or not.

In a case where it is determined that the one or more air pollutants are above their respective threshold, the controller 106 switches OFF the air conditioning mode and switches ON the air purification mode. In other words, the controller 106 switches OFF the conditioning unit 102 and switches ON the purification unit 104. The purification unit 104 then operates to purify the air until all the one or more air pollutants come below their respective thresholds. Once the air is purified, as determined by the controller 106 based on the air quality data, the controller 106 may then continue the operation of the conditioning unit 102.

For purification of the air pollutants, in an example embodiment, the controller 106 may determine a priority rank for each of the identified air pollutants based on a predetermined priority order of air pollutants. The predetermined order of the air pollutants, in one example, may be dynamic and may be based on the environment. In another example, the predetermined order of the air pollutants may be user-defined.

In an example, the controller 106 may control at least one operation of the purification unit 104 based on a priority rank order. In the the priority rank order, the one or more air pollutants are ranked from highest to lowest based on their respective priority ranks. More particularly, the controller 106 may implement one or more operational settings corresponding to the one or more air pollutants as per the priority rank order. Examples of the operational settings may include, a fan setting and a filter setting.

In an example, the one or more operational settings corresponding to each of the plurality of air pollutants is stored in an internal storage of the smart home appliance 100, that is coupled to the controller 106. Accordingly, the controller 106 may obtain the one or more operational settings from the internal storage and may apply them as per the priority rank order.

In an example of controlling the operation of the purification unit 104, the controller 106 may control a fan speed of the fan 202 based on the priority list of the identified air pollutants. Herein, the controller 106 may first operate the fan 202 at a fan speed corresponding to an air pollutant having highest priority rank from the identified air pollutants. The controller 106 may continue to operate the fan 202 at said fan speed till the air pollutant is brought under the threshold. Subsequently, the controller 106 controls the operation as per the priority order of the identified air pollutants in a likewise manner.

As an example, consider a case where PM 2.5, CO, and Odour are identified to be above their respective thresholds. In said example, consider that the PM 2.5 has the highest priority, followed by that of CO, and Odour having the last priority. Now, in said example, the controller 106 may operate the fan 202 at a fan speed corresponding to that of PM 2.5, till the level of PM 2.5 is brought under the threshold. Subsequently, as per the priority list, the controller 106 would then operate the fan 202 at a fan speed corresponding to CO, till the level of CO is brought under the threshold, and so on and so forth.

In another example of controlling the operation of the purification unit 104, the controller 106 may selectively activate a plurality of filters of the smart home appliance 100 based on the priority rank order, in a similar manner. That is, the controller 106 may selectively activate only that filter which corresponds to the air pollutant having highest priority rank amongst the identified air pollutants. Again, the activation of said filter is till the level of said air pollutant is brought below the threshold. Thereafter, said filter is de-activated and a filter corresponding to an air pollutant having next priority rank is activated, as per the priority rank order.

As may be gathered from above, the controller 106 may operate the smart home appliance 100 as per a default operation sequence. In the default operation sequence, the controller 106 is configured to operate the smart home appliance 100 in the air purification mode first, followed by the air conditioning mode, as described above.

In another example embodiment, the controller 106 may operate the smart home appliance 100 as per a user-defined operation sequence. In an example, the user defined operation sequence may include operating the smart home appliance 100 in the air conditioning mode first, followed by the air purification mode. Herein, in an example, the transition from the air conditioning mode to the air purification mode may be either based on a predefined time period, or may be based on a user input. As an example, the user 212 may set a predefined time of 15 minutes, after which the controller 106 may switch the smart home appliance 100 from the air conditioning mode to the air purification mode. In another example, the user 212 may view the air quality data on the smartphone 210, and may provide the user input for the transition.

In an example, the controller 106 may implement a machine learning algorithm for identifying operation patterns associated with operation of the smart home appliance 100. For instance, an operation pattern of the smart home appliance 100 may be identified based on the environmental conditions. Accordingly, the controller 106 may operate the smart home appliance 100 as per the identified operation pattern based on the environmental condition.

Fig. 3 illustrates a method 300 of operating a smart home appliance, such as the smart home appliance 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In said embodiment, the smart home appliance comprises a conditioning unit and a purification unit, such as the conditioning unit 102 and the purification unit 104 respectively. The smart home appliance may further include a controller, such as the controller 106, that is configured to control the operation of the purification unit and the conditioning unit.

At step 302, the method 300 includes obtaining air quality data including information about a plurality of air pollutant levels corresponding to a plurality of air pollutants present in the environment, as recorded by a plurality of sensors, such as the sensors 204. In an example, the sensors may be disposed either within the smart home appliance or remotely within an environment where the smart home appliance may operate.

At step 304, the method 300 includes controlling an operation of the conditioning unit and the purification unit based on the air quality data. In an example, the controller 106 may control the conditioning unit 102 and the purification unit 104 based on the air quality data as described above.

As may be gathered from above, systems and methods described herein provide for increasing quality of air in an environment, while simultaneously providing for conditioning of air as well. As the aforementioned systems and methods may be implemented in a single device, the need to implement separate devices for air purification and air conditioning is averted. Accordingly, implementation of a single device for the aforementioned purposes provides for better space utilization and monetary benefits.

While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.
,CLAIMS:1. A smart home appliance (100) comprising:
a conditioning unit (102) for conditioning air in an environment;
a purification unit (104) for purifying the air in the environment;
a plurality of sensors (204) configured to output air quality data including information about a plurality of air pollutant levels corresponding to a plurality of air pollutants present in the environment; and
a controller (106) coupled to the conditioning unit (102), the purification unit (104), and the plurality of sensors (204), wherein the controller (106) is configured to control an operation of the conditioning unit (102) and the purification unit (104) based on the air quality data.

2. The smart home appliance (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller (106) is further configured to:
detect switching ON of the smart home appliance (100); and
switch ON the purification unit (104) and maintain the conditioning unit (102) in an OFF state, in response to detecting the switching ON of the smart home appliance (100); and
obtain the air quality data from the plurality of sensors (204);
determine whether a level of each of the plurality of air pollutants is above its corresponding threshold or not, based on the air quality data obtained from the plurality of sensors (204);
continue the operation of the purification unit (104), when the level of one or more air pollutants from the plurality of air pollutants is determined to be greater than the corresponding threshold based on the air quality data; and
switch OFF the purification unit (104) and switch ON the conditioning unit (102), when the level of each of the plurality of air pollutants is determined to be lower than the corresponding threshold based on the air quality data.

3. The smart home appliance (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the controller (106) is further configured to obtain the air quality data periodically.

4. The smart home appliance (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the controller (106) is further configured to switch OFF the conditioning unit (102) and switch ON the purification unit (104), when the level of the one or more air pollutants is identified to be greater than the corresponding threshold based on the air quality data.

5. The smart home appliance (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the controller (106) determines the level of the one or more air pollutants to be greater than the corresponding threshold based on the air quality data, wherein the controller (106) is further configured to:
determine a priority rank of each of the one or more air pollutants based on a predetermined priority order of the air pollutants; and
implement one or more operation settings associated with each of the one or more air pollutants on the purification unit (104) to control at least one operation of the purification unit (104), based on a priority rank order of the one or more air pollutants, wherein in the priority rank order the one or more air pollutants are ranked from highest to lowest based on respective priority ranks.

6. A smart home appliance (100) comprising:
a conditioning unit (102) for conditioning air in an environment;
a purification unit (104) for purifying the air in the environment; and
a controller (106) coupled to the conditioning unit (102), the purification unit (104), and the plurality of sensors (204), wherein the controller (106) is configured to:
obtain air quality data including information about a plurality of air pollutant levels corresponding to a plurality of air pollutants present in the environment, recorded by a plurality of sensors (204) disposed remotely within the environment;
control an operation of the conditioning unit (102) and the purification unit (104) based on the air quality data.

7. The smart home appliance (No errors found.100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controller (106) is further configured to:
detect switching ON of the smart home appliance (100); and
switch ON the purification unit (104) and maintain the conditioning unit (102) in an OFF state, in response to detecting the switching ON of the smart home appliance (100); and
determine whether a level of each of the plurality of air pollutants is above its corresponding threshold or not, based on the air quality data;
continue the operation of the purification unit (104), when the level of one or more air pollutants from the plurality of air pollutants is determined to be greater than the corresponding threshold based on the air quality data; and
switch OFF the purification unit (104) and switch ON the conditioning unit (102), when the level of each of the plurality of air pollutants is determined to be lower than the corresponding threshold based on the air quality data.

8. The smart home appliance (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the controller (106) determines the level of the one or more air pollutants to be greater than the corresponding threshold based on the air quality data, wherein the controller (106) is further configured to:
determine a priority rank of each of the one or more air pollutants based on a predetermined priority order of the air pollutants; and
implement one or more operation settings associated with each of the one or more air pollutants on the purification unit (104) to control at least one operation of the purification unit (104), based on a priority rank order of the one or more air pollutants, wherein in the priority rank order the one or more air pollutants are ranked from highest to lowest based on respective priority ranks.

9. The smart home appliance (100) as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a wireless communication unit (208), wherein the wireless communication unit (208) is configured to:
receive the air quality data from the plurality of sensors (204);
and store the air quality data in an internal storage coupled to the controller (106);
wherein the controller (106) is further configured to obtain the air quality data from the internal storage.

10. A method of operating a smart home appliance (100), wherein the smart home appliance (100) comprises a conditioning unit (102) and a purification unit (104), and a controller (106) configured to control an operation of the conditioning unit (102) and the purification unit (104), the method comprising:
obtaining air quality data including information about a plurality of air pollutant levels corresponding to a plurality of air pollutants present in the environment, as recorded by a plurality of sensors (204); and
controlling an operation of the conditioning unit (102) and the purification unit (104) based on the air quality data.