Device for reducing standby power of electric appliance

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the technical field of household appliances, and particularly relates to a device for reducing standby power of an electric appliance. In order to overcome the defect that the size of an existing device adopting a magnetic latching relay to reduce the standby power of an electric appliance is large, the technical scheme adopted by the utility model is as follows: the device for reducing the standby power of the electric appliance comprises a power supply unit; the microcontroller unit has a sleep mode; a current sampling unit; a circuit on-off unit; a function triggering unit; the power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit, the current sampling unit samples current and sends the sampled current to the microcontroller unit, the function triggering unit receives a triggering signal and awakens the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit controls the circuit on-off unit according to the triggering signal, so that an electric appliance is powered on; the circuit on-off unit comprises a bidirectional thyristor or a bimetallic strip switch. When the electric appliance is in a standby state, the bimetallic strip switch is cooled and the electric appliance is powered off. The beneficial effects of the utility model are that the size of the device is reduced and the power consumption of the device is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of household appliance technology, specifically relating to a device for reducing the standby power of electrical appliances. Background Technology

[0002] Some household appliances continue to consume energy even in standby mode. Assuming 100 million households nationwide, the standby power consumption of all appliances is approximately tens of millions of kilowatt-hours per day, equivalent to tens of thousands of tons of coal per day. Reducing the standby power consumption of household appliances has significant practical value. The main reason for standby power consumption in electrical equipment is that after the equipment stops working normally, it remains in a power-consuming standby state to ensure quick restart next time. For example, when a television is off, it remains in a power-consuming working state so that it can be turned on with the remote control, rather than being turned on first and then operated with the remote.

[0003] Currently, some methods to reduce standby power consumption involve using electromagnetic relays. When an appliance is detected to be in standby mode, the electromagnetic relay cuts off the power, thereby reducing standby power consumption. However, maintaining the operation of an electromagnetic relay also consumes energy, typically between 0.2 watts and 5 watts. Therefore, there is still considerable room for improvement in reducing standby power consumption using electromagnetic relays.

[0004] Some systems use magnetic latching relays. After the circuit is cut off, the coil does not need to be energized; the magnetic force of the permanent magnet is sufficient to maintain the relay's state. However, magnetic latching relays are relatively bulky. Furthermore, magnetic latching relay systems require a control module, which also consumes power; reducing the power consumption of the control module remains a challenge. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention addresses the shortcomings of existing devices that use magnetic latching relays to reduce the standby power of electrical appliances due to their large size. It provides a device that reduces the standby power of electrical appliances by employing a different solution than magnetic latching relays. This solution cuts off the main power circuit of the electrical appliance when it stops working, ensuring that the appliance no longer consumes power. At the same time, it is smaller in size and the power consumption of the microcontroller unit is also lower.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a device for reducing the standby power of electrical appliances, the device for reducing the standby power of electrical appliances comprising:

[0007] Power supply unit;

[0008] Microcontroller unit;

[0009] Current sampling unit;

[0010] Circuit switching unit, connecting the live wire and electrical appliances;

[0011] Function triggering unit;

[0012] The power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit, the function trigger unit receives the trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to turn on according to the received sampled current, thereby powering the electrical appliance.

[0013] The microcontroller unit has a sleep mode. The current sampling unit samples the current and sends it to the microcontroller unit. When the received sampled current is the operating current of the appliance, the microcontroller unit enters sleep mode.

[0014] The circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor, or the circuit switching unit includes a bimetallic switch, which cools down and disconnects the power to the appliance when it is in standby mode.

[0015] This utility model discloses a device for reducing standby power consumption of electrical appliances, comprising a power supply unit, a microcontroller unit, a current sampling unit, a circuit switching unit, and a function triggering unit. The power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit. The function triggering unit receives a trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit. The microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to conduct according to the received sampled current, thereby connecting the electrical appliance to power. The circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor or a bimetallic strip switch, replacing the existing magnetic relay, thus reducing the size. When the bidirectional thyristor is disconnected, no computer is required. The bimetallic strip switch disconnection process does not consume electrical energy. The microcontroller unit has a sleep mode, reducing the power consumption of the microcontroller unit.

[0016] As an improvement, the microcontroller unit stores a current threshold, and the microcontroller enters sleep mode when the sampled current received by the microcontroller unit is greater than the current threshold.

[0017] As an improvement, the circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor. The gate of the bidirectional thyristor is connected to the microcontroller unit. The microcontroller unit applies a positive trigger voltage to the control electrode of the bidirectional thyristor, and the bidirectional thyristor is turned on. The standby current of the appliance is less than the holding current of the bidirectional thyristor. When the appliance is in standby mode, the bidirectional thyristor is turned off.

[0018] As an improvement, the circuit switching unit includes a bimetallic switch, which includes bimetallic strips with different coefficients of expansion, a first contact, a second contact, and a third contact. The two ends of the bimetallic strip are connected to the live wire through the first contact and to the neutral wire through the second contact, respectively. The third contact is connected to the electrical appliance. After the bimetallic strip heats up and deforms, the middle part connects to the third contact and connects the electrical appliance. When the electrical appliance is in standby mode, the bimetallic strip cools down and separates from the third contact, cutting off the electrical appliance.

[0019] As an improvement, the circuit switching unit also includes an NMOS transistor Q1, a diode D2, and a current-limiting resistor R1 connected in series with the second contact of the bimetallic switch. The gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 is connected to the microcontroller unit, the drain is connected to the negative terminal of the diode D2, the source is connected to the neutral line and the microcontroller unit, and the positive terminal of the diode D2 is connected to the second contact. When the microcontroller unit is awakened, it turns on the NMOS transistor Q1 and the diode D2, causing the bimetallic strip to heat up and deform. When the microcontroller detects that the sampling current is greater than the current threshold, it disconnects the NMOS transistor Q1 and the diode D2.

[0020] As an improvement, the two ends of the bimetallic strip are movably connected to the first and second contacts.

[0021] As an improvement, the microcontroller unit has a sleep mode. In the sleep mode, the microcontroller unit works intermittently and the ratio of working time to sleep time is 1:1 to 1:10. The duration of a single working time in the sleep mode is 0.01s to 0.1s.

[0022] As an improvement, the current sampling unit includes a shunt.

[0023] As an improvement, the trigger signal can be an infrared, radio frequency, sound, or mechanical signal.

[0024] The beneficial effects of this utility model's device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances are as follows: It includes a power supply unit, a microcontroller unit, a current sampling unit, a circuit switching unit, and a function triggering unit. The power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit, the function triggering unit receives a trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to conduct according to the received sampled current, thereby connecting the electrical appliance to power. The circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor or a bimetallic strip switch, replacing the existing magnetic relay, thus reducing the size. When the bidirectional thyristor is disconnected, no computer is required. The bimetallic strip switch disconnection process does not consume electrical energy. The microcontroller unit has a sleep mode, reducing the power consumption of the microcontroller unit. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a structural block diagram of a device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the determination of a current threshold in a device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the power-on / off principle of the device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a circuit diagram of a device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0029] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the circuit switching unit of the device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to Embodiment 2 of the utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be explained and described below. However, the following embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and not all of them. Other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments in the implementation methods without creative effort are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0031] See Figures 1 to 5 The present invention relates to a device for reducing the standby power of electrical appliances, the device comprising:

[0032] Power supply unit;

[0033] Microcontroller unit;

[0034] Current sampling unit;

[0035] Circuit switching unit, connecting the live wire and electrical appliances;

[0036] Function triggering unit;

[0037] The power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit, the function trigger unit receives the trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to turn on according to the received sampled current, thereby powering the electrical appliance.

[0038] The microcontroller unit has a sleep mode. The current sampling unit samples the current and sends it to the microcontroller unit. When the received sampled current is the operating current of the appliance, the microcontroller unit enters sleep mode.

[0039] The circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor, or the circuit switching unit includes a bimetallic switch, which cools down and disconnects the power to the appliance when it is in standby mode.

[0040] The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to this utility model includes a power supply unit, a microcontroller unit, a current sampling unit, a circuit switching unit, and a function triggering unit. The power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit. The function triggering unit receives a trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit. The microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to conduct according to the received sampled current, thereby connecting the electrical appliance to power. The circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor or a bimetallic switch, replacing the existing magnetic relay, reducing the size. The bidirectional thyristor does not consume power when it is disconnected. The bimetallic switch does not consume power during the disconnection process. The microcontroller unit has a sleep mode to reduce the power consumption of the microcontroller unit.

[0041] Example 1

[0042] See Figures 1 to 4 The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to Embodiment 1 of this utility model includes:

[0043] Power supply unit;

[0044] Microcontroller unit;

[0045] Current sampling unit;

[0046] Circuit switching unit, connecting the live wire and electrical appliances;

[0047] Function triggering unit;

[0048] The power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit, the function trigger unit receives the trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to turn on according to the received sampled current, thereby powering the electrical appliance.

[0049] The microcontroller unit has a sleep mode. The current sampling unit samples the current and sends it to the microcontroller unit. When the received sampled current is the operating current of the appliance, the microcontroller unit enters sleep mode.

[0050] See Figure 2 In this embodiment, the microcontroller unit categorizes the sampled current received by the appliance during a certain operating period into two types: the smaller current is the standby current, i.e., the current threshold, and the larger current is the operating current. When the sampled current received by the microcontroller unit from the current sampling unit is greater than the standby current, it determines that the appliance is in a working state, and the microcontroller unit enters sleep mode.

[0051] In other embodiments, the microcontroller unit pre-stores a current threshold, and the microcontroller unit enters a sleep mode when the sampled current received by the microcontroller unit is greater than the current threshold.

[0052] In this embodiment, the circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor. The gate or control electrode of the bidirectional thyristor is connected to the microcontroller unit. The microcontroller unit applies a positive trigger voltage to the gate of the bidirectional thyristor, and the bidirectional thyristor is turned on.

[0053] In this embodiment, the standby current of the electrical appliance is less than the holding current of the bidirectional thyristor. When the electrical appliance is in standby mode, the bidirectional thyristor automatically disconnects.

[0054] In this embodiment, the microcontroller unit has a sleep mode. When the microcontroller unit receives a sampling current from the current sampling unit that is greater than the current threshold, it enters the sleep mode. In the sleep mode, the microcontroller unit works intermittently and the ratio of working time to sleep time is 1:1 to 1:10. The duration of a single working time in the sleep mode is 0.01s to 0.1s.

[0055] In this embodiment, the current sampling unit includes a shunt.

[0056] In this embodiment, the trigger signal is an infrared, radio frequency, sound, or mechanical signal.

[0057] The working principle of the device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to Embodiment 1 of this utility model is as follows: Initially, the electrical appliance (such as a television) is in a working state. At this time, the bidirectional thyristor is turned on, and the microcontroller unit is in sleep mode (the current sampled by the current sampling unit is greater than the current threshold). At this time, the power consumption of the microcontroller unit is only in the μA range. When the electrical appliance changes from a working state to a standby state, since the standby current of the electrical appliance is less than the holding current of the bidirectional thyristor, the bidirectional thyristor is automatically turned off, the electrical appliance is powered off, and the microcontroller unit remains in sleep mode. When the user operates the remote control, the function trigger unit receives the infrared signal from the remote control and sends it to the microcontroller. The microcontroller unit receives the trigger signal during the working time of sleep mode, wakes up, and applies a positive trigger voltage to the gate of the bidirectional thyristor (the trigger level only needs to be maintained for a few ms). The bidirectional thyristor turns on, the electrical appliance is reconnected to power, and the electrical appliance receives the remote control signal and starts working. When the current sampled by the current sampling unit of the microcontroller unit is greater than the current threshold, it determines that the electrical appliance is in a working state, and the microcontroller unit enters sleep mode. When the microcontroller unit is woken up by the trigger signal, if it determines that the electrical appliance is in a working state, it continues to enter sleep mode. Because the conduction time of a bidirectional thyristor is extremely short, a single trigger signal from the remote control is highly likely to activate the bidirectional thyristor, power on the appliance, and enable it to receive the trigger signal. If a single trigger signal from the remote control is insufficient, the remote control needs to be operated again.

[0058] The beneficial effects of the device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to Embodiment 1 of this utility model are as follows: the power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit, the current sampling unit samples the current and sends it to the microcontroller unit, the function triggering unit receives the trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to conduct according to the received sampled current, thereby connecting the electrical appliance to power; the circuit switching unit uses a bidirectional thyristor instead of the existing magnetic relay, reducing the size; the bidirectional thyristor disconnection process does not consume power; after the bidirectional thyristor is disconnected, there is only a leakage current of μA; the microcontroller has a sleep mode and is in sleep mode most of the time rather than in a wake-up state, reducing the power consumption of the device itself; when the electrical appliance is in standby mode, it can disconnect the power to the electrical appliance and can also effectively protect the electrical appliance (avoiding large currents caused by lightning strikes, etc.).

[0059] Example 2

[0060] See Figure 5 In this embodiment, the circuit switching unit includes a bimetallic switch S1.

[0061] In this embodiment, the bimetallic switch S1 includes bimetallic strips with different coefficients of expansion, a first contact, a second contact, and a third contact. The two ends of the bimetallic strip are connected to the live wire through the first contact and to the neutral wire through the second contact. The third contact is connected to the electrical appliance. After the bimetallic strip is heated and deformed, the middle part is connected to the third contact and the electrical appliance is turned on. When the electrical appliance is in standby mode, the bimetallic strip cools down and separates from the third contact, turning off the electrical appliance.

[0062] In this embodiment, the circuit switching unit also includes an NMOS transistor Q1, a diode D2, and a current-limiting resistor R1 connected in series with the second contact of the bimetallic switch S1. The gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 is connected to the microcontroller unit, the drain is connected to the negative terminal of the diode D2, the source is connected to the neutral line and the microcontroller unit, and the positive terminal of the diode D2 is connected to the second contact. When the microcontroller unit is awakened, it turns on the NMOS transistor Q1 and the diode D2, causing the bimetallic strip to heat up and deform. When the microcontroller detects that the sampling current is greater than the current threshold, it disconnects the NMOS transistor Q1 and the diode D2.

[0063] In this embodiment, the two ends of the bimetallic strip are movably connected to the first and second contacts. The movable connection structure can be such that both the first and second contacts are U-shaped, with the two ends of the bimetallic strip placed between the first and second contacts, so that the bimetallic strip can slide relative to the first and second contacts and maintain contact.

[0064] The working principle of the device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances in Embodiment 2 of this utility model is as follows: Initially, the electrical appliance (such as a television) is in the working state. At this time, the bimetallic switch S1 is connected to the third contact, and the microcontroller unit is in sleep mode (the current sampled by the current sampling unit is greater than the current threshold). At this time, the power consumption of the microcontroller unit is only in the μA range. When the electrical appliance changes from the working state to the standby state, the bimetallic switch S1 cools down and separates from the third contact, the electrical appliance is powered off, and the microcontroller unit always remains in sleep mode (the power consumption is in the μA range). When the user operates the remote control, the function trigger unit receives the infrared signal from the remote control and sends it to the microcontroller unit. The microcontroller unit receives the signal during the working time of the sleep mode. Upon receiving the trigger signal, the microcontroller wakes up and sends a high-level signal to the gate (G) of NMOS transistor Q1, turning it on. This causes diode D2 to also conduct, causing bimetallic switch S1 to heat up and deform, connecting to the third contact and reconnecting the appliance. Once powered on, the appliance receives the remote control signal and begins operation. As the appliance operates, the current increases. The current sampling unit detects this increase (greater than the current threshold). Upon receiving the sampled current, the microcontroller stops sending a high-level signal to the gate of NMOS transistor Q1, turning it off and entering sleep mode. When the microcontroller is awakened by the trigger signal, if it determines the appliance is still operating (based on the sampled current), it re-enters sleep mode. Because the bimetallic strip requires a certain amount of time to heat up and deform, the remote control typically needs to be operated twice: once after the first operation, once the appliance is powered on again after a certain time, and then the remote control is operated again.

[0065] The beneficial effects of the device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances in Embodiment 2 of this utility model are as follows: the power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit, the current sampling unit samples the current and sends it to the microcontroller unit, the function triggering unit receives the trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to conduct according to the received sampled current, thereby connecting the electrical appliance to power; the circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor or bimetallic strip switch S1, which replaces the existing magnetic relay and reduces the size; the bimetallic strip switch S1 does not consume power during the disconnection process; the microcontroller has a sleep mode and is in sleep mode rather than wake-up state most of the time, reducing the power consumption of the device itself.

[0066] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention includes, but is not limited to, the content described in the above specific embodiments. Any modifications that do not depart from the functional and structural principles of the present invention will be included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A device for reducing the standby power of electrical appliances, characterized in that: The device for reducing the standby power of electrical appliances includes: Power supply unit; Microcontroller unit; Current sampling unit; Circuit switching unit, connecting the live wire and electrical appliances; Function triggering unit; The power supply unit supplies power to the microcontroller unit, the function trigger unit receives the trigger signal and wakes up the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit controls the circuit switching unit to turn on according to the received sampled current, thereby powering the electrical appliance. The microcontroller unit has a sleep mode. The current sampling unit samples the current and sends it to the microcontroller unit. When the received sampled current is the operating current of the appliance, the microcontroller unit enters sleep mode. The circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor, or the circuit switching unit includes a bimetallic switch, which cools down and disconnects the power to the appliance when it is in standby mode.

2. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that: The microcontroller unit stores a current threshold. When the sampled current received by the microcontroller unit is greater than the current threshold, the microcontroller enters sleep mode.

3. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that: The circuit switching unit includes a bidirectional thyristor. The gate of the bidirectional thyristor is connected to the microcontroller unit. The microcontroller unit applies a positive trigger voltage to the gate of the bidirectional thyristor, and the bidirectional thyristor is turned on. The standby current of the appliance is less than the holding current of the bidirectional thyristor. When the appliance is in standby mode, the bidirectional thyristor is turned off.

4. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that: The circuit switching unit includes a bimetallic switch S1, which includes bimetallic strips with different coefficients of expansion, a first contact, a second contact, and a third contact. The two ends of the bimetallic strip are connected to the live wire through the first contact and to the neutral wire through the second contact. The third contact is connected to the electrical appliance. After the bimetallic strip heats up and deforms, the middle part connects to the third contact and connects the electrical appliance. When the electrical appliance is in standby mode, the bimetallic strip cools down and separates from the third contact, cutting off the electrical appliance.

5. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 4, characterized in that: The two ends of the bimetallic strip are movably connected to the first and second contacts.

6. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 4, characterized in that: The circuit switching unit also includes an NMOS transistor Q1 and a diode D2 connected in series with the second contact of the bimetallic switch S1. The gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 is connected to the microcontroller unit, the drain is connected to the negative terminal of the diode D2, and the source is connected to the neutral line and the microcontroller unit. The positive terminal of the diode D2 is connected to the second contact. When the microcontroller unit is awakened, it turns on the NMOS transistor Q1 and the diode D2, causing the bimetallic strip to heat up and deform. When the microcontroller detects that the sampling current is greater than the current threshold, it disconnects the NMOS transistor Q1 and the diode D2.

7. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 6, characterized in that: The circuit switching unit also includes a current-limiting resistor R1 connected in series between the bimetallic switch S1 and the diode D2.

8. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that: In sleep mode, the microcontroller unit works intermittently, and the ratio of working time to sleep time is 1:1 to 1:

10. The duration of a single working time in sleep mode is 0.01s to 0.1s.

9. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that: The current sampling unit includes a shunt.

10. The device for reducing standby power of electrical appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that: The trigger signal can be an infrared, radio frequency, sound, or mechanical signal.

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