Home appliance, and operating method of home appliance

Abstract

This home appliance may comprise a first sensor, a second sensor, and at least one processor for executing instructions in order to: use the first sensor to acquire a first sound signal including a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside the home appliance and a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance; use the second sensor to acquire a second sound signal including a signal correlated to the signal, corresponding to the external sound of the home appliance, included in the first sound signal; use an adaptive filter to pre-process the first sound signal and the second sound signal, thereby generating a third sound signal; and acquire data related to the state of the home appliance on the basis of the third sound signal. On the basis of the third sound signal and the second sound signal, the filter coefficient of the adaptive filter can be updated using an adaptive algorithm.

Description

Home appliances and how they operate

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a home appliance and a method of operating the home appliance.

[0002] A variety of methods can be used to diagnose the condition of home appliances. One such technique involves diagnosing abnormal conditions in home appliances using sound data measured from the operating sounds generated within the appliance using a separate user device (e.g., a mobile phone) located outside the appliance.

[0003] This type of diagnostic technology cannot continuously measure the operating sound of a home appliance. Therefore, after the user confirms a problem with the home appliance, the user must restart the appliance and re-measure the operating sound of the appliance through the user device. In this case, it may be difficult to reproduce the operating sound corresponding to the abnormal sound, making it difficult to accurately diagnose the condition. Furthermore, since the operating sound of the home appliance and external noise, etc. are measured simultaneously on the user device depending on the location where the user places the user device and the environment of the space where the home appliance is installed, it may be difficult to accurately diagnose the condition of the home appliance using the measured sound data.

[0004] The present disclosure provides a method for diagnosing the status of a home appliance by using sound signals detected by a plurality of sensors included in the home appliance.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a method for preprocessing sound signals detected by a plurality of sensors included in a home appliance using at least one filter, and diagnosing the status of the home appliance using the preprocessed sound signals.

[0006] The present disclosure provides a method for diagnosing the status of a home appliance by having the home appliance cooperate with an external electronic device (e.g., a server).

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a home appliance comprises: a first sensor for detecting sound; a second sensor for detecting sound; a memory including at least one storage medium for storing instructions; And at least one processor including a processing circuit, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: obtain a first sound signal using the first sensor, the first sound signal including a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside the home appliance and a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance; obtain a second sound signal using the second sensor, the second sound signal including a signal having a correlation with a signal corresponding to the external sound generated outside the home appliance included in the first sound signal; generate a third sound signal using an adaptive filter having an input based on at least one of the first sound signal and the second sound signal, and perform processing on the first sound signal and the second sound signal, and obtain data related to a state of the home appliance based on the third sound signal. Filter coefficients of the adaptive filter may be updated using an adaptive algorithm based on the third sound signal and the second sound signal.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for operating a home appliance may include a first sensor for detecting sound and a second sensor for detecting sound. The method may include an operation of obtaining a first sound signal including a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside the home appliance and a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance using the first sensor, an operation of obtaining a second sound signal using the second sensor, the second sound signal including a signal having a correlation with a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance included in the first sound signal, an operation of processing the first sound signal and the second sound signal using an adaptive filter having an input based on at least one of the first sound signal and the second sound signal to generate a third sound signal, and an operation of obtaining data related to a state of the home appliance based on the third sound signal. The filter coefficients of the above adaptive filter can be updated using an adaptive algorithm based on the third sound signal and the second sound signal.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exterior of a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a washing machine from the perspective of function and control according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary configuration of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a pre-processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a pre-processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a pre-processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 8 illustrates a sensor assembly and a layout structure of the sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 9 illustrates a sensor assembly and a layout structure of the sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 10 illustrates a sensor assembly and a layout structure of the sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a main processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a main processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 14 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a procedure for diagnosing the status of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 15 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a procedure for diagnosing the status of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 16 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a pre-processing procedure of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a pre-processing operation of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a pre-processing operation of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a server according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 21A illustrates a layout structure of a sensor assembly of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 21b is a front perspective view of a sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 21c is a rear perspective view of a sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 22 illustrates a layout structure of a sensor assembly of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 23 illustrates the results of comparing sound signals according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 24 illustrates a signal spectrum according to the state of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In connection with the description of the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may be used for identical or similar components. Furthermore, in the drawings and related descriptions, descriptions of well-known functions and configurations may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0036] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exterior of a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] In one example, a washing machine (1) may include a housing (10) that accommodates various components therein. The housing (10) may have an overall hexahedral shape. The housing (10) may include an opening formed on one surface. Two or more surfaces of the housing (10) may be formed as a single piece. Each surface of the housing (10) may be manufactured separately and then assembled. The housing (10) may be formed, for example, by press molding from a sheet metal material or by injection molding from a resin material.

[0038] In one example, a door (20) that opens and closes the opening may be provided in a portion corresponding to the opening of the housing (10). The door (20) may be rotatably coupled to a hinge fixed to one surface of the housing (10). For example, at least a portion of the door (20) may be provided to be transparent or translucent so that the inside may be visible. A user may open and close the door (20) to load laundry into the drum (40) located inside the housing (10) or to take laundry out of the drum (40). The door (20) may be locked, for example, by a locking device (not shown) so as not to be opened while the washing machine (1) is in operation. In one example, the door (20) may include a door frame (21) and a glass member (22). The glass member (22) may be formed of, for example, a transparent tempered glass material so that the inside of the housing (10) may be visible, but the present document is not limited thereto.

[0039] In one example, a washing machine (1) may include a tub (30) fixedly arranged inside a housing (10). The tub (30) may have a roughly cylindrical shape with one side open. A tub opening (31) may be provided at a position corresponding to the opening of the housing (10) on the front of the tub (30). The tub (30) may store washing water. A drain (32) for draining washing water may be provided at the bottom of the tub (30). The drain (32) may be connected to, for example, a drainage device (80).

[0040] In one example, the washing machine (1) may include a damper (12). The damper (12) may be provided to connect the housing (10) and the tub (30). One side of the damper (12) may be fixed to the inner surface of the housing (10) and the other side may be fixed to the tub (30). The damper (12) may be provided to absorb vibration energy transmitted to the tub (30) and / or the housing (10) when the drum (40) rotates, thereby attenuating the vibration.

[0041] In one example, a washing machine (1) may include a drum (40) provided inside a tub (30). The drum (40) may have a roughly cylindrical shape with one side open. A front plate and a rear plate may be arranged on the front and rear sides of the drum (40), respectively. A drum opening may be provided on the front plate at a position corresponding to the opening of the housing (10) and the tub opening (31) of the tub (30). The drum (40) may accommodate laundry. The drum (40) may receive rotational power from a driving device (60) and rotate inside the tub (30). The drum (40) may perform washing, rinsing, and / or dehydration while rotating inside the tub (30).

[0042] In one example, the drum (40) may include a lifter (41) and / or a plurality of holes (42). The lifter (41) may, for example, lift laundry while the drum (40) rotates, thereby causing the laundry to repeatedly rise and fall, thereby evenly washing multiple surfaces of the laundry. The holes (42) may, for example, be passages formed so that washing water contained in the tub (30) may flow into the interior of the drum (40), or washing water inside the drum (40) may be discharged to the outside. In one example, the lifter (41) or the holes (42) may be omitted.

[0043] In one example, the washing machine (1) may include a control panel (50) that supports interaction between a user and the washing machine (1). In one example, the control panel (50) may be positioned on the upper front side of the housing (10) as illustrated in FIG. 1, but the present document is not limited thereto. In one example, the control panel (50) may include an input unit (51) and a display unit (52).

[0044] The input unit (51) may include, for example, any type of user input means for obtaining user input for controlling the washing machine (1). The user may input power on / off of the washing machine (1), washing setting information (e.g., operation start / stop, course selection, time selection, etc.), etc., through the input unit (51). For example, the input unit (51) may be a tact switch, a push switch, a slide switch, a toggle switch, a micro switch, or a touch switch, but the present document is not limited thereto. For example, the input unit (51) may be in the form of a jog shuttle that a user can grasp and rotate. In one example, the input unit (51) may include an infrared sensor. The user may input setting information remotely through a remote control, and the input setting information may be received by the input unit (51) as an infrared signal. In one example, the input unit (51) may include a microphone. Setting information by the user's voice may be obtained through the microphone.

[0045] The display unit (52) can display various washing setting information input by the user and / or operating status information of the washing machine (1). The display unit (52) can include various types of display panels, such as LCD, LED, OLED, QLED, and Micro LED. For example, the display unit (52) can be implemented as a touch screen with a touch pad provided on the front, and this document is not limited to a specific type of display means. In one example, the display unit (52) can include any type of audio display means, including a speaker, and can display each of the above-described information as an auditory signal through such audio display means. In one example, the display unit (52) can operate to audibly provide the user with information for guiding the user's input and / or information related to the currently ongoing cycle.

[0046] In one example, the washing machine (1) may include a drive device (60) for rotating the drum (40). The drive device (60) may include a motor (61) and a drive shaft (62) for transmitting the driving force generated by the motor (61) to the drum (40). The motor (61) may be configured with a fixed stator (611) and a rotor (612) that rotates by electromagnetic interaction with the stator (611), thereby converting electrical power into mechanical rotational power. The rotational power generated by the motor (61) may be transmitted to the drum (40) through the drive shaft (62). The drive shaft (62) may be, for example, provided to be press-fitted into the rotor (612) of the motor (61) and to rotate together with the rotor (612). The drive shaft (62) may, for example, have a portion that penetrates the rear wall of the tub (30) to connect the drum (40) and the motor (61). The driving device (60) can rotate the drum (40) forward or backward to perform washing, rinsing, and / or dehydration operations.

[0047] In one example, the washing machine (1) may include a water supply device (70) for supplying washing water to the drum (40) and / or the tub (30). The water supply device (70) may include at least one water supply pipe (71) and at least one water supply valve (72). At least one water supply pipe (71) may be provided to supply washing water into the interior of the tub (30) using an external water source. One of the at least one water supply pipe (71) may be connected to a detergent supply device (13) provided in the housing (10). Here, the detergent supply device (13) may have an interior divided into a plurality of spaces, and detergent or rinsing agent may be provided in each space. Washing water passing through the detergent supply device (13) may be supplied to the tub (30) together with detergent (or rinsing agent) through the detergent supply pipe (131). At least one of the water supply pipes (71) may be directly connected to the tub (30). For example, washing water supplied through the water supply pipe (71) directly connected to the tub (30) may be supplied directly to the tub (30) without passing through an intermediate component such as a detergent supply device (13).

[0048] In one example, the washing machine (1) may include a drainage device (80) for draining the washing water contained in the drum (40) and / or the tub (30). The drainage device (80) may include a drain valve (81), a first drainage pipe (82), a second drainage pipe (83), or a pump room (84). The drainage device (80) may be arranged, for example, at the bottom of the tub (30) to drain the washing water discharged from the tub (30) to the outside of the washing machine (1).

[0049] In one example, the drain valve (81) may be configured to open and close the drain port (32). When the drain valve (81) is opened, the washing water contained in the tub (30) may flow through the drain port (32) to the drain device (80).

[0050] In one example, the first drain pipe (82) and the second drain pipe (83) may form a path that guides the washing water to be discharged to the outside. For convenience of explanation, the upstream side with respect to the pump room (84) is referred to as the first drain pipe (82) and the downstream side is referred to as the second drain pipe (83). The first drain pipe (82) and the second drain pipe (83) may be formed integrally. For example, one end of the first drain pipe (82) may be connected to the drain port (32) and the other end may be connected to the pump room (84). The washing water may move into the pump room (84) along the first drain pipe (82). The second drain pipe (83) may, for example, one end may be connected to the pump room (84) and the other end may be connected to the outside of the washing machine (1). Therefore, the washing water passing through the pump room (84) may be discharged to the outside of the washing machine (1) along the second drain pipe (83).

[0051] In one example, a pump room (84) may be provided at the bottom of the tub (30) to store the washing water drained from the tub (30). Inside the pump room (84), for example, a drain pump (841) may be provided to discharge the stored washing water to the outside. The washing water pumped by the drain pump (841) may be guided to the outside of the housing (10) through the second drain pipe (83).

[0052] According to one example, the washing machine (1) may include a balancer. The balancer may include, for example, a balancer housing forming an annular channel and a plurality of masses arranged in the annular channel to perform a balancing function of the drum (40) while moving along the annular channel. The plurality of masses may have, for example, a ball shape (spherical shape). The plurality of masses of the drum (40) may move in a direction opposite to the direction of eccentricity caused in the drum (40) by laundry when the drum (40) rotates, thereby compensating for the eccentricity caused by the laundry.

[0053] For example, the balancer may be mounted on at least one of the front and rear plates of the drum (40). Since the balancers mounted on the front and rear plates are generally the same, the following description will focus on the balancer mounted on the front plate of the drum (40).

[0054] In one example, the balancer may be configured to be received in an annular recess formed by a forward opening in the front face of the drum. For example, the balancer housing may be received in the annular recess of the drum (40).

[0055] In one example, the balancer housing may be manufactured by injection molding using a plastic material such as polypropylene or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). In another example, the balancer housing may be manufactured by thermal bonding.

[0056] According to one example, the washing machine (1) may include a vibration sensor. The vibration sensor may be disposed on the outer surface of the drum (40) to detect vibration of the drum (40). As an example, the vibration sensor may be disposed at the front and / or rear of the drum (40). Here, the front of the drum (40) may refer to the direction toward the front plate, and the rear of the drum (40) may refer to the direction toward the rear plate. The vibration sensor (106) may detect vibration while the drum (40) rotates, and the control unit (120) may calculate an eccentricity value of the drum (40) based on the vibration value measured by the vibration sensor.

[0057] According to one example, the washing machine (1) can measure the eccentricity value in front of the drum (40) and the eccentricity value in the rear of the drum (40) using one vibration sensor, respectively. For example, the vibration sensor may be an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor (or inertial measurement device). The IMU sensor may be configured to measure acceleration corresponding to linear motion and angular velocity corresponding to rotational motion for each of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis. The washing machine (1) can measure vibration values ​​and / or eccentricity values ​​at multiple locations on the drum (40) using one IMU sensor. For example, in the washing machine (1), when the IMU sensor is arranged on the front side of the drum (40), the vibration value and / or eccentricity value in the rear of the drum (40) as well as the front of the drum (40) can be measured / obtained. For example, when an IMU sensor is placed on the rear side of the drum (40), the washing machine (1) can measure / obtain vibration values ​​and / or eccentricity values ​​not only at the rear of the drum (40) but also at the front of the drum (40). For example, when an IMU is placed on the center side of the drum (40), the washing machine (1) can measure vibration values ​​and / or eccentricity values ​​at the front and rear of the drum (40), respectively.

[0058] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present disclosure from the perspective of function and control.

[0059] The washing machine (1) may include an input unit (51), as described above with reference to FIG. 1. As described above, the input unit (51) may include any type of user input means for obtaining setting information from a user for controlling the operation of the washing machine (1). Various user inputs obtained through the input unit (51) may be transmitted to a control unit (120) described below. In one example, various user inputs obtained through the input unit (51) may be transmitted to the outside through a communication unit (90) described below, and the present document is not limited thereto.

[0060] In one example, the washing machine (1) may include a communication unit (90) that supports signal transmission and reception with the outside. In one example, the communication unit (90) may receive and / or transmit wired / wireless signals between an external wired / wireless communication system, an external server, and / or other devices according to a predetermined wired / wireless communication protocol. In one example, the communication unit (90) may include one or more modules that connect the washing machine (1) to one or more networks. In one example, the communication unit (90) may include at least one of a mobile communication module, a wired / wireless Internet module, a short-range communication module, and / or a location information module.

[0061] In one example, the mobile communication module may transmit and receive wireless signals with at least one of an external base station, an external terminal, and an external server through a mobile communication network according to any of various communication protocols for mobile communication. The wireless signals may include various types of data signals. In one example, the wireless signals may include voice call signals, video call call signals, and text / multimedia message signals, but this document is not limited thereto.

[0062] In one example, the wired / wireless Internet module may support, but is not limited to, wireless LAN (WLAN), wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, digital living network alliance (DLNA), wireless broadband (WiBro), world interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), long term evolution (LTE), or long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A). In one example, the wired / wireless Internet module of the communication unit (90) may transmit and receive data according to at least one wired / wireless Internet technology among the Internet technologies not listed above.

[0063] The short-range communication module is for short-range communication, and can support short-range communication using at least one of Bluetooth, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), ZigBee, NFC (Near Field Communication), Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, and Wireless USB (Universal Serial Bus) technologies, for example. The short-range communication module can support wireless communication between a washing machine (1) and a wireless communication system, between the washing machine (1) and another device, or between the washing machine (1) and a network in which another device is located, for example, through a short-range wireless communication network.

[0064] The location information module is, for example, a module for obtaining the location of a washing machine (1), and may be a GPS (Global Positioning System) module or a Wi-Fi module. When the washing machine (1) utilizes a GPS module, information regarding the location of the washing machine (1) can be received using signals transmitted from GPS satellites. When the washing machine (1) utilizes a Wi-Fi module, information regarding the location of the washing machine (1) can be received based on information from a wireless AP (Wireless Access Point) that transmits and receives wireless signals with the Wi-Fi module.

[0065] In one example, the communication unit (90) may receive a setting data signal input by a user from the user's mobile terminal in the form of a wireless signal according to a predetermined wireless communication protocol. In one example, the communication unit (90) may receive information and / or commands for controlling the operation of the washing machine (1) from an external server in the form of signals according to a predetermined wired / wireless communication protocol. The communication unit (90) may transmit various received signals to the control unit (120) described below. In one example, the communication unit (90) may transmit various data generated or acquired on the washing machine (1) in the form of wired / wireless signals according to a predetermined wired / wireless communication protocol, for example, to the user's mobile terminal or an external server.

[0066] According to one example, the washing machine (1) may include a sensor unit (100) for detecting the operating status and / or internal environment of the washing machine (1). In one example, the sensor unit (100) may include a water level sensor (101), a current sensor (102), a door sensor (103), a speed sensor (104), a temperature sensor (105), a first sensor (106) and / or a second sensor (107), but this is exemplary and the present document is not limited thereto.

[0067] In one example, the water level sensor (101) is a sensor designed to detect the water level within the tub (30). In one example, the water level sensor (101) may be designed to detect the progress of the dehydration process during the dehydration process. The water level sensor (101) may transmit an electrical signal regarding the water level within the tub (30) to the control unit (120).

[0068] The current sensor (102) may be provided to detect the current flowing to the motor (61) of the driving device (60). An electrical signal regarding the current value of the motor (61) generated by the current sensor (102) may be transmitted to the control unit (120).

[0069] A door sensor (103) may be provided to determine whether the door (20) is closed before the control unit (120) performs a washing operation. An electrical signal generated by the door sensor (103) regarding whether the door (20) is open or closed may be transmitted to the control unit (120).

[0070] The speed sensor (104) may be provided to detect the rotational speed, rotational angle, or rotational direction of the motor (61) or the drum (40). In one example, the speed sensor (104) may utilize a method of detecting the position of the rotor and the on / off signal of an adjacent hall sensor while the motor (61) is driven, for example. In one example, the speed sensor (104) may utilize a method of measuring the magnitude of the current applied to the motor (61) while the drum (40) is rotating. An electrical signal regarding the rotational speed, rotational angle, or rotational direction of the drum (40) generated by the speed sensor (104) may be transmitted to the control unit (120).

[0071] The temperature sensor (105) may be configured to detect the ambient temperature of the washing machine (1) or the temperature of internal components, or to detect the temperature of the wash water in the tub (30). The temperature sensor (105) may be implemented, for example, as a thermistor, a type of resistor that utilizes the property of a material's resistance changing depending on temperature. An electrical signal regarding temperature generated by the temperature sensor (105) may be transmitted to the control unit (120).

[0072] The first sensor (106) and the second sensor (107) may be sound sensors capable of detecting and measuring sounds (e.g., voices, sounds, noises, sound waves) generated in the surrounding environment. The first sensor (106) and the second sensor (107) may convert sound vibrations into electrical signals and process them. The first sensor (106) and the second sensor (107) may include, but are not limited to, a microphone, a sound pressure sensor, a sound velocity sensor, and / or an acoustic sensor. In the present disclosure, the first sensor (106) and the second sensor (107) may also be referred to as a first sound sensor and a second sound sensor, respectively.

[0073] According to one example, a washing machine (1) may include a control unit (120) that controls the overall operation of the washing machine (1). The control unit (120) may include a memory (122) that stores or memorizes a program and / or data for controlling each component of the washing machine (1), and a processor (121) that generates a control signal for controlling each component of the washing machine (1) according to the program and / or data stored in the memory (122) and information obtained from each of the other components.

[0074] According to one example, the memory (122) can store various data that can be used to control the operation of each component of the washing machine (1). The memory (122) can store, for example, a plurality of application programs used in the washing machine (1), data for controlling the operation of the washing machine (1), and commands. At least some of the application programs stored in the memory (122) can be downloaded from an external server via wireless communication. At least some of the application programs stored in the memory (122) can be stored in the memory (122) from the time of shipment for the basic functions of the washing machine (1). In one example, the memory (122) can store various data that can be used as a reference for the dehydration process to be described later.

[0075] In one example, the processor (121) of the control unit (120) may receive various input / setting information, such as power on / off of the washing machine (1), washing machine operation setting information (e.g., operation start / stop, course selection, time selection, etc.) or other various control information, from the input unit (51) and / or communication unit (90) described above. The processor (121) may obtain various detection information from the sensor unit (100), such as information on the water level in the tub (30) detected by the water level sensor (101), information on the current flowing in the motor (61) detected by the current sensor (102), information indicating whether the door is open or closed detected by the door sensor (103), information on the rotation speed of the motor (61) or drum (40) detected by the speed sensor (104), etc. The processor (121) can estimate or obtain the eccentricity value of the drum (40) by obtaining information indicating the amount of vibration of the drum (40) from, for example, a vibration sensor (106). The processor (121) can estimate or obtain the front eccentricity value of the drum (40) and the rear eccentricity value of the drum (40) by using, for example, one vibration sensor (106).

[0076] In one example, the processor (121) of the control unit (120) may generate an operation control command for each component of the washing machine (1) based on various pieces of information received from the input unit (51), the communication unit (90), and / or the sensor unit (100). In one example, the processor (121) may control each component related to performing at least one of a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle, a dehydration cycle, or a drying cycle. The processor (121) may control the operation of, for example, a driving device (60), a water supply device (70), and / or a drainage device (80) to control the performance of at least one of the washing cycle, the rinsing cycle, the dehydration cycle, or the drying cycle. In one example, the processor (121) may control the operation of the motor (61) of the driving device (60) to rotate the drum (40). For example, the processor (121) can control the opening and closing of the water supply valve (72) of the water supply device (70) to adjust the washing water supplied to the drum (40) and / or the tub (30). For example, the processor (121) can control the drain valve (81) and / or the drain pump (841) of the drain device (80) to drain the washing water in the drum (40) and / or the tub (30). In one example, the processor (121) can continuously obtain information from the input unit (51), the communication unit (90) and / or the sensor unit (100) while performing at least one of the washing cycle, the rinsing cycle, the dehydration cycle or the drying cycle, and can continuously update and control the operation of each component based on the obtained information.

[0077] In one example, the processor (121) of the control unit (120) can generate a command to control whether and how information is displayed through the display unit (52) based on various pieces of information received from the input unit (51), the communication unit (90) and / or the sensor unit (100).

[0078] In this drawing, the control unit (120) is disclosed as a single comprehensive configuration that controls all components included in the washing machine (1), but this document is not limited thereto. In one example, the washing machine (1) may be configured to include a plurality of control unit configurations that individually control some of the components of the washing machine (1). In one example, the washing machine (1) may include a separate control unit having a processor and a memory for controlling the operation of a driving device (60), for example, a motor (61). In one example, the washing machine (1) may include a separate control unit having a processor and a memory for controlling the operation of a user interface according to a user input. The processor (121) of the control unit (120) may include a plurality of processors, and the memory (122) may include a plurality of memory devices.

[0079] FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary configuration of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 4, a home appliance (400) (e.g., a washing machine (1) of FIG. 1) may include a first sensor (401) (e.g., the first sensor (106) of FIG. 3), a second sensor (402) (e.g., the second sensor (107) of FIG. 3), a pre-processing module (410) and / or a main-processing module (420). In the present disclosure, the pre-processing module (410) may be referred to as a first processing module, and the main-processing module (420) may be referred to as a second processing module.

[0081] According to one embodiment, the first sensor (401) and the second sensor (402) may be sound sensors capable of detecting and measuring sounds (e.g., voices, sounds, noises, sound waves) generated in the surrounding environment. The first sensor (401) and the second sensor (402) may convert sound vibrations into electrical signals and process them. The first sensor (401) and the second sensor (402) may include, but are not limited to, microphones, sound pressure sensors, sound velocity sensors, and / or acoustic sensors, for example.

[0082] According to one embodiment, the first sensor (401) within the home appliance (400) may be configured such that an operating sound generated within (or within the internal space) of the home appliance (400) reaches the first sensor (401) before the second sensor (402). For example, the first sensor (401) within the home appliance (400) may be configured such that an operating sound generated within (or within the internal space) of the home appliance (400) reaches the first sensor (401) before the second sensor (402).

[0083] According to one embodiment, the second sensor (402) within the home appliance (400) may be configured such that an external sound generated from outside (or outside space) of the home appliance (400) reaches the second sensor (402) before the first sensor (401). For example, the second sensor (402) within the home appliance (400) may have an arrangement such that an external sound generated from outside (or outside space) of the home appliance (400) reaches the second sensor (402) before the first sensor (401). According to one embodiment, the operating sound may be a sound generated inside the home appliance according to the operation of the home appliance. The home appliance may generate different operating sounds according to, for example, the type of home appliance, the status of the home appliance, and the operation mode.

[0084] In one embodiment, external sounds are sounds generated from outside the home appliance, such as user conversations, external noises, or the operation of external home appliances. These external sounds can act as noise when diagnosing the condition of the home appliance using sounds detected (or measured) by the home appliance, thereby interfering with accurate diagnosis.

[0085] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) and the main-processing module (420) may be implemented by at least one processor including a processing circuit. The at least one processor may individually and / or collectively execute instructions that cause the home appliance (400) to perform various functions and / or operations of the pre-processing module (410) and the main-processing module (420), thereby implementing the pre-processing module (410) and the main-processing module (420).

[0086] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) may be implemented by at least one first processor including a processing circuit, and the main processing module (420) may be implemented by at least one second processor including a processing circuit. In this way, the pre-processing module (410) and the main processing module (420) may be circuit-wise or physically separated. The at least one first processor may individually and / or collectively implement the pre-processing module (410) by executing instructions that cause the pre-processing module (410) to perform various functions and / or operations. The at least one second processor may individually and / or collectively implement the main processing module (420) by executing instructions that cause the main processing module (420) to perform various functions and / or operations. In the present disclosure, the first processor may be referred to as a pre-processing processor, and the second processor may be referred to as a main processing processor.

[0087] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing operation of the pre-processing module (410) may include at least one operation for generating a third sound signal using the first sound signal and the second sound signal.

[0088] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) can obtain a first sound signal using the first sensor (401).

[0089] According to one embodiment, the first sound signal may include a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside the home appliance (400) and / or a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance (400). In the present disclosure, the signal corresponding to the operating sound may be referred to as an operating sound signal, and the signal corresponding to the external sound may be referred to as an external sound signal.

[0090] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) can obtain a second sound signal using a second sensor (402).

[0091] According to one embodiment, the second sound signal may include a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside the home appliance (400) and / or a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance (400).

[0092] According to one embodiment, the second sound signal may be correlated with a signal corresponding to an external sound of the home appliance (400) included in the first sound signal. For example, the second sound signal may include a signal having a correlation with a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance (400). For example, external sounds generated from the same sound source in the external space of the home appliance (400) may reach the first sensor (401) and the second sensor (402), respectively, and signals corresponding to the corresponding external sounds detected by the first sensor (401) and the second sensor (402) may be correlated with each other.

[0093] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) can generate a third sound signal by performing pre-processing on the first sound signal and the second sound signal using an adaptive filter.

[0094] In one embodiment, the adaptive filter can simulate the relative delay times at which external sounds reach the first sensor and the second sensor, respectively. The adaptive filter can be used to generate a partial signal correlated with the first sound signal detected by the first sensor, using a second sound signal detected by the second sensor. For example, the adaptive filter can generate a partial signal correlated with the first sound signal by delaying a signal corresponding to an external sound included in the second sound signal detected by the second sensor (the second external sound signal) to correspond to a signal corresponding to an external sound included in the first sound signal detected by the first sensor that has a correlation with the second external sound signal (the first external sound signal). The partial signal thus generated can be used to remove or reduce a signal corresponding to an external sound included in the first sound signal.

[0095] According to one embodiment, the adaptive filter may be, for example, a finite impulse response (FIR) filter, but is not limited thereto. For example, an infinite impulse response (IIR) filter may also be used as the adaptive filter. When an FIR filter is used as the adaptive filter, stability may be higher than when an IIR filter is used as the adaptive filter. In the present disclosure, the adaptive filter may also be referred to as a weighted filter. In the present disclosure, the third sound signal may also be referred to as a pre-processed sound signal.

[0096] For example, the pre-processing module (410) may filter the second sound signal (or the signal generated based on the second sound signal) using an adaptive filter having a filter coefficient (W) to generate a filtered sound signal, and may generate a third sound signal based on the first sound signal (or the signal generated based on the first sound signal) and the filtered sound signal.

[0097] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) may pre-filter at least one of the first sound signal or the second sound signal using a pre-filter. For example, the pre-processing module (410) may pre-filter the first sound signal using a first pre-filter to generate a pre-filtered first sound signal, pre-filter the second sound signal using a pre-filter to generate a pre-filtered second sound signal, filter the pre-filtered second sound signal using an adaptive filter to generate a filtered second sound signal, and generate a third sound signal using the pre-filtered first sound signal and the filtered second sound signal. For example, the pre-processing module (410) may pre-filter a first sound signal using a pre-filter to generate a pre-filtered first sound signal, generate a fourth sound signal using the pre-filtered first sound signal and the second sound signal, filter the fourth sound signal using an adaptive filter to generate a filtered fourth sound signal, and generate a third sound signal using the first sound signal and the filtered fourth sound signal. For example, the pre-processing module (410) may filter a second sound signal using an adaptive filter to generate a filtered second sound signal, and generate a third sound signal using the first sound signal and the filtered second sound signal.

[0098] The third sound signal generated in this way may be a sound signal in which a signal corresponding to an external sound of the home appliance (400) is filtered (e.g., removed or reduced). For example, the third sound signal may be a sound signal in which a signal corresponding to an external sound included in the first sound signal is removed or reduced based on the second sound signal.

[0099] In one embodiment, a pre-filter may be used to set a first frequency band of interest. The pre-filter may be, but is not limited to, a low-pass filter, a high-pass filter, or a band-pass filter. For example, various types of filters for providing frequency-specific weighting may be used as the pre-filter. When pre-filtering is performed, the filtering performance in the pre-processing step of the pre-processing module (410) may be improved compared to when pre-filtering is not performed.

[0100] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter may be updated using a preset adaptation algorithm based on the third sound signal and the second sound signal. The adaptation algorithm may be, for example, a least mean squared (LMS) algorithm, but is not limited thereto. The filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter may be updated, for example, so as to minimize the correlation between the second sound signal and the third sound signal.

[0101] According to one embodiment, the update period for the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter may be associated with the sampling period for the adaptive filter. For example, the update period for the filter coefficients may be the same as the sampling period. When the update period for the filter coefficients coincides with the sampling period, the filter coefficients may be updated for every sample (or every time step). The updated filter coefficients may be used for preprocessing the first sound signal and the second sound signal of the next time step.

[0102] Through the pre-processing operation of the pre-processing module (410) including the update operation for the filter coefficients of such an adaptive filter, the signal corresponding to the external sound of the home appliance (400) included in the first sound signal is removed based on the second sound signal, so that a third sound signal including only the signal corresponding to the operating sound of the home appliance (400) can be obtained.

[0103] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) can transmit data of the third sound signal to the main-processing module (420). As described above, the pre-processing module (410) and the main-processing module (420) can be separated circuitally or physically, and since the third sound signal corresponds to a signal corresponding to an external sound related to the user's private life, which is a filtered signal, if only the pre-processed third sound signal is transmitted to the main-processing module (420) without transmitting the first sound signal and the second sound signal including the signal corresponding to the external sound to the main-processing module (420), the user's private life can be guaranteed.

[0104] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may obtain data related to the status of the home appliance (400) (hereinafter referred to as status-related data) based on data of the third sound signal. For example, the main processing module (420) may generate status-related data using data of the third sound signal.

[0105] According to one embodiment, the status-related data may include feature data for diagnosing the status of the home appliance (400) and / or diagnosis result data obtained based on the feature data. The feature data may include, for example, a value of at least one feature used for diagnosing the status of the home appliance (400). The diagnosis result data may include, for example, first result data including a result of diagnosing the status of the home appliance (400) based on the feature data and / or second result data including a result of comprehensively determining the status of the home appliance (400) based on the first result data.

[0106] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may acquire at least one feature data based on data of the third sound signal. For example, the main processing module (420) may generate feature data for each time step using the value of the third sound signal for each time step. In other words, the main processing module (420) may generate feature data for each time step.

[0107] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may obtain at least one first result data based on at least one feature data. The first result data may include, for example, first information indicating whether the state of the home appliance is normal or abnormal (e.g., broken), and / or, if the state of the home appliance is abnormal, second information indicating the cause or type of the abnormality (e.g., cause of breakdown).

[0108] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may perform an inference operation using a trained artificial intelligence (AI) model to obtain first result data. For example, the main processing module (420) may input at least one feature data as input data to the AI ​​model and obtain at least one first result data as output data of the AI ​​model. The main processing module (420) may generate one first result data for each feature data, or one first result data for multiple feature data.

[0109] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may obtain second result data based on at least one first result data. For example, the main processing module (420) may generate second result data including a result of comprehensively determining the state of the home appliance (400) by analyzing a history of diagnosing the state of the home appliance (400) using at least one first result data.

[0110] According to one embodiment, the home appliance (400) may transmit status-related data to an external electronic device (e.g., a server) via a communication module (e.g., a transceiver). The external electronic device to which the status-related data is transmitted may be, for example, a server to which the home appliance (400) is registered. The status-related data may include characteristic data and / or diagnostic result data.

[0111] In one embodiment, the communication module may be connected only to the main processing module (420) and not to the pre-processing module (410). This may prevent signals corresponding to external sounds related to the user's privacy from being exposed to the outside of the home appliance (400).

[0112] According to one embodiment, if the status-related data transmitted to the external electronic device includes characteristic data, the external electronic device may obtain (or generate) diagnostic result data based on the characteristic data. In this case, the main processing module (420) may transmit the characteristic data itself to the external electronic device without performing an operation of obtaining diagnostic result data based on the aforementioned characteristic data, and the external electronic device may obtain diagnostic result data based on the received characteristic data. The external electronic device may update the status information of the home appliance (400) based on the diagnostic result data.

[0113] According to one embodiment, when the status-related data transmitted to the external electronic device includes diagnostic result data, the external electronic device can update the status information of the home appliance (400) based on the diagnostic result data.

[0114] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a pre-processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0115] The pre-processing module (410a) of the embodiment of FIG. 5 may be an example of the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4.

[0116] Referring to FIG. 5, the pre-processing module (410a) may include a pre-filter (511), an adaptive filter (512), and an update module (513).

[0117] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410a) can obtain a first sound signal (A) and a second sound signal (B). For example, the pre-processing module (410a) can obtain the first sound signal (A) using a first sensor (e.g., the first sensor (401) of FIG. 4) and can obtain the second sound signal (B) using a second sensor (e.g., the second sensor (402) of FIG. 4). The waveform of the first sound signal (A) can be, for example, the same as waveform (501), and the waveform of the second sound signal (B) can be, for example, the same as waveform (502).

[0118] The first sound signal (A) can be expressed, for example, by the following mathematical expression 1.

[0119] [Mathematical Formula 1]

[0120]

[0121] Here, D is an external sound signal generated from a sound source corresponding to an external sound, N is an operating sound signal generated from a sound source corresponding to an operating sound, and H 2A is a transfer function for an external sound signal and a first sensor (e.g., a transfer function that takes as input an external sound signal (D) generated from the sound source and as output an external sound signal measured by the first sensor), H 1A is a transfer function for the operating sound signal and the first sensor (e.g., a transfer function that takes as input the operating sound signal (N) generated from the sound source and as output the operating sound signal measured by the first sensor).

[0122] The second sound signal (B) can be expressed, for example, by the following mathematical expression 2.

[0123] [Equation 2]

[0124]

[0125] Here, D is an external sound signal generated from a sound source corresponding to an external sound, N is an operating sound signal generated from a sound source corresponding to an operating sound, and H1B is a transfer function for an external sound signal and a second sensor (e.g., a transfer function that takes as input an external sound signal (D) generated from the sound source and as output an external sound signal measured by the second sensor), H 2B is a transfer function for the operating sound signal and the second sensor (e.g., a transfer function when the operating sound signal (N) generated from the sound source is input and the operating sound signal measured by the second sensor is output).

[0126] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410a) can pre-filter the first sound signal (A) using the pre-filter (511) to obtain the pre-filtered first sound signal (A') (e.g., operation 17010 of FIG. 17). The pre-filter (511) can be used to set a first frequency band of interest. The pre-filter can be, but is not limited to, a low-pass filter, a high-pass filter, or a band-pass filter. For example, various types of filters for providing weights for each frequency can be used as the pre-filter (511). When pre-filtering is performed, filtering performance in the pre-processing process can be improved compared to when pre-filtering is not performed.

[0127] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410a) can obtain a fourth sound signal (R) using the pre-filtered first sound signal (A') and the second sound signal (B) (e.g., operation 17020 of FIG. 17). For example, the pre-processing module (410a) can obtain the fourth sound signal (R) by synthesizing the pre-filtered first sound signal (A') and the second sound signal (B) using the following mathematical expression 3.

[0128] [Equation 3]

[0129]

[0130] Here, R is the fourth sound signal, A is the first sound signal, B is the second sound signal, is the filter coefficient (or transfer function) of the pre-filter (511).

[0131] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficient of the pre-filter (511) can be determined based on the sound signal measured by the first sensor and the second sensor under the condition that only the operating sound exists without external noise. Referring to mathematical expression 3, the pre-filter (511) has a transfer function ( ) can output the impulse response (A') corresponding to the input signal.

[0132] According to one embodiment, the fourth sound signal (R) may be transmitted to the adaptive filter (512). In addition, the fourth sound signal (R) may be transmitted to the update module (513) to update the filter coefficient (W) of the adaptive filter (512). According to one embodiment, the update module (513) may update the filter coefficient (W) of the adaptive filter (512) such that the correlation between the second sound signal and the third sound signal is minimized.

[0133] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410a) may filter the fourth sound signal (R) using an adaptive filter (512) to generate a filtered fourth sound signal (W*R) (e.g., operation 17030 of FIG. 17). The waveform of the filtered fourth sound signal thus obtained may be, for example, the waveform (503). The adaptive filter may be, for example, an FIR filter.

[0134] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410a) can generate a third sound signal (e) using the first sound signal (A) and the filtered fourth sound signal (W*R) (e.g., operation 17040 of FIG. 17). For example, the pre-processing module (410a) can generate the third sound signal (e) by synthesizing the first sound signal (A) and the filtered fourth sound signal (W*R) using the following mathematical expression 4.

[0135] [Equation 4]

[0136] e=AW*R

[0137] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (512) may be updated by the update module (513) using an adaptive algorithm set based on the third sound signal (e) and the fourth sound signal (R). Therefore, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the third sound signal (e) and the second sound signal (B) may be used to update the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (512) through an adaptive algorithm. The adaptive algorithm may be, for example, an LMS algorithm, but is not limited thereto.

[0138] According to one embodiment, the update period for the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (512) may be associated with a sampling period for the adaptive filter. For example, the update period for the filter coefficients may be equal to a sampling period (e.g., a sampling period associated with a time step size (hereinafter, a step size)). When the update period for the filter coefficients is equal to the sampling period, the filter coefficients may be updated for every sample (or every time step).

[0139] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (512) can be updated by the following mathematical expression 5.

[0140] [Equation 5]

[0141] W ← W - μze

[0142] Here, W is a filter coefficient, μ is a step size of an adaptive filter (512), z is a fourth sound signal (R), and e may be a third sound signal.

[0143] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficient (W) of the adaptive filter (512) can converge to a value of a transfer function, for example, as in Equation 6 below, through an update operation of the update module (513).

[0144] [Equation 6]

[0145]

[0146] Referring to mathematical expression 6, the output of the adaptive filter (512) for the fourth sound signal (R) is the transfer function ( ) can converge to the impulse response corresponding to .

[0147] An example of a pre-processing operation of a pre-processing module (410a) including an operation of updating the filter coefficient (W) of an adaptive filter (512) using mathematical expression 5 may be described as follows.

[0148] At the first time step (T1), the pre-processing module (410a) can perform a pre-processing operation using the filter coefficient (W1) (e.g., the set initial filter coefficient). For example, in the first time step, the pre-processing module (410a) may obtain a first sound signal (A1) and a second sound signal (B1), pre-filter the first sound signal (A1) to obtain a pre-filtered first sound signal (A1'), synthesize the pre-filtered first sound signal (A1') and the second sound signal (B1) to obtain a fourth sound signal (z1=R1), filter the fourth sound signal (R1) using an adaptive filter having a filter coefficient (W1) to obtain a filtered fourth sound signal (W1*R1), and obtain a third sound signal (e1=A1-W1*R1) using the first sound signal (A1) and the filtered fourth sound signal (W1*R1).

[0149] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410a) can update the filter coefficient (W1) using mathematical expression 6 to obtain the filter coefficient (W2) to be used for the pre-processing operation in the second time step. The filter coefficient (W2) obtained in this way can be W2 = W1 - μz1e1.

[0150] At the second time step (T2), the pre-processing module (410a) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficient (W2). For example, at the second time step, the pre-processing module (410a) can obtain a first sound signal (A2) and a second sound signal (B2), pre-filter the first sound signal (A2) to obtain a pre-filtered first sound signal (A2'), synthesize the pre-filtered first sound signal (A2') and the second sound signal (B2) to obtain a fourth sound signal (z2=R2), filter the fourth sound signal (R2) using an adaptive filter having the filter coefficient (W2) to obtain a filtered fourth sound signal (W2*R2), and obtain a third sound signal (e2=A2-W2*R2) using the first sound signal (A2) and the filtered fourth sound signal (W2*R2).

[0151] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410a) can update the filter coefficient (W2) using mathematical expression 6 to obtain the filter coefficient (W3) to be used for the pre-processing operation in the third time step. The filter coefficient (W3) obtained in this way can be W3 = W2 - μz2e2.

[0152] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410a) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficients in each of the subsequent time steps corresponding to the number of time steps, thereby obtaining a third sound signal of the corresponding time step. For example, when the number of time steps is 5, the pre-processing module (410a) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficients in each of the subsequent third, fourth, and fifth time steps, thereby obtaining the third sound signals of the third, fourth, and fifth time steps, respectively.

[0153] The waveform of the third sound signal (e) thus obtained may be, for example, waveform (504). As illustrated, the waveform (504) may have a form in which a portion corresponding to the external sound of the home appliance is removed (or reduced) from the waveform (501) of the first sound signal (A), and only a portion corresponding to the operating sound of the home appliance is included. Through a pre-processing operation including an update operation for the filter coefficients of such an adaptive filter, a third sound signal in which a signal corresponding to the external sound of the home appliance included in the first sound signal is filtered (e.g., removed or) may be obtained.

[0154] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a pre-processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0155] The pre-processing module (410b) of the embodiment of FIG. 6 may be an example of the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4.

[0156] Referring to FIG. 6, the pre-processing module (410b) may include a first pre-filter (611a), a second pre-filter (611b), an adaptive filter (612), and an update module (613).

[0157] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410b) can obtain a first sound signal (A) and a second sound signal (B). For example, the pre-processing module (410b) can obtain a first sound signal (A) using a first sensor (e.g., a first sensor (401) of FIG. 4) and can obtain a second sound signal (B) using a second sensor (e.g., a second sensor (402) of FIG. 4).

[0158] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410b) can pre-filter the first sound signal (A) using the first pre-filter (611a) to obtain the pre-filtered first sound signal (A') (e.g., operation 18010 of FIG. 18). The first pre-filter (611a) can be used to set a first frequency band of interest. The first pre-filter (611a) can be, but is not limited to, a low-pass filter, a high-pass filter, or a band-pass filter. For example, various types of filters for providing weights for each frequency can be used as the first pre-filter (611a). When pre-filtering is performed, filtering performance in the pre-processing process can be improved compared to when pre-filtering is not performed.

[0159] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410b) may pre-filter the second sound signal (B) using the second pre-filter (611b) to generate a pre-filtered second sound signal (B') (e.g., operation 18020 of FIG. 18). The second pre-filter (611b) may be used to set a second frequency band of interest. The second pre-filter (611b) may be, but is not limited to, a low-pass filter, a high-pass filter, or a band-pass filter. For example, various types of filters for providing weights for each frequency may be used as the second pre-filter (611b).

[0160] In one embodiment, the first frequency band of interest of the first pre-filter (611a) may be different from the second frequency band of interest of the second pre-filter (611b). For example, the first frequency band of interest of the first pre-filter (611a) may be higher than the second frequency band of interest of the second pre-filter (611b).

[0161] According to one embodiment, the pre-filtered second sound signal (B') may be transmitted to the adaptive filter (612). In addition, the pre-filtered second sound signal (B') may be transmitted to an update module (613) using an adaptive algorithm to update the filter coefficient (W) of the adaptive filter (612). According to one embodiment, the update module (613) may update the filter coefficient (W) of the adaptive filter (512) such that the correlation between the second sound signal and the third sound signal is minimized.

[0162] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410b) may filter the pre-filtered second sound signal (B') using an adaptive filter (612) to generate a filtered second sound signal (W*B') (e.g., operation 18030 of FIG. 18). The adaptive filter may be, for example, an FIR filter.

[0163] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410b) can generate a third sound signal (e) using the pre-filtered first sound signal (A') and the filtered second sound signal (W*B') (e.g., operation 18040 of FIG. 18). For example, the pre-processing module (410b) can generate the third sound signal (e) by synthesizing the pre-filtered first sound signal (A') and the filtered second sound signal (W*B') using the following mathematical expression 7.

[0164] [Equation 7]

[0165] e=A'-W*B'

[0166] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (612) can be updated by the update module (613) using a preset adaptive algorithm based on the third sound signal (e) and the pre-filtered second sound signal (B'). Therefore, as can be seen in FIG. 6, the third sound signal (e) and the second sound signal (B) can be used to update the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (612) through the adaptive algorithm. The adaptive algorithm can be, for example, an LMS algorithm, but is not limited thereto.

[0167] In one embodiment, the update period for the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter (612) may be associated with a sampling period for the adaptive filter. For example, the update period for the filter coefficients may be the same as the sampling period (e.g., a sampling period associated with a step size). When the update period for the filter coefficients coincides with the sampling period, the filter coefficients may be updated for every sample (or every time step).

[0168] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter (612) can be updated by the following mathematical expression (8).

[0169] [Equation 8]

[0170] W ← W - μxe

[0171] Here, W is a filter coefficient, μ is a step size of an adaptive filter, x is a pre-filtered second sound signal (x=B'), and e may be a third sound signal.

[0172] An example of a pre-processing operation of a pre-processing module (410b) including an operation of updating the filter coefficients of an adaptive filter (612) using mathematical expression 8 may be described as follows.

[0173] At the first time step (T1), the pre-processing module (410b) can perform a pre-processing operation using the filter coefficient (W1) (e.g., the set initial filter coefficient). For example, in the first time step, the pre-processing module (410b) can obtain a first sound signal (A1) and a second sound signal (B1), pre-filter the first sound signal (A1) and the second sound signal (B1) respectively to obtain a pre-filtered first sound signal (A1') and a pre-filtered second sound signal (x1=B1'), filter the pre-filtered second sound signal (B1') using an adaptive filter having a filter coefficient (W1) to obtain a filtered second sound signal (W1*B1'), and obtain a third sound signal (e1=A1'-W1*B1') using the pre-filtered first sound signal (A1') and the filtered second sound signal (W1*B1').

[0174] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410b) can update the filter coefficient (W1) using mathematical expression 8 to obtain the filter coefficient (W2) to be used for the pre-processing operation in the second time step. The filter coefficient (W2) obtained in this way can be W2 = W1 - μx1e1.

[0175] At the second time step (T2), the pre-processing module (410b) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficients (W2). For example, in the second time step, the pre-processing module (410b) can obtain a first sound signal (A2) and a second sound signal (B2), pre-filter the first sound signal (A2) and the second sound signal (B2) respectively to obtain a pre-filtered first sound signal (A2') and a pre-filtered second sound signal (x2=B2'), filter the pre-filtered second sound signal (B2') using an adaptive filter having a filter coefficient (W2) to obtain a filtered second sound signal (W2*B2'), and obtain a third sound signal (e2=A2'-W2*B2') using the pre-filtered first sound signal (A2') and the filtered second sound signal (W2*B2').

[0176] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410b) can update the filter coefficient (W2) using mathematical expression 8 to obtain the filter coefficient (W3) to be used for the pre-processing operation in the third time step. The filter coefficient (W3) obtained in this way can be W3 = W2 - μx2e2.

[0177] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410b) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficients in each of the subsequent time steps corresponding to the number of time steps, thereby obtaining a third sound signal of the corresponding time step. For example, when the number of time steps is 5, the pre-processing module (410b) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficients in each of the subsequent third, fourth, and fifth time steps, thereby obtaining the third sound signals of the third, fourth, and fifth time steps, respectively.

[0178] Through a preprocessing operation including an update operation for the filter coefficients of such an adaptive filter, a third sound signal can be obtained in which a signal corresponding to an external sound of a home appliance included in the first sound signal is filtered (e.g., removed or reduced).

[0179] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a pre-processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0180] The pre-processing module (410c) of the embodiment of FIG. 7 may be an example of the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4.

[0181] Referring to FIG. 7, the pre-processing module (410c) may include an adaptive filter (711) and an update module (712). Unlike the embodiment of FIG. 6, the pre-processing module (410c) of the embodiment of FIG. 7 does not include a pre-filter.

[0182] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410c) can obtain a first sound signal (A) and a second sound signal (B). For example, the pre-processing module (410c) can obtain the first sound signal (A) using a first sensor (e.g., the first sensor (401) of FIG. 4) and can obtain the second sound signal (B) using a second sensor (e.g., the second sensor (402) of FIG. 4). The second sound signal (B) can be transmitted to an adaptive filter (711) and an update module (712). According to one embodiment, the update module (513) can update the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (512) so that the correlation between the second sound signal and the third sound signal is minimized.

[0183] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410c) may filter the second sound signal (B) using an adaptive filter (712) to generate a filtered second sound signal (W*B). The adaptive filter may be, for example, an FIR filter.

[0184] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410c) can generate a third sound signal (e) using the first sound signal (A) and the filtered second sound signal (W*B). For example, the pre-processing module can generate the third sound signal (e) by synthesizing the first sound signal (A) and the filtered second sound signal (W*B) using the following mathematical expression 9.

[0185] [Equation 9]

[0186] e=AW*B

[0187] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (712) may be updated by the update module (713) using a preset adaptive algorithm based on the third sound signal (e) and the second sound signal (B). Therefore, as can be seen in FIG. 7, the third sound signal (e) and the second sound signal (B) may be used to update the filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter (712) through the adaptive algorithm. The adaptive algorithm may be, for example, an LMS algorithm, but is not limited thereto.

[0188] In one embodiment, the update period for the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter (712) may be associated with a sampling period for the adaptive filter. For example, the update period for the filter coefficients may be the same as the sampling period (e.g., a sampling period associated with a step size). When the update period for the filter coefficients coincides with the sampling period, the filter coefficients may be updated for every sample (or every time step).

[0189] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter (712) can be updated by the following mathematical expression (10).

[0190] [Equation 10]

[0191] W ← W - μye

[0192] Here, W is a filter coefficient, μ is a step size of an adaptive filter, y is a second sound signal (x=B), and e may be a third sound signal.

[0193] An example of a pre-processing operation of a pre-processing module (410c) including an operation of updating the filter coefficients of an adaptive filter (712) using mathematical expression 10 may be described as follows.

[0194] At the first time step (T1), the pre-processing module (410c) can perform a pre-processing operation using the filter coefficient (W1). For example, at the first time step, the pre-processing module (410c) can obtain a first sound signal (A1) and a second sound signal (y1=B1), filter the second sound signal (B1) using an adaptive filter having the filter coefficient (W1) to obtain a filtered second sound signal (W1*B1), and obtain a third sound signal (e1=A1-W1*B1) using the first sound signal (A1) and the filtered second sound signal (W1*B1).

[0195] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410c) can update the filter coefficient (W1) using mathematical expression 10 to obtain the filter coefficient (W2) to be used for the pre-processing operation in the second time step. The filter coefficient (W2) obtained in this way can be W2 = W1 - μy1e1.

[0196] At the second time step (T2), the pre-processing module (410c) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficient (W2). For example, at the second time step, the pre-processing module (410c) can obtain a first sound signal (A2) and a second sound signal (y2=B2), filter the second sound signal (B2) using an adaptive filter having the filter coefficient (W2) to obtain a filtered second sound signal (W2*B2), and obtain a third sound signal (e2=A2-W2*B2) using the first sound signal (A2) and the filtered second sound signal (W2*B2).

[0197] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410c) can update the filter coefficient (W2) using mathematical expression 10 to obtain the filter coefficient (W3) to be used for the pre-processing operation in the third time step. The filter coefficient (W3) obtained in this way can be W3 = W2 - μy2e2.

[0198] Thereafter, the pre-processing module (410c) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficients in each of the subsequent time steps corresponding to the number of time steps, thereby obtaining a third sound signal of the corresponding time step. For example, when the number of time steps is 5, the pre-processing module (410c) can perform a pre-processing operation using the updated filter coefficients in each of the subsequent third, fourth, and fifth time steps, thereby obtaining the third sound signals of the third, fourth, and fifth time steps, respectively.

[0199] Through a preprocessing operation including an update operation for the filter coefficients of such an adaptive filter, a third sound signal can be obtained in which a signal corresponding to an external sound of a home appliance included in the first sound signal is filtered (e.g., removed or reduced).

[0200] FIG. 8 illustrates a sensor assembly and a layout structure of the sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0201] Referring to FIG. 8, the home appliance (400a) (e.g., home appliance (400)) may be a home appliance having a closed internal space. For example, the home appliance (400a) may be a washing machine having a closed internal space.

[0202] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (800) may be positioned inside (e.g., inside the top) of the home appliance (400a). For example, the sensor assembly (800) may be mounted on a portion of the inner surface of the housing of the home appliance (400a).

[0203] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (800) may include at least two sensors. In the present disclosure, the sensor assembly may be referred to as a sensor module.

[0204] Referring to the enlarged portion of area A, the sensor assembly (800) may include at least one first sensor (810) (e.g., the first sensor (401) of FIG. 4), at least one second sensor (820) (e.g., the second sensor (402) of FIG. 4), and a printed circuit board (830) on which the first sensor (810) and the second sensor (820) are arranged.

[0205] According to one embodiment, the first sensor (810) may be arranged so that an operating sound signal generated inside (or inside space) of the home appliance reaches the first sensor (810) before the second sensor (820). For example, the first sensor (810) may be arranged adjacent to a first passage (811) that is open toward the inside of the home appliance (400a). For example, the first sensor (810) may be arranged adjacent to the other end of the first passage (811) that is open toward the inside of the home appliance (400a). In this case, one end of the first passage (811) is open toward the inside of the home appliance (400a), and the other end of the first passage (811) may be connected to or in contact with a sound receiving hole of the first sensor (810). Through this, an operating sound signal generated in the internal space of the home appliance (400a) can be introduced into the first sensor (810) through the first path (811). In addition, an external sound signal generated in the external space of the home appliance (400a) can also be introduced into the first sensor (810) through the first path (811), for example, by passing through the housing of the home appliance (400a).

[0206] According to one embodiment, the second sensor (820) may be arranged so that an external sound signal generated from the outside (or, external space) of the home appliance (400a) reaches the second sensor (820) before the first sensor (810). For example, the second sensor (820) may be arranged adjacent to a second passage (821) that is open toward the outside of the home appliance (400a). For example, the second sensor (820) may be arranged adjacent to the other end of the second passage (821) that is open at one end toward the outside of the home appliance (400a). In this case, one end of the second passage (821) may be open toward the outside of the home appliance, and the other end of the second passage (821) may be connected to or in contact with a sound receiving hole of the second sensor (820). Through this, a signal corresponding to an external sound generated in the external space of the home appliance (400a) can be introduced to the second sensor (820) through the second path (821). In addition, an operating sound signal generated in the internal space of the home appliance (400a) can also be introduced to the second sensor (820) through the second path (821), for example, by passing through the housing of the home appliance (400a).

[0207] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (800) may be sealed by the housing (840) of the sensor assembly (800) except for the portions corresponding to the first flow path (811) and the second flow path (821). Accordingly, sound may be introduced into the interior of the sensor assembly (800) only through the first flow path (811) and the second flow path (821), and sound may be blocked from being introduced into the interior of the sensor assembly (800) through the remaining portions. Accordingly, an operating sound signal generated inside the home appliance (400a) may reach the first sensor (810) before the second sensor (820), and an external sound signal generated outside the home appliance may reach the second sensor (820) before the first sensor (810).

[0208] In one embodiment, the first flow path (811) and / or the second flow path (821) may have a duct structure or a pipe structure. In one embodiment, the second flow path (821) may pass through at least a portion of the housing of the home appliance (400a).

[0209] According to one embodiment, the printed circuit board (830) may be a printed circuit board (PCB), a flexible PCB (FPCB), or a rigid flexible PCB (RFPCB). According to one embodiment, at least one processor (e.g., at least one pre-processing processor implementing the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4) including a memory and / or a processing circuit storing at least one instruction may be disposed on the printed circuit board (830). Components disposed on the printed circuit board (830) may be connected to at least one processor and may be controlled by at least one processor.

[0210] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (800) may be connected to external components of the sensor assembly (800). For example, a pre-processing module (e.g., pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4) of the sensor assembly (800) may be wired to a main-processing module (420) via a connecting line (e.g., a cable).

[0211] FIG. 9 illustrates a sensor assembly and a layout structure of the sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0212] Referring to FIG. 9, the home appliance (400b) (e.g., home appliance (400)) may be a home appliance having an open internal space. For example, the home appliance (400b) may be an air conditioner or air purifier having an open internal space.

[0213] In one embodiment, the sensor assembly (900) may be positioned inside (e.g., inside the top) of the home appliance (400b). For example, the sensor assembly (900) may be mounted on a portion of the inner surface of the housing of the home appliance (400b).

[0214] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (900) may include at least two sensors. In the present disclosure, the sensor assembly may be referred to as a sensor module.

[0215] Referring to the enlarged portion of area B, the sensor assembly (900) may include at least one first sensor (910) (e.g., the first sensor (401) of FIG. 4), at least one second sensor (920) (e.g., the second sensor (402) of FIG. 4), and a printed circuit board (930) on which the first sensor (910) and the second sensor (920) are arranged.

[0216] According to one embodiment, the first sensor (910) may be arranged so that an operating sound signal generated inside (or inside space) of the home appliance (400b) reaches the first sensor (910) before the second sensor (920). For example, the first sensor (910) may be arranged adjacent to a first passage (911) that is open toward the inside of the home appliance (400b). For example, the first sensor (910) may be arranged adjacent to the other end of the first passage (911) that is open toward the inside of the home appliance (400b). In this case, one end of the first passage (911) may be open toward the inside of the home appliance (400b), and the other end of the first passage (911) may be connected to or in contact with a sound receiving hole of the first sensor (910). Through this, an operating sound signal generated in the internal space of the home appliance (400b) can be introduced into the first sensor (910) through the first path (911). In addition, an external sound signal generated in the external space of the home appliance (400b) can also be introduced into the first sensor (910) through the first path (911) by passing through, for example, an open space of the home appliance (400b).

[0217] According to one embodiment, the second sensor (920) may be arranged so that an external sound signal generated from the outside (or, external space) of the home appliance (400b) reaches the second sensor (920) before the first sensor (910). For example, the second sensor (920) may be arranged adjacent to a second passage (921) that is open toward the outside of the home appliance (400b). For example, the second sensor (920) may be arranged adjacent to the other end of the second passage (921) that is open at one end toward the outside of the home appliance (400b). In this case, one end of the second passage (921) may be open toward the outside of the home appliance (400b), and the other end of the second passage (921) may be connected to or in contact with a sound receiving hole of the second sensor (920). Through this, a signal corresponding to an external sound generated in the external space of the home appliance (400b) can be introduced to the second sensor (920) through the second path (921). In addition, an operating sound signal generated in the internal space of the home appliance (400b) can also be introduced to the second sensor (920) through the second path (921) by passing through, for example, an open space of the home appliance (400b).

[0218] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (900) may be sealed by the housing (940) of the sensor assembly (900) except for the portions corresponding to the first flow path (911) and the second flow path (921). Accordingly, sound may be introduced into the interior of the sensor assembly (900) only through the first flow path (911) and the second flow path (921), and sound may be blocked from being introduced into the interior of the sensor assembly (900) through the remaining portions. Accordingly, an operating sound signal generated inside the home appliance (400b) may reach the first sensor (910) before the second sensor (920), and an external sound signal generated outside the home appliance (400b) may reach the second sensor (920) before the first sensor (910).

[0219] In one embodiment, the first flow path (911) and / or the second flow path (921) may have a duct structure or a pipe structure. In one embodiment, the second flow path (921) may pass through at least a portion of the housing of the home appliance (400b).

[0220] In one embodiment, the printed circuit board (930) may be a PCB, an FPCB, or an RFPCB. In one embodiment, the printed circuit board (930) may be provided with at least one processor (e.g., at least one pre-processing processor implementing the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4) including a memory and / or a processing circuit storing at least one instruction. Components provided on the printed circuit board (930) may be connected to at least one processor and controlled by at least one processor.

[0221] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (900) may be connected to external components of the sensor assembly (900). For example, a pre-processing module (e.g., the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4) of the sensor assembly (900) may be wired to a main-processing module (e.g., the main-processing module (420) of FIG. 4) via a connecting line (e.g., a cable).

[0222] FIG. 10 illustrates a sensor assembly and a layout structure of the sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0223] Referring to FIG. 10, the home appliance (400c) (e.g., home appliance (400)) may be a home appliance having an open internal space. For example, the home appliance (400c) may be an air conditioner or air purifier having an open internal space.

[0224] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (1000) may be positioned in a boundary space between an internal space and an external space of the home appliance (400c). For example, the sensor assembly (1000) may be mounted on one surface (e.g., one surface of the interior) of a housing positioned in the boundary space of the home appliance (400c).

[0225] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (1000) may include at least two sensors. In the present disclosure, the sensor assembly may be referred to as a sensor module.

[0226] Referring to the enlarged portion of the C area, the sensor assembly (1000) may include at least one first sensor (1010) (e.g., the first sensor (401) of FIG. 4), at least one second sensor (1020) (e.g., the second sensor (402) of FIG. 4), and a printed circuit board (1030) on which the first sensor (1010) and the second sensor (1020) are arranged.

[0227] According to one embodiment, the first sensor (1010) may be arranged so that an operating sound signal generated inside (or inside space) of the home appliance (400c) reaches the first sensor (1010) before the second sensor (1020). For example, the first sensor (1010) may be arranged adjacent to a first passage (1011) that is open toward a boundary space between the inside and the outside of the home appliance (400c). For example, the first sensor (1010) may be arranged adjacent to the other end of the first passage (1011) that is open toward the boundary space of the home appliance (400c). In this case, one end of the first passage (1011) may be open toward the boundary space of the home appliance (400c), and the other end of the first passage (1011) may be connected to or in contact with a sound receiving hole of the first sensor (1010). Through this, sound generated inside or outside the home appliance (400c) can be introduced to the first sensor (1010) through the first urea (1011).

[0228] According to one embodiment, the second sensor (1020) may be arranged so that an external sound signal generated from the outside (or, external space) of the home appliance (400c) reaches the second sensor (1020) before the first sensor (1010). According to one embodiment, the second sensor (1020) may be arranged adjacent to a second passage (1021) that is open toward a boundary space between the inside and the outside of the home appliance (400c). For example, the second sensor (1020) may be arranged adjacent to the other end of the second passage (1021) that is open at one end toward the boundary space of the home appliance (400c). In this case, one end of the second passage (1021) may be open toward the boundary space of the home appliance (400c), and the other end of the second passage (1021) may be connected to or in contact with a sound receiving hole of the second sensor (1020). Through this, sound generated inside or outside the home appliance (400c) can be introduced to the second sensor (1020) through the second euro (1021).

[0229] According to one embodiment, the first flow path (1011) may be positioned closer to the interior of the home appliance (400c) than the second flow path (1022). The sensor assembly (1000) may be sealed by the housing (1040) of the sensor assembly (1000) except for the portions corresponding to the first flow path (1011) and the second flow path (1021). As a result, sound may be introduced into the interior of the sensor assembly (1000) only through the first flow path (1011) and the second flow path (1021), and sound may be blocked from being introduced into the interior of the sensor assembly (1000) through the remaining portions. Accordingly, an operating sound signal generated inside the home appliance (400c) can reach the first sensor (1010) before the second sensor (1020) through the first path (1011) which is positioned closer to the inside of the home appliance (400c) than the second path (1021), and an external sound signal generated outside the home appliance (400c) can reach the second sensor (1020) before the first sensor (1010) through the second path (1021) which is positioned closer to the outside of the home appliance (400c) than the first path (1011).

[0230] In one embodiment, the first flow path (1011) and / or the second flow path (1021) may have a duct structure or a pipe structure. In one embodiment, the first flow path (1011) and / or the second flow path (1021) may pass through at least a portion of the housing of the appliance.

[0231] According to one embodiment, the printed circuit board (1030) may be a PCB, an FPCB, or an RFPCB. According to one embodiment, at least one processor (e.g., at least one pre-processing processor implementing the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4) including a memory and / or a processing circuit storing at least one instruction may be disposed on the printed circuit board (1030). Components disposed on the printed circuit board (1030) may be connected to at least one processor and may be controlled at least by the processor.

[0232] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (1000) may be connected to external components of the sensor assembly (1000). For example, a pre-processing module (e.g., the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4) of the sensor assembly (1000) may be wired to a main-processing module (e.g., the main-processing module (420) of FIG. 4) via a connection line (e.g., a cable).

[0233] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a main processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0234] The main processing module (420a) of the embodiment of FIG. 11 may be an example of the main processing module (420) of FIG. 4.

[0235] Referring to FIG. 11, the main processing module (420a) may include a feature extraction module (1121) and a status diagnosis module (1122).

[0236] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420a) can obtain a third sound signal. For example, the main processing module (420a) can receive a third sound signal generated by a pre-processing module (e.g., the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4, the pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, the pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, or the pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7) from the pre-processing module. The generation of the third sound signal by the pre-processing module can be described, for example, with reference to the descriptions of FIGS. 4 to 7.

[0237] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420a) may obtain data (hereinafter referred to as “state-related data”) related to the state of a home appliance (e.g., the home appliance (400) of FIG. 4, the home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, the home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, or the home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10) based on the third sound signal. For example, the main processing module (420a) may generate the state-related data using the third sound signal of at least one time step.

[0238] According to one embodiment, the status-related data may include feature data for diagnosing the status of the home appliance and / or diagnostic result data obtained based on the feature data. The feature data may, for example, include the value of at least one feature used for diagnosing the status of the home appliance. The diagnostic result data may include, for example, first result data including the result of diagnosing the status of the home appliance based on the feature data and / or second result data including the result of comprehensively determining the status of the home appliance based on the first result data.

[0239] According to one embodiment, the feature extraction module (1121) may obtain at least one feature data based on at least one third sound signal. For example, the feature extraction module (1121) may generate feature data for each time step using the value of the third sound signal for each time step.

[0240] According to one embodiment, the status diagnosis module (1122) may obtain at least one first result data based on at least one feature data. The first result data may include, for example, first information indicating whether the status of the home appliance is normal or abnormal, and / or, if the status of the home appliance is abnormal, second information indicating the cause or type of the abnormality.

[0241] According to one embodiment, the status diagnosis module (1122) may perform an inference operation using a trained AI model to obtain first result data. For example, the status diagnosis module (1122) may input at least one feature data as input data to the AI ​​model and obtain at least one first result data as output data of the AI ​​model. The status diagnosis module (1122) may generate one first result data for each feature data, or one first result data for multiple feature data.

[0242] According to one embodiment, the status diagnosis module (1122) may obtain second result data based on at least one first result data. For example, the status diagnosis module (1122) may analyze the history of diagnosing the status of a home appliance using at least one first result data, thereby generating second result data including a result of comprehensively determining the status of the home appliance.

[0243] In one embodiment, a home appliance may transmit status-related data to an external electronic device (e.g., a server) via a communication module. The external electronic device to which the status-related data is transmitted may be, for example, a server to which the home appliance is registered. The status-related data may include diagnostic result data.

[0244] According to one embodiment, when the status-related data transmitted to the external electronic device includes diagnostic result data, the external electronic device can update status information of the home appliance based on the diagnostic result data.

[0245] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a main processing module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0246] The main processing module (420b) of the embodiment of FIG. 12 may be an example of the main processing module (420) of FIG. 4.

[0247] Referring to FIG. 12, the main processing module (420b) may include a feature extraction module (1221). Unlike the main processing module (420a) of FIG. 11, the main processing module (420b) of FIG. 12 does not include a status diagnosis module. Therefore, the same processing as that performed by the status diagnosis module (1122) of FIG. 11 may be performed by an external electronic device (e.g., a server).

[0248] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420b) can obtain a third sound signal. For example, the main processing module (420b) can receive a third sound signal generated by a pre-processing module (e.g., the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4, the pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, the pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, or the pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7) from the pre-processing module. The generation of the third sound signal by the pre-processing module can be described, for example, with reference to the descriptions of FIGS. 4 to 7.

[0249] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420b) may obtain data (hereinafter referred to as “state-related data”) related to the state of a home appliance (e.g., the home appliance (400) of FIG. 4, the home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, the home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, or the home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10) based on the third sound signal. For example, the main processing module (420b) may generate the state-related data using the third sound signal of at least one time step.

[0250] According to one embodiment, the status-related data may include feature data for diagnosing the status of the home appliance. The feature data may include, for example, the value of at least one feature used for diagnosing the status of the home appliance.

[0251] According to one embodiment, the feature extraction module (1221) may obtain at least one feature data based on at least one third sound signal. For example, the feature extraction module (1221) may generate feature data for each time step using the value of the third sound signal for each time step.

[0252] In one embodiment, a home appliance may transmit status-related data to an external electronic device (e.g., a server) via a communication module. The external electronic device to which the status-related data is transmitted may be, for example, a server to which the home appliance is registered. The status-related data may include characteristic data.

[0253] According to one embodiment, if the status-related data transmitted to the external electronic device includes characteristic data, the external electronic device can obtain diagnostic result data based on the characteristic data. In this case, the main processing module (420b) may transmit the characteristic data itself to the external electronic device without performing an operation of obtaining diagnostic result data based on the aforementioned characteristic data, and the external electronic device can obtain diagnostic result data based on the received characteristic data. The external electronic device can update the status information of the home appliance based on the diagnostic result data.

[0254] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0255] According to one embodiment, a home appliance (e.g., home appliance (400) of FIG. 4, home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, or home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10) may include a sensor assembly (e.g., sensor assembly (800) of FIG. 8, sensor assembly (900) of FIG. 9, or sensor assembly (1000) of FIG. 10) including a first sensor and a second sensor, a memory including at least one instruction, and / or at least one processor including a processing circuit.

[0256] Referring to FIG. 13, in operation 13010, the home appliance can obtain a first sound signal including a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside (or an internal space) of the home appliance and a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside of the home appliance by using a first sensor (e.g., the first sensor (401) of FIG. 4, the first sensor (810) of FIG. 8, the first sensor (910) of FIG. 9, or the first sensor (1010) of FIG. 10).

[0257] In operation 13020, the appliance may obtain a second sound signal using a second sensor (e.g., the second sensor (402) of FIG. 4, the second sensor (820) of FIG. 8, the second sensor (920) of FIG. 9, or the second sensor (1020) of FIG. 10).

[0258] In one embodiment, the second sound signal may be correlated with a signal corresponding to an external sound of the home appliance included in the first sound signal. For example, the second sound signal may include a signal corresponding to an external sound generated by the same sound source as the sound source of the signal corresponding to the external sound of the home appliance included in the first sound signal. The signal corresponding to the external sound generated by the sound source may reach the second sensor before the first sensor and may have a higher signal strength (or intensity).

[0259] According to one embodiment, the first sensor may be positioned adjacent to the other end of a first passage (e.g., the first passage (811) of FIG. 8 or the first passage (911) of FIG. 9) having one end open toward the interior of the appliance, and the second sensor may be positioned adjacent to the other end of a second passage (e.g., the second passage (821) of FIG. 8 or the second passage (921) of FIG. 9) having one end open toward the exterior of the appliance.

[0260] According to one embodiment, the first sensor is positioned adjacent to the other end of a first passage (e.g., the first passage (1011) of FIG. 10) having one end open toward a boundary space between the inside and the outside of the appliance, and the second sensor is positioned adjacent to the other end of a second passage (e.g., the second passage (1021) of FIG. 10) having one end open toward the boundary space, and the first passage may be positioned closer to the inside of the appliance than the second passage.

[0261] In operation 13030, the home appliance may perform pre-processing on the first sound signal and the second sound signal using an adaptive filter (e.g., the adaptive filter (512) of FIG. 5, the adaptive filter (612) of FIG. 6, or the adaptive filter (712) of FIG. 7) to generate a third sound signal.

[0262] According to one embodiment, the pre-processing operation for the first sound signal and the second sound signal using an adaptive filter may include, for example, a pre-processing operation by the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4, a pre-processing operation by the pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, a pre-processing operation by the pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, or a pre-processing operation by the pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7.

[0263] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter may be updated using a set adaptation algorithm based on the third sound signal and the second sound signal. The filter coefficients of the adaptive filter may converge to the value of the transfer function exemplified in the above-described mathematical expression 6. The filter coefficients (W) of the adaptive filter may be updated, for example, so as to minimize the correlation between the second sound signal and the third sound signal.

[0264] In one embodiment, the adaptive filter may be an FIR filter and the adaptive algorithm may be an LMS algorithm.

[0265] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter can be updated using the above-described mathematical expressions 5, 8, or 10.

[0266] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly is disposed inside the housing and may include a first printed circuit board (e.g., printed circuit board (830) of FIG. 8, printed circuit board (930) of FIG. 9, or printed circuit board (1030) of FIG. 10) on which the first sensor and the second sensor are disposed.

[0267] According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may include at least one first processor (e.g., a pre-processing processor implementing a pre-processing module (410, 410a, 410b, 410c)) disposed on a first printed circuit board and at least one second processor (e.g., a main-processing processor implementing a main-processing module (420, 420a, 420b, 420c)) disposed on a second printed circuit board disposed external to the sensor assembly.

[0268] According to one embodiment, the third sound signal is generated by the first processor and transmitted to the second processor, while the first sound signal and the second sound signal may not be transmitted to the second processor. In this way, only the third sound signal with external sound signals related to the user's private life removed or reduced is transmitted to the second processor, and the first sound signal and the second sound signal including external sound signals related to the user's private life are not transmitted to the second processor, so the user's privacy can be guaranteed.

[0269] In operation 13040, the home appliance can obtain data related to the state of the home appliance (state-related data) based on the third sound signal.

[0270] According to one embodiment, the status-related data may include feature data for diagnosing the status of the home appliance and / or diagnostic result data obtained based on the feature data. The feature data may, for example, include the value of at least one feature used for diagnosing the status of the home appliance. The diagnostic result data may, for example, include first result data including the result of diagnosing the status of the home appliance based on the feature data and / or second result data including the result of comprehensively determining the status of the home appliance based on the first result data.

[0271] In one embodiment, the home appliance may transmit status-related data to an external electronic device (e.g., a server) via a communication module (e.g., a wireless communication module). The external electronic device to which the status-related data is transmitted may be, for example, a server to which the home appliance is registered.

[0272] In one embodiment, a communication module for communication with an external electronic device may be disposed on a second printed circuit board located externally of the sensor assembly. The first printed circuit board may not include a communication module for communication with an external electronic device. This prevents the first sound signal and the second sound signal, which include external sound signals related to the user's privacy, from being exposed to the outside.

[0273] According to one embodiment, if the status-related data transmitted to the external electronic device includes characteristic data, the external electronic device may obtain diagnostic result data based on the characteristic data. In this case, the home appliance may transmit the characteristic data itself to the external electronic device without performing an operation to obtain diagnostic result data based on the characteristic data, and the external electronic device may obtain diagnostic result data based on the received characteristic data. The external electronic device may update the status information of the home appliance based on the diagnostic result data.

[0274] According to one embodiment, when the status-related data transmitted to the external electronic device includes diagnostic result data, the external electronic device can update status information of the home appliance based on the diagnostic result data.

[0275] FIG. 14 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a procedure for diagnosing the status of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0276] According to one embodiment, a home appliance (400) (e.g., a home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, a home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, or a home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10) may include a pre-processing module (410) (e.g., a pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, a pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, or a pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7) and a main-processing module (420) (e.g., a main-processing module (420a) of FIG. 5, a main-processing module (420b) of FIG. 6, or a main-processing module (420c) of FIG. 7).

[0277] Referring to FIG. 14, at operation 14010, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing start trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) that triggers the initiation of a pre-processing operation.

[0278] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing start trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) when the operation of the home appliance (400) begins, or when a set specific condition is satisfied. For example, when the home appliance (400) is a washing machine, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing start trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) when the spin-drying operation of the washing machine begins, or when a set time elapses after the spin-drying operation begins.

[0279] In operation 14020, the pre-processing module (410) may initiate a pre-processing operation in response to receiving a pre-processing initiation trigger signal. In one embodiment, the pre-processing operation may include at least one operation for generating a third sound signal based on the first sound signal and the second sound signal using an adaptive filter. For a description of the pre-processing operation, reference may be made to the descriptions described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

[0280] In operation 14030, the pre-processing module (410) may transmit at least one third sound signal to the main processing module. According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) may perform a pre-processing operation at each time step and transmit each third sound signal obtained to the main processing module (420). The main processing module (420) may store the received third sound signal.

[0281] At operation 14040, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing end trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) that triggers the end of the pre-processing operation.

[0282] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing end trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) when the operation of the home appliance (400) is terminated or when a set specific condition is satisfied. For example, when the home appliance (400) is a washing machine, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing end trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) when the spin-drying operation of the washing machine is terminated or when a set time has elapsed since the spin-drying operation began.

[0283] At operation 14050, the pre-processing module (410) may terminate the pre-processing operation in response to receiving a pre-processing end trigger signal.

[0284] In operation 14060, the main processing module (420) may obtain feature data based on data of the third sound signal. In operation 14070, the main processing module (420) may obtain first result data based on the feature data. In operation 14080, the main processing module (420) may obtain second result data based on the first result data. For a description of the operation of the main processing module (420) to obtain feature data, first result data, and / or second result data, reference may be made to the descriptions of FIGS. 4, 11, and 12.

[0285] At operation 14090, the main processing module (420) can transmit diagnostic result data to the server.

[0286] According to one embodiment, the diagnostic result data may include, for example, first result data including a result of diagnosing the condition of the home appliance based on feature data and / or second result data including a result of comprehensively determining the condition of the home appliance based on the first result data.

[0287] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may determine whether there is a problem with the home appliance (400) based on the first result data and / or the second result data, and if the home appliance (400) is identified as having a problem, the main processing module (420) may transmit the diagnostic result data to the server (401). If the main processing module (420) is identified as having no problem with the home appliance, the main processing module (420) may not transmit the diagnostic result data to the server (401).

[0288] In operation 14100, the server (401) may update status information of the home appliance (400) in response to receiving diagnostic result data.

[0289] According to one embodiment, the server (401) may be a server where a home appliance (400) is registered.

[0290] According to one embodiment, the server (401) can store updated status information of the home appliance (400) in association with account information of the user of the home appliance (400).

[0291] In one embodiment, if a fault is identified in a home appliance (400), the server (401) may transmit status information about the home appliance to a server associated with a service center responsible for repairing the home appliance. This allows for prompt reception for repair of the faulty home appliance (400).

[0292] FIG. 15 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a procedure for diagnosing the status of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0293] In the embodiment of FIG. 15, unlike the embodiment of FIG. 14 in which the diagnostic result data is generated by the home appliance (400), the diagnostic result data can be generated by the server (401).

[0294] According to one embodiment, a home appliance (400) (e.g., a home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, a home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, or a home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10) may include a pre-processing module (410) (e.g., a pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, a pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, or a pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7) and a main-processing module (420) (e.g., a main-processing module (420a) of FIG. 5, a main-processing module (420b) of FIG. 6, or a main-processing module (420c) of FIG. 7).

[0295] Referring to FIG. 15, at operation 15010, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing start trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) that triggers the initiation of a pre-processing operation.

[0296] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing start trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) when the operation of the home appliance (400) begins, or when a set specific condition is satisfied. For example, when the home appliance (400) is a washing machine, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing start trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) when the spin-drying operation of the washing machine begins, or when a set time elapses after the spin-drying operation begins.

[0297] In operation 15020, the pre-processing module (410) may initiate a pre-processing operation in response to receiving a pre-processing initiation trigger signal. In one embodiment, the pre-processing operation may include at least one operation for generating a third sound signal based on the first sound signal and the second sound signal using an adaptive filter. For a description of the pre-processing operation, reference may be made to the descriptions described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

[0298] In operation 15030, the pre-processing module (410) may transmit at least one third sound signal to the main processing module. According to one embodiment, the pre-processing module (410) may perform a pre-processing operation at each time step and transmit each third sound signal obtained to the main processing module (420). The main processing module (420) may store data of the received third sound signal.

[0299] In operation 15040, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing end trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) that triggers the end of the pre-processing operation.

[0300] According to one embodiment, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing end trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) when the operation of the home appliance (400) is terminated or when a set specific condition is satisfied. For example, when the home appliance (400) is a washing machine, the main processing module (420) may transmit a pre-processing end trigger signal to the pre-processing module (410) when the spin-drying operation of the washing machine is terminated or when a set time has elapsed since the spin-drying operation began.

[0301] In operation 15050, the pre-processing module (410) may terminate the pre-processing operation in response to receiving a pre-processing termination trigger signal.

[0302] In operation 15060, the main processing module (420) may acquire feature data based on the data of the third sound signal. As such, in the embodiment of FIG. 15, unlike the embodiment of FIG. 14, the home appliance (400) does not perform an operation of generating diagnostic result data based on the feature data. For example, the home appliance (or the main processing module of the home appliance) may be a device that does not have high computing capabilities. In this case, it may be burdensome for the home appliance to generate diagnostic result data based on the feature data, for example, through inference using a learned AI model. Therefore, the home appliance may transmit the feature data itself to the server through operation 15070 below, thereby allowing the server (401) that has higher computing capabilities than the home appliance to generate diagnostic result data based on the feature data.

[0303] In operation 15070, the main processing module (420) may transmit feature data to a server (401). In one embodiment, the server (401) may be a server where a home appliance is registered.

[0304] In operation 15080, the server (401) may obtain first result data based on the feature data. In operation 15090, the server (401) may obtain second result data based on the first result data. The operation of the server (401) for obtaining the first result data and / or the second result data may be substantially the same as the operation of the main processing module (420, 420a) of FIG. 4 and FIG. 11 for obtaining the first result data and / or the second result data. For example, the operation of the server (401) for obtaining the first result data and / or the second result data may be substantially the same as the operation of the status diagnosis module (1122) of the main processing module (420a) of FIG. 11.

[0305] In operation 15100, the server (401) can update status information of the home appliance (400) based on the first result data and / or the second result data.

[0306] According to one embodiment, the server (401) can store updated status information of the home appliance in association with account information of the user of the home appliance (400).

[0307] In one embodiment, if a fault is identified in a home appliance (400), the server (401) may transmit status information about the home appliance to a server associated with a service center responsible for repairing the home appliance. This allows for prompt reception for repair of the faulty home appliance (400).

[0308] FIG. 16 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a pre-processing procedure of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0309] According to one embodiment, a home appliance (1600) (e.g., home appliance (400) of FIG. 4, home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, or home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10) may include a sensor assembly (e.g., sensor assembly (800) of FIG. 8, sensor assembly (900) of FIG. 9, or sensor assembly (1000) of FIG. 10) comprising a first sensor, a second sensor, and a pre-processing module. The sensor assembly may perform the pre-processing procedure of FIG. 16.

[0310] Referring to FIG. 16, in operation 16010, a pre-processing module (1630) (e.g., a pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4, a pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, a pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, or a pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7) may transmit a sound measurement initiation trigger signal that triggers initiation of sound measurement to a first sensor (1610) (e.g., a first sensor (401) of FIG. 4, a first sensor (810) of FIG. 8, a first sensor (910) of FIG. 9, or a first sensor (1010) of FIG. 10) and a second sensor (1620) (e.g., a second sensor (402) of FIG. 4, a second sensor (820) of FIG. 8, a second sensor (920) of FIG. 9, or a second sensor (1020) of FIG. 10).

[0311] In operation 16021, the first sensor (1610) may sample a first sound signal including an operating sound signal generated inside (or inside space) of the home appliance (1600) based on receiving a sound measurement initiation trigger signal. According to one embodiment, the first sensor (1610) may sample the first sound signal at a set sampling cycle.

[0312] In operation 16022, the second sensor (1620) may sample a second sound signal including an external sound signal generated outside (or in an external space) of the home appliance (1600) based on the reception of a sound measurement initiation trigger signal. According to one embodiment, the second sensor (1620) may sample the second sound signal at a set sampling cycle. Operations 16021 and 16022 may be performed in parallel or together.

[0313] According to one embodiment, the sampling start time and sampling period for sampling the first sound signal may be the same as the sampling start time and sampling period for sampling the second sound signal.

[0314] In operation 16031, the first sensor (1610) may transmit data of a first sound signal acquired through the operating sound sampling operation of operation 16021 to the pre-processing module (1630). In operation 16032, the second sensor (1620) may transmit data of a second sound signal acquired through the external sound sampling operation of operation 16022 to the pre-processing module (1630). Operations 16031 and 16032 may be performed in parallel or together.

[0315] In operation 16040, the pre-processing module (1630) may perform pre-processing on the first sound signal and the second sound signal using an adaptive filter (e.g., the adaptive filter (512) of FIG. 5, the adaptive filter (612) of FIG. 6, or the adaptive filter (712) of FIG. 7) to obtain a third sound signal. For a description of the pre-processing operation for obtaining the third sound signal, reference may be made to the descriptions given above in FIGS. 4 to 7 or the descriptions given later in FIGS. 17 to 18.

[0316] In operation 16050, the pre-processing module (1630) may update the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter. According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter may be updated using the above-described mathematical expressions 5, 8, or 10.

[0317] In operation 16060, the pre-processing module (1630) may transmit the third sound signal to the main processing module (e.g., the main processing module (420) of FIG. 4, the main processing module (420a) of FIG. 5, the main processing module (420b) of FIG. 6, or the main processing module (420c) of FIG. 7). Depending on the embodiment, operation 16060 may be performed in parallel with or together with operation 16050, or may be performed before operation 16050.

[0318] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a pre-processing operation of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0319] The pre-processing operation of the home appliance of FIG. 17 (e.g., the home appliance (400) of FIG. 4, the home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, the home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, the home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10, or the home appliance (1600) of FIG. 16) may be performed, for example, by the pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5. For a description of the pre-processing operation of FIG. 17, reference may be made to the description of the pre-processing operation by the pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5.

[0320] According to one embodiment, the home appliance may obtain a first sound signal using a first sensor (e.g., a first sensor (401) of FIG. 4, a first sensor (810) of FIG. 8, a first sensor (910) of FIG. 9, a first sensor (1010) of FIG. 10, or a first sensor (1610) of FIG. 16) and obtain a second sound signal using a second sensor (e.g., a second sensor (402) of FIG. 4, a second sensor (820) of FIG. 8, a second sensor (920) of FIG. 9, a second sensor (1020) of FIG. 10, or a second sensor (1620) of FIG. 16).

[0321] Referring to FIG. 17, in operation 17010, the home appliance can pre-filter a first sound signal using a pre-filter to obtain (or generate) a pre-filtered first sound signal.

[0322] In operation 17020, the appliance can obtain (or generate) a fourth sound signal using the pre-filtered first sound signal and the second sound signal.

[0323] In operation 17030, the home appliance can filter the fourth sound signal using an adaptive filter to generate a filtered fourth sound signal.

[0324] In operation 17040, the appliance can generate a third sound signal using the first sound signal and the filtered fourth sound signal.

[0325] FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a pre-processing operation of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0326] The pre-processing operation of the home appliance of FIG. 18 (e.g., the home appliance (400) of FIG. 4, the home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, the home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, the home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10, or the home appliance (1600) of FIG. 16) may be performed, for example, by the pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6. For a description of the pre-processing operation of FIG. 18, reference may be made to the description of the pre-processing operation by the pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6.

[0327] According to one embodiment, the home appliance may obtain a first sound signal using a first sensor (e.g., a first sensor (401) of FIG. 4, a first sensor (810) of FIG. 8, a first sensor (910) of FIG. 9, a first sensor (1010) of FIG. 10, or a first sensor (1610) of FIG. 16) and obtain a second sound signal using a second sensor (e.g., a second sensor (402) of FIG. 4, a second sensor (820) of FIG. 8, a second sensor (920) of FIG. 9, a second sensor (1020) of FIG. 10, or a second sensor (1620) of FIG. 16).

[0328] Referring to FIG. 18, in operation 18010, the home appliance can pre-filter a first sound signal using a first pre-filter to obtain a pre-filtered first sound signal.

[0329] In operation 18020, the home appliance can pre-filter a second sound signal using a second pre-filter to generate a pre-filtered second sound signal.

[0330] In operation 18030, the home appliance may filter the pre-filtered second sound signal using an adaptive filter to generate a filtered second sound signal. Operations 18010 and operations 18020 / 18030 may be performed in parallel or together.

[0331] In operation 18040, the appliance can generate a third sound signal using the pre-filtered first sound signal and the filtered second sound signal.

[0332] FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0333] Referring to FIG. 19, a home appliance (1900) (e.g., a home appliance (400) of FIG. 4, a home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, a home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, a home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10, or a home appliance (1600) of FIG. 16) may include a memory (1910), at least one processor (1920), a transceiver (or communication module) (1930), and / or at least one sensor (1940). In one example, the home appliance (1900) may include additional components (e.g., a display, an audio output unit (or speaker), or a communication interface for communicating with a remote control) in addition to the illustrated components, or may omit at least one of the illustrated components.

[0334] According to one embodiment, the memory (1910) may store various information or data related to the operation of the home appliance (1900). For example, the memory (1910) may include one or more storage media storing at least one instruction. For example, the memory (1910) may include first instructions that, when individually or collectively executed by at least one processor (1920), cause the home appliance (1900) to perform operation(s) of a pre-processing module (e.g., the pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4, the pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, the pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, the pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7, or the pre-processing module (1630) of FIG. 16). For example, the memory (1910) may include second instructions that, when individually or collectively executed by at least one processor (1920), cause the appliance (1900) to perform operations(es) of a main processing module (e.g., the main processing module (420) of FIG. 4 , the main processing module (420a) of FIG. 11 , or the main processing module (420b) of FIG. 12 ). For example, the memory (1910) may include the first instructions and the second instructions described above.

[0335] According to one embodiment, at least one processor (1920) may be electrically or operatively connected to the memory (1910), the transceiver (1930), and at least one sensor (1940). The at least one processor (1920) may include processing circuitry that executes at least one instruction stored in the memory (1910).

[0336] According to one embodiment, at least one processor (1920) may include various processing circuits and / or multiple processors. One or more of the at least one processor (1920) may be individually and / or collectively configured to perform various functions described herein. In this disclosure, when "a processor," "at least one processor," and "one or more processors" are described as being configured to perform numerous functions, these terms encompass, for example, but are not limited to, a situation where one processor performs some of the recited functions and other processor(s) perform other parts of the recited functions, and also encompass a situation where a single processor can perform all of the recited functions. Additionally, the at least one processor (1920) may include a combination of processors that perform the various recited / disclosed functions, for example, in a distributed manner. At least one processor (1920) can execute program instructions to accomplish or perform various functions.

[0337] According to one embodiment, at least one processor (1920) may include at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), an application processor (AP), a communication processor (CP), a system on chip (SoC), or an integrated circuit (IC), a sensor hub, a supplementary processor, a communication processor, an application processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and may have multiple cores.

[0338] According to one embodiment, at least one processor (1920) may include at least one first processor (pre-processing processor) for implementing a pre-processing module (e.g., pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4, pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7, or pre-processing module (1630) of FIG. 16)) and / or at least one second processor (main processing processor) for implementing a main processing module (e.g., main processing module (420) of FIG. 4, main processing module (420a) of FIG. 11, or main processing module (420b) of FIG. 12).

[0339] According to one embodiment, the transceiver (1930) may support wired or wireless communication between the home appliance (1900) and an external electronic device (e.g., the server (401) of FIGS. 14 and 15, the server (2000) of FIG. 20). The wireless communication method may include, for example, the LTE method, the 5G NR method, the Wi-Fi method, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, the Infrared Data Association (IrDA), the Ultra Wide Band (UWB), and the Near Field Communication (NFC).

[0340] According to one embodiment, at least one sensor (1940) can detect an operating state (e.g., power or temperature) of the home appliance (1900) or an external environmental state (e.g., user state) and generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. The at least one sensor (1940) can include, for example, a sound sensor, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an IR (infrared) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

[0341] According to one embodiment, at least one sensor (1940) may include a first sensor (e.g., the first sensor (401) of FIG. 4, the first sensor (810) of FIG. 8, the first sensor (910) of FIG. 9, the first sensor (1010) of FIG. 10, or the first sensor (1610) of FIG. 16) for detecting and / or measuring sound and a second sensor (e.g., the second sensor (402) of FIG. 4, the second sensor (820) of FIG. 8, the second sensor (920) of FIG. 9, the second sensor (1020) of FIG. 10, or the second sensor (1620) of FIG. 16)).

[0342] FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a server according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0343] Referring to FIG. 20, a server (2000) (e.g., server (401) of FIGS. 14 and 15) may include a memory (2010), at least one processor (2020), and / or a transceiver (or communication module) (2030). In one example, the server (2000) may include additional components (e.g., a display, an audio output unit (or speaker), or a communication interface for communicating with a remote control) in addition to the illustrated components, or may omit at least one of the illustrated components.

[0344] According to one embodiment, the memory (2010) may store various information or data related to the operation of the server (2000). For example, the memory (2010) may include one or more storage media storing at least one instruction. For example, the memory (2010) may include instructions that, when individually or collectively executed by at least one processor (2020), cause the server (2000) to perform an operation(s).

[0345] According to one embodiment, at least one processor (2020) may be electrically or operatively connected to the memory (2010) and the transceiver (2030). The at least one processor (2020) may include processing circuitry that executes at least one instruction stored in the memory (2010).

[0346] According to one embodiment, at least one processor (2020) may include various processing circuits and / or multiple processors. One or more of the at least one processor (2020) may be individually and / or collectively configured to perform various functions described herein. In this disclosure, when "a processor," "at least one processor," and "one or more processors" are described as being configured to perform multiple functions, these terms encompass, for example, but are not limited to, a situation where one processor performs some of the recited functions, other processor(s) perform other parts of the recited functions, and also encompass a situation where a single processor can perform all of the recited functions. Additionally, the at least one processor (2020) may include a combination of processors that perform the various recited / disclosed functions, for example, in a distributed manner. The at least one processor (2020) may execute program instructions to achieve or perform various functions.

[0347] According to one embodiment, at least one processor (2020) may include at least one of a CPU, an NPU, a GPU, an MPU, an MCU, an AP, a CP, an SoC, an IC sensor hub, a coprocessor, a communication processor, an application processor, an ASIC, or an FPGA, and may have multiple cores.

[0348] According to one embodiment, the transceiver (2030) may support wired or wireless communication between the server (2000) and an external electronic device (e.g., a home appliance (1900)). The wireless communication method may include, for example, LTE, 5G NR, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), and Near Field Communication (NFC).

[0349] FIG. 21A illustrates the arrangement structure of a sensor assembly of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 21B is a front perspective view of the sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 21C is a rear perspective view of the sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0350] The sensor assembly (2100) of FIGS. 21a, 21b and 21c may be, for example, an example of the sensor assembly (800) of FIG. 8.

[0351] In the embodiment of FIG. 21a, the home appliance (21) (e.g., the home appliance (400) of FIG. 4, the home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8, the home appliance (400b) of FIG. 9, the home appliance (400c) of FIG. 10, the home appliance (1600) of FIG. 16, or the home appliance (1900) of FIG. 19) may be, for example, a washing machine having a closed internal space.

[0352] Referring to FIG. 21a, the sensor assembly (2100) can be placed inside the front upper portion (P1 portion) of the housing of the washing machine.

[0353] Referring to FIGS. 21b and 21c, the sensor assembly (2100) may include at least one first sensor (e.g., one first sensor (2110)), at least one second sensor (e.g., two second sensors (2120a, 2120b)), and / or a connector (2130).

[0354] According to one embodiment, the first sensor (2110), the second sensor (2120a, 2120b), and / or the connector (2130) may be disposed on a printed circuit board (e.g., printed circuit board (830) of FIG. 3, printed circuit board (930) of FIG. 9, or printed circuit board (1030) of FIG. 10) of the sensor assembly (2100).

[0355] According to one embodiment, the first sensor (2110) may be positioned adjacent to the other end of the first flow path (2111) having one end open toward the interior of the home appliance (21). According to one embodiment, the second sensor (2120a, 2120b) may be positioned adjacent to the other end of the second flow path (2122a, 2122b) having one end open toward the exterior of the home appliance (21). As illustrated in FIG. 21a, one end of the second flow path (2122a, 2122b) may correspond to an opening in the upper front portion of the housing of the washing machine.

[0356] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly (2100) can be connected to an external component of the sensor assembly (2130), such as a main processing module, via a connector (2130).

[0357] FIG. 22 illustrates a layout structure of a sensor assembly of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0358] The sensor assembly of FIG. 22 may be, for example, an example of the sensor assembly (900) of FIG. 9.

[0359] In the embodiment of FIG. 22, the home appliance (22) may be, for example, an air conditioner having an open internal space.

[0360] Referring to FIG. 22, the sensor assembly may be positioned inside the front upper portion (P2 portion) of the air conditioner housing. The structure of the sensor assembly may be, for example, the structure of the sensor assembly (2100) illustrated in FIGS. 21b and 21c.

[0361] FIG. 23 illustrates the results of comparing sound signals according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0362] The embodiment of FIG. 23 shows a comparison of a second sound signal (external sound signal) detected by a second sensor (e.g., a second sensor (820) of FIG. 8) in a home appliance having a closed internal space (e.g., a home appliance (400a) of FIG. 8 or a home appliance (21) of FIG. 21a) with a third sound signal pre-processed by a pre-processing module (e.g., a pre-processing module (410) of FIG. 4, a pre-processing module (410a) of FIG. 5, a pre-processing module (410b) of FIG. 6, or a pre-processing module (410c) of FIG. 7). Referring to FIG. 23, it can be confirmed that the external sound signal is removed or reduced in the pre-processed third sound signal.

[0363] FIG. 24 illustrates a signal spectrum according to the state of a home appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0364] Part (a) of Fig. 24 illustrates the signal spectrum of a sound signal when the home appliance is in a normal state, and part (b) of Fig. 24 illustrates the signal spectrum of a sound signal when the home appliance is in an abnormal state.

[0365] Part (c) of Fig. 24 illustrates the spectrum of a sound signal (i.e., a sound signal including external sound) that is not pre-processed by a pre-processing module (e.g., a pre-processing module (410) of Fig. 4, a pre-processing module (410a) of Fig. 5, a pre-processing module (410b) of Fig. 6, or a pre-processing module (410c) of Fig. 7) even though the home appliance is normal. In this case, as illustrated, the signal spectrum of the sound signal is similar to the spectrum of a signal in a state where the home appliance is abnormal due to external noise, even though the home appliance is normal. Therefore, when the state of the home appliance is diagnosed using the sound signal, the home appliance is misdiagnosed as being abnormal.

[0366] Part (d) of Fig. 24 illustrates the spectrum of a sound signal (i.e., a third sound signal with external sound filtered out) that has been pre-processed by a pre-processing module (e.g., a pre-processing module (410) of Fig. 4, a pre-processing module (410a) of Fig. 5, a pre-processing module (410b) of Fig. 6, or a pre-processing module (410c) of Fig. 7) when the home appliance is normal. In this case, as illustrated, the signal spectrum of the sound signal is similar to the spectrum of a signal when the home appliance is normal. Therefore, when the state of the home appliance is diagnosed using the sound signal, the home appliance is correctly diagnosed as being normal. In this way, when pre-processing of the pre-processing module is performed, a state diagnosis system that is robust to external noise can be implemented.

[0367] According to one embodiment, a home appliance may include a sensor assembly including a first sensor and a second sensor for detecting sound; a memory including at least one storage medium for storing instructions; and at least one processor including a processing circuit.

[0368] According to one embodiment, the at least one processor can obtain a first sound signal including a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside the home appliance and a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance using the first sensor.

[0369] In one embodiment, the at least one processor may obtain a second sound signal using the second sensor. The second sound signal may include a signal that is correlated with a signal corresponding to an external sound of the home appliance included in the first sound signal.

[0370] According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may perform pre-processing on the first sound signal and the second sound signal using an adaptive filter to generate a third sound signal.

[0371] According to one embodiment, the at least one processor can obtain data related to a state of the home appliance based on the third sound signal.

[0372] According to one embodiment, the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter may be updated using a preset adaptive algorithm based on the third sound signal and the second sound signal.

[0373] According to one embodiment, the first sensor may be positioned adjacent to the other end of a first passage, one end of which is open toward the interior of the appliance, and the second sensor may be positioned adjacent to the other end of a second passage, one end of which is open toward the exterior of the appliance.

[0374] According to one embodiment, the first sensor is disposed adjacent to the other end of a first passage, one end of which is open toward a boundary space between the interior and the exterior of the home appliance, and the second sensor is disposed adjacent to the other end of a second passage, one end of which is open toward the boundary space, wherein the first passage may be disposed closer to the interior of the home appliance than the second passage.

[0375] According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to pre-filter the first sound signal to generate a pre-filtered first sound signal, pre-filter the second sound signal to generate a pre-filtered second sound signal, filter the pre-filtered second sound signal using the adaptive filter to generate a filtered second sound signal, and generate the third sound signal based on the pre-filtered first sound signal and the filtered second sound signal.

[0376] According to one embodiment, the adaptive filter is a finite impulse response (FIR) filter, the adaptive algorithm is a least mean squared (LMS) algorithm, and the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter are updated by the following mathematical expression A:

[0377] [Mathematical Formula A]

[0378] w ← w - μxe

[0379] Here, w may be the filter coefficient, μ may be the step size of the adaptive filter, x may be the pre-filtered second sound signal, and e may be the third sound signal.

[0380] According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may pre-filter the first sound signal using a pre-filter to generate a pre-filtered first sound signal, generate a fourth sound signal using the pre-filtered first sound signal and the second sound signal, filter the fourth sound signal using the adaptive filter to generate a filtered fourth sound signal, and generate the third sound signal using the first sound signal and the filtered fourth sound signal.

[0381] According to one embodiment, the adaptive filter is an FIR filter, the adaptive algorithm is an LMS algorithm, and the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter are updated by the following mathematical expression B:

[0382] [Equation B]

[0383] w ← w - μze

[0384] Here, w may be the filter coefficient, μ may be the step size of the adaptive filter, z may be the fourth sound signal, and e may be the third sound signal.

[0385] According to one embodiment, the sensor assembly includes a housing and a first printed circuit board disposed inside the housing, the first sensor and the second sensor being disposed thereon, and the at least one processor includes a first processor disposed on the first printed circuit board and a second processor disposed on a second printed circuit board disposed outside the sensor assembly, wherein the third sound signal is generated by the first processor and transmitted to the second processor, and the first sound signal and the second sound signal may not be transmitted to the second processor.

[0386] According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may include data related to the state of the home appliance, including characteristic data for diagnosing the state of the home appliance or diagnostic result data obtained based on the characteristic data, and the diagnostic result data may include at least one of first result data including a result of diagnosing the state of the home appliance based on the characteristic data or second result data including a result of comprehensively judging the state of the home appliance based on the first result data.

[0387] According to one embodiment, the home appliance includes a transceiver, and the at least one processor transmits data related to a state of the home appliance to a server using the transceiver, and the server generates diagnostic result data based on the characteristic data when the data related to the state of the home appliance includes the characteristic data, updates status information of the home appliance based on the diagnostic result data, and updates status information of the home appliance based on the diagnostic result data when the data related to the state of the home appliance includes the diagnostic result data.

[0388] The various embodiments of this document and the terminology used therein are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutes of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar or related components. The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the items, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this document, each of the phrases "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", and "at least one of A, B, or C" can include any one of the items listed together in the corresponding phrase among those phrases, or all possible combinations thereof. Terms such as "first," "second," or "first" or "second" may be used merely to distinguish one component from another, and do not limit the components in any other respect (e.g., importance or order). When a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to as "coupled" or "connected" to another (e.g., a second component), with or without the terms "functionally" or "communicatively," it means that the component can be connected to the other component directly (e.g., wired), wirelessly, or through a third component.

[0389] The term "module" used in various embodiments of this document may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as logic, logic block, component, or circuit. A module may be an integral component, or a minimum unit or part of such a component that performs one or more functions. For example, according to one embodiment, a module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0390] According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include one or more entities, and some of the entities may be separated and placed in other components. According to various embodiments, one or more components or operations of the aforementioned components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., a module or a program) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components identically or similarly to those performed by the corresponding component among the plurality of components prior to the integration. According to various embodiments, the operations performed by a module, program, or other component may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

Claims

1. In home appliances, A first sensor for detecting sound; A second sensor for detecting sound; A memory including at least one storage medium storing instructions; and At least one processor comprising a processing circuit, At least one processor of the above: A first sound signal is obtained using the first sensor, and the first sound signal includes a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside the home appliance and a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance. Obtaining a second sound signal using the second sensor, wherein the second sound signal includes a signal having a correlation with a signal corresponding to an external sound generated from outside the home appliance included in the first sound signal, Generating a third sound signal by using an adaptive filter having an input based on at least one of the first sound signal and the second sound signal and performing processing on the first sound signal and the second sound signal, Based on the third sound signal, the device is configured to execute the commands to obtain data related to the status of the home appliance, A home appliance in which the filter coefficients of the adaptive filter are updated using an adaptive algorithm based on the third sound signal and the second sound signal.

2. In paragraph 1, The above appliance has a first passage that is open toward the inside of the appliance, and the first sensor is positioned adjacent to the other end of the first passage. A home appliance, wherein the home appliance has a second end that is open toward the outside of the home appliance, and the second sensor is disposed adjacent to the other end of the second end.

3. In paragraph 1 or 2, The above home appliance has a first passage that is open toward a boundary space between the inside and the outside of the home appliance, and the first sensor is arranged adjacent to the other end of the first passage, The above home appliance has a second end open toward the boundary space, and the second sensor is positioned adjacent to the other end of the second end. A home appliance wherein the first euro is closer to the interior of the home appliance than the second euro.

4. In the first paragraph, the at least one processor: Pre-filtering the first sound signal to generate a pre-filtered first sound signal, Pre-filtering the second sound signal to generate a pre-filtered second sound signal, Filtering the pre-filtered second sound signal using the adaptive filter to generate a filtered second sound signal, A home appliance configured to execute the commands to generate the third sound signal based on the pre-filtered first sound signal and the filtered second sound signal.

5. In the fourth paragraph, the adaptive filter is a FIR (finite impulse response) filter, and the adaptive algorithm is an LMS (least mean squared) algorithm. The filter coefficients of the above adaptive filter are updated by the following mathematical expression 1: [Mathematical Formula 1] w ← w - μxe Here, w is the filter coefficient, μ is the step size of the adaptive filter, x is the pre-filtered second sound signal, and e is the third sound signal, a home appliance.

6. In the first paragraph, the at least one processor: Pre-filtering the first sound signal using a pre-filter to generate a pre-filtered first sound signal, Generating a fourth sound signal using the pre-filtered first sound signal and the second sound signal, Filtering the fourth sound signal using the adaptive filter to generate a filtered fourth sound signal, A home appliance configured to execute the commands to generate the third sound signal using the first sound signal and the filtered fourth sound signal.

7. In the 6th paragraph, the adaptive filter is an FIR filter, and the adaptive algorithm is an LMS algorithm. The filter coefficients of the above adaptive filter are updated by the following mathematical expression 2: [Equation 2] w ← w - μze Here, w is the filter coefficient, μ is the step size of the adaptive filter, z is the fourth sound signal, and e is the third sound signal, a home appliance.

8. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 7, Further comprising a sensor assembly comprising a housing and a first printed circuit board within the housing, The first sensor and the second sensor are on the first printed circuit board, The at least one processor comprises a first processor on the first printed circuit board and a second processor on a second printed circuit board external to the sensor assembly, The third sound signal is generated by the first processor and transmitted to the second processor, A home appliance, wherein the first sound signal and the second sound signal are not transmitted to the second processor.

9. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 8, Data related to the status of the above home appliance includes characteristic data for diagnosing the status of the above home appliance or the diagnosis result data obtained based on the characteristic data, A home appliance, wherein the diagnostic result data includes at least one of first result data including a result of diagnosing the condition of the home appliance based on the characteristic data or second result data including a result of comprehensively judging the condition of the home appliance based on the first result data.

10. In the 9th paragraph, the home appliance includes a transceiver, At least one processor of the above: It is configured to execute the above commands to transmit data related to the status of the above home appliance to the server, The above server, If the data related to the status of the home appliance includes the characteristic data, diagnostic result data is generated based on the characteristic data, and status information of the home appliance is updated based on the diagnostic result data. A home appliance configured to update status information of the home appliance based on the diagnostic result data when data related to the status of the home appliance includes the diagnostic result data.

11. In a method of a home appliance, the home appliance includes a first sensor for detecting sound and a second sensor for detecting sound, and the method comprises: An operation of obtaining a first sound signal including a signal corresponding to an operating sound generated inside the home appliance and a signal corresponding to an external sound generated outside the home appliance using the first sensor; An operation of obtaining a second sound signal using the second sensor, wherein the second sound signal includes a signal having a correlation with a signal corresponding to an external sound generated from outside the home appliance included in the first sound signal; An operation of generating a third sound signal by using an adaptive filter having an input based on at least one of the first sound signal and the second sound signal and performing processing on the first sound signal and the second sound signal; and An operation for obtaining data related to the status of the home appliance based on the third sound signal, A method in which the filter coefficients of the above adaptive filter are updated using an adaptive algorithm based on the third sound signal and the second sound signal.

12. In paragraph 11, The above appliance has a first passage that is open toward the inside of the appliance, and the first sensor is positioned adjacent to the other end of the first passage. A method wherein the above-mentioned home appliance has a second end open toward the exterior of the home appliance, and the second sensor is disposed adjacent to the other end of the second end.

13. In paragraph 11 or 12, The above home appliance has a first passage that is open toward a boundary space between the inside and the outside of the home appliance, and the first sensor is arranged adjacent to the other end of the first passage, The above home appliance has a second end open toward the boundary space, and the second sensor is positioned adjacent to the other end of the second end. The method wherein the first euro is closer to the interior of the home appliance than the second euro.

14. In the 11th paragraph, the operation of generating the third sound signal is: An operation of pre-filtering the first sound signal to generate a pre-filtered first sound signal; An operation of pre-filtering the second sound signal to generate a pre-filtered second sound signal; An operation of filtering the pre-filtered second sound signal using the adaptive filter to generate a filtered second sound signal; and A method comprising an operation of generating the third sound signal based on the pre-filtered first sound signal and the filtered second sound signal.

15. In paragraph 14, the adaptive filter is an FIR filter, and the adaptive algorithm is an LMS algorithm. The filter coefficients of the above adaptive filter are updated by the following mathematical expression 1: [Mathematical Formula 1] w ← w - μxe Here, w is the filter coefficient, μ is the step size of the adaptive filter, x is the pre-filtered second sound signal, and e is the third sound signal.

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