Bistable Wake-Up Circuit for Low-Power Household Appliance Standby
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household appliances take considerable time to wake up from stand-by mode, causing user inconvenience and potential machine errors due to the slow power-up of control electronics, and existing solutions do not adequately address energy consumption and user interaction during this process.
Innovation Solution
A household appliance with an electronic control unit and two bistable circuits controlled by switches, allowing for efficient switching between stand-by and operating modes, enabling flexible wake-up options and optimized program execution upon activation, using a microcontroller to manage the power state and execute predefined programs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the electronic control unit is completely powered down in stand-by mode, then energy consumption is reduced, but the wake-up time increases and user convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into two parts: a fully powered-down section (electronic control unit) and a remain-active section (first bistable circuit and wake-up logic). This segmentation allows complete power cutoff to save energy while maintaining a minimal active circuitry that can immediately respond to wake-up signals, thus resolving the contradiction between energy savings and wake-up speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The first bistable circuit is pre-configured and remains in a ready state even when the main control unit is powered down. The circuit maintains its switching capability and can immediately transition to the operating state upon receiving a wake-up signal, eliminating the need for the entire system to power up from scratch and thus reducing wake-up time.
2Loss of time
If the electronic control unit remains powered in stand-by mode, then wake-up time is reduced, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts its power state based on operational needs. The electronic control unit alternates between fully powered-down (stand-by) and fully powered (operating) states, while the first bistable circuit maintains dynamic readiness. This dynamic approach optimizes the balance between energy consumption during stand-by and rapid response during operation.
3Device complexity
If a single switch controls stand-by wake-up, then device complexity is reduced, but operational flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The first bistable circuit serves multiple functions: it acts as a wake-up trigger, maintains system state memory, and enables conditional program execution. This multi-functionality allows the system to provide diverse wake-up options (immediate wake-up, delayed wake-up, program-specific wake-up) without proportionally increasing circuit complexity, as the same bistable circuit handles multiple control tasks.
Data Source
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Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a household appliance comprising an electronic control unit (15), power supply means (12, 13, 14) for the electronic control unit (15), a first bistable circuit (11), to which a first switch (S1) is connected which is adapted to switch the first bistable circuit (11) between a first stand-by mode, in which the electronic control unit (15) is not powered, and a second operating mode, in which the electronic control unit (15) is powered regularly to wake up from said first stand-by mode. In addition, the household appliance comprises a second bistable circuit (17), to which a second switch (S2) is connected which is adapted to switch the first bistable circuit (11) between the first stand-by mode and the second operating mode, and also adapted to switch the second bistable circuit (17) to a mode in which the second bistable circuit (17) outputs a signal (18) to the electronic control unit (15) to cause the execution of a predefined or preset program of the household appliance. The present invention also concerns a related electronic system employed in a household appliance.