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EP-4332480-B1 - REFRIGERATOR AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

EP4332480B1EP 4332480 B1EP4332480 B1EP 4332480B1EP-4332480-B1

Inventors

  • LEE, Ikkyu
  • KIM, JAEMIN
  • WON, JAEYONG

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230803

Claims (12)

  1. A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet (10) defining a storage space (11); a door (20) configured to open and close the storage space (11); a microphone module (386) for receiving a user's voice; a speaker module (50) through which music is played; and a controller (38) configured to operate according to a user's voice command when the microphone module (386) receives the user's voice command in a state where music is playing, wherein the speaker module (50) is provided on one surface of a hinge cover (60) provided with hinge devices that rotatably mount the door (20) to the cabinet (10) on both sides, wherein the door (20) includes a door body (40); characterized in that the door (20) includes an opened upper surface and a door cover (46) covering the opened upper surface, wherein the microphone module (386) is mounted on the door cover (46) and wherein the door (20) further includes a panel assembly (30) mounted on the door body (40) to form a front surface of the door (20), wherein the panel assembly (30) includes a lighting device (36) to light the front surface of the door (20) in a preset color, and wherein when the user sets a set mode in which the color or brightness of the door changes in conjunction with the music being played, the controller (38) controls the lighting device (36) based on the set mode.
  2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the controller (38) controls the speaker module (50) to stop playing music or to lower the volume when the controller (38) is determined that the user's voice includes the trigger voice.
  3. The refrigerator of claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a communication portion (37), wherein the controller (38) is connected to a server (3) through the communication portion (37) to determine the user's voice command received from the microphone module (386).
  4. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the controller (38) controls the lighting device (36) to change the color or brightness of the front surface of the door (20) when the controller (38) determines that the user's voice includes the trigger voice.
  5. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the controller (38) controls the lighting device (36) so that the front surface of the door (20) shines in a color set by the user according to the user's voice command.
  6. The refrigerator of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a short-range communication portion (37a) configured to allow a remote device (2) to be connected to the speaker module (50), wherein the controller (38) controls the speaker module (50) to play music selected by a user through the remote device (2) through the short-range communication portion (37a).
  7. The refrigerator of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the door cover (46) includes: a cover portion (461) covering the opened upper surface of the door (20); and a module mounting portion (462) extending downward from the cover portion (461) and inserted into an inner space of the door (20), and wherein a processor module constituting the controller (38) is provided in the module mounting portion (462).
  8. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the processor module (38) is connected to the microphone module (386), the speaker module (50), and, if present, the lighting device (36).
  9. The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein the processor module (38) includes a voice recognition module (38a) configured to determine the received user's voice command.
  10. The refrigerator of claim 8 or 9, wherein the processor module (38) includes a short-range communication portion (37a) configured to connect to a remote device (2).
  11. A method for controlling a refrigerator which includes a cabinet (10) forming a storage space (11); a door (20) opening and closing the storage space (11), a microphone module (386) for receiving a user's voice and a speaker module (50) for playing music, wherein the door (20) includes an opened upper surface and a door cover (46) covering the opened upper surface, wherein the microphone module (386) is mounted on the door cover (46), wherein the speaker module (50) is provided on one surface of a hinge cover (60) provided with hinge devices that rotatably mount the door (20) to the cabinet (10) on both sides, wherein the door (20) includes a door body (40); and a panel assembly (30) mounted on the door body (40) to form a front surface of the door (20), wherein the panel assembly (30) includes a lighting device (36) to light the front surface of the door (20) in a preset color, and wherein when the user sets a set mode in which the color or brightness of the door changes in conjunction with the music being played, the controller (38) controls the lighting device (36) based on the set mode, the method comprising: controlling the speaker module (50) to play music; receiving a user's voice through the microphone module (386); controlling the speaker module (50) to stop music when the user's voice includes a trigger voice; receiving a user's voice command; controlling a refrigerator according to the received voice command; and controlling the speaker module (50) to play stopped music.
  12. The method for controlling a refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the controlling a refrigerator according to the received voice command controls a lighting device (36) to change the color of the door (20) to a color set by a user.

Description

The Background 1. The field The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator and a control method thereof. 2. Description of the related art Home appliances refer to devices that are mainly provided in the user's home to help with the user's housework, and include refrigerators, air conditioners, air purifiers, vacuum cleaners, cooking appliances, dishwashers, clothes care machines, washing machines, and the like. In general, a refrigerator is a home appliance equipped with a cooling device and capable of storing stored goods at a low temperature. Recently, refrigerators equipped with various additional functions for user convenience in addition to a cooling function according to various needs of users have been developed and released. For example, the refrigerator may be controlled according to a user's voice command or provide more diverse functions by communicating with an external device. For example, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0013555 discloses a refrigerator that controls a cooling device by recognizing a user's voice command. However, conventionally, when the speaker is in operation, the user's voice command is not recognized, so the user has to control the refrigerator in a different way, which is inconvenient. EP 3 546 869 A1 discloses a refrigerator that comprises a storage compartment configured to store food, a temperature detector configured to detect an internal temperature of the storage compartment, a cooler configured to supply cool air to the storage compartment, a microphone configured to receive a speech, a display configured to display information, at least one processor configured to be electrically connected to the temperature detector, the microphone, and the display; and a memory configured to be electrically connected to the at least one processor. JP 2021-181876 A discloses providing a refrigerator in which a rated current of a DC power circuit is small although a voice device is installed. The videos available under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQRnqvs3Pcs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COrSPprXwcEm, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UILsbxhCZvs also relate to the subject-matter of the present invention. The Summary An object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator and a home appliance capable of recognizing a user's voice command even when a speaker is in operation and performing an operation according to the voice command. The present invention is defined by independent claims 1 and 12; the dependent claims describe embodiments of the invention. The refrigerato of the present disclosure includes a cabinet forming storage spaces; a door opening and closing the storage space; a microphone module for receiving a user's voice; a speaker module through which music is played; and a controller; in which the controller operates according to the user's voice command when the microphone module receives a user's voice command in a state where music is playing. The controller may control the speaker module to stop playing music or to lower the volume when the controller is determined that the user's voice includes the trigger voice. The refrigerator may further include a communication portion, in which the controller is connected to a server through the communication portion to determine a user's voice command received from the microphone module. The door includes a door body; and a panel assembly mounted on the door body to form a front surface, and the panel assembly may include a lighting device to light the front surface of the door in a set color. The controller may control the lighting device to change the color or brightness of the front surface of the door when the controller determines that the user's voice includes the trigger voice. The controller may control the lighting device so that the front surface of the door shines in a color set by the user according to the user's voice command. The controller may control the lighting device so that the color or brightness of the front surface of the door is changed in conjunction with music played in the speaker module. The refrigerator may further include a short-range communication portion that allows a user's remote device to be connected to the speaker module, in which the controller may control a speaker module to play music selected by a user through a remote device through the short-range communication portion. The door includes an opened upper surface and a door cover covering the opened upper surface and the microphone module is mounted on the door cover, in which the door cover may include: a cover portion covering the opened upper surface; and a module mounting portion extending downward from the cover portion and inserted into the inner space of the door, and the processor module constituting the controller may be provided in the module mounting portion. The processor module may be connected to the microphone module, the speaker module, and the lighting device. The processor module may inclu