Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electrical device which is able to provide communication between its pieces.

Background of the Invention

Especially in the electrical devices which comprise more than one pieces, it is often needed to provide communication between these pieces. For example, in a coffee machine comprising a main body and a cooking chamber, the values sensed by the sensors inside the cooking chamber might be needed to be transferred to a control unit on the main body. Similarly, the commands of the control unit on the main body might be needed to be transferred to the actuators on the cooking chamber. In the state of the art, data communication might be achieved by mechanical contacts such as slipring. However, while washing the cooking chamber, moisture remains between the legs of these contacts, and it causes these contacts to rust or short circuit. For this, the data communication needs to be carried out such that it is not affected by external factors.

The German patent application numbered DE102010043858 in the state of the art discloses a hot beverage preparing apparatus wherein the data regarding the failures that might occur in the device are transmitted to an external device.

None of the documents in the state of the art disclose a solution as in the present application.

Short Description of the Invention The object of the present invention is to provide an electrical device which is able to provide communication between its pieces. Detailed Description of the Invention

The electrical device in order to fulfill the objects of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1. Is a view of the main body

Figure 2. Is a view of detail A

Figure 3. Is a view of the cooking chamber

Figure 4. A section view where the cooking chamber is placed in the main body

Elements shown in the figures are individually numbered, and the correspondence of these numbers are given as follows:

1. Electrical device

2. Main body

21. Receiver

22. Transmitter

23. Control unit

3. Cooking chamber

31. Sensor

32. Actuator

33. Receiver

34. Transmitter

35. Control unit The electrical device (1) which is able to provide communication between its pieces essentially comprises at least one main body (2), and at least one cooking chamber (3) suitable to be placed inside a housing located on the main body (2).

In an embodiment of the invention, the cooking chamber (3) comprises at least one transmitter (34) suitable for transmitting data to the main body (2), and at least one control unit (35) adapted to control at least said transmitter (34). In this embodiment, the main body (2) comprises at least one receiver (21) for receiving the data transmitted by the transmitter (34), and at least one control unit (23) adapted to process the data received by the receiver (21). In this embodiment, the receiver (21) of the main body (2), and the transmitter (34) of the cooking chamber (3) are located such that when the cooking chamber (3) is placed on the main body (2), the receiver (21) is able to receive the signals emitted by the transmitter (34). The control unit (35) could control the transmitter (34) such that it generates any analog or digital modulations known in the state of the art, such as amplitude modulation, on-off keying, frequency shift keying, or modulations that might be developed in the future, or the control unit (35) might as well be adapted to send data to the transmitter (34) adapted to generate the said modulations. The control unit (23) of the main body (2) is adapted to demodulate the said modulated data, or to receive data from the receiver (21) adapted to demodulate the said data. In this embodiment, the cooking chamber (3) comprises at least one sensor (31). Said sensor (31) can be a sensor which enables directly or indirectly measuring one or multiple physical parameters such as temperature, moisture or water level, however it is not limited to the abovementioned examples. The data supplied by the sensor (31) are processed by the control unit (35). The control unit (3) transmits the measurement data received from the sensor (31) to the main body (2) via the transmitter (34). The control unit (35) can transmit the said measurement values directly, or it might transmit a different dataset, which, it generates according to the said values. In an embodiment of the invention, the main body (2) comprises at least one transmitter (22) suitable for transmitting data to the cooking chamber (3), and at least one control unit (23) adapted to control at least said transmitter (22). In this embodiment, the cooking chamber (3) comprises at least one receiver (32) for receiving the data transmitted by the transmitter (22), at least one actuator (32), and at least one control unit (35) adapted to process the data received by the receiver (33), and to control the actuator (32) according to these data. In this embodiment, the transmitter (22) of the main body (2), and the receiver (33) of the cooking chamber (3) are located such that when the cooking chamber (3) is placed on the main body (2), the receiver (33) is able to receive the signals emitted by the transmitter (22). The control unit (23) could control the transmitter (22) such that it generates any analog or digital modulations known in the state of the art, such as amplitude modulation, on-off keying, frequency shift keying, or modulations that might be developed in the future, or the control unit (35) might as well be adapted to send data to the transmitter (22) adapted to generate the said modulations. The control unit (35) of the cooking chamber (3) is adapted to demodulate the said modulated data, or to receive data from the receiver (33) adapted to demodulate the said data.

Let us assume an electrical device (1) for preparing different beverages, as an example of this embodiment. Let there be buttons on the main body (2) of this electrical device (1) for selecting the type of the beverage to be prepared. Let the cooking chamber (3) have an actuator (32) which is a stirrer. In this application, when the user presses a button corresponding the beverage to be prepared, the control unit (23) drives the transmitter (22) so that it generates a data corresponding to the choice of the user. The receiver (33) of the cooking chamber (3) receives the signal produced by the transmitter (22). The control unit (35) interprets the signals received by the receiver (33), and thus, ascertains which beverage the user wants to prepare. By this, the control unit (35) might drive the actuator (32), which is a stirrer in this application, in different speeds, in a required way for the beverage selected by the user to be prepared. In another embodiment of the invention, the main body (2) comprises at least one transmitter (22) for transmitting data to the cooking chamber (3), and at least one receiver (21) for receiving data from the cooking chamber (3). In this embodiment, the cooking chamber comprises at least one transmitter (34) for transmitting data to the main body (2), and at least one receiver (33) for receiving data from the main body (2). In this embodiment, the data communication could be carried out bidirectionally. By this, the control unit (23) can receive the data provided by a sensor (31) of the cooking chamber (3), and thus receive feedback from the cooking chamber (3). In this embodiment, the receiver (21) of the main body (2), and the transmitter (34) of the cooking chamber (3) are located such that when the cooking chamber (3) is placed on the main body (2), the receiver (21) is able to receive the signals emitted by the transmitter (34). Similarly, the transmitter (22) of the main body (2), and the receiver (33) of the cooking chamber (3) are located such that when the cooking chamber (3) is placed on the main body (2), the receiver (33) is able to receive the signals emitted by the transmitter (22). The control units (23, 35) could control the transmitters (22, 34) such that it generates any analog or digital modulations known in the state of the art, such as amplitude modulation, on-off keying, frequency shift keying, or modulations that might be developed in the future, or the control units (23, 35) might as well be adapted to send data to the transmitter (22, 34) adapted to generate the said modulations. The control units (23, 35) are adapted to demodulate the said modulated data, or to receive data from a receiver (21, 33) adapted to demodulate the said data.

In an embodiment of the invention, the transmitters (22, 34) can be any light source emitting light at visible spectrum, infrared spectrum or ultraviolet spectrum. In this embodiment, the receivers (21, 33) are any receivers suitable for sensing the light emitted by the transmitters (22, 34). For example, in the case where infrared LEDs are used as transmitters (22, 34), the receivers (21, 33) can be any sensor for detecting infrared light beams. In another embodiment of the application, the transmitters (22, 34) can be radio transmitters suitable for emitting radio waves. In this embodiment, the receivers (21, 33) are any receivers suitable for receiving the radio waves emitted by the transmitters (22, 34).

In an embodiment of the invention, the modulating of the signals to be transmitted could also be realized by the transmitters (22, 34). In this embodiment, the demodulating of the signals received could also be realized by the receivers (21, 33).

In an embodiment of the invention, the main body (2) comprises at least one memory unit which is suitable for keeping the variables required to be used by the control unit (23) in order to decide which commands to send via the transmitter (22). In this memory unit, data including but not limited to the required temperature levels for a beverage to be prepared, stirring time of the beverage, stirring speed, stirring sequence etc. could be stored. By this, the same electrical device (1) could be used to prepare Turkish coffee, salep, or even boil egg. Surely, the foods and beverages that could be prepared by the inventive electrical device are not limited to these examples.

Among the actuators (32) that the cooking chamber (3) might comprise are heaters and stirrers, however the usable actuators are not limited to these. The actuators (32) could be controlled by the control unit (35). By this, a more sensitive control instead of on-off control could be achieved. For example, the actuator (32) which is a stirrer could be controlled by the control unit (35) via a motor driver. By this, the rotating speed of the stirrer could be controlled by the control unit (35) via signals such as Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). The working of other actuators (32) such as heaters could be controlled by the control unit (35) using similar interface circuits. By this, for example a food or beverage that requires to be kept in a low temperature for a time, and then requires to be cooked in a high temperature for a time could be prepared by the inventive electrical device (1). In the figures, the receivers (21, 33) and the transmitters (22, 34) are pictured at the bottom of the cooking chamber (3) and the corresponding surface of the main body

(2). This application is merely an example. The receivers (21, 33) and the transmitters (22, 34) could as well be located at the side wall of the cooking chamber

(3) and the inside wall of the main body (2). As long as each receiver (21, 33) could receive the data sent to them by the reciprocating transmitter (22, 34), the receivers (21, 33) and the transmitters (22, 34) could be located at any place. In an embodiment of the invention, the inventive electrical device (1) comprises at least one main body (2) and multiple cooking chambers (3) each of which could be controlled by the main body (2) separately or jointly. In this embodiment, each of the cooking chambers (3) might have different configurations. In this embodiment, the main body (2) might comprise one or more than one transmitter (22). By this, all cooking chambers (3) could be controlled via a single transmitter (22). As each of the cooking chambers (3) could be controlled separately in this embodiment, different types of beverages could be prepared simultaneously.