Electronic household appliance with a control system

Abstract

An electronic household appliance with a control system (10) comprising several internal control units (12, 14) and a communication network (16) between the several internal control units (12, 14), characterized in that a selected internal control unit (12) of the several internal control units (12, 14), which contains a controller (18), is additionally provided with a communication device (24) which is designed for data communication with at least one external management unit (26, 28) without intermediate storage of the data to be communicated in the communication device (24), and in that the controller (18) of the selected internal control unit (12) is also designed for controlling data communication between the at least one external management unit (26, 28) and the several internal control units (12, 14) of the control system (10) via the communication device (24).that the communication device (24) has a communication module (30) with at least one module interface (32, 34) for data communication with the at least one external management unit (26, 28) and a connection interface (36) for data communication with the controller (18) of the selected internal control unit (12), that the selected internal control unit (12) is an operating device with an input device (40) and / or a display device (42) for a user of the household appliance, and that the controller (18) of the selected internal control unit (12) is configured to control the input device (40) and / or the display device (42) for an exchange of information concerning data communication via the communication device (24), wherein the controller (18) of the selected internal control unit (12) is a CPU or a microcontroller,and wherein the communication module (30) includes a CPU and non-volatile memory for internal control of the communication.

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic household appliance with a control system comprising several internal control units and a communication network between the several internal control units. Electronic household appliances are increasingly being networked with other household appliances, smart home systems, or the internet. This networking allows, for example, software updates to be transferred to the control units of the household appliances or usage data from the household appliances to be made available externally. EP 2 704 007 B1 discloses a household appliance with several updateable control units connected via an internal bus, wherein the household appliance is additionally equipped with an intelligent communication module for the purpose of a secure firmware update of the control units, which has a non-volatile memory for temporarily storing program update data and can retrieve the program update data from an external communication partner outside the household appliance. From DE 10 2011 087 777 A1, a household appliance is known with a control unit for controlling operating processes of the household appliance, with an internal communication bus to which the control unit is coupled for communication with at least one other component of the household appliance. The household appliance includes a USB device with a USB port to which an external device can be connected to the household appliance. The USB device is coupled to the communication bus. In DE 10 2016 223 950 A1, a household appliance is shown. This appliance has at least one electrically controllable functional element, at least one network interface for transmitting data over a network, and a conversion interface between the at least one functional element and the network interface for converting code received via the network interface into executable instructions for the at least one functional element. From DE 10 2011 017 631 A1, a household appliance is known that can be operated with a technical program to enable an independent program sequence of the household appliance initiated by arbitrary user input. During the program sequence, actuators of the household appliance, controlled by the program, allow an effect on a product to be treated, in particular by using at least one treatment agent that can be activated by at least one actuator. It is provided that at least a sub-section of the technical program can be loaded or installed by a user of the household appliance, and that the loadable technical program remains available until a certain number of program sequences have been completed or a predetermined period has elapsed. DE 10 2011 077 572 A1 discloses a method for operating a program-controlled household appliance, which includes a storage device in which at least two selectable operating programs for controlling the appliance's operating processes are stored, and a control device for executing the operating programs. A communication connection is established via the internet between the appliance's control device and a server located remotely from the appliance, whereby data relating to at least one operating program stored on the server for controlling the appliance's operating processes is transmitted to the appliance's control device via this communication connection. In DE 101 40 576 A1, a circuit arrangement with a control logic, an interface for connection to the device's internal bus and an interface for connection to the device's external bus, as well as a method for data transmission in such a circuit arrangement, is described. German patent application DE 10 2012 202 160 A1 discloses a household appliance with a communication module. The communication module is designed for communication with an external device and is coupled to an internal communication structure of the household appliance, wherein the internal communication structure has at least two different data transmission channels via which data communication between the communication module and at least one internal functional unit of the household appliance is possible. The purpose of the invention is to create an electronic household appliance with an improved control system and a simple design. This problem is solved by an electronic household appliance with the features of claim 1. Particularly advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims. The electronic household appliance of the invention comprises a control system with several internal control units and a communication network between these internal control units. According to the invention, it is proposed to provide a selected internal control unit, which contains a controller, with a communication device configured for data communication with at least one external management unit without intermediate storage of the data to be communicated. The controller of the selected internal control unit is also configured, according to the invention, to control data communication between the at least one external management unit and the several internal control units of the control system via the communication device. Since the additional communication device does not need to buffer the data to be communicated, and since the control of data communication between the at least one external management unit and the multiple internal control units of the control system is carried out via this communication device by controlling the selected internal control unit, a simple and cost-effective communication device can be used that can be integrated into or connected to an existing internal control unit of the household appliance. In particular, the communication device used according to the invention is not a standalone communication module with its own non-volatile memory and its own data communication control. Instead, the existing computing capacities and, if applicable, storage capacities of the selected internal control unit are used.According to the invention, non-volatile temporary storage of the data to be communicated in the communication device is neither possible nor intended. In this context, the terms internal and external refer to the household appliance. That is, the multiple internal control units are components of the control system in or on the household appliance, while the external control units are separate components outside the control system and outside the household appliance. The data to be communicated via the communication device includes, in particular, control program data and firmware updates for the internal control units, as well as usage data from these units. In this context, tunnels to the internal control units can also be established. Data streaming to or from internal control units is also conceivable, for example, if camera modules or video displays are integrated into the appliance. External management units include, in particular, the internet, cloud servers, central building control systems, service computers, smartphones, memory cards, USB flash drives, and the like. Depending on their design, these external management units can communicate wirelessly or via a wired connection with the communication device, or be directly connected to it. The communication network between the multiple internal control units of the control system can, in principle, be configured in any way. It preferably includes a bus system, a daisy-chain connection, multiple individual communication links in a star topology, multiple communication links in a tree topology, or combinations of the aforementioned options. Furthermore, the communication network can be implemented entirely or partially wired or wirelessly. The selected internal control unit is a CPU or a microcontroller. The selected internal control unit preferably also includes memory, preferably non-volatile memory, which is connected to the control unit. The other internal control units of the control system preferably, but not necessarily, each also include a control unit and, optionally, memory. Examples of electronic household appliances include cooktops, ovens, extractor hoods, dishwashers, laundry appliances (e.g., washing machines, dryers), refrigeration appliances (e.g., refrigerators, freezers), air conditioners, and the like. The internal control units of such electronic household appliances serve, for example, to control the various components of the appliance, such as pumps, heaters, cooling units, fans, etc., or act as operating devices or as the central control unit for the appliance. The communication device comprises a communication module with at least one module interface for data communication with the at least one external management unit and a connection interface for data communication with the controller of the selected internal control unit. This communication module preferably has at least one module interface for a wired (e.g., Ethernet) or wireless communication connection with an external management unit (e.g., via radio, Bluetooth, etc.) and / or at least one module interface for a direct connection to an external management unit (e.g., USB, memory card slot, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, the communication device may have at least one control interface for directly connecting the control of the selected internal control unit with an external management unit. For the selected internal control unit, an operating device with an input device and / or a display device for a user of the household appliance is chosen. The control unit with the highest computing power is preferred. In this case, the control of the selected internal control unit is designed to control the input device and / or the display device for information exchange regarding data communication via the communication device. The information exchange preferably includes displaying information regarding possible data communications (e.g., available software updates) and current data communications (e.g., status of the current data communication) via the display device to a user of the household appliance, and / or the input of control commands regarding data communications (e.g., starting available software updates, requesting available software updates, etc.) via the display device by a user of the household appliance. The communication module contains a CPU and non-volatile memory for internal communication control. The CPU and non-volatile memory are not used by the communication device to store data from an external communication unit. The above features and advantages of the invention, as well as others, will become clearer from the following description of preferred, non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings show, largely schematically: Fig. 1 the structure of a control system for a household appliance according to a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 the structure of a control system for a household appliance according to a second embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 3 the structure of a control system for a household appliance according to a third embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a control system according to the invention for an electronic household appliance. The control system 10 contains several internal control units 12, 14, one of which serves as the selected internal control unit 12, and the other internal control units are connected to this selected internal control unit 12 as submodules via a communication network 16. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the communication network 16 is a bus system, and some of the submodules 14 are connected in a tree structure. The bus system 16 can be wired or wireless, or partly wired and partly wireless. The selected internal control unit 12 contains, for example, a CPU as a controller 18 and a non-volatile memory 22 connected to this controller 18. The controller 18 has a network interface 20 for connection to the bus system 16. The selected internal control unit 12 is, for example, an operating device of the household appliance, which is equipped with an input device 40 and a display device 42. The input device 40 and the display device 42 are connected to the control unit 18. As shown in Fig. 1, the selected internal control unit 12 is also equipped with a communication device 24. The communication device 24 is preferably integrated into or connected to the control unit 12. The internal control units 12, 14 of the control system 10 can use this communication device 24 to communicate with external management units 26, 28, for example, to receive software updates or to provide usage data. For this purpose, the communication device 24 has a simple communication module 30, which has a module interface 32 for wireless communication with an external management unit 26 (e.g., internet, cloud, laptop with Bluetooth, etc.), a module interface 34 (e.g., USB port, memory card slot, etc.) for direct connection with an external management unit 28 (e.g., USB flash drive, SD memory card, laptop with USB cable, etc.), and a connection interface 36 (e.g., SDIO, SPI, I2C, UART, etc.) for connection with the controller 18. Furthermore, the communication device 24 shown in Fig. 1 has a control interface 38 (e.g., USB port, memory card slot, etc.) for direct connection of the controller 18 to an external management unit 28 (e.g., USB flash drive, SD memory card, laptop with USB cable, etc.).In other embodiments of the invention, only a part of these components 24, 38 of the communication device 24 or only a part of the module interfaces 32, 34 of the communication module 24 are present. Data communication between the internal control units 12, 14 and the external management units 26, 28 is controlled by the controller 18 of the selected internal control unit 12. Non-volatile temporary storage of the data to be communicated does not occur within the communication device 24 or in the memory 22 of the control unit 12. In the event of a power interruption during data communication via the communication device 24, the data communication must be restarted. If sufficient memory is available, the communicated data can also be temporarily stored, in whole or in part, in the memory 22 of the control unit 12. Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of a control system according to the invention for an electronic household appliance. The control system 10 of Fig. 2 differs from the first embodiment of Fig. 1 only in the design of the communication network 16. In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the communication network 16 is implemented in the form of a daisy-chain connection. Furthermore, the control system of Fig. 2 corresponds to that of the first embodiment, with some components of the selected internal control unit 12 being omitted in Fig. 2 for the sake of simplicity. Fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of a control system according to the invention for an electronic household appliance. The control system 10 of Fig. 3 differs from the first embodiment of Fig. 1 only in the design of the communication network 16. In the embodiment of Fig. 3, the communication network 16 is designed in a star shape. Furthermore, the control system of Fig. 3 corresponds to that of the first embodiment, with some components of the selected internal control unit 12 being omitted in Fig. 3 for the sake of simplicity.

Claims

An electronic household appliance with a control system (10) comprising several internal control units (12, 14) and a communication network (16) between the several internal control units (12, 14), characterized in that a selected internal control unit (12) of the several internal control units (12, 14), which contains a controller (18), is additionally provided with a communication device (24) which is designed for data communication with at least one external management unit (26, 28) without intermediate storage of the data to be communicated in the communication device (24), and that the controller (18) of the selected internal control unit (12) is also designed for controlling data communication between the at least one external management unit (26, 28) and the several internal control units (12, 14) of the control system (10) via the communication device (24).that the communication device (24) has a communication module (30) with at least one module interface (32, 34) for data communication with the at least one external management unit (26, 28) and a connection interface (36) for data communication with the controller (18) of the selected internal control unit (12), that the selected internal control unit (12) is an operating device with an input device (40) and / or a display device (42) for a user of the household appliance, and that the controller (18) of the selected internal control unit (12) is configured to control the input device (40) and / or the display device (42) for an exchange of information concerning data communication via the communication device (24), wherein the controller (18) of the selected internal control unit (12) is a CPU or a microcontroller,and wherein the communication module (30) includes a CPU and non-volatile memory for internal control of the communication. Household appliance according to claim 1, wherein the communication module (30) has at least one module interface (32) for wireless communication with an external management unit (26). Household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication module (30) has at least one module interface (34) for direct connection with an external management unit (28). Household appliance according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication device (24) has at least one control interface (38) for direct connection of the control (18) of the selected internal control unit (12) with an external management unit (28).

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