Software updates in smart home appliances

Abstract

A household appliance comprises: at least one processing unit (2; 2 '; 2 '') configured to store and execute the software subjected to the update; a software updater (11) configured to deliver at least one software package for software updates to the processing unit; and a broadcasting device (8), preferably a BLE beacon device, configured to wirelessly broadcast a signal that can be received by a mobile device (7) wherein the software updater is further configured to monitor the progress of the software update and to cause said broadcasting device to broadcast a signal containing information relating to said progress.

Description

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the technical field of household appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, etc., and in particular to smart household appliances, also known as network-connectable or Internet of Things (IoT) household appliances, i.e. household appliances or home appliances having a connection interface designed to allow the smart household appliances to be connected to a network or a mobile device (such as a smartphone or a tablet computer) in a wired or wireless manner.

[0002] In particular, the present invention relates to the updating / upgrading of software in household appliances and how to inform users of these household appliances about the progress of the software updating / upgrading operation. Background Art

[0003] As is known, home appliances are increasingly connected to the Internet every day to provide new services to customers. The added value that Internet connectivity brings to customers is the ability to keep home appliance software updated / upgraded to the latest version available.

[0004] For the purposes of the present invention, the term "software" is intended to generally cover both software aspects and firmware aspects. Furthermore, the term "update" in relation to software is intended to generally cover both enhancements to a current version of the software (commonly referred to as software updates) and replacement of a current version of the software with a new version (commonly referred to as software upgrades). Thus, when speaking of software updates for an appliance, this refers to updates and / or upgrades to the software and / or firmware of the appliance.

[0005] Furthermore, a household appliance is intended herein to be an appliance designed for use in a domestic environment, typically for assisting household functions such as cooking, cleaning, laundry and food preservation. Examples of household appliances are washing machines, dryers, washer-dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, ovens, stoves, range hoods, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, air purifiers and water heaters.

[0006] Most smart home appliances on the market today are designed to automatically initiate a configuration process that includes checking for software updates. When a software update that adds new features or fixes a bug is notified and verified, it is automatically deployed or recommended to the user for deployment. This deployment can be performed on the smart home appliance via over-the-air download, where it is downloaded, installed, and executed.

[0007] Purpose and content of the invention

[0008] To the applicant's knowledge, in smart home appliances on the market today, the customer knows that the software update has been completed once the home appliance has been rebooted and becomes operational again.

[0009] Software updates require a certain number of steps to be performed and take some time to complete, typically on the order of several minutes, so the progress of the software update is completely blind to the user who is unaware of its progress.

[0010] Furthermore, software updates are particularly important from a safety and security perspective because during software updates, smart home appliances may be vulnerable to external attacks and inoperable or inoperable.

[0011] The Applicant has appreciated that monitoring the various steps of a software update and informing or signalling the user in real time of the progress of such an update, possibly together with information about when full operation of the home appliance will be available again, would represent a significant added value to the user.

[0012] Applicants have also appreciated that an additional added value is to keep the home appliance secure during software updates without having to rely on external resources to prevent it from being interfered with or compromised by any external entity, thereby minimizing the risk of software updates failing or being stuck halfway.

[0013] Therefore, the present invention relates to a technology for monitoring the progress of software updates in a household appliance in real time, and for notifying customers and users via a human-machine interface of the same household appliance and / or remotely via a dedicated software application running on a personal smart device or other household device, while keeping the household appliance secure during the software update without relying on external resources to prevent it from being interfered with or damaged by any external entity.

[0014] The applicant has found that broadcasting information related to the status of a software update by means of the same household appliance is a particularly effective way to inform the user about such status in real time. In particular, the applicant has found that Bluetooth beaconing is a suitable technology for such broadcasting.

[0015] Therefore, according to a first aspect of the invention, the present invention relates to a smart home appliance, which comprises: at least one processing unit or electronic device, which is designed to load software and receive updates of such software; and a communication interface, which is designed to broadcast information related to the status of the software update.

[0016] In more detail, the present invention relates to a household appliance, which comprises: at least one processing unit, which is configured to store and execute software that is subject to updating; and a software updater, which is configured to deliver at least one software package for software updating to the processing unit, wherein the appliance further comprises a broadcasting device, which is configured to wirelessly broadcast a signal that can be received by a mobile device, and wherein the software updater is further configured to monitor the progress of the software update and cause the broadcasting device to broadcast a signal containing information related to the progress.

[0017] The software update is preferably performed by means of Over-the-Air (OTA) technology.

[0018] Preferably, the broadcast device comprises a beacon device. More preferably, the broadcast device comprises a BLE beacon device. Therefore, the broadcast is preferably implemented by sending a Bluetooth beacon. However, the broadcast can also be implemented by other signal broadcasting technologies.

[0019] The household appliance preferably comprises an electronic communication interface configured to establish a wireless two-way communication connection with a wireless network and / or a mobile device, and further configured to communicate with a software updater. In particular, the electronic communication interface is preferably configured to establish a Wi-Fi two-way communication connection with a wireless network and a Bluetooth connection with (multiple) mobile devices.

[0020] Preferably, the electronic communication interface comprises said broadcasting device. In particular, the electronic communication interface is preferably configured to be operable as a beacon device in order to wirelessly announce said information.

[0021] The information is preferably suitable for presentation to a user via an output device of the mobile device.

[0022] The household appliance advantageously comprises a control unit for controlling the operation of the household appliance.The software updater may be comprised in the control unit.

[0023] In a possible embodiment, the control unit is configured to display the progress of the update of the control software on an electronic display of the household appliance.

[0024] The software updater is preferably configured to:

[0025] - Checking for the availability of software updates over the wireless network; and

[0026] - Receiving a software update notification via the wireless network or the mobile device indicating the availability of a software update.

[0027] In addition, the software updater is preferably further configured to:

[0028] - Download the software update via a wireless network or mobile device;

[0029] -Verify and install downloaded software updates.

[0030] The software updater may also be configured to restart one or more operations of the household appliance when the software update is complete.

[0031] According to a second aspect of the invention, the invention relates to updateable software loadable into and executable by a processing unit of a household appliance as previously described.

[0032] According to a third aspect of the invention, the invention relates to a method for managing or implementing a software update in a household appliance, the method comprising the steps of monitoring the progress of the software update and broadcasting a signal containing information related to said progress.

[0033] Preferably, the broadcast is performed by sending a Bluetooth beacon. The broadcasted signal is suitable for reception by a mobile device.

[0034] The software update is performed in at least one processing unit of the household appliance, and the method comprises the step of delivering at least one software package to the processing unit.

[0035] Preferably, the method further comprises the step of establishing a connection with a wireless network to receive the software package. In addition, the method preferably comprises the steps of checking the availability of a software update via a wireless network, and receiving a software update notification indicating the availability of the software update via the wireless network or the mobile device.

[0036] The method preferably further comprises the step of verifying and installing the software update.The method may also comprise the step of restarting one or more operations of the household appliance when the software update is complete.

[0037] The method preferably further comprises the step of presenting said information or related information related to said progress to a user via an output device of the mobile device.

[0038] The method may further comprise the step of presenting said information or related information related to said progress to a user on a user interface of the household appliance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] The accompanying drawing schematically shows a block diagram of a system for notifying the progress of software update in a smart home appliance according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings to allow a skilled person to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles described may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Therefore, the present invention should not be considered limited to the embodiments described and illustrated herein, and should be allowed the broadest scope of protection consistent with the features described and claimed herein.

[0041] Unless otherwise specified, all technical terms and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those generally understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs. In the event of a conflict, the present specification (including the definitions provided) shall prevail. In addition, these examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and therefore should not be considered restrictive.

[0042] In short, the basic idea of ​​the present invention is to use the special functions of the wireless communication interface to notify the progress of the software update in the smart home appliance in a connectionless manner, that is, no connection between the smart home appliance and the external device is required to keep the progress of the software update updated to the user. According to a preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to OTA (Over the Air) software update.

[0043] According to a preferred embodiment, the special function is a Bluetooth announcement function available in a specific type of Bluetooth interface / device, which is a permission-based mobile marketing / announcement function that focuses on reaching customers of Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices through mobile applications. This is usually to announce something (e.g., a special offer in a store), or to allow nearby mobile devices to determine their physical location, customers to be tracked, or location-based actions to be triggered on the mobile device (such as a check-in or push notification on social media).

[0044] The announced content is received by a nearby Bluetooth-enabled mobile device, such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or personal device assistant (PDA), and appropriately delivered / presented to the user via the mobile device's output device, typically a display.

[0045] In particular, the Bluetooth interface / device includes so-called Bluetooth beacons, which are a class of Bluetooth low energy (BLE) messages that can be transmitted as BLE beacon transmission packets according to different beacon standards. These standards include, but are not limited to, Apple's iBeacon, AltBeacon, URIBeacon, etc. Each standard has its own protocol specification that defines the message format of proximity beacon announcements. Preferably, the BLE beacon transmission packet is an electronic beacon transmission packet, i.e., an e-beacon transmission packet.

[0046] Beaconing does not accept any interaction from external electronic devices and acts as a radio beacon that sends dynamic information rather than broadcasting always the same information at all times.

[0047] The figure schematically shows a smart home appliance 1 designed to operate in a broadcast mode to announce the progress of a software update.Broadcasting is here intended to be a wireless one-way signal transmission.

[0048] Preferably, the household appliance 1 is configured to perform an OTA software update. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to OTA software updates, but other processes for performing software updates in the household appliance 1 can be envisaged. For example, the household appliance 1 can be configured to perform a software update by means of a USB connection system, i.e. by connecting a USB port / connector of the household appliance 1 (i.e., arranged on the control panel) to a removable USB memory device containing the software update.

[0049] The household appliance 1 comprises an electronic control unit 2 in which control software for controlling the operation of the household appliance 1 is loaded.

[0050] More precisely, the household appliance 1 comprises an electronic control unit 2 configured to store and execute control software designed such that, when executed, the control unit 2 becomes configured to control the operation of the household appliance 1 according to the stored control software.

[0051] For this purpose, the control unit 2 comprises memory resources 3 designed to store control software and electronic processing resources 4 designed to read the control software from the memory resources 3 and to execute it.

[0052] According to a preferred embodiment, the household appliance 1 further comprises an electronic communication interface 5. The communication interface 5 is preferably designed to establish a wireless two-way communication connection with a local network 6 and / or with a mobile device 7 (such as a smartphone or tablet computer). The mobile device 7 preferably communicates with the household appliance 1 via WI-FI or cellular data technology.

[0053] The local network 6 can be based on any available wired or wireless computer network technology, in particular (wired) local area network (LAN) technology (such as Ethernet technology) or wireless local area network (WLAN) technology. Preferably, the network 6 is a Wi-Fi network, and the following description will refer to this network without loss of generality.

[0054] Through the local network 6, the appliance 1 can access a global network 9 (usually the Internet network) and a remote server 10 connected to the global network 9. The local network 6 and the global network 9 together form a communication network that allows communication between the appliance 1 and the remote server 10.

[0055] In order to establish a wireless two-way communication connection with the network 6 and the mobile device 7, the household appliance 1 is preferably both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled. In particular, the communication interface 5 is suitable for establishing a Wi-Fi two-way communication connection with the network 6 and a Bluetooth connection with the mobile device 7.

[0056] The communication interface 5 communicates with the control unit 2. In particular, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communication interface 5 is electrically connected to the control unit 2. However, it should be understood that the communication interface 5 may be connected to the control unit 2 wirelessly, alternatively or additionally.

[0057] Furthermore, the communication interface 5 is designed to establish a wired bidirectional communication connection with a network 6 and / or with a mobile device 7 .

[0058] The household appliance 1 further comprises a broadcasting device 8 configured to wirelessly broadcast a signal suitable for reception by nearby mobile devices 7 .

[0059] "Nearby" is intended here to be a distance that is not higher than the coverage distance of the considered broadcasting device 8. For example, the coverage distance may be about one hundred meters in the case of Wi-Fi and about ten meters in the case of BLE.

[0060] Advantageously, the broadcast signal is a notification signal containing information which can be presented to the user via an output device of the mobile device 7 .

[0061] The broadcasting device 8 may be the same communication interface 5 or a part thereof. In particular, the broadcasting device 8 may be a wireless network interface controller (WNIC) included in the communication interface 5.

[0062] The WNIC is designed to allow the communication interface 5 to establish a wireless two-way communication connection, such as a Wi-Fi connection with a network 6 and / or a Bluetooth connection with a Bluetooth-enabled mobile device 7 .

[0063] Preferably, the broadcast device 8 is a beacon device, or includes a beacon device. More preferably, the broadcast device 8 is a BLE beacon device, or includes a BLE beacon device. In more detail, the broadcast device 8 preferably complies with Bluetooth technology at least according to specification 4.0, also known as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Bluetooth Smart, which provides a so-called "beacon" function and is designed for wireless broadcast signals and related information. Therefore, the communication interface 5 can operate as a BLE beacon device (or interface), that is, it can broadcast a notification (or broadcast) signal containing notification content intended to be received by a Bluetooth-enabled mobile device 7 (that is, a mobile device 7 with a Bluetooth receiving device) and appropriately notified to the user of the mobile device 7 (typically displayed on the electronic display of the mobile device). In other words, the BLE beacon device is configured to send information containing beacon notification content.

[0064] When a Bluetooth receiving device of a nearby mobile device 7 (ie, a mobile device 7 located within the communication range of the broadcasting device 8) receives the broadcast signal, the mobile device 7 can download the announcement content and notify or display the relevant information to the user.

[0065] The software loaded in the control unit 2 is subject to updating. For this purpose, the control unit 2 is preferably designed to store and execute a software updater 11, ie a software program designed to, when executed, cause the control unit 2 to become configured for updating the control software.

[0066] The software updater 11 is preferably designed to, when executed, cause the control unit 2 to become configured to check the availability of software updates over the network 6 automatically or in response to user input, and receive software update notifications over the network 6 or the mobile device 7 indicating the availability of software updates.

[0067] Furthermore, the software updater 11 is preferably designed to, when executed, cause the control unit 2 to become configured to download software updates via the network 6 or the mobile device 7 , and to verify and install the downloaded software updates.

[0068] The software updater 11 may also be designed to, when executed, cause the control unit 2 to become configured to restart the operation of the household appliance 1 when the software update is completed.

[0069] To check the availability of a software update, a query may be sent to the remote server 10 via the communication interface 5 and the networks 6 and 9. The query may contain identification information about the appliance and the current version of the appliance's overall software.

[0070] Based on this information, the server can check whether a new version of the software is available. When a new version is available, it can be sent to the appliance 1 via the networks 6 and 9 and the communication interface 5 and received by it.

[0071] The software updater 11 is preferably further designed to, when executed, cause the control unit 2 to become configured to monitor the progress of the software update, and cause the progress of the software update to be announced via the broadcasting device 8 in a connectionless manner.

[0072] In one possible embodiment, the software updater 11 is designed to, when executed, cause the control unit 2 to become configured to cause the progress of the software update to be displayed on the electronic display of the household appliance 1 when available.

[0073] As an alternative or supplementary solution, the software updater 11 is also designed to, when executed, cause the control unit 2 to become configured to cause the communication interface 5 to operate as a broadcasting device, in particular as a BLE beacon sending device, to broadcast a signal containing information related to the progress. In other words, the progress of the software update is notified by transmitting a notification data packet containing information about the progress of the software update.

[0074] Thus, the progress of the announced software update can be received by a nearby Bluetooth-enabled mobile device 7, and the relevant information can be appropriately delivered / presented to the user via an output device of the mobile device 7, for example, graphically displayed (e.g., as a progress bar) on an electronic display of the mobile device 7.

[0075] The relevant information may indicate, for example, the last execution stage in the software update, or the current percentage of the overall update progress. If there are any problems during the software update process, the relevant information may also be an error code.

[0076] This same technique for software updates can also be applied to other electronic components of the appliance 1 , as explained below.

[0077] Typically, as shown in the figures, in addition to the control unit 2, the appliance 1 also comprises a first group of processing units 2', which are connected to the control unit 2 and are designed to control a first group of electrically controllable components of the appliance 1. The processing units 2' in this first group are not directly connected to the communication interface 5, but communicate with the communication interface 5 via the control unit 2. Preferably, all processing units 2' in the first group are connected to each other, for example via a bus system. In an alternative embodiment, only some of these processing units are connected to the same bus.

[0078] In addition, as a supplement or alternative to the first group of processing units 2', the appliance 1 may include a second group of processing units 2", which are directly connected to the communication interface 5 and are designed to control a second group of electrically controllable components of the appliance 1. The processing units 2" in the second group may also be connected to the control unit 2.

[0079] Each processing unit 2 ′, 2 ″ may include one or more processors or microprocessors and / or one or more controllers or microcontrollers. Furthermore, each processing unit 2 ′, 2 ″ preferably has one or more updateable software loaded therein, like the control unit 2 .

[0080] The processing units 2', 2" are preferably arranged on corresponding printed circuit boards (PCBs), and each of these processing units together with the corresponding PCB identifies a corresponding functional module of the appliance 1. Each PCB may contain one or more processing units 2', 2".

[0081] The electrically controllable components may be arranged on the same PCB of the corresponding processing unit 2 ′, 2 ″, or in a separate component of the appliance 1 .

[0082] Each electrically controllable component may include an electric component, an electronic component, an electromechanical component and / or an electrohydraulic component. For example, the electrically controllable component may be a user interface (and the corresponding functional module may be a user interface module) or a graphic display unit (and the corresponding functional module may be a display module).

[0083] Depending on the type of appliance, the electrically controllable component may be a different type of component. For example, in the case of a washing machine, the electrically controllable component may be an electronic switch for opening / closing a hydraulic valve (and the corresponding functional module may be a switch module) or may be a heating resistor for heating the washing liquid (and the corresponding functional module may be a heating module). In the case of an oven, the electrically controllable component may be a heating resistor for heating the cooking cavity (and the corresponding functional module may be a heating module) or may be a TRIAC for controlling an oven fan (and the corresponding functional module may be a TRIAC module). In the case of a refrigerator, the electrically controllable component may be a TRIAC for controlling a refrigerator compressor (and the corresponding functional module may be a TRIAC module) or may be another TRIAC for controlling a refrigerator fan (and the corresponding functional module may be another TRIAC module).

[0084] Similar to the control unit 2, the processing units 2', 2" also preferably include corresponding memory resources 3', 3" and corresponding electronic processing resources 4', 4", which are designed to store corresponding (updatable) software and these electronic processing resources are designed to read from the memory resources 3', 3" and execute the software loaded therein.

[0085] For the purposes of the present invention, the same control unit 2 may be considered as a processing unit in which the updateable software is loaded.

[0086] Furthermore, still for the purposes of the present invention, the same communication interface 5 may be considered as a processing unit in which the updateable software is loaded.

[0087] In a possible alternative embodiment (not shown), the software updater may be included (ie loaded) in the communication interface 5 instead of the control unit 2. In this case, the software updater will preferably perform the same operations described above, but involving the communication interface 5 instead of the control unit 2.

[0088] In particular, in this case, the same communication interface 5 performs the following steps:

[0089] - checking for the availability of software updates via the network 6 automatically or in response to user input;

[0090] - receiving a software update notification via the network 6 or the mobile device 7 indicating the availability of a software update;

[0091] - download software updates via the Internet 6 or mobile device 7;

[0092] -Verify and install downloaded software updates; and

[0093] - Restarting the operation of the household appliance 1 when the software update is completed.

[0094] Furthermore, in this case, the communication interface 5 monitors the progress of the software update and causes the progress of the software update to be notified via the broadcasting device 8 in a connectionless manner.

[0095] In a further alternative embodiment (not shown), the broadcasting device 8 may be separated from the communication interface 5 and, in particular, located on a different printed circuit board (PCB). Also in this case, the broadcasting device 8 is preferably configured to perform a beacon function, i.e., it is preferably a beacon device, more preferably a BLE beacon device.

[0096] Furthermore, also in this case, the broadcasting device 8 preferably communicates with the processing unit (control unit 2 or communication interface 5) comprising the software updater in order to receive information related to the progress of the software update and then broadcasts a signal containing such information or related information, which signal is also suitable for being received by the mobile device 7.

[0097] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other current or future wired or wireless communication interfaces may be used to broadcast information about the progress of software updates. For example, the broadcast of signals related to software updates may be implemented by means of an appropriately modulated optical transmission device (e.g., an LED light transmitter) or by means of an appropriately modulated sound transmitter.

Claims

1. A household appliance (1), comprising: - at least one processing unit (2, 2', 2") configured to store and execute software subject to updating; as well as - a software updater (11) configured to deliver at least one software package for software update to the processing unit; Features: - the apparatus further comprises a broadcasting device (8) configured to wirelessly broadcast a signal capable of being received by the mobile device (7); as well as - The software updater is further configured to monitor the progress of the software update and to cause said broadcasting device to broadcast a signal containing information related to said progress.

2. The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein: The broadcasting device (8) comprises a beacon device.

3. The household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The broadcasting device (8) comprises a BLE beacon device.

4. The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, further comprises an electronic communication interface (5), which is configured to establish a wireless two-way communication connection with a wireless network (6) and / or a mobile device (7), and is further configured to communicate with the software updater (11).

5. The household appliance according to claim 4, wherein: The electronic communication interface (5) is configured to establish a Wi-Fi two-way communication connection with the wireless network (6) and a Bluetooth connection with the mobile device (7).

6. The household appliance according to claim 4 or 5, wherein: The electronic communication interface (5) comprises the broadcasting device (8).

7. The household appliance according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein: The electronic communication interface (5) is configured to be operable as a beacon device to wirelessly announce the information.

8. A household appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The information is suitable for being presented to a user via an output device of the mobile device (7).

9. The household appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a control unit (2) for controlling the operation of the household appliance, wherein The software updater (11) is included in the control unit.

10. The household appliance according to claim 9, wherein: The control unit (2) is further configured to display the progress of the update of the control software on the electronic display of the household appliance (1).

11. A household appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The software update is carried out with the help of Over-the-Air (OTA) technology.

12. A household appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The software updater (11) is designed to: - checking the availability of software updates via the wireless network (6); - receiving a software update notification indicating the availability of a software update via the wireless network (6) or the mobile device (7); and - Downloading the software update via the wireless network (6) or the mobile device (7).

13. The household appliance according to claim 12, wherein: The software updater (11) is further designed to: -Verify and install downloaded software updates; and - Restarting the operation of the household appliance when the software update is completed.

14. Software which can be loaded into and executed by a processing unit (2) of a household appliance (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, and is designed to cause the processing unit (2) to be configured as described in any one of the preceding claims when executed.

15. A method for managing software updates in a household appliance, the method comprising the following steps: The progress of the software update is monitored, and a wireless broadcast signal is generated containing information related to the progress.

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