Laundry care system with external filter element

Abstract

Laundry care system (100) comprising a laundry care device (101) and an external filter element (103), wherein the laundry care device (101) comprises a laundry care device controller (105), a laundry care device function module (107) electrically connected to the laundry care device controller (105) for providing a function of the laundry care device (101), wherein the laundry care system (100) comprises an electrical power supply line (114-1) which electrically connects the laundry care device (101) and the external filter element (103), wherein the external filter element (103) is configured to supply the laundry care device (101) with electrical energy via the electrical power supply line (114-1) for operating the laundry care device (101), wherein the external filter element (103) comprises a filter controller (115) which is electrically connected to the electrical power supply line (114-1), wherein the laundry care device controller (105) is configuredto control the laundry care appliance function module (107) of the laundry care appliance (101) with a predetermined control signal, which is configured to generate a predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107), wherein the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103) is configured to detect the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107) at the electrical power supply line (114-1) and to control the external filter element (103) based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a laundry care system with an external filter element.

[0002] Certain models of conventional laundry care appliances have fluid-carrying lines through which washing fluid is circulated. During operation of these appliances, impurities are absorbed into the washing fluid and carried along by the fluid through these lines. Such impurities include, among other things, microplastic particles, which are generated by the abrasion of laundry items and contribute significantly to environmental pollution.

[0003] To filter out microplastic particles from the washing liquid, external filter elements are used, which are connected downstream of the laundry appliance. Regular cleaning of the external filter element may be necessary to prevent clogging. For automatic filter cleaning, it may be necessary to program the external filter element to schedule a cleaning.

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a laundry care system comprising a laundry care device with an external filter element, in which the external filter element can be operated efficiently.

[0005] This problem is solved by the items with the features according to the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims, the description, and the drawings.

[0006] According to a first aspect, the problem according to the invention is solved by a laundry care system comprising a laundry care device and an external filter element, wherein the laundry care device has a laundry care device controller, a laundry care device function module electrically connected to the laundry care device controller for providing a function of the laundry care device, a tub for receiving washing liquid, a drain line fluidly connected to the tub, and a pump electrically connected to the laundry care device controller, which is configured to pump washing liquid from the tub and through the drain line out of the laundry care device, wherein the drain line has an external drain line section which is arranged outside the laundry care device and which is fluidly connected to the external filter element, and wherein the external filter element is configuredto filter washing liquid pumped through the external drain line section in order to remove impurities, in particular microplastics, from the washing liquid, wherein the laundry care system comprises an electrical power supply line which electrically connects the laundry care device and the external filter element, wherein the external filter element is configured to supply the laundry care device with electrical energy via the electrical power supply line for operating the laundry care device, wherein the external filter element comprises a filter controller which is electrically connected to the electrical power supply line, wherein the laundry care device controller is configured to control the laundry care device function module of the laundry care device with a predetermined control signal which is configured to generate a predetermined power value of the laundry care device function module,wherein the filter control of the external filter element is configured to detect the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module at the electrical power supply line and to control the external filter element based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module.

[0007] This achieves the technical advantage that the laundry care appliance's control unit can efficiently control the filter control of the external filter element based on the predetermined control signal to generate the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance's functional module. Because the power value is detected by the filter control of the external filter element at the electrical power supply line, separate communication interfaces, such as WLAN interfaces, are unnecessary, thus saving resources and enabling efficient retrofitting of existing laundry care appliances without a communication interface.

[0008] For example, the laundry appliance's functional module can be a drive for a rotating drum located in the washing machine's tub. The predetermined control signal can be generated by the washing machine's control unit to indirectly communicate a specific state and / or command to the external filter element, without requiring a direct communication link between the washing machine and the external filter. For this purpose, the predetermined control signal, as a predetermined power value, can, for example, generate a predetermined and characteristic current at the drive for the rotating drum, perhaps with a predetermined current pattern. The predetermined current, and especially the predetermined current pattern, might not occur during normal operation of the drive for the rotating drum.For example, a predetermined current, and in particular a predetermined current pattern, can be achieved by means of a reversing control to align the poles of the drive for the rotating washing drum (for example, aligning the poles of a three-phase permanent magnet motor) without the washing drum actually rotating. The filter control of the external filter element can then detect the predetermined current, and in particular the predetermined current pattern, at the electrical power supply line and, for example, indirectly triggered by the washing machine control, activate the cleaning of a filter in the external filter element.

[0009] The laundry care system may also include an electrical power cord that connects the external filter element to a mains connection. The external filter element may be configured to draw electrical energy from the mains connection via the power cord to operate the laundry care appliance, and in particular the external filter element itself. The power supply line may be connected to the mains connection within the external filter element.

[0010] A laundry care appliance is understood to be a device used for laundry care, such as a washing machine or a tumble dryer. Specifically, such a laundry care appliance refers to a household laundry care appliance.

[0011] So, a laundry care device that is used as part of household management and with which laundry in typical household quantities is treated.

[0012] In an advantageous embodiment, the laundry care appliance functional module of the laundry care appliance comprises a drum drive, a heating element, in particular a tube heater, a heat pump, a drum light, a door light, a valve, a pump, in particular a drain pump, an ultrasonic nebulizer, and / or a blower of the laundry care appliance.

[0013] This offers the technical advantage that different laundry appliance function modules can be controlled to generate the predetermined power output. The blower can include a fan wheel and a controllable motor.

[0014] In an advantageous embodiment, the external filter element comprises a filter cleaning element electrically connected to the filter control, wherein the filter control of the external filter element is configured to control the filter cleaning element of the external filter element based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module, in order to control the external filter element based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module.

[0015] This achieves the technical advantage that a filter function of the external filter element can be started, so that a cleaned filter is available for a subsequent laundry care program or a subsequent phase of a laundry care program, which enables efficient pumping of washing liquid from the tub of the laundry care appliance via the pump line and the external filter element.

[0016] For example, the filter control of the external filter element can be configured to activate or deactivate the filter cleaning element of the external filter element based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module, in order to control the external filter element based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module.

[0017] In an advantageous embodiment, the filter cleaning element comprises a backwash valve, a backwash pump, a regenerable filter fleece and / or a mechanical scraper of a filter of the external filter element.

[0018] This achieves the technical advantage of efficient filter cleaning. The backwash valve, backwash pump, and / or mechanical scraper can be designed to remove contaminants from the filter. The regenerable filter fleece can, for example, have a renewable filter fleece section. This renewable filter fleece can be automatically renewed by unwinding an uncontaminated filter fleece section from a filter cassette and winding a contaminated filter fleece section into the same or another filter cassette.

[0019] In an advantageous embodiment, the filter control of the external filter element is configured to select a state, in particular a laundry care program state, of the laundry care device from a plurality of states, in particular laundry care program states, based on the detected predetermined performance value of the laundry care device function module, and to control the external filter element based on the selected state of the laundry care device.

[0020] This achieves the technical advantage that the filter control of the external filter element is informed about the state of the laundry appliance and can thus control the filter element efficiently. For example, the filter control can be configured to determine a duration and / or intensity of activation of the filter cleaning element based on the selected state of the laundry appliance.

[0021] In an advantageous embodiment, the external filter element comprises an external pump for increasing the pump pressure of the washing liquid pumped out through the external filter element via the external pumping line section, wherein the filter control of the external filter element is configured to control the external pump of the external filter element based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module, in order to control the external filter element based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module.

[0022] This achieves the technical advantage that the external pump can be controlled efficiently.

[0023] In an advantageous embodiment, the external filter element has an external drain line, and wherein the external filter element is configured to drain the filtered washing liquid through the external drain line, in particular into a drain located in the installation area of ​​the laundry care appliance.

[0024] This achieves the technical advantage of ensuring effective removal of filtered washing liquid.

[0025] In an advantageous embodiment, the laundry care appliance control is configured to execute a laundry care program for treating laundry contained in the tub, wherein the laundry care appliance control is configured to activate the pump during a drain time interval of the laundry care program in order to pump the washing liquid out of the tub and through the drain line out of the laundry care appliance, wherein the laundry care appliance control is configured to control the laundry care appliance function module of the laundry care appliance with the predetermined control signal during a control time interval of the laundry care program preceding or following the drain time interval in order to generate the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module.

[0026] This achieves the technical advantage that the pumping time interval and / or a subsequent pumping time interval can be carried out efficiently.

[0027] In an advantageous embodiment, the predetermined control signal is configured to generate the predetermined power value and a predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module within a power change time interval, wherein the filter control of the external filter element is configured to detect the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module at the electrical power supply line during the power change time interval and to control the external filter element based on the detected power value and the detected predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module.

[0028] This achieves the technical advantage that the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance's functional module can be efficiently detected by the filter control of the external filter element. The predetermined power change can encompass the predetermined power value within the power change time interval.

[0029] In an advantageous embodiment, a predetermined power frequency from a plurality of power frequencies is assigned to the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module, wherein the laundry care appliance control is configured to select the control signal from a plurality of control signals based on the predetermined power frequency, wherein the control signal is configured to generate the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module during the power change time interval at the predetermined power frequency.

[0030] This achieves the technical advantage that the predetermined power frequency can be efficiently detected during the power change time interval by the filter control of the external filter element.

[0031] In an advantageous embodiment, a predetermined binary sequence from a plurality of binary sequences is associated with the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module, wherein the laundry care appliance control is configured to select the control signal from a plurality of control signals based on the predetermined binary sequence, wherein the control signal is configured to generate the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module during the power change time interval based on the predetermined binary sequence, wherein, in particular, the laundry care appliance function module has a first power value when the first values ​​of the binary sequence are the same in the power change time interval, and has a second power value that differs from the first power value when the second values ​​of the binary sequence are the same in the power change time interval.

[0032] This achieves the technical advantage that the predetermined binary sequence can be efficiently captured by the filter control of the external filter element during the power change time interval. The binary sequence can efficiently encode a state of the laundry care device and / or a command for the laundry care device control. The first values ​​of the binary sequence can, for example, all be 0 or all be 1. The second values ​​of the binary sequence can be correspondingly complementary, i.e., all be 1 or all be 0.

[0033] In an advantageous embodiment, the laundry care appliance function module can be controlled within an activation time interval to activate the function of the laundry care appliance function module with an activation power, wherein the laundry care appliance control is configured to control the laundry care appliance function module of the laundry care appliance with the predetermined signal during an activation time interval in order to generate the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module with an activation power, wherein the activation power is less than the activation power and / or wherein the duration of the activation time interval is less than the duration of the activation time interval.

[0034] This achieves the technical advantage that the laundry appliance's function module can be controlled to generate the predetermined power value without actually performing its function, such as rotating a drum drive. This allows the laundry appliance to achieve efficient energy consumption during the control period.

[0035] In an advantageous embodiment, the laundry care appliance control is configured to detect a laundry care appliance state from a plurality of laundry care appliance states, in particular to detect a laundry program time segment from a plurality of laundry program time segments of a laundry care program, wherein the detected laundry care appliance state, in particular the detected laundry program time segment, is assigned the predetermined power value, in particular the predetermined power change, of the laundry care appliance function module from a plurality of predetermined power values, in particular a plurality of predetermined power changes, of the laundry care appliance function module, wherein the filter control of the external filter element is configured to determine the laundry care appliance state detected by the laundry care appliance control based on the detected predetermined power value.in particular, to recognize the detected predetermined change in performance of the laundry care appliance function module and to control the external filter element based on the detected laundry care appliance status.

[0036] This achieves the technical advantage that the external filter element can be efficiently controlled based on the detected condition of the laundry care appliance.

[0037] In an advantageous embodiment, the laundry care appliance control unit is configured to select a control command for controlling the external filter element from a plurality of control commands for controlling the external filter element, wherein the selected control command is assigned the predetermined power value, in particular the predetermined power change, of the laundry care appliance function module from a plurality of predetermined power values, in particular a plurality of predetermined power changes, of the laundry care appliance function module, wherein the filter control unit of the external filter element is configured to recognize the control command selected by the laundry care appliance control unit based on the detected predetermined power value, in particular the detected predetermined power change, of the laundry care appliance function module and to control the external filter element based on the detected control command.

[0038] This achieves the technical advantage that the external filter element can be efficiently controlled based on the detected control command.

[0039] According to a second aspect, the problem according to the invention is solved by a method for operating a laundry care system, the laundry care system comprising a laundry care device and an external filter element, wherein the laundry care device has a laundry care device controller, a laundry care device function module electrically connected to the laundry care device controller for providing a function of the laundry care device, a tub for receiving washing liquid, a drain line fluidly connected to the tub, and a pump electrically connected to the laundry care device controller, which is configured to pump washing liquid from the tub and through the drain line out of the laundry care device, wherein the drain line has an external drain line section which is arranged outside the laundry care device and which is fluidly connected to the external filter element.and wherein the external filter element is configured to filter washing liquid pumped through the external drain line section in order to remove impurities, in particular microplastics, from the washing liquid, wherein the laundry care system comprises an electrical power supply line which electrically connects the laundry care device and the external filter element, wherein the external filter element is configured to supply the laundry care device with electrical energy via the electrical power supply line for operating the laundry care device, wherein the external filter element comprises a filter control which is electrically connected to the electrical power supply line, wherein the method comprises: controlling the laundry care device function module of the laundry care device by the laundry care device control with a predetermined control signal which is configuredto generate a predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module; to detect the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module at the electrical power supply line by the filter control of the external filter element; and to control the external filter element based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module by the filter control of the external filter element.

[0040] The embodiments described above and below for the laundry care system according to the first aspect are also embodiments for the method according to the second aspect.

[0041] Further examples of implementation are explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. These show: Fig. 1 a schematic view of a laundry care system comprising a laundry care device and an external filter element according to one embodiment; and Fig. 2 a schematic representation of a method for operating a laundry care system according to one embodiment.

[0042] Fig. Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a laundry care system 100 with a laundry care device 101 and an external filter element 103 according to one embodiment.

[0043] As schematically shown in the Fig. As shown in Figure 1, the laundry care appliance 101 has a laundry care appliance control unit 105 and a laundry care appliance function module 107 electrically connected to the laundry care appliance control unit 105 for providing a function of the laundry care appliance 101. The laundry care appliance function module 107 of the laundry care appliance 101 can, even if this is shown in the Fig. The laundry care appliance 101, which is not shown in Figure 1, comprises a drum drive, a heating element, in particular a tubular heater, a heat pump, drum lighting, door lighting, a valve, a pump, in particular a drain pump, an ultrasonic nebulizer, and / or a blower. The pump included in the laundry care appliance function module 107 can be the one shown in the Fig. The pump shown in section 1 is pump 113. Alternatively, the pump included by the laundry care appliance function module 107 can also be one located in the Fig. 1 pump not shown, for example a dosing pump connected to a detergent dispenser of the laundry care appliance 101.

[0044] The laundry care appliance 101 further comprises a tub 109 for holding washing liquid, a drain line 111-1, 111-2 fluidically connected to the tub 109, and a pump 113 electrically connected to the laundry care appliance control unit 105. A user of the laundry care appliance 101 can place laundry into the tub 109, for example, by means of a [missing information - likely a specific device or component]. Fig. 1. Not shown, opening of the laundry care appliance 101, which is formed by a [unclear] in the Fig. 1. The appliance door of the laundry care appliance 101, which is also not shown, can be locked.

[0045] The pump 113 is designed to pump washing liquid from the tub 109 and through the drain lines 111-1, 111-2 from the laundry care appliance 101. As shown in the Fig. As shown schematically in Figure 1, the drain line 111-1, 111-2 has an external drain line section 111-2, which is located outside the laundry care appliance 101. The external drain line section 111-2, located outside the laundry care appliance 101, is fluidically connected to the external filter element 103. The external filter element 103 is designed to filter the washing liquid pumped out through the external drain line section 111-2 in order to remove impurities, in particular microplastics, from the washing liquid. As shown in the Fig. As shown schematically in Figure 1, the external filter element 103 can have an external drain line 121. The external filter element 103 can be configured to drain the filtered washing liquid through the external drain line 121, in particular into a drain located in the installation area of ​​the laundry care appliance 101.

[0046] In the Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows an internal drain line section 111-1 of the drain line 111-1, 111-2, which can be arranged inside the laundry care appliance 101, can be connected to the tub 109 and the external drain line section 111-2, and can include the pump 113. As shown in the Fig. As shown schematically in Figure 1, the detergent container 109 can also be connected to a fresh water connection 104 via a water supply line 102 of the laundry care appliance 101.

[0047] The Laundry Care System 100 includes a [unit / section] in the Fig. Figure 1 schematically represents an electrical power supply line 114-1, which electrically connects the laundry care appliance 101 and the external filter element 103. The external filter element 103 is designed to supply the laundry care appliance 101 with electrical energy via the electrical power supply line 114-1 for the operation of the laundry care appliance 101. As shown in the Fig. As shown in Figure 1, the laundry care system 100 can further comprise an electrical mains connection cable 114-2, which electrically connects the external filter element 103 to a mains connection 114-3. The external filter element 103 can be configured to draw electrical energy from the mains connection 114-3 via the electrical mains connection cable 114-2 to operate the laundry care appliance 101, and in particular also the external filter element 103.

[0048] The laundry care appliance control 105 is designed to control the laundry care appliance function module 107 of the laundry care appliance 101 with a predetermined control signal, which is designed to generate a predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0049] The external filter element 103 comprises a filter controller 115, which is electrically connected to the electrical power supply line 114-1. The filter controller 115 of the external filter element 103 is configured to detect the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107 at the electrical power supply line 114-1 and to control the external filter element 103 based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0050] For example, the laundry appliance function module 107 can be a drive for a rotating drum housed in the tub 109 of the laundry appliance 101. The predetermined control signal can be generated by the laundry appliance controller 105 to indirectly communicate a specific state and / or a specific command to the external filter element 103, without requiring a communication link between the laundry appliance 101 and the external filter unit 103. For this purpose, the predetermined control signal, as a predetermined power value, can, for example, generate a predetermined and characteristic current at the drive for the rotating drum, perhaps with a predetermined current pattern. The predetermined current, and in particular the predetermined current pattern, may not occur during normal operation of the drive for the rotating drum.For example, the predetermined current and, in particular, the predetermined current pattern can be achieved by means of a reversing control to align the poles of the drive for the rotating washing drum (for example, aligning the poles of a three-phase permanent magnet motor) without the washing drum rotating. The filter control 115 of the external filter element 103 can then detect the predetermined current, and in particular the predetermined current pattern, at the electrical power supply line 114-1 and, for example, indirectly triggered by the laundry appliance control 105, activate a cleaning cycle of a filter of the external filter element 103.

[0051] The laundry care appliance function module 107 can be controlled within an activation time interval to activate the function of the laundry care appliance function module 107 with an activation power, such as one in the Fig. 1 drive not shown for the rotation of a device arranged in the lye container 109 and in Fig. The laundry care appliance controller 105 can be configured to control the laundry care appliance function module 107 of the laundry care appliance 101 with a predetermined signal during a control time interval in order to generate the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107 with a control power. The control power can be lower than the activation power. Alternatively or additionally, the duration of the control time interval can be shorter than the duration of the activation time interval. For example, the drive of the laundry drum can be activated without causing the laundry drum to rotate.

[0052] The external filter element 103 can include a filter cleaning element 117 electrically connected to the filter control 115, which is located in the Fig. Figure 1 is shown only schematically. The filter cleaning element 117 can comprise a backwash valve, a backwash pump, a regenerable filter fleece, and / or a mechanical scraper of a filter of the external filter element 103. The filter control 115 of the external filter element 103 can be configured to control the filter cleaning element 117 of the external filter element 103 based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0053] Alternatively or additionally, the filter control 115 of the external filter element 103 can be configured to select a state, in particular laundry care program state, of the laundry care appliance from a plurality of states, in particular laundry care program states, based on the detected predetermined performance value of the laundry care appliance function module 107, and to control the external filter element 103 based on the selected state of the laundry care appliance.

[0054] Alternatively or additionally, the external filter element 103 can include an external pump 119 for increasing the pump pressure of the washing liquid pumped out by the external filter element 103 via the external pumping line section 111-2, wherein the filter control 115 of the external filter element 103 is configured to control the external pump 119 of the external filter element 103 based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107, in order to control the external filter element 103 based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0055] The laundry care appliance control unit 105 can be configured to execute a laundry care program for treating laundry held in the tub 109 and to activate the pump 113 during a drain time interval of the laundry care program in order to pump the washing liquid out of the tub 109 and out of the laundry care appliance 101 via the drain lines 111-1, 111-2. The laundry care appliance control unit 105 can also be configured to control the laundry care appliance function module 107 of the laundry care appliance 101 with the predetermined control signal during a control time interval of the laundry care program preceding or following the drain time interval, in order to generate the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0056] The predetermined control signal can be configured to generate not only the predetermined power value but also a predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module 107 within a power change time interval. The predetermined power change can encompass the predetermined power value within the power change time interval. The filter control 115 of the external filter element 103 can be configured to detect the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module 107 at the electrical power supply line 114-1 during the power change time interval and to control the external filter element 103 based on the detected power value and the detected predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0057] The predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module 107 can be assigned a predetermined power frequency from a plurality of power frequencies. The laundry care appliance controller 105 can be configured to select the control signal from a plurality of control signals based on the predetermined power frequency.

[0058] Alternatively or additionally, a predetermined binary sequence from a plurality of binary sequences can be assigned to the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module 107. The laundry care appliance controller 105 can be configured to select the control signal from a plurality of control signals based on the predetermined binary sequence.

[0059] The control signal can be configured to generate the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module 107 during the power change time interval with the predetermined power frequency and / or based on the predetermined binary sequence.

[0060] For example, the laundry care appliance function module 107 can have a first power value in the power change time interval if the first values ​​of the binary sequence are the same, for example if all 1 values ​​of the binary sequence are the same, and if the second values ​​of the binary sequence are the same, for example if all 0 values ​​of the binary sequence are the same, the second power value in the power change time interval can be different from the first power value.

[0061] The laundry care appliance control unit 105 can be configured to detect a laundry care appliance state of the laundry care appliance 101 from a plurality of laundry care appliance states of the laundry care appliance 101, in particular to detect a laundry program time segment from a plurality of laundry program time segments of a laundry care program. The detected laundry care appliance state, in particular the detected laundry program time segment, can be assigned the predetermined power value, in particular the predetermined power change, of the laundry care appliance function module 107 from a plurality of predetermined power values, in particular a plurality of predetermined power changes, of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0062] Alternatively or additionally, the laundry care appliance control unit 105 can be configured to select a control command for controlling the external filter element 103 from a plurality of control commands for controlling the external filter element 103. The selected control command can be assigned the predetermined power value, in particular the predetermined power change, of the laundry care appliance function module 107 from a plurality of predetermined power values, in particular a plurality of predetermined power changes, of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0063] The filter control 115 of the external filter element 103 can be configured to detect the laundry care appliance state detected by the laundry care appliance control 105 and / or the control command selected by the laundry care appliance control 105 based on the detected predetermined power value, in particular the detected predetermined power change, of the laundry care appliance function module 107 and to control the external filter element 103 based on the detected laundry care appliance state and / or based on the detected control command.

[0064] Fig. Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of a method 200 for operating a laundry care system 100 according to one embodiment.

[0065] How to Fig.As already described in Section 1, the laundry care system 100 comprises a laundry care device 101 and an external filter element 103, wherein the laundry care device 101 has a laundry care device controller 105, a laundry care device function module 107 electrically connected to the laundry care device controller 105 for providing a function of the laundry care device 101, a tub 109 for receiving washing liquid, a drain line 111-1, 111-2 fluidly connected to the tub 109, and a pump 113 electrically connected to the laundry care device controller 105, which is configured to pump washing liquid from the tub 109 and through the drain line 111-1, 111-2 out of the laundry care device 101, wherein the drain line 111-1, 111-2 has an external drain line section 111-2 which is located outside the laundry care appliance 101 is arranged, and which is fluidly connected to the external filter element 103,and wherein the external filter element 103 is configured to filter washing liquid pumped through the external drain line section 111-2 in order to remove impurities, in particular microplastics, from the washing liquid, wherein the laundry care system 100 comprises an electrical power supply line 114-1 which electrically connects the laundry care device 101 and the external filter element 103, wherein the external filter element 103 is configured to supply the laundry care device 101 with electrical energy via the electrical power supply line 114-1 for the operation of the laundry care device 101, wherein the external filter element 103 comprises a filter control 115 which is electrically connected to the electrical power supply line 114-1.

[0066] The method 200 comprises as a first process step a control 201 of the laundry care appliance function module 107 of the laundry care appliance 101 by the laundry care appliance control 105 with a predetermined control signal which is designed to generate a predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107.

[0067] The process 200 includes, as a second process step, the detection 203 of the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module 107 on the electrical power supply line 114-1 by the filter control 115 of the external filter element 103.

[0068] The procedure 200 includes as a third process step a control 205 of the external filter element 103 based on the detected predetermined performance value of the laundry care appliance function module 107 by the filter control 115 of the external filter element 103.

[0069] All features explained and shown in connection with individual embodiments of the invention can be provided in different combinations in the object according to the invention in order to simultaneously realize their advantageous effects.

[0070] The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the claims and is not limited by the features explained in the description or shown in the figures. Reference symbol list 100 Laundry Care System 101 Laundry care appliance 102 Water supply line 103 External filter element 104 Fresh water connection 105 Laundry appliance control 107 Laundry appliance function module 109 Lye containers 111-1 Internal pumping line section of the pumping line 111-2 External pumping line section of the pumping line 113 Pump 114-1 Electrical power supply line 114-2 Electrical mains connection cable 114-3 Network connection 115 Filter control 117 Filter cleaning element 119 External Pump 121 External Drainage Pipe

Claims

[1] Laundry care system (100) comprising a laundry care device (101) and an external filter element (103), wherein the laundry care device (101) has a laundry care device controller (105), a laundry care device function module (107) electrically connected to the laundry care device controller (105) for providing a function of the laundry care device (101), a tub (109) for receiving washing liquid, a drain line (111-1, 111-2) fluidly connected to the tub (109), and a pump (113) electrically connected to the laundry care device controller (105), which is configured to pump washing liquid from the tub (109) and through the drain line (111-1, 111-2) out of the laundry care device (101), wherein the drain line (111-1, 111-2) includes an external drain line section (111-2) which is located outside the laundry care appliance (101) and which is fluidly connected to the external filter element (103),and wherein the external filter element (103) is configured to filter washing liquid pumped through the external drain line section (111-2) in order to remove impurities, in particular microplastics, from the washing liquid, wherein the laundry care system (100) comprises an electrical power supply line (114-1) which electrically connects the laundry care device (101) and the external filter element (103), wherein the external filter element (103) is configured to supply the laundry care device (101) with electrical energy via the electrical power supply line (114-1) for operating the laundry care device (101), wherein the external filter element (103) comprises a filter control (115) which is electrically connected to the electrical power supply line (114-1), . characterized by, that the laundry care appliance control (105) is configured to control the laundry care appliance function module (107) of the laundry care appliance (101) with a predetermined control signal, which is configured to generate a predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107), wherein the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103) is configured to detect the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107) at the electrical power supply line (114-1) and to control the external filter element (103) based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107). [2] Laundry care system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the laundry care appliance functional module (107) of the laundry care appliance (101) comprises a drum drive, a heating element, in particular a tube heater, a heat pump, a drum light, a door light, a valve, a pump, in particular a drain pump, an ultrasonic nebulizer, and / or a blower of the laundry care appliance (101). [3] Laundry care system (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the external filter element (103) comprises a filter cleaning element (117) electrically connected to the filter control (115), wherein the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103) is configured to control the filter cleaning element (117) of the external filter element (103) based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107) in order to control the external filter element (103) based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107). [4] Laundry care system (100) according to claim 3, wherein the filter cleaning element (117) comprises a backwash valve, a backwash pump, a regenerable filter fleece and / or a mechanical scraper of a filter of the external filter element (103). [5] Laundry care system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103) is configured to select a state, in particular laundry care program state, of the laundry care device based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care device function module (107) from a plurality of states, in particular laundry care program states, and to control the external filter element (103) based on the selected state of the laundry care device. [6] Laundry care system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the external filter element (103) comprises an external pump (119) for increasing the pump pressure of the washing liquid pumped out through the external filter element (103) via the external drain line section (111-2), wherein the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103) is configured to control the external pump (119) of the external filter element (103) based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107) in order to control the external filter element (103) based on the detected predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107). [7] Laundry care system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the external filter element (103) has an external drain line (121), and wherein the external filter element (103) is configured to drain the filtered washing liquid through the external drain line (121), in particular into a drain located in the installation area of ​​the laundry care appliance (101). [8] Laundry care system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the laundry care device control (105) is configured to execute a laundry care program for treating laundry contained in the tub (109), wherein the laundry care device control (105) is configured to activate the pump (113) during a drain time interval of the laundry care program in order to pump the washing liquid out of the tub (109) and through the drain line (111-1, 111-2) out of the laundry care device (101), wherein the laundry care device control (105) is configured to control the laundry care device function module (107) of the laundry care device (101) with the predetermined control signal during a control time interval of the laundry care program preceding or following the drain time interval in order to generate the predetermined power value of the laundry care device function module (107). [9] Laundry care system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined control signal is configured to generate the predetermined power value and a predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module (107) in a power change time interval, wherein the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103) is configured to detect the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module (107) at the electrical power supply line (114-1) during the power change time interval and to control the external filter element (103) based on the detected power value and the detected predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module (107). [10] Laundry care system (100) according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module (107) is assigned a predetermined power frequency from a plurality of power frequencies, wherein the laundry care appliance control (105) is configured to select the control signal from a plurality of control signals based on the predetermined power frequency, wherein the control signal is configured to generate the predetermined power change of the laundry care appliance function module (107) during the power change time interval at the predetermined power frequency. [11] Laundry care system (100) according to one of claims 9 or 10, wherein a predetermined binary sequence from a plurality of binary sequences is assigned to the predetermined power change of the laundry care device function module (107), wherein the laundry care device controller (105) is configured to select the control signal from a plurality of control signals based on the predetermined binary sequence, wherein the control signal is configured to generate the predetermined power change of the laundry care device function module (107) during the power change time interval based on the predetermined binary sequence, wherein in particular the laundry care device function module (107) has a first power value when the first values ​​of the binary sequence are the same in the power change time interval and has a second power value different from the first power value when the second values ​​of the binary sequence are the same in the power change time interval. [12] Laundry care system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the laundry care appliance function module (107) can be controlled within an activation time interval to activate the function of the laundry care appliance function module (107) with an activation power, wherein the laundry care appliance controller (105) is configured to control the laundry care appliance function module (107) of the laundry care appliance (101) during an activation time interval with the predetermined signal in order to generate the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107) with an activation power, wherein the activation power is less than the activation power and / or wherein the duration of the activation time interval is less than the duration of the activation time interval. [13] Laundry care system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the laundry care device control (105) is configured to detect a laundry care device state of the laundry care device (101) from a plurality of laundry care device states of the laundry care device (101), in particular to detect a laundry program time segment from a plurality of laundry program time segments of a laundry care program, wherein the detected laundry care device state, in particular the detected laundry program time segment, is assigned the predetermined power value, in particular the predetermined power change, of the laundry care device function module (107) from a plurality of predetermined power values, in particular a plurality of predetermined power changes, of the laundry care device function module (107), wherein the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103) is configuredto recognize the laundry care appliance status detected by the laundry care appliance control unit (105) based on the detected predetermined power value, in particular the detected predetermined power change, of the laundry care appliance function module (107) and to control the external filter element (103) based on the detected laundry care appliance status. [14] Laundry care system (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the laundry care device control (105) is configured to select a control command for controlling the external filter element (103) from a plurality of control commands for controlling the external filter element (103), wherein the selected control command is assigned the predetermined power value, in particular the predetermined power change, of the laundry care device function module (107) from a plurality of predetermined power values, in particular a plurality of predetermined power changes, of the laundry care device function module (107), wherein the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103) is configured to select the control command from the laundry care device control (105) based on the detected predetermined power value, in particular the detected predetermined power change,to recognize the laundry care appliance function module (107) and to control the external filter element (103) based on the recognized control command. [15] Method (200) for operating a laundry care system (100), the laundry care system (100) comprising a laundry care appliance (101) and an external filter element (103), wherein the laundry care appliance (101) has a laundry care appliance controller (105), a laundry care appliance function module (107) electrically connected to the laundry care appliance controller (105) for providing a function of the laundry care appliance (101), a tub (109) for receiving washing liquid, a drain line (111-1, 111-2) fluidically connected to the tub (109), and a pump (113) electrically connected to the laundry care appliance controller (105), which is configured to pump washing liquid from the tub (109) and through the drain line (111-1, 111-2) out of the laundry care appliance (101), wherein the drain line (111-1, 111-2) has an external drain line section (111-2) which is located outside the laundry care appliance (101),and which is fluidically connected to the external filter element (103), and wherein the external filter element (103) is configured to filter washing liquid pumped out through the external drain line section (111-2) in order to remove impurities, in particular microplastics, from the washing liquid, wherein the laundry care system (100) comprises an electrical power supply line (114-1) which electrically connects the laundry care device (101) and the external filter element (103), wherein the external filter element (103) is configured to supply the laundry care device (101) with electrical energy via the electrical power supply line (114-1) for operating the laundry care device (101), and wherein the external filter element (103) comprises a filter control (115) which is electrically connected to the electrical power supply line (114-1). characterized by , that the procedure (200) includes: Control (201) of the laundry care appliance function module (107) of the laundry care appliance (101) by the laundry care appliance control (105) with a predetermined control signal which is configured to generate a predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107); Detection (203) of the predetermined power value of the laundry care appliance function module (107) at the electrical power supply line (114-1) by the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103); and Control (205) of the external filter element (103) based on the detected predetermined performance value of the laundry care appliance function module (107) by the filter control (115) of the external filter element (103).

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