Domestic appliance with a device interface

Abstract

The invention relates to a household appliance (1) with a device interface (13) which is designed and configured to enable communication between the household appliance (1), preferably its control unit, and a device (2). The household appliance (1) is characterized by a wireless communication bridge (3) with a wireless long-range communication interface (30) which is designed and configured to establish a wireless long-range communication connection (A) to the device (2), and with a short-range communication interface (31) which is designed and configured to establish a short-range communication connection (B) to the device interface (13).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a household appliance with a device interface.

[0002] Household appliances such as washing machines, tumble dryers, washer-dryers, wet vacuum cleaners, vacuum cleaners, and the like have long been known for carrying out or supporting household activities such as washing, drying, cleaning (e.g., wiping or vacuuming), and the like. This also applies to kitchen appliances, which are also classified as household appliances. For example, a user can be assisted in preparing meals by a hand mixer, a hand blender, a kettle, and in particular by cooking appliances such as an oven, a steamer, a combination oven and steamer, a microwave, and the like. Kitchen appliances also include, for example, extractor hoods, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, chest freezers, and the like.

[0003] Some household appliances, such as vacuum cleaners and hand mixers, are guided and moved by hand during use and are therefore considered mobile. Other household appliances, such as washing machines, tumble dryers, ovens, steamers, refrigerators, and the like, are placed and used in a specific location in the home, such as the kitchen or pantry, due to their intended use and their size and weight, and are therefore considered stationary.

[0004] Such stationary household appliances usually have in common that they have an outer casing which essentially encloses the household appliance on the outside and protects its individual components and elements, as well as making them easier to handle together. An interior space is formed within the household appliance which represents the handling space and is essentially enclosed by an inner casing which acts as an inner casing. Between the inner casing and the outer casing, a housing space is formed as an intermediate space in which functional elements of the household appliance, such as a controller or control unit, an electrical power supply and other components which serve the intended use of the household appliance, can be arranged. In depth from the front, i.e. viewed from the user's perspective, the outer casing ora panel in the form of a furniture material or in the form of a control panel and the like together with the inner housing closes off the housing space so that the housing space is not accessible to the user.

[0005] The interior of the household appliance has a through-opening at the front in depth as an access opening, through which the interior of the household appliance is accessible to the user in order to insert items to be treated, such as laundry to be washed or dried, food to be cooked or cooled, or the like, into the interior of the household appliance and arrange them there, and to remove them from the interior of the household appliance after treatment has been completed. The access opening can be opened by the user by means of a closure element, for example in the form of a door that can be pivoted sideways, a flap that can be pivoted downwards, or the like, in order to access the interior of the household appliance, as described above, or to close the interior of the household appliance and carry out the treatment process.Such a closure element can be designed to be closed or to have a viewing window to allow the user, for example in the case of a washing machine or an oven, to see into the closed interior of the household appliance.

[0006] It is now common practice to network such household appliances with a smart home control system, which can preferably be done wirelessly. For this purpose, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee are used for wireless communication, or Powerline for wired communication. In this way, a communication option, particularly a wireless one, can be created for the household appliance or its control system. For this to happen, the household appliance must have a corresponding, particularly wireless, interface, which is not usually the case, at least with older household appliances.

[0007] It's also common for household appliances to have interfaces exclusively for customer service technicians, such as an optical interface. This connects directly to a computer via a data cable.

[0008] Please note that this communication with the appliance can only be carried out by customer service once the appliance has been installed at the user's location. This interface is not available to the user during use, as it can provide access to functions that are deliberately withheld from the user for security reasons.

[0009] The invention addresses the problem of creating or improving the capabilities for wireless communication in household appliances. In particular, this should be possible retrofitting household appliances. In any case, this should also provide the ability to locate and / or identify the household appliance to other wireless communication users and / or vice versa. In any case, this should be as simple, cost-effective, reliable, and / or energy-efficient as possible. At the very least, an alternative to the known options should be created.

[0010] According to the invention, this problem is solved by a household appliance and a wireless communication bridge having the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are set forth in the following dependent claims.

[0011] The invention thus relates to a household appliance with a device interface that is designed and configured to facilitate communication between the household appliance, preferably its control unit, and a device. The device, in the sense of a device other than the household appliance according to the invention, can also be a household appliance, but also a home control system or a mobile device such as a wearable, a smartphone, a tablet, or the like.

[0012] The household appliance according to the invention is characterized by a wireless communication bridge with a wireless long-range communication interface, which is designed and configured to establish a wireless long-range communication connection to the appliance, and with a short-range communication interface, which is designed and configured to establish a short-range communication connection to the appliance interface.

[0013] In other words, the wireless communication bridge according to the invention can be used in a household appliance as a connection interface to establish and operate communication between the device interface of the household appliance and the other appliance or its communication interface. Communication can take place in one direction or, preferably, in both directions. At least the communication between the wireless communication bridge and the other appliance is wireless, which is why the communication bridge according to the invention can be referred to as a wireless communication bridge.

[0014] In any case, the communication capabilities of the household appliance according to the invention can be increased or expanded. In particular, known and especially older household appliances already in use without their own wireless communication capability can be upgraded to household appliances according to the invention by using or supplementing the wireless communication bridge according to the invention.

[0015] According to one aspect of the invention, the wireless long-range communication interface comprises a UWB communication interface which is designed and configured to establish a UWB communication connection to the device.

[0016] UWB stands for Ultra Wideband and describes the use of a broadband radio signal with a minimum width of 500 MHz in a frequency range from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz. The generated radio signals have a time delay in the nanosecond range. This enables high data rates and also allows for time-of-flight measurements, which enable precise distance measurements between two UWB participants of less than 10 cm. Depending on the antenna design or when using multiple antennas, the directions of the radio signals can also be determined with an accuracy of around 3° using a time-of-flight difference. Typical measurement methods here are two-way ranging and PDoA (phase difference of the incoming signals).

[0017] IEEE802.15.4z can be used as the technical basis. This is a wireless protocol for UWB communication that is only permitted to use low spectral power. This low spectral power limits its range. The high bandwidth (500 MHz) allows for very short pulses, which can be used for precise time-of-flight measurements.

[0018] This aspect of the invention is based on the idea that, while some of the known wireless communication or radio standards can be used to locate another device or the household appliance itself with a certain degree of accuracy, they do not allow for high precision. This disadvantage can be overcome by using UWB.

[0019] Even with a conventional communication bridge that offers an existing wireless standard such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on at least one side of the communication participants, it cannot be guaranteed that the other device, such as a wearable, smartphone, or the like, is located near the household appliance. However, for some applications, this must be ensured, for example, because the function to be performed by the household appliance via the wearable requires supervised operation of the household appliance by the wearable wearer. This can also be enabled using UWB.

[0020] Thus, the possibilities, functions and advantages of UWB technology can be applied and utilized in long-range communication between the household appliance according to the invention or its wireless communication bridge according to the invention.

[0021] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device interface comprises a wireless device interface, and the short-range communication interface comprises a wireless short-range communication interface configured and configured to establish a wireless short-range communication connection to the device interface. Thus, the possibilities, functions, and advantages of wireless communication can also be applied and utilized between the wireless communication bridge according to the invention and the wireless device interface.

[0022] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device interface comprises an optical device interface, and the short-range communication interface comprises an optical interface designed and configured to establish an optical short-range communication connection to the device interface. This may represent one possible concrete implementation.

[0023] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device interface comprises a WLAN module, and the short-range communication interface comprises a WLAN module that is designed and configured to establish a WLAN short-range communication connection to the device interface. This may represent one possible concrete implementation.

[0024] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device interface comprises a Bluetooth module, and the short-range communication interface comprises a Bluetooth module configured and configured to establish a Bluetooth short-range communication connection to the device interface. This may represent one possible concrete implementation.

[0025] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device interface comprises a vibration module, and the short-range communication interface comprises a vibration module designed and configured to establish a vibration short-range communication connection to the device interface. Vibrations, in particular structure-borne sound, can be generated and / or detected by the vibration modules, which can enable communication via sound in one or both directions. This can represent one possible implementation.

[0026] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device interface comprises an NFC module, and the short-range communication interface comprises an NFC module configured and configured to establish an NFC short-range communication connection to the device interface. This may represent one possible concrete implementation.

[0027] According to a further aspect of the invention, the wireless communication bridge is connected to the device interface in a non-destructively detachable manner. This can enable retrofitting and further use on another household appliance.

[0028] This aspect of the invention is based on the idea that household appliances today do not always offer wireless communication capabilities at all, and even if they do, they rarely offer a location-tracking feature. Older household appliances typically do not offer such capabilities.

[0029] In both cases, it would be conceivable to retrofit the household appliance with an electronic component for wireless communication, which would also allow the basic location of the household appliance. In the case of older household appliances without their own radio module or wireless communication module or wireless communication interface, this could be achieved using modules attached to the outside of the household appliance. However, these modules are usually not connected to the household appliance or its control system at all or can only be connected with great effort by a qualified service technician. This would allow the control system of the older household appliance to communicate wirelessly with other devices and, if necessary, even be located by them and / or to locate them. This wireless communication could also enable one-way or mutual identification.

[0030] It should be noted that retrofitting such an additional module should usually be done on the rear of the household appliance so as not to visually disrupt the user's view from the front. Electrical connections and the like are also usually located on the rear of household appliances, so these connections could be accessed from the additional module.

[0031] To retrofit such electronic modules, so-called plug-in modules can also be provided inside the housing of a household appliance. However, plug-in modules are complex to install and are often not accepted by users, as removing an already installed household appliance to access the slot is too difficult.

[0032] Furthermore, a suitable slot and connection for such a module must be available. Therefore, the appliance must have been designed with the possibility of such an upgrade in the future in mind. This is often not the case with older household appliances.

[0033] These disadvantages can be overcome according to the invention by retrofitting the wireless communication bridge according to the invention to a household appliance with a device interface.

[0034] According to a further aspect of the invention, the wireless communication bridge is separately designed and manufactured and connected to the device interface in a manner that can be detachably and non-destructively removed by the user. This can clarify that the wireless communication bridge can be detachably and non-destructively removed from the device interface.

[0035] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device interface is arranged facing a user, preferably on a panel of the household appliance. This can improve the accessibility of the device interface for the user. This can also prevent or reduce interference or impairments to the wireless long-range communication connection of the wireless communication bridge according to the invention, which could occur if the device interface were arranged inside the household appliance, and in particular in the area of ​​the rear panel of the household appliance, especially in built-in appliances.

[0036] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device is a mobile terminal, preferably a wearable, a smartphone or a tablet.

[0037] A "wearable," also called a "wearable computer," refers to electronic devices such as a smartwatch, data glasses, or similar devices that are worn on the user's body during use. Wearables can also be integrated into clothing, including shoes. The aforementioned wireless communication standards can also be used with wearables.

[0038] Wearables can be used, in particular, for mobile data processing. On the other hand, wearables are essentially used to make the person wearing or using the wearable discoverable or trackable, which can be referred to as tracking. During tracking, information about the user can be collected and wirelessly transmitted to other electronic devices or to an electrical network, which show the person's position in a room and, in particular, in relation to a device. Additionally or alternatively, information relating to the person's activities and / or physiological state, such as body temperature, heart rate, and the like, can also be transmitted in this way. Wearables can also interact or communicate with each other, for example to identify people or their wearables, and the like.

[0039] In any case, in this way, wireless communication as described above can be established and operated with a mobile terminal in order to be able to apply and use its functions and advantages in the household appliance according to the invention.

[0040] The invention also relates to a wireless communication bridge for use in a household appliance as described above, comprising a wireless long-range communication interface designed and configured to establish a wireless long-range communication connection to the appliance, and a short-range communication interface designed and configured to establish a short-range communication connection to the appliance interface of the household appliance.

[0041] In this way, a wireless communication bridge can be provided in order to realize a household appliance according to the invention as described above and to be able to implement and utilize its previously described properties and advantages.

[0042] In other words, the invention relates to a short-range communication bridge. On one side of the bridge, UWB radio technology can be implemented, allowing the user to benefit from the diverse use cases already known for identification, positioning, and data communication via a UWB-enabled wearable. On the other side, short-range communication with the household appliance takes place, ensuring that the communication bridge is installed in close proximity to the household appliance or directly on the appliance.

[0043] Short-range communication can be implemented in a variety of ways. Here are a few examples: 1. For household appliances with an optical interface, the communication bridge can be attached to the optical interface. Communication with the household appliance thus takes place via the optical interface, which, on the one hand, ensures the position of the communication bridge. On the other hand, this communication path allows many device functions to be accessed that would otherwise be performed in the laboratory or by customer service, for example, but which the user would otherwise not be able to perform because they do not have the appropriate device. 2. For household appliances with a Wi-Fi and possibly an additional Bluetooth module, the communication bridge can communicate with the household appliance via these two communication paths. On the other hand, the signal strength can be used to detect the immediate proximity of the communication bridge to the household appliance. Pairing and recognition of the household appliance could be greatly simplified. 3.In the case of household appliances that have an acceleration sensor, the communication bridge can have an actuator such as a piezo or other small MEMS component which, when the communication bridge is attached directly to the surface of the appliance, generates vibrations that can be measured by the acceleration sensor in the household appliance. In this way, signals can be generated that indicate a presence, possibly also an ID, so that the proximity of the communication bridge to the household appliance is also ensured. 4. In the case of household appliances that are equipped with an NFC chip, the communication bridge can also be equipped with NFC and can therefore detect the immediate proximity to the household appliance via this radio connection and vice versa, i.e. the household appliance can also detect that a specific short-range communication module is attached to the surface of the device.

[0044] It is advantageous that the communication bridge according to the invention can ensure the presence of the user or their wearable in the immediate vicinity of the household appliance, since the household appliance on the one hand has short-range communication (NFC, intensity measurement of a radio signal, vibration, etc.) with its device interface and the household appliance on the other hand can have more advanced communication such as UWB, with which a device upgrade takes place.

[0045] The communication bridge can be used for extended device communication. For example, communication via the optical interface could trigger more device functions than via an existing Wi-Fi connection. The optical interface is a communication channel that can currently only be used with professional equipment. These are primarily customer service departments or a manufacturer's laboratory, for example, for system updates or device testing.

[0046] With a Wi-Fi connection, care should be taken to ensure that no security-relevant functions can be called up that could be intentionally taken over by a stranger from outside. Depending on which long-range communication path is used in the communication bridge, secure operation can still be achieved. UWB, for example, only has a radio range within one's own home, and the signals decay quickly, e.g., through several house walls, making it difficult for a stranger from outside to attack. In addition, UWB technology is used in the automotive sector, especially for the ranging functionality of secure car keys, in order to prevent so-called relay attacks, which occur with older radio remote controls. Certain device functions can only be used with UWB technology at certain distances from the household appliance, thus ensuring supervision.

[0047] The communication bridge can be retrofitted to enhance older household appliances. Many household appliances currently in use have an optical interface, but not yet Wi-Fi. Using a communication bridge according to the invention, the user can update their household appliance and utilize features such as app integration.

[0048] The communication bridge described here could be used in a variety of ways. For example, the user could attach the communication bridge according to the invention to the surface, such as directly to the front of any older household appliance. The module can also be removed from the old appliance and attached to the new one when purchasing a new one.

[0049] Several embodiments of the invention are shown purely schematically in the drawings and are described in more detail below. Figure 1 is a front view of a household appliance according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a detailed view of the upper right area of ​​the household appliance of the Figure 1 .

[0050] The above figures are viewed in Cartesian coordinates. A longitudinal axis (not shown) extends, which can also be referred to as depth or length. Perpendicular to the longitudinal axis is a transverse axis Y, which can also be referred to as width Y. Perpendicular to both the longitudinal and transverse axes Y is a vertical axis Z, which can also be referred to as height Z and corresponds to the direction of gravity. The longitudinal axis and the transverse axis Y together form the horizontal, which can also be referred to as the horizontal plane.

[0051] Figure 1 shows a front view of a household appliance 1 according to the invention. Figure 2shows a detailed view of the upper right area of ​​the household appliance 1 of the Figure 1 .

[0052] An oven 1 is considered to be the household appliance 1. The oven 1 has an outer casing 10, which can also be referred to as an outer housing 10, and which essentially closes off or encloses the oven 1 to the outside. The outer casing 10 terminates along its longitudinal axis at the front, i.e., toward the user, in the upper area with a panel 11. The panel 11 has a display / control element 12 in the form of a display 12.

[0053] Within the outer casing 10, there is a cooking chamber (not shown), which is accessible to the user from the front along the longitudinal axis through an access opening (not shown) located below the panel 11. The access opening can be closed and opened by means of a closure element 14 in the form of a flap 14 with a viewing window 14a. For this purpose, the flap 14 is connected to the outer casing 10 of the oven 1 by means of at least one hinge (not shown) so as to be pivotable upwards about the transverse axis Y, so that the flap 14 can be pivoted upwards away from the user in order to close the access opening, see Figure 1 , and can be pivoted downwards towards you to release the access opening and to access the cooking chamber 12.

[0054] In the right-hand area of ​​the panel 11, the oven 1 has a wireless communication bridge 3 according to the invention, which is removably mounted or attached to an underlying device interface 13 (shown in dashed lines) of the oven 1.

[0055] The appliance interface 13 of the oven 1 allows its control unit (not shown) to communicate with the outside. According to the invention, the short-range communication connection B is received by the wireless communication bridge 3 and forwarded via a wireless long-range communication interface 30 as a wireless long-range communication connection A in the form of a UWB communication connection A in order to utilize the properties and advantages of UWB connections. The wireless long-range communication interface 30 can also be referred to as a wireless long-range communication module 30, a UWB communication interface 30, or a UWB communication module 30.

[0056] The UWB communication link A is established to another device 2 and operated in both directions, as well as forwarded to the short-range communication link B to the device interface 13. For communication with the device interface 13, the wireless communication bridge 3 has a short-range communication interface 31, which can also be referred to as a short-range communication module 31.

[0057] The further device 2 can in particular be a mobile terminal 2 such as a wearable 2, a smartphone 2 (in Figure 2 shown) or a Tablet 2.

[0058] The implementation of the short-range communication connection B can be carried out in particular by means of various wireless short-range communication connections B or wireless device interfaces 13 of the baking oven 1 itself as well as wireless short-range communication interface 31 of the wireless communication bridge 3, which is arranged on the baking oven 1.

[0059] If the device interface 13 has an optical interface 13 and the wireless communication bridge 3 has an optical interface 31, an optical short-range communication connection B can be used.

[0060] If the device interface 13 has a WLAN module 13 and the wireless communication bridge 3 has a WLAN module 31, a WLAN short-range communication connection B can be used.

[0061] If the device interface 13 has a Bluetooth module 13 and the wireless communication bridge 3 has a Bluetooth module 31, a Bluetooth short-range communication connection B can be used.

[0062] If the device interface 13 has a vibration module 13 and the wireless communication bridge 3 has a vibration module 31, a vibration short-range communication connection B can be used.

[0063] If the device interface 13 has an NFC module 13 and the wireless communication bridge 3 has an NFC module 31, an NFC short-range communication connection B can be used.

[0064] There may also be several different wireless short-range communication interfaces 31 on the wireless communication bridge 3, see Figure 2to be used alternatively. At the same time, however, these different possibilities can be provided simultaneously or in parallel using the same wireless communication bridge 3, which can minimize the number of variants of the wireless communication bridge 3 according to the invention. List of reference symbols (part of the description)

[0065] A long-range wireless communication link; UWB communication link B (wireless) short-range communication link; short-range optical communication link; WiFi short-range communication connection; Bluetooth short-range communication connection; oscillatory short-range communication link; NFC short-range communication connection YCross axis; Width ZVertical axis; Height 1 Household appliance; oven 10 Outer casing; outer casing 11 Panel 12 Display / control element; display 13 (wireless) device interface; optical interface; WLAN module; Bluetooth module; vibration module; NFC module 14 Locking element; flap 14a Viewing window of the locking element 14 2Device; mobile device; wearable; smartphone; tablet 3 wireless communication bridge 30 wireless long-range communication interface; wireless long-range communication module; UWB communication interface; UWB communication module 31 (wireless) short-range communication interface; (wireless) short-range communication module; optical interface; WLAN module; Bluetooth module; vibration module; NFC module

Claims

1. Household appliance (1) with a device interface (13) which is designed and configured to carry out communication of the household appliance (1), preferably its control unit, with a device (2), characterized by a wireless communication bridge (3) with a wireless long-range communication interface (30) which is designed and configured to establish a wireless long-range communication connection (A) to the device (2), and with a short-range communication interface (31) which is designed and configured to establish a short-range communication connection (B) to the device interface (13).

2. Household appliance (1) according to claim 1, wherein the wireless long-range communication interface (30) comprises a UWB communication interface (30) which is designed and configured to establish a UWB communication connection (A) to the appliance (2).

3. Household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device interface (13) comprises a wireless device interface (13) and wherein the short-range communication interface (31) comprises a wireless short-range communication interface (31) which is designed and configured to implement a wireless short-range communication connection (B) to the device interface (13).

4. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device interface (13) has an optical device interface (13) and wherein the short-range communication interface (31) has an optical interface (31) which is designed and configured to implement an optical short-range communication connection (B) to the device interface (13).

5. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device interface (13) has a WLAN module (13) and wherein the short-range communication interface (31) has a WLAN module (31) which is designed and configured to establish a WLAN short-range communication connection (B) to the device interface (13).

6. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device interface (13) comprises a Bluetooth module (13) and wherein the short-range communication interface (31) comprises a Bluetooth module (31) which is designed and configured to establish a Bluetooth short-range communication connection (B) to the device interface (13).

7. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device interface (13) has a vibration module (13) and wherein the short-range communication interface (31) has a vibration module (31) which is designed and configured to implement a vibration short-range communication connection (B) to the device interface (13).

8. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device interface (13) has an NFC module (13) and wherein the short-range communication interface (31) has an NFC module (31) which is designed and configured to implement an NFC short-range communication connection (B) to the device interface (13).

9. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the wireless communication bridge (3) is non-destructively separable from the device interface (13).

10. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the wireless communication bridge (3) is designed and manufactured separately and is connected to the appliance interface (13) in a way that can be detachably connected by the user.

11. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device interface (13) is arranged facing a user, preferably on a panel (11) of the household appliance (1).

12. Household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (2) is a mobile terminal (2), preferably a wearable (2), a smartphone (2) or a tablet (2).

13. Wireless communication bridge (3) for use in a household appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a wireless long-range communication interface (30) which is designed and configured to establish a wireless long-range communication connection (A) to the appliance (2), and comprising a short-range communication interface (31) which is designed and configured to establish a short-range communication connection (B) to the appliance interface (13) of the household appliance (1).

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