System and method of operating household appliances

Abstract

A method of operating a group of household appliances connected to a wireless network and a remote computing device includes generating, by a local user interface of one the household appliances, an input in response to physical contact by a user with the local user interface. Additionally, the method includes capturing data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network in response to the generated input. The captured data is indicative of the presence of the user at a first household appliance. Furthermore, the method includes determining that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user. Moreover, the method includes detecting the pattern with a second household appliance of the group of household appliances. Additionally, the method includes determining that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern.

Description

FIELD

[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to household appliances which connect to a home network and / or a remote network such as the Internet and to systems and methods of operating the household appliances.BACKGROUND

[0002] Household appliances are utilized generally for a variety of tasks by a variety of users. For example, a household may include such appliances as laundry appliances, e.g., a washer and / or dryer, kitchen appliances, e.g., a refrigerator, a microwave, and / or a coffee maker, along with room air conditioners and other various household appliances.

[0003] Generally, a user manually activates such household appliances in order to utilize the basic functions of the household appliances. For example, some household appliances may include user interfaces in which appliance users manually select cycles or modes of operation of the household appliances. The user interfaces may include various components, such as LED or LCD displays, which are turned on for long periods of time and thus consume large quantities of energy.

[0004] Accordingly, systems and methods of operating a household appliance to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the appliance would be beneficial. Specifically, systems and methods of operating the household appliance associated with the detection of the user would be particularly beneficial.BRIEF DESCRIPTION

[0005] Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.

[0006] In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of operating a group of household appliances is provided. The group of household appliances are connected to a wireless network and a remote computing device. The method includes generating, by a local user interface of one of the group of household appliances, an input in response to a physical contact by a user with the local user interface. Additionally, the method includes capturing data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network in response to the generated input. The captured data is indicative of a presence of the user at a first household appliance of the group of household appliances. Furthermore, the method includes determining that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user. Moreover, the method includes detecting the pattern with a second household appliance of the group of household appliances. Additionally, the method includes determining that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern.

[0007] In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for operating a group of household appliances connected to a wireless network is provided. The system includes a remote computing device. Additionally, the system includes the group of household appliances. The group of household appliances includes a first household appliance. The first household appliance includes a local user interface and a first controller. The first controller is operatively coupled to the local user interface and the remote computing device. Furthermore, the group of household appliances includes a second household appliance. The second household appliance includes a second controller. The second controller is operatively coupled to the remote computing device. Additionally, the system includes a controller. The controller is configured to capture data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels in response to a generated input indicative of physical contact by a user with the local user interface of the first household appliance. The captured data is indicative of a presence of the user at the first household appliance. Furthermore, the controller is configured to determine that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user. Additionally, the controller is configured to detect the pattern with the second household appliance. Furthermore, the controller is configured to determine that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern.

[0008] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.

[0010] FIG. 1 provides a front view of exemplary laundry appliances in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 2 provides a side cross-sectional view of one of the exemplary laundry appliances of FIG. 1.

[0012] FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of the other exemplary laundry appliance of FIG. 1 with portions of a cabinet of the laundry appliance removed to reveal certain components of the laundry appliance.

[0013] FIG. 4 provides a front view of an exemplary group of kitchen appliances in accordance with one or more additional exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 5 provides a side schematic view of the group of kitchen appliances of FIG. 4.

[0015] FIG. 6 provides a diagrammatic illustration of multiple household appliances in accordance with one or more additional exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 7 provides a diagrammatic illustration of a wireless signal which may be used with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter.

[0017] FIG. 8 provides an exemplary diagram of wireless signal strength over time such as may be used with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter.

[0018] FIG. 9 provides a flowchart illustrating an example method of operating household appliances according to one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] The use of the same reference numbers in the figures denotes the same or similar features unless the context indicates otherwise.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0021] As used herein, the terms “first,”“second,” and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The terms “includes” and “including” are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Similarly, the term “or” is generally intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” is intended to mean “A or B or both”). The term “at least one of” in the context of, e.g., “at least one of A, B, and C” refers to only A, only B, only C, or any combination of A, B, and C. In addition, here and throughout the specification and claims, range limitations may be combined and / or interchanged. Such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise. For example, all ranges disclosed herein are inclusive of the endpoints, and the endpoints are independently combinable with each other. The singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0022] Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “generally,”“about,”“approximately,” and “substantially,” are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value, or the precision of the methods or machines for constructing or manufacturing the components and / or systems. For example, the approximating language may refer to being within a 10 percent margin, i.e., including values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value. In this regard, for example, when used in the context of an angle or direction, such terms include within ten degrees greater or less than the stated angle or direction, e.g., “generally vertical” includes forming an angle of up to ten degrees in any direction, e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise, with the vertical direction V.

[0023] The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” In addition, references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may. Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “an embodiment” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Moreover, each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0024] As may be seen in FIGS. 1 through 5, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present subject matter, a group of household appliances, which may include a first household appliance 10 and a second household appliance 11, are provided. The illustrated groups of two household appliances are provided by way of example only. Various embodiments of the present subject matter may also include three or more household appliances. For example, the exemplary household appliances of FIGS. 1 through 5 may each be provided in various combinations with one or more of the other household appliances of FIGS. 1 through 5 and / or either or both groups of household appliances illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5. Each appliance of the group or two or more household appliances disclosed herein may be operable and configured to connect to one or more remote computing devices, e.g., a cloud or other distributed computing environment, as will be described in more detail below.

[0025] As generally seen throughout FIGS. 1 through 5, each appliance 10 and 11 includes a cabinet 12 which defines a vertical direction V and a lateral direction L that are mutually perpendicular. Each cabinet 12 extends between a top side 16 and a bottom side 14 along the vertical direction V. Each cabinet 12 also extends between a left side 18 and a right side 20, e.g., along the lateral direction L.

[0026] Each appliance 10 and 11 may include a user interface panel 100 and a user input device 102 which may be positioned on an exterior of the cabinet 12. The user input device 102 is generally positioned proximate to the user interface panel 100, and in some embodiments, the user input device 102 may be positioned on the user interface panel 100.

[0027] In various embodiments, the user interface panel 100 may represent a general purpose I / O (“GPIO”) device or functional block. In some embodiments, the user interface panel 100 may include or be in operative communication with user input device 102, such as one or more of a variety of digital, analog, electrical, mechanical or electro-mechanical input devices including rotary dials, control knobs, push buttons, and touch pads. The user interface panel 100 may include a display component 104, such as a digital or analog display device designed to provide operational feedback to a user. The display component 104 may also be a light emitting display. For example, the display component 104 may be a backlit touchscreen capable of receiving a user input such that the display component 104 may also be a user input device in addition to or instead of the user input device 102.

[0028] Generally, each appliance 10 and 11 may include a controller 210 in operative communication with the user input device 102. The user interface panel 100 and the user input device 102 may be in communication with the controller 210 via, for example, one or more signal lines or shared communication busses. Input / output (“I / O”) signals may be routed between controller 210 and various operational components of the household appliances 10 and 11. Operation of the household appliances 10 and 11 may each be regulated by the respective controller 210 that is operatively coupled to the corresponding user interface panel 100. A user interface panel 100 may, for example, provide selections for user manipulation of the operation of an appliance, e.g., via user input device 102 and / or display component 104. In response to user manipulation of the user interface panel 100 and / or user input device 102, the controller 210 may operate various components of the appliance 10 or 11. Each controller 210 may include a memory and one or more microprocessors, CPUs or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessors operable to execute programming instructions or micro-control code associated with operation of the appliance 10 or 11. The memory may represent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such as ROM or FLASH. In one embodiment, the processor executes programming instructions stored in memory. The memory may be a separate component from the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. Alternatively, a controller 210 may be constructed without using a microprocessor, e.g., using a combination of discrete analog and / or digital logic circuitry (such as switches, amplifiers, integrators, comparators, flip-flops, AND gates, and the like) to perform control functionality instead of relying upon software.

[0029] The controller 210 may be programmed to operate the respective appliance 10 or 11 by executing instructions stored in memory. For example, the instructions may be software or any set of instructions that when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations. Controller 210 may include one or more processor(s) and associated memory device(s) configured to perform a variety of computer-implemented functions and / or instructions (e.g. performing the methods, calculations and the like and storing relevant data as disclosed herein). It should be noted that controllers 210 as disclosed herein are capable of and may be operable to perform any methods or associated method steps as disclosed herein.

[0030] In embodiments in which the household appliances 10 and / or 11 include the display component 104, the controller(s) 210 may activate the display component 104 by turning on or waking the display component 104, which may also include providing a greeting or other to the user on the display component 104. In some embodiments, the display component 104 may be a light emitting display 104, e.g., such as the backlit touchscreen display described above, of which a brightness level of the display component 104 is adjustable, e.g., increased, dimmed, and / or turned off / deactivated entirely. For example, the brightness level of the display component 104 may be automatically adjustable by the controller(s) 210 in response to a received input, e.g., an input received from a sensing device indicative of a presence of a user and / or a distance / position of the user from the first household appliance 10 and / or the second household appliance 11.

[0031] In some embodiments, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the group of household appliances 10 and 11 may be or include a pair of laundry appliances. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the first appliance may be a washing machine appliance 10 and the second appliance may be a dryer appliance 11. In embodiments such as illustrated in FIG. 1, the user input device 102 of each household appliance 10 and 11 may be positioned on the user interface panel 100. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 also includes a display component 104 on the user interface panel 100 of each household appliance 10 and 11.

[0032] Additional exemplary details of the laundry appliances 10 and 11 are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, FIG. 2 provides a cross-sectional view of an exemplary washing machine appliance 10 which may, in various embodiments, be one appliance of a group of connected household appliances. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a wash tub 124 is non-rotatably mounted within cabinet 12. As may be seen in FIG. 2, the wash tub 124 defines a central axis 101. In the example embodiment illustrated by FIG. 2, the central axis 101 may be oriented generally along or parallel to the transverse direction T of the washing machine appliance 10. Accordingly, the washing machine appliance 10 may be referred to as a horizontal axis washing machine.

[0033] Referring again to FIG. 2, a wash basket 120 is rotatably mounted within the wash tub 124 such that the wash basket 120 is rotatable about an axis of rotation, which generally coincides with central axis 101 of the wash tub 124. A motor 122, e.g., such as a pancake motor, is in mechanical communication with wash basket 120 to selectively rotate wash basket 120 (e.g., during an agitation or a rinse cycle of washing machine appliance 10). Wash basket 120 defines a wash chamber 126 that is configured for receipt of articles for washing. The wash tub 124 holds wash and rinse fluids for agitation in wash basket 120 within wash tub 124. As used herein, “wash fluid” may refer to water, detergent, fabric softener, bleach, or any other suitable wash additive or combination thereof. The wash basket 120 and the wash tub 124 may collectively define at least a portion of a tub assembly for the washing machine appliance 10.

[0034] Wash basket 120 may define one or more agitator features that extend into wash chamber 126 to assist in agitation and cleaning of articles disposed within wash chamber 126 during operation of washing machine appliance 10. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of ribs 128 extends from wash basket 120 into wash chamber 126. In this manner, for example, ribs 128 may lift articles disposed in wash basket 120 during rotation of wash basket 120.

[0035] Referring generally to FIGS. 1 and 2, cabinet 12 also includes a front panel 130 which defines an opening 132 that permits user access to wash basket 120 within wash tub 124. More specifically, washing machine appliance 10 includes a door 134 that is positioned in front of opening 132 and is rotatably mounted to front panel 130. Door 134 is rotatable such that door 134 permits selective access to opening 132 by rotating between an open position (not shown) facilitating access to a wash tub 124 and a closed position (FIG. 1) prohibiting access to wash tub 124.

[0036] A window 136 in door 134 permits viewing of wash basket 120 when door 134 is in the closed position, e.g., during operation of washing machine appliance 10. Door 134 also includes a handle (not shown) that, e.g., a user may pull when opening and closing door 134. Further, although door 134 is illustrated as mounted to front panel 130, it should be appreciated that door 134 may be mounted to another side of cabinet 12 or any other suitable support according to alternative embodiments.

[0037] Referring again to FIG. 2, wash basket 120 also defines a plurality of perforations 140 in order to facilitate fluid communication between an interior of wash basket 120 and wash tub 124. A sump 142 is defined by wash tub 124 at a bottom of wash tub 124 along the vertical direction V. Thus, sump 142 is configured for receipt of and generally collects wash fluid during operation of washing machine appliance 10. For example, during operation of washing machine appliance 10, wash fluid may be urged by gravity from wash basket 120 to sump 142 through plurality of perforations 140. A pump assembly 144 is located beneath wash tub 124 for gravity assisted flow when draining wash tub 124, e.g., via a drain 146. Pump assembly 144 may be configured for recirculating wash fluid within wash tub 124.

[0038] A spout 150 is configured for directing a flow of fluid into wash tub 124. For example, spout 150 may be in fluid communication with a water supply (not shown) in order to direct fluid, e.g., clean water) into wash tub 124. Spout 150 may also be in fluid communication with the sump 142. For example, pump assembly 144 may direct wash fluid disposed in sump 142 to spout 150 in order to circulate wash fluid in wash tub 124.

[0039] As illustrated in FIG. 2, a dispenser drawer 152 is slidably mounted within front panel 130. Dispenser drawer 152 receives a wash additive (e.g., detergent, fabric softener, bleach, or any other suitable liquid or powder) and directs the fluid additive to wash chamber 126 during operation of washing machine appliance 10. According to the illustrated embodiment, dispenser drawer 152 may also be fluidly coupled to spout 150 to facilitate the complete and accurate dispensing of wash additive.

[0040] Additionally, a bulk reservoir 154 is disposed within cabinet 12. Bulk reservoir 154 is also configured for receipt of fluid additive for use during operation of washing machine appliance 10. Bulk reservoir 154 is sized such that a volume of fluid additive sufficient for a plurality or multitude of wash cycles of washing machine appliance 10 (e.g., five, ten, twenty, fifty, or any other suitable number of wash cycles) may fill bulk reservoir 154. Thus, for example, a user may fill bulk reservoir 154 with fluid additive and operate washing machine appliance 10 for a plurality of wash cycles without refilling bulk reservoir 154 with fluid additive. A reservoir pump 156 is configured for selective delivery of the fluid additive from bulk reservoir 154 to wash tub 124.

[0041] During operation of washing machine appliance 10, laundry items are loaded into wash basket 120 through opening 132, and washing operation may be initiated through operator manipulation of selector inputs 102. Wash tub 124 is filled with water, detergent, and / or other fluid additives, e.g., via spout 150 and / or dispenser drawer 152. One or more valves (not shown) may be controlled by washing machine appliance 10 to provide for filling wash basket 120 to the appropriate level for the amount of articles being washed and / or rinsed. By way of example for a wash mode, once wash basket 120 is properly filled with fluid, the contents of wash basket 120 may be agitated (e.g., with ribs 128) for washing of laundry items in wash basket 120.

[0042] After the agitation phase of the wash cycle is completed, wash tub 124 may be drained. Laundry articles may then be rinsed by again adding fluid to wash tub 124, depending on the particulars of the cleaning cycle selected by a user. Ribs 128 may again provide agitation within wash basket 120. One or more spin cycles may also be used. In particular, a spin cycle may be applied after the wash cycle and / or after the rinse cycle in order to wring wash fluid from the articles being washed. During a spin cycle, wash basket 120 is rotated at relatively high speeds. After articles disposed in wash basket 120 are cleaned and / or washed, the user may remove the articles from wash basket 120, e.g., by opening door 134 and reaching into wash basket 120 through opening 132.

[0043] While described in the context of a specific embodiment of horizontal axis washing machine appliance 10, using the teachings disclosed herein it will be understood that horizontal axis washing machine appliance 10 is provided by way of example only. Other washing machine appliances having different configurations, different appearances, and / or different features may also be utilized with the present subject matter as well, e.g., vertical axis washing machine appliances.

[0044] FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of the dryer appliance 11 of FIG. 1 with a portion of a cabinet 12 of dryer appliance 11 removed in order to show certain components of dryer appliance 11. Dryer appliance 11 generally defines a vertical direction V, a lateral direction L, and a transverse direction T, each of which is mutually perpendicular, such that an orthogonal coordinate system is defined. While described in the context of a specific embodiment of dryer appliance 11, using the teachings disclosed herein, it will be understood that dryer appliance 11 is provided by way of example only. Other dryer appliances having different appearances and different features may also be utilized with the present subject matter as well.

[0045] Cabinet 12 includes a front side 22 and a rear side 24 spaced apart from each other along the transverse direction T. Within cabinet 12, an interior volume 29 is defined. A container or drum 26 is mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis within the interior volume 29. Drum 26 defines a chamber 25 for receipt of articles of clothing for tumbling and / or drying. Drum 26 extends between a front portion 37 and a back portion 38. Drum 26 also includes a back or rear wall 34, e.g., at back portion 38 of drum 26. A supply duct 41 may be mounted to rear wall 34 and receives heated air that has been heated by a heating assembly or heating system 40.

[0046] As used herein, the terms “clothing” or “articles” includes but need not be limited to fabrics, textiles, garments, linens, papers, or other items from which the extraction of moisture is desirable. Furthermore, the term “load” or “laundry load” refers to the combination of clothing that may be washed together in a washing machine or dried together in a dryer appliance 11 (e.g., clothes dryer) and may include a mixture of different or similar articles of clothing of different or similar types and kinds of fabrics, textiles, garments and linens within a particular laundering process.

[0047] A motor 31 is provided in some embodiments to rotate drum 26 about the horizontal axis, e.g., via a pulley and a belt (not pictured). Drum 26 is generally cylindrical in shape, having an outer cylindrical wall 28 and a front flange or wall 30 that defines an opening 32 of drum 26, e.g., at front portion 37 of drum 26, for loading and unloading of articles into and out of chamber 25 of drum 26. A plurality of lifters or baffles 27 are provided within chamber 25 of drum 26 to lift articles therein and then allow such articles to tumble back to a bottom of drum 26 as drum 26 rotates. Baffles 27 may be mounted to drum 26 such that baffles 27 rotate with drum 26 during operation of dryer appliance 11.

[0048] The rear wall 34 of drum 26 may be rotatably supported within the cabinet 12 by a suitable fixed bearing. Rear wall 34 may be fixed or may be rotatable. Rear wall 34 may include, for instance, a plurality of holes that receive hot air that has been heated by heating system 40. The heating system 40 may include, e.g., a heat pump, an electric heating element, and / or a gas heating element (e.g., gas burner). Moisture laden, heated air is drawn from drum 26 by an air handler, such as blower fan 48, which generates a negative air pressure within drum 26. The moisture laden heated air passes through a duct 44 enclosing screen filter 46, which traps lint particles. As the air passes from blower fan 48, it enters a duct 50 and then is passed into heating system 40. In some embodiments, the dryer appliance 11 may be a conventional dryer appliance, e.g., the heating system 40 may be or include an electric heating element, e.g., a resistive heating element, or a gas-powered heating element, e.g., a gas burner. In other embodiments, the dryer appliance may be a condensation dryer, such as a heat pump dryer. In such embodiments, heating system 40 may be or include a heat pump including a sealed refrigerant circuit. Heated air (with a lower moisture content than was received from drum 26), exits heating system 40 and returns to drum 26 by supply duct 41. After the clothing articles have been dried, they are removed from the drum 26 via opening 32. A door (FIG. 1) provides for closing or accessing drum 26 through opening 32.

[0049] In some embodiments, one or more selector inputs 102, such as knobs, buttons, touchscreen interfaces, etc., may be provided or mounted on a cabinet 12 (e.g., on a backsplash 71) and are in operable communication (e.g., electrically coupled) with the processing device or controller 210. Controller 210 may also be provided in operable communication with components of the dryer appliance 11 including motor 31, blower fan 48, or heating system 40. In turn, signals generated in controller 210 direct operation of motor 31, blower fan 48, or heating system 40 in response to the position of selector inputs 102. As used herein, “processing device” or “controller” may refer to one or more microprocessors, microcontroller, ASICS, or semiconductor devices and is not restricted necessarily to a single element. The controller 210 may be programmed to operate dryer appliance 11 by executing instructions stored in memory (e.g., non-transitory media). The controller 210 may include, or be associated with, one or more memory elements such as RAM, ROM, or electrically erasable, programmable read only memory (EEPROM). For example, the instructions may be software or any set of instructions that when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations. It should be noted that controllers as disclosed herein are capable of and may be operable to perform any methods and associated method steps as disclosed herein. For example, in some embodiments, methods disclosed herein may be embodied in programming instructions stored in the memory and executed by the controller.

[0050] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate another example embodiment of a group of household appliances where the first household appliance 10 and the second household appliance 11 are kitchen appliances. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first household appliance 10 is a user engagement system which includes an image monitor 112 that is generally positioned above a cooktop appliance 11, e.g., along the vertical direction V. Image monitor 112 may include a touchscreen capable of receiving a user input by detecting and responding to a touch on a surface of the image monitor 112.

[0051] Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5, cooktop appliance 11 includes a chassis or cabinet 12 that extends along the vertical direction V between a top side 16 and a bottom side 14. Cooktop appliance 11 may include a cooktop surface 324 having one or more heating elements 326 for use in, for example, heating or cooking operations. In one example embodiment, cooktop surface 324 is constructed with ceramic glass. In other embodiments, however, cooktop surface 324 may include any another suitable material, such as a metallic material (e.g., steel) or another suitable non-metallic material. Heating elements 326 may be various sizes and may employ any suitable method for heating or cooking an object, such as a cooking utensil (not shown), and its contents. In one embodiment, for example, heating element 326 uses a heat transfer method, such as electric coils or gas burners, to heat the cooking utensil. In another embodiment, however, heating element 326 uses an induction heating method to heat the cooking utensil directly. In various embodiments, the heating elements 326 may include one or more of a gas burner element, resistive heat element, radiant heat element, induction element, or another suitable heating element.

[0052] In some embodiments, the cabinet 12 of the cooktop appliance 11 may be insulated and may define a cooking chamber 328 selectively enclosed by a door 330. One or more heating elements 332 (e.g., top broiling elements or bottom baking elements) may be positioned within cabinet 12 of cooktop appliance 11 to heat cooking chamber 328. Heating elements 332 within cooking chamber 328 may be provided as any suitable element for cooking the contents of cooking chamber 328, such as an electric resistive heating element, a gas burner, a microwave element, a halogen element, etc. Thus, cooktop appliance 11 may be referred to as an oven range appliance. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, cooktop appliance 11 is provided by way of example only, and the present subject matter may be used in the context of any suitable cooking appliance, such as a double oven range appliance or a standalone cooktop (e.g., fitted integrally with a surface of a kitchen counter). Thus, the example embodiments illustrated and described are not intended to limit the present subject matter to any particular cooking chamber or heating element configuration, unless explicitly indicated as being limited.

[0053] As illustrated, a user interface panel 100 may be provided on cooktop appliance 11. Although shown at front portion of cooktop appliance 11, another suitable location or structure (e.g., a backsplash) for supporting user interface panel 100 may be provided in alternative embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface panel 100 includes input components or controls 102, such as one or more of a variety of electrical, mechanical, or electro-mechanical input devices. Controls 102 may include, for example, rotary dials, knobs, push buttons, and touch pads. A controller 210 is in communication with user interface panel 100 and controls 102 through which a user may select various operational features and modes and monitor progress of cooktop appliance 11. In additional or alternative embodiments, user interface panel 100 includes a display component, such as a digital or analog display in communication with a controller 210 and configured to provide operational feedback to a user. In certain embodiments, user interface panel 100 represents a general purpose I / O (“GPIO”) device or functional block.

[0054] As shown, controller 210 is communicatively coupled (i.e., in operative communication) with user interface panel 100 and its controls 102. Controller 210 may also be communicatively coupled with various operational components of cooktop appliance 300 as well, such as heating elements (e.g., 326, 332), sensors, and the like. Input / output (“I / O”) signals may be routed between controller 210 and the various operational components of cooktop appliance 11. Thus, controller 210 may selectively activate and operate these various components. Various components of cooktop appliance 11 are communicatively coupled with controller 210 via one or more communication lines such as, for example, conductive signal lines, shared communication busses, or wireless communications bands.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first household appliance 10 is, by way of example, a user engagement system, which is an example embodiment of a household appliance and which may be one of a group of household appliances, such as the first household appliance. In such embodiments, the first household appliance 10 may include one or more casings (e.g., a hood casing) provided above cooktop appliance 11 along the vertical direction V. For example, a hood casing 12 may be positioned above cooktop appliance 11. Hood casing 12 includes a plurality of outer walls and generally extends along the vertical direction V between a top side 16 and a bottom side 14, along the lateral direction L between a left side 18 and a right side 20, e.g., “right” and “left” as used herein refer to from a perspective of a user standing in front of the first household appliance 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the hood casing 12 may also extend along the transverse direction T between a front side 22 and a back side 24. In some embodiments, hood casing 12 is spaced apart from cooktop surface 324 along the vertical direction V such that an open region is defined therebetween.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 5, in kitchen appliance embodiments, one of the household appliances 10 and 11 may be or include a ventilation assembly within hood casing 12 which is configured to direct an airflow from the open region between the household appliances 10 and 11 and through hood casing 12 of the upper appliance, e.g., which is indicated as first household appliance 10 in the example illustrations of FIGS. 4 and 5, but which may instead be the second household appliance 11, e.g., when the cooktop appliance is the first household appliance 10. Other configurations may be used within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, although a generally rectangular shape is illustrated, any suitable shape or style may be adapted to form the structure of hood casing 12.

[0057] In some embodiments, an image monitor 112 may be provided above cooktop surface 324 (e.g., along the vertical direction V). For instance, image monitor 112 may be mounted to or supported on hood casing 12 of the first household appliance 10 (e.g., directly above cooktop surface 324) proximal to the front side 22. Generally, image monitor 112 may be any suitable type of mechanism for visually presenting a digital (e.g., interactive) image. For example, image monitor 112 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, etc. Thus, image monitor 112 includes an imaging surface 138 (e.g., screen or display panel) at which the digital image is presented or displayed as an optically-viewable picture (e.g., static image or dynamic video) to a user. Optionally, a protective transparent panel (e.g., formed from a transparent glass, plastic, etc.) may be positioned across or over imaging surface 138. In some such embodiments, the protective transparent panel is mounted within or supported on hood casing 12 forward from imaging surface 138 along the transverse direction T.

[0058] As an example, image monitor 112 may present recipe information in the form of viewable text or images. As another example, image monitor 112 may present a remotely captured image, such as a live (e.g., real-time) dynamic video stream received from a separate user or device. As yet another example, image monitor 112 may present a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to select or manipulate various operational features of the first household appliance 10 or cooktop appliance 11. During use of such GUI embodiments, a user may engage, select, or adjust the image presented at image monitor 112 through any suitable input, such as gesture controls detected through a camera assembly, voice controls detected through one or more microphones, associated touch panels (e.g., capacitance or resistance touch panel), sensors overlaid across imaging surface 138, or any other suitable input.

[0059] As illustrated, the imaging surface 138 is directed toward the area forward from the cooktop appliance 11. During use, a user standing in front of cooktop appliance 11 may thus see the optically-viewable picture (e.g., recipe, dynamic video stream, graphical user interface, etc.) displayed at the imaging surface 138.

[0060] As mentioned, in embodiments where the first household appliance 10 is the user engagement system, the first appliance may be or include a ventilation assembly. In such embodiments, one or more air outlets 206 may be defined by hood casing 12 (e.g., through one or more external walls of hood casing 12). As shown for example in FIG. 5, air outlet 206 defined through hood casing 12 may be defined through hood casing 12 at the top side 16. The ventilation system may generally extend between one or more air inlets 202 defined in the bottom side 14 of the casing 12 and air outlet 206. For example, the bottom side 14 of the casing 12 of the first household appliance 10 may face the cooktop surface 324 of the cooktop appliance 11. The ventilation system may also include an air handler 204 fixedly mounted within the casing 12 in fluid communication with the air inlet 202 to motivate an intake flow of air 203 through the air inlet 202 to the air handler 204 and an exhaust flow of air 205 from the air handler 204 to the air outlet 206.

[0061] As will be understood, air handler 204 may be provided as any suitable blower or fan (e.g., radial fan, tangential fan, etc.) positioned within hood casing 12 to actively rotate or motivate air, steam, or vapors 203 into and through air inlet 202. Optionally, one or more filters (not pictured) may be provided at air inlet 202 to clean the air, steam, or vapors 203 as it enters hood casing 12 from the open region between the first and second household appliances 10 and 11. For instance, a grease filter having a suitable coarse filter medium, such as a metallic mesh including aluminum or stainless steel, may be mounted across air inlet 202. Additionally, or alternatively, an odor filter having a suitable fine filter medium, such as a mesh or block including activated carbon, may be mounted across air inlet 202. Optionally, the odor filter may be positioned above or downstream from the grease filter.

[0062] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the group of household appliances 10 and 11 may take the form of any of the examples described above in various combinations of any two or more of the exemplary household appliances described above or may be any other household appliance. Thus, it will be understood that the present subject matter is not limited to any particular household appliance.

[0063] Further, all household appliances, e.g., household appliances 10 and 11, of the group of household appliances need not necessarily be related or located in the same room as one another. For instance, while the first and second household appliances 10 and 11 are both laundry appliances in the example illustrated in FIG. 1 and are both kitchen appliances in the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the group of household appliances may include any two or more household appliances which are registered / connected to the same user account and connected, e.g., wirelessly, to the same local network, e.g., local area network (LAN). Furthermore, as will be described below, the group of household appliances, which are connected to the same user account, may be connected to the same remote computing device, such as a cloud server or database. Thus, in just one possible example, the first household appliance 10 could be a refrigerator appliance, which may be located in a kitchen, and the second household appliance 11 could be any of the other example household appliances described herein, such as the washer and / or dryer of FIG. 1, which may be located in a laundry or mudroom separate from the kitchen, as well as any one or more other household appliance or household appliances not necessarily related or located in the same room as one another.

[0064] It should be understood that “household appliance” and / or “appliance” are used herein to describe appliances typically used or intended for common domestic tasks, such as a laundry appliance, e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, or an air conditioner appliance (see, e.g., FIG. 4), a dishwashing appliance, a refrigerator, a water heater, etc., and any other household appliance which performs similar functions in addition to network communication and data processing. Accordingly, it will be recognized that the domestic task(s) which the appliance is configured to perform include operating on tangible matter (e.g., water, air, food items, laundry articles, and / or other such matter) to change a physical attribute (e.g., temperature, pressure, position, velocity, etc.) of the tangible matter using a mechanical component of the appliance. Thus, devices such as personal computers, routers, and other similar devices whose primary functions are network communication and / or data processing are not considered household appliances as used herein. Additionally, the “household” appliances are not limited to only residential settings, such appliances may also be used, e.g., in a hotel or office building, to perform the aforementioned domestic tasks.

[0065] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates the group of household appliances, which may include household appliances 10 and 11, in communication, e.g., wireless communication as illustrated in FIG. 6, with a remote computing device 1000 in a distributed computing environment, such as a cloud. For example, the household appliances 10 and 11 and, in particular, the controllers 210 thereof, may be connected to the same local network, e.g., by WI-FI® router 60. The router 60 of the local network may be connected to the remote computing device 1000, which may be a remote computer, server, and / or database. As such, the household appliances 10 and 11 may be in communication with the remote computing device 1000. As mentioned above, controllers 210 may be operable to perform any methods and associated method steps as disclosed herein. Additionally, performance of such methods and method steps may also be distributed, e.g., one or more steps of a method may be performed by the household appliances 10 and / or 11 (e.g., controllers thereof), while one or more other steps of the same method may be performed by another device, such as the remote computing device (e.g., the cloud).

[0066] Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 6, one or more sensors or sensing devices, such as sensing device 70, may be provided in operative association with the group of household appliances. The sensing device 70 may capture data of channel characteristics of a plurality of wireless channels of a wireless network, such as the wireless network to which the household appliances 10 and 11 are connected. For example, in some embodiments, the sensing device 70 may be a WI-FI® receiver 70 that captures Channel State Information (CSI) data, which may describe the channel characteristics / properties of one or more wireless communication channels of a wireless network, such as the wireless network generated by the router 60, to which the household appliances 10 and 11 are connected. For example, the CSI data captured by the WI-FI® receiver 70 may include signal property values indicating how a signal within a particular wireless channel of the wireless network propagates through the environment. Such values may include signal latency, signal propagation delay, signal strength, and / or the like. The CSI data generated by the WI-FI® receiver 70 may be affected proportionally by the position / distance of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11. For example, the presence of the user, as opposed to the absence of the user e.g., from the home in which the wireless network is located, and the position / distance of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11 may uniquely affect the signal characteristics, e.g., signal property values. Thus, the CSI data may indicate the presence of the user and / or the position / distance of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11. Additionally, the WI-FI® receiver 70 and / or other sensing device 70 may be in operative communication with / operatively coupled to the controllers 210 of the household appliances 10 and 11. In this respect, the controller 210 of some or all of household appliances 10 and 11 may receive and utilize data from the WI-FI® receiver 70 and / or other sensing device 70, such as the data indicating the presence of the user and / or the position / distance of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11, to control the operation of the household appliances 10 and 11. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the WI-FI® receiver 70 may be separate from the household appliances 10 and 11. However, it should be appreciated that the WI-FI® receiver 70 or multiple WI-FI® receivers 70 may be a part of household appliances 10 and / or 11.

[0067] An exemplary wireless communication system is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the wireless communication system may include a transmitter, such as the WI-FI® router 60, which sends a signal 702, e.g., a multi-channel signal as illustrated in FIG. 7, such as a WI-FI® signal, to a receiver, e.g., the WI-FI® receiver 70. As will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, such wireless communication may be two-way communication, e.g., the WI-FI® receiver 70 may also send signal(s) to the router 60, although only signal 702 from the router 60 to the WI-FI® receiver 70 is illustrated in FIG. 7 for the sake of clarity. Also, as may be seen in FIG. 7, the signal 702 may be obstructed or impeded by intervening objects between the router 60 and the WI-FI® receiver 70. Some such obstructions may be moving objects, such as an adult human 710 as schematically depicted in FIG. 7, while the moving obstruction may also be a human child or pet, or other similar person or animal.

[0068] The degree of obstruction of the signal may be proportional to the position / distance of the user between the router 60 and the WI-FI® receiver 70, such that, for example, the presence of the user at a particular appliance 10 or 11 of the group of household appliances may be determined based on the wireless signal, e.g., based on the change in wireless signal strength over time. For example, as a user approaches the first household appliance 10, the user obstructs some of the wireless signal received by the WI-FI® receiver 70 differently than as the user approaches the second household appliance 11. The differences between the wireless signals in these and similar scenarios may be used to determine the position / distance of the user from one or more of the household appliances 10 and / or 11.

[0069] A graph 800 of signal strength over time (where time is measured in this example with reference to chronologically sequential packet numbers in each signal) for exemplary wireless signals, e.g., first wireless signal 810 and second wireless signal 820, is provided in FIG. 8. It should be understood that the time span illustrated for each wireless signal 810 and 820 may be simultaneous, but is not necessarily simultaneous, rather, the time span is based on the chronological sequence of packets received by the WI-FI® receiver 70 in each wireless signal 810 and 820 prior to an interaction, e.g., activation, of one of the household appliances 10 or 11 from a user. Thus, the packet numbers provided along the horizontal axis of graph 800 are relative to each wireless signal 810 and 820, and the wireless signals 810 and 820 may be concurrent, overlapping, or entirely separate.

[0070] In the particular example illustrated at FIG. 8, the wireless signals are WI-FI® signals, and graph 800 represents the signal strength in terms of normalized Channel State Information (CSI) amplitude of each wireless signal 810 and 820 over time, e.g., over a time period immediately preceding the user approaching the WI-FI receiver®70, or preceding the user approaching the WI-FI® receiver 70 within a margin of time sufficient for a user to traverse the distance from a first point, the first point between the router 60 (FIG. 7) and the WI-FI® receiver 70 along the signal path, to a second point, such as at or within reach of one of the household appliances 10 or 11. For example, the time during which the user is moving, e.g., approaches one of the household appliances 10 or 11 and passes between the router 60 (FIG. 7) and the WI-FI® receiver 70, may be the span 802 indicated in FIG. 8. As may be seen in FIG. 8, differences in the position / distance of the user relative to different household appliances 10 and 11 and, thus, relative to the WI-FI® receiver 70, will affect the wireless signals differently, as shown by wireless signals 810 and 820. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the strength of second wireless signal 820 decreases more than the strength of first wireless signal 810 decreases over the time span 802, e.g., when a user is approaching one of the household appliances 10 or 11. This is because the position of the WI-FI® receiver 70 is unchanging relative to the household appliances 10 and 11, but the distance / position of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11 and, thus, the WI-FI® receiver 70 may change. For example, the wireless signal 810 may indicate the user approaching or at the first household appliance 10, while the wireless signal 820 may indicate the user approaching or at the second household appliance 11, which is positioned apart from the first household appliance 10. The change, e.g., decrease, in each wireless signal may be measured in various ways, such as may be measured as total or average decrease across the time span 802 or may be a largest instantaneous decrease at any point within the time span 802, or other suitable quantifications of the change in signal strength over or during the time span 802, where the decrease in each signal is quantified in the same way in order to provide a direct comparison of first wireless signal 810 and second wireless signal 820 (and additional signals may be compared as well in some embodiments, e.g., third wireless signal, fourth wireless signal, etc.). Thus, based on the greater decrease in second wireless signal 820, it may be determined that the user is approaching or at the first household appliance 10, which may be closer to the WI-FI® receiver 70, as compared to the first wireless signal 810 due to the smaller decrease in the first wireless signal 810 over or during time span 802. Accordingly, the presence of the user may be detected or determined at the first household appliance 10 based on the second wireless signal 820, whereas the presence the user at the second household appliance 11 may be detected or determined based on the first wireless signal 810. For example, when only the first wireless signal 810 is received, it may be determined that the user is present at the second household appliance 11.

[0071] In some embodiments, the performance of exemplary methods and associated method steps may be distributed, e.g., performed in part by the controller 210 of the first and / or second household appliances 10 and 11, and in part by one or more remote computing devices in the cloud 1002.

[0072] Turning now to FIG. 9, steps performed in a particular order for purposes of illustration and discussion are depicted. Those of ordinary skill in the art, using the disclosures provided herein, will understand that the steps of the method 900 can be modified, adapted, rearranged, omitted, interchanged, or expanded in various ways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 9, the method 900 includes generating an input in response to a physical contact by a user with a local user interface, e.g., as indicated at (902) in FIG. 9. Specifically, a local user interface, e.g., the user interface panel 100, of one of the household appliances 10 or 11, may generate an input in response to physical contact of the user interface panel 100 by the user. For example, the user interface panel 100 may include the display component 104, which may be a backlit touchscreen. As such, the user interface panel 100 may generate the input in response to the user touching the touchscreen of the display component 104. Additionally, or alternatively, the user interface panel 100 may generate the input in response to the user touching other devices such as input knobs, buttons, and / or the like of the user interface panel 100. The input may be received by a controller, e.g., controller 210 of household appliances 10 and / or 11 or the remote computing device 1000 of the cloud 1002.

[0074] Furthermore, the method 900 includes capturing data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels of a wireless network in response to the generated input, e.g., as indicated at (904) in FIG. 9. Specifically, the sensing device, such as the WI-FI® receiver 70 described above, may capture first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network in response to the input generated at (902). The first wireless channel may be a wireless channel within which signals associated with appliance 10 are transmitted, e.g., signals indicating the position / distance of the user relative to first household appliance 10. Since the first data is captured upon generation of the input at (902), the captured first data may be indicative of the presence of the user at the appliance at which the physical contact with the user interface panel 100 occurred, which may be first household appliance 10. In some embodiments, the captured first data may be Channel State Information (CSI) data of the first wireless channel of the wireless network, which may be captured by the WI-FI® receiver 70. The CSI data may include signal property values, e.g., values associated with signal latency, signal propagation delay, and / or signal strength, of one or more signals, referred to as first signals, transmitted within the first wireless network. Such signal property values may be uniquely altered, which may be dependent on the position / distance of the user relative to the first household appliance 10, such as described above with respect to FIG. 8. The unique alterations in the signal property values may be detected by the controller 210 of the first household appliance 10 and / or may be monitored by the remote computing device 1000.

[0075] Moreover, the method 900 includes determining that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user, e.g., as indicated at (906) in FIG. 9. Specifically, a controller, e.g., the controller 210 of the first household appliance 10 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may determine that a pattern of the first data captured at (904) is associated with the presence of the user, such as at one of the household appliances of the group of household appliances. For example, after physically contacting the local user interface, e.g., the user interface panel 100, the user may halt physically contacting the local user interface because, for example, the user has selected a cycle or operation of the appliance, e.g., the first household appliance 10. As such, the local user interface may generate an input in response to an absence of physical contact by the user with the local user interface, such as after a predetermined length of time has passed since the user has physically contacted the local user interface, e.g., touched the display component 104, turned a knob, pressed a button, and / or the like.

[0076] Thereafter, the sensing device 70, e.g., the WI-FI® receiver 70, may capture second data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network in response to the generated input indicating the absence of physical contact by the user with the local user interface. Since the second data is captured upon generation of the input, which is generated after the predetermined length of time has passed, the captured second data may be indicative of the absence of the user at the appliance at which the physical contact with the user interface panel 100 previously occurred, e.g., first household appliance 10. Like the captured first data, in some embodiments, the captured second data may be Channel State Information (CSI) data of the first wireless channel of the wireless network, which may be captured by the WI-FI® receiver 70. The CSI data may include signal property values, e.g., values associated with signal latency, signal propagation delay, and / or signal strength, of one or more signals, referred to as first signals, transmitted within the first wireless network. Such signal property values may be uniquely altered, which may be dependent on the position / distance of the user relative to the first household appliance 10, such as described above with respect to FIG. 8. The unique alterations in the signal property values may be detected by the controller 210 of the first household appliance 10 and / or may be monitored by the remote computing device 1000.

[0077] Additionally, the controller, e.g., the controller 210 of the first household appliance 10 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may determine differences between the captured first data and the captured second data. The controller may then determine that the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user at one of the household appliances of the group of household appliances and that the captured second data is associated with the absence of the user from the same appliance according to the differences between the captured first data and the captured second data.

[0078] Furthermore, the method 900 includes detecting the pattern with a second household appliance of the group of household appliances, e.g., as indicated at (908) in FIG. 9. Specifically, the controller 210 of the second household appliance 11, which is a controller of a different appliance than the first household appliance 10, may detect the pattern of the captured data associated with a presence of the user determined at (906). For example, the controller 210 of second household appliance 11 may receive an input that the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user at one of the household appliances of the group household appliances, such as from the controller 210 of first household appliance 10 and / or from the remote computing device 1000. Thereafter, data of channel characteristics of a second wireless channel of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network may be captured, e.g., by WI-FI® receiver 70. The second wireless channel may be a wireless channel of the wireless network within which signals associated with the second household appliance 11 are transmitted, e.g., signals indicating the position / distance of the user relative to the second household appliance 11. Like the captured first data and the captured second data described above, in some embodiments, the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel may be Channel State Information (CSI) data of the second wireless channel, which may be captured by the WI-FI® receiver 70. The CSI data may include signal property values, e.g., values associated with signal latency, signal propagation delay, and / or signal strength, of one or more signals, referred to as second signals, transmitted within the second wireless network.

[0079] The captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel may be compared to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel, e.g., by the controller 210 of second household appliance 11 and / or by the remote computing device 1000. For example, in some embodiments, the first signal property values of the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel may be compared to the second signal property values of the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel.

[0080] Thereafter, the method 900 may include determining that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern, e.g., as indicated at (910) in FIG. 9. Specifically, the controller, e.g., the controller 210 of the second household appliance 11 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may determine that the user is present at the second household appliance 11 based on the pattern detected at (908). In some embodiments, the controller may determine that the user is present at the second household appliance 11 based on comparing the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel. For example, the controller may determine that the user is present at the second household appliance 11 in response to the second signal property values differing from the first signal property values by less than a predetermined threshold amount. In this respect, when the second signal property values are sufficiently similar to the first signal property values, the controller, e.g., the controller 210 of second household appliance 11 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may determine that the user is present at the second household appliance 11. As such, the presence of the user at the second household appliance 11 may be determined without receipt of any input that the user has contacted, e.g., physically touched, the second household appliance 11.

[0081] Additionally, in some embodiments, the method 900 may include adjusting an operation of the second household appliance in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance. Specifically, the controller, e.g., the controller 210 of second household appliance 11 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may adjust an operation of second household appliance 11 in response to the user being present at the second household appliance 11 as determined at (910). For example, a cycle of the second household appliance 11, e.g., a wash cycle when second household appliance 11 is a washing machine appliance, may be paused in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance 11. Additionally, or alternatively, a light emitting display, e.g., the display component 104, of the second household appliance 11 may be activated in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance 11. However, it should be appreciated that any other suitable operation of the second household appliance 11 may be adjusted in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance 11.

[0082] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0020]Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0021]As used herein, the terms “first,”“second,” and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The terms “includes” and “including” are...

FIELD

[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to household appliances which connect to a home network and / or a remote network such as the Internet and to systems and methods of operating the household appliances.BACKGROUND

[0002] Household appliances are utilized generally for a variety of tasks by a variety of users. For example, a household may include such appliances as laundry appliances, e.g., a washer and / or dryer, kitchen appliances, e.g., a refrigerator, a microwave, and / or a coffee maker, along with room air conditioners and other various household appliances.

[0003] Generally, a user manually activates such household appliances in order to utilize the basic functions of the household appliances. For example, some household appliances may include user interfaces in which appliance users manually select cycles or modes of operation of the household appliances. The user interfaces may include various components, such as LED or LCD displays, which are turned on for long periods of time and thus consume large quantities of energy.

[0004] Accordingly, systems and methods of operating a household appliance to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the appliance would be beneficial. Specifically, systems and methods of operating the household appliance associated with the detection of the user would be particularly beneficial.BRIEF DESCRIPTION

[0005] Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.

[0006] In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of operating a group of household appliances is provided. The group of household appliances are connected to a wireless network and a remote computing device. The method includes generating, by a local user interface of one of the group of household appliances, an input in response to a physical contact by a user with the local user interface. Additionally, the method includes capturing data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network in response to the generated input. The captured data is indicative of a presence of the user at a first household appliance of the group of household appliances. Furthermore, the method includes determining that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user. Moreover, the method includes detecting the pattern with a second household appliance of the group of household appliances. Additionally, the method includes determining that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern.

[0007] In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for operating a group of household appliances connected to a wireless network is provided. The system includes a remote computing device. Additionally, the system includes the group of household appliances. The group of household appliances includes a first household appliance. The first household appliance includes a local user interface and a first controller. The first controller is operatively coupled to the local user interface and the remote computing device. Furthermore, the group of household appliances includes a second household appliance. The second household appliance includes a second controller. The second controller is operatively coupled to the remote computing device. Additionally, the system includes a controller. The controller is configured to capture data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels in response to a generated input indicative of physical contact by a user with the local user interface of the first household appliance. The captured data is indicative of a presence of the user at the first household appliance. Furthermore, the controller is configured to determine that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user. Additionally, the controller is configured to detect the pattern with the second household appliance. Furthermore, the controller is configured to determine that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern.

[0008] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.

[0010] FIG. 1 provides a front view of exemplary laundry appliances in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 2 provides a side cross-sectional view of one of the exemplary laundry appliances of FIG. 1.

[0012] FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of the other exemplary laundry appliance of FIG. 1 with portions of a cabinet of the laundry appliance removed to reveal certain components of the laundry appliance.

[0013] FIG. 4 provides a front view of an exemplary group of kitchen appliances in accordance with one or more additional exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 5 provides a side schematic view of the group of kitchen appliances of FIG. 4.

[0015] FIG. 6 provides a diagrammatic illustration of multiple household appliances in accordance with one or more additional exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 7 provides a diagrammatic illustration of a wireless signal which may be used with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter.

[0017] FIG. 8 provides an exemplary diagram of wireless signal strength over time such as may be used with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter.

[0018] FIG. 9 provides a flowchart illustrating an example method of operating household appliances according to one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] The use of the same reference numbers in the figures denotes the same or similar features unless the context indicates otherwise.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0021] As used herein, the terms “first,”“second,” and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The terms “includes” and “including” are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Similarly, the term “or” is generally intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” is intended to mean “A or B or both”). The term “at least one of” in the context of, e.g., “at least one of A, B, and C” refers to only A, only B, only C, or any combination of A, B, and C. In addition, here and throughout the specification and claims, range limitations may be combined and / or interchanged. Such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise. For example, all ranges disclosed herein are inclusive of the endpoints, and the endpoints are independently combinable with each other. The singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0022] Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “generally,”“about,”“approximately,” and “substantially,” are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value, or the precision of the methods or machines for constructing or manufacturing the components and / or systems. For example, the approximating language may refer to being within a 10 percent margin, i.e., including values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value. In this regard, for example, when used in the context of an angle or direction, such terms include within ten degrees greater or less than the stated angle or direction, e.g., “generally vertical” includes forming an angle of up to ten degrees in any direction, e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise, with the vertical direction V.

[0023] The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” In addition, references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may. Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “an embodiment” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Moreover, each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0024] As may be seen in FIGS. 1 through 5, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present subject matter, a group of household appliances, which may include a first household appliance 10 and a second household appliance 11, are provided. The illustrated groups of two household appliances are provided by way of example only. Various embodiments of the present subject matter may also include three or more household appliances. For example, the exemplary household appliances of FIGS. 1 through 5 may each be provided in various combinations with one or more of the other household appliances of FIGS. 1 through 5 and / or either or both groups of household appliances illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5. Each appliance of the group or two or more household appliances disclosed herein may be operable and configured to connect to one or more remote computing devices, e.g., a cloud or other distributed computing environment, as will be described in more detail below.

[0025] As generally seen throughout FIGS. 1 through 5, each appliance 10 and 11 includes a cabinet 12 which defines a vertical direction V and a lateral direction L that are mutually perpendicular. Each cabinet 12 extends between a top side 16 and a bottom side 14 along the vertical direction V. Each cabinet 12 also extends between a left side 18 and a right side 20, e.g., along the lateral direction L.

[0026] Each appliance 10 and 11 may include a user interface panel 100 and a user input device 102 which may be positioned on an exterior of the cabinet 12. The user input device 102 is generally positioned proximate to the user interface panel 100, and in some embodiments, the user input device 102 may be positioned on the user interface panel 100.

[0027] In various embodiments, the user interface panel 100 may represent a general purpose I / O (“GPIO”) device or functional block. In some embodiments, the user interface panel 100 may include or be in operative communication with user input device 102, such as one or more of a variety of digital, analog, electrical, mechanical or electro-mechanical input devices including rotary dials, control knobs, push buttons, and touch pads. The user interface panel 100 may include a display component 104, such as a digital or analog display device designed to provide operational feedback to a user. The display component 104 may also be a light emitting display. For example, the display component 104 may be a backlit touchscreen capable of receiving a user input such that the display component 104 may also be a user input device in addition to or instead of the user input device 102.

[0028] Generally, each appliance 10 and 11 may include a controller 210 in operative communication with the user input device 102. The user interface panel 100 and the user input device 102 may be in communication with the controller 210 via, for example, one or more signal lines or shared communication busses. Input / output (“I / O”) signals may be routed between controller 210 and various operational components of the household appliances 10 and 11. Operation of the household appliances 10 and 11 may each be regulated by the respective controller 210 that is operatively coupled to the corresponding user interface panel 100. A user interface panel 100 may, for example, provide selections for user manipulation of the operation of an appliance, e.g., via user input device 102 and / or display component 104. In response to user manipulation of the user interface panel 100 and / or user input device 102, the controller 210 may operate various components of the appliance 10 or 11. Each controller 210 may include a memory and one or more microprocessors, CPUs or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessors operable to execute programming instructions or micro-control code associated with operation of the appliance 10 or 11. The memory may represent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such as ROM or FLASH. In one embodiment, the processor executes programming instructions stored in memory. The memory may be a separate component from the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. Alternatively, a controller 210 may be constructed without using a microprocessor, e.g., using a combination of discrete analog and / or digital logic circuitry (such as switches, amplifiers, integrators, comparators, flip-flops, AND gates, and the like) to perform control functionality instead of relying upon software.

[0029] The controller 210 may be programmed to operate the respective appliance 10 or 11 by executing instructions stored in memory. For example, the instructions may be software or any set of instructions that when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations. Controller 210 may include one or more processor(s) and associated memory device(s) configured to perform a variety of computer-implemented functions and / or instructions (e.g. performing the methods, calculations and the like and storing relevant data as disclosed herein). It should be noted that controllers 210 as disclosed herein are capable of and may be operable to perform any methods or associated method steps as disclosed herein.

[0030] In embodiments in which the household appliances 10 and / or 11 include the display component 104, the controller(s) 210 may activate the display component 104 by turning on or waking the display component 104, which may also include providing a greeting or other to the user on the display component 104. In some embodiments, the display component 104 may be a light emitting display 104, e.g., such as the backlit touchscreen display described above, of which a brightness level of the display component 104 is adjustable, e.g., increased, dimmed, and / or turned off / deactivated entirely. For example, the brightness level of the display component 104 may be automatically adjustable by the controller(s) 210 in response to a received input, e.g., an input received from a sensing device indicative of a presence of a user and / or a distance / position of the user from the first household appliance 10 and / or the second household appliance 11.

[0031] In some embodiments, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the group of household appliances 10 and 11 may be or include a pair of laundry appliances. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the first appliance may be a washing machine appliance 10 and the second appliance may be a dryer appliance 11. In embodiments such as illustrated in FIG. 1, the user input device 102 of each household appliance 10 and 11 may be positioned on the user interface panel 100. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 also includes a display component 104 on the user interface panel 100 of each household appliance 10 and 11.

[0032] Additional exemplary details of the laundry appliances 10 and 11 are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, FIG. 2 provides a cross-sectional view of an exemplary washing machine appliance 10 which may, in various embodiments, be one appliance of a group of connected household appliances. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a wash tub 124 is non-rotatably mounted within cabinet 12. As may be seen in FIG. 2, the wash tub 124 defines a central axis 101. In the example embodiment illustrated by FIG. 2, the central axis 101 may be oriented generally along or parallel to the transverse direction T of the washing machine appliance 10. Accordingly, the washing machine appliance 10 may be referred to as a horizontal axis washing machine.

[0033] Referring again to FIG. 2, a wash basket 120 is rotatably mounted within the wash tub 124 such that the wash basket 120 is rotatable about an axis of rotation, which generally coincides with central axis 101 of the wash tub 124. A motor 122, e.g., such as a pancake motor, is in mechanical communication with wash basket 120 to selectively rotate wash basket 120 (e.g., during an agitation or a rinse cycle of washing machine appliance 10). Wash basket 120 defines a wash chamber 126 that is configured for receipt of articles for washing. The wash tub 124 holds wash and rinse fluids for agitation in wash basket 120 within wash tub 124. As used herein, “wash fluid” may refer to water, detergent, fabric softener, bleach, or any other suitable wash additive or combination thereof. The wash basket 120 and the wash tub 124 may collectively define at least a portion of a tub assembly for the washing machine appliance 10.

[0034] Wash basket 120 may define one or more agitator features that extend into wash chamber 126 to assist in agitation and cleaning of articles disposed within wash chamber 126 during operation of washing machine appliance 10. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of ribs 128 extends from wash basket 120 into wash chamber 126. In this manner, for example, ribs 128 may lift articles disposed in wash basket 120 during rotation of wash basket 120.

[0035] Referring generally to FIGS. 1 and 2, cabinet 12 also includes a front panel 130 which defines an opening 132 that permits user access to wash basket 120 within wash tub 124. More specifically, washing machine appliance 10 includes a door 134 that is positioned in front of opening 132 and is rotatably mounted to front panel 130. Door 134 is rotatable such that door 134 permits selective access to opening 132 by rotating between an open position (not shown) facilitating access to a wash tub 124 and a closed position (FIG. 1) prohibiting access to wash tub 124.

[0036] A window 136 in door 134 permits viewing of wash basket 120 when door 134 is in the closed position, e.g., during operation of washing machine appliance 10. Door 134 also includes a handle (not shown) that, e.g., a user may pull when opening and closing door 134. Further, although door 134 is illustrated as mounted to front panel 130, it should be appreciated that door 134 may be mounted to another side of cabinet 12 or any other suitable support according to alternative embodiments.

[0037] Referring again to FIG. 2, wash basket 120 also defines a plurality of perforations 140 in order to facilitate fluid communication between an interior of wash basket 120 and wash tub 124. A sump 142 is defined by wash tub 124 at a bottom of wash tub 124 along the vertical direction V. Thus, sump 142 is configured for receipt of and generally collects wash fluid during operation of washing machine appliance 10. For example, during operation of washing machine appliance 10, wash fluid may be urged by gravity from wash basket 120 to sump 142 through plurality of perforations 140. A pump assembly 144 is located beneath wash tub 124 for gravity assisted flow when draining wash tub 124, e.g., via a drain 146. Pump assembly 144 may be configured for recirculating wash fluid within wash tub 124.

[0038] A spout 150 is configured for directing a flow of fluid into wash tub 124. For example, spout 150 may be in fluid communication with a water supply (not shown) in order to direct fluid, e.g., clean water) into wash tub 124. Spout 150 may also be in fluid communication with the sump 142. For example, pump assembly 144 may direct wash fluid disposed in sump 142 to spout 150 in order to circulate wash fluid in wash tub 124.

[0039] As illustrated in FIG. 2, a dispenser drawer 152 is slidably mounted within front panel 130. Dispenser drawer 152 receives a wash additive (e.g., detergent, fabric softener, bleach, or any other suitable liquid or powder) and directs the fluid additive to wash chamber 126 during operation of washing machine appliance 10. According to the illustrated embodiment, dispenser drawer 152 may also be fluidly coupled to spout 150 to facilitate the complete and accurate dispensing of wash additive.

[0040] Additionally, a bulk reservoir 154 is disposed within cabinet 12. Bulk reservoir 154 is also configured for receipt of fluid additive for use during operation of washing machine appliance 10. Bulk reservoir 154 is sized such that a volume of fluid additive sufficient for a plurality or multitude of wash cycles of washing machine appliance 10 (e.g., five, ten, twenty, fifty, or any other suitable number of wash cycles) may fill bulk reservoir 154. Thus, for example, a user may fill bulk reservoir 154 with fluid additive and operate washing machine appliance 10 for a plurality of wash cycles without refilling bulk reservoir 154 with fluid additive. A reservoir pump 156 is configured for selective delivery of the fluid additive from bulk reservoir 154 to wash tub 124.

[0041] During operation of washing machine appliance 10, laundry items are loaded into wash basket 120 through opening 132, and washing operation may be initiated through operator manipulation of selector inputs 102. Wash tub 124 is filled with water, detergent, and / or other fluid additives, e.g., via spout 150 and / or dispenser drawer 152. One or more valves (not shown) may be controlled by washing machine appliance 10 to provide for filling wash basket 120 to the appropriate level for the amount of articles being washed and / or rinsed. By way of example for a wash mode, once wash basket 120 is properly filled with fluid, the contents of wash basket 120 may be agitated (e.g., with ribs 128) for washing of laundry items in wash basket 120.

[0042] After the agitation phase of the wash cycle is completed, wash tub 124 may be drained. Laundry articles may then be rinsed by again adding fluid to wash tub 124, depending on the particulars of the cleaning cycle selected by a user. Ribs 128 may again provide agitation within wash basket 120. One or more spin cycles may also be used. In particular, a spin cycle may be applied after the wash cycle and / or after the rinse cycle in order to wring wash fluid from the articles being washed. During a spin cycle, wash basket 120 is rotated at relatively high speeds. After articles disposed in wash basket 120 are cleaned and / or washed, the user may remove the articles from wash basket 120, e.g., by opening door 134 and reaching into wash basket 120 through opening 132.

[0043] While described in the context of a specific embodiment of horizontal axis washing machine appliance 10, using the teachings disclosed herein it will be understood that horizontal axis washing machine appliance 10 is provided by way of example only. Other washing machine appliances having different configurations, different appearances, and / or different features may also be utilized with the present subject matter as well, e.g., vertical axis washing machine appliances.

[0044] FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of the dryer appliance 11 of FIG. 1 with a portion of a cabinet 12 of dryer appliance 11 removed in order to show certain components of dryer appliance 11. Dryer appliance 11 generally defines a vertical direction V, a lateral direction L, and a transverse direction T, each of which is mutually perpendicular, such that an orthogonal coordinate system is defined. While described in the context of a specific embodiment of dryer appliance 11, using the teachings disclosed herein, it will be understood that dryer appliance 11 is provided by way of example only. Other dryer appliances having different appearances and different features may also be utilized with the present subject matter as well.

[0045] Cabinet 12 includes a front side 22 and a rear side 24 spaced apart from each other along the transverse direction T. Within cabinet 12, an interior volume 29 is defined. A container or drum 26 is mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis within the interior volume 29. Drum 26 defines a chamber 25 for receipt of articles of clothing for tumbling and / or drying. Drum 26 extends between a front portion 37 and a back portion 38. Drum 26 also includes a back or rear wall 34, e.g., at back portion 38 of drum 26. A supply duct 41 may be mounted to rear wall 34 and receives heated air that has been heated by a heating assembly or heating system 40.

[0046] As used herein, the terms “clothing” or “articles” includes but need not be limited to fabrics, textiles, garments, linens, papers, or other items from which the extraction of moisture is desirable. Furthermore, the term “load” or “laundry load” refers to the combination of clothing that may be washed together in a washing machine or dried together in a dryer appliance 11 (e.g., clothes dryer) and may include a mixture of different or similar articles of clothing of different or similar types and kinds of fabrics, textiles, garments and linens within a particular laundering process.

[0047] A motor 31 is provided in some embodiments to rotate drum 26 about the horizontal axis, e.g., via a pulley and a belt (not pictured). Drum 26 is generally cylindrical in shape, having an outer cylindrical wall 28 and a front flange or wall 30 that defines an opening 32 of drum 26, e.g., at front portion 37 of drum 26, for loading and unloading of articles into and out of chamber 25 of drum 26. A plurality of lifters or baffles 27 are provided within chamber 25 of drum 26 to lift articles therein and then allow such articles to tumble back to a bottom of drum 26 as drum 26 rotates. Baffles 27 may be mounted to drum 26 such that baffles 27 rotate with drum 26 during operation of dryer appliance 11.

[0048] The rear wall 34 of drum 26 may be rotatably supported within the cabinet 12 by a suitable fixed bearing. Rear wall 34 may be fixed or may be rotatable. Rear wall 34 may include, for instance, a plurality of holes that receive hot air that has been heated by heating system 40. The heating system 40 may include, e.g., a heat pump, an electric heating element, and / or a gas heating element (e.g., gas burner). Moisture laden, heated air is drawn from drum 26 by an air handler, such as blower fan 48, which generates a negative air pressure within drum 26. The moisture laden heated air passes through a duct 44 enclosing screen filter 46, which traps lint particles. As the air passes from blower fan 48, it enters a duct 50 and then is passed into heating system 40. In some embodiments, the dryer appliance 11 may be a conventional dryer appliance, e.g., the heating system 40 may be or include an electric heating element, e.g., a resistive heating element, or a gas-powered heating element, e.g., a gas burner. In other embodiments, the dryer appliance may be a condensation dryer, such as a heat pump dryer. In such embodiments, heating system 40 may be or include a heat pump including a sealed refrigerant circuit. Heated air (with a lower moisture content than was received from drum 26), exits heating system 40 and returns to drum 26 by supply duct 41. After the clothing articles have been dried, they are removed from the drum 26 via opening 32. A door (FIG. 1) provides for closing or accessing drum 26 through opening 32.

[0049] In some embodiments, one or more selector inputs 102, such as knobs, buttons, touchscreen interfaces, etc., may be provided or mounted on a cabinet 12 (e.g., on a backsplash 71) and are in operable communication (e.g., electrically coupled) with the processing device or controller 210. Controller 210 may also be provided in operable communication with components of the dryer appliance 11 including motor 31, blower fan 48, or heating system 40. In turn, signals generated in controller 210 direct operation of motor 31, blower fan 48, or heating system 40 in response to the position of selector inputs 102. As used herein, “processing device” or “controller” may refer to one or more microprocessors, microcontroller, ASICS, or semiconductor devices and is not restricted necessarily to a single element. The controller 210 may be programmed to operate dryer appliance 11 by executing instructions stored in memory (e.g., non-transitory media). The controller 210 may include, or be associated with, one or more memory elements such as RAM, ROM, or electrically erasable, programmable read only memory (EEPROM). For example, the instructions may be software or any set of instructions that when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations. It should be noted that controllers as disclosed herein are capable of and may be operable to perform any methods and associated method steps as disclosed herein. For example, in some embodiments, methods disclosed herein may be embodied in programming instructions stored in the memory and executed by the controller.

[0050] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate another example embodiment of a group of household appliances where the first household appliance 10 and the second household appliance 11 are kitchen appliances. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first household appliance 10 is a user engagement system which includes an image monitor 112 that is generally positioned above a cooktop appliance 11, e.g., along the vertical direction V. Image monitor 112 may include a touchscreen capable of receiving a user input by detecting and responding to a touch on a surface of the image monitor 112.

[0051] Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5, cooktop appliance 11 includes a chassis or cabinet 12 that extends along the vertical direction V between a top side 16 and a bottom side 14. Cooktop appliance 11 may include a cooktop surface 324 having one or more heating elements 326 for use in, for example, heating or cooking operations. In one example embodiment, cooktop surface 324 is constructed with ceramic glass. In other embodiments, however, cooktop surface 324 may include any another suitable material, such as a metallic material (e.g., steel) or another suitable non-metallic material. Heating elements 326 may be various sizes and may employ any suitable method for heating or cooking an object, such as a cooking utensil (not shown), and its contents. In one embodiment, for example, heating element 326 uses a heat transfer method, such as electric coils or gas burners, to heat the cooking utensil. In another embodiment, however, heating element 326 uses an induction heating method to heat the cooking utensil directly. In various embodiments, the heating elements 326 may include one or more of a gas burner element, resistive heat element, radiant heat element, induction element, or another suitable heating element.

[0052] In some embodiments, the cabinet 12 of the cooktop appliance 11 may be insulated and may define a cooking chamber 328 selectively enclosed by a door 330. One or more heating elements 332 (e.g., top broiling elements or bottom baking elements) may be positioned within cabinet 12 of cooktop appliance 11 to heat cooking chamber 328. Heating elements 332 within cooking chamber 328 may be provided as any suitable element for cooking the contents of cooking chamber 328, such as an electric resistive heating element, a gas burner, a microwave element, a halogen element, etc. Thus, cooktop appliance 11 may be referred to as an oven range appliance. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, cooktop appliance 11 is provided by way of example only, and the present subject matter may be used in the context of any suitable cooking appliance, such as a double oven range appliance or a standalone cooktop (e.g., fitted integrally with a surface of a kitchen counter). Thus, the example embodiments illustrated and described are not intended to limit the present subject matter to any particular cooking chamber or heating element configuration, unless explicitly indicated as being limited.

[0053] As illustrated, a user interface panel 100 may be provided on cooktop appliance 11. Although shown at front portion of cooktop appliance 11, another suitable location or structure (e.g., a backsplash) for supporting user interface panel 100 may be provided in alternative embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface panel 100 includes input components or controls 102, such as one or more of a variety of electrical, mechanical, or electro-mechanical input devices. Controls 102 may include, for example, rotary dials, knobs, push buttons, and touch pads. A controller 210 is in communication with user interface panel 100 and controls 102 through which a user may select various operational features and modes and monitor progress of cooktop appliance 11. In additional or alternative embodiments, user interface panel 100 includes a display component, such as a digital or analog display in communication with a controller 210 and configured to provide operational feedback to a user. In certain embodiments, user interface panel 100 represents a general purpose I / O (“GPIO”) device or functional block.

[0054] As shown, controller 210 is communicatively coupled (i.e., in operative communication) with user interface panel 100 and its controls 102. Controller 210 may also be communicatively coupled with various operational components of cooktop appliance 300 as well, such as heating elements (e.g., 326, 332), sensors, and the like. Input / output (“I / O”) signals may be routed between controller 210 and the various operational components of cooktop appliance 11. Thus, controller 210 may selectively activate and operate these various components. Various components of cooktop appliance 11 are communicatively coupled with controller 210 via one or more communication lines such as, for example, conductive signal lines, shared communication busses, or wireless communications bands.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first household appliance 10 is, by way of example, a user engagement system, which is an example embodiment of a household appliance and which may be one of a group of household appliances, such as the first household appliance. In such embodiments, the first household appliance 10 may include one or more casings (e.g., a hood casing) provided above cooktop appliance 11 along the vertical direction V. For example, a hood casing 12 may be positioned above cooktop appliance 11. Hood casing 12 includes a plurality of outer walls and generally extends along the vertical direction V between a top side 16 and a bottom side 14, along the lateral direction L between a left side 18 and a right side 20, e.g., “right” and “left” as used herein refer to from a perspective of a user standing in front of the first household appliance 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the hood casing 12 may also extend along the transverse direction T between a front side 22 and a back side 24. In some embodiments, hood casing 12 is spaced apart from cooktop surface 324 along the vertical direction V such that an open region is defined therebetween.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 5, in kitchen appliance embodiments, one of the household appliances 10 and 11 may be or include a ventilation assembly within hood casing 12 which is configured to direct an airflow from the open region between the household appliances 10 and 11 and through hood casing 12 of the upper appliance, e.g., which is indicated as first household appliance 10 in the example illustrations of FIGS. 4 and 5, but which may instead be the second household appliance 11, e.g., when the cooktop appliance is the first household appliance 10. Other configurations may be used within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, although a generally rectangular shape is illustrated, any suitable shape or style may be adapted to form the structure of hood casing 12.

[0057] In some embodiments, an image monitor 112 may be provided above cooktop surface 324 (e.g., along the vertical direction V). For instance, image monitor 112 may be mounted to or supported on hood casing 12 of the first household appliance 10 (e.g., directly above cooktop surface 324) proximal to the front side 22. Generally, image monitor 112 may be any suitable type of mechanism for visually presenting a digital (e.g., interactive) image. For example, image monitor 112 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, etc. Thus, image monitor 112 includes an imaging surface 138 (e.g., screen or display panel) at which the digital image is presented or displayed as an optically-viewable picture (e.g., static image or dynamic video) to a user. Optionally, a protective transparent panel (e.g., formed from a transparent glass, plastic, etc.) may be positioned across or over imaging surface 138. In some such embodiments, the protective transparent panel is mounted within or supported on hood casing 12 forward from imaging surface 138 along the transverse direction T.

[0058] As an example, image monitor 112 may present recipe information in the form of viewable text or images. As another example, image monitor 112 may present a remotely captured image, such as a live (e.g., real-time) dynamic video stream received from a separate user or device. As yet another example, image monitor 112 may present a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to select or manipulate various operational features of the first household appliance 10 or cooktop appliance 11. During use of such GUI embodiments, a user may engage, select, or adjust the image presented at image monitor 112 through any suitable input, such as gesture controls detected through a camera assembly, voice controls detected through one or more microphones, associated touch panels (e.g., capacitance or resistance touch panel), sensors overlaid across imaging surface 138, or any other suitable input.

[0059] As illustrated, the imaging surface 138 is directed toward the area forward from the cooktop appliance 11. During use, a user standing in front of cooktop appliance 11 may thus see the optically-viewable picture (e.g., recipe, dynamic video stream, graphical user interface, etc.) displayed at the imaging surface 138.

[0060] As mentioned, in embodiments where the first household appliance 10 is the user engagement system, the first appliance may be or include a ventilation assembly. In such embodiments, one or more air outlets 206 may be defined by hood casing 12 (e.g., through one or more external walls of hood casing 12). As shown for example in FIG. 5, air outlet 206 defined through hood casing 12 may be defined through hood casing 12 at the top side 16. The ventilation system may generally extend between one or more air inlets 202 defined in the bottom side 14 of the casing 12 and air outlet 206. For example, the bottom side 14 of the casing 12 of the first household appliance 10 may face the cooktop surface 324 of the cooktop appliance 11. The ventilation system may also include an air handler 204 fixedly mounted within the casing 12 in fluid communication with the air inlet 202 to motivate an intake flow of air 203 through the air inlet 202 to the air handler 204 and an exhaust flow of air 205 from the air handler 204 to the air outlet 206.

[0061] As will be understood, air handler 204 may be provided as any suitable blower or fan (e.g., radial fan, tangential fan, etc.) positioned within hood casing 12 to actively rotate or motivate air, steam, or vapors 203 into and through air inlet 202. Optionally, one or more filters (not pictured) may be provided at air inlet 202 to clean the air, steam, or vapors 203 as it enters hood casing 12 from the open region between the first and second household appliances 10 and 11. For instance, a grease filter having a suitable coarse filter medium, such as a metallic mesh including aluminum or stainless steel, may be mounted across air inlet 202. Additionally, or alternatively, an odor filter having a suitable fine filter medium, such as a mesh or block including activated carbon, may be mounted across air inlet 202. Optionally, the odor filter may be positioned above or downstream from the grease filter.

[0062] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the group of household appliances 10 and 11 may take the form of any of the examples described above in various combinations of any two or more of the exemplary household appliances described above or may be any other household appliance. Thus, it will be understood that the present subject matter is not limited to any particular household appliance.

[0063] Further, all household appliances, e.g., household appliances 10 and 11, of the group of household appliances need not necessarily be related or located in the same room as one another. For instance, while the first and second household appliances 10 and 11 are both laundry appliances in the example illustrated in FIG. 1 and are both kitchen appliances in the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the group of household appliances may include any two or more household appliances which are registered / connected to the same user account and connected, e.g., wirelessly, to the same local network, e.g., local area network (LAN). Furthermore, as will be described below, the group of household appliances, which are connected to the same user account, may be connected to the same remote computing device, such as a cloud server or database. Thus, in just one possible example, the first household appliance 10 could be a refrigerator appliance, which may be located in a kitchen, and the second household appliance 11 could be any of the other example household appliances described herein, such as the washer and / or dryer of FIG. 1, which may be located in a laundry or mudroom separate from the kitchen, as well as any one or more other household appliance or household appliances not necessarily related or located in the same room as one another.

[0064] It should be understood that “household appliance” and / or “appliance” are used herein to describe appliances typically used or intended for common domestic tasks, such as a laundry appliance, e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, or an air conditioner appliance (see, e.g., FIG. 4), a dishwashing appliance, a refrigerator, a water heater, etc., and any other household appliance which performs similar functions in addition to network communication and data processing. Accordingly, it will be recognized that the domestic task(s) which the appliance is configured to perform include operating on tangible matter (e.g., water, air, food items, laundry articles, and / or other such matter) to change a physical attribute (e.g., temperature, pressure, position, velocity, etc.) of the tangible matter using a mechanical component of the appliance. Thus, devices such as personal computers, routers, and other similar devices whose primary functions are network communication and / or data processing are not considered household appliances as used herein. Additionally, the “household” appliances are not limited to only residential settings, such appliances may also be used, e.g., in a hotel or office building, to perform the aforementioned domestic tasks.

[0065] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates the group of household appliances, which may include household appliances 10 and 11, in communication, e.g., wireless communication as illustrated in FIG. 6, with a remote computing device 1000 in a distributed computing environment, such as a cloud. For example, the household appliances 10 and 11 and, in particular, the controllers 210 thereof, may be connected to the same local network, e.g., by WI-FI® router 60. The router 60 of the local network may be connected to the remote computing device 1000, which may be a remote computer, server, and / or database. As such, the household appliances 10 and 11 may be in communication with the remote computing device 1000. As mentioned above, controllers 210 may be operable to perform any methods and associated method steps as disclosed herein. Additionally, performance of such methods and method steps may also be distributed, e.g., one or more steps of a method may be performed by the household appliances 10 and / or 11 (e.g., controllers thereof), while one or more other steps of the same method may be performed by another device, such as the remote computing device (e.g., the cloud).

[0066] Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 6, one or more sensors or sensing devices, such as sensing device 70, may be provided in operative association with the group of household appliances. The sensing device 70 may capture data of channel characteristics of a plurality of wireless channels of a wireless network, such as the wireless network to which the household appliances 10 and 11 are connected. For example, in some embodiments, the sensing device 70 may be a WI-FI® receiver 70 that captures Channel State Information (CSI) data, which may describe the channel characteristics / properties of one or more wireless communication channels of a wireless network, such as the wireless network generated by the router 60, to which the household appliances 10 and 11 are connected. For example, the CSI data captured by the WI-FI® receiver 70 may include signal property values indicating how a signal within a particular wireless channel of the wireless network propagates through the environment. Such values may include signal latency, signal propagation delay, signal strength, and / or the like. The CSI data generated by the WI-FI® receiver 70 may be affected proportionally by the position / distance of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11. For example, the presence of the user, as opposed to the absence of the user e.g., from the home in which the wireless network is located, and the position / distance of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11 may uniquely affect the signal characteristics, e.g., signal property values. Thus, the CSI data may indicate the presence of the user and / or the position / distance of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11. Additionally, the WI-FI® receiver 70 and / or other sensing device 70 may be in operative communication with / operatively coupled to the controllers 210 of the household appliances 10 and 11. In this respect, the controller 210 of some or all of household appliances 10 and 11 may receive and utilize data from the WI-FI® receiver 70 and / or other sensing device 70, such as the data indicating the presence of the user and / or the position / distance of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11, to control the operation of the household appliances 10 and 11. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the WI-FI® receiver 70 may be separate from the household appliances 10 and 11. However, it should be appreciated that the WI-FI® receiver 70 or multiple WI-FI® receivers 70 may be a part of household appliances 10 and / or 11.

[0067] An exemplary wireless communication system is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the wireless communication system may include a transmitter, such as the WI-FI® router 60, which sends a signal 702, e.g., a multi-channel signal as illustrated in FIG. 7, such as a WI-FI® signal, to a receiver, e.g., the WI-FI® receiver 70. As will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, such wireless communication may be two-way communication, e.g., the WI-FI® receiver 70 may also send signal(s) to the router 60, although only signal 702 from the router 60 to the WI-FI® receiver 70 is illustrated in FIG. 7 for the sake of clarity. Also, as may be seen in FIG. 7, the signal 702 may be obstructed or impeded by intervening objects between the router 60 and the WI-FI® receiver 70. Some such obstructions may be moving objects, such as an adult human 710 as schematically depicted in FIG. 7, while the moving obstruction may also be a human child or pet, or other similar person or animal.

[0068] The degree of obstruction of the signal may be proportional to the position / distance of the user between the router 60 and the WI-FI® receiver 70, such that, for example, the presence of the user at a particular appliance 10 or 11 of the group of household appliances may be determined based on the wireless signal, e.g., based on the change in wireless signal strength over time. For example, as a user approaches the first household appliance 10, the user obstructs some of the wireless signal received by the WI-FI® receiver 70 differently than as the user approaches the second household appliance 11. The differences between the wireless signals in these and similar scenarios may be used to determine the position / distance of the user from one or more of the household appliances 10 and / or 11.

[0069] A graph 800 of signal strength over time (where time is measured in this example with reference to chronologically sequential packet numbers in each signal) for exemplary wireless signals, e.g., first wireless signal 810 and second wireless signal 820, is provided in FIG. 8. It should be understood that the time span illustrated for each wireless signal 810 and 820 may be simultaneous, but is not necessarily simultaneous, rather, the time span is based on the chronological sequence of packets received by the WI-FI® receiver 70 in each wireless signal 810 and 820 prior to an interaction, e.g., activation, of one of the household appliances 10 or 11 from a user. Thus, the packet numbers provided along the horizontal axis of graph 800 are relative to each wireless signal 810 and 820, and the wireless signals 810 and 820 may be concurrent, overlapping, or entirely separate.

[0070] In the particular example illustrated at FIG. 8, the wireless signals are WI-FI® signals, and graph 800 represents the signal strength in terms of normalized Channel State Information (CSI) amplitude of each wireless signal 810 and 820 over time, e.g., over a time period immediately preceding the user approaching the WI-FI receiver®70, or preceding the user approaching the WI-FI® receiver 70 within a margin of time sufficient for a user to traverse the distance from a first point, the first point between the router 60 (FIG. 7) and the WI-FI® receiver 70 along the signal path, to a second point, such as at or within reach of one of the household appliances 10 or 11. For example, the time during which the user is moving, e.g., approaches one of the household appliances 10 or 11 and passes between the router 60 (FIG. 7) and the WI-FI® receiver 70, may be the span 802 indicated in FIG. 8. As may be seen in FIG. 8, differences in the position / distance of the user relative to different household appliances 10 and 11 and, thus, relative to the WI-FI® receiver 70, will affect the wireless signals differently, as shown by wireless signals 810 and 820. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the strength of second wireless signal 820 decreases more than the strength of first wireless signal 810 decreases over the time span 802, e.g., when a user is approaching one of the household appliances 10 or 11. This is because the position of the WI-FI® receiver 70 is unchanging relative to the household appliances 10 and 11, but the distance / position of the user relative to the household appliances 10 and 11 and, thus, the WI-FI® receiver 70 may change. For example, the wireless signal 810 may indicate the user approaching or at the first household appliance 10, while the wireless signal 820 may indicate the user approaching or at the second household appliance 11, which is positioned apart from the first household appliance 10. The change, e.g., decrease, in each wireless signal may be measured in various ways, such as may be measured as total or average decrease across the time span 802 or may be a largest instantaneous decrease at any point within the time span 802, or other suitable quantifications of the change in signal strength over or during the time span 802, where the decrease in each signal is quantified in the same way in order to provide a direct comparison of first wireless signal 810 and second wireless signal 820 (and additional signals may be compared as well in some embodiments, e.g., third wireless signal, fourth wireless signal, etc.). Thus, based on the greater decrease in second wireless signal 820, it may be determined that the user is approaching or at the first household appliance 10, which may be closer to the WI-FI® receiver 70, as compared to the first wireless signal 810 due to the smaller decrease in the first wireless signal 810 over or during time span 802. Accordingly, the presence of the user may be detected or determined at the first household appliance 10 based on the second wireless signal 820, whereas the presence the user at the second household appliance 11 may be detected or determined based on the first wireless signal 810. For example, when only the first wireless signal 810 is received, it may be determined that the user is present at the second household appliance 11.

[0071] In some embodiments, the performance of exemplary methods and associated method steps may be distributed, e.g., performed in part by the controller 210 of the first and / or second household appliances 10 and 11, and in part by one or more remote computing devices in the cloud 1002.

[0072] Turning now to FIG. 9, steps performed in a particular order for purposes of illustration and discussion are depicted. Those of ordinary skill in the art, using the disclosures provided herein, will understand that the steps of the method 900 can be modified, adapted, rearranged, omitted, interchanged, or expanded in various ways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 9, the method 900 includes generating an input in response to a physical contact by a user with a local user interface, e.g., as indicated at (902) in FIG. 9. Specifically, a local user interface, e.g., the user interface panel 100, of one of the household appliances 10 or 11, may generate an input in response to physical contact of the user interface panel 100 by the user. For example, the user interface panel 100 may include the display component 104, which may be a backlit touchscreen. As such, the user interface panel 100 may generate the input in response to the user touching the touchscreen of the display component 104. Additionally, or alternatively, the user interface panel 100 may generate the input in response to the user touching other devices such as input knobs, buttons, and / or the like of the user interface panel 100. The input may be received by a controller, e.g., controller 210 of household appliances 10 and / or 11 or the remote computing device 1000 of the cloud 1002.

[0074] Furthermore, the method 900 includes capturing data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels of a wireless network in response to the generated input, e.g., as indicated at (904) in FIG. 9. Specifically, the sensing device, such as the WI-FI® receiver 70 described above, may capture first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network in response to the input generated at (902). The first wireless channel may be a wireless channel within which signals associated with appliance 10 are transmitted, e.g., signals indicating the position / distance of the user relative to first household appliance 10. Since the first data is captured upon generation of the input at (902), the captured first data may be indicative of the presence of the user at the appliance at which the physical contact with the user interface panel 100 occurred, which may be first household appliance 10. In some embodiments, the captured first data may be Channel State Information (CSI) data of the first wireless channel of the wireless network, which may be captured by the WI-FI® receiver 70. The CSI data may include signal property values, e.g., values associated with signal latency, signal propagation delay, and / or signal strength, of one or more signals, referred to as first signals, transmitted within the first wireless network. Such signal property values may be uniquely altered, which may be dependent on the position / distance of the user relative to the first household appliance 10, such as described above with respect to FIG. 8. The unique alterations in the signal property values may be detected by the controller 210 of the first household appliance 10 and / or may be monitored by the remote computing device 1000.

[0075] Moreover, the method 900 includes determining that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user, e.g., as indicated at (906) in FIG. 9. Specifically, a controller, e.g., the controller 210 of the first household appliance 10 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may determine that a pattern of the first data captured at (904) is associated with the presence of the user, such as at one of the household appliances of the group of household appliances. For example, after physically contacting the local user interface, e.g., the user interface panel 100, the user may halt physically contacting the local user interface because, for example, the user has selected a cycle or operation of the appliance, e.g., the first household appliance 10. As such, the local user interface may generate an input in response to an absence of physical contact by the user with the local user interface, such as after a predetermined length of time has passed since the user has physically contacted the local user interface, e.g., touched the display component 104, turned a knob, pressed a button, and / or the like.

[0076] Thereafter, the sensing device 70, e.g., the WI-FI® receiver 70, may capture second data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network in response to the generated input indicating the absence of physical contact by the user with the local user interface. Since the second data is captured upon generation of the input, which is generated after the predetermined length of time has passed, the captured second data may be indicative of the absence of the user at the appliance at which the physical contact with the user interface panel 100 previously occurred, e.g., first household appliance 10. Like the captured first data, in some embodiments, the captured second data may be Channel State Information (CSI) data of the first wireless channel of the wireless network, which may be captured by the WI-FI® receiver 70. The CSI data may include signal property values, e.g., values associated with signal latency, signal propagation delay, and / or signal strength, of one or more signals, referred to as first signals, transmitted within the first wireless network. Such signal property values may be uniquely altered, which may be dependent on the position / distance of the user relative to the first household appliance 10, such as described above with respect to FIG. 8. The unique alterations in the signal property values may be detected by the controller 210 of the first household appliance 10 and / or may be monitored by the remote computing device 1000.

[0077] Additionally, the controller, e.g., the controller 210 of the first household appliance 10 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may determine differences between the captured first data and the captured second data. The controller may then determine that the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user at one of the household appliances of the group of household appliances and that the captured second data is associated with the absence of the user from the same appliance according to the differences between the captured first data and the captured second data.

[0078] Furthermore, the method 900 includes detecting the pattern with a second household appliance of the group of household appliances, e.g., as indicated at (908) in FIG. 9. Specifically, the controller 210 of the second household appliance 11, which is a controller of a different appliance than the first household appliance 10, may detect the pattern of the captured data associated with a presence of the user determined at (906). For example, the controller 210 of second household appliance 11 may receive an input that the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user at one of the household appliances of the group household appliances, such as from the controller 210 of first household appliance 10 and / or from the remote computing device 1000. Thereafter, data of channel characteristics of a second wireless channel of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network may be captured, e.g., by WI-FI® receiver 70. The second wireless channel may be a wireless channel of the wireless network within which signals associated with the second household appliance 11 are transmitted, e.g., signals indicating the position / distance of the user relative to the second household appliance 11. Like the captured first data and the captured second data described above, in some embodiments, the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel may be Channel State Information (CSI) data of the second wireless channel, which may be captured by the WI-FI® receiver 70. The CSI data may include signal property values, e.g., values associated with signal latency, signal propagation delay, and / or signal strength, of one or more signals, referred to as second signals, transmitted within the second wireless network.

[0079] The captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel may be compared to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel, e.g., by the controller 210 of second household appliance 11 and / or by the remote computing device 1000. For example, in some embodiments, the first signal property values of the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel may be compared to the second signal property values of the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel.

[0080] Thereafter, the method 900 may include determining that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern, e.g., as indicated at (910) in FIG. 9. Specifically, the controller, e.g., the controller 210 of the second household appliance 11 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may determine that the user is present at the second household appliance 11 based on the pattern detected at (908). In some embodiments, the controller may determine that the user is present at the second household appliance 11 based on comparing the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel. For example, the controller may determine that the user is present at the second household appliance 11 in response to the second signal property values differing from the first signal property values by less than a predetermined threshold amount. In this respect, when the second signal property values are sufficiently similar to the first signal property values, the controller, e.g., the controller 210 of second household appliance 11 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may determine that the user is present at the second household appliance 11. As such, the presence of the user at the second household appliance 11 may be determined without receipt of any input that the user has contacted, e.g., physically touched, the second household appliance 11.

[0081] Additionally, in some embodiments, the method 900 may include adjusting an operation of the second household appliance in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance. Specifically, the controller, e.g., the controller 210 of second household appliance 11 and / or the remote computing device 1000, may adjust an operation of second household appliance 11 in response to the user being present at the second household appliance 11 as determined at (910). For example, a cycle of the second household appliance 11, e.g., a wash cycle when second household appliance 11 is a washing machine appliance, may be paused in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance 11. Additionally, or alternatively, a light emitting display, e.g., the display component 104, of the second household appliance 11 may be activated in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance 11. However, it should be appreciated that any other suitable operation of the second household appliance 11 may be adjusted in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance 11.

[0082] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0020]Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0021]As used herein, the terms “first,”“second,” and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The terms “includes” and “including” are...

Claims

1. A method of operating a group of household appliances connected to a wireless network and a remote computing device, the method comprising:generating, by a local user interface of one of the group of household appliances, an input in response to a physical contact by a user with the local user interface;capturing data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network in response to the generated input, the captured data indicative of a presence of the user at a first household appliance of the group of household appliances;determining that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user;detecting the pattern with a second household appliance of the group of household appliances; anddetermining that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, the second household appliance comprising a light emitting display, the method further comprising:activating the light emitting display, whereby light is emitted by the light emitting display, in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the captured data is Channel State Information (CSI) data of the first wireless channel of the wireless network, the CSI data of the first wireless channel altered by the presence of the user at the first household appliance.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a wireless receiver captures the CSI data of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a presence of the user at the second household appliance is determined without receipt of an input that the user has contacted the second household appliance.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the captured data is captured first data, and wherein determining that the pattern of the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user comprises:generating, by the local user interface, an input in response to an absence of physical contact by the user with the local user interface for a predetermined length of time;capturing second data of channel characteristics of the first wireless channel in response to the input generated in response to the absence of physical contact by the user with the local user interface for the predetermined length of time, the captured second data indicative of the absence of the user at the first household appliance, the captured second data different from the captured first data; anddetermining differences between the captured first data and the captured second data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein detecting the pattern with the second household appliance comprises:receiving an input that the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user;capturing data of channel characteristics of a second wireless channel of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network after receiving the input that the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user;comparing the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel; anddetermining that the user is present at the second household appliance based on comparing the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel includes first signal property values of a first signal transmitted within the first wireless channel;the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel includes second signal property values of a second signal transmitted within the second wireless channel;comparing the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel comprises comparing the second signal property values to the first signal property values; anddetermining that the user is present at the second household appliance comprises determining that the user is present at the second household appliance in response to the second signal property values differing from the first signal property values by less than a predetermined threshold amount.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first signal property values and the second signal property values each include at least one of values associated with signal latency, signal propagation delay, or signal strength.

10. A system for operating a group of household appliances connected to a wireless network, the system comprising:a remote computing device;the group of household appliances, the group of household appliances comprising:a first household appliance, the first household appliance including a local user interface and a first controller operatively coupled to the local user interface and the remote computing device; anda second household appliance, the second household appliance including a second controller operatively coupled to the remote computing device; anda controller, the controller configured to:capture data of channel characteristics of a first wireless channel of a plurality of wireless channels in response to a generated input indicative of physical contact by a user with the local user interface of the first household appliance, the captured data indicative of a presence of the user at the first household appliance;determine that a pattern of the captured data is associated with a presence of the user;detect the pattern with the second household appliance; anddetermine that the user is present at the second household appliance based on the detected pattern.

11. The system of claim 10, the second household appliance comprising a light emitting display, wherein the controller is further configured to:activate the light emitting display, whereby light is emitted by the light emitting display, in response to determining that the user is present at the second household appliance.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the captured data is Channel State Information (CSI) data of the first wireless channel of the wireless network, the CSI data of the first wireless channel altered by the presence of the user at the first household appliance.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein a wireless receiver is configured to capture the CSI data of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein a presence of the user at the second household appliance is determined without receipt of an input that the user has contacted the second household appliance.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the captured data is captured first data, and wherein determining that the pattern of the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user comprises:generating, by the local user interface, an input in response to an absence of physical contact by the user with the local user interface for a predetermined length of time;capturing second data of channel characteristics of the first wireless channel in response to the input generated in response to the absence of physical contact by the user with the local user interface for the predetermined length of time, the captured second data indicative of the absence of the user at the first household appliance, the captured second data different from the captured first data; anddetermining differences between the captured first data and the captured second data.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein detecting the pattern with the second household appliance comprises:receiving an input that the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user;capturing data of channel characteristics of a second wireless channel of the plurality of wireless channels of the wireless network after receiving the input that the captured first data is associated with the presence of the user;comparing the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel; anddetermining that the user is present at the second household appliance based on comparing the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein:the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel includes first signal property values of a first signal transmitted within the first wireless channel;the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel includes second signal property values of a second signal transmitted within the second wireless channel;comparing the captured first data of the channel characteristics of the first wireless channel to the captured data of the channel characteristics of the second wireless channel comprises comparing the second signal property values to the first signal property values; anddetermining that the user is present at the second household appliance comprises determining that the user is present at the second household appliance in response to the second signal property values differing from the first signal property values by less than a predetermined threshold amount.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first signal property values and the second signal property values each include at least one of values associated with signal latency, signal propagation delay, or signal strength.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller is one of the second controller of the second household appliance or the remote computing device.

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