Domestic cooking appliance with socket for an accessory

Abstract

The invention relates to a domestic cooking appliance (1) comprising a cooking chamber (3) which is delimited by a cooking chamber wall (2), wherein a socket (12; 31), via which an accessory (9) connected thereto can be supplied with electric energy, opens into the cooking chamber on the cooking chamber wall, and the socket has multiple pin receiving areas (14, 15, 16) for receiving electric contact pins (17, 18, 19; 27; 30) of the accessory (9; 26; 29). One of the pin receiving areas (14, 15, 16) is designed as a grounding receiving area (15) for receiving a grounding pin (18; 27; 30) of the accessory (9; 26; 29), and the grounding receiving area (15) has a grounding contact (20) and at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23). The at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23) can be contacted by the grounding pin (18; 27; 30) when the grounding pin is plugged into the grounding receiving area, and the at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23) is electrically connected to a detection device (13) which is designed to detect the connected accessory (9) using the contact of the at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23).

Description

[0001] Household cooking appliance with socket for accessories

[0002] The invention relates to a household cooking appliance with a cooking chamber delimited by a cooking chamber wall, wherein a socket opens into the cooking chamber at the cooking chamber wall, via which socket an accessory connected to it can be supplied with electrical energy, the socket has a plurality of pin receptacles for receiving electrical contact pins of the accessory and one of the pin receptacles is provided as an earthing receptacle for receiving an earthing pin of the accessory. The invention also relates to an accessory for introduction into the cooking chamber of the household cooking appliance, wherein the accessory has at least one electrical load which, for its operation, can be supplied with electrical energy via a plug which can be inserted into the socket, and the plug has an earthing pin. The invention also relates to a set of accessories. The invention further relates to a system comprising a household cooking appliance and an accessory or an accessory from the set of accessories.The invention further relates to a method for operating a household cooking appliance to which an accessory or an accessory from the set of accessories is connected. The method involves inserting the accessory into the cooking chamber of the household cooking appliance and inserting a plug of the accessory into a socket of the household cooking appliance, thereby inserting the grounding pin of the plug into the grounding receptacle of the socket. The invention is particularly advantageously applicable to ovens.

[0003] Cooking chamber dividers are known, for example, from DE 42 175 45 A1, DE 102010 062 511 A1, DE 10 2010 030471 A1, DE 102010 040 959 A1, EP 1 731 842 A2, EP 1 731 844 B1, EP 1 657493 A1, and EP 2 299 181 B1. Plug detection is known from WO 2020 / 148329 A1.

[0004] It is known to detect components in an oven using mechanical plungers in conjunction with limit switches. This requires multiple components and a penetration of the oven to the outside. Furthermore, space behind the oven is required for the mechanical components and limit switches. Furthermore, thermal shielding and potential contamination must be considered.

[0005] DE 10 2009 029462 A1 is based on a cooking appliance, in particular an oven, with an operating unit, a display unit, a cooking chamber, and at least one cooking chamber divider arranged in the cooking chamber. It is proposed that the cooking appliance have at least one sensor unit designed to detect at least one characteristic of the cooking chamber divider in a signal, and a control unit designed to evaluate a signal from the at least one sensor unit.

[0006] WO 2018 / 024557 A1 relates to an oven comprising: a cooking chamber for cooking food; a partition for dividing the cooking chamber into two cooking chamber parts for cooking food, wherein the partition is removably arranged in the cooking chamber; a heating unit for selectively heating the cooking chamber parts; a control unit for controlling the heating unit, wherein the control unit has a dual cooking function. The oven further comprises a switching unit configured to detect the presence / absence of the partition and to output a signal indicating the presence / absence of the partition, wherein the control unit is further configured to control the heating unit depending on the signal output by the switching unit.

[0007] DE 10 2010 063 464 A1 discloses a connection element for providing an electrical connection in a treatment chamber of a household appliance. The connection element has a protruding, longitudinally displaceably mounted contact pin, which can be displaced between a more protruding rest position and a less protruding operating position, with the contact pin pushing into the rest position. The household appliance, in particular a cooking appliance, is equipped with at least one connection element for providing an electrical connection in a treatment chamber of a household appliance. The at least one connection element has at least one connection element and is arranged on a side wall of the treatment chamber, in particular the cooking chamber.The insert module is used for positioning in a treatment room of a household appliance, wherein the insert is electrically operable and wherein the insert module is laterally equipped with at least one electrical connection counter element for contacting the connection element.

[0008] DE 10 2010 062 513 A1 discloses a cooking appliance. The cooking appliance has a cooking chamber with at least one electrical connection element accessible from there, wherein the connection element can be at least partially selectively extended into and retracted from the cooking chamber.A method is used for operating an electrically operable cooking chamber insert in a cooking chamber of a cooking appliance, wherein the cooking chamber can be closed by means of a cooking appliance door, the cooking appliance has an electrical connection element for electrically contacting the cooking chamber insert and the cooking chamber insert has a mating connection element that matches the electrical connection element, wherein the connection element is at least partially retracted from the cooking chamber when the cooking appliance door is open and the method comprises at least the following steps: extending the at least one connection element; inserting the cooking chamber insert into the cooking chamber such that the mating connection element contacts the connection element; and activating the connection element after selecting an operating mode for the cooking chamber insert.

[0009] DE 100 51 511 A1 discloses a steam oven with a cooking chamber, which includes a socket for receiving a plug of a temperature sensor arranged in the cooking chamber, with an insertion opening leading to the cooking chamber and a spring-loaded closure element that closes the insertion opening when the plug is not present. When the plug is inserted into a socket in the socket, the closure element is folded away in the insertion direction by the front part of the plug. The closure element is located outside the cooking chamber.

[0010] DE 198 53 054 A1 discloses an oven grill device which can be inserted into an oven muffle and has an electric grill heating element, a grill rack and a grill pan which can be filled with water.

[0011] It is the object of the present invention to at least partially overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and in particular to provide an improved possibility of detecting a blockage of a plug-in installation element in a cooking chamber, in particular an oven, of a household cooking appliance.

[0012] This object is achieved according to the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments can be found in particular in the dependent claims.

[0013] The task is solved by a household cooking appliance with a cooking chamber delimited by a cooking chamber wall, whereby - an electrical interface (“socket”) opens into the cooking chamber at the cooking chamber wall, via which an accessory connected to it can be supplied with electrical energy,

[0014] - the socket has several pin receptacles for the insertion of electrical contact pins of the accessories,

[0015] - at least one of the pin receptacles is provided as a receptacle (“earthing receptacle”) for accommodating a respective earthing pin of the accessory,

[0016] - at least one earthing receptacle has a contact intended for earthing (“earthing contact”) and at least one further contact (“detection contact”),

[0017] - at least one detection contact can be contacted by the earthing pin when it is inserted, and

[0018] - the at least one detection contact is electrically connected to a detection device which is designed to detect the connected accessory based on the contacting of the at least one detection contact.

[0019] This has the advantage that accessories plugged safely into the (cooking chamber) socket by means of at least one earthing pin are automatically detected by the household cooking appliance without the need for additional mechanical components such as mechanical plungers and / or microswitches or similar. Rather, only additional contacts on the earthing or earthing receptacle of an existing socket are required. The existing socket or electrical interface is thus functionally expanded without the need for additional mechanical installations. The at least one earthing pin of the accessory contacts - in addition to the basic function of earthing - the at least one detection contact. This in turn simplifies structural design, saves installation space and avoids leaks, e.g. due to further openings in the cooking chamber wall, which can lead to additional thermal losses as well as moisture problems.This also eliminates the need for additional sealing or insulation measures, which has a positive impact on energy consumption and condensation behavior.

[0020] Automatic detection also advantageously enables appropriately adapted automatic control of a cooking process, particularly when using electrically operated accessories. In particular, additional cooking appliance functionalities provided or enabled by the accessories can be automatically deployed.

[0021] Automatic detection also allows the user interface to be adapted accordingly. For example, if an accessory such as a steamer is inserted into the cooking chamber and recognized by the cooking appliance when connected to the socket on the cooking chamber side, the "steam cooking" function can be suggested in the selection menu for cooking types and / or cooking programs.

[0022] The household cooking appliance can be, for example, an oven, a steamer, a microwave, or any combination thereof, e.g., an oven with additional steaming and / or microwave functions. The cooking chamber can have a front loading opening that can be closed by a cooking chamber door. The cooking chamber wall, especially in the case of an oven, can also be referred to as a muffle or oven pipe.

[0023] The fact that the socket opens into the cooking chamber means, in particular, that a suitable plug can be inserted into the socket from the cooking chamber. The socket is routed through a hole in the cooking chamber wall to or into the cooking chamber. The electrical cables of the socket, for example, to a power source and the detection device, exit on the side facing away from the cooking chamber.

[0024] The fact that an electrically operated accessory connected to the socket can be supplied with electrical energy via the socket means that, in addition to the earthing receptacle serving for earthing or as a protective conductor, the socket has at least one further pin receptacle through which current can flow to operate the accessory. For example, the socket can have at least one earthing receptacle or PE receptacle, an L1 receptacle and an N receptacle. A suitable plug can then in particular have at least one contact pin serving for earthing or as a protective conductor, namely the at least one “earthing pin” or PE contact pin, an L1 contact pin and an N contact pin. A “connected accessory” can therefore in particular be a device with an electrical interface or connection that matches the socket."Plug" refers to an accessory equipped with a plug, in which the plug of the accessory has been connected to the socket, in particular, has been plugged into it. The earthing contact serves to connect the at least one inserted earthing pin to a protective potential or reference potential, e.g., ground. In particular, the number of earthing receptacles equipped with a respective earthing contact can be variably determined, provided that it is ensured, in particular, that each inserted earthing pin is connected to ground.

[0025] The fact that the detection contact is contactable when the grounding pin is inserted means that it can in principle be contacted by the associated grounding pin, but it does not need to be. Whether contact actually occurs can depend, for example, on the design of the grounding pin, e.g., its length and / or position of its contact surfaces, and / or the number of grounding pins present.

[0026] One embodiment is for the socket to have exactly one grounding receptacle. One embodiment is for the socket to have multiple grounding receptacles. In particular, each of the grounding receptacles is assigned at least one detection contact. If multiple grounding receptacles are present, only one of them needs to have a grounding contact. Alternatively, several or all of the grounding receptacles can each have a grounding contact.

[0027] In a further development, the detection device is a circuit, e.g., comprising a microprocessor, FPGA, or ASIC. In particular, it is advantageous to use simple, adaptable circuits without complex components.

[0028] A further development is that at least one grounding receptacle has exactly one detection contact. This allows the presence or absence of a plugged-in accessory to be detected with only one grounding receptacle, but not, or at least not easily, its type. However, with multiple grounding receptacles, the type of accessory can be determined based on the number of plugged-in grounding pins.

[0029] In one embodiment, at least one grounding receptacle has a plurality of detection contacts, and the detection device is configured to detect a type of connected accessory based on the contacting of the detection contacts. This utilizes the fact that the grounding pins can advantageously be configured such that they contact different detection contacts depending on the type of associated accessory, e.g. according to a coding method. The assignment of the contact to a specific type of accessory can, for example, be stored in a data memory that is integrated into the detection device or that the detection device can access. A particular advantage is that the type of accessory plugged in can be detected even with only one grounding receptacle.

[0030] One embodiment provides that at least two of the detection contacts of at least one grounding receptacle are arranged in series, one behind the other, in the insertion direction of an associated grounding pin. This makes reliable contacting particularly easy to achieve. A further development provides that these at least two detection contacts are arranged in series, spaced apart from one another. This advantageously enables particularly reliable contacting and coding. For example, the detection contacts can be arranged one behind the other as electrically conductive, in particular metallic, rings or ring segments.

[0031] One embodiment provides for at least two of the detection contacts of at least one grounding receptacle to be circumferentially offset in the insertion direction of an associated grounding pin. This enables coding with a short grounding pin length. For example, the detection contacts can be arranged as electrically conductive, in particular metallic, ring segments, circumferentially offset, in particular offset and spaced apart in the circumferential direction.

[0032] The fact that the detection device is configured to detect the connected accessory based on the contacting of the at least one detection contact can, in one embodiment, include the detection device being configured to detect whether the at least one relevant detection contact is connected to ground or whether the at least one relevant detection contact is connected to ground. It is assumed that an electrical connection of the detection contact to ground can be established by contacting the detection contact with the electrically conductive ground pin and simultaneously contacting the ground pin with the ground contact. The detection device can then detect the contact, for example, via the voltage level associated with the relevant detection contact. A non-contacted detection contact, on the other hand, has a different voltage level.

[0033] A further development is that each of the detection contacts is assigned a defined electrical (measuring) resistance, in particular is connected to a respective resistor. This makes contact with ground particularly easy to detect: when such contact is made, the relevant detection contacts are connected to ground, which changes the potential or voltage level at the (ohmic) resistors. This change is detected by the detection device and can therefore infer the presence of an accessory and trigger at least one corresponding action, for example providing and / or adapting certain functions, e.g. a display on a user interface. Possible contact resistance at the detection contacts due to contamination or poor mechanical contact advantageously has no significant effect thanks to the series connection with the associated measuring resistor.The resistors can have the same or different resistance values. The resistors can form a resistor network connected to the electronics of the detection device. The resistors or the resistor network can be part of the detection device.

[0034] It is an embodiment that the household cooking appliance can detect at least one connected accessory from the group

[0035] - Cooking chamber divider,

[0036] - pizza stone,

[0037] - grill plate,

[0038] - bread baking stone,

[0039] - steamer insert,

[0040] - heating element, is recognizable. However, other electrically operated accessories can also be recognized. The household cooking appliance can be set up to trigger at least one accessory-specific action upon recognition of a particular accessory. This at least one accessory-specific action can, for example, comprise providing or enabling functionalities enabled by the recognized accessory. This can include making these expanded or new functionalities available to a user via a user interface, e.g. via the selection of new additional functionalities, expanded setting options for existing functionalities, offering new or expanded cooking programs, etc. If, for example, a steam cooking insert is recognized in an oven that is otherwise not capable of steam cooking, the “steam cooking” function can now be suggested for selection in a selection menu of heating types, if necessary.with associated setting parameters. If an electrically heated cooking chamber divider is detected, multi-cavity operation can be provided and activated if necessary.

[0041] It's a further development for the household cooking appliance to have several such sockets, for example, on different shelf levels. This makes it easier to connect accessories on different shelf levels and makes their use particularly versatile. For example, a cooking compartment divider can be easily inserted and recognized on different shelf levels, thus providing a user-friendly, flexible division of the cooking compartment.

[0042] It is a further development that at least one such socket is arranged on a rear wall of the cooking chamber, so that advantageously when the accessory is inserted, which has its contact pins or plug in a corresponding position on its front rear side in the direction of insertion, the accessory can be connected to the socket at the same time.

[0043] In one embodiment, the detection device is configured to detect that only at least one earthing pin is plugged into the socket (namely into its earthing receptacle) and to detect from this the use of a dummy plug or a cover to protect the socket.

[0044] The task is also solved by an accessory for insertion into the cooking chamber of the household cooking appliance as described above, whereby

[0045] - the accessory has at least one electrical load which can be supplied with electrical energy for its operation via a (suitable) plug that can be inserted into the socket, and

[0046] - the plug has at least one earthing pin which is recognisable by the household cooking appliance. The accessory can be designed analogously to the household cooking appliance as described above, and vice versa, and has the same advantages.

[0047] For example, one embodiment provides that the plug has exactly one grounding pin. Another embodiment provides that the socket has multiple grounding pins. If multiple grounding pins are present, these can be electrically connected to one another in the plug, for example, by providing a single, e.g., metallic, component with multiple grounding pins connected at its base.

[0048] In one embodiment, the at least one grounding pin can also be designed in such a way that a type of accessory can be identified by means of the household cooking appliance. For example, the design of the at least one grounding pin can include its structural design and / or its number.

[0049] One embodiment provides that at least one grounding pin has a length tailored to the detection of the type of accessory. This is advantageously particularly easy to implement. It can be exploited that, when the detection contacts are arranged one behind the other in the grounding receptacle, the length of a uniformly electrically conductive pin, e.g., a simple, unstructured metal pin, is sufficient to achieve coding. This can be achieved, for example, by the detection device being able to detect the number of contacted and thus connected detection contacts to ground, and from this, deduce the type of accessory: the longer the grounding pin, the more detection contacts are contacted or connected to ground.

[0050] In addition to or as an alternative to the length of the grounding pin, individual contact areas of the grounding pin can be electrically insulated so that when they make contact with a detection contact, the detection contact is not grounded, and the detection device fails to detect the purely mechanical contact. The same effect can be achieved by introducing a recess (e.g., an annular groove) instead of insulation, in which case the detection contact is not even mechanically contacted, even though it is opposite the grounding pin. The electrical insulation and / or recess can be used analogously in the case where at least two of the detection contacts are circumferentially offset.

[0051] The problem is also solved by a set of accessories as described above, where accessories of different types have different grounding pins. The different grounding pins can be recognized by a household cooking appliance as described above and assigned to the type of accessory. The different grounding pins can also be referred to as type-dependent coded grounding pins. The set of accessories can be designed analogously to the accessories described above, and vice versa, and has the same advantages.

[0052] One design feature is that accessories of different types have different grounding pins or differently coded grounding pins depending on the type.

[0053] Another design feature is that the different grounding pins have different contact surfaces with the socket's detection contacts. Thus, one contact surface of a particular grounding pin can contact the detection contacts of the grounding receptacle that it contacts and connect them to ground, while with another grounding pin (a) this contact surface is not present because the other grounding pin is shorter, (b) this contact surface is not present because there is a recess there, or (c) this contact surface is present but is insulated.

[0054] In this regard, it is a design that the different grounding pins or the grounding pins of accessories of different types have a different length.

[0055] One design is that different types of accessories have a different number of grounding pins depending on the type. This is also particularly easy to implement.

[0056] The object is further achieved by a system comprising a household cooking appliance as described above and an accessory or a set of accessories as described above. In particular, at least one accessory can be connected to a respective socket of the household cooking appliance. The object is further achieved by a method for operating a household cooking appliance as described above, to which an accessory as described above is connected. The method can be designed analogously to the devices as described above, and vice versa, and has the same advantages.

[0057] In one embodiment

[0058] - an accessory is inserted into the cooking chamber of the household cooking appliance and a plug of the accessory is inserted into a (cooking chamber) socket of the household cooking appliance, whereby the earthing pin of the plug is inserted into the earthing receptacle of the extension socket,

[0059] - with the earthing pin inserted, the detection unit recognizes the type of accessory based on the design of the earthing pin and

[0060] - depending on the type of accessory detected, triggers at least one type-dependent action, in particular adapting the household cooking appliance to the presence of this accessory (e.g. a display, operating mode selection, program selection, operating parameters, etc.).

[0061] A further development is that the accessory is inserted into the cooking chamber, particularly at a specific insertion level, and the plug is then inserted into the socket, i.e., particularly as part of a single movement of the accessory. Alternatively, the accessory can be placed in the cooking chamber, for example, and the plug can be inserted separately into the socket. A plug equipped with a power cable can be used for this purpose.

[0062] The above-described properties, features and advantages of this invention, as well as the manner in which they are achieved, will become clearer and more clearly understood in connection with the following schematic description of an embodiment, which is explained in more detail in connection with the drawings.

[0063] Fig.1 shows a sectional side view of a sketch of an oven with accessories inserted and connected therein;

[0064] Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of a socket according to a first embodiment with a connected detection device; Fig. 3 shows a plan view of a variant of a plug of an accessory suitable for the socket according to the first embodiment;

[0065] Fig.4 shows a plan view of another variant of a plug of an accessory suitable for the socket according to the first embodiment;

[0066] Fig.5 shows a plan view of yet another variant of a plug of an accessory suitable for the socket according to the first embodiment;

[0067] Fig.6 shows a block diagram of a socket according to a second embodiment with a connected detection device;

[0068] Fig.7 shows a plan view of a variant of a plug of an accessory suitable for the socket according to the second embodiment;

[0069] Fig.8 shows a plan view of another variant of a plug of an accessory suitable for the socket according to the second embodiment;

[0070] Fig.9 shows a plan view of yet another variant of a plug of an accessory suitable for the socket according to the second embodiment; and

[0071] Fig.10 shows a plan view of yet another variant of a plug of an accessory suitable for the socket according to the second embodiment.

[0072] Fig. 1 shows a sectional side view of a sketch of a household cooking appliance in the form of an oven 1. The oven 1 has a cooking chamber 3 defined by a cooking chamber wall in the form of a muffle 2. The cooking chamber 3 has a front loading opening which can be closed by means of a cooking chamber door 4. The cooking chamber 3 can be heated by means of electrical resistance heating elements 5, 6. In particular, heating types (e.g. top heat, bottom heat, etc.) and, if appropriate, heating programs which use at least one of the resistance heating elements 5, 6 can be selected and started by a user via a user interface 7. The user interface 7 is connected to a control device 8 which can control the selected cooking processes (and, if appropriate, other operating processes such as a pyrolysis process).

[0073] On a shelf level EE, an accessory in the form of a steam cooking insert 9 has been inserted into the cooking chamber 3, as indicated by the arrow indicating the insertion direction R. The inserted steam cooking insert 9 has, on its rear side facing a rear wall 10 of the muffle 2, a plug 11 oriented in the insertion direction R, which is plugged into a socket 12 opening into the rear wall 10. An electrical load of the steam cooking insert 9, such as an evaporator, can be supplied with electrical energy for its operation via the socket 12 and the plug 11. This energy supply can also be controlled by means of the control device 8.

[0074] The oven 1 also has a detection device 13 configured to detect the steam cooking insert 9 using an earthing pin (18, 27, 30, see Fig. 3 to Fig. 5) of the plug 11. The detection device 13 can be part of the socket 11, part of the control device 8 as shown, or an independent component of the oven 1. Upon detection of the steam cooking insert 9, the control device 8 can trigger at least one associated action, for example, display a steam operating mode in the user interface 7 for selection and, upon selection, control the steam cooking insert 9 accordingly.

[0075] Fig.2 shows a block diagram of the socket 12 with connected detection device 13.

[0076] The socket 12 has several pin receptacles 14, 15, 16 (not shown to scale) for receiving corresponding electrical contact pins of the accessory, for example, the steamer insert 9. Here, the pin receptacle 14 corresponds, for example, to an outer conductor / L1 conductor, the pin receptacle 15 to an earthing receptacle / PE conductor, and the pin receptacle 16 to a neutral conductor / N conductor. The pin receptacle 14 is provided to receive an L1 contact pin 17 of the plug 11, the earthing receptacle 15 to receive an earthing pin 18, and the pin receptacle 16 to receive an N contact pin 19 of the accessory 9, as shown in more detail in Fig. 3.

[0077] While the pin receptacles 14 and 16 each have exactly one contact for contacting the contact pins 17 and 19, respectively, the grounding receptacle 15 has a grounding contact 20 and several detection contacts 21, 22, 23. The grounding contact 20 connects each inserted grounding pin 18 to ground GND.

[0078] The detection contacts 21, 22, 23 are arranged one behind the other, spaced apart from each other in the insertion and thus also insertion direction R. They can generally be contacted by an inserted grounding pin 18, but depending on the device or design of the specific grounding pin 18, they do not need to be contacted. Contacting can specifically mean an electrical contact or connection to ground GND.

[0079] The detection contact 21 reached first in the insertion direction R is arranged at the same height and offset in the circumferential direction from the grounding contact 20. This ensures that the grounding pin 18 can always be contacted at least with the first detection contact 21 (but does not need to be contacted).

[0080] Each of the detection contacts 21, 22, 23 is assigned a respective ohmic (measurement) resistor R1, R2 or R3 and is connected via this and possibly via a further series resistor R4 to an electronic device such as a microprocessor 24. The resistors R1, R2 and R3 are therefore connected via a common node to the series resistor R4, which on the other hand is connected to the microprocessor 24. A supply voltage Vcc can also be applied to this node, here via an intermediate resistor R5. There can also be other electrical or electronic components such as a capacitor C connected to ground GND between the series resistor R4 and the microprocessor 24. The resistors R1 to R5 can also be viewed as a resistor network.

[0081] The detection device 13 is configured to detect the type of connected accessory based on the electrical contact between the detection contacts 21 to 23 and ground. This utilizes the fact that the detection contacts 21, 22, 23 can be connected to ground GND via the grounding pin 18, while they would otherwise be at a different voltage level. Therefore, the detection device 13 can detect which of the detection contacts 21, 22, 23 is connected to ground GND based on the voltage level at its connection to the detection contacts 21, 22, 23. This, in turn, allows the detection device 13 to deduce the type of accessory 9, e.g., via a lookup table containing a correlation between the applied voltage level and the type of accessory 9.

[0082] Fig. 3 shows a top view of a plug, which can be, for example, plug 11 of the steamer insert 9. The grounding pin 18 is a uniform metallic pin of length L1, which, when plugged into the socket 12, only mechanically contacts the detection contact 21 and thus also electrically connects to ground GND.

[0083] This applies a specific first voltage level to the microprocessor 24. The first voltage level correlates with the connection of the steamer insert 9.

[0084] Fig. 4 shows a plan view of another plug 25 for another accessory 26, e.g., a cooking chamber divider, a pizza stone, a grill plate, a bread baking stone, a heating element, etc. The associated grounding pin 27 is a uniform metallic pin with a length L2 > L1. When plugged into the socket 12, the detection contacts 21 and 22 are mechanically and thus also electrically connected to ground GND, but not the detection contact 23. This applies a specific second voltage level to the microprocessor 24. The second voltage level correlates with the connection of the additional accessory 26.

[0085] Fig. 5 shows a top view of a plug 28 for yet another accessory 29 (different from accessories 9 and 26), e.g., a cooking chamber divider, a pizza stone, a grill plate, a bread baking stone, a heating element, etc. The associated grounding pin 30 is a uniform metallic pin with a length L3 > L2. When plugged into the socket 12, all detection contacts 21, 22, and 23 are mechanically and thus also electrically connected to ground GND. This applies a specific third voltage level to the microprocessor 24. The third voltage level correlates with the connection of the additional accessory 28.

[0086] The accessories 9, 26 and 28 form a set of accessories of different types, which have different earthing pins 18, 27, 30 depending on the type and, due to their different lengths L1, L2 and L3, respectively, have different contact surfaces with the detection contacts 21, 22, 23 of the socket 12, namely the earthing pin 18 only has one contact surface with the detection contact 21, the earthing pin 27 has one contact surface with the detection contact 21 and with the detection contact 22 and the earthing pin 30 has one contact surface with the detection contact 21, with the detection contact 22 and with the detection contact 23.

[0087] Fig. 6 shows a block diagram of a socket 31 with a connected detection device 13. Like socket 12, socket 31 has a pin receptacle 14 for the outer conductor 17, and pin receptacle 16 for the neutral conductor 19. In contrast to socket 12, however, three earthing receptacles 32, 33, and 34 are provided, which in particular can all have the same length and have respective detection contacts 21, 22, and 23, respectively. A grounding contact 20 (not shown) can be present on only one, on two, or on all three earthing receptacles 32, 33, 34.

[0088] The connection topology used may be related to whether and how the associated grounding pins 37-2, 37-1, or 37-3 (see Figs. 7 to 10) are electrically connected to one another. In principle, it should be ensured, in particular, that the grounding pins 37-2, 37-1, or 37-3 inserted into their grounding receptacles 32, 33, 34 are connected to ground GND, so that a short circuit to ground occurs via them when a detection contact 21, 22, 23 is electrically connected to the grounding pin 37-2, 37-1, or 37-3. This can generally apply, in particular, to the embodiments shown in Figs. 2 to 5. If, for example, the earthing pins 37-2, 37-1 and 37-3 shown in Fig.7 to Fig.10 are electrically connected to one another, one earthing contact 20 in a single one of the earthing receptacles 32, 33, 34 may be sufficient, which does not exclude the possibility that one earthing contact 20 may be present in two or all three earthing receptacles 32, 33, 34, e.g.for reasons of redundancy and / or to enable a particularly high number of combinations of the grounding pins 37-2, 37-1 or 37-3. For example, if, in the case of electrically connected grounding pins 37-1, 37-2, 37-3, only one of the grounding receptacles 32, 33 or 34 is provided with a grounding contact 20, the corresponding grounding pin 37-1, 37-2 or 37-3 must always be present, whereas in the case that all grounding receptacles 32, 33 or 34 are provided with grounding contacts 20, any combination of grounding pins 37-1, 37-2, 37-3 can be present.

[0089] If the grounding pins 37-2, 37-1 or 37-3 are not electrically connected to each other, each of the grounding receptacles 32, 33, 34 should have a respective grounding contact 20.

[0090] The detection device 13 is connected to the detection contacts 21, 22 and 23 in the same way as the socket 12.

[0091] Fig.7 shows a plan view of a variant of a plug 35 of an accessory 36 which fits the socket 31. The plug 35, like the plugs 11, 25 and 28, has the contact pins 17 and 19. In contrast to the plugs 11, 25 and 28, the plug 35 has three earthing pins 37-1, 37-2 and 37-3 which are aligned parallel in the insertion direction R and are optionally of the same length, which are regions of the same electrically conductive component and are therefore electrically connected to one another. The contact pins 17 and 1 are located between two adjacent earthing pins 37-1, 37-2 or 37-2 and 37-3, electrically separated from them and from one another. If this plug 35 is pushed or plugged into the socket 31 in the insertion direction R, all three detection contacts 21, 22 and 23 are contacted by the earthing pins 37-1, 37-2 and 37-3, respectively, which is detected by the detection device 13, whereby in turn the type of accessory 36 can be detected.

[0092] Fig. 8 shows a top view of another plug 38 of an accessory 39 that fits the socket 31. The plug 38 differs from the plug 35 in that one of the grounding pins, namely grounding pin 37-3, is missing. This allows the accessory 39 to be distinguished from the accessory 36 by the recognition device 13.

[0093] Fig. 9 shows a top view of another plug 40 of an accessory 41 that fits the socket 31. Plug 40 differs from plug 35 in that one of the grounding pins is missing, namely grounding pin 37-2. This allows accessory 41 to be distinguished from accessory 36 and accessory 39 by means of the detection device 13.

[0094] Fig. 10 shows a top view of another plug 42 of an accessory 43 that fits the socket 31. Plug 42 differs from plug 35 in that the two lateral grounding pins 37-2 and 37-3 are missing, leaving only the central grounding pin 37-1. This allows accessory 43 to be distinguished from accessories 36, 39, and 41 by means of the detection device 13.

[0095] The accessories 36, 39, 41 and 43 also form a set of accessories of different types, which, depending on the type, have different combinations of earthing pins 37-1, 37-2, 37-2 which are identical in shape, in particular.

[0096] Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown. Thus, the grounding pins can alternatively or additionally have contact surfaces that can be mechanically contacted but are electrically insulated from ground as detection contacts, and / or have recesses instead of contact surfaces. Furthermore, both the different physical configurations of the grounding pins, e.g., as shown in Figs. 3 to 5, and the different numbers / combinations of grounding pins, e.g., as shown in Figs. 7 to 10, can be combined. For example, a plug can have multiple grounding pins as shown in Figs. 7 to 10, in which at least one grounding pin can be varied as described in Figs. 3 to 5.

[0097] List of reference symbols

[0098] 1 oven

[0099] 2 muffles

[0100] 3 Cooking chamber

[0101] 4 Cooking chamber door

[0102] 5 resistance heaters

[0103] 6 resistance heaters

[0104] 7 User interface

[0105] 8 Control device

[0106] 9 Steamer insert

[0107] 10 Back wall of the muffle

[0108] 11 plugs

[0109] 12 socket

[0110] 13 Detection device

[0111] 14 pin holder

[0112] 15 Grounding socket

[0113] 16 pin holder

[0114] 17 contact pin

[0115] 18 Grounding pin

[0116] 19 contact pin

[0117] 20 Earthing contact

[0118] 21 Detection contact

[0119] 22 Detection contact

[0120] 23 Detection contact

[0121] 24 microprocessor

[0122] 25 plugs

[0123] 26 Accessories

[0124] 27 Grounding pin

[0125] 28 plugs

[0126] 29 Accessories

[0127] 30 Grounding pin

[0128] 31 Socket 32 ​​Earthing receptacles

[0129] 33 grounding receptacles

[0130] 34 grounding receptacles

[0131] 35 plugs

[0132] 36 Accessories

[0133] 37-1 Grounding pin

[0134] 37-2 Grounding pin

[0135] 37-3 Grounding pin

[0136] 38 plugs

[0137] 39 Accessories

[0138] 40 plugs

[0139] 41 Accessories

[0140] 42 plugs

[0141] 43 Accessories

[0142] C capacity

[0143] EE shelf level

[0144] GND Ground

[0145] L1-L3 length

[0146] R Insertion direction

[0147] R1-R3 measuring resistors

[0148] R4 series resistor

[0149] R5 intermediate resistor

[0150] Vcc supply voltage

Claims

Patent claims 1. Household cooking appliance (1) with a cooking chamber (3) delimited by a cooking chamber wall (2), wherein - a socket (12; 31) on the cooking chamber wall (2) leads into the cooking chamber (3), via which an accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) connected to it can be supplied with electrical energy, - the socket (12; 31) has a plurality of pin receptacles (14, 15, 16; 32 - 34) for receiving electrical contact pins (17, 18, 19; 27; 30; 37-1 - 37-3) of the accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43), - at least one of the pin receptacles (14, 15, 16) is provided as an earthing receptacle (15) for receiving a respective earthing pin (18; 27; 30) of the accessory (9; 26; 29), - the at least one earthing receptacle (15) has an earthing contact (20) and at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23), - the at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23) can be contacted by the earthing pin (18; 27; 30; 37-1 - 37-3) when it is inserted, and - the at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23) is electrically connected to a detection device (13) which is designed to detect the connected accessory (9; 26; 29; ; 36; 39; 41; 43) on the basis of the contacting of the at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23).

2. Household cooking appliance (1) according to claim 1, wherein - at least one earthing receptacle (15) has several detection contacts (21, 22, 23) and - the detection device (13) is designed to detect a type of connected accessory (9; 26; 29) based on the contacting of the detection contacts (21, 22, 23).

3. Household cooking appliance (1) according to claim 2, wherein at least two of the detection contacts (21, 22, 23) of at least one earthing receptacle (15) are arranged in series one behind the other in the insertion direction (R) of the respective earthing pin (18; 27; 30), in particular spaced apart one behind the other.

4. Household cooking appliance (1) according to one of claims 2 to 3, wherein at least two of the detection contacts (21, 22, 23) of at least one earthing receptacle (15) are arranged offset in the circumferential direction in the insertion direction (R) of an earthing pin (18; 27; 30).

5. Household cooking appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the socket (12; 31) - either has exactly one earthing receptacle (15) - or several earthing receptacles (32 - 34), each of which has at least one detection contact (21, 22, 23).

6. Household cooking appliance (1) according to one of claims 2 to 5, wherein at least one connected accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) from the group - Cooking chamber divider, - pizza stone, - grill plate, - bread baking stone, - Steamer insert (9), - heating element, is visible.

7. Household cooking appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the detection device (13) is designed to detect the connected accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) by contacting the at least one relevant detection contact (21, 22, 23) with ground (GND).

8. Household cooking appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the detection device (13) is designed to detect that only at least one earthing pin is plugged into the socket (12; 31) and to detect therefrom the use of a dummy plug.

9. Accessories (9; 26; 29) for insertion into the cooking chamber (3) of the household cooking appliance (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein - the accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) has at least one electrical load which, for its operation, can be supplied with electrical energy via a plug (11; 25; 28; 35; 38; 40; 42) which can be inserted into the socket (12; 31), and - the plug (11; 25; 28; 35; 38; 40; 42) has at least one earthing pin (18; 27; 30; 37-1 - 37-3) which can be identified by the household cooking appliance (1).

10. Set of accessories (9; 26; 29) according to claim 9, wherein accessories (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) of different types have different grounding pins (18; 27; 30; 37-1 - 37-3) depending on the type.

11. Set of accessories (9; 26; 29) according to claim 10, wherein the different earthing pins (18; 27; 30) have different contact surfaces to the detection contacts (21, 22, 23) of the socket (12).

12. Set of accessories (9; 26; 29) according to claim 11, wherein the accessories (9; 26; 29) of different types have grounding pins (18; 27; 30) of different lengths (L1; L2; L3).

13. Set of accessories (36; 39; 41; 43) according to one of claims 10 to 12, wherein accessories (36; 39; 41; 43) of different types have a different number of grounding pins (37-1 - 37-3) depending on the type.

14. A system comprising a household cooking appliance (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and an accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) according to claim 9 or an accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) from the set of accessories (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) according to any one of claims 10 to 13.

15. A method for operating a household cooking appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, to which an accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) according to claim 9 or an accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) from the set of accessories (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) according to one of claims 10 to 13 is connected, in which - the accessories (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) are inserted into the cooking chamber (3) of the household cooking appliance (1), - a plug (11; 25; 28; 35; 38; 40; 42) of the accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) is plugged into a socket (12; 31) of the household cooking appliance (1), whereby the at least one earthing pin (18; 27; 30; 37-1 - 37-3) of the plug (11; 25; 28; 35; 38; 40; 42) is inserted into the earthing socket (15; 32-34) of the socket (12; 31), - with at least one earthing pin (18; 27; 30; 37-1 - 37-3) inserted, the detection unit (13) of the household cooking appliance (1) detects the type of accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) based on the design of the at least one earthing pin (18; 27; 30; 37-1 - 37-3) and - depending on the recognized type of accessory (9; 26; 29; 36; 39; 41; 43) triggers at least one type-dependent action.

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