Household appliance

Abstract

A household appliance (100) comprising a wireless connectivity interface (205), and a controller (240), configured to receive a first signal from the wireless connectivity interface, indicative of either the presence or no presence of an authenticated user device (220). The controller (240) is also configured to receive a second signal from a proximity sensor (130), the second signal is indicative of a sensed change in an environment proximate to the appliance. In response to the first signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance (100), and the second signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device (220), the controller is configured to cause a predetermined operating mode of the appliance (100).

Description

[0001] HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure concerns household appliances. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure concerns a household appliance comprising a proximity sensor configured to sense changes in an environment proximate to the appliance and a wireless connectivity interface.

[0004] Background

[0005] Household appliances, also referred to as domestic or home appliances, are used to perform household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, storing food, etc. Examples of such household appliances include cookers, washing machines, microwaves, dishwashers, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and fans.

[0006] Such household appliances require a degree of knowledge of how to use the appliance in order for a user to use the appliance efficiently and safely. For example, if a user (for example a child) is not aware that a hob on a cooker will be hot when turned on, there is a potential risk of burning.

[0007] Similarly, household appliances could create a hazard if objects in their environment were to fall on to, or otherwise come into contact with the appliance. For example, if a broom was to fall onto a hob of a cooker, this could create a fire hazard.

[0008] Known systems combine a household appliance with a proximity sensor, enabling the appliance to monitor the proximate environment, and to detect changes, in the proximate environment.

[0009] The present disclosure seeks to mitigate at least the above problems. Alternatively or additionally, the present disclosure seeks to provide improved household appliances and / or improved methods of operating household appliances.

[0010] Summary

[0011] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a household appliance comprising: a wireless connectivity interface; and a controller configured to: receive a first signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicative of either a presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; receive a second signal from a proximity sensor indicative of a sensed change in the environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, cause a predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

[0012] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of controlling a household appliance, wherein the household appliance comprises: a wireless connectivity interface, the method comprising: receiving a first signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicative of either the presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; receiving a second signal from a proximity sensor indicative of a sensed change in an environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, causing activation of a predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

[0013] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a system comprising: a household appliance; a proximity sensor configured to sense changes in an environment proximate to the appliance; a wireless connectivity interface; and a controller configured to: receive a first signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicative of either the presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; receive a second signal from the proximity sensor indicative of a sensed change in the environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, cause activation of a predetermined operating mode of the appliance. The proximity sensor may be located in the household appliance or in another household appliance or other device.

[0014] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that when carried out by one or more processors of a household appliance, causes the one or more processors to process a first signal from a wireless connectivity interface of the household appliance indicative of either the presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; process a second signal from a proximity sensor of the household appliance indicative of a sensed change in the environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, causing activation of a predetermined operating mode of the household appliance. It will be appreciated that features described in one aspect of the present disclosure may be incorporated into other aspects of the present disclosure. For example, a method of the present disclosure may incorporate any of the features described with reference to the apparatus or the system of the present disclosure and vice versa.

[0015] Description of the Drawings

[0016] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings of which:

[0017] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a household appliance according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a household appliance according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0020] Figure 4 is a flow diagram showing a method of operating a household appliance according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Detailed Description

[0022] Whilst the present disclosure has been described and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure lends itself to many different variations not specifically illustrated herein. By way of example only, certain possible variations will now be described.

[0023] Figure 1 shows a perspective of a household appliance 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Household appliance 100, and / or components thereof, may be used to implement embodiments described herein. Household (or ‘domestic’) appliance 100 may be configured to perform one or more household tasks or functions, such as cooking, cleaning, or storing food. As such, household appliance 100 may comprise a cooking appliance, a washing appliance, a food storage appliance, etc. In the example embodiments shown in Figure 1, household appliance 100 comprises an oven with a hob 120a. Other examples of household appliances (which may be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure) comprise, but are not limited to, one or more of a washing machine, a microwave, a dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, refrigerator and a fan. In embodiments, household appliance 100 is controlled as described below.

[0024] Household appliance 100, comprises hob 120a, a cooking element 120b within an oven cavity (not shown), and a door 120c, giving access to the oven cavity. Household appliance 100 comprises a proximity sensor 130; hence, the proximity of the user from household appliance 100 can be determined. In embodiments, household appliance 100 comprises a user interface 150. It will be appreciated that hob 120a, cooking element 120b and / or door 120c, may not be present in all embodiments and may be located in alternative positions on the appliance, depending on the nature and the design of household appliance 100.

[0025] In embodiments, proximity sensor 130 comprises one or more of a retro- reflective sensor, a time-of-flight sensor, a radar sensor, and an infrared (IR) sensor. As a specific example, it could be IR sensor that uses pointcloud technology to determine shapes and depth. By also obtaining shape and depth information, children can be distinguished from adults. As another specific example, it could be a 25GHz millimeterwave radar sensor, such as the SKU:SEN0395 by DFRobot(R), which can sense human presence, including stationary and moving people. In alternative embodiments, proximity sensor 130 comprises a different type of sensor. Hence, a variety of different sensors can be used to monitor the environment proximate to household appliance 100. In embodiments, location of proximity sensor 130 on or within household appliance 100 is associated with one or more functions of household appliance 100. For example, if household appliance 100 comprises door 120c, proximity sensor 130 may be located on or close to this feature. Hence, a more accurate measure of the user’s proximity to the function(s) of the appliance being controlled by the control function is obtained. This gives a greater degree of accuracy when determining whether the predetermined operating mode should be activated. Proximity sensor 130 detects changes in an environment proximate to the appliance. Positioning the sensor in relation to the feature to be controlled when the control function is activated, helps provide more accurate measurements of the environment proximate to the feature.

[0026] Proximity sensor 130 may detects changes in an environment proximate to the appliance by detecting the presence of an entity in the environment proximate to the appliance. The environment proximate to household appliance 100 is the environment monitored by proximity sensor 130. In embodiments, the environment proximate to the appliance comprises one or more predetermined dimensions. Hence, the environment proximate to the appliance, monitored by the proximity sensor, is defined as being within these certain predetermined dimensions. In embodiments, the predetermined dimensions are user-configurable. In embodiments, the predetermined dimensions are user configurable via user interface 150 on household appliance 100, or via a separate device connected to appliance 100. Hence, the user is able to decide on the dimensions within which detection will take place. For example, the user may configure these dimensions depending on the surroundings of the appliance.

[0027] In some embodiments, the sensed change comprises an entity entering the environment proximate to the appliance. Hence, detection of entities that move into proximity of the appliance is enabled. In other embodiments, the sensed change comprises an entity moving within the environment proximate to the appliance. Hence, detection of entities moving within the environment proximate to the appliance is enabled. In embodiments, the entity comprises a living organism, such as, but not limited to an adult human, a human child, or an animal such as a pet. In embodiments, the entity comprises an inanimate object, such as, but not limited to household cleaning apparatus, for example a broom, items of food, or other household items that may inadvertently come within proximity of household appliance 100. In some embodiments, there may be more than one predefined environments proximate to the appliance such that it can be determined from a number of readings, over time, from the proximity sensor or more than one proximity sensor, whether a user is moving towards or moving away from the appliance. The predefined environments may have different dimensions. The predefined environments may be of progressively larger size such that, for example, each environment corresponds to a different distance away from the appliance.

[0028] In embodiments, user interface 150 is operable to provide an output to the user. For example, user interface 150 may comprise one or more of a visual output device such as a light emitting diode, LED, display, an audio output device such as a speaker, and a haptic output device. In embodiments, user interface 150 is operable to receive user input. As such, a user input may be provided by a user directly on household appliance 100. For example, in embodiments, user interface 150 comprises a touchscreen user interface or one or more soft-key buttons, electro-mechanical buttons and / or switches, rotary encoders, etc. In alternative embodiments, household appliance 100 does not comprise user interface 150. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a system 200 according to embodiments. System 200 comprises household appliance 100 described above with reference to Figure 1. System 200 further comprises a server 210, a user device 220, a wireless connectivity interface 205, and a controller 240. Also shown in Figure 2 is an entity 230 in the environment proximate to the appliance 230. Wireless connectivity interface 205 is configured to wirelessly connect with user device 220. Controller 240 is configured to receive a first signal from wireless connectivity interface 205, receive a second signal from proximity sensor 130 indicative of a sensed change in the environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, cause activation of a predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

[0029] Wireless connectivity interface 205 may monitor the wireless signal strength associated with authenticated user devices. For example, it may monitor the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) associated with one or more user devices. The wireless connectivity interface may continuously pull for the RSSI. The wireless connectivity interface may then output a first signal to the controller 240 based on the signal strength associated with authenticated user devices, such as the RSSI of the user devices. The signal may take a different value depending on whether the signal strength is above or below one or more predetermined threshold value. For example, the signal may indicate whether the RSSI is absent, whether it is below a certain threshold or whether it is equal to or above the threshold such that the user devices can be deemed present. More than one thresholds corresponding to different distances from the household appliance may be used to detect whether someone is moving towards the device or moving away from the device. More than one thresholds may also / alternatively be used to make it harder to enter a safe zone than to leave it or vice versa. For example, the first signal may be set to indicate the presence of an authenticated user device when the signal strength is above a first threshold and once the first signal has been set to indicate the presence of an authenticated user device it will not revert to indicate the absence of an authenticated used device until the signal strength is below a second threshold, where the second threshold corresponds to a weaker signal strength than the first threshold. The signal received by controller 240 may comprise a continuous (e.g. a ‘0’) signal, indicating that there is no authenticated device present, or that an authenticated device is out of range, e.g. the signal strength is below a threshold. When an authenticated device is present, e.g. the signal strength associated with the authenticated device is equal to or above a threshold, the signal received by the controller 240 may become 1. Other values may of course be used, as would be understood by the skilled person, to indicate presence, moving towards, moving away or absence of an authenticated user device. This enables controller 240 to distinguish between an authenticated user device being present and no presence of an authenticated user device. Hence, unauthorized users or objects can be prevented from operating or interacting with the appliance in undesired ways, for example preventing undesired operation of the appliance and / or avoiding potentially hazardous situations. The controller may receive a separate signal indicating presence or no presence for each authenticated user device or it may receive a single indicating the presence or no presence of any authenticated user device. It will be appreciated that the signals received by the controller 240 may also take a different form to that described above. For example, the first signal received by the controller 240 may be a measured signal strength received by the wireless connectivity interface. The controller 240 may then determine from the signal received from the wireless connectivity interface the presence or absence of an authenticated user device. The controller may set a flag in memory, such as its internal memory, and / or generate a new signal, based on the first signal received from the wireless connectivity interface, which is then, in turn, used to determine whether to activate the predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

[0030] The proximity sensor 130 provides readings that vary in dependence on the distance to objects in the proximity of the appliance. As such it senses changes in the environment around the appliance. The proximity sensor may then output a second signal to the controller 240 based on the readings and therefore indicative of changes in the environment proximate to the appliance. It may do this by only sending a signal, i.e. for a short period of time, when it detects an entity moving into, out of or within the environment proximate to the household appliance or it may do this by sending a continuous signal throughout the period while the entity remains within the environment proximate to the household appliance, indicative of the distance to the entity or simply the presence of it, even if it is not moving. The second signal may simply be the readings of the proximity sensor or it may be a signal derived from the readings of the proximity sensor. Depending on the type of proximity sensor, the sensor may give a value range (e.g. 0 to 255) depending on the distance of an entity or simply a binary value (0 or 1). If the proximity sensor has a large value range, the readings may be compared to one or more thresholds and the output signal may take a smaller value range depending on whether the readings are higher or lower than the one or more thresholds. For example, similarly to the first signal, a ‘0’ value of the second signal may indicate no entities within an environment proximate of the appliance and therefore no change and the signal may become ‘ 1 ’ when one or more readings beyond a certain threshold have been detected, indicating an entity within the environment and therefore a chance. This enables controller 240 to determine if it is likely that there is an entity present in the environment proximate to the appliance. Other values may of course be used, as would be understood by the skilled person, to indicate presence, moving towards, moving away or absence of an entity. For example, similarly to the processing of signal strength measured by the wireless connectivity interface, the readings may be compared to different thresholds to determine whether an entity is moving towards the appliance or away from the appliance. More than one thresholds may also / altematively be used to change the distance needed to enter versus leave the safe zone. For example, in some implementations, the thresholds can be set such as entering the safe zone is more difficult than leaving, to make the functionality more stable. The second signal, or the threshold analysis, may be based on an average of multiple readings from the proximity sensor. This will help to prevent frequent activation / deactivations of the predetermined mode of operation, when the user is on the edge of the safe zone. The controller may receive signals from more than one proximity sensor located inside or external to the appliance. It will be appreciated that the signal received by the controller 240 may also take a different form. For example, the second signal received by the controller may be the unprocessed readings of the proximity sensor. The controller may process the signal received from the proximity sensor. In some implementations, the controller may set a flag in memory, such as its internal memory, and / or generate a new signal, based on the second signal received from the proximity sensor, which is then, in turn, used to determine whether to activate the predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

[0031] The environment proximate to the appliance which is monitored by the proximity sensor may be the same or different to an environment with respect to which the presence of a user device is determined. In other words, any signal strength thresholds used in the analysis of the signal strength measured by the wireless connectivity interface may correspond to different distance(s) than any thresholds used in the analysis of the readings of the proximity sensor. A user device may, for example, be considered to be present even if the signal strength of the user device indicates that the user device is outside the environment proximate to the appliance monitored by the proximity sensor. For example, this may be the case if the user device is still considered near enough for the user to be aware of any activities of entities within the environment proximate to the appliance.

[0032] In some embodiments, server 210 is configured to cause activation of the predetermined operating mode of household appliance 100. Such embodiments support appliances with lower processing capabilities, and any updates that are required can take place within the server rather than being applied to the appliance. The server may receive the first and second signal described above and make a determination to activate the predetermined operating mode of an appliance. The server may send a message to the household appliance with instructions to activate the predetermined operating mode of the appliance. As such the server may comprise a controller with at least some of the functionality described with respect to the controller 240 herein, for receiving the first and second signal and for causing activation of a predetermined operating mode of the appliance. Some of the processing of at least one out of the measurements of the wireless connectivity interface and the proximity sensor, described above, may be carried out in the controller of the server. The controller of the appliance may be configured to control the appliance based on the instructions to activate the predetermined operating mode from the server. The first and second signal may be received in the server from the household appliance or from another device.

[0033] In some embodiments, the first and / or second signals received by controller 240 may be sent via server 210. For example, this may be the case where the proximity sensor, or one or more proximity sensors are located in another appliance or in another device located external of the household appliance and / or information about the absence or presence of authenticated user devices in an environment proximate the household appliance is received from another appliance or in another device located external of the household appliance.

[0034] Server 210 is connected to household appliance 100 via at least one wireless and / or wired communication network (not shown). The at least one network may for example comprise a Wi-Fi network, the Internet, etc. In embodiments, user device 220 comprises one or more of a mobile telephone, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a smart watch or any other suitable device. Hence, a variety of different user devices can be detected by the wireless connectivity interface 205. In embodiments, wireless connectivity interface 205 may comprise one or more of an Ultra- wideband (UWB) interface, a Bluetooth™ interface, a Wi-Fi interface, RFID interface or any other suitable wireless interface. A Bluetooth interface may be a Bluetooth Classic of a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) interface. Hence, a variety of different interfaces can be employed for user device detection, identification and, if applicable, authentication. As will be understood by the skilled person, different types of user devices may use different types of wireless connectivity interfaces. For example, the household appliance may detect a mobile phone or smartwatch based on a BLE signal whereas it will detect a RFID tag using RFID technology.

[0035] An entity 230 proximate to the household appliance 100 produces a sensed change in the environment proximate to household appliance 100. The entity 230 producing a sensed change is detected using proximity sensor 130.

[0036] When entity 230 enters the environment proximate to the household appliance 100, controller 240 receives a second signal indicative of entity 230 entering the environment. If the first signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicates that there is an authenticated user device present, whilst the second signal indicates that entity 230 has entered the environment proximate to the appliance, controller 240 does not cause activation of the predetermined operating mode. If the first signal indicates no authenticated user device present and the second signal indicates no change in the environment proximate to household appliance 100 then controller 240 does not cause activation of the predetermined operating mode. If the first signal indicates that there is no authenticated user device present and the second signal indicates a change in the proximate environment, then the predetermined operating mode is activated.

[0037] An authenticated user device may be any user device associated with the appliance. For example, it may be a user device linked to a user account to which the household appliance is registered. Alternatively or additionally, it may be a user device which has previously been connected to and / or used to remotely control the appliance. In some embodiments, an authenticated user device may be a linked user device designated as an authenticated user device, for example by the user and / or the server. One or more authenticated user devices may form a subset of a set of linked user devices. In other words, in some embodiments, an authenticated user device may be both associated with the household appliance and indicated to be an authenticated user device. For example, a user can select which of the user devices associated with the household appliance, e.g. for example linked to their user account, are authenticated user device. This means that the user can disable certain devices as deemed unsafe. For example, a tablet often used to remotely monitor a cooker and control the cooker according to a selected recipe but which is often left behind in the kitchen, may be a device associated with the household appliance but not authenticated. A user device may be authenticated by a user simple selecting them from a list on the UI of the user device or the appliance or it may be authenticated by a more sophisticated process requiring for example the entering of a password, pairing code and / or the communication of a security token or other suitable authentication action of a user, the server and / or the appliance. The server may keep a record of authenticated user devices associated with the household appliance, for example as one or more stored lists. The list may be generated based on information received from the user devices and / or the appliance. The list may be communicated to the household appliance and cached by the appliance, and then updated from the server when needed, for the appliance to easily access a list of authenticated user devices. Information about nearby devices, such as identification information and signal strength information, may be filtered based on the list for the appliances to determine either a presence or no presence of an authenticated user devices. The information may be filtered to generate the first signal or the first signal may be filtered based on the list. The filtering can be done in the appliance or, if the list is not stored in the appliance but instead stored in the server, it can be done in the server. In other embodiments, the household appliance may store a list of all associated user device and an indication about whether each user device is an authenticated or a non-authenticated user device. The indication may be a flag in memory. Identification information and signal strength information may be filtered based on the list.

[0038] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of household appliance 100, according to embodiments. Household appliance 100 comprises wireless connectivity interface 205, proximity sensor 130, controller 240, memory 300 and various elements which can be controlled by controller 240, such as hob 120a, cooking element 120b, door 120c, and user interface 150.

[0039] Wireless connectivity interface 205 monitors signals from user device 220 via UWB, Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi or any other suitable wireless connectivity interface. Wireless connectivity interface 205 determines if user device 220 is an authenticated user device. For example, wireless connectivity interface 205 may determine if user device 220 is a user device stored on a list of registered devices, linked to the appliance, in the server and indicated as an authenticated user device for the purpose of the predetermined operating mode. Specifically, an authenticated user device may be a user device selected as a user device the presence of which will cause the household appliance not to activate the predetermined operating mode. The wireless connectivity interface 205 may store a local copy of the list in memory 300, for efficient processing, or it may query the server for each detected user devices. Although it has been described above that the wireless connectivity interface 205 determines if a user device 220 is an authenticated user device, in some implementations the controller 240 may determine, on its own or in collaboration with the wireless connectivity interface, if a user device 220 is an authenticated user device. It may do this by carrying out a look-up in local memory 300 or by querying the server as explained above. In embodiments, authenticated devices will have been previously connected to appliance 100 via wireless connectivity interface 205. In some embodiments, the appliance will not receive a list or information about authentication from the server but the appliance generates and stores, in memory 300, a list of devices previously connected to the appliance. A user may select which user devices are authenticated user devices on a UI of the appliance or the user device and communicate the selection to the appliance for storing. In at least some of the embodiments described above, the identity (ID) / media access control (MAC) address of authenticated user devices may be stored locally on the appliance or may be stored in a server in a list identifying authenticated user devices. Storing the ID / MAC addresses of devices allows authenticated and non- authenticated devices to be distinguished. If the identity of a user device, detected by the wireless connectivity interface, is stored, it may be considered an authenticated user device and if the identity is not stored it may be considered a non-authenticated user device. In other implementations, the appliance may store the ID / MAC address of registered and / or previously connected and / or paired user devices with indications about whether they are authenticated or non-authenticated. For example, some registered / connected user devices may be authenticated and others may not be. As an example, a tablet often used by young children in the home but also sometimes used in the kitchen to look up recipes may have previously been linked to the appliance but the user may not have indicated the tablet as an authenticated user device for the purpose of activating or deactivating the predetermined operating mode of the appliance since it is frequency left in the kitchen when the main user leaves or may be carried around by a child. Upon initial connection, to the appliance or the server as the case may be, there may be a password or other authenticating method, as indicated above, to allow a user or server to give permission for a user device to be an authenticated user device, to ensure that only user devices who are authorised to do so can impact the determination of whether the predetermined operating mode of the appliance is activated.

[0040] Controller 240 is operable to perform various data processing and / or control functions according to embodiments, as will be described in detail below. Controller 240 may comprise one or more components. The one or more components may be implemented in hardware and / or software. The one or more components may be colocated or located remotely from each other in household appliance 100. Controller 240 may be embodied as one or more software functions and / or hardware modules. In embodiments, controller 240 comprises one or more processors configured to process instructions and / or data. Operations performed by the one or more processors may be carried out by hardware and / or software. Controller 240 may be configured to implement the methods described herein. In embodiments, controller 240 is operable to output control signals for controlling one or more components of household appliance 100. In embodiments, controller 240 is operable to receive signals from wireless connectivity interface 205 and proximity sensor 130. The controller has access to memory 300. The memory 300 may comprise both internal controller memory and memory external to the controller, including memory of the other components of the household appliance. The memory 300 may comprise volatile and non-volatile memory for storing data and computer program instructions.

[0041] Controller 240 is configured to receive a first signal from wireless connectivity interface 220 indicative of either the presence or no presence of an authenticated user device 230 and receive a second signal from proximity sensor 130 indicative of a sensed change in the environment proximate to the appliance. In embodiments, controller 240 is configured to receive the second signal from a proximity sensor remote from household appliance 100. Hence, embodiments support appliances that do not have built-in proximity sensors.

[0042] In response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device 220 and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance 100, controller 240 causes activation of a predetermined operating mode of appliance 100. When the predetermined operating mode is activated, one or more functions of household appliance 100 are disabled. Hence, unauthorized users can be prevented from operating certain functions of the appliance and / or objects can be prevented from interacting with certain functions of the appliance.

[0043] Depending on the nature of household appliance 100, the function(s) to be disabled may vary. A disabled function may relate to any features of household appliance 100 that could cause harm to any users who may not be aware of how to use the appliance safely. As a result, household appliance 100 of embodiments has increased safety compared to known appliances.

[0044] In embodiments where household appliance 100 comprises user interface 150, the one or more functions comprise operation of the user interface, for example disabling any buttons or touchscreens or dimming the brightness. This helps prevent any unintentional interactions with user interface 150 from impacting the operation of household appliance 100. Unauthorized users are less likely to be drawn to the appliance if the user interface is turned off which helps avoid unwanted / unintentional interaction with the appliance. Pets and young children can be drawn to bright lights, so dimming the screen helps prevent this.

[0045] In embodiments, household appliance 100 comprises a cooking element, and the one or more functions comprise operation of the cooking element. Cooking element 120b may be a heating element within an oven or an element of hob 120a. Disabling the function(s) may comprise turning off or reducing the heat produced by cooking element 120b. Hence a potential hazard can be avoided by turning off the cooking element, this will provide increased safety in the event that entity 230, which may be an unauthorised user or household object, comes into contact with household appliance 100.

[0046] In embodiments, household appliance 100 comprises door 120c and the one or more functions comprise operation of door 120c. Door 120c may for example be the door to an oven cavity, a refrigerator, a washing machine, or a dishwasher. Disabling the function(s) may comprise locking of door 120c to prevent unauthorised users from accessing the appliance inside of the door, or alternatively unlocking or releasing door 120c. This will avoid any potential hazards that may be caused by this function.

[0047] In embodiments, household appliance 100 comprises a motor and the one or more functions comprise operation of the motor. For example, the appliance may be a vacuum cleaner or a fan comprising a motor. Disabling the function may comprise switching off or reducing the speed of the motor. Hence a potential hazard can be avoided by turning off or reducing the rate of airflow, which may provide increased safety in the event that entity 230, which may be an unauthorised user or household object, comes into contact with household appliance 100.

[0048] In embodiments, disabling the function(s) may comprise operation of an alternative feature of household appliance 100 that by limiting or altering its operation will result in increased safety, particularly for users who are not aware of the correct operation of the appliance, or in the event that household objects unintentionally come into contact with household appliance 100.

[0049] Controller 240 is configured to, in response to the first signal indicating the presence of an authenticated user device 220, cause deactivation of the predetermined operating mode of the appliance. Hence, when an authenticated user device is detected as being present, the user is able to utilise all functions of the appliance without having to manually deactivate the operating mode. For example, when the user device connects to the wireless connectivity interface and / or the signal strength from the user devices is above a threshold signal strength, the predetermined operating mode will automatically become deactivated. In embodiments, when the predetermined operating mode is deactivated, one or more functions of the appliance are enabled. This may be, but is not limited to, the reverse of the disabled function(s) described above. In embodiments where household appliance 100 comprises user interface 150 that was dimmed or locked upon the activation of the predetermined operating mode, when the predetermined operating mode is deactivated, user interface 150 will be unlocked or returned back to a standard or default brightness. Hence, an authorised user has full control of the appliance.

[0050] In embodiments where household appliance 100 comprises cooking element 120b, where cooking element 120b was turned off upon activation of the operating mode, cooking element 120b will be turned back on upon deactivation of the operating mode. Hence, the heat produced by cooking element 120b can return to the same as produced prior to activation of the predetermined operating mode.

[0051] In embodiments, household appliance 100 comprises door 120c. Upon deactivation of the operating function, door 120c may be released or unlocked from its locked state that occurred as a result of activation of the predetermined operating mode.

[0052] In embodiments, controller 240 is configured to receive the first signal from wireless connectivity interface 205 indicative of no presence of authenticated user device 220 when the authenticated user device is out of wireless connectivity range of the wireless connectivity interface, or when a wireless signal strength associated with the authenticated user device reaches a predetermined threshold strength, as already indicated above. In embodiments this is determined by a microcontroller unit in a network interface unit. Hence, household appliance 100 is able to detect when user device 220 is at the limit or deemed to be past an acceptable limit of the wireless connectivity range.

[0053] In embodiments, the first signal corresponds to the wireless signal strength and the controller 240 is configured to monitor the wireless signal strength between the wireless connectivity interface and the user device; and in response to the monitoring indicating the wireless signal strength reaching, in the sense that it is equal to or goes below, a user-configurable threshold strength, determine no presence of an authenticated user device based on the user-configurable threshold strength. The wireless signal strength is related to the distance between the user device and the appliance and the range over which the user device can communicate with the appliance. In embodiments, the user is able to configure the signal strength threshold that the signal strength needs to fall below before being deemed as not in the presence of the appliance and therefore outside a “safe zone”.

[0054] In embodiments, the monitoring of the signal strength takes place continuously. This will give controller 240 an indication of when user device 220 is about to go beyond the safe zone defined by the signal strength threshold, meaning that the predetermined operating mode may be activated as an authenticated user device will no longer be deemed present. In response to the monitoring, in the controller or in the wireless connectivity interface, indicating the wireless signal strength is reaching a predetermined threshold, controller 240 causes activation of an alert mode of household appliance 100. If the monitoring is done in the wireless connectivity interface, the wireless connectivity interface may send a dedicated signal to the controller indicating that the user device 220 is about to go outside the safe zone. Alternatively, such an indication may form part of the first signal, for example a predetermined value of the first signal may indicate that the user device 220 is about to go outside the safe zone. Hence, the appliance knows to make the user aware that they are reaching the limit of wireless connectivity of the appliance. As indicated above, the “safe zone” for the authenticated user device may be different to the “safe zone” monitored by the proximity sensor.

[0055] In embodiments, the predetermined threshold is a user configurable threshold strength. This enables the user to configure the range in which the user device is deemed to be present, and therefore configure the distance at which an authenticated user device 220 can be from household appliance 100 before a predetermined operating mode may be entered. The user’s requirements for this may vary depending on their circumstances and on the function of household appliance 100. For example, if there are young or vulnerable people present and household appliance 100 is located within their reach, it may be more suitable to have a smaller range set, as an authorised user should preferably remain nearby to monitor the use of household appliance 100, ensuring safe operation. Therefore, a higher received signal strength threshold would be set, meaning a higher value of received signal strength would be required before the device would be deemed as present. However, if the same appliance was located out of reach of the child, then a larger range, and therefore lower received signal strength threshold could be set, as the child would not be able to reach the appliance regardless of where the authorised user was. This means that the authorised user will be able to move around the house more freely without household appliance 100 entering the predetermined operating mode if an entity was to enter the environment proximate to the appliance 100.

[0056] When the alert mode is activated, controller 240 is configured to cause activation of an alert function of household appliance 100. Hence the appliance signals that the alert mode has been activated. The alert function of household appliance 100 helps make the user aware that they are nearing the limit of the safe zone, and as a result household appliance 100 may enter the predetermined operating mode. This gives the user the opportunity to return the user device to the safe zone within which the device is deemed present, and the received signal strength is above the user configurable threshold. As a result, the predetermined operating mode is prevented from being activated on household appliance 100.

[0057] In embodiments, when the alert mode is activated, controller 240 is configured to cause transmission of an alert message to user device 220. Transmission of the alert message may take place via wireless connectivity interface 205, or via server 210. Hence, user device 220 receives notification that the alert mode has been activated. As the user is likely to have user device 220 with them, this increases the likelihood that the user will be made aware of the activation of the alert mode. If more than one user devices are associated with the appliance, the alert message may be transmitted to the primary user device associated with the appliance or the user device that was most recently within range of the appliance. Alternatively, it may be transmitted to all user devices associated with the appliance.

[0058] In embodiments, one or more of the first and second signal are received from server 210. Hence, less processing takes place at household appliance 100; such embodiments support appliances that have limited built in controllers / signal processing capabilities.

[0059] In embodiments, the alert function comprises household appliance 100 outputting one or more of a visual, audio or haptic notification, or a notification sent to user device 220. In embodiments, the notification is transmitted via server 210. When the notification is transmitted to user device 220, this could be via an app, text message or suchlike.

[0060] In embodiments, controller 240 is configured to receive a third signal from a proximity sensor (not shown in Figure 3) remote from household appliance 100, and cause activation of the predetermined operating mode of the appliance further in response to the received third signal. The third signal is indicative of a sensed change in an environment proximate to household appliance 100. This can allow household appliance 100 to monitor a further, alternative proximate environment, or this could allow appliance 100 to monitor the proximate environment more accurately.

[0061] Figure 4 shows a method of operating household appliance 100 according to embodiments. The method 400 is used to operate the household appliance 100 above with reference to Figures 1 to 3. In embodiments, method 400 is performed at least in part by controller 240; that is, controller 240 is configured to perform at least some of the steps of the method 400.

[0062] In step 410, a first signal is received from wireless connectivity interface 205. In step 420 a second signal is received from proximity sensor 130. In step 430, controller 240 determines whether the first signal indicates the presence of authenticated user device 220. If at step 430 it is determined that there is an authenticated user device 220 present, then the method returns to step 410. If at step 430 it is determined that there is no authenticated user device 220 present, then the method progresses to step 450. In step 450, controller 240 determines whether the second signal indicates a change in the environment proximate to household appliance 100. If it is determined in step 450 that there has been no change in the environment proximate to household appliance 100 and, therefore, no entity is likely to have entered the environment proximate to the appliance, then the method returns to step 410. The controller 240 will continue to monitor the signal from the proximity sensor 130, unless at step 430 the first signal indicates the presence of an authenticated user device, in which case the household appliance may ignore the signal from the proximity sensor until next time the first signal indicates no presence of an authenticated user. If it is determined in step 450 that there has been a change in the environment proximate to household appliance 100, then the method proceeds to step 470 where the predetermined operating mode is activated. It will be appreciated that the method described in Figure 4 is just one example and variations are possible. For example, the controller may continuously monitor the signal from the proximity sensor and only check the presence of authenticated user devices when the signal from the proximity sensor indicates change in the environment. The first and the second signal may be analysed in a different order or the controller may not receive one of the signals until the other signal indicates that the other signal should be considered.

[0063] Although throughout the description the term server has been used, it will be understood that the server could comprise at least parts of one or more distinct servers communicatively connected in a computing cloud. The functions of the server, described herein, could in some implementations be distributed across one or more of the servers of the computing cloud.

[0064] The methods described herein, for example the method of Figure 4, may be implemented using software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. A computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method may be stored in the memory 300 of the household appliance. Similarly, for operations carried out by the server, a computer program comprising instructions for carrying out those operations may be stored in the memory of the server. The instructions may be executed by the controller, or one or more other processors of the appliance or the server, to cause the appliance, or the server as the case may be, to carry out the methods. The computer program may be stored in non-volatile memory and loaded into volatile memory associated with the controller or any other processor to be run by an operating system of the household appliance or the server. The instructions for the server may form a computer program product which is transferred over a network to the server and stored therein. Similarly, the instructions appropriate for the household appliance may form a computer program product, for example, an app or a selectable functionality of an app, which can be activated or downloaded from an app provider and / or transferred as a software update over the air from the server. While it has been described above that a proximity sensor is used to detect a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, in alternative embodiments, a decision on whether to activate the predetermined operating mode or not can be carried out based on signals from the wireless connectivity interface only. In other words, in some embodiments, a signal from or based on readings from a proximity sensor is not needed. This may be helpful if the appliance does not comprise a proximity sensor and is not communicatively coupled with another appliance, in the same environment, which has a proximity sensor. In these alternative embodiments, the appliance will activate the predetermined operating mode based on the signals from the wireless connectivity interface only. For example, the household appliance could activate the predetermined operating mode when the wireless signal strength goes below a threshold or it could wait to activate the predetermined operating mode until the wireless signal strength is below a predetermined threshold and an interaction with the appliance is detected, indicating that a non-authorised entity is trying to operate the appliance while the user with the authenticated user device 220 is absent. As an alternative example, the household appliance could activate the predetermined operating mode when the wireless signal strength goes above a threshold.. As indicated above the wireless connectivity interface could use BLE technology. Alternatively, it could use Wi-Fi technology. Accordingly, there is provided a household appliance comprising: a wireless connectivity interface; and a controller configured to: receive a signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicative of either a presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; and in response to the signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device, cause activation of a predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

[0065] Although it has been described herein that the wireless connectivity interface detects user devices herein, some features of wireless connectivity standards allow the detection of users, and other entities, themselves, without the need to monitor signals from their user devices or detect the absence of signals from user devices. To achieve this, the wireless connectivity interface may monitor channel state information instead of, or in addition to, signal strength. Channel state information describes the channel properties of a communication link. For example, recently it has been discovered that by analysing channel state information (CSI) associated with communication links enabled by a Wi-Fi device, people and their movements around the Wi-Fi enabled device can be detected. The controller 240, wireless connectivity interface 205 or server 210 may analyse the channel state information from a Wi-Fi unit of the wireless connectivity interface 205 and extract unique features that are representative of an adult, child or pet. The position, the numbers and the size of the entities in the environment proximate the Wi-Fi unit can then be estimated based on the extracted features. Some techniques may even uniquely identify different adults or children based on, for example, their gait. Such proposed systems and techniques may be referred to as “WiFi ID”. An example of such a technique is for example described in "WiFi-ID: Human Identification Using WiFi Signal," by J. Zhang, B. Wei, W. Hu and S. S. Kanhere, 2016 International Conference on Distributed Computing in Sensor Systems (DCOSS), Washington, DC, USA, 2016, pp. 75-82, doi: 10.1109 / DCOSS.2016.30. Other types of Wi-Fi presence detection different to those mentioned above may be used. In some embodiments, these techniques can be used to decide whether to activate the abovedescribed predetermined operating mode. This information from a Wi-Fi module of the wireless connectivity interface could be used as the second signal, described above, to indicate a sensed change in an environment proximate to the appliance. In other words, the proximity sensor could be provided by a Wi-Fi communication module forming part of the wireless connectivity interface also comprising a different communication module providing the first signal. Alternatively, this information can be provided as part of a modified version of the first signal, described above, from the first wireless connectivity interface. The first signal from the wireless connectivity interface may, in some embodiments, instead of indicating either a presence or no presence of an authenticated user device, as described above, indicate the presence or no presence of an authorised user and the decision to activate the predetermined operating mode may be taken based on this signal, without also considering a second signal from a proximity sensor. For example, a signal indicating the presence of an authorised user may be a signal from a Wi-Fi module indicating an adult human being within a safe zone around the appliance. On the contrary, a signal indicating the presence of a non-authorised entity may be a signal indicating an entity of small size, such as a child, or a pet. The household appliance, or the server as the case may be, may then trigger the predetermined operating mode, preventing in this way a child or a pet to create potential risks for people and the surroundings. The household appliance may also trigger the predetermined operating mode in response to a signal indicating the absence of an authorised user, for example if the user has been away from an oven for a prolonged time indicating that the user may have left the household or forgotten about the cooking - l - process. A signal indicating the absence of an authorised user may be a signal indicating the absence of an adult in the environment proximate to the household appliance or the absence of one out of one or more particular adults in the environment proximate to the household appliance. All of the disclosure herein, directed to for example user configurable safe zones, processing and storing of signals and instructions, communication of signals between the wireless connectivity interface and the controller and / or server, the examples of functions that are enabled or disabled in dependence on whether the predetermined operating mode is activated or not and the use of alarm signals, relevant to a system comprising a Wi-Fi device operable to provide this information would also apply to the embodiments exploiting channel state information of a Wi-Fi device. Computer programs comprising instructions for carrying out the techniques described herein when executed by one or more processors may be stored in memory in the household appliance. It may be downloaded or otherwise received from a server. The relevant disclosure above of how lists of authenticated user devices may be stored is applicable to how lists of authorised users and non- authorised entities could be stored. Identifying information of users and other entities and / or types of entities and features corresponding to those users, entities and / or types of entities can be stored in the household appliance or server, for example in one or more lists, together with indications of whether they are authorised or non-authorised users, entities and / or types of entities. Features in, or derived from, the channel state information from the Wi-Fi module can be compared to the stored features to determine at least one out of the presence of an authorised user, the absence of an authorised user and the presence of a non-authorised entity. The signal sent from the wireless connectivity interface to the controller of the appliance may comprise the channel state information, information derived from the channel state information and / or the identifying information of detected users, entities and / or types of entities. The predetermined operating mode can be used to prevent children from operating an appliance. In addition to improve safety, the absence of an authorised person could be used to disable certain functions such as displays and cavity lights, e.g. to turn on / off an appliance display or turn on / off appliance lights, to save energy and the detection of the presence of an authorised person may cause those functions to be enabled again.

[0066] The detection of authorised and non-authorised entities based on Wi-Fi channel state information may be improved by training the computer program carrying out the analysis. The training can be automated since the appliance can learn which is the channel state, corresponding to the presence of an authorised used, when a user is interacting with the user interface of the appliance, as part of normal usage of the appliance. If no interactions have been detected for a long time, the household appliance can store recent features of the channel state information as indicative of absence of a user. Alternatively, information to train the detection can be exchanged with other appliances exploiting corresponding techniques, directly or via the server. The household appliance can store or update stored channel state features corresponding to users, entities and / or types of entities in memory based on the learning obtained as part of normal usage of the appliance or from the server or another appliance. As such, an explicit training phase can be avoided.

[0067] Accordingly, there is also provided a household appliance comprising: a wireless connectivity interface for communicating wirelessly with external devices; and a controller configured to, in response to a signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicating at least one out of an absence of an authorised user or a presence of a non-authorised entity, cause a predetermined operating mode of the appliance. The wireless connectivity interface may comprise a Wi-Fi device and the wireless connectivity interface may be configured to monitor the channel state information of the Wi-Fi device and to generate the signal based on the channel state information of the Wi-Fi device. An authorised user may be a type of user deemed able to operate the appliance in a safe way. On the contrary, a non-authorised entity may be a type of entity, including a type of user, deemed not to be able to operate the appliance in a safe way. Indicating the absence of an authorised user may comprise indicating the absence of an adult-sized user based on the channel state information. Alternatively or additionally, indicating the absence of an authorised user may comprise indicating the absence of a unique human based on the channel state information of the Wi-Fi device. The controller may further be configured to enable one or more functions based on the signal uniquely indicating the presence of a human being based on channel state information of the Wi-Fi device. The controller may further be configured to determine channel state information features when a user interacts with the appliance and store the determined channel state information features as an indication of the presence of an authorised user. The controller may further receive channel state information features, indicating presence or absence of authorised users and / or entities from a server or another appliance via the wireless connectivity interface. There is also provided a method and a computer program comprising instructions for monitoring such a signal from the wireless connectivity interface and causing the predetermined operating mode.

[0068] Where in the foregoing description, integers or elements are mentioned which have known, obvious or foreseeable equivalents, then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth. Reference should be made to the claims for determining the scope of the present disclosure, which should be construed so as to encompass any such equivalents. It will also be appreciated by the reader that integers or features of the present disclosure that are described as preferable, advantageous, convenient or the like are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that such optional integers or features, whilst of possible benefit in some embodiments of the present disclosure, may not be desirable, and may therefore be absent, in other embodiments.

Claims

Claims1. A household appliance comprising: a wireless connectivity interface; and a controller configured to: receive a first signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicative of either a presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; receive a second signal from a proximity sensor indicative of a sensed change in an environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, cause activation of a predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

2. A household appliance according to claim 1, wherein, when the predetermined operating mode is activated, one or more functions of the appliance are disabled.

3. A household appliance according to claim 2, wherein the household appliance comprises a user interface and the one or more functions comprise operation of the user interface.

4. A household appliance according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the household appliance comprises a cooking element and the one or more functions comprise operation of the cooking element.

5. A household appliance according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the household appliance comprises a door and the one or more functions comprise operation of the door.

6. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to, in response to the first signal indicating presence of an authenticated user device, cause deactivation of the predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

7. A household appliance according to claim 6, wherein, when the predetermined operating mode is deactivated, one or more functions of the appliance are enabled.

8. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to receive the first signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicative of no presence of an authenticated user device when the authenticated user device is out of wireless connectivity range of the wireless connectivity interface or when a wireless signal strength associated with the authenticated user device reaches a predetermined threshold strength.

9. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to: monitor a wireless signal strength between the wireless connectivity interface and the user device; and in response to the monitoring indicating the wireless signal strength reaching a predetermined threshold strength, cause activation of an alert mode of the appliance.

10. A household appliance according to claim 9, wherein, when the alert mode is activated, the controller is configured to cause activation of an alert function of the household appliance.

11. A household appliance according to claim 9 or 10, wherein, when the alert mode is activated, the controller is configured to cause transmission of an alert message to the user device.

12. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the wireless connectivity interface is configured to: monitor a wireless signal strength between the wireless connectivity interface and the authenticated user device; and in response to the monitoring indicating the wireless signal strength reaching a user-configurable threshold strength, determine no presence of an authenticated user device based on the user-configurable threshold strength.

13. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the sensed change comprises an entity entering the environment proximate to the appliance.

14. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the sensed change comprises an entity moving within the environment proximate to the appliance.

15. A household appliance according to claim 14, wherein the entity comprises a living organism.

16. A household appliance according to claim 14, wherein the entity comprises an inanimate object.

17. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the environment proximate to the appliance comprises one or more predetermined dimensions.

18. A household appliance according to claim 17, wherein the one or more predetermined dimensions are user-configurable.

19. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the household appliance comprises the proximity sensor.

20. A household appliance according to claim 19, wherein the location of the proximity sensor on the appliance is associated with the one or more functions of the appliance.

21. A household appliance according to any of claims 1 to 18, wherein one or more of the first signal and the second signal are received from a server.

22. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the wireless connectivity interface comprises one or more of: an Ultra- wideband, UWB, interface,a Bluetooth™ interface, and a Wi-Fi interface.

23. A household appliance according to claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor comprises one or more of: a retro-reflective sensor, a time-of-flight sensor, and an infra-red, IR, sensor.

24. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the user device comprises one or more of: a mobile telephone, a radio frequency identification, RFID, tag, and a smart watch.

25. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the appliance comprises one or more of: a cooker, a washing machine, a microwave, a refrigerator, a vacuum cleaner a dishwasher, and a fan.

26. A household appliance according to any of claims 1 to 18, wherein the controller is configured to receive the second signal from a proximity sensor remote from the appliance.

27. A household appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to: receive a third signal from a proximity sensor remote from the appliance indicative of a sensed change in an environment proximate to the appliance; andcause activation of the predetermined operating mode of the appliance further in response to the received third signal.

28. A method of controlling a household appliance, wherein the household appliance comprises a wireless connectivity interface, the method comprising: receiving a first signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicative of either the presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; receiving a second signal from a proximity sensor indicative of a sensed change in the environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, causing activation of a predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

29. A system comprising: a household appliance; a proximity sensor configured to sense changes in an environment proximate to the appliance; a wireless connectivity interface; and a controller configured to: receive a first signal from the wireless connectivity interface indicative of either the presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; receive a second signal from the proximity sensor indicative of a sensed change in the environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, cause activation of a predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

30. A system according to claim 29, comprising a server configured to cause activation of the predetermined operating mode of the appliance.

31. A computer program comprising instructions that when carried out by one or more processors of a household appliance, causes the one or more processors toprocess a first signal from a wireless connectivity interface of the household appliance indicative of either the presence or no presence of an authenticated user device; process a second signal from a proximity sensor of the household appliance indicative of a sensed change in the environment proximate to the appliance; and in response to the first signal indicating no presence of an authenticated user device and the second signal indicating a change in the environment proximate to the appliance, causing activation of a predetermined operating mode of the household appliance.

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