Appliance Program Update via Mobile Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of household appliances face difficulties in easily and flexibly updating or supplementing appliance programs without involving a service technician, as existing methods require hardware modifications or scheduled technical intervention.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a mobile device to identify the appliance via a camera or RFID, accessing an Internet database to select and transfer updated programs, allowing users to independently update their appliances without additional purchases or technical assistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If household appliance programs are implemented in hardware as a program switching mechanism, then the appliance can execute programs reliably, but the user cannot easily adapt or update the functional scope without service technician involvement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile device as an intermediary between the household appliance and the update system. The mobile device captures the appliance identifier, communicates with external servers to obtain update information, and transfers updated program data to the appliance. This intermediary approach enables users to update programs independently without service technician involvement, resolving the contradiction between program adaptability and ease of updating.
2Reliability
If a service technician is involved to transfer or modify household appliance programs, then the programs can be updated, but the process is time-consuming and bound by technician schedule and business hours
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables users to perform program updates themselves through a mobile device without requiring service technician intervention. The system automatically captures the appliance identifier, retrieves update information from external servers, and transfers updated programs to the appliance. This self-service mechanism eliminates time losses associated with scheduling technician visits and allows updates to be performed at any convenient time.
3Productivity
If household appliance programs are stored in appliance memory, then they are available for direct execution, but the user cannot access or select programs from external sources without additional purchases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the household appliance program system universal by enabling it to access and execute programs from multiple sources. The mobile device captures the appliance identifier and communicates with external servers that provide program update information and selections. This allows the appliance to maintain its local execution capability while also accessing a broader range of programs from external sources, eliminating the need for additional purchases and expanding program versatility.
Data Source
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AI summary
Method for operating a household appliance and system with such a household appliance. A method for operating a household appliance (10) is specified, wherein the washing machine (10) comprises a memory (26) with a control program (28) and at least one household appliance program (22) executable by the control program (28), as well as a processing unit (24) for executing the control program (28), wherein an identifier (40) of the household appliance (10) is captured with a mobile device (16) comprising at least one camera (36), wherein access to a database (20) accessible on the Internet (18) is carried out with the identifier (40) and with the mobile device (16), and one or more household appliance programs (22) are selected and transferred to the mobile device (16), and wherein the household appliance program (22) transferred to the mobile device (16) is transferred into the memory (26) of the household appliance.