Smart Appliance Software Updates With BLE Progress Beaconing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Smart household appliances currently update software blindly, taking minutes to complete, leaving users unaware of progress and vulnerable to external attacks during the process.

Innovation Solution

Implementing Bluetooth beaconing to broadcast real-time software update progress information to users' mobile devices, ensuring secure and transparent updates without external dependencies.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Extent of automation

If software update is performed automatically and completely blindly, then the update process is simple and automated, but users are not aware of the progress and cannot monitor the status

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesoftware update automationVSAvoiduser awareness of update progress

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the household appliance broadcasts real-time software update progress information to users' mobile devices via Bluetooth beaconing. This allows users to monitor the update status, current version, and expected completion time while the automated update process continues in the background, resolving the contradiction between automation and user awareness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Extent of automation

If software update is performed automatically without user knowledge, then the update process is simple, but the appliance remains vulnerable to external attacks during the update

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesoftware update automationVSAvoidvulnerability to external attacks

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables the household appliance to self-monitor its software update progress and self-communicate the status to users without requiring external monitoring systems or user intervention. The appliance autonomously tracks update steps, calculates remaining time, and broadcasts this information via Bluetooth, maintaining security while providing transparency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Reliability

If real-time monitoring and notification of software update progress is implemented, then user awareness and security are enhanced, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity during software updateVSAvoidmonitoring and notification system

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent leverages the existing Bluetooth communication interface of the household appliance to serve dual purposes: both for standard appliance control operations and for broadcasting software update progress information. By reusing the available Bluetooth module for beaconing and notification, the system avoids adding separate dedicated hardware, thus minimizing the increase in device complexity while achieving real-time monitoring and security enhancement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS20260030014A1Software update in smart household appliances

Publication Date: 2026.01.29 ELECTROLUX APPLIANCES

AI summary

A household appliance including a processing unit configured to store and execute a software that is subject to updates, a software updater configured to deliver to the processing unit a software package for a software update, and a broadcast device, preferably a BLE beacon device, configured to wirelessly broadcast a signal that can be received by a mobile device. The software updater is further configured to monitor the progress of the software update and to cause the broadcast device to broadcast a signal containing information related to the progress.