Method for connecting a domestic appliance with a wireless home network

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for connecting household appliances without manual input interfaces, such as cleaning robots, to home networks face challenges in error handling and communication when registration fails, often resulting in limited feedback and difficulty in diagnosing connection issues.

Innovation Solution

The household appliance reopens a temporary communication network if registration fails, allowing the user terminal to recognize this as a failure and provide detailed error information to the user, with timers set for successful connection attempts and error reporting mechanisms.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the household appliance uses a temporary communication network to receive network access information, then the appliance can be connected to the home network without a manual input interface, but the user receives no detailed feedback when registration fails

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveConnection setup without manual interfaceVSAvoidError information feedback to user
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by having the household appliance reopen the temporary communication network when registration fails. The user terminal detects this reopening and interprets it as error information, thereby providing feedback about the failed connection attempt to the user through the terminal's display or notification mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The temporary communication network serves as an intermediary mechanism between the household appliance and the user terminal. By reopening this intermediary network, the appliance communicates failure information to the user terminal, which then presents the error information to the user in a comprehensible format.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If the household appliance reopens the temporary communication network on registration failure, then error information can be transmitted to the user terminal, but the connection setup time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveError information feedback to userVSAvoidConnection setup time
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The household appliance uses periodic action by implementing a timer that triggers the reopening of the temporary communication network after a registration failure. This timed mechanism ensures that error information is communicated efficiently without indefinite delays, balancing the need for error feedback with time efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Loss of information

If the user terminal monitors for reopened temporary communication networks, then detailed error information can be displayed, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveError information feedback to userVSAvoidUser terminal monitoring functionality
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The user terminal utilizes its existing communication and network monitoring capabilities to detect the reopened temporary communication network. By leveraging the terminal's multi-functional nature (already having display, communication, and processing capabilities), the system provides error information feedback without requiring additional specialized hardware or complex dedicated monitoring mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3451589B1Method for connecting a domestic appliance with a wireless home network
Publication Date: 2020.11.11 VORWERK & CO INTERHOLDING GMBH
  • EP3451589B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3451589B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for connecting a household appliance (1) to a wireless home network (2), wherein a user terminal device (3) connects to a temporary communication network of the household appliance (1) and transmits network access information for the home network (2) to the household appliance (1), wherein the temporary communication network is subsequently terminated and the household appliance (1) registers with the wireless home network (2) using the received network access information, wherein the user terminal device (3) receives information from the household appliance (1) that the registration of the household appliance (1) with the home network (2) has failed.In order to be able to control the successful registration of the household appliance (1) in a particularly advantageous way, it is proposed that the household appliance (1) should reopen a temporary communication network if the registration fails, whereby the user terminal device (3) recognizes the reopening of the temporary communication network and interprets it as information about the failure of the household appliance (1) to register with the home network (2).