Mobile Camera Cleaning Guidance for Domestic Appliance Soiling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies fail to effectively predict and provide cleaning instructions for household appliances based solely on previous operating processes, as soiling can be invisible or not accessible in operating manuals, leading to uncertainty for operators.
Innovation Solution
A mobile terminal device with a camera and computer-like controllers connects to the appliance, combining visible soiling data with operating history parameters to query a database for cleaning instructions, using wireless or internet connections to access service provider data for specific appliance types and soiling analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If cleaning instructions are provided only in the appliance's user manual at the time of purchase, then the operator can access maintenance information, but the manual is often no longer accessible or the instructions were not sufficiently clear to the operator
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of operating sequences and predicts potential soiling issues before they become problematic. By analyzing past operating data and detecting visible soiling with the camera, the system proactively generates cleaning instructions in advance, so operators receive maintenance guidance before contamination becomes severe or inaccessible through traditional manuals.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the appliance's operation and visible soiling conditions, then provides feedback in the form of specific cleaning instructions tailored to the detected contamination. This closed-loop feedback system replaces static manual instructions with dynamic, condition-based guidance that adapts to actual appliance state and operating history.
2Loss of information
If cleaning instructions are based solely on recorded operating sequences, then the system can track appliance usage, but it cannot predict dirt and grime formation or provide removal instructions
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple data sources including recorded operating sequences, visible soiling detection via camera, and database information about contamination patterns. By combining these diverse inputs, the system achieves both predictive capability for soiling formation and precise measurement of actual contamination conditions, enabling comprehensive cleaning instruction generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera system acts as an intermediary between the appliance's internal operating state and the cleaning instruction generation. It captures visible soiling conditions that bridge the gap between recorded operational data and actual contamination levels, enabling the system to predict and respond to dirt and grime formation that cannot be detected by operating sequence analysis alone.
3Ease of operation
If the operator does not know how to remove contamination, then maintenance can be performed, but the operator often does not know how to remove such contamination and instructions are not sufficiently clear
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides locally tailored cleaning instructions specific to the detected contamination type, location, and severity. Rather than generic manual instructions, the system analyzes the specific soiling conditions captured by the camera and generates targeted cleaning guidance for that particular contamination, making instructions sufficiently clear and actionable for the operator's specific situation.
4Measurement precision
If a camera is integrated into the mobile device to detect visible soiling, then the system can identify contamination, but combining this with operating history requires complex data correlation
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device serves multiple functions: it captures visible soiling with the camera, retrieves recorded operating sequences from the appliance, correlates this data with database information, and generates cleaning instructions. By making the mobile device a universal platform that performs all these functions, the system avoids the complexity of building a dedicated centralized system, distributing the computational burden to a device the operator already possesses.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a domestic appliance (10) comprising a mobile terminal (20) with an integrated camera (24), said appliance having a first computer-type controller (1) for controlling operational cycles of the domestic appliance (10), a first memory part (2) comprising readable cycle programmes, operational cycles that have been carried out being continuously saved to a second memory part (3) with respect to defined parameters and the mobile terminal (20) being connected to the computer-type controller (1) of the domestic appliance (10) via an interface, in particular a wireless interface. In addition, the mobile terminal (20) has a second computer-type controller (4) with a third memory part (5) for an autonomous soiling analysis cycle. A cycle, which is intentionally triggered in the mobile terminal (20), in particular by an operator after soiling has been identified by the camera, is designed to analyse the defined parameters stored in the second memory part (3) of the first computer-type controller (1) for the domestic appliance (10), together with the result of the soiling identification. The mobile terminal (20), which is designed to receive a link, in particular a radio link (27_1) to a server (6) of a service provider, can interrogate a database (7) of the server (6) in such a way that information concerning the removal of any identified soiling of the domestic appliance (10) can be displayed on the mobile terminal (20) on a display part of the user interface (21). The invention also relates to a method for determining cleaning instructions for a domestic appliance.