Methods of remote control of appliances
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for remote control of home appliances lack verification of appliance status and chamber contents before initiating operations, posing safety hazards and potential for unintended operation.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating communication devices and sensors in appliances to enable verification of status and contents through a network, allowing users to confirm and control operations remotely via external devices, ensuring safe and intended operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If remote control of appliances is enabled without verification, then user convenience is improved, but safety hazards and unintended operation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary verification of appliance status and chamber contents through image capture and analysis before allowing remote operation to commence. This advance checking ensures that only intended items are present and the appliance is in the correct state, preventing unintended operation while maintaining remote convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to the user about the current appliance status and chamber contents through transmitted images and status information. This feedback loop allows users to verify conditions before initiating remote control, ensuring informed decision-making and preventing unsafe operations.
2Reliability
If verification of chamber contents is implemented, then operation safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses an image capture device as an intermediary to verify chamber contents non-invasively. Instead of complex physical sensors or direct chamber access, visual imaging provides sufficient verification information, simplifying the overall system while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical verification methods with electronic image capture and processing. This substitution reduces mechanical complexity while achieving the same verification objective, allowing safety checks without intricate mechanical systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If network communication components are added to appliances, then remote control functionality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The communication device serves multiple functions: transmitting images, conveying status information, and receiving control commands. By making the communication system multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines image capture, status monitoring, and communication capabilities into an integrated system. The controller coordinates these functions through a unified communication interface, merging multiple functions into a cohesive subsystem that minimizes complexity compared to separate independent systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and methods for remote control of one or more appliances are provided. An external computing device, such as a mobile device, may be registered and associated with an appliance to be remotely controlled and monitored. The external computing device and the appliance to be remotely controlled by the external computing device may each be in communication with an external server via a network. When a remote control mode of the appliance is enabled, a selected operation of the appliance may be carried out in response to a remote control command generated by the external computing device.